There were a number of upsets in College Football Week 1 and although it’s not quite over, we rank the biggest upsets including Florida football over Utah.
College Football Week 1 isn’t completely in the books just yet, with more games to follow on Sunday and a Monday night matchup between Clemson and Georgia Tech, but the majority of college football teams are done with their first week.
We learned a lot and despite just a few ranked matchups, the first week of the college football season didn’t disappoint. Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in a game that was closer than expected, while Georgia routed Oregon in a game that wasn’t as competitive as we thought.
It seemed clear Georgia would win, just not that the Bulldogs would treat Oregon and former DC Dan Lanning like an FCS opponent.
Speaking of the FCS, the lower-tier of college football again notched two victories over FBS teams and that total was nearly much higher. So in terms of ranking upsets for College Football Week 1, which included a top-10 team (Utah going down to Florida Football), we start with the FCS.
T5. Delaware and William & Mary go up and win
There weren’t any shocking upsets, although South Dakota State certainly gave Iowa a run for its money and lost 7-3 in a game where no touchdowns were scored. Seriously, Iowa scored seven points on a field goal and two safeties (refund anyone?).
The Jackrabbits are the No. 3 team in the FCS but still. North Dakota was also tied with Nebraska at 17-17 in the third quarter before the Huskers pulled away and saved Scott Frost from getting fired on Sunday afternoon.
Yet, the FCS still scored two wins. They weren’t marquee but they count. Delaware knocked off Navy 14-7 in a bit of a surprise. William & Mary rolled over Charlotte 41-24 thanks to over 300 yards from Darius Wilson, giving the CAA 10 wins as a league over FBS opponents since 2013.
4. ODU beats Virginia Tech
Just like we shouldn’t be shocked to see an FCS opponent beat a team from the FBS, it wasn’t shocking to see Old Dominion knock off Virginia Tech in College Football Week 1 because the Monarchs did the same thing a few years ago.
Virginia Tech went on the road to face Old Dominion and in its previous trip to Norfolk, the Hokies lost 49-35. This time around, the Monarchs won 20-17 and the main issue for the Hokies was their own mistakes.
It was the first game for new head coach Brent Pry and it was disastrous. The Hokies committed five turnovers and were also flagged 15 times for penalties. Starting quarterback Grant Wells threw four interceptions including a costly one with Virginia Tech leading 17-13.
Blake Watson eventually scored for Old Dominion a few minutes after the interception and there wasn’t enough time for the Hokies to tie the game.
Even at home, ODU wasn’t expected to win, but given what we have seen from Virginia Tech over the past few seasons we shouldn’t be stunned by this upset.
3. Arizona stomps San Diego State
You don’t normally call it an upset when a Power-5 college football team beats a team from the Group of Five but that’s how far Arizona football had fallen.
Jedd Fisch seemed like a great hire before the 2021 season. However, rebuilding was going to take some time and that was obvious during last season’s 1-11 start.
San Diego State, on the other hand, enjoyed some unexpected success in 2021 as Brady Hoke, who returned as the head coach, led the Aztecs to the Mountain West Championship game.
So fresh off a double-digit win season and facing an Arizona squad fresh off one, it was easy to see why experts were favoring San Diego State.
The Aztecs were also opening their brand-new stadium. Unfortunately for them, Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura didn’t care. He threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns as the Wildcats rolled to a 38-21 victory.
It was a rough week for the Pac-12 but Arizona and also Oregon State beating up on San Diego State and Boise State offered some measure of satisfaction.
2. Rutgers slays former Big East foe
Greg Schiano seems to be good for at least one upset per season with Rutgers and this one ranks No. 2 on our list for a couple of reasons.
Boston College was just 6-6 last season and didn’t go to a bowl game while Rutgers did at 5-7 but the Eagles were expected to have a strong team this year, especially with the return of quarterback Phil Jurkovec.
The Eagles were also bigger favorites against Rutgers than ODU was against Virginia Tech or San Diego State. BC was at home, which is probably one reason, plus the fact that the Eagles had won 11 in a row over the Scarlet Knights probably didn’t hurt either.
Yet, Rutgers was able to rally from a 21-12 deficit to win 22-21 thanks to a 22-yard touchdown run from Al-Shadee Salaam with just over two minutes left.
Rutgers has a saying about “keep chopping” and Schiano’s team certainly did that Saturday and in the past two years, the Scarlet Knights have beaten Syracuse and Boston College in non-conference play.
1. Florida football knocks off No. 7 Utah
I’ve been saying that Florida football is going to surprise people this season and maybe after the win over Utah, people will start to take the Gators seriously.
This looks like a team capable of contending for a New Year’s Six berth and truth be told, I predicted this win would happen earlier this week.
That being said, it was still a huge upset in the college football landscape. Utah was ranked seventh and is the defending Pac-12 champion. The Utes were looking to make a statement about their potential College Football Playoff viability and Florida football spoiled that idea.
It was also the best game of the weekend.
Anthony Richardson went toe-to-toe with Cameron Rising of Utah and scored the go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes left. The Florida football defense did the rest, sealing the game with an interception.
The Gators will surely be ranked but as good a win as this is for them, it’s that bad for the Pac-12. USC dominated Rice, but in two of the biggest games on Saturday, the league flopped.
The Pac-12’s favorite, Utah, lost to an unranked team with a first-year head coach in his first game, while Oregon, another league favorite, was embarrassed by Georgia.
We just have one week of college football in the books and already, the Pac-12 is down to one playoff contender: USC. That’s why Florida’s upset mattered so much.