College Football Kicks Off 2025 Season: Coaches on Hot Seat, Ranked Matchups, and Key Storylines
Table of Contents
Meta description: College football’s 2025 season begins with Week 0, featuring ranked matchups and coaches like Brent Venables and Sam Pittman under pressure.
The 2025 college football season is officially underway with the arrival of Week 0, offering fans a tantalizing appetizer of gridiron action.This opening slate, while abbreviated, includes significant conference implications and features notable matchups, including a highly anticipated clash between ranked Big 12 rivals. The pressure is already mounting for several prominent coaches,with Brent venables and Sam Pittman leading the list of those facing scrutiny in the upcoming season,alongside Mike Gundy.
Week 0: A Global Kickoff and Conference Implications
This year’s opening weekend features four games involving FBS programs, highlighted by the historic “Farmageddon” matchup between kansas State and Iowa State. This marks the first major college football game of the 2025 season and will take place in Dublin, Ireland. The relocation to the Emerald Isle adds a unique flair, but the game’s outcome could hinge on turnover battles, potentially leading to a ground-and-pound affair given the strength of both pass defenses.
Kansas also opens its season at home in the newly renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial stadium,hosting Fresno State. This non-conference game could prove challenging against a Mountain West contender. The jayhawks’ success will depend on quarterback Jalon Daniels, who needs to improve his decision-making after 12 interceptions last season, eight of which occurred during kansas’s 1-5 start. Fresno State counters with quarterback E.J. Warner,son of NFL Hall of famer kurt Warner,who transfers from Rice. Both teams feature numerous new players, suggesting they may not be polished products early in the season, though Kansas is expected to possess a talent advantage.
Conference Battles and Intriguing Matchups
Beyond the marquee Dublin game, the Week 0 slate includes another conference contest: Sam Houston versus Western Kentucky. Both teams are considered contenders in their respective conferences, with Sam Houston making a swift and successful transition from the FCS level, achieving 10 wins last season. Western Kentucky remains a perennial threat in Conference USA.
The Bearkats face a coaching transition as KC Keeler departed for Temple, leaving new head coach Phil Longo to maintain the team’s winning momentum. Quarterback Hunter Watson returns for Sam Houston after a 21-touchdown season. Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton must rebuild key parts of his squad from last year’s conference title game appearance. His new quarterback is Maverick McIvor, a transfer from Abilene Christian who delivered notable numbers. Western Kentucky won last year’s matchup 31-14, and Sam Houston will aim to avoid falling behind early in this potentially high-scoring affair.
Another game on the docket features stanford traveling to Hawaii.For both programs aiming for bowl eligibility, this opener carries significant weight, as the loser will face longer odds for postseason play. Hawaii narrowly missed a bowl last season and welcomes a power Four opponent. stanford, after a challenging ACC debut and a turbulent offseason, seeks a strong start to 2025 under interim coach Frank Reich. He will rely on oregon State transfer quarterback Ben Gulbranson to led a revamped roster. Hawaii’s Timmy Chang will officially hand the reins to quarterback Micah Alejado, who showed promise in late-season outings. While the best-case scenario for viewers is an offensive shootout, the article notes that misplays are likely given the teams’ current states.
The early games of the 2025 college football season set the stage for a compelling year, with crucial conference matchups and the ever-present pressure on coaches like Brent Venables, Sam Pittman, and mike Gundy to deliver results.
