Not all of Thursday’s college football excitement revolved around a newly engaged superstar couple in Kansas City.

Introducing Pudge the Cat, the renowned feline mascot of Bowling Green’s football team, who captured the internet’s attention as the Falcons kicked off their season with an impressive 26-7 victory over the Lafayette Leopards.

The 3-year-old cat even made an appearance on ESPN as Bowling Green kicked off first-year coach Eddie George’s tenure with a victory.

“This is only the beginning,” George remarked after the game. “We stepped up and performed well. Offensively, we need to create more opportunities and improve on some aspects of our passing game. This is somewhat expected in the first game as we try to establish a rhythm. The 30-minute delay in the first quarter made it challenging to find our groove, but I’m optimistic about our potential for growth. It’s a promising start. I’m grateful for the win, but we must continue to improve. The team feels they’ve achieved a strong win, but we have areas to work on.”

George, a Heisman Trophy winner and former All-Pro running back, was named head coach of the Falcons in March after four years at Tennessee State.

George played college football at Ohio State and was selected 14th overall by the then-Houston Oilers in the 1996 NFL Draft. He spent his last NFL season with the Dallas Cowboys in 2004.

Now entering a new era at Bowling Green, George is adapting to his new team and its unofficial mascot, whom he’s technically allergic to.

“Pudge is cute, my wife loves Pudge. He’s become part of the family. Pudge stays out of my way, I stay out of his way. We are fine,” George told WHIO earlier this month.

Pudge waltzed his way into Bowling Green lore when his owner, senior long snapper George Carlson, brought him to the locker room in early August to help lift the spirits of a teammate, according to the Toledo-based WTOL.

Later that month, Pudge appeared in a TikTok video shared by senior wideout Finn Hogan that captured the feline lounging in the locker room — a clip that tallied more than 900,00 views.

“I am enjoying just making people happy and putting smiles on people’s faces,” Carlson said. “He’s done that for me for so long, so wanted to share that joy.”

Bowling Green visits Cincinnati next Saturday..

The Bearcats fell to Nebraska on Thursday night, 20-17, at Arrowhead Stadium, where Cincinnati alum Travis Kelce watched with his new fiancée, Taylor Swift.