LSU-USC and 6 best Week 1 college football matchups
The 2024 college football season is now upon us, and after the excitement of Week Zero, we can finally dive into a full slate of high-profile games in Week 1. And boy, oh boy, are there some big matchups on the schedule.
We’ve already seen an upset with the top-10 ranked Florida State losing, and a near miss by SMU, so it’s hard to imagine what’s in store in Week 1 when the rest of the top 25 hits the field. If you’re looking for the best matchups, these are the top games in college football Week 1, starting with LSU and USC.
No. 23 USC @ No. 13 LSU in Las Vegas
We’ll have to wait until Sunday to watch this top-25 showdown, but it will be worth it. This would have been a rare Pac-12 versus SEC matchup, but with the Trojans’ move to the Big Ten, it’s a battle of the two biggest conferences in college football.
LSU has had some major opening weekends since Brian Kelly became head coach, both against Florida State. However, the Tigers haven’t won a Week 1 out-of-conference game in their last three tries. They lost to UCLA in 2021 and back-to-back against Florida State the last two years.
Bad news for USC: the last season opener they lost was to an SEC team back in 2016, when they were thumped by No. 1 Alabama, 52-6. Both teams look much different from their previous losses and may be in a bit of a rebuilding phase. Both have new starting quarterbacks and are hoping for much-improved defenses from the previous season.
No. 19 Miami (FL) @ Florida
This may be a battle of ranked versus unranked teams, but that will mean nothing when these in-state rivals meet in this Week 1 clash. This is one of the few rivalry games that rarely makes an appearance, with the last meeting taking place in 2019. That one went the Gators’ way at a neutral site in Orlando. Florida has a real advantage playing at home in “The Swamp” this coming Saturday.
Both of these head coaches have a lot of question marks regarding their futures. Miami’s Mario Cristobal is coming off his second season with the Hurricanes, holding a record of 12-13. Meanwhile, Florida’s Billy Napier is going into his third season with an 11-14 record thus far. Needless to say, both coaches are in need of a win. But it wouldn’t be the end of the world if either lost, as this isn’t a conference game for either. That said, it would be a huge momentum boost for the rest of the season for the winner.
No. 8 Penn State @ West Virginia
Another ranked versus unranked out-of-conference game, this one features a clash between the Big Ten and Big 12 in Week 1.
The Nittany Lions will have to leave the confines of their own intimidating home field and venture into the hostile atmosphere of Morgantown, where fans will be ready to sing “Country Roads” all day. This will be a raucous 11 a.m. crowd ready to give their Mountaineers all the support they need to take down a top-10 team—something they haven’t done since 2014 against then-No. 4 Baylor.
Penn State brings in a new set of coordinators this season. Offensively, the Nittany Lions will be led by quarterback Drew Allar, who is set for a breakout season. West Virginia head coach Neal Brown could be coaching for his job again this season, even after finishing last year 9-4 to save it then.
No. 14 Clemson @ No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta
We’d like this game much better if it were played at either Georgia’s Sanford Stadium or Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. Either way, even with the game in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the crowd could be pretty split as both teams are in close proximity to the city.
If you’re Dabo Swinney and Clemson, you’re looking for your next big win. Those haven’t been coming as frequently over the last couple of seasons for the Tigers, with their last top-10 win all the way back in 2020 against then-No. 7 Miami. The last time Clemson met the Bulldogs was back in 2021, losing in Charlotte 10-3.
Kirby Smart and Georgia, on the other hand, have been racking up wins, losing only twice in the last two years while adding two national titles.
This one doesn’t feel as big as it might have three seasons ago, but there will be a ton of talent all over the field when these two meet up.
North Dakota State @ Colorado
The only battle of unranked schools in our top college football Week 1 games features none other than Coach Prime and Colorado football taking on FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.
This may not be the easiest of openers for the Buffaloes, who still have a lot to prove under Deion Sanders in Year 2. In the last 10 seasons, the Bison have lost just 17 games and have won six FCS national titles. Last season, they finished 11-4 and lost in the semifinals.
With the Buffaloes entering the Big 12, anything is possible this season as Colorado, again, will be almost impossible to predict after another year of transfers in and out. Make no mistake, though: this is a no-win situation for Sanders and Colorado. Blow out the Bison, and “it was just an FCS team.” But fall to them, and it will be endless ridicule and certainly a bad omen for the rest of the season.
No. 7 Notre Dame @ No. 20 Texas A&M
Mike Elko, in his inaugural season in College Station, receives no gimme in his first game. What a test for the Aggies’ new coach. At least he inherited a program that still had a good number of talented players who stayed and came over from other schools via the portal. Another bonus it that the game is on their home turf at Kyle Field, one of the more daunting places to play in the country.
This is also an intriguing matchup for third-year Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, who is still in the early stages of his head coaching career. Freeman has led the Irish to 9-4 and 10-3 campaigns and hopes to take the next leap this year.
We could be looking at a defensive showdown in this one. Though Riley Leonard, coming over from Duke to Notre Dame, and Conner Weigman for Texas A&M could make for an interesting battle of quarterbacks.
Boston College @ No. 10 Florida State
This ACC matchup in Week 1 of college football got a whole lot more interesting after the Seminoles fell to Georgia Tech in Week Zero.
This game is now Florida State’s response game, not just the second game of their season. After all the bickering and complaining the Seminoles and their fan base made about their snub from the College Football Playoff last season, none of that matters now. It didn’t to begin with, but it certainly doesn’t now. The Seminoles have to prove they are who they were hyped to be—the No. 10 team in the country. Whether they win or lose to the Eagles on Labor Day, they’ll most likely be taking a dip in the rankings.
As for Boston College, it will be a new era under new head coach Bill O’Brien, who brings a wealth of experience from both the college and pro levels. But what if Florida State loses both games within what is essentially the first week of the college football season? It would be a signature win for O’Brien in his first season in Chestnut Hill.
The post LSU-USC and 6 best Week 1 college football matchups appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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