After a nearly seven-month wait, the 2025 college football season got underway with a bang on Saturday as college football fans from around the world got a taste to quench their thirst with an exciting week zero slate. From the rolling hills of beautiful Ireland to the stunning shores of Hawaii, Saturday delivered high-intensity games that set the precursor for a legendary Labor Day Opening weekend. Saturday delivered four FBS, four FCS, and one crossover game that turned into one of the best of the day, serving as an appetizer for the main course this week, starting on Thursday. 

Things got underway with a bang as Kansas State and Iowa State met in Dublin, Ireland, as part of the annual Farmageddon matchup between the two schools. It started as a defensive slugfest, marked by turnovers and stellar defensive performances in the first half. At the break, the Wildcats of Kansas State and the Cyclones of Iowa State were gridlocked at 7-7, with a combined total of 255 yards of offense, while the defense earned a combined four turnovers in the first half. As the curtain of halftime gave way to the second half, both the Cyclone offense and the Wildcats’ offensive units exploded to combine for 441 yards, while lighting up the scoreboard for a combined 31 points, with the Cyclones coming out on top 24-21. Iowa State Rocco Becht threw for 183 yards while throwing two touchdowns. Saturday’s 24-21 win over Kansas State earned Iowa State Head Coach Matt Campbell his 100th career win. 

Shortly thereafter, you had the Coach Dan Mullen era at UNLV get underway with a bit of a first game jitter as Idaho State from the FCS went toe for toe with the Runnin Rebels before UNLV came out on top 38-31, earning the first victory in the Dan Mullen era in Las Vegas. 

From there, three blowouts as Kansas got the best of Fresno State 31-7, Western Kentucky dominated Sam Houston State, and North Carolina Central jumped out on Southern U and never looked back, taking a 31-14 win over the Jaguars. 

In what many considered to be the game of the night, Hawaii and Stanford lived up to the hype and then some as both offenses struggled in the first half, with the Rainbow Warriors and Cardinal struggling to gain momentum in the first half, with Hawaii taking a 14-13 lead to the locker room. Hawaii would add a field goal to the scoreboard in the third quarter to make it 17-13. Stanford would put together an 85-yard drive to open the fourth quarter, capped off by a touchdown with 9:41 on the clock to retake a 20-17 lead over Hawaii. A costly turnover by Stanford would give the Rainbow Warriors the ball back down three with a little under six minutes remaining on the game clock. With 2:01 on the clock, Hawaii settled for a field goal to make it 20-20, leaving the door wide open for Stanford. With just 1:45 remaining, the Hawaii defense forced a Stanford three-and-out, opening the door for their offense to continue the momentum from the last drive. Hawaii would get within the red zone, giving Kansei Matsuzawa a chip shot 38-yard field goal, giving the Rainbow Warriors a 23-20 season-opening win over Stanford. 

Saturday delivered the perfect appetizer for even the average college football fan as we had heartpounding action all day long. With a heated rivalry in Dublin, ending the day with an instant classic between Hawaii and Stanford, there’s no doubt that we’re in for an upcoming season for the history books. 

Photo Credits- Iowa State, Hawaii, UNLV on X