Connect with us

Sports

Only in college football: Week 1’s best non-statistical superlatives

Published

2 months ago

on

Only in college football: Week 1’s best non-statistical superlatives


Opening weekend always delivers a little bit of everything that makes fans say, “Only in college football.”

Week 1 of the 2025 season was no exception. From clever trick plays and viral mascots to trash talk backed up on the field, Saturdays in the fall once again proved unmatched.

South Florida pulled off a perfectly executed fake punt to stun Boise State, while Taylor Swift turned heads at Arrowhead Stadium by cheering on Travis Kelce’s Bearcats. A namesake return man brought back Devin Hester memories, a mascot lost its head (literally) and Lee Corso’s old teams delivered a storybook tribute. Add in some feline locker room fame and a prime-time battle of the Death Valleys, and Week 1 gave us highlights well beyond the box scores.

Here’s our not-so-official list of who earned Week 1’s superlatives.

Most Likely to Fool Everyone: USF against Boise State

Looking for a big play up three points in the third quarter of their upset bid against the No. 25 Boise State Broncos, the South Florida Bulls turned to an unlikely source: their backup quarterback in a punting formation.

Yes, you read that right. When the Bulls trotted their punt unit out for fourth down, they snuck backup quarterback Locklan Hewlett onto the field as well. When the snap came to Hewitt — lined up where the punter would normally be — he rifled a 45-yard touchdown pass to Keshaun Singleton to put South Florida up 17-7.

The Bulls didn’t look back from there, piling on 17 more points before the final whistle to win 34-7.

Most Likely to Steal the Spotlight: Taylor Swift at Nebraska-Cincinnati

Taylor Swift at Arrowhead Stadium is a fairly common sight these days, with her now-fiancé Travis Kelce starring for the Kansas City Chiefs. But Swift supporting the Cincinnati Bearcats? Now that’s a sight to see.

play

0:35

Mahomes, Swift, Kelce take in Nebraska-Cincinnati

Patrick Mahomes, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are all in attendance for Nebraska-Cincinnati in Kansas City.

With Kelce in the house to watch his college squad take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Chiefs’ stadium, Swift was on hand as well. Her presence wasn’t much of a help for the Bearcats on the field though, as a late interception by Malcolm Hartzog Jr. secured a season-opening win for Nebraska.

Most Likely to Rule Death Valley: LSU beats Clemson

The LSU Tigers and Clemson Tigers share mascots, as well as the nickname for their respective stadiums: Death Valley.

It was the Louisiana inhabitants of Death Valley that came out on top in a prime-time Week 1 meeting between the two Tigers, with LSU earning a 17-10 win (and bragging rights for the foreseeable future).

Most Likely to Talk It and Walk It: Tommy Castellanos

Some laughed when Castellanos boldly proclaimed that the eighth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide wouldn’t have former coach Nick Saban on the sidelines to “save them” in Week 1 against the Florida State Seminoles.

Read more: Castellanos makes good on jab as FSU stuns Alabama

It was Castellanos who would have the last laugh on Saturday, though, as the Boston College transfer threw for 152 yards, ran for 78 more, and, most importantly, led the Seminoles to a 31-17 upset.

Best Throwback Energy: Devin Hester Jr.’s big kickoff return

Devin Hester with a highlight-reel kickoff return? Are we sure it’s not Chicago in the 2010s?

Sophomore Furman Paladins receiver Devin Hester Jr. sparked flashbacks to a prior generation of NFL heroes in Week 1, when he raced a second quarter kickoff 75 yards against the William & Mary Tribe.

The wild part? Hester Jr.’s return abilities aren’t hereditary — he’s of no relation to the Pro Football Hall of Famer Devin Hester you presumably immediately thought of.

Most Likely to Lose Its Head: The Oregon Duck

play

0:16

Oregon Duck loses its head!

Oregon Duck loses his head and scampers off

Week 1 is the first week of the season for everybody — including mascots.

The rust of a long offseason showed for the Oregon Duck on Saturday, as the mascot had an unfortunate miscue when running out onto the field before Oregon‘s game against Montana State, with the mascot’s head coming off following a fall. The duck showed keen awareness with a quick recovery though, hustling back into the locker room.

Most Likely to go Undefeated Together: Lee Corso’s teams

Iconic analyst Lee Corso was already well-traveled in the college football world before he ascended to legend status on “College GameDay,” having put together an impressive playing career with Florida State, where he ended up coaching with stops at Maryland, Navy, Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois.

In a fitting tribute to Corso’s final “GameDay” coming earlier in the day, all six of his former schools won on Saturday, the crown jewel being the Seminoles’ unlikely upset of Alabama. As a bonus, Corso finished Saturday 4-for-4 on his slate of game picks for the day as well.

Best Locker Room Celebrity: Bowling Green’s Pudge

The Bowling Green Falcons may have hired Eddie George as their new head football coach over the offseason, but the locker room figure that went most viral as the 2025 season approached was … an exotic shorthair Persian cat?

Meet Pudge, Bowling Green long snapper George Carlson’s cat, who went viral multiple times across the summer for his presence in the team’s locker room. The Falcons got in the win column in Week 1 against Lafayette, and Pudge received a shoutout in the form of a broadcast graphic.





Source link

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Lakers start Vincent for LeBron in opener preview

Published

2 hours ago

on

October 18, 2025

By

Lakers start Vincent for LeBron in opener preview


  • Dave McMenaminOct 18, 2025, 02:43 AM ET

    Close

    • Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
    • Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.

LOS ANGELES — Using Friday’s preseason finale as a “dress rehearsal” for next week’s regular-season opener, Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick put Gabe Vincent in the starting lineup to fill in for the injured LeBron James.

Vincent capped a strong individual training camp with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting (4-for-5 from 3), but the Lakers lost 117-116 to the Sacramento Kings to finish the preseason 1-5.

The regular season starts Tuesday night when the Lakers host the Golden State Warriors. Though the Vincent decision was made, there is plenty more for the Lakers to figure out in the next few days.

“We have two more practices, so we need to clean up some things,” said Luka Doncic, who scored a game-high 31 points to go with nine assists in 33 minutes.

Vincent said the coaching staff informed him about the lineup change Friday morning. If the staff was uncertain about the choice, Vincent helped his cause in the Lakers’ preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday when he scored 18 points in the first four minutes, going 5-for-5 from 3.

“I think I just bring what I’ve been doing since I’ve been here,” Vincent said when asked about his fit with the starters. “Just defending, try to defend at a high level. Playmake when I have opportunities, space the floor while Luka and [Austin Reaves] are creating themselves.”

James is not expected to return to the lineup until mid-November, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, as he continues to recover from sciatica affecting the right side of his body.

Though Vincent will join Doncic, Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura on the court to tip off the 2025-26 season, Redick made it clear that the current starters are not permanent.

“I don’t know anything about who I’m going to be starting the rest of the season because, again, there’s injuries and there’s things that happen throughout a year,” Redick said. “I have a pretty good idea who’s going to start Game 1. After that, I don’t know. But I do think in that lineup there’s lot of shooting around Luka and DA, and Gabe is another ball handler, another tough defender.

“I think he fits in well, but you have to take a look at every matchup we play against and have to make a decision there.”

Redick has downplayed the magnitude of his starting lineup decision repeatedly during training camp, pointing out that he used 25 starting lineups last season.

He and his team sounded far more concerned about their defense after allowing 59 second-half points to a Kings team that shot 54.7% overall and 44.8% from 3.

“I think in practice we were more physical,” Doncic said. “We need to work on our physicality.”

The Lakers were without one of their more physical defenders in center Jaxson Hayes for the second half Friday. He left the game because of a right wrist contusion after finishing a lob dunk in the first quarter. Redick said X-rays on Hayes’ wrist were negative, and the Lakers will have a further update on Hayes when they practice Sunday.

Former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, who had 14 points and four steals off the bench against Sacramento, vowed to help with the physicality in the meantime.

“Just follow my lead,” Smart said. “That’s really it. I’m going to try to set the tone each and every night. And just kind of piggyback off me.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

These four NFL division leaders are on borrowed time

Published

4 hours ago

on

October 18, 2025

By



The stats and game film show that the 49ers, Eagles, Chargers and Bills might be on borrowed time.



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

PCB confirms Tri-nation T20 series to go ahead despite Afghanistan’s withdrawal – SUCH TV

Published

7 hours ago

on

October 18, 2025

By

PCB confirms Tri-nation T20 series to go ahead despite Afghanistan’s withdrawal – SUCH TV



The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that the upcoming tri-nation T20 series will proceed as planned despite Afghanistan’s withdrawal.

According to a PCB spokesperson, discussions are underway to include a replacement team in the tournament, and a final decision regarding the third participant will be announced soon.

The tri-nation T20 series, featuring Pakistan and Sri Lanka, is scheduled to take place in Pakistan from November 17 to 29.

The PCB reiterated its commitment to ensuring the successful hosting of the event, saying all logistical and operational preparations are continuing as per schedule.

Earlier, Afghanistan pulled out of the tri-nation series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka next month.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending