Six College Football Hot Takes Ahead of Week 2

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads his team onto the field prior to the season-opener against the Texas Longhorns at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The anticipation for the start of the college football season is perhaps only matched by the swiftness and conviction of the overreactions that follow Week 1.

No team has ever clinched a playoff spot or won a national championship in the season-opener. The Heisman race has never been decided in early September.

Yet, the national college football audience sure seems ready to crown Ohio State after its marquee win over Texas while writing the obituary on Kalen DeBoer's Alabama tenure.

That's not to say all Week 1 reactions are without merit. But we have some takes of our own -- of the hot variety -- entering Week 2 that will address those matters and more.

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) looks to pass over Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald (4) during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

1. Let's slow down on the Ohio State coronation just a tad ...

There's no argument here that the biggest win of Week 1 was the Buckeyes' 14-7 takedown of Texas in what was a matchup of the preseason No. 3 vs. No. 1 teams. No argument. Ohio State deserves its No. 1 ranking -- for now -- and, to be honest, it will probably stay in that top spot for a while given the strength of its upcoming schedule.

The Buckeyes have Grambling State, Ohio, a somewhat intriguing road test at Washington and a home game against Minnesota before their next likely showdown with a ranked opponent -- on the road at Illinois on Oct. 11.

But just how much that win over Texas actually taught us about this Ohio State team -- and what it truly reflects about the Buckeyes' odds of repeating as national champions -- remains a major unknown. And Ryan Day is surely telling his team the same thing.

Ohio State overwhelming hyped but thoroughly unproven Texas QB Arch Manning was the storyline that drove the narrative, but that obscured the fact that the Buckeyes managed just 203 offensive yards (to the Longhorns' 336) while breaking in their own new starter in sophomore Julian Sayin, who completed 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown -- less than Manning's 170 albeit without an interception.

Also, the departures of star running backs TreyVeon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins to the NFL were felt, too, as the Buckeyes mustered just 77 rushing yards on 34 carries.

The point being -- this offense still has everything to prove.

Meanwhile, give new Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia all deserved credit for making it a long day for Manning and the Longhorns with creative and confounding looks and coverages, but the rush of after-the-fact commentary that it was absurd to ever doubt Patricia in his move to college football has been ... well, absurd.

Steve Sarkisian saying Ohio State's ability to disguise coverages was "at an elite level."

Thats big praise from one of the best offensive minds in the country.

Still shocked that people used Matt Patricia’s time as an NFL HC to say he wouldn’t be a good college DC. pic.twitter.com/VSriTyp0HB

— Kris Drew (@KristopherDrew_) August 31, 2025

That hiring -- to replace Jim Knowles, who left for Penn State -- could well prove inspired, but it remains a bold and curious one. Not because Patricia had spent the last two decades in the NFL but because he was deservedly maligned for most of that time.

After seven years as Bill Belichick's defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots (which is a tough thing to evaluate, like all of Andy Reid's offensive coordinators who have struggled after leaving the Kansas City Chiefs' nest), Patricia was hired as head coach of the Detroit Lions, lasting just two and a half seasons with a 13-29-1 record.

He returned to the Patriots and in 2022 served as the team's offensive playcaller in an ill-fated move that lasted all of one frustrating season. The next year, he joined the Philadelphia Eagles staff and was elevated to defensive playcaller for the final four games of the regular season, during which the defense showed no discernible improvement as the team lost three of those four games and its first playoff game, giving up 27.8 points per game in that stretch. His contract was not renewed, and he spent last season out of coaching.

All of that is to say, it's fair to at least have some skepticism about how Patricia is going to fare in replacing Knowles, and one impressive performance against an overwhelmed young QB in Week 1 of the season doesn't necessarily answer all questions.

The Buckeyes -- Patricia included -- may ultimately prove Week 1 was indeed a harbinger of things to come, but until that happens, it's OK to at least hold off on scheduling the next championship parade for now.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) leaves the field following the 14-7 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

2. Speaking of Arch Manning ...

We're not going to pile on here -- well, that's not the intent at least. Critiquing Arch Manning is low-hanging fruit after his season debut (17-of-30 passing for 170 yards, one touchdown, one interception, 38 rushing yards), in which he struggled to get the Longhorns' offense moving most of the game, missed open receivers and looked generally discombobulated.

Actually, this is a criticism of the narrative that was created on his behalf, crowning him as a star and the preseason Heisman favorite before he'd really proven anything at all. Yes, he was impressive against Mississippi State last year while filling in for Quinn Ewers, passing for 325 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another. He also threw two interceptions and completed 15 of 29 passes in his other fill-in start against Louisiana-Monroe. He was then and remains now a developing quarterback with both plenty of potential and raw flaws.

More to the point, though, there really haven't been many tangible data points to go on besides his famous last name to have any true sense of what Manning is at this point in his football career. His family carefully managed his path to this point, as Manning was the rare ballyhooed QB prospect who avoided the national camps and national 7-on-7 circuit, where he would have accrued a lot of reps competing with and against the top peers in his class. That included not participating in the prestigious Elite 11 camp, which is the annual national spotlight for top QB prospects.

It was always hard not to view those decisions as a means of protecting his mystique and stock -- the Manning name, along with his obvious physical talents -- would assure he was always on this track to stardom, whereas had he struggled in those national spotlights as a high school QB, it could only have hurt his perception or projection.

In the process, though, it's meant that this creation of Arch Manning as the biggest name in college football has been mostly built behind the scenes. Maybe it shouldn't be so shocking that he struggled in his first true spotlight moment after a highly-ranked opponent. It also shouldn't define him in any way.

Manning has a lot to prove if he's going to earn his place as one of the top quarterbacks in college football or merit real Heisman discussion, but that was the case before last weekend as well. He may well get there -- he'll surely have many Saturdays better than the last one -- but if he does, it won't be built on mystique and word-of-mouth (or a famous last name). I recognize this would have sounded bolder and more impactful before the season, but it was always my opinion that Arch Manning, the QB, was something wholly different from the myth-making narrative that has preceded him to this point.

3. UNC might be OK this season ...

Make no mistake, Bill Belichick's debut as North Carolina head coach Monday was disastrous.

The 48-14 loss was a nationally-watched humiliation for the NFL legend as his team looked unprepared, overmatched and listless on both sides of the ball. (Also, seeing Belichick conduct his postgame press conference under an archway of balloons only added to the jarring disconnect between his career to this point and now).

Bill Belichick caps off ugly UNC debut with awkward balloon-filled press conference https://t.co/ssQzelzMOQ pic.twitter.com/x02hlNypFS

— New York Post (@nypost) September 2, 2025

So I'm not discounting what we all witnessed Monday night. But ... have you seen North Carolina's schedule?

The Tar Heels are at Charlotte this week, home for Richmond and on the road at UCF (which went 4-8 last year) before their next big test against No. 8 Clemson. However, the Tigers are the only other team on the schedule that is presently ranked.

The rest of it includes home games against Virginia, struggling Stanford and Duke and road games with Cal, Syracuse, Wake Forest and NC State.

If you squint just enough, one can see the path to North Carolina possibly getting to seven or even eight wins, assuming Belichick makes major corrections as his reputation would suggest he will. Considering the program went 6-6 last year, that would qualify as a respectable foundation for a new staff in Year 1.

Or ... the train continues careening off the tracks and it's one of the wildest stories in college football this season.

To be determined! We're just saying, the schedule affords a lot of opportunity to Belichick and Co. to turn things around.

4. NCAA still missing the boat on transfer portal matter

It came out this week that that the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee voted to eliminate the post-spring transfer portal window and move to a single 10-day window starting Jan. 2 (pending final approval).

Any simplification and condensing of the transfer portal chaos is a good thing, but the NCAA can still do better.

That Jan. 2 window comes a day after the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, meaning the programs in the semifinals are still going to be losing key backups to transfer departures during their playoff push, while those coaches will also have to juggle game-planning with monitoring and recruiting the portal.

The reason the NCAA is still allowing for that overlap is simple -- to give athletes time to select and get to their new schools before winter enrollment deadlines so they're in classes for the spring semester.

But is that really so essential, such that we're still undermining the sport's biggest month with all this behind-the-scenes distraction?

What if the NCAA simply allowed a one-time waiver for athletes transferring mid-year to be eligible to go through strength training and spring practice with their new schools, even if they aren't taking spring classes, provided they hit a required threshold of summer credits to be eligible come the fall? Is that so outrageous and undoable?

Have the transfer portal window officially start the day after the national championship game, removing any tough decision for key backups who know they're going to move on after the season but would also not have to make that decision in the middle of their team's playoff push? Allow all the focus to be on the games and the season's crowning moment. Allow coaches to focus on coaching their teams.

We've come a long way in reevaluating the student-athlete model and its true meaning. Going a little further won't really matter that much to the perception of it all -- but it could further remove some unneeded chaos along the way.

Aug 30, 2025; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (3) leaves the field after a win over the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

5. The QB most people aren't talking about yet but will be soon ...

One of the most intriguing quarterbacks in college football that the national audience hasn't paid much attention to yet is Cal true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

That could change soon enough.

For those not familiar with the four-star freshman from Hawaii, he initially committed to the Bears before flipping to Oregon during the early signing period last December. But he had another change of heart after enrolling and joining the Ducks for their Rose Bowl practices. He transferred to Cal in January and beat out veteran Ohio State transfer Devin Brown to win the starting job.

In his debut last weekend, he passed for 234 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions in a 34-15 win over Oregon State, while stoking Cal fans' optimism that he could potentially be the program's best quarterback since Jared Goff.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is the REAL DEAL#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/FVURqG6dCm

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 1, 2025

It may take until Cal's Oct. 17 showdown with Belichick's Tar Heels for the Bears to get enough spotlight for Sagapolutele to truly open a lot of eyes, but we're hopping on the bandwagon early. The kid is impressive.

Aug 30, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier looks on against the Long Island Sharks during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

6. The highest-ranked team that could finish the year out of the rankings is ...

The Florida Gators are No. 13 in the AP poll this week, but they shouldn't get too comfortable in the national rankings.

And we're not just saying that because Billy Napier has produced just one winning season in his three years at the helm (8-5 last year).

No, the Gators have talent and a star quarterback in DJ Lagway and there is plenty of reason to think they can build on their finish last season.

Until you take a look at their schedule ...

After hosting USF this weekend, the Gators begin a gauntlet that includes (using current rankings) back-to-back road games at No. 3 LSU and No. 5 Miami, a bye, a home game against No. 7 Texas, a road game at No. 19 Texas A&M and later a home game against No. 4 Georgia, a road game at No. 20 Ole Miss, and home tilts against No. 22 Tennessee and No. 14 Florida State to close out the schedule.

It literally doesn't get any tougher than that.