The opening week of the 2026 US college football season has thrown the projected national championship and playoff picture into disarray, with several highly ranked teams either underwhelming or narrowly avoiding upsets against weaker opponents. Ohio State met expectations with a dominant win over Ball State, but fellow Big Ten contender Oregon needed a late surge to see off Boise State, while Michigan required a fortunate last-second Hail Mary to escape Western Michigan, prompting widespread doubts about the Wolverines' championship credentials despite a tough remaining schedule.

Oregon's underlying statistics, including nearly eight yards per play and 378 passing yards, suggested a more comfortable win than the final score implied. Michigan fared far worse, managing just 276 total yards and only 59 rushing yards from its running backs at home against a Western Michigan side it was favoured by 28 points, with quarterback Bryce Underwood completing just 11 of 21 passes excluding the game-saving Hail Mary. By contrast, USC's defence, bolstered by new coordinator Gary Patterson, showed signs of the improvement fans have been waiting for against Fresno State, though the article's account of that game was cut short.