This article was written by Mark J. Burns and published on Sport & State, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.
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I spent the holiday weekend doing what any responsible Floridian would do during Week 1 of the college football season — one eye on the beaches and one eye on the games. Had my Michigan Wolverines lost, though, I might be singing a different tune.
Hey, as an undergrad student, I had to endure the Appalachian State stunner and the worst three-year stretch in Michigan football history, so forgive me if I’m not exactly level-headed at times. We’re onto Oklahoma…
And as we head into the Week 1 finale of FSU–SMU from Tallahassee on Monday night, here are my five sports business and media takeaways from the first weekend of college football.
1. Yes, College Football Is Professional
Both of Sunday’s neutral site games epitomized the commercialization of college football in 2026. If the adoption of NIL in 2021 put the amateur status of college sports into serious jeopardy — if there was really even a debate left to be had — these two games officially quashed that notion entirely.
I flipped on the Notre Dame-Wisconsin game from Lambeau Field and got a glimpse of Marcus Freeman’s zip-up sleeve. Did you catch that Big, Bad Corporate Logo from SoFi Technologies? The digital finance firm reportedly has the richest jersey patch agreement with the Fighting Irish in all of Div. I college football, worth $18 to $20 million per year.
Rate these Notre Dame-Wisconsin uniforms ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/JUxHHpS3CB
— The Irish Tribune (@theirishtribune) September 7, 2026
Dozens of schools have signed deals, while others are open for business as they try to secure millions for the biggest billboard in college sports. On-field corporate logos dot the football fields of several major programs across America.
Kudos to ESPN Events and the sales reps behind the Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff in Nashville between Louisville-Ole Miss, too. The sidelines, in addition to a lot of the field-level, looked like a combined version of international soccer and European men’s ice hockey.
I had to Google “FrogTape” to see what the heck I’d be starting at for three hours. We’ve officially reached the point of no return.
We are about to spend hours staring at this abomination of a football field. pic.twitter.com/kU3M2jIQEC
— Brewer (@realwickedbrew) September 6, 2026
2. Baton Rouge Is Center Of Football Universe
When Lane Kiffin speaks, the college football world listens. And not necessarily because the LSU football coach has the most enlightening of remarks — he’s currently just shooting from the hip and letting it rip. In other words, Lane being Lane. Maybe someone on the Tigers’ staff can reign in the resident heel of the SEC?
He successfully battled the SEC for weeks in court to allow two former NFL rookies to play for the Tigers, only to hold off on adding tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris to the team’s roster for now. I don’t imagine this topic fading into the sunset.
Meanwhile, this weekend, he got in a few one-liners during the blowout home-opener, which featured unprecedented noise levels in Death Valley.
At the end of Kiffin’s halftime interview on Saturday night, he said to ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe, “Imagine if we had pro players,” as LSU led Clemson 31-3.
“Imagine if we had pro players.” 😅
Lane Kiffin is not holding back. pic.twitter.com/OzHEZqw1UW
— ESPN (@espn) September 6, 2026
Naturally, the media got a quick response to the off-handed remark, with Kiffin saying, “What’s the difference? Everybody hates you. They can’t hate you that much more.”
Lane Kiffin, when asked about his halftime comments of “imagine if we had pro players”
Says someone asked him if he really said that..
Kiffin: “What’s the difference? Everybody hates you. They can’t hate you much more” pic.twitter.com/m4OwIOaxHI
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace) September 6, 2026
All eyes will be on Kiffin going forward this season, especially when he returns to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 19 for a date with Ole Miss. How Kiffin talks, acts, and moves — like which celebrities are going to be in his entourage when he enters a stadium — will be closely scrutinized. Comedian Theo Von and former LSU gymnast and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Olivia Dunne strolled into Baton Rouge with Kiffin on Saturday.
I just hope we don’t see a red carpet at some point.
3. Fans Deserve Marquee Matchups In Week 1
After nearly an eight-month offseason, college football fans don’t need much of an incentive to tune into Week 1 to get their long-overdue fix.
I stayed up to watch the Colorado-Georgia Tech pillow fight on Thursday night and caught Miami boat race Stanford on Friday — if I’m being honest, I only watched the latter to see how much the Hurricanes’ standout wide receiver Malachi Toney would torch the Cardinal. Spoiler: a record-setting lot.
Every Malachi Toney catch vs Stanford.
May quickly work himself into the number one overall pick conversation in 2028. pic.twitter.com/9ctW7E2FBS
— Ryan Paganetti (@RyanPaganetti) September 5, 2026
There were still a lot of blowouts and lopsided affairs this weekend.
But we had to wait until Sunday night in primetime to get a top-25 matchup between Ole Miss and Louisville. While the first half proved to be a dud, the second half became a track meet, which ended on a walk-off field goal as the Tigers beat the Cardinals 41-38 in Nashville.
As I write this, two of top three trending topics on X Twitter in the U.S. were tied to the Sunday primetime contests.
This all begs the questions — can we get more marquee top 25 games in Week 1 spread across three or four days? Is that too much to ask for? I enjoyed seeing Washington-Washington State in the Apple Cup to open the season, even if it was a bit of a snoozefest. The two Sunday night affairs capped a fun weekend.
Some blue bloods scheduling more home-and-home non-conference series with one another would be nice. You know, for the sake of college football pageantry? Think if we got the likes of LSU-Oregon, Michigan-Georgia, Texas-USC, Miami-Ohio State, Penn State-Utah, and Ole Miss-Notre Dame across a four-day slate.
I know, I know. It all goes back to money and TV, but man, we can all dream for now.
4. Deion Sanders Is MIA
The former SI Sportsperson of the Year had the college football world in the palm of his hand in 2023. After a 1-11 record, Colorado hired Deion Sanders to restore some semblance of pride in Boulder, Colo., only to catapult the football program into the national spotlight with an unprecedented level of news coverage before Game 1.
Sanders told the Buffaloes he was “bringing his own baggage with me” before he arrived in Colorado. “And it’s Louis,” he added.
As in Louis Vuitton.
A 3-0 record, including a 45-42 upset against TCU as 21-point underdogs, to start Sanders’ inaugural campaign only put the media frenzy into overdrive. TV ratings spiked as the Buffaloes became the talk of college football.
Still, after a 4-8 record in year one and a 17-21 mark overall, Sanders and the Buffaloes have become an afterthought in college football — Colorado’s comeback win against Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Friday was barely a blip on the college football radar in Week 1.
It’s a far cry from the early honeymoon phase of 2023 where Sanders, who signed a contract extension in 2025 to become the Big 12’s highest-paid coach, had every talking-head pontificating about his arrival out West. The coverage felt Tim Tebow-esque in some way. Now, he’s without his Louis as he tries to pull the Buffaloes out of the Big 12 basement.
5. College Football Is Still Wonderfully Weird
The year is 2026, and college football remains bizarre and chaotic in all its fine glory. Yes, I realize it’s Week 1 and you might be thinking, “Mark is just coming off a long offseason without one of the greatest sports on earth and is a little romantic about it all.” Yes, you might be partially correct.
Let me explain the weirdness for you.
A year after going 0-12, UMass upset Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, last week before the Scarlet Knights decided to blast off fireworks into the New Jersey sky following the humiliating defeat. UMass, which snapped the nation’s longest active losing streak at 16 games, was a 29.5-point underdog.
A disgruntled 20-year Rutgers season ticket holder then called into WFAN and asked for “a firing squad” of the football staff. Yikes.
Rutgers fans are done with the program.
Never thought Rutgers Football would light up the phone lines tonight on @WFAN660.
Feel for fans like Gus. pic.twitter.com/ak1aGw0YeH
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) September 4, 2026
Did we mention the stolen thrilling Michigan victory against Western Michigan on a last-second Hail Mary attempt? I’m not going to discuss the storming of the field. When you’re a 20-something college student, sometimes you do things you’re going to regret.
MICHIGAN SURVIVES THE UPSET ON A HAIL MARY 🤯
pic.twitter.com/BBAsd26SuV— Sport & State (@SportNState) September 6, 2026
In Week 1, three FCS teams beat FBS programs, including Tarelton State narrowly getting by Bowling Green and The Citadel winning a 3OT thriller against Charlotte.
Michigan State offensive lineman Robert Wright Jr. projectile vomited on a defender mid-snap during a successful two-point conversion. Whatever works, I guess.
LSU’s Kiffin even got a practice jump shot in during the Tigers’ Week 1 victory. I can’t believe that’s actually a real sentence.
Here’s Lane Kiffin’s attempt at a jump shot after a Tiger touchdown… maybe he should’ve gone for a dunk? Drive the lane? 😉 pic.twitter.com/BRo45brQOr
— WBRZ News (@WBRZ) September 6, 2026
There isn’t a normal college football weekend in the fall. And for all the commercial changes, transfer portal chaos, seemingly never-ending legal disputes, and incompetence in Washington, D.C., the weirdness and absurdity remains — and that’s why we all keep returning every Saturday.
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