College football scores and live updates: Highlights from Week 1's top 25 games

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Auburn survives thriller vs. Baylor

Final: Auburn 17, Baylor 16

Auburn survived to beat Baylor 17-16 after the Bears opted to go for two and failed with nine seconds left following a late touchdown. Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway hit Matthew Klopfenstein on the 2-point conversion attempt, but he was stopped just short of the end zone. Baylor could have opted for an extra point to tie the game after Lagway hit Gavin Freeman for a 5-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with nine seconds left.

Instead, Dave Aranda went bold, and it backfired.

Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown was intercepted three times in his first start with the Tigers. But he secured a measure of redemption with a bruising 11-yard touchdown run with 3:21 remaining. That put the Tigers ahead 17-10. Baylor converted a fourth-and-10 to keep its final drive alive as a hobbled Lagway led a dramatic touchdown drive. The Florida transfer completed 27 of 54 passes for 333 yards and came up just short of producing an upset win in his first game with the Bears.

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Oregon survives upset bid

Final: No. 2 Oregon 34, Boise State 27

No. 2 Oregon survived a tight upset bid against Boise State with a 34-27 win in Week 1. Ducks receiver Dakorien Moore broke off a 62-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead touchdown, and the Ducks came up with a late stop to secure the win. Full analysis and breakdown at this link.

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Down to the wire in Atlanta

7:12 4Q: Auburn 10, Baylor 10

Baylor just tied it up with a 22-yard field goal from Rhett Armstrong. Those were the first points of the second half from either team as defense is ruling the day in Atlanta. The teams have combined for 18 tackles for loss with an improved Baylor front producing 11 of them. Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown is having a disastrous debut with the Tigers. He's been sacked five times and intercepted three times. The vaunted Alex Golesh offensive hasn't been able to find traction against a surprisingly plucky Bears defense.

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Strong start for Arch Manning, Texas offense

4Q: No. 5 Texas 49, Texas State 7

With Texas up by six touchdowns, Arch Manning will take a seat on the bench, and it would be hard to envision a better start for him and the Longhorns' offense.

Outside of one red-zone interception, Manning came out firing on all cylinders in Week 1, and his connection with Cam Coleman was instantaneous. Early in the second half, Manning threw a pass that perfectly split a couple of Texas State defenders as Coleman got vertical for a touchdown reception.

In just under 45 minutes of work, Manning threw for 305 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. It was an excellent start to Manning's Heisman Trophy campaign, but the entire offense was humming.

High-profile transfer portal additions like Coleman (three receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns) and Hollywood Smothers (98 total yards and a touchdown) lived up to the hype. Plus, key returning wide receiver Ryan Wingo had a massive day with seven catches for 121 yards and a score.

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Oklahoma State on the ropes

Oklahoma State entered the 2026 season expected to make a quick turnaround under new coach Eric Morris, who arrived from North Texas with star QB Drew Mestemaker and an array of the Mean Green's best players in tow from a UNT team that went 12-2. But his debut is not going according to plan. Tulsa just went ahead 17-3 in the third quarter, and it has been a struggle offensively for the Cowboys. Mestemaker and the passing game have been effectively contained, and Tulsa has sacked Mestemaker twice. The Pokes are officially on the ropes against the American Conference foe on the road.

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Iowa up big as QBs battle for starting job

Halftime: No. 22 Iowa 33, Northern Illinois 0

The most compelling part of this game is not the actual matchup between Iowa and NIU. The second half is more of a formality with the Hawkeyes in full control.

Instead, the main point of intrigue was the Iowa quarterback battle between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski, which has spilled over into the season. Brown started and got the first three drives of the game -- all of which resulted in touchdowns for the Iowa offense. Brown was responsible for one of those scores, which was a 6-yard pass to Tony Diaz.

Hecklinski got the next three drives, and he got off to a slow start. With Hecklinski at the helm, Iowa missed a field goal and posted a three-and-out before finding the end zone when Hecklinski connected with Xavier Williams for an 8-yard touchdown.

In totality, Brown had a better showing in the first half by completing 60% of his throws for 129 yards and a score. Hecklinski connected on 55.5% of his attempts for 60 yards and a touchdown.

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DJ Lagway banged up as Baylor trails at half

Halftime: Auburn 10, Baylor 7

Baylor and Auburn are in a tight battle inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the Bears have serious health issues at the quarterback position.

In his first game at Baylor, Lagway injured his ankle, and he was limping around on a heavily-taped ankle for much of the half. When the first half ended, Lagway was carried down the tunnel by two of his teammates.

Despite Lagway's injury, he put up decent numbers, with the exception of two plays. Lagway connected on 17 of his 25 passing attempts for 199 yards and a touchdown. However, the mistakes Lagway did make were very costly. He's fumbled and thrown an interception in the first two quarters.

On the other side, the new Auburn offense led by Byrum Brown has yet to get out of neutral. Brown has thrown a pair of interceptions, and both of them came in Baylor territory. The Tigers have to start cashing in when the get into scoring range.

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Faizon Brandon totals three TDs in first half

Halftime: No. 20 Tennessee 28, Furman 0

The Volunteers scored four touchdowns in the first half against Furman, and five-star freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon accounted for three of them. For much of those first 30 minutes, Brandon didn't look like an 18-year-old making his first college start.

Reports coming out of fall camp indicated that Brandon's legs were a factor in him winning the position battle with George MacIntyre, and that was on display in scrambles and designed runs. On the Vols' second score of the afternoon, Brandon ran an option play with running back DeSean Bishop, kept the ball and walked into the end zone.

Brandon wasn't asked to do too much with his arm, but his first-half numbers were still strong. He completed 10 of his 14 passing attempts for 96 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 68 yards and a score.

With a big lead heading into the second half, we'll see how much more work Brandon gets before McIntyre relieves him. The Vols do have a road trip to Georgia Tech coming up next weekend.

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Mason Heintschel goes off for Pitt

Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel began his sophomore season with a splash by setting a new ACC record with seven touchdown passes in the Panthers' 59-14 romp over Miami (Ohio). Equally impressive: the seven touchdowns went to seven different receivers as Heintschel totaled 453 yards through the air while completing 31 of 41 passes. The Panthers racked up 646 yards in total, their most in a contest since putting up 707 against New Hampshire in 2021. Pitt found a diamond in the rough from the Class of 2025 in Heintschel, who burst onto the scene last season while going 6-3 as the starter during his true freshman season.

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Scoop and score for dominating Longhorns

Late 2Q: Texas 28, Texas State 0

Texas has surrendered some yardage defensively, but the Longhorns are absolutely dominating Texas State on the scoreboard. Graceson Littleton just scooped a fumble and scampered 59 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-0 Texas with under six minutes to play in the second quarter. UT has scored on all three of its offensive possessions as Arch Manning is off to a 10 of 12 start with 100 yards and two touchdowns. The Bobcats have had their chances, but a turnover, a missed field goal and a failed fourth-down attempt have turned this one into a blowout.

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Rough start for DJ Lagway

End 1Q: Auburn 3, Baylor 0

DJ Lagway's propensity for turning the football over has followed him from Florida to Baylor. The Baylor quarterback coughed up a fumble and threw a befuddling interception in the first quarter, stunting an otherwise productive Bears offense. There have been good moments from Lagway, who is 11 of 15 through the air for 150 yards. But the head-scratching mistakes that defined his Florida tenure are still there.

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Good start for Matt Campbell

End 1Q: Penn State 17, Marshall 0

The Matt Campbell era at Penn State began with a nearly perfect first quarter as the Nittany Lions racked up 163 yards and four tackles for loss. After settling for a field goal on its first possession, Penn State hit pay dirt on its next two with touchdown passes from Rocco Becht to Koby Howard and Brett Eskildsen.

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Grading Keelon Russell in Alabama debut

Keelon Russell's first career start at Alabama looked more like a preview than a finished product during Saturday's 48-10 win over East Carolina, but the sophomore showed enough to justify every ounce of offseason excitement. Russell appeared comfortable in the pocket, showed fluidity in the run game and never seemed to allow the moment or weight of the Crimson Tide's quarterback job to speed him up.

Grading Keelon Russell in Alabama debut: Star sophomore flashes promise in first start at QB for Tide

Brad Crawford

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A ho-hum opener from the reigning champs

Final: No. 6 Indiana 52, North Texas 16

Indiana was never truly in danger, but the reigning national champions didn't exactly dominate a rebooting North Texas program like you might expect. UNT kept the chains moving with 19 first downs as the Mean Green reached Indiana territory seven times. Other than a 43-yard touchdown run from backup quarterback Grant Wilson on a read option keeper with under two minutes remaining, Indiana didn't have the best day running the football. Backs Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. combined for 91 yards on 29 carries (3.14 yards per attempt). Starting QB Josh Hoover had a nice debut, completing 13 of 16 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns.

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Legend Bey's first TD was a beauty

4Q: No. 1 Ohio State 49, Ball State 3

If you were worried that Ohio State didn't have enough weapons on offense, they have another one. Four-star freshman Legend Bey just showed exactly why he was such a highly-touted recruit in the class of 2026.

With the starters on the bench in a blowout of the Cardinals, Bey got more run at wide receiver, and he made the most of his opportunity with a highlight-reel touchdown. Backup quarterback Luke Fahey dumped a pass to Bey in the flat, and roughly five Ball State defenders had him dead to rights before he shook free for the score.

Bey was a four-star recruit and the No. 6 athlete in the 2026 signing class, per 247Sports. Bey had something of a rocky commitment process, initially signing with Tennessee before backing out of his letter of intent and flipping to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are certainly glad he decided to make that late switch.

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Nebraska pulls away, avoiding disaster

5:57 4Q: Nebraska 42, Ohio 21

Nebraska finally gained some separation from a pesky Ohio team as Jamal Rule's 11-yard touchdown run put the Cornhuskers ahead 42-21 late in the fourth quarter. The visiting Bobcats simply refused to go away as they closed within 28-21 early in the fourth quarter, requiring Nebraska to sweat this one out. The Cornhuskers will have some things to clean up coming out of this game, but the offense scored touchdowns on four straight possessions in the second half.

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Title or bust for the Ducks?

Kickoff between No. 2 Oregon and Boise State is quickly approaching, and this will be a good first test for a stacked Oregon roster. The Broncos are contenders to win the new edition of the Pac-12 Conference, and they certainly aren't a typical Week 1 cupcake.

The bar will be high for the Ducks because of what Dan Lanning has built in Eugene. There level of investment in the roster is off the charts, and Oregon convinced a number of players to return despite the chance of being an early NFL Draft selection, including QB Dante Moore.

Does that mean the is a championship-or-bust season for Lanning?

With the best roster in Oregon history, it could be a title-or-bust season for Dan Lanning, Ducks

Shehan Jeyarajah

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Indiana imperfect but in command

Half: Indiana 24, North Texas 6

North Texas out-gained Indiana 173-153 in the first half while dominating time of possession by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. The Mean Green are well behind on the scoreboard, though, despite a 16 of 19 effort from former IU quarterback Tayven Jackson. The reason IU hasn't had the football for very long is because it has operated from short fields, courtesy of big kick returns from Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. New IU quarterback Josh Hoover is 7 of 8 passing for 100 yards with a couple of touchdowns. It wasn't the most dominant first half from the IU defense, as the Mean Green totaled 10 first downs and a respectable 4.8 yards per play.

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Houston getting balanced offensive effort

HALF: No. 23 Houston 19, Oregon State 7

Houston has gotten a balanced offensive effort to take a commanding 19-7 lead against Pac-12 foe Oregon State. The Cougars posted 308 yards of offense in the first half -- including more than 140 on each of on the ground and through the air. Houston only punted once in six possessions.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Houston's performance is the balance. Four players have at least 47 yards either receiving or rushing, including a highlight-reel 31-yard touchdown from star receiver Amare Thomas. After falling out of the rotation at Oregon, running back Makhi Hughes has zoomed out of the gates with 55 yards on eight carries.

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Keelon Russell settling in

Half: Alabama 38, East Carolina 7

Alabama redshirt freshman Keelon Russell is settling in during his first career start. The highest-rated signee in program history is 11 of 17 for 182 yards and has totaled 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground. His 3-yard touchdown scamper just before the half put Alabama ahead 38-7. It wasn't always the prettiest first half for Alabama, but the Crimson Tide are in full control. Following a 4 of 8 start for Russell that included a couple of drops and some pre-snap penalties, the Crimson Tide began to cruise. A 27-yard pick-six by Yhonzae Pierre also helped Bama's case.

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Nebraska struggling with Ohio

HALF: Nebraska 14, Ohio 13

Nebraska couldn't get out of its own way in the first half against Ohio. The Cornhuskers committed six penalties for 50 yards and allowed Ohio to score on its first three possessions. The Cornhuskers got the football back with 3:02 remaining but botched their opportunity to add points before the break. Outside of a 24-yard gain from Isaiah Mozee, the run game has sputtered, and UNLV transfer quarterback Anthony Colandrea is just 10 of 19 through the air.

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Alabama with a mercurial start

Alabama is up 17-7 on East Carolina, but it's been an uneven start for the Crimson Tide. The visiting Pirates just used a 68-yard gain over the middle to set up their first score, exposing a painful lapse in Bama's secondary. Offensively, star receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams already has two drops in a continuation of an issue that plagued him last season. Redshirt freshman quarterback Keelon Russell has flashed a few times, but the Crimson Tide have been penalized several times on offense. All in all, it's been quite a mixed bag from the No. 13 Crimson Tide early.

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Jeremiah Smith doing Jeremiah Smith things

1Q: Ohio State 7, Ball State 0

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith didn't waste any time making his mark. Barely halfway through the first quarter, Smith broke away for an absolutely ridiculous over-the-shoulder catch for a 48-yard touchdown against Ball State.

Smith is rated the No. 1 overall player in the CBS Sports NFL Draft prospect rankings are posting more than 2,500 yards in his first two seasons. With former running mate Carnell Tate off to the NFL, Smith could take on an even bigger workload in his (likely) final season.

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Turbo Richard making a mark

Boston College transfer Turbo Richard ranked as the No. 10 running back transfer of the cycle, and he's making an early impact for Indiana. The 5-foot-9 bruiser caught a pass out of the backfield for 38 yards to help set up his own 2-yard touchdown run a few plays later as Indiana surged ahead of North Texas 14-0 late in the first quarter. Richard has been splitting carries with Lee Beebe Jr. for the Hoosiers, but it looks like he'll get plenty of touches.

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Prized transfers connect early for Indiana

Things you love to see if you're an Indiana fan: your prized quarterback transfer (Josh Hoover) connecting with your prized receiver transfer (Nick Marsh) for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game. Amazing one-handed snag from Marsh, who arrived from Michigan State as the No. 5 ranked receiver transfer. That was Hoover's first throw in an Indiana uniform after he arrived from TCU following the 2025 season. The Hoosiers are off and rolling in their national title defense.

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Iowa QB battle rages into Week 1

The Iowa quarterback battle between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski was neck-and-neck throughout the offseason. Apparently, it's still close enough that Kirk Ferentz will play both in the season-opener against NIU.

According to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, Brown will start against the Huskies, but Hecklinski will rotate in after a couple series. Whoever performs at a higher level on Saturday may be the locked in starter moving forward.

Brown and Hecklinski both played sparingly for Iowa last season after transferring in from different programs. Brown got more work -- completing 11 of 21 attempts for 107 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Hecklinski connected on his only two throws of the season for eight yards, and he added a touchdown on the ground.

Neither quarterback has the immense rushing upside that Mark Gronowski offered last fall, so this battle will come down to which one operates the passing game more efficiently. Look for both to target star tight end DJ Vonnahme early and often.

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Week 1 expert picks, predictions

We're just one hour out from kickoff, but before the action begins, our team of experts picked every big Week 1 game, both straight up and against the spread. Can Boise State keep give Oregon a scare? Will LSU pass its first big test? How will the lone top 25 matchup of the weekend -- No. 24 Louisville vs. No. 9 Ole Miss in Nashville -- play out?

See how our experts see the weekend unfolding.

College football picks: Predictions against the spread, odds, betting lines for top 25 games in Week 1

Brandon Marcello

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Your guide to Week 1's best matchups

Week 1 can be a little dizzying for any fan. You go from relatively quiet Saturdays to countless games on TV from noon to midnight. This handy guide should help you prioritize your weekend and help you create the ultimate viewing experience by highlighting the most entertaining matchups in each window.

College football schedule, games 2026: What to watch in Week 1, TV channels, streaming, kickoff times

Austin Nivison

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Which teams might have the jitters in Week 1?

Speaking of LSU, there has been plenty of attention given to what's happening off the field. Will that affect what happens on the field tonight against Clemson? LSU has invested heavily in a team that's expected to win heavily, so the Tigers will be one of several teams feeling early pressure this weekend.

Week 1 Anxiety Rankings: Is distracted LSU ready to play an actual football game? Ole Miss on upset alert

Tom Fornelli

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