Week 1 didn’t produce any AP Top 25 losses to unranked teams, but that doesn’t mean every ranked team looked the part. A handful of poll members survived, yet left behind enough questions to make the first rankings update of September feel a little shaky.
Michigan’s controversial win over Western Michigan was enough to trigger a historic drop out of the polls, while Oregon, SMU, Washington and Houston all had to sweat through close calls against unranked opponents. By the time the new AP Top 25 came out, the theme was clear: some teams escaped, but not all of them impressed.
Oregon entered its home opener against Boise State as a 24.5-point favorite, but the Broncos looked like the sharper team early and carried a halftime lead. The Ducks finally settled in after the break and pulled out a 20-10 finish over the final two quarters.
Dante Moore helped turn the game around with a 62-yard touchdown shortly after Boise State tied it on a field goal. Moore finished 28 of 37 for 378 yards and three touchdowns.
Even with the win, Oregon slid four spots in the rankings. The Ducks can start answering some of the questions around them when they head to Oklahoma State.
Texas Tech didn’t have the same level of drama in its 33-10 win over Abilene Christian, but the Red Raiders also didn’t exactly make a statement after an offseason full of noise. Favored by more than six touchdowns, they managed only three touchdowns and settled for four field goals.
The defense did its job, limiting the Wildcats to 194 yards, including 75 on the ground at 2.6 yards per carry. Will Hammond threw for 298 yards and a touchdown, but he was intercepted in the second quarter.
Texas Tech left three red zone chances as field goals, and it’ll need to be sharper when it goes to Oregon State this weekend. The Beavers nearly pulled off an upset against another team on this list.
SMU opened with a 27-24 road win at Florida State, but it was anything but smooth. The Mustangs piled up more than 200 yards than the Seminoles and controlled key third-down situations on both sides of the ball, yet they also coughed it up four times.
Three of those turnovers came in Florida State territory, and SMU was flagged six times. Rhett Lashlee’s team looked like a group playing its first game together, which is why the next stretch matters.
The Mustangs should be better if they clean up the ball security, but they’ll have to show it fast with Louisville coming up in two weeks. SMU still moved up in the poll despite the tight finish.
Washington’s 2026 opener was a 24-10 win over rival Washington State, though the Huskies never fully put the game away. The Cougars were scoreless in the fourth quarter, but they made things uncomfortable by cutting the margin to 10-7 and then 17-10.
Washington managed points on only two of its first nine drives, including one trip that started at the Washington State 13, only to unravel into fourth-and-33 before a field goal salvaged it. That stood in sharp contrast to last year’s 59-24 road win in the matchup.
Washington was favored by more than three touchdowns this time around, and the offense - with quarterback Demond Williams Jr. among the returning starters - now gets a chance to settle in against Utah State. The Huskies dropped two spots and face a relatively light September before going to USC on October 3.
Houston got the win it needed, but not the clean one it wanted in a 33-20 home opener against Oregon State. The Cougars, who came in with 12 combined starters back and plenty of experience, built a 26-7 lead in the third quarter before the Beavers answered with back-to-back touchdowns and made it a one-score game.
Houston responded with a 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive and then stopped Oregon State on fourth down to shut the door. Even as a 21-point favorite, the Cougars were slowed by two turnovers and 10 penalties.
Still, they put up 533 total yards and held Oregon State to 25 rushing yards on 1.04 yards per attempt. Houston can work on its passing defense against Southern on Saturday night, and then it faces a quick turnaround before a trip to Texas Tech on Friday, September 18.
The Cougars moved up a spot, but they’ll need to tighten things up fast.
In Other News...
Oregons Boise State Win Just Took On A Different Look
Oregons narrow escape against Boise State looked a little different once the first week of the season was fully digested. The Ducks still sit comfortably inside the top 10 in ESPNs Football Power Index at No. 8 with a 22.7 rating, but their season-opening win came with a smaller bump than they probably wanted after being pushed harder than expected.
The matchup also looks more workable now from Oregons side, with Oklahoma State down at No. 72 in the FPI after a loss to Tulsa and a -1.6 rating. The Cowboys are still sorting through a roster with several new faces, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, and they also took a hit up front with starting left tackle Jacob Sexton out for the rest of the season, which only adds to the sense that this Week 2 game has changed shape since it was first circled. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New Uniform Reveal Taps Into What Makes This Program Different
The newest Oregon uniform reveal leaned into the programs long habit of treating game day as a showcase as much as a contest, with the Ducks unveiling a combination inspired by their 2008 Mighty Oregon and Gang Green looks before facing Oklahoma State. Running back Jordon Davison modeled the set, which nods to past Ducks players such as Jeremiah Johnson while drawing on the schools well-known history of pushing the edge with its on-field style.
Oregons latest look is another product of the collaborative process that has long defined these reveals, with Nike, designers and team personnel all part of the mix. Fans are being asked to wear green to the game as part of the theme, adding another layer to an atmosphere the Ducks have helped make part of their brand, even as each new uniform drop keeps one familiar question hanging in the air about where the next idea will come from. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lannings Freshman O-Line Message Says A Lot About Oregons Priorities
Freshmen offensive linemen Immanuel Iheanacho and Tommy Tofi are still in the early stages of the climb at Oregon, and Dan Lanning made it clear after the opener against Boise State that the Ducks are not handing out jobs based on reputation alone. Oregon leaned on a rotation of six to eight linemen in that game, with the more experienced players getting the nod to start, a sign that the staff is comfortable letting the front sort itself out while the newcomers get their footing.
For a program that has made roster depth and development part of its identity, the message to the two freshmen was as much about process as it was about patience. Lanning pointed to effort and learning the system as the key steps before either player can expect consistent snaps, which says plenty about how Oregon plans to handle the offensive line this fall. The talent is there, but the Ducks are making it clear that trust in the trenches has to be earned. [Read more 🡒]