Top 10 Overreactions from Week 1 of 2025 College Football Season
College football hype is built on the foundation of hyperbole. Let's face it: Overreactions are part of the fun.
There's no better time to draw universal conclusions (that will routinely fall flat) after Week 1. We've seen basically every team, and since we're all experts in our own mind, we feel like we already know how things are going to shake out. That is, until they're proved wrong and we reassess.
There were plenty of talking points from a historic opening weekend filled with terrific matchups between contenders.
At this point, many around the nation already have crowned their national champions, fired coaches and used a single-game performance to mentally craft a Heisman campaign.
Don't tell us to stop. It's what we do, and it's why college football is so dang fun.
Some of the biggest jumps to conclusions from Week 1 are on the following slides. These aren't impossible scenarios—they're plausible, but nothing is certain after just one week. That's why they're called overreactions.
Here are some of the largest after Week 1.
Florida State Is Back
1 of 10
No team looked more different in Week 1 than it did a season ago than coach Mike Norvell's Florida State Seminoles.
Last year, FSU finished 2-10 and won only one ACC game, showing little sign of life. From transfer-portal failures like DJ Uiagalelei to an injury-riddled roster, everything went wrong.
Then, the 'Noles went out and opened the 2025 season with a 31-17 dismantling of No. 8-ranked Alabama in Tallahassee where they flat-out dominated the Crimson Tide.
From the injection of dual-threat Boston College quarterback transfer Thomas Castellanos into new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's scheme to a defense that was the aggressor from the outset of the game, Saturday was a success.
FSU is two years removed from an undefeated regular season that would have seen it in the playoff if not for then-quarterback Jordan Travis' season-ending injury, so to think the 'Noles can't get back there quickly would be premature.
But to anoint them Clemson's biggest ACC competitor would be unwise just yet, too. A relatively easy schedule still includes home tilts against Miami (Oct. 4) and Virginia Tech (Nov. 15), as well as road trips to Clemson (Nov. 8) and Florida (Nov. 29).
Much more consistency needs to transpire before we can call FSU contenders, but excitement should abound after a near-perfect Game 1.
Arch Manning Is Overrated
2 of 10
You've been on X. You've seen the funny memes (and the mean ones) after Arch Manning's first start of the season for top-ranked Texas against Ohio State.
Sure, it was brutal until the fourth quarter, and the stats (completing 57 percent of his passes for 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception) aren't good enough. This was a player buzzed about for the Heisman Trophy and leading a team expected to compete for a national title.
Instead, the Longhorns sputtered in Columbus. All isn't lost, though. Texas is still a College Football Playoff contender.
Don't forget the Buckeyes won the title last year and returned a slew of talent on both sides of the ball. While they lost defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the new guy (Matt Patricia) is used to leading NFL defenses.
Playmakers abound for Ohio State on a unit full of future pros swarming around in a super-hostile environment.
This was a hype-guzzling buzzsaw. If you think Manning—who had the weight of the college football universe on his shoulders—didn't feel any pressure, you're wrong. He's just 21, and the Longhorns haven't been "his" team until just now.
Do things need to get better in a hurry? Yes. But Manning is inexperienced and must grow in the heat of the spotlight. Was he overhyped? Sure. But overrated? Don't make that assumption quite yet.
This Notre Dame Team Can't Contend Again
3 of 10
The defending runner-up Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 0-1 to start the season.
After traveling to Coral Gables to take on Miami as a slim favorite, coach Marcus Freeman's Irish were slow to start, fell behind, came all the way back but couldn't quite overcome the Hurricanes in an ultimate 27-24 loss.
It was a classic game between two old rivals, but Notre Dame should not be ashamed of losing a close game to Miami.
The Hurricanes went out and secured transfer portal quarterback Carson Beck, and his seasoning and experience were key in the win. On the flipside, it took Freeman too long to trust his redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr, who looked great once he was finally unleashed.
Plenty needs to be fixed if they're going to contend again in South Bend.
An offensive line that was supposed to be one of the best in the nation was often pushed around by an athletic, aggressive Miami defense. Last year's bell-cow running back Jeremiyah Love puzzlingly received just 10 carries and 14 total touches. A normally daunting defense was far too leaky.
But, remember, this program lost to Northern Illinois in Week 2 a season ago and still went on a wild ride. All remains in front of the Irish.
"Our guys have a lot of confidence to build off," Freeman told the South Bend Tribune's Tom Noie. "There's a lot out there that we didn't do well. We'll take it. We'll get back to work."
It's worked before.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Joey Aguilar Is Better Than Nico Iamaleava
4 of 10
One game isn't enough to call a 24-year-old journeyman playing his first game as a Power 4 starter a better quarterback than a former 5-star, uber-talented player.
But it certainly looked like Joey Aguilar is a much better fit for Tennessee coach Josh Heupel's high-octane offense than Nico Iamaleava ever was. It's possible Aguilar is a better quarterback altogether.
Sure, everybody should pump the brakes on that assumption just yet, but after a highly publicized departure for Iamaleava from Knoxville one day before the spring game led him to UCLA, former Bruins quarterback Aguilar essentially traded spots.
In a 45-26 dismantling of Syracuse, Aguilar threw a beautiful deep-strike touchdown to Braylon Staley, completed 16-of-28 passes for 247 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions and even ran for 34 yards.
By comparison, the passing yards were more than Iamaleava threw for in all but three games a season ago (UT-Chattanooga, Kentucky and Vanderbilt). He only ran for more yards five times.
Aguilar processed the field better and was more decisive, and the Vols offense was the fast-paced tempo it hasn't run since the Hendon Hooker days.
In Westwood, Iamaleava's Bruins debut was pretty awful. He completed half of his 22 passes for 136 yards, a touchdown and an interception and overthrew two deep balls—something he became known for on Rocky Top.
Yes, it's early to draw conclusions, but it looks like the Vols could be better off.
South Florida Is the Group of Five's Best
5 of 10
A season ago, with Byrum Brown injured much of the year, the trajectory of Alex Golesh's program-building campaign at South Florida appeared severely stunted.
An uneven 7-6 finish may have led you to sleep on the Bulls entering this year's opener against defending Group of Five College Football Playoff participant Boise State. But it shouldn't have.
With a healthy Brown lining up in shotgun formation, the helter-skelter pace of the Bulls offense frustrated the Broncos in a shocking 34-7 upset in Tampa. Winning was a big deal, but how they won was even more stunning.
A defense that finished 119th out of 134 teams a season ago flew around and frustrated Boise for much of the game. Coach Todd Orlando's unit wasn't perfect statistically, but it was opportunistic and kept the Broncos at bay much of the day.
Still, Brown was rusty, and there are a lot of good G5 teams out there. Plus, we'll learn still more about the Bulls this week against the SEC's Florida Gators.
Toledo, Navy, Tulane, Memphis, James Madison and others will be quality teams this year. Don't sleep on Boise rebounding, either.
Golesh's Bulls made a Week 1 statement, but there is a lot of football left.
The DeBoer Era at Alabama Is in Danger
6 of 10
The narratives are overwhelming surrounding Alabama and coach Kalen DeBoer, and it's really hard to tell fact from fiction.
It's safe to say things are far from rosy in Tuscaloosa after the second-year coach finished last year 9-4 and opened the season leading a lackluster loss to Florida State where the Tide fell by two touchdowns when they were favored by two touchdowns.
At times, DeBoer looks overmatched and looks—and sounds—downright miserable. This is a man who was near the top of the college football world at Washington, finishing runner-up to Michigan two years ago and leading a program on its way to the Big Ten.
Then, he stepped into the pressure cooker of replacing Nick Saban, and things haven't gone according to plan. But is it really bad enough for the Tide to cut bait?
The buyout reportedly is in the neighborhood of $63 million, which is a gaudy number. Football is religion at Alabama, and there is more than enough booster money to navigate around it, but would that really happen at this early juncture?
DeBoer's star was rising not long ago. Before a late-season loss to Oklahoma last year, Alabama was right in the playoff conversation. He's recruiting very well, and talent abounds on that roster.
You simply can't underachieve at a place looking for national titles, though. The talk of firing DeBoer is premature after losing to a Florida State team that appears much-improved.
But how long until this isn't an overreaction?
Jeremiah Smith Is in for a Sophomore Slump
7 of 10
What Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith did a season ago was simply put together one of the greatest freshman seasons in the history of college football.
That's not hyperbole when you take his 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns and add in the fact that once the College Football Playoff started, the true freshman from Florida turned it up a notch.
But he didn't look like an All-American in Week 1 against Texas with just six catches for 43 yards and a couple of ugly drops. More than that, his body language was awful as he looked frustrated.
Let's pause on the bad attitude talk, though. Smith hasn't given any indication that he's anything other than a fierce competitor who wants to perfect his craft and win games.
Saturday was a huge game against one of the nation's top defenses, and Ohio State was breaking in a new quarterback in redshirt freshman Julian Sayin.
Things aren't going to come as easily this year as they did with veteran Will Howard under center a season ago. But even if Smith's numbers take a tumble, he'll still prove game-in and game-out he's the top pass-catcher in the nation.
Don't get down on Smith's season just yet. The Buckeyes have tons of talent on both sides of the ball again, and this could be another title season. Smith's handprints will be all over it.
Arizona State and Indiana Will Take a Step Back
8 of 10
If you watched any of Arizona State's 38-19 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks or Indiana's 27-14 victory over the Old Dominion Monarchs, nothing about those showings screamed "playoffs."
The Sun Devils and Hoosiers were college football's Cinderellas a season ago before the clock struck midnight in the postseason, and both may be back this year.
Don't let the first game fool you.
Remember a season ago, coach Kenny Dillingham's team beat a bad Mississippi State team in Week 2 by seven, sweated out a three-point win against Texas State then lost to Texas Tech.
Even the Hoosiers, which started 10-0 in 2024, looked sloppy in a season-opening 31-7 win over Florida International last year.
With Fernando Mendoza now calling the shots for Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers and Elijah Sarratt to throw to and a star-studded defense on the other side, IU should be fine. Arizona State has a lot of offensive weapons, too.
The playoff runs a season ago certainly elevated expectations in both places to a spot where it may be difficult to sustain, but return trips aren't out of the question. Both are 1-0 and have reasons for optimism moving forward.
Clemson Is in Trouble
9 of 10
Clemson looked loaded on paper.
Not only did Heisman Trophy front-runner Cade Klubnik return at quarterback surrounded by weapons like Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr. and TJ Moore, but a defense also featured stars like T.J. Parker, Peter Woods and Sammy Brown.
Now, though, fans around the nation are wondering where all that firepower was in a season-opening 17-10 loss to LSU.
The revamped defense looked terrific at times under new coordinator Tom Allen, but Bayou Bengals quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was in control against a great group of talent.
Klubnik was under duress all night as an LSU defense that looked bigger and faster than Clemson continually pressured him.
Honestly, it was surprising just how coach Dabo Swinney's Tigers were manhandled at times.
But it's not time to panic. The ACC is far from the strongest conference, and that LSU loss will age nicely. As many great players as coach Brian Kelly has on both sides of the ball, the "other" set of Tigers may be one of the top teams in the nation.
Clemson is still a strong contender for the College Football Playoff and could still make a national title run. Florida State, Miami, Louisville and others will have something to say about that, and an end-of-year bout with South Carolina will stand in the way, too.
It's not an ideal start, but there's too much talent on Clemson's roster for it not to rebound.
TCU Still Shouldn't Be Taken Seriously
10 of 10
Once the pizzazz settled and the bright lights dimmed Monday night, the reality that coach Bill Belichick inherited a pretty bad program at North Carolina became a reality.
However, lost in how bad the Tar Heels looked was TCU's all-around resurgent night.
In 2022, few took the Horned Frogs seriously all year, and they rode that momentum to the national championship game under Sonny Dykes. Sure, they were manhandled by Georgia in the title game, but they got there.
After a down year in 2023, they rebounded with nine wins a season ago. With quarterback Josh Hoover back as part of nine starters on both sides of the ball, TCU is deep and dangerous. It's experienced, too.
Lost in Arizona State's defense of a magical run, all the hype that surrounds Deion Sanders' program at Colorado and Iowa State's 2-0 start to the season is the sleeper that is TCU. This team should be ranked.
Dykes' team has a lot of expectations and aspirations. Its opportunistic defense scored twice against the Tar Heels on Monday night, played the role of aggressor on both sides of the ball all night and outclassed UNC.
It won't be the last time that happens. Texas Tech is getting a lot of love as a potential Big 12 bracket-buster for the playoffs, but TCU is the program that deserves your attention.
This is a team that can win the Big 12.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
