Saturday Night Five: LSU’s pause with pros, Boise State stands tall, Michigan’s miracle and wipeouts galore

The most significant development came Friday night in Baton Rouge, where LSU declined the nuclear option and left two former NFL players off its game day roster.

The decision averted a showdown between the Tigers and the other 15 schools in the SEC, which staunchly opposed allowing former pros to return to college and were prepared to hit LSU with extreme sanctions.

The Tigers could decide to roster tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris later this season, depending on the legal winds. But for now, the SEC can claim victory in a standoff that has sweeping repercussions for the sport.

The SEC vs. LSU was about much more than two former NFL players taking the field against Clemson on Saturday night in Death Valley. It was about setting the framework for the next era of college sports, in which the most powerful conferences break away from NCAA and create self-governing models.

In forcing LSU to back down (at least for now), the SEC exercised the authority to police its own, just as the Big 12 did in June during the Brendan Sorsby affair.

“We now have two meaningful (albeit imperfect) data points, Sorsby and LSU … suggesting that conference-based governance may prove more resilient than the NCAA model and provide a path out of the legal wilderness,” Scott Schneider, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas and specialist in education law, wrote on the social media platform X.

When might conference-based governance become reality?

The timing depends on the Protect College Sports Act, the sweeping, bipartisan legislation expected to receive a vote on the Senate floor later this month.

If the PCSA doesn’t become law this fall or winter, the college sports landscape could shift rapidly and dramatically.

As Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said in July when asked about the potential for his conference and the SEC to break away from the NCAA:

“If the bill can’t address some of the changes we need to make … How do we come together to make the necessary changes so we can give our athletic directors, coaches and student athletes a system that seems to be more sustainable? It’s not a breakaway. But is there another path … where you have conference-based rules?”

If the Big Ten and SEC establish self-governing models outside the NCAA, the ACC and Big 12 could follow.

And if self-governance takes hold, the next step very well could be collective bargaining with athletes.

“Even there, significant challenges remain,” Schneider wrote. “But the long-term model can — and should — include building a structure capable of negotiating with athletes, not merely regulating them.”

To exist in that environment, the conferences must create, and enforce, their own rules.

Those rules would cover issues like NIL spending and transfer windows.

And rostering former NFL players.

And playing a quarterback who bet on his own team.

The Big 12’s legal victory over Texas Tech was decisive: The Red Raiders backed down and parted ways with Sorsby.

That’s not the case with LSU, which could decide to play Harris or Wright later in the season if, over time, the school senses any weakness in the SEC’s authority.

For now, the self-governing model has two building blocks in place. The rest of the structure could be assembled quickly, depending on what happens on Capitol Hill.

2. Week 1 is Week no fun

As mentioned above, the first full weekend of the season featured limited drama, at least at the top of the major college food chain.

Teams ranked in the AP Top 25 preseason poll are 20-0 thus far across the holiday weekend (with games remaining on Sunday and Monday).

The average victory margin is 39.2 points, with 12 games decided by at least 40 points — think about that: 60 percent of the games involving ranked teams had margins of at least 40 points — and only two matchups decided by single digits: Oregon over Boise State and Michigan over Western Michigan. (More on those below.)

The largest average victory margin by the AP Top 25 teams in season openers this century is 31.8 points, in 2023.

We won’t know the 2026 total until Monday evening, following No. 19 SMU’s opener at unranked Florida State.

But the barrage of wipeouts reflects two of college football’s inescapable realities:

— The gap between the Power Four schools and the Group of Six is expanding in the era of NIL and the transfer portal.

— The dearth of ranked-vs.-ranked matchups in Week 1 rooted in fear that a non-conference loss, no matter how good the opponent, could spell doom in the CFP selection process.

Neither dynamic is good for the sport.

3. Boise State wins by losing

The best game of the Saturday afternoon time slot unfolded in Eugene, where unranked Boise State pushed No. 2 Oregon to the limit for the second time in three years.

The Broncos’ three-point loss early in the 2024 season served as rocket fuel for their run to the College Football Playoff, tangible evidence that they belonged on the field with the top teams in the country.

Their mission was comparable on Saturday afternoon: Provide the CFP selection committee with proof they can play with the best.

The 34-27 loss more than cleared the bar. The Broncos led at halftime and were tied with the Ducks at the end of the third quarter and in the middle of the fourth.

It wasn’t a case of Oregon gifting Boise State one opportunity after another — the Ducks committed just one turnover — but, rather, the Broncos standing firm, possession after possession, quarter after quarter.

Other than an outright victory, the supreme test could not have gone better for Boise State and, by extension, the new Pac-12.

There is no time to recline, however. The Broncos host Memphis, which also has designs on a CFP berth, next weekend.

For those unaware, the CFP selection process allocates one automatic bid for the top-ranked team in the Group of Six. Notably, it doesn’t have to be a conference champion.

4. Michigan’s miracle

The most controversial finish of the day, by an order of magnitude, came courtesy of Michigan and Big Ten officials, who added a second to the clock after a Hail Mary pass fell incomplete with 0:00 showing on the clock.

Instead of suffering a deeply embarrassing loss to Western Michigan, the Wolverines were given a second chance. Quarterback Bryce Underwood’s 47-yard heave found receiver JJ Buchanan in the end zone to secure a 13-12 victory in coach Kyle Whittingham’s debut.

Initially, it appeared Michigan benefitted from serious home cooking served up by the Big Ten officials.

But the conference eventually issued a statement, with video evidence, that made sense: An ineligible player for Western Michigan — he had one foot out of bounds — touched the first Hail Mary pass with one second remaining. Per the rulebook, the clock stops immediately during an illegal touch, resulting in the one second being added.

And that was all Michigan needed for a miraculous victory.

5. Four Corners control

The Big 12 lost two games and had a few close calls across Week 1, but the league’s western flank left nothing to chance in season openers against second-tier competition.

They were so dominant, in fact, that Arizona 35-7 victory over Northern Arizona qualified as a close call.

Utah beat Idaho 66-14 on Thursday, while BYU thumped Utah Tech 63-7 and Arizona State hammered Morgan State 70-7 on Saturday.

Combined score in the four games: 234-35.

For the Wildcats, Cougars, Utes and Sun Devils, the competition turns rugged in Week 2.

Arizona visits BYU in an early conference game that will help frame the race. The Sun Devils visit No. 8 Texas A&M, and Utah hosts Arkansas.

By the close of business on Sept. 12, we’ll have a fairly firm grasp on which teams should be considered frontrunners and which have significant terrain to traverse before rising to contender status.