2025 College Football's Biggest Surprises After Week 2
Trying to make too much of the first two weeks of college football season will keep your head spinning—especially considering we've yet to enter conference play.
However, the sport has offered some stunning conclusions already. Some of these are likely overreactions, but as things begin to take shape around the game's landscape, truths and stunning storylines are crystalizing.
Coaches' hot seats are getting warmer, and stars are being born around the nation. While we expected some of the favorites playing like front-runners, there are others emerging (and, still, some falling off). Conferences are experiencing power shifts and new playmakers are blossoming everywhere.
Oh, and we've seen our share of upsets already, as well.
The first two weeks have been full of surprises as we watch and wonder what stunner we'll witness next. Here are the some of the biggest shock happenings of the 2025 college football season so far.
South Florida's Dominance
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Pretty much nobody outside of Tampa looking through green-and-gold glasses had the South Florida Bulls at 2-0 right now.
Yet, as Nico Gramatica's 20-yard field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night, giving coach Alex Golesh's team a shocking 18-16 upset win over No. 13-ranked Florida, that's USF's ledger.
Sure, the Bulls' game-winning drive was aided by a Dijon Johnson pass-interference penalty and when Brendan Bett spit in the face of an offensive lineman, leading to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. But USF took advantage of the mistakes and put itself in a position to shock the nation.
After a Week 1 34-7 domination of Boise State, the Bulls are not only the Group of Five's top team, but they are also playing like the biggest surprise in the nation. This is a very good team capable of offensive explosion, but the biggest surprise is the defense.
Coordinator Todd Orlando's unit was awful a season ago, but USF is fast, aggressive and disruptive so far, and that's the difference. While Billy Napier rejoins those coaches with steaming backsides, the Bulls turn their attention to Miami.
A trip to No. 5 Miami is on tap next week. Could the Bulls pull off the trifecta? Carson Beck and Co. had better beware. This team is legit.
Florida State's Rebound
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When you build and rebuild your team through the transfer portal, it lends itself to inconsistency season-in and season-out. You can ask Florida State coach Mike Norvell about that.
In 2024, he endured what can happen when portal adds go bad, authoring a 2-10 season that was one of the biggest falls from grace in recent memory following an undefeated regular season the year before.
However, the Seminoles' rise back into the national spotlight may be as immediate as their tumble.
After a two-touchdown win at home over Alabama to open the season, FSU took care of business in a 77-3 dismantling of East Texas State, and next week's cupcake again Kent State should go the same way.
Virginia, No. 5 Miami and Pittsburgh will be more daunting afterward, but this 'Noles team seems built to win.
Norvell added key transfers—quarterback Tommy Castellanos (Boston College), receivers Duce Robinson and Squirrel White, plus several defensive starters. He also lured UCF head coach Gus Malzahn to serve as the new offensive coordinator.
The results have been incredible, and FSU is back in the College Football Playoff conversation.
The Heat on Kalen DeBoer
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Perhaps the biggest buzz around the first week of the season was just how unhappy boosters and administration were with Alabama second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer after the season-opening loss to Florida State.
Alabama had been 5-5 over its last ten games. The Week 2 blowout against Louisiana-Monroe offered some relief, but did little to quiet the critics.
And while winning that game (as expected) won't change the sweaty seat of DeBoer, the surprising thing is just how quickly the pitchforks are out in Tuscaloosa.
Replacing Nick Saban was never going to be easy. Now, you're willing to just go and fork out more than $60 million to fix something that may or may not be broken? Can we just let the season play out?
Alabama played near-flawless football in Week 2 and has plenty of top-tier talent and a strong recruiting class coming in again. The Tide have a rugged schedule and will need to perform well the rest of the season for DeBoer to feel safe.
DeBoer already appears uncomfortable as he adapts to the program, and the current scrutiny makes his situation even more challenging.
Clemson's Offensive Struggles
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Cade Klubnik entered the 2025 season as several experts' Heisman Trophy front-runner.
With a supporting cast that includes elite receivers such as Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore and a seasoned, successful offensive coordinator in Garrett Riley calling the plays, there were sky-high expectations for the Tigers.
Things haven't gone well so far.
Not only is coach Dabo Swinney's team 1-1, but Klubnik and Co. also haven't gotten untracked yet.
As strong as LSU's defense looks right now, the Week 1 hiccups can be explained away. But there's nothing that can be justified about Clemson falling behind Troy 16-0 in Week 2 before rallying to win 27-16.
Klubnik overcame an interception by throwing a pair of scoring tosses to Wesco to bring the Tigers back, but a team that's supposed to be contending for the College Football Playoff shouldn't be having to mount monumental comebacks against Sun Belt teams.
There is time to get things going in the right direction, but that odyssey must begin now. There's no remaining margin for error for the Tigers if their 2025 season goals are going to be realized.
LSU's Defensive Dominance
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Garrett Nussmeier and the stable of LSU wide receivers will get a ton of credit for the Bayou Bengals' early success, when in actuality, they haven't been that big a part of it yet.
The reason why the Tigers are 2-0 and at the cusp of the "best in the nation" conversation is Blake Baker's defense, which has played shutdown ball so far.
In the season-opening win over Clemson, they limited Cade Klubnik and crew in a 17-10 win. Then, as LSU scuffled offensively against Louisiana Tech in Week 2, the defense carried the night, allowing Nussmeier and crew to snap out of a slumber in a 23-7 win.
While the Tigers need to create more game-changing plays like tackles for loss and turnovers, they have been simply stingy. When you're seventh nationally against the run, 13th in scoring and 12th in total defense and you've played a top-five team already, that's saying something.
LSU coach Brian Kelly told The Paul Finebaum Show (via On3's Shea Dixon) last week just what he thinks about Baker, stating, "we think he's the best defensive coordinator in the country."
A year ago, LSU's defense struggled, but Baker—who is in his second season at the position after coming over from Missouri—is getting the most out of a ton of talent on the bayou.
Oregon's Seamless QB Transition
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There's no question Oregon coach Dan Lanning going out and plucking Dillon Gabriel from Oklahoma before the 2024 season played a key role in getting the Ducks to the College Football Playoff.
But Lanning also identified Dante Moore as his signal-caller of the future in the same window, let him be groomed a year behind veteran record-setter Gabriel, and he is now ready to lead a championship-caliber program as a redshirt sophomore.
By contrast, Moore previously endured a turbulent freshman year at UCLA under coach Chip Kelly. After an initial commitment to Oregon, he flipped to the Bruins—only to eventually transfer back to the Ducks.
Since then, the 6'3", 206-pounder waited his turn, learned, and now he looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the country leading the Ducks. In two games, he's completed 77 percent of his passes for 479 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.
Few are talking about the Ducks in the top 10, but they obliterated Oklahoma State 69-3 this past weekend and look like they've got the ability to make plenty of national noise once again.
If they do, Moore will be at the front and center.
Sun Devils' Early Struggles
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The weight of expectation can sometimes crumble a program, so Arizona State is about to deal with that for the first time in the national spotlight.
After emerging as one of college football's two Cinderella darlings a season ago alongside Indiana, coach Kenny Dillingham's Sun Devils had to replace senior do-it-all running back Cam Skattebo this season.
While there's still plenty of talent for another Big 12 run, Arizona State is going to have to prove the naysayers wrong once again after a sloppy loss on the road Saturday to SEC bottom-dweller Mississippi State.
Rather than go for it in a 17-17 game on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Dillingham elected to kick the chip-shot field goal to go ahead by three late in the game. Then, the Sun Devils allowed a 58-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass to lose a stunner.
The Bulldogs had led 17-0, so it's not like this was a game Arizona State dominated, either. It was quite the opposite. Quarterback Sam Leavitt—expected to be a leader and a stat-packer—was pedestrian, and the lack of balance led to a loss.
What kind of team is the 2025 rendition of the Sun Devils? Everybody is about to find out how they respond to adversity. They are still unscathed in the Big 12, but they've got issues to fix.
The Contenders for the ACC
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Last year, everybody expected it would be Clemson and everybody else in the ACC. But first-year member institution SMU crashed that party, taking Florida State's spot in the national equation, and shocked everybody.
This season, there's no telling who's going to come out of the ACC.
It's deep, much-improved and wide open. The Tigers are still there, though they're 1-1 and didn't look good at all in the win over Troy. The Mustangs also are 1-1, blowing a 14-point lead with less than six minutes to play over Baylor and losing in overtime.
While it's too late to punt on either of those teams, Miami looks poised to make the jump from outside-looking-in last year to the College Football Playoff this season. Florida State, as discussed, is back in the national picture after a one-year hiatus.
Pittsburgh, North Carolina State, Virginia, Duke and maybe even California possess the type of playmakers to make you game-plan for them much more than in the past. And Louisville has been consistently competitive under Jeff Brohm.
The ACC is going to be fun to watch unfold this year. There are more good teams in that league than we're used to.
Kansas State's Collapse
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Avery Johnson's rising star seemed to be one of the biggest in college football entering his third year with Kansas State. The Wildcats weren't in the Big 12 picture a season ago, but that seemed out of character.
Most thought Chris Klieman's program was in store for a rebound with playmakers on both sides of the ball.
Instead, the Wildcats are searching desperately for answers.
Traveling to Dublin and losing a one-score game to rival Iowa State in Week Zero was understandable and easily explained. But they returned home and narrowly escaped FCS foe North Dakota 38-35 last week.
Then, this weekend, Army came into Manhattan and took another bite out of the Little Apple with 24-21 win.
So, what's going on with K-State? The last time the Wildcats lost two out of their first three games was in 2009 when Bill Snyder came out of retirement after the Ron Prince era.
Klieman told The Wichita Eagle's Kellis Robinette that he's "dang proud" of his team still, adding, "I told the guys, 'I'm the leader of this group. It ain't sunny and 70 every day, and when it ain't sunny and 70, who's got to stand up? It's got to be me.'"
That time is now, Coach.
Devon Dampier's Rising Star
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Several transfer quarterbacks got much of the publicity this offseason like John Mateer heading to Oklahoma, Jackson Arnold to Auburn, Nico Iamaleava to UCLA and Darian Mensah to Duke.
Devon Dampier—who followed offensive coordinator Jason Beck from New Mexico to Utah—flew a bit under the radar. But everybody is learning his name now.
The former Lobos quarterback has been a revelation in Salt Lake City, playing near-perfect football for coach Kyle Whittingham's Utes, who look like a Big 12 contender with the dual-threat Dampier leading the way.
Simply put: He may be the Heisman Trophy front-runner right now, or he's at least in the conversation.
In a 43-10 win over UCLA and a 63-9 win over Cal Poly, Dampier has completed 79 percent of his passes for 398 yards and five touchdowns alongside zero interceptions. He also has run for 112 yards and another score.
Now, the competition will ramp up after one more tune-up against Wyoming this upcoming weekend, but Dampier is a savvy, veteran leader who knows Beck's offense and runs it excellently.
You should watch out for the Utes once again. Dampier is the best quarterback you hadn't really heard of until this year, joining Tennessee's Joey Aguilar and Oklahoma's Mateer as the shocking signal-callers who've transferred up a level and aren't missing a beat.
Texas Turbulence
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There was a brief flurry in Week 2 where Texas quarterback Arch Manning threw four touchdown tosses in quick order, ending any upset hopes San Jose State may have had and giving us a glimpse of what we thought may come to pass.
But things are far from perfect for coach Steve Sarkisian's team.
The preseason top-ranked Longhorns are 1-1, and while their only loss was in a Week 1 heavyweight tilt against Ohio State, the offense (and Manning) has yet to click consistently.
There's no question the team and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski are elite on that side of the ball with waves of future NFL draft picks, but they've got to get more consistency and explosiveness on the offensive side of the ball to be a title contender.
That is especially true in the passing game where Manning seemingly has the weight of the college football world on his shoulders and all eyes on every pass. It simply comes with the last name and the pedigree.
However, folks forget he's never really been a starter before, and it's going to take time before he can carry all that and play comfortably. Will it come too late for Texas in a rugged SEC schedule?
The Longhorns' dented armor certainly leads one to think they've got a ways to go to win it all.
Instant-Impact True Freshman Quarterbacks
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It has been a long time since there have been this many true freshman impact quarterbacks at power conference programs, but we're seeing their growth before our eyes in 2025.
Everybody knows about Michigan first-year phenom Bryce Underwood, who had his young-and-unseasoned moments in a Week 2 loss on the road at Oklahoma. But there's no denying his talent, and once coach Sherrone Moore feeds him more of an open offense, he could thrive.
Bear Bachmeier at BYU has been impressive managing the offense and letting the Cougars defense do their job, throwing for 272 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions while running for three more scores.
California signal-caller Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele beat out Ohio State transfer Devin Brown for the job in Berkeley, and hasn't disappointed. He has 493 passing yards, three touchdowns, an interception and ran for another score.
At Maryland, big-armed freshman Malik Washington has been perhaps the most impressive so far and is showing everybody why he was a top-100 player coming out of high school.
The first Terrapin to start at the position as a true freshman since 2012, he has 512 passing yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions with an overall passer rating of 134.1.
This is a big year for young quarterbacks.
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