College football Week 1 preview: Top 5 games to kick off a loaded weekend

Laken Litman

College Football & Soccer Analyst

The countdown is on as the first weekend of the 2024 college football season is upon us.

A lot has changed – the College Football Playoff has finally expanded to 12 teams, some of the game’s greatest coaches are gone (Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh will not be on a sideline near you), and there are some rule changes that have been used in the NFL for years (adding a two-minute warning as well as coach-to-player helmet communication).

After months of talking about all these things and more, it’s time for the games to begin and Week 1 has a quality slate of matchups that will certainly have CFP implications down the road.

Here are the top five games to watch this weekend:

No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia (12 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)

Penn State’s march to its first CFP berth begins now. With the expanded 12-team field, the Nittany Lions will finally have a chance to get that boogeyman off their back after consistently winning 10 or 11 games and appearing in New Year’s Six bowl games.

James Franklin has new offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators, and a talented roster to boot. After a tough first year as the starting quarterback, Drew Allar is back with more experience, but needs to find chemistry with an unproven receiving corps. Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton form one of the best duos in the country and the defense, which was ranked No. 2 in the country last year, is led by defensive end/linebacker Abdul Carter, who is expected to be one of the best players in the Big Ten.

Meanwhile, West Virginia would love to shock the college football world by pulling a major upset at home. The Mountaineers lost to the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley a year ago, but went on to make the season a success anyway by winning nine games. Quarterback Garrett Greene and running backs CJ Donaldson Jr. and Jahiem White are a dangerous trio and can make things difficult for any opponent they face this season – and Penn State arguably provides the stiffest competition this team will play against all year.

Betting line: Penn State -7.5, TOTAL: 49.5

No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (12 p.m. ET)

Georgia is a heavy favorite to win the national championship this year, so the Bulldogs need to come out in this first game and show everybody why. Quarterback Carson Beck is a Heisman Trophy front-runner and projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he’ll likely need to throw the ball around a lot against Clemson since he’ll be without his top two running backs. Roderick Robinson, the team’s leading rusher, had toe surgery and will be out for a few weeks, while Trevor Etienne, who transferred from Florida, is suspended for one game following a DUI arrest in the spring. Even so, the Bulldogs still shouldn’t struggle on offense, and are expected to have another top five defense.

Clemson has a strong defense, too, and Kirby Smart described the Tigers players this week as “twitchy, fast, hard-playing guys.” Offensively, there are more questions. Quarterback Cade Klubnik enters his third year and second under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. There was buzz around his improvement during the spring, as well as running back Phil Mafah, who is one of the best at what he does in the ACC. This kind of early test will be a barometer for the Tigers as they hope to be part of the CFP picture for the first time in a long time.

Betting line: Georgia -12.5, TOTAL: 48.5

No. 19 Miami at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET)

Here we have a matchup between two teams led by coaches who absolutely cannot afford to lose the season opener.

Miami’s Mario Cristobal landed dual-threat quarterback Cam Ward from Washington State in the transfer portal during the offseason and that immediately turned this team into an ACC title and CFP contender. The Hurricanes return two of their top pass catchers from last year’s talented receiving corps, and the rest of the roster got a boost from the transfer portal. Cristobal needs those additions to pan out in what is viewed as a critical third year coaching at his alma mater.

On the other side, Florida coach Billy Napier also brought in a solid group of transfers and a top 20 recruiting class. Veteran quarterback Graham Mertz, who enters his sixth year, is looking to improve from last year when he threw 20 touchdowns to just three interceptions. The problem for the Gators, however, is that they have one of the toughest schedules this season with games against Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss. Getting a win in Week 1 at home would take a little pressure off.

Betting line: Miami -2.5, TOTAL: 55.5

No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M (7:30 p.m.)

There are so many storylines to unpack here. Mike Elko makes his Texas A&M head coaching debut against former employer Notre Dame, where he served as defensive coordinator in 2017. Maybe even more coincidental is that he will also face his former star quarterback, Riley Leonard, who played for him at Duke before transferring to Notre Dame after Elko was hired by the Aggies.

Leonard, who suffered from nagging injuries last year, gives the Fighting Irish an immediate boost into the College Football Playoff discussion. The program has been to the CFP twice, but not since Marcus Freeman has been in charge.

Kyle Field will be rocking and the team is anxious to kick off the Elko era with a signature win.

Betting line: Texas A&M -3.0, TOTAL: 50.5

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No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (Sunday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET)

On Sunday, we get a treat when USC and LSU square off in Las Vegas. These are two teams who just lost their Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks (Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels) to the NFL and will be fighting for playoff spots down the road.

The Trojans are looking for a fresh start in the Big Ten after going 8-5 a year ago in the Pac 12’s final season. Lincoln Riley named Miller Moss his starting QB, but he’s surrounded by a young offensive line. USC’s defense was one of the worst in the country last year, but is expected to be better under new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who transformed UCLA’s unit into a top 10 defense in 2023.

Speaking of new DC’s, LSU has one too after the Tigers’ defense allowed 6.1 yards per play last year. Brian Kelly hopes his new hire, Blake Baker, who helped lead Missouri to an 11-win season a year ago, can make improvements. The Tigers also have a new offensive coordinator in Joe Sloan, who has a ton of talent to replace from last year’s No. 1-ranked offense. Luckily, LSU returns four starters on the offensive line and Garrett Nussmeier, a longtime backup-turned-starting QB, who has been waiting for this moment his entire career.

Betting line: LSU -4.5, TOTAL: 66.5

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.

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