TWIF Notes 8/25/25

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Welcome Back!

What a fantastic opening weekend! Three of the 5 games were within a TD of each other, and the other 2 had drama as well. 

Here is my take on the 5 games from yesterday.

Iowa State looks like a team to be reckoned with in the Big 12, but they lost 2 fumbles, as many as they lost all of last season. QB Rocco Becht was strong throughout the game and could lead the Cyclones to their 1st conference championship in almost forever (since 1912!). Kansas State is my favorite to win the Big 12, but that just became much more difficult. The Wildcats were only 1-4 on 4th down attempts, which is what ultimately doomed KSU, as ISU was 3 for 3 in that situation. 

UNLV struggled to get past FCS Idaho State, needing to rally to catch the Bengals as they scored the last 14 points. The Rebels churned out over 500 yards of offense, but their defense allowed over 550 yards, as they were only able to stop ISU due to 5 Bengal turnovers. It didn't help that UNLV missed 2 FGs, so that will need to be cleaned up before they face Sam Houston on Friday.

Kansas blasted Fresno State 31-7 as the Jayhawks looked good on both sides of the ball. It's hard to read too much into this result, however, as we still have no idea of the relative strengths of each team. We'll know more after FS hosts Georgia Southern on Saturday, but we'll have to wait a little longer to get a feel for KU as they play an FCS opponent this Friday. 

WKU became the 2nd team to go 1-0 in their conference as they scored 21 unanswered points to come back and defeat Sam Houston. That means the Bearkats are likely to start the season 0-4, as they play UNLV, at Hawaii, and at Texas in their next 3 games before getting back into CUSA play. The Hilltoppers play an FCS team before traveling to take on Toledo then hosting Nevada, which gives them at least a decent chance to get to 4-0, or at least 3-1, but even a 2-2 start wouldn't be terrible. 

Hawaii made the MWC 2-1 (and 1-1 vs P4 teams) in this opening weekend as they kicked 2 FGs in the last 2 minutes- 1 with 2:07 remaining to tie and the game winner with just 3 seconds on the clock. Stanford played tough, and may be improved this year, but they're in a tough situation with an interim HC who has never coached at the college level before. As I mentioned in my preseason profile of Hawaii, the Rainbow Warriors appear poised for a breakout season. They have a big game Saturday evening at Arizona, and a win there would give them 2 over P4 opponents.

That's it for this week! Come back tomorrow for my updated Power Rankings!


Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed! 

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