College Football HQ

The 11 most ridiculous moments from College Football Week 1

Beheaded mascots, property damage, firefighting football players, blank depth charts, and a stiff arm from a referee? College football's Week 1 delivered at least 11 truly bizarre moments worth looking back at...
Alex Weber|
The Oregon Duck surfs the crowd
The Oregon Duck surfs the crowd | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

College football ain't an American pasttime because of the flawless execution we all watch on the field. In fact, it's much the opposite. Many fans are drawn to the sport because it's basically a nation-wide screwball comedy. The absurdity is as valuable as the highlight plays. So grab a chair and some popcorn and catch up on all of the most wild and ridiculous stories across Week 1 — and there are quite a few....

Army football player and his dad save man from a burning car. Amidst a horrible car crash scene within a few miles of Army's West Point campus, one Black Knight football player, defender Larry Pickett, sprang into a firefighter role and helped remove a man from his burning vehicle. You can see Pickett and his father dragging the person out and getting them to safety, a valiant act by both, and a tremendous representation of Army football. "I'm just grateful that we got him out, Pickett told news cameras afterward. He recorded a tackle in Army's game the day before.

Oregon Duck mascot beheaded, flees in embarrassment. Like his friend from the final dinner scene in A Christmas Story, Oregon's duck mascot was rendered headless during the team's entrance to Autzen Stadium for their season-opener vs. Montana State. Rather than face the crowd, the costumed man speed-waddled toward the tunnel while a stadium worker chased after him, duck head in hand.

Washington State player starts fight by ripping mouthpiece off another guy's helmet. After Washington State thwarted a late rally by the Idaho Vandals for a 13-10 win in Pullman, Cougar player Tucker Large was called out by an Idaho player who said, "No. 1, you weak as (fudge)." Large spun around and stormed over to the player, who also wore No. 1, and proceeded to rip the guy's mouthguard off his helmet, inciting a postgame skirmish.

Lee Corso: PERFECTION. Every other article about college football this week led with the white-maned 90-year-old legend, so we'll wait and stick him in the middle. However, his picks deserve all the headlines, because in his swan song, Corso nailed literally every single prediction he made. Not only the perfect record, but also, every team he coached or played for also won on the Saturday he bid sayonara. Now that's a proper send-off for one of America's most beloved.

LSU coach Brian Kelly run over by referee: Brian Kelly scored a massive win for LSU and his own reputation in Week 1 at Clemson, but during one play, the third-year Tiger head coach lost a collision vs. a referee over on the sideline. Kelly's feet ended up about one yard above his head as he spilled onto the ground after stepping into a charging ref's path. Kelly immediately pointed a stern index finger at the official once he got back to his knees, but luckily, a swarm of LSU assistants slowed any further rage.

School president praises team defense after 20-3 loss. Sacramento State has not won a football game since October 19 of 2024 when they toppled Weber State in a 51-48 overtime shootout. But the six-game losing streak hasn't stopped Sac State school president Luke Wood from pumping the sunshine. After the team's season-opening loss by 17 points against South Dakota State in which they mustered just a field goal, Wood sang the praises of his side's defensive effort while explaining that winning isn't everything in college football.

Dylan Raiola is cosplaying Patrick Mahomes. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola has been likened to Patrick Mahomes since he began starting games for the Cornhuskers. You can see why: the hair-style, the headband, a No. 15 red-and-white jersey, plus the fact that Raiola even plays a bit like the Kansas City QB. Well, in Week 1, the mimicry hit all-time highs, as Raiola and Nebraska played at Arrowhead Stadium in front of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift and others — with Raiola leaning into the performance even harder during the game. Is this getting too weird? Or is it all good fun?

Bill Belichick blanks his first test. Both literally and figuratively, North Carolina gave pundits nothing of value to discuss from Monday night's blowout home loss to TCU to open the Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill. The evening began with reporters in the stadium posting all over X that North Carolina had provided them with a depth chart that was completely blank! A funny move by Belichick... until it was the third quarter and the Horned Frogs had rolled off 41 unanswered points. Maybe less cute media jests and more tackling drills?

LSU beats Clemson but also damages their stadium for good measure. LSU really let the other Tigers have it this weekend. First, they rolled into Memorial Stadium wearing unbelievably presumptive t-shirts that had "1-0" plastered on the front. Then, LSU actually backed up their pregame shirt-brag by beating up on the home team all night long. And as they left, one of LSU's team busses smacked into some metal garage fencing and bent it way out of shape. Sheesh, the Tigers came, conquered and caused collateral damage to Death Valley.

Collegami! 46 to 11... for the first time ever. NFL scorigami is widely popular on social media now for tracking down unique first-time-ever scores at the pro level. Usually, you get a few per year. But at the D1 college football level, we've had thousands of games over more than one hundred years, making unique scores much less common. However, we got one Saturday when Penn State finished off Nevada by a 46 to 11 score. If that sounds strange, it's because it is.

Northwestern refuses Tulane uniform request, loses by 20 points. Now competing in a more loaded Big Ten than ever and coming off a 4-8 season, NW inspired not hope, but total despair in their 2025 season-opener. The Wildcats traveled to New Orleans to face Tulane, who molly-wopped them 23-3 on the field. Then, after the game, Tulane coach John Sumrall dissed Northwestern for refusing to work with the Green Wave to allow them to wear white uniforms to honor the 20th anniversary of the 2005 team which wore white to recognize Hurricane Katrina victims. That's a football and a PR nightmare for the purple school in Evanston.

Published
Alex Weber
ALEX WEBER

Born and raised in the state of Kentucky, Alex Weber has published articles for many of the largest college sports media brands in the country, including On3, Athlon Sports, FanSided, SB Nation, and others. Since 2022, he has also contributed for Kentucky Sports Radio, one of the largest team-specific college sports websites in the nation. In addition to his work in sports journalism, Alex manages content for a local magazine named ‘Goshen Living’ and coaches cross country and track.

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