Week 1 of college football was electric, but not in a way it usually is. As teams are still figuring out their offensive playbooks, the early weeks are often dominated by defenses due to the simpler nature of their schemes and plays. Despite the lack of offensive success, it was still an absolute thriller with some defensive players absolutely balling out.
Dominated primarily by three conferences, PFSN’s Impact scores give you the top performances of week one as calculated by our analytics department. For any angry fans upset at their rankings, please remember that mathematical rankings can only take you so far, and the range of scheduling for week one also impacts the ratings significantly.
25) Iowa Hawkeyes
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 85.5
After getting QB Mark Gronowski in the transfer portal, much of the focus surrounding the Iowa Hawkeyes was offensive-oriented. While offense is certainly more flashy to the average fan, Iowa’s defense is a bastion of consistency and good defensive play.
According to TruMedia, Iowa ranks second in defensive EPA (expected points added) per play since 2019 behind only James Madison. This rang true again in Week 1, where the Hawkeyes had a ridiculous 88.9% defensive rushing success rate to go with their 3.4 yards per play allowed. This performance is even more impressive considering they didn’t force a single turnover.
24) South Carolina Gamecocks
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 85.9
It’s very surprising to see South Carolina ranked only 24th after the performance they had. True sophomore Dylan Stewart was once again absolutely electric off the edge, producing five pressures and being an absolute menace in the run game as well.
One way of measuring Stewart’s presence off the edge is the fact that Virginia Tech ran just 14.2% of its rushing plays towards his side.
As for the rest of the defense, they also tore up creation, forcing a turnover on 18.2% of drives and holding Virginia Tech to a 0% red zone percentage. If it wasn’t for some impressive heroics by Kyron Drones to keep the play alive, the Gamecocks would rank even higher.
23) Boston College Eagles
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 86.3
Boston College saw similar success against the run and the pass, racking up success rates of 73.8 and 73.9%, respectively. Their 2.6 yards allowed per play ranked seventh in the nation this week despite being on the field for more than every team outside of Kansas in the top 20.
22) Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 86.3
The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks were a surprise in this ranking after finishing 2024 with the 102nd-best points allowed per drive. Despite this game being played against a very weak St.Francis (PA) team, the Warhawks still managed a shutout to start the season, which is impressive regardless of opponent.
21) Penn State Nittany Lions
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 86.3
A much more common team in these rankings, the Penn State Nittany Lions took care of business against Nevada. They had a slightly alarming performance against the pass, achieving a success rate of only 60.7%.
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Luckily, they managed to rank seventh this week in the percentage of drives forcing a turnover, and much of that success rate came in the late part of the game, with the score already out of hand.
20) TCU Horned Frogs
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 86.7
All of the talk surrounding the TCU Horned Frogs’ week one game was about how their offense was going to fare against the great Bill Belichick.
News flash: The offense dominated, and so did this defense. North Carolina managed to convert on just 18.2% of their third and fourth down attempts against this defense and only had one unscripted touchdown after the game was already out of harm’s way.
19) North Texas Mean Green
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 86.7
North Texas won 51-0 in its season opener, dismantling FCS Lamar. They ranked 12th in pressure rate without blitzing, amassing a pressure on almost half of the opposing team’s drop-backs. While the season will have tougher opponents, it’s hard not to be impressed by the dominance like this from the Mean Green.
18) Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 87.5
Oklahoma State does not get the “benefit of the doubt” like some of the smaller programs on this list. With an opponent like UT-Martin, the Cowboys needed to come out and show their dominance, and that’s just what they did. 55% pressure rate, four sacks, and just over 200 yards of total offense allowed.
17) Georgia Bulldogs
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 87.5
The Georgia Bulldogs will be on this list pretty much every week. After the scripted drive, the Bulldogs allowed just 1.5 yards per play and handled business as expected. The real test for this season starts on September 13 with a matchup against a high-flying Tennessee offense.
16) San Diego State Aztecs
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 87.7
Like many other teams on this list, the San Diego State Aztecs posted a shutout against an inferior opponent. The Aztecs didn’t allow Stony Brook to breathe from the starting whistle to the end. Their 93.1% defensive passing success rate was the second-best mark in the FBS in week one.
15) Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 87.7
Without producing a single turnover, the Minnesota Golden Gophers held Buffalo to just 10 points. New superstar two-way player Koi Perich chipped in with a tackle but didn’t get targeted once the entire game.
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Aside from turnovers, the Golden Gophers also didn’t get as much pressure as you would hope, which could be something to pay attention to in future weeks against much tougher offenses.
14) Illinois Fighting Illini
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 88.3
Illinois had one of the worst pressure rates when not blitzing at just over 22% yet still had four sacks. That’s because they blitzed on an absurd 74.3% of drop-backs!
Since 2019, that ranks as the 52nd (out of 9655) highest blitz rate. This aligns with their 2024 philosophy, where they had the 20th-highest rate in FBS.
13) Louisville Cardinals
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 88.7
The Louisville Cardinals gave up 17 points in their dominant win, but ranked as the 13th-best defense in week one. Despite the high number of points allowed and the zero turnovers forced, Louisville pressured the quarterback on 58.8% of non-blitz drop-backs (second-most), which completely derailed the majority of drives for the opposing offense.
This is actually a very promising performance, as pressure is one of the most consistent ways to affect a team from week to week, and the turnovers will come at some point throughout the season.
12) Purdue Boilermakers
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 88.9
“Barry Odom season” has officially arrived in West Lafayette. A year removed from ranking 131st of 134 FBS teams in points allowed per game (40.0!!), Purdue produced a shutout against the Ball State Cardinals.
This is Purdue’s first shutout against a non-FCS (or non-Indiana State) team since week two of 2021, when they won 49-0 over the UConn Huskies.
11) Ole Miss Rebels
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 90.0
The lowest of 11 teams to achieve a defensive impact grade of A- or better, the Ole Miss Rebels had no issues with their inferior opponent in Week 1. The Rebels managed an absurd -0.75 EPA per drop-back allowed, the best mark of 2025 and the 18th best of the past two seasons.
There were not many insights to glean from this game, as many of their starters rotated out, which allowed other defenders to make some plays. Nonetheless, the defense is expected to be among the top teams on this list every week.
10) Pittsburgh Panthers
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 90.9
The Pittsburgh Panthers coasted to a top-10 defensive performance this week, holding Duquesne to just nine points. Not the best in any one area, Pittsburgh was overall dominant against a very weak team, which led to their high score.
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The most promising aspect of the game was LB Kyle Louis’s dominance, who had two sacks. After a great year last year, Louis is expected to be a key contributor for this defense going forward.
9) USC Trojans
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 91.4
The USC Trojans’ 91.4 impact score is the highest individual game score of any Trojan defense since 2019. Albeit against a team that is new to the FBS, the Trojans have to be excited about what they saw from the defense in Week 1.
Luckily for them, the schedule gets tougher gradually, allowing their defense to continue momentum as they face offenses that will truly put them to the test.
8) Michigan State Spartans
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 91.7
Michigan State is a team that hasn’t been good in quite some time. Beating Western Michigan isn’t a championship-caliber win, but it’s exactly what the Spartans needed to see to get this season started correctly. This win was a direct result of defensive dominance, as they had the third-best defensive rush EPA and didn’t allow a touchdown in Week 1.
7) Houston Cougars
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 92.9
Much of Houston’s struggles last season came from an offense that scored just 14 points per game (133rd of 134). When playing from behind, Houston’s defense ranked 76th in the nation in defensive EPA. When playing with a lead, it ranked third.
This showed up big time in their week one game, where they blanked Stephen F. Austin 27-0, in large part due to forcing them into third downs on 29.1% of their total plays (4th of 136). They also had the fifth-best defensive EPA per pass allowed, showcasing supreme dominance to start the season.
6) Vanderbilt Commodores
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 93.4
Vanderbilt continues their success from last season except on the opposite side of the ball this time. Beating Charleston Southern 45-3, Vanderbilt had the fifth-best defensive pass EPA, forced a turnover on 20% of drives, and managed three sacks on a 33.3% pressure rate.
Getting pressure on the quarterback will be a focal point for a Vanderbilt defense that ranked 114th in pressure rate last year.
5) Florida Gators
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 95.0
Starting off our top five are the Florida Gators, who allowed just two yards per play in their week one victory. Florida is known for a lack of blitzes, ranking 118th in blitz % in 2024. This means their focus defensively will be getting pressure with four pass rushers. This is exactly what they did last season, ranking 45th in pressure rate with four pass rushers.
While it was against an inferior opponent, and I’m sure the Gators didn’t show everything, their 23.1% pressure rate without blitzing ranked 90th this week. They are running into the Byrum Brown show next week against USF. If this is truly a weakness, Florida had better be prepared to score some points, or else an upset could be in the cards.
4) BYU Cougars
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 95.0
Perhaps my favorite defensive performance of the week came from the BYU Cougars. What better way to give your true freshman quarterback an opportunity to get situated than to absolutely dominate.
According to Casey Lundquist on X, BYU’s offense didn’t score in the first 11 minutes of the first quarter. The defense finished the day allowing zero points, and the offense ended up finishing the half by unleashing hellfire on Portland State.
BYU didn’t score in the first 11 minutes of the first quarter.
BYU went on to score 49 points in 19 minutes before halftime.
pic.twitter.com/79mPRyQaor— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) August 31, 2025
Beyond the goose egg, BYU also leads the nation in yards allowed per play at 1.2! Since 2019, only Penn State’s defense against Michigan State in week 13 of 2023 has done better.
Time will tell if this holds up against stiffer competition, but this is certainly a step in the right direction for the Cougars.
3) West Virginia Mountaineers
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 95.1
Our third-best defense of week one is West Virginia, which allowed just three points in the blowout over Robert Morris. West Virginia’s defense was stout in all aspects of the game, allowing just 2.1 yards per play and amassing a rushing success rate of 90.0%. The most impressive individual play came from nose tackle Hammond Russell IV.
Russell finished with two sacks playing from the nose position, which is extremely impressive. Even more impressive, he did this on just 17 pass-rushing snaps while also registering another hurry and two assisted tackles.
2) Oklahoma Sooners
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 95.5
The Oklahoma Sooners are not accustomed to great defense, but they got their chance to shine in an easy win over Illinois State.
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Oklahoma has the nation’s best defensive passing success rate, 95.7%, and the second-best defensive passing EPA. This dominant success will immediately be put to the test when Bryce Underwood and the Michigan Wolverines come to town in week two.
1) Wisconsin Badgers
- Week 1 DEFi Grade: 96.4
The Wisconsin Badgers top the list of best defenses in week one with their 96.4 impact score. In an embarrassingly close 17-0 win over Miami (OH), Wisconsin’s defense was the reason more people aren’t paying attention to the state of Badger football.
Wisconsin’s defense came to play on a day where the offense could only muster 353 total yards of offense (sixth-best offensive performance against Miami (OH) in 2024 and Week 1 of 2025).
They finished with the seventh-best defensive pass EPA and prevented Miami from converting a single third or fourth down the entire game. Since 2019, this has been done 28 times. Even more impressive, they had nine different opportunities to convert.
College Football Defense Rankings | 26-136
26) Maryland (85.4, B)
27) Kentucky (85.3, B)
28) SMU (85.3, B)
29) Arizona (85.2, B)
30) Utah (85.2, B)
31) Kansas (85.1, B)
32) Texas Tech (85.1, B)
33) Missouri (85.0, B)
34) Ohio State (84.4, B)
35) Arkansas (84.2, B)
36) LSU (84.1, B)
37) Indiana (83.3, B)
38) Virginia (83.1, B)
39) Texas A&M (82.4, B-)
40) Washington (82.4, B-)
41) Wyoming (82.3, B-)
42) James Madison (81.8, B-)
43) Mississippi State (81.7, B-)
44) Wake Forest (81.7, B-)
45) North Carolina State (81.6, B-)
46) New Mexico State (81.4, B-)
47) Navy (81.3, B-)
48) Florida State (81.1, B-)
49) Arizona State (80.7, B-)
50) Kent State (80.4, B-)
51) Duke (80.3, B-)
52) Tulane (80.3, B-)
53) Florida International (80.3, B-)
54) UCF (80.2, B-)
55) Michigan (79.8, C+)
56) Iowa State (79.8, C+)
57) Bowling Green (79.6, C+)
58) Oregon (79.6, C+)
59) Virginia Tech (79.5, C+)
60) Stanford (78.9, C+)
61) USF (78.8, C+)
62) Texas (78.7, C+)
63) Tulsa (78.7, C+)
64) Clemson (78.6, C+)
65) Washington State (78.5, C+)
66) Kansas State (78.4, C+)
67) Temple (78.2, C+)
68) Auburn (78.1, C+)
69) Northern Illinois (78.1, C+)
70) Western Kentucky (78.0, C+)
71) Louisiana Tech (78.0, C+)
72) California (77.9, C+)
73) Liberty (77.5, C+)
74) Georgia Tech (77.4, C+)
75) Northwestern (77.3, C+)
76) Rice (77.3, C+)
77) San Jose State (77.1, C+)
78) Appalachian State (76.9, C)
79) Memphis (76.8, C)
80) Connecticut (76.1, C)
81) Air Force (76.1, C)
82) Miami (FL) (76.0, C)
83) Tennessee (75.4, C)
84) Nebraska (74.7, C)
85) Notre Dame (74.2, C)
86) Central Michigan (74.0, C)
87) Akron (74.0, C)
88) Kennesaw State (73.9, C)
89) South Alabama (73.7, C)
90) Cincinnati (73.7, C)
91) Troy (73.7, C)
92) Oregon State (73.4, C)
93) Alabama (72.9, C-)
94) Army (72.9, C-)
95) UTEP (72.9, C-)
96) Florida Atlantic (72.8, C-)
97) Hawaii (72.6, C-)
98) Miami (OH) (72.6, C-)
99) Boise State (72.6, C-)
100) Western Michigan (72.1, C-)
101) Colorado (72.0, C-)
102) Utah State (71.9, C-)
103) Delaware (71.8, C-)
104) Toledo (71.7, C-)
105) Louisiana (71.3, C-)
106) Syracuse (71.1, C-)
107) Rutgers (70.8, C-)
108) Jacksonville State (70.8, C-)
109) Fresno State (70.6, C-)
110) Baylor (70.5, C-)
111) UNLV (70.4, C-)
112) Arkansas State (70.3, C-)
113) East Carolina (69.6, D+)
114) Texas State (69.2, D+)
115) Old Dominion (68.9, D+)
116) Buffalo (68.9, D+)
117) Middle Tennessee (68.7, D+)
118) North Carolina (68.5, D+)
119) UTSA (67.2, D+)
120) New Mexico (66.3, D)
121) Southern Miss (66.1, D)
122) Coastal Carolina (66.0, D)
123) Sam Houston State (65.6, D)
124) Ohio (64.8, D)
125) UCLA (64.8, D)
126) Charlotte (64.4, D)
127) Ball State (64.0, D)
128) Marshall (63.4, D)
129) Nevada (62.2, D-)
130) Colorado State (61.7, D-)
