‘I’m a navigational system’: How Deion Sanders is changing the direction of Colorado
BOULDER, Colo. — On a sunny February morning, Deion Sanders walked into Colorado’s recruiting lounge, overlooking snow-covered Folsom Field, and sat in a tan leather recliner. He wore a shirt that read: “Ain’t Hard 2 Find.”
A spotlight has followed Sanders his entire adult life, beginning at Florida State before moving on to the NFL, Major League Baseball and, in 2011, the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A distinct blend of athletic skill and an outsized personality has magnified his words and actions.
Sanders, who goes by Coach Prime, stepped off a jet at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport near Boulder on the night of Dec. 4 to take over the Colorado program, and he’s been easy to spot in the months since. His life is constantly documented, cameras following at all hours, from the Super Bowl to Boulder restaurants.
He can’t hide, but he never really wanted to either.
The attention is nothing new for Sanders. He went 27-6 in three years as the head coach of Jackson State, winning two conference championships at a school that had gone 18-37 in the five years before his arrival. That success combined with his persona led to his final season being chronicled in a four-part docuseries, “Coach Prime.”
The buzz is decidedly new for the Buffaloes.
“All you see is him in Colorado, Colorado on TV, Colorado on social media, all eyes on Colorado,” said Darian Hagan, the quarterback for Colorado’s national championship team in 1990 and a member of the school’s football staff since 2005. “That’s what [I remember] this place being, under the microscope, top of the mountain, everybody’s wanting to knock us off. In the last 10 years, it’s been easy to knock us off. We’ve been bad.”
Colorado’s struggles led the school to Sanders this offseason. Through his first four months on the job, Sanders has shown what made his hire both unconventional and rewarding.
He made headlines for his fiery introductory team meeting, where he invited players to “jump in that [transfer] portal,” and for comments last month about what he looks for in recruits that some interpreted as playing into racist stereotypes.
Colorado also has renewed energy, as evidenced by surging ticket demand, booming merch sales and a skyrocketing social media presence. After blue-chip players largely ignored Colorado for decades, Sanders quickly made Boulder a destination for elite talent, bringing in sought-after transfers and a top-25 recruiting class.
The surge has followed a 1-11 campaign and a prolonged stretch that includes only two winning seasons and a 69-134 overall record since 2006.
Colorado’s bottoming out, though, helped create an unlikely union.
“I’m a need-to-be-needed type person,” Sanders told ESPN. “If you show me a need, then I’m there, but if there’s no need, I don’t really have a place. That’s what I do, that’s what I’ve done, I’ve always been that type of guy. There’s a tremendous need [at Colorado], and I don’t just think it’s all about football. It far surpasses football on the field.”
“LET ME SEE if I can find this one thing,” Hagan said, before digging through his desk.
Hagan has logged two stints as Colorado’s running backs coach, the latter of which ended in 2022. He also served as director of player personnel and director of player development, and currently works as executive director for community engagement and outreach, and football ambassador, under Sanders.
His roots with Colorado stretch to 1988, when he arrived as a quarterback from Los Angeles. He went 28-5-2 as CU’s starter, winning three consecutive Big Eight titles and a national championship. From 1989 to 1996, Colorado had five AP top-eight finishes and never ended up outside the top 20 thanks to talents such as Hagan, Eric Bieniemy, Rashaan Salaam, Kordell Stewart and Michael Westbrook.
After unsuccessfully rummaging through his desk, Hagan did a Google image search. A picture of rapper and actor Ice Cube wearing a Colorado hat appeared on the screen.
“When we started dominating college football, I’ll never forget this right here,” Hagan said, smiling. “This made a whole lot of sense to me and made me understand that Colorado was special. When you see celebrities and they’re supporting a program like Colorado, that lets you know you’re being talked about.”
A celebrity is now coaching Colorado, and other celebrities are talking about the Buffs. Last month, Sanders hosted rapper Lil Wayne, who toured the team’s facility while cameras rolled. He marveled, “That’s the f—ing locker room?” upon seeing where the players suited up.
Hagan equates Sanders’ presence at Colorado to former coach Bill McCartney, who he played for, in that they both carry “rock star” personalities on campus and in town. Athletic director Rick George, who served as Colorado’s recruiting coordinator and assistant athletic director for football operations under McCartney from 1987 to 1990, also sees similarities in how Sanders and McCartney outlined expectations, standards and discipline.
The difference, George said, is the instant recognition Sanders carries.
“I was here during those glory years,” said university chancellor Phil DiStefano, then a professor in Colorado’s school of education. “People from around the country, they weren’t alumni but they were wearing Colorado apparel, whether it was Rashaan or Kordell Stewart. Now it’s starting with the coach. He’s started this transformation, this excitement.”
Sanders’ early success in attracting players from around the country, both transfers and high school players, could have a McCartney-like effect at Colorado.
At Jackson State, Sanders flipped Travis Hunter, ESPN’s No. 2 overall recruit in the 2022 class, from Florida State. Hunter has followed Sanders to Boulder.
Colorado’s first recruiting class under Sanders features Cormani McClain, ESPN’s No. 1 cornerback and No. 14 overall prospect, who initially had committed to Miami.
Hunter was ESPN’s No. 1 recruit in talent-rich Georgia, while McClain was ESPN’s No. 3 prospect out of Florida. Colorado added two other top-150 prospects in running back Dylan Edwards from Kansas and wide receiver Adam Hopkins from Georgia. The Buffs’ transfer haul is headlined by Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders — Deion’s son — but also features Arkansas State tight end Seydou Traore and linebackers Demouy Kennedy (Alabama) and LaVonta Bentley (Clemson).
“It’s not supposed to look this easy,” Stewart said. “In three months, he’s accomplished a lot. This is just the beginning, and I’m excited.”
At the NFL Honors awards during Super Bowl week, Sanders presented the AP Coach of the Year award to the New York Giants‘ Brian Daboll, while wearing a black suit and a gold pocket square, CU colors. As Sanders exited the stage, Daboll told him about a player he should consider at Colorado. Sanders immediately got Daboll on the phone with his chief of recruiting.
“That doesn’t just mean that he respects me, and he would love for this kid to play for me,” Sanders said. “You know how much noise we’ve got to be making right now, for that gentleman, as we’re walking off the stage, saying, ‘I’ve got a dawg for you.’
“I said, ‘I ain’t hard to find, coach.'”
FOR TWO DECADES, the Buffs haven’t been good, nor have they been interesting. This recipe for irrelevance has made the program — despite its proud history — a college football afterthought.
But Colorado is cool again. That’s the Coach Prime effect.
The season-ticket renewal rate stands at 97%, according to a Colorado spokesperson, by far the best in school history. Colorado expects to sell out of season tickets this month, and the increase outpaces the 2017 season, which came after coach Mike MacIntyre was named the National Coach of the Year. Let that sink in: Hiring Sanders following a terrible season did more to generate ticket interest than winning the Pac-12 South and finishing ranked for the first time since 2002.
The luxury suites are also sold out. Not even Jeremy Bloom, the former Buffs receiver who is the only athlete to have skied in the Olympics and been drafted in the NFL, could procure one for the upcoming season.
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Bloom said. “I tried to get one. I can’t, and I have some clout. They are all sold out, and there’s a long waiting list.”
The school has discussed plans on how to make suites or sideline space available for Sanders’ celebrity friends when they attend games, according to Alexis Williams, a senior associate athletic director who oversees ticket sales.
Between deposits and interest forms, Colorado fielded inquiries from roughly 20,000 people for season tickets and will sell tickets to the spring game this year for the first time since the 1970s. So far, more than 39,000 tickets have been sold or distributed. That crowd would be roughly double the highest-ever attended spring game in school history (17,800 in 2008), and it’s possible Folsom Field could sell out at just over 50,000 capacity. ESPN will televise Colorado’s spring game on April 22 (3 p.m. ET), the only spring game to air on the flagship network this year.
“Our sales team,” Williams said, “they can’t even make an outgoing call with the calls coming in.”
Sales are up everywhere. During the first two months of 2023, Colorado ranked No. 2 among college team stores on the Fanatics platform, behind only Georgia. Sales of Colorado gear in December were up 505% over the same month in 2022, according to a Colorado spokesperson.
The uptick on Colorado’s social media, where Sanders occupies a near-constant presence — from the practice field to the state Capitol — has been more of the same. Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, Colorado had a combined 226,800 followers before Sanders was hired. That number has now climbed north of 1 million.
“Very few people saw Karl [Dorrell] or our other coaches, whether it was Coach MacIntyre or Coach [Dan] Hawkins, really being out and being visible,” DiStefano said. “With Coach Sanders, he’s very visible. It’s a positive change for us, coming off of a 1-11 season. To have that turned around so much on the social media platforms — ‘Colorado is finished, there’s nothing going on there, four coaches in the last [11] years’ — now, it just changed overnight, and it’s because of his personality, because he gets out there.”
The Prime pull is real, and will continue all the way until the games kick off this fall.
“You know how there’s a chain that’s moving on a sprocket, there’s a certain spot where it fits in at the right time to change those gears?” Stewart asked. “Prime is like that gear-changer that falls in the slot at the right time, when it’s time to have it change.”
Sanders never expected to be living and coaching in Colorado. But it’s not the first time.
“Do you know what was more unlikely than this?” Sanders asked. “Me going to Jackson State. How unlikely was that? And you see what happened.
“This is going to be bigger.”
0:42
Deion Sanders tells his team he’s accepted Colorado HC position
Deion Sanders has a discussion with the Jackson State football team after their win about how he has accepted the Colorado head-coaching job.
SANDERS’ COLLEGE COACHING experience was limited to just three seasons at Jackson State. Although he had interviewed with Power 5 schools — Arkansas and Florida State talked to him in 2019, before he had coached a college game — none hired him.
When he played, Sanders attracted almost as much attention for what he said as what he did. He never filtered his thoughts as a star athlete, and so far, he’s not doing it as the head coach at Colorado.
Last month, he explained his recruiting philosophy on “The Rich Eisen Show,” saying he wants quarterback and offensive line recruits to get good grades and come from two-parent homes, but wants defensive linemen to have a “single momma” and be “on free lunch.”
Colorado declined to comment on Sanders’ remarks.
Sanders’ leadership record isn’t spotless either. Before getting into college coaching, Sanders co-founded Prime Prep Academy, a Texas-based charter school, which collapsed amid significant debt and lawsuits. According to the Dallas Morning News, the school was perceived to focus on athletics at the expense of academics.
Colorado is willing to accept the risk. After forcing out Gary Barnett in 2005, the school tried out different types of coaches: Group of 5 success stories like Hawkins and MacIntyre, an ascending coordinator in Mel Tucker, a notable alum in Jon Embree and a veteran coach with CU roots in Dorrell, who was fired in October. None of them succeeded.
“Our past 15 years led us to the point where we had to be the one to take that chance,” said Alec Roussos, Colorado’s associate athletic director for administration and chief of staff. “You win four or five games last year, maybe in your mind you’re like, ‘Hey, we’re close.’ But when you’re 1-11, you need that total overhaul to be like, ‘We need to change a lot of things.’ Not just people or personnel but processes, the way we do things, the expectation level within our program and within the athletic department.”
Colorado once had the highest expectations. From 1989 to 1996, the Buffaloes were one of the best programs in college football. They finished ranked in the AP top 10 five times — including No. 1 in 1990 — and never lower than No. 20. But after transitioning from McCartney to Rick Neuheisel in 1995, their place near the top of the sport became less secure.
Over nine seasons, beginning in 1997, the program averaged 6.9 wins per year, with a No. 9 AP finish in 2001. The nosedive started in 2005, after Hawkins replaced Barnett, and the Buffs failed to finish with a winning record over the next 10 years. Other than 2016, when a veteran team went 10-4, the team has rarely been competitive.
Last year, the Buffs were outscored 216-67 during an 0-5 start, leading to Dorrell’s firing. Colorado ranked 128th nationally in offense, 130th in defense and 125th in turnover margin.
“Where was our football program? It was at the lowest of lows,” Roussos said. “You can’t argue that last year, the product we were putting on the field was not at a level that we ever wanted to be. … Again, what is the downside of hiring Coach Prime? Because even if it ‘fails,’ 1-11 is still failing.”
Sanders has no interest in incremental improvement. He expects a dramatically different on-field product, even with so many new faces on the roster and a September schedule that includes USC and Oregon, as well as an opener at 2022 national runner-up TCU.
“We will not settle for mediocrity,” Sanders said. “You’re going to get on this program, or you’re gonna get up outta here. We plan on winning, and we don’t have time to procrastinate. We plan on winning right now.”
OF ALL THE on-camera moments Sanders has had since taking the Colorado job, none generated more attention than his first team meeting. “I’m comin’,” he repeated in his speech, a phrase that soon became a team motto. Sanders was direct about why he was there and how far the program had fallen, telling players the decadeslong “mess” Colorado fans, students and even their parents had endured would soon be cleaned up.
He explained how the roster would change, saying some players occupying seats in the room would lose them. His most memorable line: “We’ve got a few positions already taken care of, because I’m bringing my luggage with me, and it’s Louis [Vuitton]. I’m comin’.” He invited players to “jump in that [transfer] portal,” because they’d make room for better ones.
“He put everybody on notice, and I don’t know if that’s a bad thing,” George said. “We all saw that message. In our department, people saw it and said, ‘It’s time to step up.’ It was tough to hear and some people may say, ‘That’s not the way to approach it,’ but it set the tempo on how he’s going to run his program.”
Hagan, who coached and recruited some of the players in the room that night, said he has heard other new CU coaches deliver similar messages in their initial meetings. The difference was those gatherings did not have cameras present, and Sanders wasn’t the one talking.
“A little bit I thought, ‘Dang, that could be construed as rude, disrespectful,’ but at the same time, he wouldn’t be here if we didn’t need him,” Hagan said. “The truth is the truth, and he spoke the truth. The guys that got in the portal, they didn’t deserve to be here, because if you let words convince you to move on and not fight for what you believe in and what you signed up for, you shouldn’t be here.”
Shedeur Sanders, in town for his father’s introduction, attended the meeting. While addressing the team, Deion anointed Shedeur, who had been Jackson State’s starting quarterback, as Colorado’s next QB1.
Shedeur said his father’s message, while direct, was at least honest.
“I don’t like being lied to,” said Shedeur, who passed for 6,963 yards and 70 touchdowns in two seasons at Jackson State. “The players coming in, they’re coming to play, they’re not coming to sit. So if you’ve been here, you’re chilling and you think your spot is good, that’s not the case. You’ve got guys wanting to play with top talent. It’s just realistic. Nowadays, a lot of people are scared of the truth, and they don’t like hearing that.”
Deion Sanders wanted Colorado’s players to see who he is from Day 1. He had similar “no lies told” meetings regularly at Jackson State.
Sanders also doesn’t cater his messages to any player. He’s never going to hold back.
“I’m a navigational system that’s trying to get you to where you want to go,” he said. “It’s up to you if you want to listen or not. You can turn it off in the car and you may drive in circles. But we know where we’re going, we’ve been there and we know exactly how to get there.”
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David Hale
During the long, dark months between the end of one season and the beginning of another, we tell each other stories, because we need something to fill the void. We dress those stories up, calling them things like “way too early” rankings, preseason predictions or scalding hot takes, and we sustain them with statistics, data and historical perspective. But ultimately, they are at best educated guesses and, at worst, outright lies.
Then Week 1 comes along and college football delivers us a heaping dose of the truth, exposing our deceptions to the world like the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert.
On Saturday, college football’s truth still seemed hard to believe.
We’ve spent months burnishing the image of our next Heisman Trophy winner, Arch Manning. Only, in Week 1, Manning’s offense was overwhelmed by the defending champs, as Ohio State dumped Texas 14-7.
We’ve spent the summer laughing incredulously at Florida State ‘s Tommy Castellanos, seemingly the only player foolish enough to poke the bear by taunting Alabama when, in fact, he was a fortune-teller. Nick Saban couldn’t bail out the Crimson Tide on Saturday, and the Seminoles, buried after a 2-10 season a year ago, toppled Bama in convincing fashion 31-17.
We’ve heard all offseason Clemson was the class of the ACC, a nearly perfect team built around loads of returning talent that, after Dabo Swinney lost a bet with Tom Allen on who’d win the three-legged race at the team’s annual team picnic, even added players from the transfer portal. On Saturday, however, Clemson’s offense looked woefully similar to those stagnant offenses of years past. LSU‘s defensive front steamrollered its way to a 17-10 win in what used to be Clemson’s Death Valley, which must now be referred to as Critical-but-Stable Condition Valley due to the stakes of this matchup between two teams with the same nicknames for their stadiums.
Yes, Saturday’s results revealed that all our offseason narratives were no different than the description on a John Mateer Venmo transaction — dangerous, hilarious and completely made up.
In Columbus, the preseason No. 1 Longhorns couldn’t crack the scoreboard for the first 56 minutes of action. This was to be Manning’s coming-out party after two years in waiting behind Quinn Ewers; instead, the day belonged to new Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, a man hired only so Ryan Day wouldn’t have the weirdest-looking beard on staff. Patricia’s defense had an answer for everything Texas threw at it, holding Manning to just 17-of-30 passing, picking off a critical third-quarter pass to set up the decisive touchdown and stuffing the Horns on fourth down four times — including twice inside the 10-yard line.
It’s not that Ohio State’s offense wowed. A unit that proved deadly in last year’s College Football Playoff en route to a national championship mustered just 203 total yards — the Buckeyes’ worst regular-season output since 2015. But new quarterback Julian Sayin avoided any catastrophic mistakes and delivered a 40-yard dagger to Carnell Tate in the fourth quarter despite no one even knowing who his uncles are. If it wasn’t an emphatic endorsement for the 2025 version of Ohio State, it was a reminder the Buckeyes will not be swept aside without a fight.
In Tallahassee, Kalen DeBoer took another huge step toward having the word “tarmac” appear on his Wikipedia page. Since toppling Georgia last September and climbing to No. 1 in the AP poll, the Tide are just 5-5 overall, and Saturday’s loss to Florida State — a team that finished 2-10 a year ago — marks a new nadir.
In the aftermath, DeBoer was left scrambling for answers, saying, “There’s no excuse about what happened. We’ve got to play our style of ball. Last year isn’t this year. You’ve got to focus on the moment …” and there’s a long run past midfield by Castellanos.
Castellanos had promised a win, saying in June he saw no way Alabama could stop him. Lo and behold, he was right. The signal-caller who was benched at Boston College just a year ago ran all over an Alabama defense that seemed utterly flustered at times, despite FSU’s game plan including just nine completions.
Fewest completions in a win over Alabama since 2008:
FSU – 9, today
Okla – 9, Wk13, 2024
LSU – 10, Wk10, 2011
Mich – 11, bowl, 2024
Aub – 11, Wk14, 2013
Aub – 13, Wk14, 2010So, 3 all-time Saban classics (Cam, 9-6, Kick 6) and 3 of DeBoer’s 14 games as Bama HC.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) August 30, 2025
But it was FSU coach Mike Norvell who delivered his own truth in the fourth quarter. After a year in which he aged on the sideline the way a president does over two terms, Norvell promised he wouldn’t let this team roll over in the face of adversity. After Alabama charged back to within one score, FSU faced a fourth-and-1 at its own 36, and Norvell decided to go for it. It was a decision that would have been lambasted if it had failed and the Tide tied the game, but Alabama transfer Roydell Williams plunged ahead for 4 yards, FSU capped the drive with a touchdown, and Norvell’s message to his team couldn’t have been more clear. This year is different.
Things are different at LSU, too. While so much of the college football world had grown to love Brian Kelly’s annual Week 1 postgame press conferences in which he’d raise a podium over his head while decrying his lack of a ground game and yelling “Hunk smash!” this year’s Bayou Bengals actually played hard from start to finish and finally snagged a season-opening win.
In what was billed as a showdown between arguably the two best QBs in college football, it was the LSU defense that stole the show, tormenting Cade Klubnik throughout and holding Clemson to 31 rushing yards. Clemson’s last 19 plays were all passes, and Klubnik was under pressure on nearly all of them. Swinney may insist on bringing his own guts, but he keeps leaving his rushing attack at home.
So here we are, still not quite through with the opening scenes of the 2025 season, and we’ve already upended the Heisman race, slayed a giant and left Kelly with a smile on his face. What were the odds?
Of course, that’s the point, right? After an offseason in which conference commissioners tried to codify their own stories in the form of scheduling metrics, guaranteed playoff bids and TV revenue splits, a real Saturday of games is the respite from the narratives, a reminder that the games remain blissfully unpredictable.
After all, to paraphrase Lester Bangs from “Almost Famous,” the only true currency in this bankrupt world of college sports is the jokes you share with someone else when watching Alabama lose as a 14-point favorite again.
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Notes from the road | Best of Texas-Ohio State
Week 1 vibe check
Each week, major upsets, emphatic wins and stellar performances grab the headlines around the college football ecosystem, but there are also many smaller storylines that matter just as much. We try to capture those here.
Trending up: Trendy fashion choices
Georgia Tech upended Colorado on Friday 27-20, but the real buzz was all about the attire of return man Eric Rivers, who took the field dressed as though he was the lead singer of Talking Heads during the “Stop Making Sense” tour or had just been selected sixth overall in the 1999 NBA draft.
Pierrot, by Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1718-19 pic.twitter.com/dHRfgGYzPP
— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) August 30, 2025
If the Yellow Jackets have any sense of humor at all, Rivers should line up for his first scrimmage play next week rocking a pair of parachute pants.
Trending down: Bad fashion choices
To honor the city of New Orleans on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Tulane had hoped to don its 2005 uniforms for its game against Northwestern on Saturday. The Wildcats denied the request, which led to a 23-3 whooping by the Green Wave and some spicy comments from Tulane coach Jon Sumrall afterward.
“When you disrespect the city of New Orleans, you’re going to run into it,” Sumrall said. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but don’t disrespect the city of New Orleans.”
In contrast, after Florida State’s QB disrespected the city of Tuscaloosa this offseason, Alabama responded by writing a sternly worded letter to its commissioner insisting that, instead of a nine-game slate, the SEC move to a 12 conference games so this can’t happen in the future.
Trending up: In-game ad revenue
Deion Sanders delivered on his promise to have a portable toilet on the sideline for Colorado’s game against Georgia Tech, and he even got it sponsored by Depend.
Deion Sanders indeed has a portable toilet next to Colorado’s bench, to accommodate him following bladder reconstruction surgery.
And it’s sponsored. pic.twitter.com/GegvViVJQC
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 29, 2025
While we’re certainly glad to see Sanders is feeling better, the Buffs’ loss makes this sponsorship feel as though it’s one of the worst on-field marketing disasters since Red Lobster sponsored Les Miles’ ill-fated sideline seafood tower during the 2015 Texas Bowl.
Trending down: The middle seat from ATL to SYR
Tennessee‘s offense certainly didn’t look any worse off after waving goodbye to Nico Iamaleava. Transfer Joey Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-26 win over Syracuse.
This, of course, was bad news for whichever member of the Orange had to sit next to Syracuse coach Fran Brown on the flight home, as Brown famously refuses to shower after a loss. Luckily, for just an additional $29.95, Spirit Airlines will furnish the team with one of those “new car smell” air fresheners to hang above Brown’s seat.
Trending up: Short road trips
UConn packed the house at Rentschler Field with its largest crowd since 2013.
A total of 37,594 in attendance today at The Rent!
The largest crowd since 2013 🫡 pic.twitter.com/FTGYFP1Spa
— UConn Huskies (@UConnHuskies) August 30, 2025
This could certainly be in response to fans getting excited after last year’s 9-4 campaign. Or it could be that the opponent, Central Connecticut State, drove up attendance. CCSU is actually closer to Rentschler Field (12 miles) than is UConn (24 miles).
Trending down: The Group of 5
On Thursday, the Group of 5’s playoff picture was upended when No. 25 Boise State — the lone ranked team outside the Power 4 — was stomped by USF Bulls 34-7. Then on Friday, the defending American champion, Army, fell in embarrassing fashion to FCS Tarleton State.
This could leave the door wide open for a surprise team from the Group of 5 to make a playoff run, but unfortunately Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti already called dibs on the spot and invoked the “no take backs” clause of his proposed playoff plan, so … congratulations Maryland. You’re in now.
Trending up: Upstaging celebrities
Much was made of the engagement of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift earlier this week, but the Kansas City Chiefs tight end didn’t manage the most romantic proposal of Week 1. That honor goes to this guy, who popped the question in the only truly romantic way possible: with mayonnaise.
LOVE HAPPENS IN MAYO LAND 💍 pic.twitter.com/WBLqschvhb
— Duke’s Mayo Classic (@DukesMayoBowl) August 30, 2025
We assume the wedding will be officiated by an anthropomorphic Pop-Tart, they’ll exit the reception by riding on the back of the Wake Forest Demon Deacon’s motorcycle, and they’ll honeymoon at the Bahamas Bowl which, this season, is probably being played in Little Rock, Arkansas for some reason.
Trending up: Lincoln Riley’s job security
USC thumped Missouri State 73-13, racking up nearly 600 yards of total offense and rushing for six touchdowns.
Riley would like to remind everyone that even if they get shut out against Georgia Southern next week, he would still be averaging 36.5 points per game, and that’s pretty good.
Trending down: Life expectancy for K-State fans
One week after seeing their team fall to rival Iowa State in the verdant hills of Ireland, Kansas State fans nearly suffered an even bigger indignity at the hands of a school mostly surrounded by cornfields, as North Dakota took a 35-31 lead into the final minute of the game.
Avery Johnson rode to the rescue this time, however, engineering a 10-play touchdown drive capped by a 6-yard completion to Joe Jackson to escape with a 38-35 win. Johnson threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns in the game and is now listed as the emergency contact on 86% of Kansas residents’ medical forms.
Trending up: The First State
Delaware toppled Delaware State 35-17 on Thursday, the Blue Hens’ first game as an FBS member.
With fellow newcomer Missouri State getting blown out by USC, that means that Delaware alone has the best winning percentage in FBS history (minimum one game). It’s the most exciting thing to happen in to the state since the new Hot Topic opened at the Concord Mall.
Under-the-radar game of the week
Entering Saturday’s action, Kent State had lost 21 straight games. The program was in shambles, and its last head coach, Kenni Burns, had been fired and (possibly) replaced by an AI program developed by some MIT dropouts who thought they were playing Minesweeper and accidentally coded a football algorithm.
And yet, the football gods smiled upon the Golden Flashes in Week 1, delivering a win in truly epic style.
Trailing 17-14 to Merrimack, a school that exists only in a child’s imagination, a player named — this is true — Da’Realyst Clark ran back a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, putting Kent State up 21-17 with 5:28 to play.
1:17
Merrimack Warriors vs. Kent State Golden Flashes: Full Highlights
Merrimack Warriors vs. Kent State Golden Flashes: Full Highlights
Sure, Kent State has Texas Tech, Florida State and Oklahoma — all on the road — in its next four games, but that’s of little importance today because, for the first time in nearly two full calendar years, the Golden Flashes are victorious. Turns out, that AI that thinks the Greek god of wisdom is Toyotathon knows a little something about football after all.
Under-the-radar play of the week
During pregame celebrations in Eugene on Saturday, the famed Oregon Duck took a nasty spill and lost his duck head, exposing the human underneath. While that was good for a laugh, the mascot’s reaction was truly impressive, as he sprinted a solid 25 yards at full speed wearing feet made out of felt, all while (we assume) screaming, “Look away! Look away! I’m hideous!” before returning to his secluded lair beneath an opera house.
0:16
Oregon Duck loses his head and scampers off
Oregon Duck loses his head and scampers off
Heisman five
On one hand, Arch Manning saw his Heisman odds tumble after struggling in a 14-7 loss to Ohio State. On the other hand, at least he’s unlikely to have the Heisman stolen from him by Charles Woodson now, so he has got that going for him. Which is nice.
1. Oklahoma QB John Mateer
The Washington State transfer completed 30 of 37 passes for 392 yards and accounted for four touchdowns in a 35-3 win over Illinois State, a performance so impressive his friend sent him $50 bucks with the note: “Definitely not because of sports gambling.”
2. Florida State QB Tommy Castellanos
Some would call it ego. Some would call it cockiness. Castellanos would call his offseason commentary facts. After talking smack on Alabama in June, Castellanos backed it up with 230 total yards and a touchdown to take down the Tide 34-17. Given that head coach Mike Norvell is superstitious, we recommend Castellanos keep this up by insisting the Noles will hang 300 on East Texas A&M next week.
3. Georgia QB Gunner Stockton
Stockton threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 45-7 win over Marshall on Saturday, then we assume he drove his F-150 over to the Burger King parking lot, sat in the back and listened to John Mellencamp cassettes while wearing a denim jacket and promising he’ll never waste his life working in the factory like his old man.
4. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier
After throwing for 230 yards and a touchdown in a win over Clemson, Nussmeier now looks like the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL draft. His dad, Doug Nussmeier, just so happens to be the offensive coordinator of the Saints, and he was in attendance for Saturday’s win. After the game, the younger Nussmeier responded to his dad’s enthusiasm that he could be drafted by the Saints by saying, “Oh, wow, yeah. That sounds great, but really, it’s OK. You don’t need to go to all that trouble. Really. I’m sure there are lots of other quarterbacks who need a good home and, honestly, just focus on them. I’ll go to the Rams. It’s fine. That’ll be fine.”
5. Iowa State QB Rocco Becht
One week after upending Kansas State in Ireland, Becht delivered the Cyclones a dominant victory over FCS power South Dakota, throwing for 278 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-7 win. By federal law, South Dakota now needs to add Becht’s image to Mt. Rushmore in place of Thomas Jefferson.
Notes from the road
How FSU pulled the upset
Florida State coach Mike Norvell talked for months about wanting his team to play with an edge, with desperation, with heart — three key intangibles missing last year during a miserable 2-10 season.
The college football world saw all of that on display in a 31-17 win over Alabama. But perhaps most jaw-dropping was the physical way in which the Seminoles dominated the Crimson Tide up front. After allowing an opening 75-yard drive, the Florida State defense clamped down from there — and allowed just 3 yards per rush for the game.
The revamped offensive line, with four veteran transfers, dominated in its own right — not only opening up holes, but pushing defenders backward at nearly every turn. Florida State rushed for 230 yards, a year after averaging 89.9 yards per game — ranking No. 128 in the country.
“We wanted to be the aggressor, and we were,” Norvell said. “Our players, they rose to the challenge. We talked all year, and I’ve used the buzzwords of edge and desperation. That goes to the heart, and you saw heart tonight. We saw a team that absolutely loves playing this game together and were physically dominant, emotionally together, and they responded. This is a first step, but it’s a big step.”
0:35
Florida State fans storm field after Noles upset Alabama
Florida State fans storm the field after opening the season with a 31-17 win over No. 8 Alabama.
It is a big step because of what happened a year ago. Florida State came off a 13-1 ACC championship season with one of the worst performances in school history. Those outside the program questioned Norvell, questioned the program’s direction. He needed a win like this to remind the general public the Florida State is not what it showed a year ago.
On the flip side is Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who already went into the season with Crimson Tide fans skeptical about him and the direction of the program after a 9-4 debut that ended with a bowl loss to Michigan.
You will remember DeBoer got the Alabama job over Norvell, and now the pressure is rising as the successor to Saban. Alabama lost a season opener by two touchdowns for the first time since 1970.
“There’s no excuses about what happened,” DeBoer said. “Last year isn’t this year, and it’s going to be an uphill climb for us, but you can’t think of it in the big scope of things. You’ve got to focus on the moment. And the next moment is, ‘What happens tomorrow?’ And we’ll find out. We’ll find out.” — Andrea Adelson
Ohio State’s defense came ready
Ohio State opened its national championship defense with a dominating defensive effort. And for the second straight season against Texas, the Buckeyes produced a game-clinching stop.
Despite eight new defensive starters, the Buckeyes flew around all afternoon and flustered hyped Texas quarterback Arch Manning into a stunningly erratic performance.
The Buckeyes did not surrender a play longer than 15 yards until late in the fourth quarter. They also came up huge in the red zone.
In the first half, the Buckeyes stuffed a Manning quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Then in the fourth quarter, cornerback Davison Igbinosun swatted away a Manning fourth-down pass to the corner of the end zone.
“Every time you get a fourth-down stop, it’s like a turnover,” Day said after the game.
After a Texas touchdown with 3:28 to play, the Longhorns got the ball back again with a chance to tie.
But just like last season — when Jack Sawyer’s strip sack and score propelled Ohio State to victory over Texas in the CFP semifinals and to the national championship game — the Buckeyes got the key final stop — as Caleb Downs tackled Jack Endries short of the marker on fourth down.
The Buckeyes’ defensive performance allowed them to ease quarterback Julian Sayin into his first start. Sayin was 13-for-20 for 126 yards and a score in his first start. Unlike Manning, however, Sayin avoided turnovers.
“We were fairly conservative [offensively] because we felt like our defense was playing well,” Day said. — Jake Trotter
Best moments from Texas-Ohio State
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama 31-17 on Saturday, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers.
Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State handed a crushing setback to Alabama, which was viewed as a College Football Playoff contender under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer.
Castellanos, a transfer from Boston College, made headlines over the summer after saying legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t there to “save” the Tide vs. Florida State in their Week 1 matchup and that he doesn’t “see them stopping me.” He backed up that jab by spearheading FSU’s dominant ground attack while staying efficient through the air, finishing 9 of 14 passing for 152 yards.
Students and fans swarmed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium to celebrate the upset by the Seminoles, who closed as 13 1/2-point underdogs at ESPN BET.
Under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — who spent eight seasons as Auburn’s head coach — Florida State was physical from the start, finishing with 230 rushing yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Seminoles averaged just 89.9 yards during their disastrous 2024 season.
The Crimson Tide had not dropped a season opener since losing 20-17 to UCLA in 2001 under Dennis Franchione, and this defeat will ratchet up the pressure on DeBoer from the demanding Tuscaloosa faithful. His predecessor, Nick Saban, led Alabama to six national titles.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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