College Football Weekend Delivers Blowouts, Close Calls and Last-Second Drama

  The first full weekend of the 2026 college football season delivered a mixture of dominant performances by national championship contenders and a few games that went down to the final seconds.   No. 11 LSU produced perhaps the weekend’s biggest statement, crushing Clemson 51-10 in Baton Rouge. LSU accumulated 644 yards while holding Clemson to only 145. Sam Leavitt accounted for three touchdowns, including two rushing scores, while Dilin Jones rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns. The 41-point defeat was the worst of Dabo Swinney’s 19-season tenure at Clemson.   No. 2 Oregon had a considerably tougher afternoon. Boise State led 17-7 during the second quarter before the Ducks rallied for a 34-27 victory. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore passed for 378 yards and three touchdowns, and the Ducks finished with 497 total yards.  

Key Matchups From the Weekend

 

• No. 11 LSU 51, Clemson 10: LSU turned one of Week 1’s most anticipated games into a rout. The Tigers led 31-3 at halftime and scored 51 points despite committing a turnover.
• No. 2 Oregon 34, Boise State 27: Boise State provided one of the weekend’s biggest scares before Oregon scored the game’s final 10 points. Moore’s 378 passing yards helped the Ducks avoid the upset.
• No. 9 Ole Miss 41, No. 24 Louisville 38: Lucas Carneiro kicked a 48-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to give Ole Miss the victory in Nashville. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, while Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz passed for 307 yards.
• No. 4 Notre Dame 41, Wisconsin 13: The Fighting Irish pulled away after the teams were tied 10-10. CJ Carr threw two touchdown passes, Aneyas Williams rushed for two scores and DJ McKinney returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown.
• No. 16 Michigan 13, Western Michigan 12: Michigan narrowly avoided a major upset when Bryce Underwood connected with JJ Buchanan on a Hail Mary after replay restored one second to the clock.

  Elsewhere, the highest-ranked teams generally handled their opening assignments easily. No. 1 Ohio State beat Ball State 56-3, No. 3 Georgia rolled past Tennessee State 63-3 and No. 5 Texas defeated Texas State 59-7. Defending national champion Indiana opened with a 52-16 victory over North Texas.  

College Football Games Remaining Today and Tomorrow

  The holiday weekend isn’t quite finished, although the FBS schedule is extremely limited. As of Sunday morning, there is one AP Top 25 FBS game remaining and bettors will be heading to sportsbooks like DraftKings and Hard Rock Bet for some additional wagering opportunities.  

• No. 19 SMU at Florida State — Today, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN: SMU is currently around a 3-point favorite, with the moneyline approximately SMU -155 / Florida State +130 and the total at 53.5. The Mustangs enter Tallahassee with Kevin Jennings at quarterback and an opportunity to begin ACC play with a significant road victory. Florida State can immediately change the outlook surrounding its season by knocking off a ranked opponent at Doak Campbell Stadium.

  With LSU making an emphatic statement, Oregon surviving a legitimate challenge and Ole Miss escaping in the final seconds, Week 1 has already provided some early clues about the national championship race. The final question is whether SMU can avoid becoming the ranked team that closes the weekend with an upset loss.