After Week 0’s appetiser, Week 1 served up a full course of headlines. Lane Kiffin’s LSU won big amid continued controversy around players returning from the NFL and Michigan escaped embarrassment at the hands of Eastern Michigan by the most heavily contested second of the weekend. Outside of the Big House there were blowouts, upsets and close shaves for top teams as we round up the best of the rest of the action.

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Miami 45 @ 6 Stanford
WR Toney sets new school record as ‘Canes offense clicks under Mensah

Miami’s retooled offense got off to a flying start as they travelled from coast to coast to take down ACC conference competitor Stanford. Former Duke QB Darian Mensah was more than able to fill Carson Beck’s shoes as he unloaded a five-touchdown fireworks display on his debut for the Hurricanes.

“I was just eager to get on the field,” said Mensah. “It’s been a long offseason. It took a lot to get to where I’m at today so I was just was ready to go.”

‘Canes fans will be more than happy with the way their new passer has clicked with an established playmaker. Star wideout Malachi Toney rose to national prominence during Miami’s run to the National Championship Final last season, and opened his 2026 account by breaking a school record with his 234 receiving yards against the Cardinal. The pass-catcher reflected on the history of his achievement after surpassing Eddie Brown’s 220 yards against Boston College in 1984.

“It means a lot knowing how many greats played at this university,” Toney said. “For me to be the player to break that record and set a new one, it just means a whole lot.

The Mensah-Toney connection accounted for three touchdowns against Stanford, and opposing defenses are going to struggle to contain a pairing that already seem to have figured out how to cut them open.

“You couldn’t draw it up any better,” Mensah said. “If you got one on one, if you’re leaving #1 one on one, that’s a problem. So just seeing that pre-snap just made it that much easier for me. … You want to go out and punch a team in the mouth.”

Coming off of an impressive win over Hawai’i in Week 0, Stanford will be disappointed in the manner of their loss, even against the #7-ranked team in the country. QB Davis Warren managed 214 yards but couldn’t find the endzone, leaving head coach Tavita Pritchard to reflect on the opportunities left on the field.

“There were spots tonight where we moved the football [and] we got down in the red zone a couple of times — but we’ve got to finish,” he admitted. “I think that’s what that spoke to. We got to find consistency and we got to finish in the end zone.”

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Boise State 27 @ 34 Oregon
Moore and Moore guide sub-par Ducks to safety after half-time rocket

Number two ranked Oregon, a team who many consider to have the most talented roster in all of college football, escaped a home opener upset by Boise State in a game which head coach Dan Lanning labelled a ‘wake-up call’.

The team tipped to take the Natty got off to a slow start as the Broncos held them on their first two drives after scoring on their own opening possession and, after trailing 17-14 at the half, it took a took a metaphorical kick up the backside from Lanning to get the Ducks moving. As reported by the CBS broadcast, Lanning said “we need to turn it the F- up and turn it the F- on’.

“Coach Lanning came in with this juice and screaming, you know, in a positive way…saying, ‘The score is 0-0, let’s respond’,” quarterback Dante Moore said, sharing his own perspective of the half time pep talk.

The dressing down appeared to motivate the disjointed Ducks as they racked up 17 unanswered points to put themselves back in front, but the Broncos would not lie down and fought back so that the game was tied up to the midpoint of the fourth quarter. Heisman favourite Moore finished out strong with 378 yards and three touchdowns, including the 62-yard game winner to his namesake Dakorien Moore, while Boise counterpart Maddux Madsen, who had three scores himself, saw a last-ditch attempt to tie it up on fourth-and-ten fall to the turf to the elation of the fans in Autzen Stadium.

Whilst Oregon saved face, it was not the performance expected from a national title contender, and Lanning expressed his frustration at how his team had opened their campaign, noting that ‘a lot of it was self-inflicted’. Discipline, especially, needs to be better for the Ducks as they gave up 90 yards on 10 penalties.

“We didn’t win the critical situations. We didn’t start fast,” Lanning said. “The performance and execution has to be better.”

Oregon ended the game on the wrong side of the turnover battle and allowed their opponent to possess the ball for 31 minutes, prompting Lanning to add ‘that’s not winning football, not good enough [and] not to our standard’.

The coach was, however, able put a positive slant on the team’s early struggles.

“You love having a challenge early,” Lanning said. “At times you want to get a win in every situation. It’s going to be a win that we can learn from, right? There are things that we can attack and improve coaches as well. I think that’s what will show up.”

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Massachusetts 37 @ 21 Rutgers
UMass goes Pop to break season-long losing streak against Big 10 opposition

Rutgers may not be tipped for big things in 2026, but a home opener against a team with a 16-game losing streak will surely have seemed like a cupcake on paper.

Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, UMass had other plans for the Big Ten outfit. The Minutemen were on top throughout with a strong showing from QB Pop Watson III, whose 197 yards and three touchdowns secured the spectacular upset victory.

UMass have completely overhauled a roster that averaged the lowest points per game (11.1) in the FBS. Including Watson, who transferred from Virgina Tech, the Minutemen added 30 transfers along with 26 freshmen and, for head coach Joe Harasymiak, not only was it a relief to break the losing streak but it was a homecoming of sorts as he returned to Piscataway having been a defensive coordinator for Rutgers between 2022-24 after growing up only 40 miles from the campus.

“I think probably the most special part about it is, my mom, my dad are here, and my two brothers,” Harasymiak noted. “I just Face-timed my wife and my kids, they’re at home. So certainly, growing up here, an hour away, working here for Coach [Greg] Schiano, it means a lot, but I’m just really proud about our team and what we did.”

The Scarlet Knights couldn’t keep up with an impassioned UMass side, despite a career best performance from wide receiver K.J Duff, who is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft. Duff’s 196 receiving yards and three touchdowns were impressive, but ultimately in vain as Rutger’s defense, sporting ten new starters, struggled throughout, allowing 397 total yards.

“We got out-licked, out-played and out-coached,” Schiano conceded. “There is no other way to say it. I didn’t have them ready.”

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Louisville 38 @ 41 Ole Miss
Chambliss overcomes slow start to get Rebels over the line in Nashville

The Music City Kickoff, the only game of the weekend between two ranked opponents, started slowly with a slew of mistakes as both teams struggled to score, but ended in a crescendo as Ole Miss and Louisville traded blows in a spectacular finish.

“Wow, what an unbelievable atmosphere,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said. “I think that’s really good for college football.”

Both Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss and Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz, making his debut as a starter after three seasons at Ohio State, had early wobbles. Chambliss, who had been awarded another season of college football after opting out of the draft, lost a fumble and was picked off in the second quarter, while Kienholz looked out of his depth with several early delay of game penalties when in scoring range. Both, however, found their footing in the second half, bouncing back off the ropes as they tried to propel their team to victory.

Chambliss had two 62-yard touchdowns in the third quarter, followed by 35-yard lob to Caleb Odom early in the fourth, and also added a five-yard score with his legs. Kienholz tied the game for the Cardinals with a 54-yard sideline pass to Lawayne McCoy followed by a seven-yard run of his own with 1:28 left on the clock, finishing with 307 passing yards and 69 rushing. Louisville couldn’t hold on, however, and hearts sank as Lucas Carneiro’s 48-yard kick handed victory to the Rebs as the clock ran out.

Chambliss’ revitalised second half performance was supported by defensive performance that held Louisville running Isaac Brown, who led the nation with 8.8 yards per game in 2025, to just 36 yards on the night.

“We go home 0-1 but with a lot to learn,” Louisville coach Brian Brohm said. “I think anybody who likes football likes to watch these games. We had our chances, and we move forward.”

Golding, who took over as Ole Miss head coach following Lane Kiffin’s departure ahead of their 2025 Playoff run, was effusive in praise of his Heisman-contending QB, who set up the game-winning kick with an 18-yard pass on third down.

“I don’t know how many times he’s got to do it,” Golding said. “I mean that’s just who he is.”

Chambliss finished the night with 351 yards and four total touchdowns, but insisted that the match-up hadn’t been to his taste.

“I honestly hate these games,” Chambliss grimaced. “I don’t know why we do this every time. We like close, one-score games but, yeah, we got the win. That’s all that matters.”