Week 1 Recap - Was there a second left?

After four days of college football, we're not even done yet! SMU and Florida State cap off an amazing Labor Day weekend slate tonight, with the Mustangs heading to Tallahassee for a 7:30 PM ET kickoff.

What looked like a below-average opening weekend on paper turned out to deliver one of the more memorable Week 1s in college football history. From some of the largest upsets we've ever seen to FCS teams refusing to back down against their FBS opponents, this weekend had it all. Crazy last-minute drives, blocked field goals, two-point conversion stops, and G6 playoff hopes hanging in the balance alongside legitimate National Championship aspirations.

And somehow, none of that compares to what some people are calling the most controversial on-field moment in college football history.

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Ann Arbor, Michigan

I’m starting this week’s newsletter where the attention of the entire college football world was turned Saturday night: Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the Western Michigan Broncos took on the Michigan Wolverines.

This was Kyle Whittingham’s debut as head coach at Michigan, and there had been plenty of talk throughout the offseason about how his knowledge of using a running quarterback would transform the Michigan offense. After struggling offensively over the last two seasons, the expectation was that things were going to look different under Whittingham. There was plenty of excitement in Ann Arbor, and in-state Western Michigan seemed like the perfect opponent to debut this new-look offense against, especially considering Michigan was 7-0 all-time against the Broncos.

Michigan came out looking the part.

The Wolverines took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards down the field, capping the drive with a Bryce Underwood touchdown run to make it 7-0. In just over five minutes, it looked like Michigan was back. The Wolverines had no problem moving the ball, Underwood made some nice throws, and he balanced that with the run game to show that this offense really was different.

The Whittingham era was off and running, and it looked exactly like it had been advertised.

Then Western Michigan’s next drive started setting off a few alarms in the heads of Michigan fans. The Broncos easily drove into field-goal range and drilled a 52-yard field goal to make it 7-3. Nothing too alarming. Michigan had given up only three points, not a touchdown.

But pretty soon, almost every alarm in Ann Arbor would be screaming.

After that impressive opening drive, Michigan wouldn’t gain another first down until there were just 28 seconds left in the half. The Wolverines followed their great touchdown drive with four straight three-and-outs and an interception to end the half. Western Michigan turned that interception into another field goal, and suddenly Michigan was clinging to a 7-6 lead at halftime.

The offensive struggles didn’t stay in the locker room.

Michigan’s first possession of the second half ended in another punt. Then the Broncos put together a 13-minute drive, eventually ending it with another field goal. Suddenly, Michigan was trailing 9-7 in the fourth quarter.

Yet another three-and-out followed, and at this point, everyone watching realized something was seriously wrong with Michigan. The Wolverines were at real risk of losing their season opener at home to a team they had never lost to.

With just over three minutes remaining, Michigan got the ball back needing only a field goal to win the game.

Instead, Bryce Underwood fumbled deep in Michigan territory, gifting the Broncos another field goal. Western Michigan took a 12-7 lead, and with just 35 seconds remaining and Michigan out of timeouts, anything short of a miracle would seemingly result in a Broncos victory.

Then things got weird.

A 28-yard pass over the middle moved Michigan all the way to the Western Michigan 46-yard line. After a spike, there were nine seconds remaining. That appeared to give Michigan enough time for two shots at the end zone — or perhaps a quick pass to move even closer before taking the eventual Hail Mary shot.

Underwood rolled out, took his time, and eventually launched the ball toward the end zone.

As the ball hung in the air, the question wasn't whether Michigan would catch it. It was whether there would be enough time left on the clock for another play.

A Western Michigan defender batted the ball away out of the back of the end zone.

The clock read zero.

Western Michigan had won.

Or so they thought.

As is standard, the play went to review to check the clock. That's where things got interesting.

What makes this play so unusual is that the Western Michigan defender who batted the ball away had jumped from out of bounds. Because of that, the ball was considered dead the moment he touched it. And on the NBC broadcast footage, the clock appeared to read zero when Micah Davis made contact with the ball.

But after review, the officials determined that there was still one second remaining on the clock.

And the rest is history.

One play later, Michigan launched a 46-yard Hail Mary into the end zone, and JJ Buchanan came down with it. Michigan won 13-12.

Now, let's talk about this ghost second.

Was there really one second left on the clock?

Based on the angles NBC showed during the broadcast, I didn't believe there was.

And that brings up an even bigger question: Could NBC's broadcast clock have been out of sync with the official game clock?

There were a few moments earlier in the game where the clock appeared to start and stop differently than it should have on the broadcast. On Western Michigan's final field goal drive, for example, the clock appeared to stop slightly early. Then, on the 28-yard pass over the middle that set up the Hail Mary, it appeared to run for a few seconds longer than it should have.

Maybe that's a coincidence. Maybe it's the broadcast clock. Maybe there's something else we're missing.

But don't just take my word for it.

College football insider Pete Thamel broke down the play with video evidence, and what he found makes the entire situation even more interesting.

The footage of the official replay with audio of the referees discussion very clearly shows one second remaining when Davis touches the ball. Say what you want, but ultimately, I trust the clock on the officiating screen more than I trust the clock on the national broadcast. The Big Ten’s released replay footage appears to support the officials’ decision, showing Davis making contact with the ball with one second remaining.

But this does bring up another question: Should the college football clock start displaying tenths of a second, like basketball does?

Obviously, the clock doesn't need to display tenths of a second throughout the entire game. But when we're inside the final few seconds, giving fans that extra level of precision could eliminate a lot of the confusion we saw Saturday night. I genuinely think we were within a tenth of a second of this game being over, and having that information available to everyone watching would have made this entire situation a lot easier to understand.

Ultimately, this was such a controversial ending because of how poorly Michigan played and how badly it felt like America was rooting for Western Michigan. The Broncos had done everything they needed to do to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the weekend, only to have the game come down to a single second.

And to make matters even more interesting, the Broncos and the MAC eventually got their explanation from the Big Ten.

The MAC released the following statement:

So, accepting that it was the correct call, it’s not the result we wanted as college football fans. But after looking at the evidence, I firmly believe there was one second left on the clock.

If you believe that Western Michigan was robbed of this win, I invite you to look at 2015 Miami vs Duke and 2016 Central Michigan vs Oklahoma State. The Blue Devils and Cowboys were robbed of wins, and admitted later by officials, in this instant the Broncos were not.

Upsets of the Weekend

While all college football fans were hoping for that upset in Ann Arbor, we didn't get it. But we did get some other great upsets all over the country, so let's talk about those.

UMass: The Minutemen traveled to Rutgers Thursday night to take on the Scarlet Knights. UMass had lost 16 straight games and had never beaten a power-conference team on the road. Entering the game as 29.5-point underdogs, pretty much no one in the country thought they had a chance.

Rutgers scored early, and then it was all Minutemen.

UMass dominated on both sides of the ball, moving the ball with ease while completely shutting down the Scarlet Knights. Leading 24-7 at halftime, the Minutemen didn't let up. UMass eventually won 37-21, shocking Rutgers, the college football landscape, and making a statement that they want to be in the conversation for the MAC this year.

Colorado: The Buffaloes and Deion Sanders had a rough year last season without Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, was coming off a great season, and with this game being played in Atlanta, it looked like the Yellow Jackets would have an easy start to the year.

Instead, it turned into a defensive battle.

The humidity made it difficult for both teams to hold onto the ball, and the game was just 13-7 Georgia Tech late in the fourth quarter. Then Juju Lewis threaded a ball to Charlie Lewis for a 20-yard touchdown to give the Buffs a 14-13 lead with 37 seconds remaining.

Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza had done almost nothing all game, but he unleashed a 42-yard pass to Kevin Roche on the very first play of the ensuing drive, putting the Yellow Jackets in field-goal range.

However, the 45-yard attempt was blocked as time expired, and Year 4 of the Deion Sanders era starts with a massive road win.

Tarleton State: The Texans traveled to Bowling Green to take on the Falcons with a chance to knock off an FBS school for the second year in a row. They jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead and extended it to 20-10 midway through the third quarter.

A late field goal by Bowling Green made it 20-13, and Tarleton State then ripped off an 83-yard run that looked like it would almost ice the game.

The only problem? Three plays later, they fumbled.

That gave Bowling Green one last shot with just under two minutes remaining. The Falcons drove down the field but ultimately came up eight yards short, and the Texans secured another huge FBS win.

The Citadel: I'll admit it: this game completely flew under the radar for me. I didn't even see it until it was almost too late.

The back-and-forth battle between The Citadel and Charlotte saw neither team take more than a seven-point lead. After 60 minutes, the game was tied 28-28, and both teams scored touchdowns in the first two overtimes.

Then The Citadel went for two first in the third overtime (when it turns to the two point shootout).

The Bulldogs converted, then stopped Charlotte's attempt to answer, securing the upset and their first win over an FBS team since 2019, when they defeated Georgia Tech.

Idaho State: The Bengals made the short trip south to Logan to take on the Utah State Aggies. Utah State jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, but after that, it was all Idaho State.

The Bengals slowly took control, heading into the fourth quarter with a 19-17 lead. Their defense then suffocated the Aggies for the entire fourth quarter while the offense added 10 more points to finish off a 29-17 Idaho State victory.

This was Idaho State's first win over an FBS team since 2017. But perhaps even more shocking, this was the eighth time a Big Sky team has beaten Utah State.

Not exactly a great look for the Aggies.

Tulsa?: I'm putting a question mark here because, was this truly an upset?

Oklahoma State was favored heading into Tulsa this year, but the Golden Hurricanes had already beaten the Cowboys last season. Still, this year was supposed to be different, right? Eric Morris and Drew Mestemaker were supposed to turn things around in Stillwater.

That was not the case.

Tulsa once again dominated Oklahoma State, winning 24-10 and proving that last year's upset was no fluke.

You can fire Mike Gundy, but can you fire what is now just known as Oklahoma State football?

Other Marquee Games

Clemson vs. LSU

This was a chance for LSU to show what the new Lane Kiffin era would look like in Baton Rouge. After a two-hour rain and lightning delay, Death Valley was alive for yet another night game.

Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt's second pass of the game found a Clemson defender, and four plays later, Clemson kicked a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.

That's where Clemson's fortune ended.

LSU would go on to score 51 unanswered points en route to a 51-10 victory in front of 102,000 fans. The Tigers dominated every snap of the game in every aspect. The final numbers tell the story: 644 total yards for LSU compared to just 145 for Clemson (71 of which came on the final drive when LSU had long since pulled its starters), 38 first downs to 8, 309 rushing yards to 40, and 36 minutes of time of possession to 23.

I think this is a classic example of how two things can be true at the same time.

1. LSU is really good, and Lane Kiffin has them in the right spot.
2. Clemson is awful, and Dabo Swinney has lost all hope.

It won't be until September 19 that we get to see LSU take on a real opponent again when they travel to Ole Miss. But what I saw Saturday night tells me they'll be ready. As much as Ole Miss doesn't want to lose that game, I think Kiffin doesn't want to lose it even more.

Clemson can't let this utter beatdown discourage them for the rest of the season. Last season, they got off to a slow start, and it cost them a chance at an open ACC. They play North Carolina and Cal before Miami. Those two games could tell us a lot about whether we should tune in for the Miami game or warn local police about possible assault.

Baylor vs. Auburn

The new-look Auburn Tigers and the Baylor Bears, who are in desperate need of a bounce-back season, met in Atlanta to kick off the season in the Aflac Kickoff Game.

Anyone who tells you this game was good football is lying.

It wasn't.

Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway landed hard on his right ankle early in the game, and it was quite evident that he was not okay. Despite that, he remained in the game. Limping around, it was difficult for him to put weight on the ankle, and his running threat was essentially gone. That resulted in a lackluster first half with a few bright spots, ending 10-7 in favor of Auburn.

The third quarter yielded no points, and a field goal early in the fourth quarter from the Bears made it 10-10. With just over three minutes left, Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown scrambled for 11 yards and a touchdown to cap off a 75-yard drive and give the Tigers what looked like the knockout punch.

Lagway wasn't done yet.

Playing on one leg, he drove the Bears down the field, and on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Baylor converted to bring the Bears within one.

Dave Aranda, fighting for his job, decided to go for two and try to win the game in regulation. Even on a bad ankle, Lagway rolled out of the pocket and found his receiver in the flat. The pass was just a hair behind him, resulting in a game-saving tackle at the 1-yard line.

Auburn wins.

I wouldn't read too much into this game. I don't think either team is going to be very good this year, and we shouldn't get caught up in a Week 1 win by Auburn and assume they're suddenly different this season.

Baylor hasn't been anything for three years, and there's no sign they're going to be anything this year either.

Boise State vs. Oregon.

Boise State entered Eugene with hopes of making it a tight game, just like they did to start the 2024 season. Their opening drive of 11 plays and 75 yards to take an early 7-0 lead let the world know that they were there to play.

After another touchdown and a field goal in the second quarter, the Broncos found themselves leading 17-7 as halftime approached. However, bad clock management by Spencer Danielson gave the Ducks the ball back with a short field and more than enough time to score. Not only did the Ducks score to make it 17-14, but they took all the momentum as well.

Coming out of halftime, 10 unanswered points by the Ducks saw them take the lead 24-17 for the first time of the day. Boise State wasn't done, as they answered with a touchdown of their own to make it a 24-24 game. After the teams traded field goals early in the fourth quarter, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore connected with Dakorien Moore for a 62-yard touchdown pass that would ultimately be the difference.

Boise State would get the ball two more times, but a three-and-out and then a turnover on downs would not be enough to tie the game.

While it was not a win for the Broncos, just like their loss in 2024, it showed the country that they are legit. They came into a national title contender's house and went toe-to-toe with them the entire game.

Oregon shouldn't sound the panic alarm yet, but it was not encouraging to see this kind of play from the Ducks. They struggled on key downs and distances, and at some points had no answers for the Boise State offense. Then again, in 2024, they went undefeated after their narrow escape against Boise State. Keep an eye on both of these teams, but I expect this to be a launching pad for better play from both teams.

Game of the Week: Ole Miss 41 Louisville 38

In the only ranked vs. ranked matchup of the weekend, the Cardinals and the Rebels faced off in Nashville.

Both teams had plenty of rust to knock off, as the first two quarters resulted in more turnovers than touchdowns. Ole Miss was able to score a touchdown thanks to a Louisville fumble deep in their own territory. The Cardinals got two field goals of their own, and a missed Ole Miss field goal toward the end of the half made it a 10-6 game at halftime. Not exactly what everyone thought this game would be. The first half resulted in roughly 250 combined yards from each team, two fumbles, one interception, one missed field goal, and four punts.

The second half started the fireworks show, as Louisville came right out of the locker room and drove 77 yards for a touchdown. Ole Miss answered with a 62-yard drive of their own. It then became big play after big play, with Ole Miss and Trinidad Chambliss scoring on a 62-yard pass, a 35-yard pass, and then a 5-yard run after countless Cardinal penalties.

After Louisville scored on a long play of their own to tie it at 24-24 toward the end of the third quarter, Ole Miss answered with their 35-yard touchdown pass. It looked like Ole Miss had put the game out of reach after scoring again to make it 38-24, until Lincoln Kienholz connected with Lawayne McCoy on a 54-yard touchdown pass to make it a 38-31 game with just over four minutes left.

Even with all their timeouts used, Louisville was able to force a three-and-out and get the ball back with three minutes left and a chance to tie the game. Kienholz, after not having started a football game in over four years, led the Cardinals down the field and inside the 10-yard line, thanks to a great throw from outside the pocket. After a near interception on first-and-goal, a designed quarterback run had Kienholz bounce to the outside and get the pylon to tie the game at 38-38 with a minute and 28 seconds left on the clock.

With two timeouts and a great kicker, the Rebels just needed to get into field goal range to have a chance to win the game. Louisville was able to pressure Chambliss on the drive and force a third-and-six with 42 seconds to go, only for Chambliss to deliver a dart to Caleb Odom and get the Rebels right inside field goal range with 30 seconds left. This left Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro with a 48-yard field goal and a chance to win the game.

He could not have hit it more down the center.

Ole Miss walked it off and won the dramatic second half, which saw over 600 combined yards of offense and 63 combined points. Ole Miss starts its season off on a high note, and while Louisville starts with a loss, they proved that they are going to be a force in the ACC.

Player of the Week

Malachi Toney (Miami): 12 REC, 234 YDS, 3 TD

The Hurricanes took their talents all the way across the country to take on Stanford in their season opener. Even though it was Stanford, it was still a conference game—and all the way across the country. Darian Mensah and star sophomore receiver Malachi Toney showed out. Mensah threw for 401 yards, with 234 of those yards going in Toney's direction.

He quietly hit the Heisman pose after his first touchdown and backed it up with two more. More games like this, and it will be impossible to ignore the fact that Toney is a game changer.

In Case You Missed it

Tie?

For the first time since November 25, 1995, when Wisconsin and Illinois played to a 3-3 tie, there has been a tie in NCAA football!

Yesterday, Colorado School of Mines and Washburn played to a 16-16 tie.

How did we get to this point?

A lot of factors.

The Washburn Ichabods are located in Topeka, Kansas, and the game was originally scheduled for a noon local kickoff. However, the MIAA, the conference Washburn is a part of, has a rule that any game where the wet-bulb temperature rises above 92.1 degrees must be suspended until the temperature drops back below that threshold.

Because of the extreme heat, the game was moved earlier to a 9:05 a.m. local kickoff. It had actually been moved to 7:05 p.m. before that, but the evening kickoff didn't work with Colorado School of Mines' travel plans, so the teams settled on the early-morning start.

And somehow, even a 9:05 a.m. kickoff wasn't early enough.

When regulation ended with the game tied 16-16, the heat index had reached 107 degrees, and the wet-bulb temperature was still above the MIAA's 92.1-degree threshold. That meant the game could not continue into overtime until the temperature dropped to a safe level.

The problem? It wasn't expected to get there until long after Colorado School of Mines would have had to leave for Golden Colorado.

After a lengthy discussion between the teams and officials, the two sides agreed to end the game in a tie. And just like that, college football has a tie for the first time in more than 30 years.

The last one was a 3-3 rock fight between Wisconsin and Illinois in 1995. This one was a 16-16 game that ended because Kansas was simply too hot.

How long until the next one?

The Perfect Punt

Word cannot describe the beauty, just watch-

Will's Corner

Washington State 10, Washington 24

The defense played great for three and a half quarters of this game, holding the Huskies to just 10 points during that time. The only problem? The offense was stuck in the mud. Besides two drives, the opening drive and their first of the second half, they couldn't get anything going. And those two drives resulted in missed field goals. As soon as they found something with Pinnick running the ball and throwing it outside the pocket, the defense started to get tired and gave up two late touchdowns after Wazzu cut it to a three-point game. When you look on the bright side, it was a three-point game with ten minutes to go, but it easily could have been a lead for WSU if they had an offense. That needs to get figured out quickly as they travel to Kansas State next Saturday and host Arizona in just three weeks.

BYU 63, Utah Tech 7

It's hard to tell what the defense is going to be this year when you play a glorified high school team. Nonetheless, the Cougars' offense looked good as Bear Bachmeier looked the part in his second season as the starting quarterback. Freshman wide receiver Legend Glasker scored two touchdowns and looks to be the next great receiver in BYU history. LJ Martin rushed for above average numbers, but was pulled early along with the rest of the starters. Arizona comes to town next week to face the Cougars, and there are still many questions that should be answered. Linebacker Isaiah Glasker didn't play Saturday night, but it has been reported that he should be good to go for next week's game. After next week's game, there will be a lot more we can take away, but taking care of Utah Tech like they should was a good sign.

Tennessee 56, Furman 9

Five-star true freshman Faizon Brandon looked the part in his limited playing time Saturday afternoon in Knoxville. 226 passing yards and three touchdowns are a good sign of what's to come. There were some questionable decisions at times, but that's to be expected in an 18-year-old's first start. The Vols now travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech in a game that will show much more about what Tennessee has the ability to do this season. The game against Texas on the last weekend of September looms large, as they'll have another tune-up game against Kennesaw State afterward. Take care of the Yellowjackets like they did Furman, and all of college football will be excited for that matchup against Texas.

Survivor Pool Update

This past week was the first week of the Survivor Pool, and we already have three contestants who have fallen by the wayside. Congratulations to everyone who picked correctly and have moved on to next week!

Let's take a moment of silence for those who have fallen.

Chris A. and Davis H. both picked Rutgers, hoping that UMass being one of the worst teams in college football over the past two years would continue. It did not.

Kristin F.H. picked Western Kentucky in hopes of saving the big-name schools for later in the year. Bold strategy.

Thanks for playing.

Don't forget to make your picks for this upcoming week!

Games to Watch Week 2

• Oklahoma @ Michigan – Sept 12, 12:00 PM ET (FOX) - As if this game wasn't big before the past weekends results in Ann Arbor. Now the entire country seems to be Sooner fans.
• Alabama @ Kentucky – Sept 12, 3:30 PM ET (ABC) - A sneaky great game to start SEC play. Kentucky is a little bit of an unknown and Alabama being forced to go on the road early in the season allows for chaos to occur.
• Memphis @ Boise State – Sept 12, 6:00 PM ET (USA) - Even after their loss to Oregon, the Broncos are still the top pick for the G6 spot in the playoff. The Tigers would like to change that, and a win on the smurf turf would be a great start.
• Ohio State @ Texas – Sept 12, 7:30 PM ET (ABC) - Ohio State has gotten the best of the Longhorns the last two meetings. Both showed out Week 1, can the Longhorns get their revenge.

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