2026 Power Rankings: How did the Top 25 look in Week 1? - ESPN

Sometimes a team needs the full 60 minutes to make its first impression. Or, in Michigan's case, 59:59 and the longest final second in college football history.

A highly anticipated first impression can follow a week of controversy, and then blasts of lightning, like coach Lane Kiffin's did at LSU. After the weather delay, Kiffin's crew unleashed a storm on Clemson, surging to a 51-10 win and holding massive edges in total yards (644-145), rushing yards (309-40) and first downs (38-8).

Week 1 brought a range of first impressions from notable teams. Miami's Malachi Toney set a team record with 234 receiving yards against Stanford, but he wasn't the only wideout to strike the Heisman pose, as Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith sparkled with 151 yards and two touchdowns in his season debut. Indiana began its national title defense with more offensive efficiency led by transfers, while returning quarterbacks such as Texas' Arch Manning, Georgia's Gunner Stockton and Ohio State's Julian Sayin started off strong, albeit against weaker opponents.

Oregon's Dante Moore also delivered, but his team's first impression was not one of a national title contender, as the Ducks struggled to shake free of Boise State in a 34-27 win. The group of top quarterbacks appears to be jam-packed, and includes transfers Darian Mensah of Miami and Sam Leavitt of LSU, Alabama's first-year starter Keelon Russell and intriguing holdovers such as Pitt's Mason Heintschel, who set an ACC single-game record with seven touchdown passes, while piling up 453 yards, against Miami (Ohio).

First impressions aren't everything, but they provide a glimpse of what could be coming, and informed ESPN's first set of in-season Power Rankings. — Adam Rittenberg

Preseason