College football’s first Power 5 weekend of 2020 gifts fans with upsets galore

Power Five schools thought that their openers would not lead to an 0-1 record but on any given college football Saturday, anything is possible.

Iowa State started the season ranked No. 23 in the preseason AP Top 25 for a second consecutive season for the first time in school history. Not many had thought that the Cyclones would be on upset alert except for a select few. 

The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns had high expectations entering the season but being a Sun Belt member and traveling to face a ranked Big 12 opponent made them 13-point underdogs.

Kansas State, like fellow Big 12 member Iowa State, did not anticipate a tough matchup to start the 2020 season. Not many had predicted the Wildcats getting upset with a few believing that it may be a tough matchup but that it would not lead to a major upset by Arkansas State.

The Red Wolves lost to Memphis in Week 1. It was a competitive game but they lost 37-24 on the road. Kansas State looked good early and had the crowd cheering loudly which is an oddity for the 2020 season.

Iowa State had expectations of winning as many as eight games and some had predicted the Cyclones defeating Louisiana by 20 or more points. Kansas State, like Iowa State, had very high expectations entering the season with some even thinking that the Wildcats could possibly win a Big 12 title.

Regardless of the preseason predictions and the idea that the Power Five would dominate the Group of Five to start the season, teams like Louisiana and Arkansas State both were ready for their major matchups. There were signs prior to the games that maybe the Power Five schools were not quite ready and prepared to play this Saturday.

Let’s take a look at a couple of the biggest upsets from the first Power Five Saturday of 2020.