First College Football Playoff contender eliminated? Ranked team falls in Week 1 dud
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A 24-21 Iowa State win over Kansas State in Dublin last weekend was technically the first upset of the 2025 college football season. But the Cyclones were ranked just like the Wildcats.
On Thursday night, we got our first “unranked over a ranked team” upset of the new season, and it might actually have College Football Playoff implications.
Boise State, ranked No. 25 in the preseason AP poll and fresh off a Mountain West title, was hammered by South Florida at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Bulls forced 3 turnovers en route to a 34-7 victory.
The Broncos, who were led by Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty last season, struggled mightily to replace the star tailback. Jeanty led the FBS last season with 187.8 rushing yards per contest. He averaged 7 yards per carry, scored 29 touchdowns on the ground, and accounted for more than 40% of Boise State’s total yardage.
On Thursday night against the Bulls, Boise State ran 38 times for 133 yards as a team. Adjusting for sacks, the Broncos averaged just 3.4 yards per carry.
Boise State fumbled it 5 times in the game, losing 3 of them. Two of the turnovers ended Boise drives inside South Florida territory.
South Florida was outgained in the game, 378-372. But a fake punt on fourth-and-6 that went for a 45-yard touchdown helped flip the momentum.
In the second half, Boise State just couldn’t finish. The Broncos went 3-and-out on their opening possession of the third quarter, then turned it over on downs on 4 consecutive possessions — 3 of which went inside the South Florida 30.
While Thursday’s loss won’t do anything to Boise State’s chance of repeating in the Mountain West, it’ll certainly hurt the Broncos’ résumé. They need to be the highest-ranked of the Group of 6 champions to earn an automatic berth. Without that bid, they’d likely need to be in the top 12. Boise State still has to travel to South Bend to face Notre Dame on Oct. 4, as well.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
