by Lily Andersen '30 on September 24, 2026
College Football
Lily Andersen ’30 (double check grad year)
College football has just begun, and so have the crazy upsets, with University of Texas at Austin taking the No. 1 seed.
The 2026–2027 college football season began on Saturday, Aug. 29, with the Week 0 games, and on Thursday, Sept. 3, with Week 1 games for the vast majority of teams across all conferences and Group of Five conferences.
Last year’s college football season ended with the Indiana Hoosiers winning the National Championship against University of Miami. This was the first National Championship for the Hoosiers in program history. The Hoosiers finished the season with a perfect record of 16–0. So far into this season, they are continuing to keep a clean record of 3–0 as of Sept. 19. Their next game is against the Northwestern Wildcats on Sept. 25. However, the Hoosiers are sitting in the No. 5 seed currently, with Texas taking the No. 1 seed.
The Longhorns showed grit and determination in Austin on Sept. 12 against the previously No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. After the first half, it seemed very unlikely that there was even a chance for Texas to make a comeback. Texas was down 23–3 in the fourth, but quarterback Arch Manning did not take the defeat just yet. Coming down to the final minutes of the game, the Longhorns managed to win by just one point, causing Ohio to drop out of the No. 1 seed and take Texas’ previous spot at the No. 4 seed. The win was huge for Texas, and players and fans were ecstatic.
Manning expressed to ESPN the pride he has for the Longhorns’ performance. “You dream of playing in games like this, hosting the No. 1 team in the country at home,” Manning said, “I mean, how about that? Getting a win? By one point? Let’s go, baby!” The game was electric, with 105,044 fans in attendance, making it the third largest crowd in Longhorns history. While having the home game advantage, the Longhorns truly stunned Ohio in their 20-point comeback. This was head coach Steve Sarkisian’s biggest comeback in his entire coaching career. He was just as thrilled as Manning. “We’ve had some really big moments, but this one is special,” Sarkisian said. “When you beat the No. 1 team in the country in the fashion that we did to come back the way that we did to represent Longhorn Nation, to represent the name on our chest, Texas, I think means a lot.”
Texas hasn’t been the only shocking upset in the college football world. Oklahoma State had a thrilling win against the University of Oregon on Sept 12. with a final score of 39–31. Similar to Texas and Ohio, Boone Picks Stadium was packed with 51,035 fans who all stormed the field after the win. The goal post in the west end zone was gone, as students tossed it into Theta pond nearby. According to CBS News, first year Oklahoma coach Eric Morris is excited about the team’s win but is not letting the hype distract the players from future games. “We’re not paying attention to any of this,” he said. With a long season ahead, Morris knows that staying focused on the present is what’s most important, and he is not letting a crazy upset become a distraction.