Week 1 didn’t just give college football fans a return to the field. It handed out a few loud reminders about who might be rising fast - and who already looks stuck in place.
The biggest buzz right now belongs to receivers. Miami sophomore Malachi Toney opened with a school-record 229 yards on 11 catches and three touchdowns in a 42-6 win over Stanford, and then Jeremiah Smith went right at him and raised the bar.
The consensus WR1 piled up eight catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns against Ball State, all before halftime. If the first weekend is any hint, the position is about to own the sport.
The way things are trending, 2026 could be the best year yet.
Pittsburgh may have found its next offensive centerpiece, too. Mason Heintschel, who had already flashed late last season, turned in a monster outing in a 59-14 win over Miami (Ohio).
The sophomore set an ACC record with seven touchdown passes and threw for 453 yards. Each of those seven scores went to a different receiver, with Cataurus Hicks leading the way with 114 yards.
Offensive coordinator Kade Bell has clearly pushed Pat Narduzzi toward a more aggressive passing game, and the Panthers look like they’ve got a star in the making.
On the other side of the ledger, Oklahoma State’s much-hyped reset came out looking awfully familiar. The Cowboys brought in the core players and brain trust from North Texas, including five-star transfer quarterback Drew Mestemaker and No. 1 transfer running back Caleb Hawkins, and first-year coach Eric Morris added more than 90 new players in his first offseason.
None of it mattered in a 24-10 loss to Tulsa. It was Oklahoma State’s second straight defeat to the Golden Hurricanes, and the first losing streak to Tulsa since 1952.
Mestemaker was outplayed by Baylor Hayes, and Tulsa put the game away with a 29-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Oregon also has a problem it probably didn’t expect to be talking about this early. The Ducks came into the season as a popular national championship pick, with a defensive line that should be one of the sport’s best units.
Bear Alexander and A’Auri Washington are both viewed as potential All-Americans, while Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei carry first-round buzz. But against Boise State, the group never took over.
Oregon finished with three sacks on Maddux Madsen, yet the Broncos still found enough room to keep drives alive, and half of their last eight possessions ended in points. If the Ducks want to be taken seriously against the national elite, that front has to dominate.
USC, meanwhile, looked like a team that finally found some teeth on defense. After a sluggish finish in Week 0 against San Jose State, Gary Patterson’s group delivered a statement in a 39-0 shutout of Fresno State.
The Trojans held the Pac-12 contender to 116 total yards and just 1.3 yards per carry. Four different USC players recorded sacks, and safety Kennedy Urlacher had two of them.
With Lincoln Riley’s team entering a make-or-break season after landing the No. 1 recruiting class, Patterson’s presence could end up mattering a lot if this defense can hold up against Big Ten competition.
There were also a couple of outright shocks. Bowling Green entered its game against Tarleton State as only a 2.5-point favorite and ended up losing 20-13.
The Falcons were gashed for 250 yards by running back Tylan Hines and gave up 464 total yards. Tarleton deserves credit, though, because the Texans have now beaten FBS opponents in back-to-back seasons and are starting to look like a real force at the FCS level.
And then there’s UMass, which pulled off one of the loudest results in recent memory. The Minutemen beat Rutgers 37-21 as 29-point underdogs, the first such upset since the start of the 2024 season.
They had entered the game on a nation-leading 16-game losing streak, a stretch that included every game under second-year coach Joe Harasymiak. After Rutgers scored first, UMass answered with 30 straight points, helped by three touchdown passes from breakout quarterback Pop Watson.
Maybe it won’t all last, but after that kind of start, the Minutemen have bought themselves a little breathing room with two straight FCS opponents and transitioning Sacramento State coming next.
In Other News...
Oklahoma States Eric Morris Debut Raised Concerns Fans Cant Ignore
The early part of Eric Morris Oklahoma State debut quickly turned into a reminder that opener jitters can look a lot bigger when they pile up all at once. Tulsa walked away with a 24-10 win to snap the Cowboys 11-game streak in season openers, and Oklahoma State spent much of the afternoon chasing a game that kept slipping in the wrong direction as turnovers mounted and fourth-down chances went nowhere.
The concern went beyond the scoreboard, too. Left tackle Jacob Sexton was injured early and had to leave the field on a cart, leaving another ugly question hanging over a day the Cowboys needed to feel like a reset. Tulsa created the games most damaging explosive plays and used them to keep Oklahoma State under pressure, which made the loss feel less like one bad bounce and more like a warning about how much work still sits ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State's Week 1 Decisions Already Put Roster Spots Under Pressure
Oklahoma States first week of the season already came with roster pressure beyond the usual depth chart churn. Head coach Eric Morris said only 76 or 77 players would make the trip for the Tulsa game, a reminder that even before the schedule tightens, there are real decisions to be made about who is dressed and who is left behind. He framed it as part of the challenge of managing a roster on game day, especially with the staff still sorting out where the best fit lies for the opening stretch.
The bigger squeeze is still ahead, with deeper cuts expected once the Cowboys get to the Big 12 opener against West Virginia. For the players on the fringe, that means the margin for error is small and the path to traveling could come down to the unglamorous stuff, the kind of work that keeps special teams functional and gives a coaching staff confidence in the last few bus spots. The detailed list of who actually suited up for Tulsa gives a useful snapshot, but it also hints at how quickly those decisions can change once conference play begins. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Has A Tulsa Problem Fans Can't Ignore
Tulsas trip to Stillwater turned into more than just an in-state measuring stick game for Oklahoma State. The Golden Hurricane controlled the night with Baylor Hayes throwing for 227 yards and a touchdown, while Tulsas defense kept the Cowboys off balance, forced four turnovers and made life difficult on fourth down. For a program trying to establish some traction in the series, it was the kind of performance that carried real weight beyond one September result.
The bigger sting for OSU is what the loss means in the long view. Tulsa has now beaten the Cowboys in consecutive meetings for the first time since the early 1950s, a small but unavoidable reminder that this rivalry has tilted the wrong way for the moment. And after the game, Tre Lamb sounded plenty comfortable with where his team stood, leaving Oklahoma State with the added frustration of wondering just how much worse the final margin might have looked. [Read more 🡒]