Week 1 of college football arrives in bulk over the next four days and, while a good chunk of squads around the nation already have something in either the win or loss column, the vast majority of the FBS has not hit the field yet. That changes this weekend and a whole awful lot of them will be playing host to their FCS counterparts when they do. As is always the case this time of year, a select few of these teams don’t know it yet but they will soon be regretting writing the check to play these games.
If you’re looking for potential upsets that could down over the next few days, you need not look further than the games taking place in both Bowling Green, Ohio and Evanston, Illinois.
Fans could be in for one right off the bat come Saturday morning when Eddie George’s Bowling Green squad hosts #5 Tarleton State. The Texans looked impressive in their Week 0 win over Prairie View A&M, putting up over 500 yards of offense in a really balanced attack. Quarterback questions were seemingly answered with former Wyoming signal caller Kaden Anderson throwing for 224 of those yards and finding the end zone four times. Running back Tylan Hines diced it up for 184 on the ground with a pair of touchdowns as well and receiver Marquis Willis averaged over 20 yards per snag with two TDs also.
The Texans offense is lethal just as they were in their quarterfinal run last year and they might be a real thorn for the Bowling Green defense. The Falcons gave up 343.4 yards per game last year and won just four contests. It would be hard to call this slaying a giant if Tarleton State does win because Bowling Green is only a 1.5-point favorite at the time of this article’s publication. Plus, this TSU squad knows how to beat FBS teams. Just ask Army.
The one that could get really interesting is later in the day on Saturday with #2 South Dakota State taking on Northwestern. The Big Ten logo on that field and on those uniforms may lead some to believe that SDSU is going to be overmatched in this one but to those who have watched a lot of FCS ball, they know betting against the Jackrabbits in these sorts of spots is usually a fool’s task.
South Dakota State looked every bit the part of the number two team in the country last Saturday and, albeit against non-scholarship Stetson, the Jacks appear to be a legitimate championship contender this season. They dropped 70 points in just three quarters and accumulated 628 yards of total offense. The defense was just as good, not allowing a single point until the backups came in during the second half. Of course Northwestern will present a much steeper challenge but Dan Jackson’s unit is not shy about these types of games. Last year the Jacks, led by their standout quarterback Chase Mason who has his eyes on the NFL next year, were the only FCS team to topple national champion Montana State and did it in their building.
If they play as sharply as they did last weekend, the Jacks have more than a puncher’s chance to go into Martin Stadium and whip on the Wildcats even though they were a bowl team in 2025. There’s plenty of experience and poise littered about that SDSU roster and that could spell trouble for Northwestern if they aren’t careful.
As is always the case with these sorts of games, to pull it off will take a near perfect showing but both Tarleton State and South Dakota State have, at the very least, the right ingredients going in. Both are disciplined units that are studded with talent on both sides of the ball. TSU, admittedly, has the easier task come Saturday simply due to quality of opponent but, any time a Top 5 FCS club rolls into an FBS building, it’s a game that should be at least on the radar for an upset. The FCS got just four of these victories last year. If anyone is going to join that coveted list this year, odds are good it will be one… if not both… of these two.
Tarleton State and Bowling Green will kick off at 12:00 PM (ET) on Saturday and can be streamed on ESPN+. South Dakota State and Northwestern goes at 8:00 PM (ET) on the Big Ten Network.
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Other potential FCS vs. FBS upsets to keep an eye on this week:
Lafayette at UConn – Saturday, 12:00 PM (ET)
Youngstown State at Kentucky – Saturday, 1:00 PM (ET)
Rhode Island at Temple – Saturday, 2:00 PM (ET)
UTRGV at UTSA – Saturday, 3:30 PM (ET)
Austin Peay at Vanderbilt – Saturday, 7:00 PM (ET)
Idaho State at Utah State – Saturday, 7:00 PM (ET)
Eastern Kentucky at Jacksonville State – Saturday, 7:00 PM (ET)
Lamar at Louisiana – Saturday, 8:00 PM (ET)
