Saturday gave us the first true day of College Football as it felt like every team was in action from the morning well into the night. Week 1 always makes it feel like the best week of the College Football season as we always get massive showdowns and a little bit of chaos in a few games. With several massive matchups with a few ahead on Sunday, the first weekend of the year has already delivered.
For some teams this weekend, the fanbases are celebrating as they look well on their way to the College Football Playoff while others are left asking how much they'll need to pay to buyout their Head Coach. After an exciting first College Football Saturday, several individuals clearly lost the weekend.
Ranking the 5 biggest losers in College Football's Week 1
5. The elite wide receivers in College Football
This weekend, it felt like there was a lack of explosive plays, and it may have been because the best wide receivers in the sport had an off weekend. Jeremiah Smith had a weird battle with drops, finishing the game with just 6 catches for 43 yards. Ryan Williams left the Alabama game with a concussion, but, while healthy, he had just 5 catches for 30 yards, failing to break free. The Auburn Tigers turned their star Cam Coleman into a blocker, as he had just one catch for 23 yards.
We often expect that the best wide receivers in the Country will continue to produce at a high level but, it's interesting to follow how the new quarterback for each of the trio could affect their output.
4. Cade Klubnik
Heading into Saturday Night, it seemed like whichever quarterback performed better between Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik was going to become the Heisman frontrunner. Klubnik and Nussmeier both attempted 38 passes and both had 230 yards but, Nussmeier got the touchdown while Klubnik threw an interception.
If not for LSU playing softer coverage on the final drive of the game, Klubnik's stats would look mediocre at best. The biggest concern for Clemson has to be the fact that their star didn't look like the star everyone thought he could be as he looked flustered by the pressure.
3. Nico Iamaleava
This offseason, Nico Iamaleava made the jarring decision to enter the transfer portal after leading the Tennessee Volunteers to the College Football Playoff. When Iamaleava landed at UCLA, everyone instantly knew that it was going to hurt his chances of being a first round pick. In his debut for the Bruins it was clear he didn't have the same level of help as he went just 11/22 passing for 136 yards and a touchdown with an interception.
Deciding to leave Josh Heupel's system, which can allow you to post massive numbers, was a wild decision by Iamaleava and one that isn't going to pan out. When Joey Aguilar looks like a star in his first game at Tennessee, it only makes Iamaleava look worse.
2. Arch Manning
Coming into the 2025 season, all everyone wanted to talk about was Arch Manning and how he was going to be a generational talent. After Saturday's showing, all everyone is going to be talking is about is the fact that the Texas Longhorns starter has a ton of areas to improve at in his game.
For most of this game, Arch Manning sat below 100 yards before his stat line was helped by the final few drives as he finished 17-30 for 170 yards and a touchdown with an interception. While Steve Sarkisian definitely kept the training wheels on, Manning missed some really easy throws which is a massive concern and could've changed this game.
The only positive for Arch Manning is that the events that unfolded in Tallahassee should take a ton of attention off of his performance.
1. Kalen DeBoer
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Kalen DeBoer losing to the Florida State Seminoles is truly as bad as it gets for Kalen DeBoer's standing in Tuscaloosa. Through 14 games in Tuscaloosa, Kalen DeBoer is just 9-5 with four losses to unranked teams. It's becoming clear that this team is falling further and further from the standard Nick Saban set, and the fanbase is becoming beyond angry with the results.
The other side of the equation is that this offseason, Thomas Castellanos practically spit in Kalen DeBoer's face and questioned his manhood and then walked all over him. Kalen DeBoer was called out by Castellanos and his statement that "Nick Saban isn't here to save them" proved to be true which should only add to the anger.
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