Iowa State and Kansas State Face off in Ireland to Open Week 0

The 2025 College Football season has finally arrived! From wild, rainy conditions in Ireland to a thriller in Hawaii, College Football finally returns in classic Week 0 fashion.  
by Jaxson Folds, Jack Peterson, and Sean Clift

Week 0 kicked off with a top 25 match-up, featuring the #22 Iowa State Cyclones and the #17 Kansas State Wildcats in Dublin, Ireland. Coming into the game, Kansas State was a 3-point favorite. On top of that, the Wildcats were also the favorite to win the Big 12 conference.
 
In a nail-biting conference game, the weather proved to be a deciding factor, with a muffed punt from Kansas State and a goal-line fumble from the Cyclones, along with many other mishaps.
 
After a constant back and forth, the Cyclones came out on top with a 3-point victory, 24-21, despite impressive performances from Kansas State’s QB Avery Johnson and WR Jayce Brown. 

Stats Via ESPN
Here are the top performers from the Iowa State vs. Kansas State match-up:

• KSU QB Avery Johnson: 21/30 Passing, 273 Yards, 3 Total TDs
• KSU WR Jayce Brown: 4 Rec, 78 Yards, 1 TD
• ISU QB Rocco Becht: 14/28 Passing, 183 Yards, 2 TDs
• ISU DB Marcus Neal Jr.: 8 Total Tackles, 1.5 Tackles for Loss, 1 Pass Defended

Another exciting game on Saturday was when the Stanford Cardinal traveled to Honolulu to face off against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. 

Stanford’s passing game wasn’t the star of the show, with Ben Gulbranson going 15 for 30 and one interception, but their run game was very dominant. Micah Ford recorded 113 yards on 26 carries and one touchdown. 

Both teams had successful offensive outcomes, but Hawaii came out on top. Freshman QB Micah Alejado went 27 for 39 for 210 yards and two touchdown passes, along with 36 yards on the ground.

This intense, close match-up ended with a game-winning field goal kick by Kansei Matsuzawa, resulting in a 23-20 Hawaii victory.
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That wasn’t all of the College Football action fans received on Saturday. The Idaho State Bengals traveled to Las Vegas to face off against the Dan Mullen led UNLV Rebels. This game featured high-scoring fireworks and a one-score finish. The game concluded with the Rebels taking down the Bengals 38-31 with a clutch touchdown in the fourth quarter. UNLV entered the game as -30.5 point favorites (according to ESPN), so the score was rather odd, considering the hype UNLV was receiving during the offseason. 

Another game from the weekend slate included an absolutely dominant performance from the Kansas Jayhawks. They took a huge 31-7 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs. Kansas QB Jalon Daniels took the spotlight for the game, as he threw 20 passes, completing 18 of them for 176 yards and 3 TDs. Daniels also tacked on 47 rushing yards to add to his incredible day.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Sam Houston Bearcats faced off in a high-scoring, Conference-USA frenzy. The Hilltopper's Maverick McIvor had multiple impressive plays, going 30/51 passing with 401 yards and 3 touchdowns. This outstanding performance led to Western Kentucky taking home the win 41-24 and getting on top of the C-USA standings early.

Fans are hyped and ready for this upcoming weekend of College Football action. One of the most anticipated games this week is Ohio State hosting Texas in The Shoe. Be sure to tune in to multiple entertaining matchups all weekend long. Happy Labor Day from the Viridian Sports Staff!

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