College football’s early season is a time for many to reset their expectations (good or bad), as — shocker — the preseason polls and projections get a little muddied with the massive migration between rosters.


FILE – Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti looks on during warmups in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Notre Dame, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)(AP/Darron Cummings)


FILE – Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti looks on during warmups in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Notre Dame, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)(AP/Darron Cummings)

College football’s early season is a time for many to reset their expectations (good or bad), as — shocker — the preseason polls and projections get a little muddied with the massive migration between rosters.

For example, Clemson is the early candidate to be this year’s “Florida State” (2-10 in 2024 after starting in the top 10) after the Tigers were topped at home by Syracuse 34-21 to fall to 1-3 (with their lone win a come-from-behind victory over — wait for it — Troy).

Meanwhile, there’s a new football factory in the Midwest and its name is Indiana University. IU was the cute story of 2023, going 11-1 in the regular season and scoring an at-large berth in the College Football Playoff (over the objections of Alabama and South Carolina fans).

This year’s Hoosiers are proving that they are no one-hit wonder by starting 4-0. They re-loaded with transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza (Cal) who’s completing 77% of his passes. Saturday night they made a major statement by smashing No. 9 Illinois 63-10 as Mendoza threw for five touchdowns. Now the Hoosiers have yet to play a road game and the upcoming slate includes visits to No. 2 Penn State and No. 6 Oregon, but right now the onetime men’s basketball blue blood finds its football team the one everybody’s talking about on campus.

Maryland (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) won for the first time ever against Wisconsin, dominating from the start in their 27-10 victory at Camp-Randall Stadium. Defense and special teams travel in conference play, and the Terps began the day by blocking a field-goal attempt, posting an interception, and notching a three-and-out the first three times the Badgers had the ball. The conversation in College Park goes from “Can they win six games and qualify for a bowl?” to “How good actually is this team?”. After a week off, the Terps will have a chance for some more home cooking with Washington and Nebraska coming to SECU Stadium on consecutive Saturdays.

Terrapin Triumphs: Malik Washington threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns, with Octavian Smith his top target again (six catches for 113 yards). Daniel Wingate led the defense that held the Badgers to 3-17 on third down.

Terrapin Troubles: the ground game was held to 61 yards rushing on 2.7 yards per carry, while the offense converted just 4-14 third downs.

Next: Oct. 4 against 3-0 Washington. Perhaps this game finds its way into the prime-time window?

Virginia Tech (1-3) began the post-Brent Pry era by hosting woeful Wofford, who was also winless. And for the first time all season the smoked turkey legs were delicious, as the Hokies torched the Terriers 38-6. It’s just one win, but they leave the dwindling ranks of the FBS winless (UCLA, Miami (OH), UMass, Oregon State and Sam Houston State the frustrated five).

Hokie Highlights: Kyron Drones threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns while also running for two scores. The defense held the Terriers to -1 yard rushing, with Kelvin Gilliam tallying 1.5 of the team’s four sacks.

Hokie Humblings: Eight penalties for 74 yards will definitely merit some attention in this week’s meetings, while a pair of turnovers marred what was the best offensive day of the year.

Next: Saturday at 3-1 NC State at 7 p.m. on the CW.

James Madison (2-1) had won four straight at Liberty but found themselves in a struggle, trailing early in the third quarter after the Flames took the second half kickoff and kicked a field goal to take a 13-10 lead. But the Dukes dominated the rest of the day, outgaining LU 217 yards to 40 while reaching the end zone on three of their next four possessions to pull away 31-13.

Duke Do’s: Wayne Knight keeps the spirit Newman alive with 89 yards rushing and a touchdown, while Ayo Adeyi added 87 on the ground and the team averaged 6.0 yards per carry. The defense held the Flames to one field goal after halftime and 7-21 passing on the afternoon.

Duke Don’ts: despite their domination, zero takeaways for the defense. Seven penalties for 72 yards prevent this from a perfect outing.

Next: Saturday against 2-2 Georgia Southern at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Virginia (3-1, 1-0 ACC) began conference season with a bang, scoring the first four times they had the ball while cruising to a 48-20 win over Stanford. The tough part of the slate begins this Friday with a top 10 team in town, before UVa plays four of their next six on the road.

Cavalier Congrats: Chandler Morris threw for 380 yards and four touchdowns with Trell Harris (four catches for 145 yards and three scores) finding the end zone three times in the first quarter. The running game produced 210 yards on 5.3 per carry. Daniel Rickert posted two sacks to lead the pass rush. And Elijah Slibeck averaged 53 yards per punt.

Cavalier Concerns: Will Bettridge missed a 25-yard field goal attempt. Seven penalties for 55 yards didn’t hurt against the Cardinal, but it just might against a Top 25 foe.

Next: Friday night at 7 p.m. against No. 7 Florida State (3-0).

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.