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That was fun. Let’s do it again.
Here’s what happened in college football Saturday.
How legit are the Buffs?
This wasn’t Georgia preaching the “nobody believed in us” narrative after clinching its second consecutive national title last season. Frankly, many times, that cliche doesn’t really ring true. But then, there’s Colorado.
The Buffaloes stunned everyone with their 45-42 road win against No. 17 TCU in Deion Sanders’ FBS head-coaching debut. Colorado entered the game as a 20-point underdog. Four Buffs (Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr., Xavier Weaver and Dylan Edwards) had 100-plus receiving yards yesterday. Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, set a program record with 510 passing yards highlighted by four touchdowns, zero interceptions and an 81 percent completion rate. Hunter played 129 snaps combined on offense and defense — there were 160 total in the game. Hunter is the first FBS player in the past 20 seasons to have at least 100 receiving yards and a defensive interception in the same game. “He is HIM,” Coach Prime said at the half. “We missed him on two deep balls. If we hit those, the Heisman is in his crib chilling right now.” Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders set a program record with 510 passing yards Saturday against TCU. (Photo Andy Cross / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Buffs crack the Top 25 on Tuesday — they earned the honorary 10th spot in Nicole Auerbach’s rankings. This was their first road win over a Top-20 team since 2002. It’s Week 1, and Colorado already matched its win total from last season.
Coach Prime’s transfer portal exodus, whether you liked it or not, made this outcome seem impossible. Instead, Saturday’s result completely changed what we thought we knew about roster construction and “growing pains” for new coaches and players.
The game snapped TCU’s nine-game winning streak against Pac-12/10 opponents dating back to 2003. But the story wasn’t about TCU losing, even though the Horned Frogs played in last season’s national championship game. This was about Colorado winning.
“We told them we’re coming,” Deion told Fox after the game. “You thought we was joking, but guess what? We keep receipts.”
It could be about time we start believing him.
Quarterback Hype? No Problem
Chris Vannini: The top QBs are showing up
If you like elite quarterback play, we got it from some of the best in the sport in Week 1, including the potential No. 1 and No. 2 NFL Draft picks. At USC, Caleb Williams threw for 319 yards and five touchdowns in a 66-14 win against Nevada, including this ridiculous completion while going out of bounds. Drake Maye, who will contend with Williams for the No. 1 pick, lived up to his hype as well with 269 passing yards and two touchdowns in a win against South Carolina. Maye forced things a bit too much with two interceptions, but his ability to make big plays was on display again. As for some other QBs with big arms, we know Joe Milton can throw the ball a mile. Want to see it in action? Here’s a perfect ball that goes 70 yards in the air with the flick of a wrist. Unfortunately, it was dropped. Drew Allar was spectacular in his debut as Penn State’s No. 1 QB, throwing for 325 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-15 win against West Virginia. If he consistently makes plays like this, Penn State has a chance against Michigan/Ohio State, and Allar too could be a top NFL Draft pick in 2025. — Vannini Highlights Around The Country Top teams pass Week 1 test Donovan Smith and the Houston Cougars won the uniform battle Saturday with their Houston Oilers-inspired baby blue threads. (Troy Taormina / USA Today) Saturday Superlatives The play of the day is … Favorite kick: Indiana doink! Kicker Chris Freeman made a 42-yard field goal with the help of the goal post for the Hoosiers’ only points against Ohio State. Most chaotic play: BC’s Thomas Castellanos dropped back 40 yards to convert a first down on fourth-and-5 on this absolutely wild play. Uniform winners: We knew Houston would win this category since the Cougars revealed their Houston Oilers-inspired baby blue threads earlier in the week. The color. The helmets. The lettering. All an A-plus. Uniform losers: The Penn State-West Virginia matchup was a bit of an eye sore. Not a fan of the Mountaineers’ yellow pants. WVU’s white jerseys and Penn State’s white pants clashed. Scoreboard breakers: Division II Texas-Permian Basin beat NAIA Texas College 96-0! And that wasn’t the only final that neared 100. Oregon dropped 81 points on Portland State — more points than the Ducks’ men’s basketball team scored in 30 of its games last season — to set a modern-era program record for points in a game. Oklahoma came close, too, with a 73-point shutout against Arkansas State. Play of the day: So many plays in Colorado’s upset are worthy of consideration just for the sheer shock-factor. But Travis Hunter’s touchdown-saving third-quarter interception takes the cake. Max Olson has more superlatives here. Quick Snaps If you’ve been a believer that Texas is going to pull off an upset of No. 4 Alabama in Week 2, the Longhorns’ slow start on Saturday might have left you uneasy. Our staff has all-encompassing takeaways from Saturday’s biggest games here. Did Deion Sanders change college football forever? Listen to our Until Saturday podcast feed. For the first time in the Kirk Ferentz era, Iowa’s season-opening drive ended with a touchdown pass. The Hawkeyes’ eventual win against Utah State showed improvements, but there’s still plenty of work to do. Alabama’s new starting quarterback, Jalen Milroe, recorded five touchdowns against Middle Tennessee. He completed Nick Saban’s challenge: play so well that another QB would have the chance to play. And the best part of our first college football Saturday? We get more games tonight and tomorrow. (Top photo: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)