The 2026 college football season officially kicks off this weekend, and with it, quite a few matchups with College Football Playoff implications will take place. Believe it or not, Week 1 could feature some games that ultimately come into play for the CFP selection committee. Here are the Week 1 games that just might surprise you in either how good they are or how important they’ll be down the road.
Boise State Broncos at No. 2 Oregon Ducks
This isn’t a massive game in the scheme of the College Football Playoff picture. You aren’t going to solidify your spot in the CFP and for the most part, you aren’t eliminated from contention either in Week 1. That said, Boise State could get a monumental win that would set them up for instant CFP seeding talk if they somehow stun Oregon in Eugene. That would also mean Oregon has a much more interesting path to the CFP if they lose. As far as a win, well, they’re supposed to win so it’s business as usual.Â
Boise State doesn’t need this win as much as they need one next week in their home opener against Memphis. This game will either show the country they’re legit this year and will be a serious contender if they can keep it close, or it will show the Broncos are still a step behind the national powers.Â
Tulane at Duke
When these two teams played last year, it was the win that gave Tulane enough of a resume to sneak into the College Football Playoff. It could be the same case this year as the Green Wave look to return to the CFP. It’s not clear how good Duke will be, but if the ACC has the chaos it did a year ago, this could very well be a game that the College Football Playoff selection committee turns to during deliberations. This game will also tell us how good Tulane will be this year.Â
They lost a lot from last year’s team, and they’re not supposed to win this game. If they do, maybe we shouldn’t be writing them off just yet, even if Jon Sumrall is at Florida and this roster looks vastly different than last year’s. For Duke, this will be a game that either proves they’ll be legitimate CFP contenders or they’ll once again be fighting an uphill battle to get into CFP contention.Â
Clemson Tigers at No. 11 LSU Tigers
Last year, this game was a disaster and highlighted just how bad both Clemson and LSU were. This year, it could be about redemption. Clemson desperately needs to bounce back after a rough few seasons. This would be a great way to do that. It’s also a great way to get into the College Football Playoff conversation right away. As for LSU, Lane Kiffin has a micro-sized margin for error, so falling to 0-1 wouldn’t be a good look at all.Â
Kiffin seems to have drama wherever he goes and now LSU is the big national spectacle, for better or worse. He can’t afford a slow start and probably has to get to the CFP this year with all the hype around him and this team. After all, he did leave Ole Miss amid their CFP run because he felt he had a better chance to win a national title at LSU than Ole Miss. Now he has to back it up.Â
UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at Hawai’i Warriors
Both UNLV and Hawai’i were hit with Week 0 losses. While they are both long shots at this point to get into the CFP, they’re two teams in the Group of 6 conversation. Whoever wins this game has a chance to boost their chances, but it’s going to take a lot of help to get back into the CFP conversation. Whoever falls to 0-2 will pretty much be out of the conversation. For now, both UNLV and Hawai’i are still fringe CFP teams and this game could have an impact down the road.Â
No. 24 Louisville Cardinals vs. No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels
This will ultimately be a game the College Football Playoff selection committee looks at later in the season. Ranked matchups this early in the season almost always play a factor in decision-making if both teams are on the bubble. After last year’s drama, the CFP selection committee will have to value head-to-head matchups when ranking teams and seeding them. Louisville made a late push for the CFP a year ago but came up short. This year, if this game goes in their favor, it might be what catapults them into the conversation.Â
As for Ole Miss, this will be Pete Golding’s ultimate test. Last year, it was an emotional Ole Miss squad that leveraged Kiffin’s drama into a miraculous CFP run. Now, this is Golding’s team and he’ll have to prove that this team can be contenders without Kiffin. Losing this game would prove maybe this team needs Kiffin more than they realize. Either way, Louisville and Ole Miss equally need a win in a game of this magnitude.
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