The grand opening of the college football season has arrived.
There is only one game between two Associated Press Top 25 teams and that comes on Sunday night, with No. 24 Louisville facing No. 9 Mississippi in Music City. But Week 1 is filled with intrigue as a host of top teams kick things off with new coaches, new faces and high hopes. Oh, and major upheaval over eligibility. And jersey patches. Let’s get into it!
The elephant in the room
Clemson at No. 11 LSU on Saturday night was always going to be a showcase game. Two teams that went 7-6 last season trying to get back in the national championship mix (LSU winning in 2019 and Clemson in 2018 seems so long ago), two outspoken coaches in Dabo Swinney and LSU’s expensive new hire, Lane Kiffin.
The game took on a lot more meaning when the NCAA’s new eligibility rules blew up in courtrooms all over the country and LSU made no secret of its interest in bringing back not just fifth-year players who went to court but players who had signed professional contracts in the NFL’s preseason. The issue lingered late into the week, including the surreal spectacle of the SEC battling LSU in multiple courtrooms.
Who suits up or doesn’t on Saturday night in Death Valley (the LSU version) will be as interesting as the final score.
There will be blowouts
There is no way around it: This year’s Week 1 is light on marquee games and you can expect a lot of lopsided results. No. 1 Ohio State is favored by more than 50 points in its opener against Ball State. No. 6 Indiana (vs. North Texas), No. 8 Texas A&M (vs. Missouri State) and No. 10 Oklahoma (vs. UTEP) are each picked to win by more than 40. Even No. 22 Iowa, a grinder program if ever there was one, is favored by 31-plus against Northern Illinois.
But look, it’s college football. Already this week, UMass — the only winless team in the Bowl Subdivision last season — went into Rutgers as a 29 1/2-point underdog and shocked the Scarlet Knights with a comfortable 37-21 win to end a 16-game skid. And Colorado, coming off a 3-9 season, escaped Georgia Tech in a 14-13 thriller by blocking a field-goal attempt with no time on the clock.
Heisman Trophy watch
Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Texas star Arch Manning are the preseason front-runners for the Heisman Trophy. Carr figures to get the tougher opening test against Wisconsin, and he gets a Sunday night spotlight to do it. Manning and the fifth-ranked Longhorns face Texas State. Don’t be surprised if the top-ranked Buckeyes have two guys in the Heisman mix with QB Julian Sayin and star WR Jeremiah Smith back to chase a title.
Speaking of experienced firepower: Gunner Stockton is back at QB for Georgia, which somehow seems under the radar as a third-ranked team. So are Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss and Marcel Reed at Texas A&M.
Under the radar
— No. 2 Oregon opens at home against Boise State as 24.5-point favorites, but the Broncos have some playmakers and lost by only 3 points in Eugene the last time these teams met in 2024.
— No. 23 Houston vs. Oregon State. Texas Tech and BYU tend to get the headlines as the favorites in the Big 12 Conference, but the Cougars won 10 games last season and have a bunch of players back led by QB Conner Weigman (2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns passing) and the addition of RB Makhi Hughes behind an experienced line.
— Auburn vs. Baylor in Atlanta. An SEC-Big 12 crossover game between two teams that could really use good news after both going 5-7 a year ago. Auburn brought in former USF coach Alex Golesh to give it a try and Baylor’s Dave Aranda remains under pressure heading into his seventh season.
— Tulane at Duke. We last saw Tulane in the College Football Playoff, losing to Ole Miss. Is there any magic still there after coach Jon Sumrall left for Florida? Duke, you may recall, won the ACC title game, didn’t go to the CFP and then lost 15 starters.
Wait, there’s more!
This is the longest weekend of the season in a good way with major college football games Thursday through Monday night. The Sunday lineup includes a weirdly early Apple Cup between No. 17 and Washington State before prime-time showdowns: No. 4 Notre Dame against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and No. 9 Mississippi against No. 24 Louisville in Nashville, Tennessee. The Labor Day capper sees Mike Norvell and Florida State hosting No. 19 SMU and dynamic quarterback Kevin Jennings.
The next AP Top 25 rankings to sort it all out will be released Tuesday.
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