College Football Week 0 Round Up
By Ben Wallner
College Football is back for the 2025/26 season, and while there may not have been
many games this weekend there are still a few talking points to get excited about after
the opening weekend.
The season kicked off on the 23 rd of August in the Aviva Stadium, where Iowa State
upset the Big 12 favorites Kansas State in a very messy season opener. A very fumble
heavy first half featured both teams fumble twice including a muffed punt by the
Wildcats, however all these turnovers didn’t lead to many scoring opportunities in the
first half with both teams finishing with 7 points at the end of the second quarter. After
the pitch had to be repainted at half time, we got underway once again where Cyclones
QB Rocco Becht took charge with several crucial runs and two key touchdown passes
to take the game for Iowa State. Despite a late charge from Avery Johnson and his
Wildcats, Iowa State were able to secure the ball after the two-minute warning and
kneel the ball on the goal line for a narrow upset of 24-21. I wouldn’t be surprised
however if this doesn’t hamper the Wildcats as I very much still believe that Avery
Johnson will lead Kansas State to the Big 12 title as despite his team coming out of
Dublin with the unfortunate loss, Johnson had a great day passing for 273 yards and 2
touchdowns even in a drenched Aviva Stadium.
Back in the US, UNLV kicked off their season and took home the W against FCS team
Idaho State, even with the Bengals putting up a great fight. The key difference maker for
the Rebels was junior RB Jai’Den Thomas who rushed for an impressive 147 yards on
just 10 touches of the football. I said in my pre-season preview that he would take over
from Asthon Jeanty as the Mountain Wests’ next big Running Back and it is proving true
so far especially once he starts getting more carries for the Rebels. The QB battle still
rages on in Vegas however with now Anthony Colandrea looking favored to be the
starter after Alex Orji failed to lead the Rebels offensively early in the first half, passing
for just 37 yards. This did not faze the Rebels however dominating down the stretch
taking a big 38-31 win over Idaho. This win will hopefully push them towards MWC
glory.
Another Mountain West team also returned this past weekend in Fresno State against
the Kansas Jayhawks, however unfortunately for the Bulldogs they were not as
successful as UNLV as the Jayhawks ran rampant in Kansas with Jalon Daniels at the
helm. The KU Quarterback missed just two passes going 18 for 20 in the air with 3
touchdowns tacked on. Most of the domination came in the first half as the Jayhawks
went up 24-7 before the end of the 2nd scoring just once in the second half winning 31-7
against the Bulldogs. This KU team was a team that not many were high on coming into
the season but if Daniels can keep up this miraculous form as well as the backfield of
Leshon Williams keeping up good form, the Jayhawks could easily make a push for
great record and a bowl game. All is not lost of course for Fresno State however one
thing they will have to greatly improve on will be their ground game as they rushed for a
total of just 37 yards some of this is due to QB EJ Warner going backwards for 23 after
being sacked 3 times. This is still not nearly good enough if they are to make a push in
the Mountain West – a very rush heavy conference.
Big things coming from the CUSA as WKU took on Sam Houston in a 65 point thriller of
a game and it was Western Kentucky Hilltoppers who came away with the victory with
senior QB Maverick McIvor passing for an astounding 401 yards as he became the first
CUSA QB since WKU’s own Bailey Zappe to pass for over 400 yards on opening
weekend – an incredible stat even more if you consider that now Zappe is now in the
NFL. The future of McIvor looks bright if he can keep this run of form up. One man from
the Bearkats however should be proud of himself is 6th year senior Elijah Green who
caught 7 receptions to try and bring his team back into the game but it was Sam
Houston’s lackluster first half that cost them in the long run.
That is all for this weekend as it is only week 0 of this college football season. There are
several huge games on next week however to look forward to, such as No.1 ranked
Texas taking on National Champions No.3 Ohio State in Columbus – an absolute
blockbuster of a game that I certainly can’t wait for. LSU will also take on Clemson next
week – two teams that will be playoff and Natty hopeful.
This season already shaping up to be a great one and we’re glad to be along for the
ride.