Author’s Note: Yes, I know this is late. My apologies. No midweek article this week since I’m behind, but we’ll get back to the typical in-season Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule next week.
Smell that? It’s the sweet smell of college football. Upsets. Overreactions. Fall. The best time of year.
Week One lived up to its billing, even if a bunch of contenders didn’t quite live up to their billings. Oh well, preseason rankings are made to be laughed at, after all. But how does the landscape look after one weekend of great action?
Let’s break down the SID Sports Week Two Top 25 by overreacting to each team’s season debut. After all, what else is early September for than overreacting to what happened last week? All of the Last Week (LW) rankings come from the SID Sport Season Preview Magazine.
2025 Week Two Top 25
LSU (1-0) LW: 8
Overreaction: The LSU defense is all the way back. With the way they shut down a strong Clemson offense, the Tigers are the team to beat. Also, the Garrett Nussmeier hype train has picked up steam.
Ohio State (1-0) LW: 3
Overreaction: The coordinator hires are home runs. The offense did enough to win against a stout Texas defense and the defense under Matt Patricia looked like the nation’s best, spoiling Arch Madness. All hail the pencil.Miami (1-0) LW: 10
Overreaction: Corey Hetherman has fixed the defense and Mario Cristobal got the monkey off his back. A top-10 win at home shows the ‘Canes are ready to rock and Carson Beck is making me put my foot in my mouth after calling him overrated.Penn State (1-0) LW: 4
Overreaction: Drew Allar’s best season is on deck. He diced the Nevada defense to the tune of 22-for-26, 217 yards and a touchdown. The defense under Jim Knowles is expectedly stellar, limiting the Wolf Pack to just 203 total yards.Georgia (1-0) LW: 5
Overreaction: Gunner Stockton is the answer. The dual threat passer is unlike anything we’ve really seen from Kirby Smart’s Dawgs and will punish the SEC like he did against Marshall. Oh, and the concerns about the Georgia defense are unfounded.Clemson (0-1) LW: 1
Overreaction: Cade Klubnik isn’t cut out for this. The Tiger defense was stout - probably one of the better in the country - but Clemson’s veteran quarterback could barely crack completing half of his passes and didn’t throw a score. Clemson fans, I’m begging you, don’t hit the panic button yet.Oregon (1-0) LW: 7
Overreaction: Dante Moore is the answer. The sophomore could do whatever he wanted against the Montana State secondary and looked as comfortable as ever in Will Stein’s offense. That year sitting behind Dillon Gabriel helped Moore develop as a passer for sure.Florida State (1-0) LW: 44
Overreaction: 2024 was a one-year aberration fueled by D.J. Uiagalelei’s lack of passing prowess. The duo of Gus Malzahn and Tommy Castellanos has gotten the Seminoles all the way back and looking like one of the nation’s most dangerous offenses. Tony White’s defense also looked good in a beatdown of Alabama.Texas (0-1) LW: 2
Overreaction: Arch Manning is a worse quarterback than Quinn Ewers. The good news is that Texas’s defense is among the nation’s best and can keep the Longhorns afloat and in the playoff hunt. But Manning was inaccurate and unable to hang with limited pressure from Ohio State. That’s concerning.Notre Dame (0-1) LW: 9
Overreaction: Mike Denbrock’s playcalling will sink the Irish. In all reality, Denbrock’s script to start the game was to get first-time starter C.J. Carr in a rhythm early against Miami and not throw him into the fire lat with the game on the line. Still, you’ve got to find a way to get Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price more touches than that if Notre Dame is going to compete.Utah (1-0) LW: 20
Overreaction: Devon Dampier is going to take the nation by storm. The diminutive transfer signal caller kicked UCLA’s teeth in, storming past them both in the air and on the ground. Utah’s offense looked fixed, and the SID Sports Season Preview had Dampier as one of the nation’s best newcomers. We just didn’t imagine him playing this well.Arizona State (1-0) LW: 11
Overreaction: Jordyn Tyson is the nation’s best wideout. Okay, so that’s a stretch, since he dominated against Northern Arizona in a game nobody saw and both Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams struggled in bigger matchups. But the combination of Tyson and quarterback Sam Leavitt didn’t look like it missed a beat.Iowa State (2-0) LW: 23
Overreaction: Rocco Becht has enough juice to lead the Cyclones to the playoff. Conditions were rough, to say the least, in Dublin, but Becht still dealt, relying more on his legs. Jetlagged and back at home against South Dakota, Becht went 19-for-20 through the air in near perfect performance. Perhaps we’ve been underestimating the senior quarterback.Auburn (1-0) LW: 50
Overreaction: Jackson Arnold and Hugh Freeze are a match made in heaven. In Freeze’s RPO-heavy scheme, Arnold looked like a seasoned veteran, slicing and dicing his way through Baylor’s defense both in the air and on the ground. It was one of Week One’s best performances and bodes well for the Tigers finally reaching their playoff potential.SMU (1-0) LW: 12
Overreaction: Kevin Jennings has moved past the Penn State debacle. Granted it was against East Texas A&M, but the second-year starter looked comfortable once again. Let’s chalk it up to that was a bad day and we’ll see where it goes.Ole Miss (1-0) LW: 14
Overreaction: Jaxson Dart who? Austin Simmons led the Rebel offense like a pro and it seemed like there was no drop off from last year’s potent unit. Lane Kiffin’s program looks to be alright.Texas A&M (1-0) LW: 15
Overreaction: Marcel Reed learned how to throw. Reed’s legs were the primary juice to the Aggie offense last year, but he torched a solid UTSA defense through the air for four scores. Just, don’t look at the Texas A&M defense too closely.Michigan (1-0) LW: 16
Overreaction: Bryce Underwood and Justice Haynes are two of the best newcomers in college football. Both could do whatever they wanted in Chip Lindsey’s scheme, tearing apart the poor New Mexico defense. At the very least, it’s positive momentum for a Wolverine offense that looked like it stepped out of 1953 last year.Texas Tech (1-0) LW: 17
Overreaction: Cody Campbell’s mad gamble is paying off. All those purchased portal mercenaries are fitting perfectly into Joey McGuire’s squad. It’s hard to find anything to complain about in an utter demolition of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.South Carolina (1-0) LW: 31
Overreaction: Beamerball is back on the docket. In the Beamer Bowl, it was Shane’s Gamecocks that executed the model perfectly. A special teams touchdown. Taking care of the football. Limiting the opposing offense on their side of the 50. South Carolina drew it up perfectly.USC (1-0) LW: 18
Overreaction: The quarterback situation is more than fine. Quarterback was a concern for me heading into the season. Not anymore. Both Jayden Maiava and Husan Longstreet decimated Missouri State in their FBS debut and looked comfortable in Lincoln Riley’s offense. It helps that D’Anton Lynn’s defense is also humming.Illinois (1-0) LW: 19
Overreaction: Gabe Jacas is going to be a problem. He notched two sacks against Western Illinois on Friday night and looks in midseason form. Having an elite edge rusher like that bodes well for the Illini’s hunt for a playoff bid.Georgia Tech (1-0) LW: 21
Overreaction: Haynes King is the nation’s most underrated quarterback. If he can stay healthy, King is the entirety of the Yellow Jacket offense. He ran for over 150 yards and three scores and added 149 through the air. If they clean up the turnovers, Brent Key’s Georgia Tech looks primed and ready.Tulane (1-0) LW: 26
Overreaction: Tulane can win a playoff game. They just overwhelmed a Power Four team (it was Northwestern, but ignore that) and will only get better as Jake Retzlaff gets the offense under his belt. Jon Sumrall’s defense forced five turnovers and shut down anything Northwestern tried, so look out world.Indiana (1-0) LW: 24
Overreaction: The defense needs to clean things up or else they’ll get burnt. There’s no reason Colton Joseph - a quarterback - should have two 70-plus yard touchdown runs. Inexcusable. Curt Cignetti and Bryant Hines have to fix this.
Don’t know what to make of what you’ve seen so far? The SID Sports Season Preview has you covered to see what was expected and what needs more proof to truly believe with full previews of all 136 teams and nine conferences.
Next Five Out: TCU, Tennessee, Louisville, South Florida, Oklahoma
TCU got through the debut of Bill Belichick by embarrassing the Hall of Fame coach, walloping his Tar Heels and barely breaking a sweat. We knew their offense would be good, but the defense held UNC without a completed pass for over two hours of real time. Tennessee looks like the clear winner in the Nico Iamaleava saga as Joey Aguilar torched Syracuse, making full use of his young, blazing fast receivers. Louisville had almost a ho-hum day with solid play from Miller Moss and great running. It’s what’s expected from Jeff Brohm’s squad at this point. South Florida may have been the surprise of the day, taking Boise State behind the woodshed. Byrum Brown looks back to his game-breaking self and Florida and Miami loom as upset opportunities. Oklahoma had a great debut for John Mateer, who looked comfortable as ever in the offense built around him by Ben Arbuckle. Could it be that Oklahoma is fixed?
Have any questions, ideas, article pitches, or information? With the new Substack features, you can directly message me! Hit the button below to send me a message, or reach out via email to griffin@sid-sports.com, or find us on your favorite social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, Substack Notes and Bluesky.
After all this time, we STILL have Arizona State in the top 12, and I STILL don't think they deserve to be there. Some things never change...
LOL. I'm just messing with you buddy. Good list!
Love the format. Which one (or more) of these overreactions do you think are the most rational/true? For me, it’s your take on Denbrock. Brutal game for him and Love not getting enough touches was never on my radar as a possible reason they might lose.
Which do you think are the most outlandish? I think it can either be “Matt Patricia actually has it” or “Arch Manning actually doesn’t have it”, but probably not both.