College Football's Week 1 Winners, Losers: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Boise State Broncos

Winner: California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele

The new era in Berkeley, with general manager Ron Rivera pulling the strings, couldn't have kicked off any better thanks to true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. The former Oregon Ducks signee went into Corvallis and unleashed an air raid against the Oregon State Beavers. He finished with 234 passing yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions on 20-for-30 completions in the 34-15 victory. Sagapolutele was easily the most impressive freshman in his college football debut.

Next for California is their home opener at California Memorial Stadium against the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Texas Southern Tigers on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 3 p.m. PT.

Loser: Boise State Broncos' Group of 5 College Football Playoff odds

To everyone's disbelief, the American Athletic Conference's South Florida Bulls upset the No. 25 Boise State Broncos at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, 34-7. Despite the Broncos having more first downs (25 to 15), total yards (378 to 372), and time of possession (36:21 to 23:39), coach Spencer Danielson's group couldn't take care of the ball (three turnovers) and made mental mistakes over and over again (eight penalties for 57 yards).

In coach Dan Mullen's first season in Las Vegas, the UNLV Rebels now look like the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference and be the Group of 5 program to receive a bid into the College Football Playoff.

Winner: Tennessee Volunteers, quarterback Joey Aguilar

Loser: UCLA Bruins, quarterback Nico Iamaleava

The 'trade' of quarterbacks between the UCLA Bruins and Tennessee Volunteers looks to favor senior Joey Aguilar's situation with the No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers over redshirt sophomore Nico Iamaleava's with the UCLA Bruins.

In Tennessee's 45-26 win over the Syracuse Orange at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, Aguilar completed 16 of his 28 attempts and threw for 247 passing yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Iamaleava struggled in his debut at the Rose Bowl on his way to an embarrassing 43-10 loss to the Utah Utes, only going for 137 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 11-for-22 completions.

Iamaleava left Knoxville to be closer to his home in Long Beach, California, after he didn't receive a pay raise in his Name, Image, and Likeness or NIL contract. He and Aguilar reportedly make in the $1.2 million range, according to On3's Pete Nakos.

Winner: Florida State Seminoles coach Mike Norvell

After an abysmal 2-10 record in the 2024 season, Florida State Seminoles coach Mike Norvell was on the hot seat. The 2025 season is a make-or-break year for him, and all he did was knock off the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide, 31-17. Norvell's job is safe (for now) due to senior quarterback Tommy Castellanos's stellar performance with his intelligent decision-making and ability to use his feet, running for 78 rushing yards and one touchdown on 16 carries.

Florida State next hosts the Southland Conference's East Texas A&M Lions at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 9 a.m. PT.

Loser: Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning's Heisman odds

Despite being the favorite to win the coveted Heisman Trophy before the start of the 2025 season, Texas Longhorns redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning looked nothing like the best player in all of college football after only putting up one score against the No. 3 reigning national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, 14-7.

First-year Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia threw out a scheme that Manning had no answer for, only going for 170 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 17-for-30 completions. The signal-caller looked uncomfortable in the pocket and didn't settle in until the final three minutes of the game, which by then was much too late.