College Football Takes Off In Stride
Hello everyone! It is Brogan LaRose here with my first edition of the Sports edition of the Hill News for the 2025-2026 calendar year. Obviously, this weekend I saw a lot of college football action amongst the blue bloods of the sport. Marquee matchups, major upsets and anticipation for the rest of the 2025 college football season was certainly brought into full swing. Today, we are going to look at a few games that stood out in Week 1.
(1) Texas vs (3) Ohio State
Right out of the gates, the Texas Longhorns faced off against the reigning National Champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus on a sunny and bright Ohio afternoon. The most talked about player leading up into this matchup was Arch Manning. Manning, after being the back up quarterback to Quinn Ewers, was finally getting his opportunity to become the starter and display his skills and talent. Some pundits have even suggested that Manning is the surefire #1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and have raved about his potential this year and in the National Football League. Unfortunately for Manning, the first half saw the Ohio State defense play fantastically as Manning was contained to five of 10 passing with only 26 yards. In this grind-it-out type of game, the score at halftime read 7-0 in favor of the Buckeyes. Julian Sayin, the quarterback for Ohio State, showed flashes of a true leader and maintained his poise throughout the entire game. The game was highlighted by both teams’ defense as the final score was 14-7, Ohio State. CJ Donaldson had a solid outing with 19 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown to lead the Buckeyes. Carnell Tate had 49 receiving yards and a touchdown as well. For the Longhorns, Manning connected with Parker Livingstone to round out the scoring for Texas. While some fans are critical of how this game went, the first game can be seen as a rust buster for both, and we will have to see how both teams respond later in the season.
(8) Alabama vs Florida State
On paper, this game was supposed to show how the Alabama Crimson Tide was going to beat the Florida State Seminoles and see what they had to offer the rest of the season. The Seminoles had just come out of winning two games in the 2024 campaign, and there were zero expectations heading into this battle. However, the script was flipped quickly in this one. With the home crowd rallying behind them, Florida State was ready to play from the jump and never looked back. With Tommy Castellanos leading the way at quarterback, the Seminoles jumped out to 17 to 7 lead at halftime. Castellanos, using his dual threat abilities, was making plays on both the pass and the run game to lead Florida State. Micahi Danzy also led the charge on the run game with three carries for 56 yards and a touchdown and Gavin Sawchuk also found himself in the end zone. In a shocking upset, the Florida State Seminoles defeated the #8-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 31-17. Once the final whistle sounded, the Seminole fanbase found themselves storming the field to celebrate this big-time win against a historic program. On the other hand, a tremendous amount of criticism has been shifted to Alabama. Many fans within the landscape of the team have sighted a lack of a winning mentality and too much focus on the outside noise, such as NIL and TikTok, among other distractions. There have even been talks by Alabama fans wanting to bring back Nick Saban as the head coach who led the Crimson Tide to many National Championships. While this is only one game, Alabama needs to go back to the drawing board or else they will be in trouble moving forward.
(9) LSU vs (4) Clemson
The last game that will be covered features the LSU and Clemson Tigers. In another SEC-ACC matchup, many football fans also talked about this game as another great battle to start off the 2025 campaign. Just like the Texas-Ohio State matchup, both defenses did a solid job containing the offense in the first half, with a score of 10-3 in favor of Clemson. However, LSU was able to shift the momentum of the game in the second half. Garrett Nussmeier led the offensive charge in the second half, ending with 232 passing yards and a connection with Trey’Dez Green in the end zone. In the run game, Caden Durham was a major contributor for LSU producing 17 carries for 74 yard and a touchdown. In the end, LSU was able to defeat Clemson 17-14 while holding Clemson to zero points in the second half.
The first game of the season can be a confidence booster for some teams, while others must roll with the punches and go back to the drawing boards. One game does not define a whole season by any means, but starting on a good foot can get fans excited about what comes soon. We will have to see how college football plans out for the rest of the season. I am Brogan LaRose, and I am signing off. Be sure to be on the lookout for more articles.