No. 25 Boise State becomes first ranked team upset in season

South Florida Bulls wide receiver Keshaun Singleton (11) runs with the ball against the Boise State Broncos in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

No. 25 Boise State becomes first ranked team upset in CFB season

By Jordan Sigler | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 9:44 PM ET

Week 1 of the college football regular season is off to an exciting start with an upset during the first game on Thursday night.

No. 25 Boise State entered its contest on the road against unranked South Florida looking to keep the momentum they gained last season when they made the College Football Playoff with star running back Ashton Jeanty.

The Broncos' offense looked out of sync without the Las Vegas Raiders first-round pick, gaining only 122 rushing yards (fewer than Jeanty's 131.5 rushing yards per game in 2024) and fumbling five times (three lost) in a 34-7 loss to the Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.

USF quarterback Byrum Brown had a huge night, going 16-of-24 passing for 210 yards. He added 43 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, including faking out a Broncos defender on a 15-yard touchdown run to put the Bulls up 24-7 with 1:44 remaining in the third quarter.

SOUTH FLORIDA GOES UP 24-7 ON NO. 25 BOISE STATE

Watch now on ESPN and the ESPN App: https://t.co/TdBxWIOCxD pic.twitter.com/dLimg8Zq2c
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 29, 2025

Brown almost had a third touchdown, but it was called back for a holding penalty.

Byrum Brown was trying to truck EVERYONE in the first half

Watch Boise State-USF now on ESPN and the ESPN App pic.twitter.com/LJ2746D1Es
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 28, 2025

The victory was the Bulls first win over a top 25 program since they knocked off No. 16 Notre Dame, 23-20, in 2011. The win will surely give South Florida confidence before they travel to play No. 15 Florida in Week 2 and then travel to play No. 10 Miami in Week 3.

Boise State faces an uphill battle to make the CFP for a second consecutive season following the upset on Thursday night. The Mountain West program has a must-win game coming up against No. 6 Notre Dame on Oct. 4, the only ranked opponent on their schedule.

The Broncos offense will need to find an identity soon, because it looked awful against USF in Week 1.

Jordan Sigler

Jordan Sigler is a sports writer with a decade of experience as a journalist, including his time as a breaking news/day cops reporter for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. His sports coverage across the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, and college football world has also been featured at ChiCitySports, Gridiron Heroics, Pro Football Network, and Athlon Sports. Based in Austin, Texas, Jordan graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from Texas Tech University in 2014

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