Ranking the seven best college football games of the Week 1 schedule, including the top-five showdown between No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Clemson.
Week 0 was the appetizer to the main course that is Week 1 and we have a supersized week of college football. The games begin on Thursday and continue all weekend into Monday night on Labor Day with Louisville taking on Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels.
As is customary in recent years, Week 1 features some juicy games on our plate, but if you only have enough bandwidth to catch a few of them, make sure you check out as many of these seven.
Best college football games in Week 1: Notre Dame vs. Florida State – Sunday 7:30 p.m. ET – ABC
There’s no NFL on Sunday so college football gets the stage for the evening. Notre Dame and Florida State have played some memorable games in the past and this could be a good one. Notre Dame went to the playoff last year but has to replace Ian Book under center. Jack Coan takes over after transferring from Wisconsin and safety Kyle Hamilton is one of the best defensive players in the nation. Pressure is mounting on Mike Norvell to make big progress in his second season in Tallahassee. Former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton is the player to watch on Florida State as he returns from the catastrophic lower-leg injury he suffered with the Knights.
Notre Dame vs. Florida State preview, betting information
Best college football games in Week 1: Ohio State vs. Minnesota – Thursday, 8 p.m. ET – FOX
Ohio State playing on Thursday? Yep! The runners-up from last year replace Justin Fields with C.J. Stroud who won the Buckeyes quarterback competition. Ryan Day’s team is loaded to make another run at a national title and Stroud has the best wide receiver duo in the nation with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. Can P.J. Fleck get his Minnesota team looking like his 2019 team that won double-digit games or will Ohio State blow their doors off in the opener?
Pick: Ohio State
Ohio State vs. Minnesota preview, betting information
Best college football games in Week 1: Iowa vs. Indiana- Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET – FOX
In a battle of a pair of ranked Big Ten teams that aren’t getting much attention, Iowa-Indiana figures to be an intriguing game. Kirk Ferentz’s team may challenge Wisconsin for the Big Ten West title while Indiana looks to build on last year’s successful season under Tom Allen.
Pick: Iowa
Best college football games in Week 1: Texas vs. Louisiana – Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET – FOX
The first game of the Steve Sarkisian era gets underway with the Texas Longhorns taking on Billy Napier’s Louisiana squad. In a battle of ranked teams, Texas starts Hudson Card at quarterback after beating Casey Thompson for the job to succeed Sam Ehlinger. Thompson will play at some point but it’ll be interesting to see how Sarkisian’s record-breaking offense he had at Alabama as the offensive coordinator translates to the personnel he inherits at Texas. Napier, another former Alabama assistant, is 21-4 his last two years at Louisiana and is coming off a season that saw them finish as the No. 15 team in the final AP Top 25 after their 10-1 season.
Pick: Texas
Texas vs. Louisiana preview, betting information
Best college football games in Week 1: Penn State vs. Wisconsin – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET – Big Ten Network
The Big Ten Game of the Week pits the second and third-best teams in the conference against each other. Wisconsin is the favorite to win the West behind quarterback Graham Mertz who started off on fire last season before COVID took him out of the lineup and derailed a promising season. Meanwhile, Penn State is looking to rebound after a miserable season last year that saw them begin the season with five straight losses. Sean Clifford returns under center for the Nittany Lions and James Franklin’s team has a lot of weapons in the backfield to keep defenses honest.
Pick: Wisconsin
Penn State vs. Wisconsin preview, betting information
Best college football games in Week 1: Alabama vs. Miami- Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET – ABC
Defending champion Alabama ushers in a new era with Bryce Young making his first start at quarterback. The former five-star recruit could be the most talented quarterback for Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide teams, which says a lot considering Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts are all NFL starters. The offense may feature a lot of new names after losing DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Najee Harris to the NFL but the defense should resemble stout Alabama defenses of the past after a pair of down seasons. Miami’s chances of pulling off an upset, or at least keeping it close, rest on quarterback D’Eriq King who made a swift recovery from a torn ACL suffered in Miami’s bowl game. He’s got talent but does Miami have enough to keep pace with the Tide?
Pick: Alabama
Alabama vs. Miami preview, betting information
Best college football games in Week 1: Georgia vs. Clemson – Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET – ABC
If you’re a casual fan of college football and don’t have a favorite team you’ll be watching, clear your schedule so you can watch Clemson vs. Georgia. This is the best game of the weekend and may be the game of the year. No. 3 Clemson lost Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne to the NFL but have D.J. Uiagalelei as one of the leading Heisman candidates and five-star freshman running back Will Shipley poised to make his first career start in his first game. The offense will remain electric and the defense, led by former top recruit Bryan Bresee and fellow five-star recruit, Myles Murphy should be dominant.
Expectations are high for Georgia with national title aspirations, but the Dawgs will be short-handed with some key players out with injury. That leaves quarterback J.T. Daniels forced to do more with less to start the season off with a win. The winner gets a chip in their cap as the best win of the season when it comes to playoff jockeying later in the season, but the loser isn’t eliminated from playoff consideration. Although, it just means the loser has to run the table, which for the case of Georgia, is tougher with Alabama looming in a potential SEC Championship Game.
Pick: Clemson
Clemson vs. Georgia preview, betting information
You can stream all the Week 1 games on Fubo TV.
What games will you be watching this weekend?
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