College Football Week 1: Winners, Losers from Faizon Brandon and Malachi Toney to Oklahoma State, Michigan
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The 2026 college football season has officially arrived, with Saturday’s slate of action delivering some eye-popping performances from All-American wide receivers and star quarterbacks. On the other end of the spectrum, there were some troubling showings from a few teams and key players.
Let’s dive into our winners and losers from College Football Week 1.
Winner: Malachi Toney, WR, Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney looked like an All-American offensive weapon as an 18-year-old true freshman last season. Still a few weeks shy of his 19th birthday, the Miami native already looks like he should be the centerpiece of an NFL passing game. Toney’s dominance in Friday’s 45-6 win over Stanford—12 receptions, 234 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns—included him setting the school single-game receiving yardage record in just three quarters. It almost seems unfathomable to think that we get to watch him play college football for two full seasons, because he is already good enough for the league.
Loser: Ryan Coleman-Williams, WR, Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams led the FBS in dropped passes (13) in 2025. It was a massive letdown after he earned second-team All-American honors as a true freshman in 2024. The case of the dropsies resulted in Coleman-Williams changing his number, ditching gloves and getting married to try and turn the chapter. Unfortunately for Alabama, the dropsies have not gone away. Coleman-Williams had a brutal drop on the team first touchdown drive and then had one hit him right in the chest, a failed attempt at a body catch, in the end zone for his second drop of the first half. He later fumbled the ball on a jet sweep in the third quarter. It is worrying that these problems have not gone away after a full offseason and it is difficult to see what could change during the season that would correct what seems like the yips.
Winner: Josh Hoover, QB, Indiana Hoosiers
Meet the Indiana Hoosiers‘ new Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback. Josh Hoover got off to a perfect start, literally, in Week 1 in the Hoosiers’ home opener versus North Texas by completing six of six passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. He showcased poise in the pocket, great touch on some throws into tighter windows, and the chemistry with standout receivers Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh will only get better with time. By the end of things, Hoover had more passing touchdowns (four) than incompletions (three) and he needed just 16 attempts to reach 231 passing yards (14.4 yards per attempt).
Related: Projecting Final Heisman Trophy Finalists Before Week 1
Loser: Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, LSU Tigers
After all of the chaos and legal drama surrounding Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris failing to make it into the NFL only to then return to college, they were left off the LSU Tigers roster for Week 1. Naturally, in a process where only the lawyers are winning thanks to billable hours, that brought forth action against LSU. This entire process has been a black eye on college football, and for it to now include this next chapter highlights the absurdity of it.
Winner: Trent Mosley, WR, USC Trojans
Meet the new true freshman sensation at wide receiver. Trent Mosley came in as a 247Sports four-star recruit, rated as the 245th-best player in the nation and the 34th-best receiver in his class. All the USC Trojans playmaker has done to open the 2026 college football season is put up consecutive 100-yard games with a touchdown. After putting up a 7-118 line in Week 0 versus San Jose State, Mosley delivered another showcase at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a 68-yard touchdown catch and a 9-yard score in the second quarter versus Fresno State, finishing with 104 yards. Now up to 222 yards through two games, he could make it three consecutive 100-yard lines to open his career on Sept. 12 vs Louisiana.
Loser: Greg Schiano, Rutgers Scarlet Knights HC
There are more than enough fan bases and athletic departments around college football with expectations for their football programs that are far too high. That’s not the case with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The proverbial bar of expectations is set reasonably low and, somehow, head coach Greg Schiano can’t clear it. In Week 1, Rutgers took the field at home against a UMass team that lost 16 consecutive games. Somehow, the Scarlet Knights lost by 16 and it was a 37-14 game late in the fourth quarter. Take the hot seat label off the table, Schiano should not be a college football head coach for an FBS program.
Loser: Jamey Chadwell, Liberty Flames Head Coach
Back in 2023, Jamey Chadwell was a hot name in the college football coaching carousel. He put up a 39-22 record at Coastal Carolina and then went 13-1 in his first season as the Liberty Flames head coach. However, with some of the talent Hugh Freeze brought in departing, the program took a bit of a step backward in 2024 (8-4). Things got even worse last season, with the Flames experiencing a pair of four-game losing streaks under Chadwell to finish 4-8. It appears a turnaround isn’t coming. Billy Napier’s James Madison Dukes won the in-state battle against Liberty, 20-13, kicking Chadwell down to a 4-11 record in his last 15 games overseeing the program. It’s fair to start wondering if this might be Chadwell’s last year at Liberty, especially given the money poured into the football program.
Winner: Faizon Brandon, QB, Tennessee Volunteers
We’ll acknowledge that it came against Furman, but true freshman Faizon Brandon put on quite the dual-threat display in Week 1 at Neyland Stadium. The youngest starting quarterback in Tennessee Volunteers history, the 18-year-old recorded his first career touchdown pass on the opening drive and that set the tone. Brandon (13-of-17 for 226 passing yards, 68 rushing yards and 5 total touchdowns) demonstrated why he won the Volunteers starting quarterback competition. We’ll see how the teenager handles his first road start, on primetime next Saturday night, but this was a good first step for him.
Related: Game-by-Game Tennessee Volunteers Predictions
Loser: Oklahoma State Cowboys
Eric Morris brought over star quarterback Drew Mestemaker and 19 other players from a North Texas team that went 11-2 last season. We highlight that to say this isn’t an ordinary transition year, where the new head coach needs time to build the program his way and bring in the specific talent he wants. So how did the Oklahoma State Cowboys lose 24-10 to Tulsa on Saturday, with Morris’ offense turning the football over four times and going 5 of 16 on third down? It’s baffling. We thought Oklahoma State could have a relatively impressive turnaround in 2026, but this program doesn’t look any different than what got Mike Gundy fired when it comes to the thing that really matters. The fan base might want to avoid the home opener next week versus Oregon.
Winner: Mason Heintschel, QB, Pitt Panthers
What a day for Pitt Panthers quarterback Mason Heintschel. In the 59-14 home win over Miami (Ohio), he made it one for the history books. Heintschel put up seven passing touchdowns, tying the program’s single-game record (Pete Gonzalez, October 1997), and recorded the third-most passing yards in a single game (453) in Pitt history. Putting those numbers into even greater perspective, Heintschel had just 16 passing touchdowns on 316 pass attempts last season. One thing is for certain: games like this and the performance versus NC State last year (423 passing yards and three touchdowns) showcase that the Panthers found a true gem in the 247Sports three-star recruit from the 2025 class.
Loser: Byrum Brown, QB, Auburn Tigers
We can’t even give Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown the excuse of not having continuity with the playbook. He followed Alex Golesh from South Florida to Auburn, giving the fan base a reason for hope entering the 2026 college football season. He put up a high volume of passing yards, thanks to schemed-up “layup” throws, but he also threw 3 interceptions that cost Auburn at least 3 points. We’re not going to write off this era of Tigers football this quickly, but this was a letdown performance given the expectations for the offense entering the fall. Maybe Brown’s go-ahead touchdown drive to win it in the fourth quarter can be a starting point for improvement.
Winner: Lamon Lester Jr, EDGE, Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado Buffaloes edge rusher Lamont Lester Jr. came over this offseason in the transfer portal, wanting to prove he belonged in the Power 4 after a nine-sack season at Monmouth. The 6-foot-2 edge rusher made a name for himself in Week 1 in Colorado’s unexpected road win over Georgia Tech. Lester Jr. sacked Alberto Mendoza 3 times and also finished with a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss. Putting those 3 sacks into perspective, Lester’s single-game performance wpuld’ve made him the Buffaloes’ team leader in sacks for the entire 2025 campaign.
Loser: Michigan Wolverines Offense
The hope coming out of Ann Arbor entering college football Week 1 was that Michigan Wolverines offensive coordinator Jason Beck would help sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood make that big leap forward after an underwhelming freshman season. The buzz grew after an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and then we didn’t see any signs of it again against…-checks notes- Western Michigan. In the first half, Underwood averaged just 5.4 yards per attempt and threw an interception, part of an abysmal effort that saw the team go 0-for-5 on third down and turn it over twice.
Near the midway point in the fourth quarter, trailing 9-7, Underwood passed up a third-down conversion with his legs for an ill-advised pass that resulted in another Michigan punt. By that point, the Wolverines offense had gone 1-for-8 on third downs with 172 total yards and 9 first downs on eight drives. If this is how things are going to look against the Broncos, we can’t fathom how ugly it could be next Saturday against Oklahoma’s defense.
Winner: Jaylin Carter, RB, Memphis Tigers
Jaylin Carter didn’t get many opportunities to shine last season at Southern Miss (166 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 38 carries), influencing his transfer to the Memphis Tigers. The 5-foot-11 ball-carrier already made a name for himself on campus in the season-opening win over UNLV, rushing for 97 yards and delivering the game-tying touchdown in the third quarter. Clearly that was just his opening act. In the Tigers’ home opener, Carter opened things up with a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Finding pay dirt became the theme of the night for him. He turned just 19 carries into career highs in rushing yards (183) and touchdowns (four).
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