Three Top-10 College Football Teams Lose in Season Opener

The 2025 college football season opener featuring the North Carolina Tar Heels, coached by Bill Belichick in his college coaching debut, ended in a 48-14 rout by TCU, with UNC struggling after an initial promising drive. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit had a hot mic moment during the broadcast, inadvertently calling the Tar Heels "bad," a remark that quickly spread on social media and highlighted UNC's disappointing performance. Meanwhile, Clemson's 17-10 loss to LSU sparked criticism from analyst Josh Pate, who pointed to the Tigers' inability to scale their competition level against SEC teams, highlighting issues such as third-down struggles and lack of a run game affecting quarterback Cade Klubnik. Additionally, Alabama suffered a surprising 31-17 loss to Florida State, which Herbstreit described as an "average" performance by Alabama, despite high expectations for the team to rebound and make the College Football Playoff this season. These early setbacks for prominent programs underscore challenges in adapting and performing at the highest levels in the 2025 college football season.