CFB Week 1 winners, losers: Defense vaults LSU into title conversation, Lee Corso exits on high note

Top-10 showdowns, upsets and a send-off for the ages, Week 1 of the 2025 college football season had a little bit of everything.

And we were glued to it all like we were the head referee at Marshall-Georgia.

Below, we dissect the winners and losers from an action-packed Week 1.

Winner: LSU Tigers defense | Associated Press No. 9 LSU finally has a defense. 

The maligned unit, which allowed 24.3 points per game last season, including 33.5 per game in four losses, was sensational against No. 4 Clemson, holding the reigning ACC champions to 261 yards. LSU, which allowed 140.1 rushing yards per game in 2024, held Clemson to 31 yards on 20 carries (1.6 yards per attempt).

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik completed just 50 percent of his pass attempts for 230 yards (6.1 yards per attempt) and an interception while being sacked twice.

LSU’s offense has never been the problem under head coach Brian Kelly, in his fourth season leading the program. The defense has. But on Saturday, the unit delivered a performance that launched LSU into the national title conversation.

Loser: Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning hype | Farewell, Manning’s Heisman campaign. We hardly knew thee.

Manning entered the season with unreasonable hype for someone with two career starts, but his first start should turn that roiling boil into a modest simmer. The preseason Heisman favorite was 9-of-15 for 38 yards through three quarters against No. 3 Ohio State and finished the game with 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the 14-7 loss.

It wasn’t the performance one would expect from a Heisman frontrunner, but absolutely in line for a quarterback making his first road start against the defending national champions. Adjust expectations accordingly.

Winner: Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia | Saturday offered some redemption for Patricia, widely derided by football fans for his awful tenure as head coach Detroit Lions, when he went 13-29-1. And his ill-fated 2022 turn as New England Patriots offensive play caller. And when he was outsmarted as New England Patriots defensive coordinator by former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles and head coach Doug Pederson in Super Bowl LII. 

The point is, Patricia’s given us a lot of material over the years.

But he got revenge with the Buckeyes’ defense’s phenomenal performance, holding Texas to the fewest points by an AP No. 1-ranked team in a regular-season game since 1996. (h/t Stathead)

Loser: Northwestern Wildcats sportsmanship (and offense) | It seemed like a perfectly reasonable ask.

Following Northwestern’s 23-3 loss to the Tulane Green Wave, Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall revealed before the game, he had asked the Northwestern Wildcats to allow his team to wear its traditional road white jerseys, which Tulane wore in its first game following Hurricane Katrina, to mark the 20th anniversary of the devastating Category 5 storm. 

However, Northwestern declined the request.

Northwestern’s lack of sportsmanship was nothing compared to its miserable offense. At halftime, Northwestern had 107 yards. In its six first-half possessions, it had one scoring drive, two three-and-outs and three interceptions.

The Wildcats could have scored an easy public relations win by agreeing to swap jerseys, but instead, they left New Orleans with two losses.

Winner: Thomas Castellanos, prognosticator | “They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me,” Castellanos, Florida State Seminoles starting quarterback, boldly told On3 about the Alabama Crimson Tide in June. 

It turns out he is right.

Castellanos had a fantastic debut as Florida State stunned the No. 8 team in the country, finishing the 31-14 home upset 9-of-14 for 152 yards and adding 78 yards and a rushing touchdown on 16 carries.

Can we get lottery numbers out of him next?

Loser: Knowing what a catch is | Officials in LSU-Clemson controversially overturned a clear LSU touchdown midway through the third quarter. Or, clear to all but those paid to officiate the game.

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw a beautiful pass to wideout Barion Brown, who got inside the pylon for what appeared to be a touchdown, but officials ruled it an incompletion, saying he failed to maintain possession after making contact with the field.

It was an awful call. The play should have been ruled over as soon as Brown touched the pylon with possession of the football. Regardless, it once again left us wondering what a catch is. After all these years, it really shouldn’t be this complicated.

Winner: Arkansas Razorbacks special teams | Here’s an early contender for wildest turnover of the year. Following a touchdown in a 52-7 win over FCS Alabama A&M Bulldogs, Arkansas kicker Devin Bale’s line-drive kickoff hit Alabama A&M linebacker Kamarius Bradshaw in the foot, sending the ball back toward Bale. 

With only four seconds remaining in the first half, the turnover was inconsequential. But we wouldn’t be mad if others attempted to recreate it.

Loser: Oregon Ducks mascot | The Oregon Duck had a rough start to the season, losing his head in the lead-up to Oregon’s home opener against FCS Montana State, which it won handily, 59-13. While undoubtedly the lowlight of the day for the Ducks, at least the mascot showed outstanding hustle, immediately running toward the tunnel. Someone give them a roster spot as a special teams gunner.

Winner: Lee Corso goes out on top | The college football institution went out a winner. In his final appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” Corso put on the Brutus Buckeye headgear for his last headgear pick, his 287th correct “GameDay” selection.

To make the day even sweeter for the beloved college football figurehead, his former teams, either those he played for or coached, went a perfect 6-0.

Amid the top-10 showdowns and huge upsets, Week 1 belonged to Corso. And his former teams helped make sure the day was just as successful as it was memorable.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans