Sports
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.
GOT ‘EMMMMM 🫨
📺: @ESPNCFB pic.twitter.com/Llnlrs9BG5
— USF Football (@USFFootball) August 28, 2025
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.
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).
Battle Won
Conquered THAT Death Valley pic.twitter.com/7ei129Upzl
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) August 31, 2025
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.
It was always going to be Tommy @Tommy_casto #NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/NAq67FgzhM
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) August 31, 2025
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.
Devin Hester jr. with a 75 yard kickoff return‼️ pic.twitter.com/TeVhj4n4RT
— Furman Football (@PaladinFootball) August 30, 2025
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
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.
All of Lee Corso’s college teams he played on or coached for won on Saturday 🧡
Meant to be 🥺 pic.twitter.com/br5nL1FQEu
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 31, 2025
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.
W. #AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/laQ9QmTMqh
— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) August 29, 2025
Sports
Blue Jays manager calls out Mariners fans who booed All-Star George Springer after getting hit by pitch
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Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider ripped Seattle Mariners fans after they appeared to boo loudly when four-time All-Star George Springer went down in the seventh inning after being hit on the knee by a pitch.
Speaking to reporters after allowing the Mariners to take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series, Schneider called out what he described as poor sportsmanship from the Seattle crowd.
Toronto Blue Jays George Springer is helped by manager John Schneider, left, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., right, after being hit by a pitch during the seventh inning in Game 5 of baseball’s American League Championship Series, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
“I know this is an awesome atmosphere to play in,” he said. “And it’s really, really cool to play here, and I think the fans that were booing him should take a look in the mirror and understand what kind of player he is.”
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“I’ll stop there, because when a guy gets hit in the knee and is in obvious pain and you have 40,000 people cheering, not the right thing to do,” Schneider continued.
Springer was struck on the right kneecap off a pitch from right-hander Bryan Woo with the Blue Jays leading 2-1 late in the game. Springer fell to the ground in pain and was eventually helped off the field, limping.
Toronto Blue Jays’ George Springer falls after being hit by a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning in Game 5 of baseball’s American League Championship Series, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
BLUE JAYS’ MAX SCHERZER REFUSES TO LEAVE MOUND IN HEATED EXCHANGE WITH MANAGER IN GAME 4 WIN
That’s when the boos roared.
“I don’t know how you boo somebody who’s down on the ground hurt,” Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement said “I don’t understand that. I’ve had a lot of respect for all of the Mariners fans, especially the ones that I’ve kind of talked to throughout the series, they’ve been awesome. But that’s a tough moment. That’s pretty classless.”
Teammates and staff help Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer (4) off the field after he took a pitch to the knee from Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo (22) during seventh inning MLB Game 5 of baseball’s American League Championship Series action in Seattle, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Springer has been a dominant presence in the Blue Jays’ attempt to reach the World Series for the first time since 1993. His run-scoring double in the fifth gave him six straight games with an extra-base hit. The 36-year-old is hitting .256 with three home runs and five doubles this postseason.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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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.”
The stats and game film show that the 49ers, Eagles, Chargers and Bills might be on borrowed time.
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