It was wonderful to have real, meaningful football back yesterday. Let’s embrace the next five and a half months.

NCAAF

(22) Iowa State 24, (17) Kansas State 21

If having college football return wasn’t enough, we started the season with a ranked matchup. It was delightful.

The play in this contest, however, was not delightful — at least not in the early going. There were four combined lost fumbles in the first half of this game, a product of sloppiness and the weather conditions in Dublin. The quality of this tilt improved over time, but the overall product wasn’t of ranked quality.

With this being a conference game, Iowa State received a huge early boost in the standings. The Big 12 promises to be the most closely contested league — again — this season, so any edge gained is paramount. Matt Campbell’s coaching provided that edge yesterday.

Rocco Becht wasn’t particularly accurate in this victory, finishing 14-of-28, but he made enough big plays to lift the Cyclones. With Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel now on the Texans, it’ll take time for Becht to gain trust with new targets. In the meantime, the running back duo of Carsen Hansen and Abu Sama will be heavily relied upon.

On the other side of the ball, Marcus Neal was awesome. The safety had a solid freshman year in 2024, but he took his play to another level yesterday. Recording eight tackles and a pass defensed, Neal was the heartbeat of Iowa State’s defense.

Despite the loss, I thought Avery Johnson outplayed Becht. The junior went 21-of-30 for 273 yards and two scores. The problem, however, is that Johnson wasn’t as effective with his legs as usual. That issue should correct itself over time as defenses account more for Johnson’s arm.

It’s arguable that this contest changed on the second drive of the game. Dylan Edwards, Kansas State’s lead back, fumbled a punt and subsequently left the game after. He never returned. Without Edwards, the Wildcats’ run game lacked juice. The good news is the junior shouldn’t be needed until September 12 at Arizona.

The Wildcats’ defense was the team’s better unit yesterday, and it started with the linebacker duo of Austin Romaine and Gabe Powers. Both players combined for 12 tackles, and Romanie in particular should challenge for an All-Big 12 team after the season.

This was just game one of a long season. We have so much great football ahead of us, and thankfully, due to the expanded playoff, nobody’s season is over. Kansas State still has plenty to play for, and could easily represent the Big 12 in the playoff. I can’t wait to see how the year unfolds.

UNLV 38, Idaho State 31

I’m bullish on Dan Mullen as UNLV’s head coach, but this contest was a disaster. Entering the game as a 30-plus point favorite, the Rebels were so bad that Idaho State led for most of the game. UNLV looked nothing like a Mountain West contender. Boise State should run away with the conference.

The biggest intrigue for me regarding this tilt was who UNLV’s starting quarterback would be. As it turns out, two quarterbacks can start! Both Anthony Colandrea and Alex Orji began the game on the field, with Orji taking the snap, but Colandrea throwing the pass. Fun!

In the end, Colandrea played the bulk of this victory under center, completing 15-of-21 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. It was a fine performance for the junior, but this battle is likely still unsettled. Orji’s ability with his legs is practically unmatched. He tallied six carries for 34 yards and a score.

UNLV invested heavily in former top recruits in the transfer portal last offseason. It mostly paid off yesterday, as Jake Pope and Justin Flowe played well on defense. Pope recorded 10 tackles and Flowe made numerous flash plays. The linebacker finished with four tackles.

There’ll be no rest for the wicked — well, in this case UNLV — as the Rebels travel to Sam Houston next Friday. That should be a victory, but Dan Mullen has plenty of poor film to dissect before then.

Kansas 31, Fresno State 7

This game contained practically every positive outcome one would wish to see from Kansas. It would’ve been easy to bury the Jayhawks after last year’s disappointing 5-7 mark, but the program is in great hands with Lane Leipold.

First and foremost, Jadon Daniels was terrific. The signal-caller struggled last season after playing well in 2022 and 2023, leading to some curiosity regarding how he’d respond this year. So far, so good, as Daniels finished 18-of-20 for 176 yards and three touchdowns in this win. The senior tends to be inconsistent, but his ceiling is the best quarterback in the Big 12.

It wasn’t just Daniels that dominated this game, however. Kansas’ defense was flying around, as it limited Fresno State to just 216 total yards and 1.3 yards per rush. Freshman Austin Alexander was especially effective, recording four tackles, including 1.5 for a loss.

Kansas’ dominance was Fresno State’s demise. The Bulldogs, save for an explosive touchdown drive in the first quarter, couldn’t get anything going all night. E.J. Warner was imported from Rice to juice the offense, but he struggled to the tune of 179 yards passing and two interceptions.

Fresno State has a tricky home game next Saturday against Georgia Southern.

Western Kentucky 41, Sam Houston 24

One of the storylines coming into this game pertained to how Maverick McIvor would fare in his first FBS game. Playing his first three seasons at Abilene Christian, McIvor boasted a strong career statline but lacked experience versus the top level of college football. Yesterday eased some of the concerns surrounding the quarterback, however. McIvor, in an awesome debut for Western Kentucky, went 33-of-51 for 401 yards and three touchdowns.

It wasn’t all McIvor for the Hilltoppers, though. Matthew Henry returned as the program’s top wide receiver and didn’t disappoint last night. Posting seven receptions for 148 yards a score, Henry all but confirmed his status as one of the top wideouts in Conference USA.

Sam Houston shouldn’t be discouraged by this result, but it has to clean up its defense before facing UNLV next Friday. Both teams underperformed yesterday, setting the stage for a desperate showdown.

Hawaii 23, Stanford 20

Week 0 exceeded expectations. I was pumped for yesterday, but I didn’t forecast two close finishes. This was one of them, and a game Stanford will surely want back.

The hero of this contest was Micah Alejado. Not only was the Hawaii signal-caller effective (27-of-39 for 210 yards and two touchdowns), but also mentally tough. Alejado looked to have suffered a potentially serious lower-body injury in this victory, but returned to the game soon after. He wasn’t the same upon reentry, as he limped throughout the remainder of this affair. That didn’t stop the freshman — or the Rainbow Warriors — from storming back to win. Grit!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention Peter Manuma. The safety is arguably Hawaii’s best player, and he showed it last night, recording eight tackles and a sack. Manuma will be critical next week when the Rainbow Warriors face Noah Fifita and Arizona.

Stanford looked to have this game in the bag early after a Hawaii special teams miscue followed by a defensive touchdown. After that, however, Ben Gulbranson’s struggles began. The senior quarterback shouldn’t be prone to ugly mistakes at this point in his career, but he tossed an ill-advised interception late in this contest. That throw jolted Hawaii’s comeback effort — and doomed the Cardinal.

Losing to a group of five program is obviously less than ideal, and Stanford will have ample time to stew over this defeat. The Cardinal have a Week 1 bye, followed by a tough trip to Provo to face BYU. Stanford better be careful, because the losses could start piling up.