Week 1 of the college football season is here, and it is loaded with intriguing matchups. While one week does not mean much in terms of the entire season, fans and analysts love to overreact, and that is exactly what will happen after this weekend.
While games like Texas vs Ohio State or Notre Dame vs Miami (FL) might not be crushing defeats for the losing team, more is definitely at stake for others. Early in the season is when we truly start to learn who teams really are, and shocking upsets are bound to happen that leave us wondering how we ever viewed a team the way we did in the preseason.
With that in mind, here are three potential Week 1 upsets that, if they were to happen, would completely shake-up the outlook of the 2025 college football season.
Florida State over No. 8 Alabama
This matchup almost feels lost in the Saturday slate. Normally a game between two high-level programs like Alabama and Florida State would be premier, but that’s not the case largely due to the Seminoles coming off an atrocious 2–10 season.
New Seminoles quarterback Thomas Castellanos did make headlines surrounding this one in the offseason when he seemingly predicted an upset saying “They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.” Now if FSU were to pull off the win, it would be a massive start to a bounce back season, but the bigger effect would be on the Alabama side. Year 1 under Kalen DeBoer was not bad, but it certainly did not meet the high expectations of Crimson Tide fans.
With this year feeling like a must-win (make the playoff) season for DeBoer, if the Crimson Tide somehow fall here as 13.5 point favorites, we could see a fanbase calling for a coach's job after Week 1.
Virginia Tech over No. 13 South Carolina
South Carolina is entering the season with a lot of hype after a strong end to last season and returning two of the top players in the country on each side of the ball in LaNorris Sellers and Dylan Stewart. I would say the buzz surrounding the Gamecocks this offseason is quite similar to the hype that surrounded their opponent, Virginia Tech, last year. The Hokies had high hopes with Kyron Drones entering his second season as the starter, but fell in a surprising Week 1 upset to Vanderbilt.
While South Carolina has the big names with Sellers and Stewart, their team still has a ton of question marks surrounding them. If Virginia Tech can play spoiler, they could quickly emerge as a serious contender in the ACC while South Carolina would be put under immediate pressure with a tough road ahead.
USF over No. 25 Boise State
Boise State enters the season as the heavy favorite to represent the Group of Five in the College Football Playoff, and that case grew even stronger with how their Mountain West foe UNLV looked in Week 0. However, this is a challenging opener for the Broncos as they travel across the country to face a USF team that could turn some heads this season. The Bulls shown flashes under head coach Alex Golesh and this team has some firepower, most notably in quarterback Byrum Brown who is coming off an injury but had over 4,000 total yards and 37 touchdowns in 2023.
While running through and winning the Mountain West would put Boise State in a good spot, they also have to face Notre Dame, and two losses would not look great on the resume. A slip-up by the Broncos in the season opener could open the door in people’s minds for other teams like Tulane, Memphis, James Madison, or even USF to contend for that Go5 playoff spot.
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