College football season is officially here! Optimism abounds as every college football fan enters the season with their team 0-0 (unless you played in Week 0, in which case, we’re very sorry Nebraska fans).
Our first full weekend of college football action features games from Thursday through Monday, a glorious five-day stretch of nonstop action, a gluttonous buffet of options. Hopping between games is one of the great joys of college football season but it helps to have a plan.
Here we present to you the top-5 games of the weekend ranked in order of watchability. Breathe it in, friends… there’s college football in the air.
Stream live college football games every week this season from conferences across the country on ESPN+.
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5
LSU vs. Florida State (Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
Favorite: LSU -3.5
Two of the most chaotic programs of the last three years meet at the end of the three-day weekend in New Orleans. I can literally feel the hangover just writing that.
Both teams are desperate to get back on the right track after a couple of humiliating seasons in a row, with Brian Kelly trying to get off to a hot start while Mike Norvell tries to get literally anything going right for Florida State. As hard as it is to believe, Norvell’s may actually be the more stable program of the two coming into this season but not stable enough for me to pretend like I have any idea what is going to happen in this game.
4
Florida vs. Utah (7 p.m. ET on ESPN)
Favorite: Utah -2.5
Like many proud SEC programs, Florida prides itself on the athletic advantage it holds non-conference opponents, and that’s probably still true of this matchup with Utah. But that’s probably where the advantages end for Florida.
Utah proved itself one of the toughest teams in college football last season ending the regular season winning nine of its final 10 games including a Pac-12 championship against Oregon. With Utah’s Kyle Whittingham entering his 18th season as head coach while Florida breaks in yet another new coach in Billy Napier, all signs point to a Utah advantage in this game. But both programs are hoping to use this game to gain some instant national respect to start the season.
Stream live college football games every week this season from conferences across the country on ESPN+.
3
Arkansas vs. Cincinnati (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
Favorite: Arkansas -6.5
A really fun matchup here between two teams that saw huge improvements last season and hope to continue that momentum in 2022. Cincy’s magical playoff run might be difficult to duplicate, especially with their key stars now in the NFL, but Luke Fikell’s been there long enough that he might be able to plug and play with new players relatively quickly.
Meanwhile, Arkansas’ hopes hinge on quarterback KJ Jefferson, one of the most electrifying players in the SEC a year ago and one of the toughest players to bring down in all of college football. Nobody wants to play either of these teams on opening weekend.
2
Georgia vs. Oregon (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
Favorite: Georgia -17.5
The reigning national champions kick off their title defense on friendly turf in Atlanta against a couple of very familiar faces. New Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was a key assistant for Kirby Smart as he built the Bulldogs into a powerhouse, while the Ducks’ likely starter at QB, Bo Nix, is a transfer from Auburn where he developed a reputation as a summoner of chaos, both positive and negative.
Georgia still has one of the most stacked rosters in college football but will have to find its feet again after losing a number of key pieces to both the NFL Draft and the transfer portal.
1
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
Favorite: Ohio State -17.5
Without question the blockbuster game of Week 1, this matchup between two of college football’s blue bloods could set the stage for both the playoff picture and the Heisman race.
Notre Dame heads into the Marcus Freeman Era with a ton of optimism while Ohio State’s expectations are sky-high with a ton of key talent returning from last year’s Rose Bowl-winning team. This is one of those games in which a loss can be overcome but a win can immediately catapult the victor into the driver’s seat of the playoff race.
