College football made its triumphant return to television screens across America this past weekend — and it did not disappoint. Whether it was Lee Corso’s final College GameDay mascot head selection or the down-to-the-wire thriller between Notre Dame and Miami, the 2025 season debut was everything fans were hoping for and more.
But amid this weekend’s biggest plays and highlights was a far more important dynamic at play. That is, several players’ outspoken glorification of Jesus Christ.
Following his team’s 17-10 victory over the Clemson Tigers on Saturday night, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier used his postgame interview to “first off” offer praise for his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
“Look how good God is. I mean, it’s unbelievable,” Nussmeier said. “We’ve been working our tails off the last six months, and I’m just so proud of my group.”
Earlier that day, former Florida quarterback and Heisman winner Tim Tebow delivered a powerful prayer recognizing Christ’s glory prior to Saturday’s matchup between Tennessee and Syracuse.
“Good and gracious heavenly Father, we love you today, because you first loved us. We love you because while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” Tebow said. “And we thank you today that you sent Jesus on the greatest love story rescue mission of all time to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. To go to the cross, to defeat sin and death, and do it for us on our behalf, and we thank you for that.”
He continued, “We cannot earn it. We do not deserve it, but today we say thank you. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your grace. And if anybody doesn’t know you, we pray that today they would say yes to you because you said yes to them on the cross. We love you because you first loved us, and we are beyond grateful.”
TCU quarterback Josh Hoover was also reportedly among those to express his Christian faith this past weekend. The 21-year-old was photographed wearing a t-shirt that read, “Jesus Won,” apparently upon arriving at his team’s Monday night game against the North Carolina Tarheels.
Hoover would go on to throw for 284 yards and two touchdown passes in the Horned Frogs’ 48-14 smackdown over UNC.
Acknowledging Christ’s victory on the cross was also a prominent theme in Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe’s postgame remarks. Following his team’s 14-7 loss to Ohio State on Saturday, the senior detailed an important reminder he offered new starting quarterback Arch Manning after he struggled against the Buckeyes’ powerhouse defense.
“We always remind each other before the game that you’re free. God already won the battle on the cross … The plan on this earth has already been finished. So, this is not our eternal life. It’s a temporary life. And I told him, I said, ‘Hey, dude, you’re free.’ And we always remind ourselves,” Taaffe said. “So. after the game, we lost, he’s still free. He still has the ability to do whatever he wants in life because God came down and sent His only Son to die on the cross. So that’s what I reminded him; he’ll be good.”
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
