All eyes were on Baton Rouge late Saturday night after a two-hour storm delay, and LSU’s Lane Kiffin emerged as the day’s biggest winner. His Tigers crushed Clemson without any help from ex-NFL players.

There were other highs and lows during the first full weekend of college football — including a couple of eyebrow-raising upsets.

Oklahoma State? Oh boy.

Bryce Underwood? Yikes.

(Wait a minute, we’ve been told there’s just been another second put on the clock in Ann Arbor …)

Underwood? Holy cow!

What in the world just happened at Michigan?

Austin Meek

Before we shift our focus to Ohio State-Texas next week in Austin, here are our winners and losers from Week 1, with a few notable games still left to be played Sunday and Monday night:

Winner: Conspiracy theorists

If you already believed the little guy never gets a fair shake against college football royalty, the end of Western Michigan-Michigan will sustain you for a while.

The Broncos — defending MAC champions and 27.5-point underdogs — were celebrating what they thought was a massive 12-7 upset and their first win over Michigan. Instead, Western Michigan found out it takes more than 60 minutes to beat the Wolverines in the Big House.

Officials found a reason to put one second on the clock, allowing Underwood one final heave into the end zone. Utah transfer JJ Buchanan snagged Underwood’s 47-yard prayer out of the air and rewrote history.

The Big Ten’s explanation is unlikely to satisfy everyone, even if the MAC released a statement accepting it.

A statement regarding the results of tonight’s game between Michigan and Western Michigan. pic.twitter.com/DzJVN2ZLTc

— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) September 6, 2026

We aren’t sure yet whether Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor will be able to find a judge in Michigan to get it overturned. What we do know is conspiracy theorists have all the ammunition needed to light up message boards for a while. A clock with four zeroes apparently doesn’t mean the game is over.

By the way, Larry Ellison’s money may not have solved Michigan’s quarterback problem after all.

Before Buchanan turned his final prayer into a touchdown, Underwood was quite underwhelming (11 of 21, 123 yards, INT, lost fumble). The miracle finish gave Michigan — and its $12 million quarterback — a reprieve, not proof that everything is fixed ahead of a Week 2 showdown with Oklahoma.

Loser: Dabo Swinney’s software update

Clemson’s head coach made more of an attempt to embrace modern college football this offseason. He signed a career-high 10 transfers and brought back coordinator Chad Morris to reboot Clemson’s offense following an underwhelming 7-6 season.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson are the biggest losers from Week 1

Manny Navarro

It’s only Week 1, but there is more than enough evidence now for me to believe the Tigers’ glory days under Swinney are well behind them. By halftime, Clemson had as many first downs (one) as starting quarterback Christopher Vizzina had pick-sixes. It wasn’t just a lackluster offense. LSU kicked Clemson’s butt at the line of scrimmage all night in the 51-10 rout.

Let’s be real: Clemson simply hasn’t been the same since Oklahoma hired Brent Venables away from his post as Swinney’s defensive coordinator. The Tigers are 2-5 against ranked opponents since the start of the 2024 season and have lost four openers in a row.

Loser: Oklahoma State’s version of ‘B-Y-O team’
Winner: Everyone else?

New head coach Eric Morris brought 18 North Texas players — including star quarterback Drew Mestemaker — to Oklahoma State as part of a 92-man makeover. It didn’t look good.

The Cowboys’ roster revamp failed miserably in its debut against Tulsa. Oklahoma State turned it over four times and lost 24-10 to the two-touchdown-underdog Golden Hurricane.

Nine other FBS coaches brought at least 10 players with them to their new jobs, and eight picked up wins in Week 1:

Matt Campbell brought 24 Iowa State players to Penn State and shut out Marshall 45-0.
Jason Candle took 22 Toledo players to UConn, which generated a program-record 671 yards in a 56-7 blowout of Lafayette.
Jimmy Rogers brought 15 Washington State players to Iowa State and won 38-10 against Southeast Missouri State.
Alex Golesh and 14 former South Florida players at Auburn edged Baylor 17-16 thanks to a late 2-point conversion stop.
Jim Mora’s Colorado State team — featuring 18 former UConn players — crushed rival Wyoming 35-13.
Memphis — with 17 players who followed Charles Huff from Southern Miss — followed up a Week 0 win at UNLV with a 42-24 win against Arkansas State.
James Franklin brought 12 Penn State players to Virginia Tech and debuted with a 73-3 blowout of VMI.
Bob Chesney brought 10 players from James Madison to UCLA and pulled away from Cal 45-24 on the road.
Mike Jacobs brought 14 Mercer players to Toledo and held a fourth-quarter lead in East Lansing before losing 30-20 at Michigan State.

The ugly result was Oklahoma State.

A coach can bring his quarterback, trusted veterans and an established system. He still has to make them a team. Most of Saturday’s biggest transplants looked functional. Oklahoma State looked like the warning label.

Winner: Heisman favorites

We have a long way to go before the Heisman Trophy winner gets crowned, but it was a good weekend for the preseason favorites.

Miami’s Darian Mensah became the new betting favorite (+550) after completing 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns in the Hurricanes’ 45-6 rout of Stanford. He threw as many touchdown passes to star wideout Malachi Toney as he had incompletions all night: three.

Notre Dame’s CJ Carr (+800) is the only member of the top five who didn’t play Saturday. He gets his opportunity Sunday night when Notre Dame opens against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field.

Texas’ Arch Manning (+900) completed 20 of 27 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns as Texas dismantled Texas State 59-7. His lone interception was the only blemish before the Longhorns removed him with a 42-7 third-quarter lead.

Ohio State’s Julian Sayin (+1400) completed 21 of 25 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns and added his first career rushing score in Ohio State’s 56-3 victory over Ball State.

Oregon’s Dante Moore (+1500) faced the toughest test and responded with a career-high 378 passing yards and three touchdowns in the Ducks’ 34-27 escape from Boise State. His 62-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to Dakorien Moore with 7:51 remaining provided the kind of decisive late-game highlight a Heisman campaign needs.

Winner: The Heisman pose arms race

Someone needs to create a website dedicated to tracking the history and use of the Heisman pose. Until then, we’ll rely on collective memory here at The Athletic and declare Miami’s Malachi Toney and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith the participants in college football’s earliest Heisman pose-off.

We’ve got a Heisman pose-off brewing with Malachi Toney and Jeremiah Smith. pic.twitter.com/MBmSOzumX1

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 5, 2026

The All-America receivers entered Week 1 with the shortest BetMGM odds (+1500) among non-quarterbacks to win college football’s most prestigious individual award. Both then struck the pose after scoring touchdowns in blowout victories.

Toney, the 18-year-old second-year standout nicknamed “Baby Jesus,” did it three times during a career-best performance at Stanford: 12 catches, a Miami-record 234 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Smith answered Saturday against Ball State, catching eight passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns — all before halftime — and striking the pose after his second score.

Was Smith responding to Toney, a fellow South Florida native and friend? Maybe. We’ll have to ask whenever Ohio State makes Smith available to the media. He wasn’t put in front of mics after the game Saturday.

Loser: Rutgers’ fireworks budget

According to public-records research by FOIAball, Rutgers spent $191,220 on fireworks and drone shows during the 2025 season.

When you’re operating in the red — Rutgers athletics reported a $47 million shortfall in fiscal 2025 — it doesn’t make much sense to spend that kind of money on nights like Thursday. The Scarlet Knights paid UMass $1.55 million to visit Piscataway and then watched the Minutemen snap the nation’s longest FBS losing streak before enjoying another pricey fireworks show for themselves.

UMass, 29.5-point underdogs coming off an 0-12 season, rolled to a 37–21 victory behind ex-Virginia Tech backup quarterback Pop Watson and a roster assembled largely from overlooked players. When the postgame fireworks began, most of the 42,454 fans who paid to enter SHI Stadium were gone. That was embarrassing.

Now comes the expensive part for Greg Schiano’s team: a Big Ten schedule led by USC, Indiana, Michigan and Penn State. Losing its easiest game erased Rutgers’ margin for error. Making a bowl game was already a stretch. Now it appears almost unattainable. Schiano rescued the program from irrelevance, but modest respectability might be all Rutgers can afford this season — if that.

Rutgers is currently hosting the saddest fireworks show I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/19P9X6f57t

— College Football Travel Guy (@cfbtravelguy) September 4, 2026

Winner: Tarleton State’s FBS audition

Three FCS teams beat FBS opponents this weekend: The Citadel beat Charlotte 43-41 in triple overtime, Idaho State knocked off Utah State 29-17 and Tarleton State toppled coach Eddie George’s Bowling Green team 20-13.

It’s the second year in a row Tarleton State has won a road game against an FBS opponent after beating Army last season. That’s been done by only nine other programs since 2014, including Liberty, Jacksonville State and Sacramento State — all of which have since made the FCS-to-FBS jump.

Six years after moving from Division II to Division I, the Texans have made no secret that’s their goal. The school’s athletic director told Front Office Sports last month Tarleton has had conversations with multiple FBS leagues and wants to move up within the next five years.

Tarleton is spending like a school planning for the next level. FOS reported the university has earmarked about $200 million for athletics facilities since 2019, and the department’s current budget is around $45 million, within the range of lower-end FBS programs. The school has also opted into athlete revenue sharing, and its home stadium seats 24,000.

The Texans reached the second round of the FCS playoffs in 2024 and the quarterfinals last season. This offseason, coach Todd Whitten signed a school-record 54 transfers, including 17 from FBS programs. 247Sports ranked Tarleton’s class No. 1 among FCS schools. Saturday, former Hawaii running back Tylan Hines ran for 250 yards while former Wyoming starter Kaden Anderson threw two touchdowns.

Next season, the Texans have North Texas on the schedule. North Carolina A&T is the last FCS team to extend its road FBS win streak to three seasons or more (2016-18). North Dakota State had a five-year streak from 2010 to 2014.

Winner: Special teams sickos

Cincinnati managed 85 passing yards against lowly Boston College as it began life after Brendan Sorsby. The good news: Scott Satterfield found a way to get his 6-foot-6 Australian punter involved in the passing game.

Max Fletcher, Cincinnati’s second-team All-Big 12 punter, lined up in the backfield in the second quarter of a 34-15 victory, ran a wheel route and made an 8-yard grab on fourth down — a play special teams fans everywhere had to appreciate.

IT’S A FAKE PUNT ‼️

Punter Max Fletcher with the first down reception for @GoBearcatsFB! pic.twitter.com/TJtkpnLrkN

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 5, 2026

Week 1, in general, was a gift to the sickos. Minnesota’s Javon Tracy returned two punts for touchdowns, setting a school record. Colorado’s Boo Carter blocked a 45-yard field goal with three seconds left to beat Georgia Tech, after Tech’s Rahkeem Smith returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the same game. And Oklahoma’s Isaiah Sategna got in on the act with an 88-yard punt return touchdown.