Week 1 is underway in college football. Thursday night's action got things started in spectacular fashion.
There was no more shocking story than Rutgers getting blasted 37-21 at home by a UMass squad that went winless a season ago, but there were some SEC-related headlines; some shocking, others not so much.
Here is some SEC-related news heading into the Labor Day weekend kickoff of the 2026 college football season:
Mizzou blasts Arkansas Pine-Bluff in snoozer of an opener
The first SEC game of the season was played last night, with Missouri hosting the SWAC's Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Needless to say, the action was ho-hum in CoMo, and the expected result happened with little fanfare.
Eli Drinkwitz's Tigers ran out to a 40-0 halftime lead and, as often happens with these early-season mismatches, Mizzou eased off the gas pedal in the second half. Missouri won 54-14, which didn't cover the spread.
Ole Miss transfer quarterback Austin Simmons was dominant for the Tigers, completing 17/19 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns through the air. If you want to nitpick, Mizzou's special teams were sloppy with penalties, but very little could be gleaned from this game in the grand scheme.
It's unclear from this beatdown of a cupcake whether the Tigers are headed for a third double-digit-win season in four years or if regression is inevitable.
The Border War looms next week for Missouri against Kansas. That should give us more of an idea of who the Tigers are in 2026.
Tennessee transfer Boo Carter seals win for Colorado over Georgia Tech
Nickelback Boo Carter won the game for Colorado on Thursday night in Atlanta against Georgia Tech at the last second. On what would've been a game-winning field goal attempt for the Yellow Jackets, Carter jumped the left side of the line and stuffed Aidan Birr's kick before it even got airtime as the clock expired, sealing the 14-13 win for Deion Sanders' Buffs.
READ MORE: Was Deion Sanders ever a head coaching option for Auburn?
First-year Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion's Go-Go offense, which produced 183 rushing yards for CU's previously ineffective run game, mostly straight up the heart of Georgia Tech's defense through the A- and B-Gaps, produced most of the headlines. Still, it was Carter's play that changed the narrative on Coach Prime's program in year four, at least for a week. After all, given the way Yellow Jackets quarterback Alberto Mendoza marched down the field in the final minute to set up a 46-yard field goal for the win, Sanders could've gotten in some heat. Carter saved him, though.
Carter was dismissed from Rocky Top by Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel last November after skipping the Vols' homecoming game against New Mexico State. While he had interest from several SEC teams in the portal, most notably Vanderbilt, Coach Prime's Buffs were always on Carter's mind, even throughout the 2025 season. Carter had threatened to enter the portal after the 2024 season, but ultimately stayed in Knoxville when he probably shouldn't have.
Carter finally got his wish. On Thursday, he made it hard for any party involved to regret his move to Boulder.
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