The Athletic has live coverage of Colorado vs. Georgia Tech.
Welcome back. It may not be the flashiest of opening slates, but what Week 1 lacks in ranked matchups, it makes up for in breadth (and Lane Kiffin drama). Five straight days of games, running Thursday to Monday of Labor Day weekend. It’s the perfect way to bid adieu to summer.
Here are the top 10 games of Week 1, starting with a few honorable mentions and counting down.
Honorable Mention: Fresno State at No. 14 USC (Fri.), East Carolina at No. 13 Alabama, Miami (Ohio) at Pitt, Tulane at Duke, Western Michigan at No. 16 Michigan, Washington State at No. 17 Washington (Sun.)
(All point spreads are courtesy BetMGM. All kickoff times are Eastern.)
Which college football teams are under the most pressure?
Chris Vannini
10. Liberty at James Madison, noon Sat., ESPNU
A Group of 6 banger. JMU is coming off 12 wins and a trip to the College Football Playoff, but with new head coach Billy Napier back in the Sun Belt to replace Bob Chesney, who left for UCLA. On the other side, Liberty is coming off its first losing season in eight years at the FBS level. The Flames and head coach Jamey Chadwell should be back to contending in Conference USA, led by transfer running backs Kam Davis (Florida State) and Kanye Udoh (Arizona State).
Line: JMU -6.5
9. Baylor vs. Auburn, 3:30 p.m. Sat., ABC
Good luck predicting this one. Baylor enters with a new quarterback in Florida transfer DJ Lagway and head coach Dave Aranda on the hot seat. Auburn comes in with a fresh coat of paint, led by new head coach Alex Golesh and a troupe of players from South Florida, including quarterback Byrum Brown. Bowl eligibility is attainable for both teams — and probably the bare minimum for Aranda to keep his job — and this game could ultimately tip that scale. Auburn won this matchup in Waco last season, but the Tigers opted for a neutral site in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium to pad their roster budget.
Line: Auburn -7
8. UCLA at Cal, 10:30 p.m. Sat., ESPN
It’s a battle of new head coaches and former Pac-12 foes. Chesney brings his CFP cred to the West Coast, where he’s reinvigorated UCLA football and retained Nico Iamaleava at quarterback. Iamaleava needs to be better in 2026 if the Bruins expect to go on the road as the favorites and beat a similarly optimistic Cal. The Golden Bears hired alum and Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who promptly locked down second-year stud QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and signed one of the top transfer classes in the ACC.
Line: UCLA -1.5
7. Colorado at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. Thurs., ESPN
A clash of 1990 national champions. It should be a telling season for Colorado and head coach Deion Sanders, who was recovering from bladder cancer much of last year while his team struggled to 3-9. Sanders overhauled the coaching staff and roster yet again, though JuJu Lewis returns at quarterback for year two. There’s no easing into the schedule against a physical Georgia Tech squad. QB Haynes King is gone — offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, too — but Fernando’s little brother Alberto Mendoza transferred from Indiana, and expects to hand off quite a bit to Michigan transfer running back Justice Haynes.
Line: Georgia Tech -6.5
6. No. 7 Miami at Stanford (1-0), 9 p.m. Fri., ESPN
The Cardinal offered encouraging signs in Week 0, including two touchdowns in the final two minutes — one on offense, one on defense — to complete the comeback against Hawaii and give head coach Tavita Pritchard his first win. Former Michigan quarterback Davis Warren was the biggest surprise, throwing for a career-high 310 of Stanford’s 468 total yards. The reward? Top-10 Miami comes to town, fresh off a runner-up finish last season, with new quarterback Darian Mensah and a fleet of weapons.
Line: Miami -24.5
5. Boise State at No. 2 Oregon, 3:30 p.m. Sat., CBS
Two seasons ago, Boise State and running back Ashton Jeanty pushed the Ducks to the brink in Eugene, losing on a last-second field goal to the eventual Big Ten champs. But Jeanty is long gone, and these Ducks look even more loaded with Dante Moore back at quarterback and national championship aspirations. The Broncos, now in the refurbished Pac-12, could end up being the class of the G6, but do they have enough firepower to keep it close against Oregon again? The oddsmakers don’t think so.
Line: Oregon -24.5
4. No. 19 SMU at Florida State (1-0), 7:30 p.m. Mon., ESPN
The Seminoles did enough to control their Week 0 win over New Mexico State, but the vultures are still circling above Mike Norvell. He can shoo them away, at least for a bit, with a home upset over SMU, which has its sights set on another CFP run. Head coach Rhett Lashlee is back despite SEC interest, as is third-year starting quarterback Kevin Jennings, who will need to cut down on interceptions after throwing 13 picks in 2025.
Line: SMU -3
3. Wisconsin vs No. 4 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. Sun., NBC
Sunday night football, on NBC, in Lambeau Field — who needs the NFL? The Fighting Irish (my champion pick) are on a revenge tour after missing out on last year’s Playoff, aiming to win their first national title since 1988. That journey starts with head coach Marcus Freeman going against his former boss Luke Fickell and what could be a quietly feisty Wisconsin squad. Fickell is still on the hot seat, but the Badgers invested in the roster this offseason and have some momentum for the first time in Fickell’s four seasons in Madison.
Line: Notre Dame -20.5
2. No 24 Louisville vs. No. 9 Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m. Sun., ABC
The lone ranked matchup of Week 1 is also on Sunday night and also at an NFL venue: Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding, free from the Lane Kiffin of it all — at least for a couple of weeks — is back with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss after a wild 2025 season. Louisville has won at least nine games in each of its three years under head coach Jeff Brohm, but it has yet to translate into an ACC title or CFP berth. The running back matchup between Ole Miss’s Kewan Lacy and Louisville’s Isaac Brown is one of the best the sport has to offer.
Line: Ole Miss -7
1. Clemson at No. 11 LSU, 7:30 p.m. Sat., ABC
Are you sick of Kiffin yet? LSU’s season hasn’t kicked off and college football’s new black hat is already starring in commercials and recruiting your favorite NFL practice squad candidates to play for the Tigers. The eligibility saga even had Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney clapping back earlier this week, calling it “embarrassing for college football.” Whether it has any impact on the field Saturday remains to be seen — the situation could get some resolution before that — but either way, this is a massive season opener. Expectations (and the roster budget) are sky-high for Kiffin in Baton Rouge, while Swinney is out to prove the sport’s new reality hasn’t passed him by.
Line: LSU -10