We are just over 100 days away from the start of the 2024 college football season. Well, actually we are over 100 days away form Week 1. The season is under 100 days away from Week 0 where the Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Tech Yellowjackets will kick it off from Dublin, Ireland. The SMU Mustangs will also kick off their first season as a Power Four team as they travel to Nevada.
All in all there are four games on the Week Zero slate and a lot more the following week when the rest of the college football landscape gets their seasons underway. Week 1 isn’t always a place where there are a plethora of top matchups but there are a handful of teams that are worthy of your eyeballs as we start the march to the 12-team playoff.
ESPN announced that the matchup at Kyle Field between the Aggies and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be featured on College Gameday as they come to College Station. But is that the best game of the weekend?
We recently ranked the five most intriguing games of the weekend, starting off with some anxiety in the Sunshine State.
5
Miami Hurricanes at Florida Gators
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Why the ranking:
Hear me out here, I know a game featuring two head coaches heading into the season on the proverbial hot seat might leave you scratching your head. However, the “Anxiety Bowl” as my podcast co-host Tyler Nettuno so eloquently put it has plenty of intrigue. Which fan base will be launched into full panic mode following this matchup of in-state rivals? Billy Napier might need the win more but a loss by Mario Cristobal would make the South Beach natives quite restless.
4
Penn State Nittany Lions at West Virginia Mountaineers
Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK
Why the ranking:
The West Virginia Mountaineers were a surprise team last season after it appeared that Neal Brown might get run out of town after one winning record (during the pandemic) in four seasons. However, his team was up to the task after posting a 9-4 record and finished fourth in the Big 12. The Nittany Lions finished 10-3 and third in the Big Ten East behind Michigan and Ohio State. They have a new offensive coordinator this season and need a strong year to contend with the Buckeyes for the top spot.
3
Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Texas A&M Aggies
Tom Hauck /Allsport
Why the ranking:
I know ESPN recently announced that this game would be featured on College Gameday but this feels like the third-most intriguing game during Week 1. The Aggies usher in the post-Jimbo era with the return of Mike Elko to run the ship. If quarterback Conner Weigman can stay healthy, they should have a good season. Elko will likely have to figure out to slow down his former quarterback, who joined the Notre Dame Fighting Irish via the transfer portal. Marcus Freeman has his best shot at making some noise this upcoming season with a relatively mild schedule. This matchup along with the Florida State and USC matchups will likely make or break this season.
2
LSU Tigers vs USC Trojans in Las Vegas
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Why the ranking:
It wasn’t that long ago that many thought Lincoln Riley would be the next head coach of the LSU Tigers, but he ended up out west with the USC Trojans. This matchup will feature a pair of teams trying to figure out their offenses after their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks were drafted 1-2 in the 2024 NFL draft. A win will set each team up for success in the upcoming season. What makes this game so intriguing is the fact that both teams have plenty of questions especially on the defensive side of the ball.
1
Clemson Tigers vs Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Why the ranking:
The only other teams to win multiple national titles in the Nick Saban era at Alabama will face off in Atlanta, Georgia, in Week 1. They last met in Charlotte, North Carolina, to open the 2021 season. Since that day both teams went in different directions. The Georgia Bulldogs would go on to win the national championship that year and the next. Since that win, UGA is 41-2 with three New Years Six victories and two titles.
On the flipside of that coin the Clemson Tigers are 29-9. On the surface that might not look too bad but by the new standards in Death Valley, it very much is. The Tigers have struggled to get back to the national championship level where they made appearances in four of five seasons from 2015 to 2019. Either Dabo Swinney is going to have to get with the program and invest via the transfer portal or get left in the dust.
