The 2026 college football season kicked off on Thursday with a historic upset.
There weren’t many marquee matchups in Week 0 of the college football season — with some big games slated for Saturday — but Louisiana Christian and Northwestern State delivered an exciting game with a first-of-its-kind finish.
NAIA School Makes History
The Louisiana Christian team competes at the NAIA level, but was able to take down the Division I FCS Northwestern State team by a score of 42-37.
Louisiana Christian faced deficits of 10-0 and 27-14, but outscored Northwestern State 28-10 in the second half to pull off the win.
The game marked the first time in history that an NAIA team has beaten a Division I team that offers scholarships. The win drew some big attention online, with many noting the historic start to the college football season.
“One of the craziest days of CFB I can remember relative to the amount of unforeseen upsets,” wrote Fox Sports radio host Garrett Armbrust in a post on X. “The only way to end the evening: NAIA Louisiana Christian defeats Northwestern State. The FIRST NAIA team to beat a D1 team with scholarships EVER. What a night. CFB is back.”
Louisiana Christian’s program is so small that ESPN was unable to display stats for its players.
NAIA Powerhouse Delivers Big Win
While Louisiana Christian’s win was historic, it wasn’t seen as a monumental upset. Northwestern State head coach Blaine McCorkle noted before the game that some were predicting the NAIA powerhouse to win, and his team wasn’t taking the game lightly.
“If anybody’s picking us to win they’re trying to fire up Coach McCorkle and his guys,” he said, via the Rapides Parish Journal. “Now I have supreme confidence that our guys are going to play to win the game. If they were going to play the Dallas Cowboys, I’d expect our guys to feel that way.
“You can’t get on that bus to beat a Division I team. To win any game, especially a big game like this, you’ve gotta win a half, and to do that, you’ve gotta win a quarter, and to win a quarter, you’ve gotta win a few drives, and to do that, you’ve gotta win some plays.
“We’re telling our guys go up and have fun. Enjoy the atmosphere, the ESPN cameras, and every snap, try to whip the guy in front of you. If you can beat him more than he beats you, you can win some plays and you can win a game. Just go play football.”
College Football World Reacts to Historic Upset on Opening Night of the Season