Thursday Night Slate Recap – Aug. 28, 2025

College football finally put the ball in the air last night, and the scoreboard got plenty of work. Some teams flexed, some barely survived, and some flat-out embarrassed themselves on national TV. Let’s run it down…

🚨 Blowouts & Beatdowns

• Missouri 61, Central Arkansas 6 – Beau Pribula (283 yards) looked sharp, Marquis Johnson (134 receiving) ate, and Mizzou treated this like a fall scrimmage. SEC depth vs. FCS is just theft.
• Duke 45, Elon 17 – Darian Mensah (389 yards) aired it out with ease. Duke keeps stockpiling sneaky WRs — Cooper Barkate (117) looked like the guy.
• UAB 52, Alabama State 42 – This was supposed to be a paycheck game, but the Hornets put 42 on UAB. Andrew Body (312 passing) and Jevon Jackson (166 rushing) turned it into a Big 12 scorefest. UAB still pulled away late.
• San Diego State 42, Stony Brook 0 – Lucky Sutton ran for 100 on autopilot. Zero drama. Zero pulse.

😬 Survive and Advance

• Nebraska 20, Cincinnati 17 – Dylan Raiola (243 yards) got the W, but it was ugly. Cornhuskers leaned on Emmett Johnson (108 rushing) just enough. Cincy fans are already wondering how they let this one slip.
• UCF 17, Jacksonville State 10 – Knights looked sluggish. Tayven Jackson (282) had numbers, but only one TD. J’ville State hung around way too long.
• Wisconsin 17, Miami (OH) 0 – Danny O’Neil (120) wasn’t asked to do much. Dilin Jones (73) carried the load. A win is a win, but that’s not the kind of box score that scares the Big Ten.

🔥 Statement Wins

• NC State 24, East Carolina 17 – Katin Houser (366 yards) dropped bombs. Wesley Grimes (121) looked unguardable. Pack fans can exhale.
• Minnesota 23, Buffalo 10 – Drake Lindsey (290) showed why PJ Fleck gave him the keys early. Darius Taylor (141 rushing) is still the engine. Gophers grind it out.
• Houston 27, Stephen F. Austin 0 – Conner Weigman (159) had a safe debut, Dean Connors paced the ground game. Cougars quietly handled business.
• Rutgers 34, Ohio 31 – Athan Kaliakmanis (252 yards) saved the Scarlet Knights in a barnburner. Don’t sleep on Chase Hendricks (115 receiving) for Ohio though — he torched RU all night.

❌ Flat-Out Embarrassing

• South Florida 34, Boise State 7 – Maddux Madsen threw for 225, but it meant nothing. Broncos got run off the field by Alvon Isaac (52 rush, 96 receiving Chas Nimrod). That’s not a typo. USF bullied Boise in every phase.
• Wyoming 10, Akron 0 – This wasn’t football, it was punishment. Kaden Anderson (260 passing) and Sam Scott (132 rushing) put up solid numbers, but only 10 points? Akron, man…
• Bowling Green 26, Lafayette 7 – Dean DeNobile (112 yards) did just enough. This game was background noise at best.

📝 UNC’s Final Word

Night one of the big slate gave us a little of everything: blowouts, nail-biters, and Boise State getting sent back to the Stone Age. Missouri and Duke flexed, Nebraska escaped, and UAB fans already have blood pressure issues.

But make no mistake, this was the warm-up act. Saturday is when the real show hits.

Thursday night’s lesson: some programs are in midseason form, others are already in midseason excuses.