CFB Week 1

It’s that magical time of year again. From now until January, your Saturday plans will be dictated by what time your favorite college team is playing and the slate of games surrounding it. No time for trips to the pumpkin patch or lazy Saturday brunches, it’s time to lock in and enjoy another season of college football. Today we’ll highlight some of the more significant matchups of the opening week slate, some rather obvious, some not so obvious and tell you what to watch for. Since it’s week one, we’ve got games spread throughout the week to keep an eye on

Thursday

East Carolina vs NC State

What to watch for: This game does not have two teams that will factor into the playoff discussion but this game is everything that’s great about college football. Two in-state rivals separated by about 80 miles with a ton of heated history between them, getting set to write another chapter in their series. Flashback to December, these two schools were trading punches at the end of the 2024 Military Bowl, a game that saw former Byrnes Rebel Rajhai Harris going the distance late in the game to give ECU the victory. Despite some in Raleigh refusing to acknowledge this as a rivalry (despite the fact these two schools play for a Victory Barrel trophy and have evenly split the last ten matchups), Dave Doreren has made no secret of his desire to win this game, if for no other reason then to try and quiet down the hot seat rumors for a little while. A great kickoff to a new season.

Friday*

Georgia Tech vs Colorado

What to watch for : *We don’t talk about college games that happen on Fridays during High School Football season at this station but if hypothetically I was going to talk about one, I would hypothetically talk about this game but not for the reasons you’d think. Georgia Tech has one of the most exciting backfield duo’s in college football with Haynes King and Jamal Haynes. Getting those two in the spotlight that will continue to follow Deion Sanders and Colorado is a win.

Saturday

Texas vs Ohio State

What to watch for: It’s number 1 vs number 3. I could just stop there and move on but for the sake of discussion I’ll keep going.  There’s the defending National Champions with a new QB taking on Arch Manning and the uber talented Longhorns. There’s future NFL players all over this field but that doesn’t mean these two teams are not without their questions. Side note but this is another entry in the all time  classic jersey matchups.

LSU vs Clemson

What to watch for: Sometimes these entries kinda write themselves. That being said, this game goes a lot deeper than number 9 vs number 4. Garrett Nussmeier vs Cade Klubnik is one of the biggest QB matchups you’ll see all year and the winner could easily set themselves in front in the early season Heisman discussion. Beyond that, there’s probably the two best receiver rooms in the country in this matchup and two coaches that have faced off a number of times in big game settings. Dabo Swinney holds the 3-1 lead over Brian Kelly all time but there’s more pressure on Kelly now than ever with what should be his most talented LSU team. This is a January matchup taking place in August and it should be a lot of fun.

Sunday

Virginia Tech vs South Carolina

Why you should keep an eye on this game: LaNorris Sellers is really fun to watch play QB. Ok I’ll work a little harder than that. Coming off a 9 win campaign in 2024, there are some new faces in the mix with this Gamecock roster, most notably RB Rashul Faison, who was just given the green light to play by the NCAA on Monday. Defensively there are questions that won’t necessarily be answered by a matchup with Virginia Tech but it’s still important to get started on the right foot. Dylan Stewart is also back and this may be one of the few games this year where he’ll be able to show out without being completely focused on by an opposing offense. He is also really fun to watch (see sometimes you don’t have to work that hard)

Notre Dame vs Miami

Why you should keep an eye on this game: Anyone else getting visions of Jimmy Johnson and Lou Holtz when you hear this matchup? This iconic 80’s rivalry is back with a new flair as Notre Dame comes off a National Title game loss to Ohio State. Fortunately for them, star RB Jeremiah Love is back in full force for the Fighting Irish with a deep roster surrounding him. This will give Freshman QB CJ Carr a lot to work with as he gets the nod as the next QB to lead the charge under HC Marcus Freeman. On the other side of this matchup, Miami is back with a high profile transfer QB in Carson Beck and a lot of expectations. HC Mario Christobal knows how significant this rivalry was when he played back in the late 80’s and he also knows that after missing the ACC title game and the playoffs last season, he’s starting to test the patience of many fans of “The U.”

Monday

TCU vs North Carolina

Why you should keep an eye on this game: Bill Belichick is coaching a football game on a Monday Night, only it’s not happening in the NFL for the first time in his long storied career. It’s something I never could’ve imagined during his run as HC of the New England Patriots but here we are. There have been numerous cases of great coaches making the switch from either college or the pro’s, but none of this magnitude. The manner of his exit makes this case all the more interesting as Belichick wants to prove a lot of people wrong about how much he still has in the tank.TCU however, is not interested in being another high profile coach’s first win as they were against Colorado when Deion Sanders debuted with the Buffaloes in 2023. The Horned Frogs are only 3 years removed from a playoff appearance and will enter the year with high hopes of making another run at a Big 12 title. In what is already a star studded opening weekend, the fact we’ll get one more high profile game on Monday is just icing on the cake.