I’m not sure if there’s been a better opening weekend of college football than the one that we’re about to see.

Week 1 is here, headlined by an electric No. 1 Texas and No. 3. Ohio State at noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

The matchup between these two juggernauts will be the first instance of the defending national champion opening the season against the No. 1 ranked team since 1988, and just the fourth time ever that’s happened. In the previous three instances, my Miami Hurricanes took down No. 1 Florida State (1988) and No. 1 Penn State (1984). 

The Longhorns-Buckeyes matchup isn’t the only banger of a game this weekend, as we have two other ranked  matchups— No. 10 Miami hosts No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 4 Clemson hosts No. 9 LSU. This is the first time ever we’ve seen three top 10 matchups on opening weekend. With weekends like this one, lengthy discussions ensue between myself and the fine people at FOX Sports every week as we plan our production for Big Noon Kickoff. Every Sunday night, I reflect on what’s to come, and send out a lengthy email to producers, researchers, and my colleagues on air about things to watch out for. 

I’ve decided to peel back the curtain and share those thoughts with you all, because everyone should rejoice in the splendor that is college football. So with that being said, let’s dive into my thoughts for this weekend. 

Longhorns come to Columbus

Besides the fact that the defending champion opens up their season against one of the most historic programs in college football, there are so many interesting storylines in this game. How much different will both of these offenses look compared to last year? Arch Manning will be making his third career start while Julian Sayin makes his collegiate debut. Texas didn’t have a mobile QB in Quinn Ewers last year, while Ohio State’s Will Howard thrived on the ground, so it’ll be interesting to see how both schemes will look this year. The Buckeyes will also have to replace a substantial amount of rushing production with the departure of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson to the NFL.

Much has also been talked about Texas’ defense, with many ranking them as the best unit in the country. But are the two best football players in the country both Buckeyes? Jeremiah Smith is undoubtedly the best receiver in FBS while Caleb Downs might just be the best defensive player this year. How will their defense look under former Lions coach Matt Patricia? It also begs the question as to which team is better equipped to handle a loss here. Regardless of who comes out on top, it should be fireworks in Columbus come Saturday. 

Top 10 matchup at the Hard Rock

It doesn’t get better than a “Catholics vs Convicts” matchup. Fresh off the heels of a loss in the national title, Notre Dame travels to Miami to take on the tenth-ranked Hurricanes in a rare Sunday night college football game. The Irish lead the all-time series 18-8-1 but lost the most recent matchup in 2017—another top 10 matchup that saw No. 6 Miami take down No. 3 Notre Dame 41-8. Below I broke down some other historic matchups between the two:

• 1985: No. 4 Miami routs unranked Notre Dame 58-7. The media accuses Jimmy Johnson of running up the score in what was Gerry Faust’s last game as the Irish head coach. Johnson later responded with, “I wasn’t running up the score, our backups were running up the score.”
• 1988: No. 4 Notre Dame defeated the defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Miami in a 31-30 thriller, ending a 36-game win streak for the Hurricanes. Aside from the infamous fumble call involving Cleveland Gary, this game also featured Jimmy Johnson deciding to go for two to win the game instead of kicking the extra-point—with the Irish getting the stop and going on to win the national title with a 12-0 season. Notre Dame has not won a national title since.
• 1989: No. 7 Miami defeats No. 1 Notre Dame 27-10, ending a 23-game win streak for the Irish. The game featured a 3rd and 44 conversion from Randall Hill, and the Canes would go on to win the national title that year.
• 1990: Unranked Notre Dame defeats No. 2 Miami 29-20, handing them their second loss of the season. The game featured a 94-yard kickoff return for a TD by Rocket Ismail, and marked a 20-year hiatus in the rivalry. 

In terms of this Sunday’s matchup, there’s a few things to look out for. Are we overlooking all of the personnel losses on the Notre Dame roster? When you look at what they lost on the offensive line and defense, it’s quite a bit. And then of course there’s Carson Beck to think about. Will the transition from Cam Ward to him be seamless? To me, he was the best QB in the portal, having thrown for nearly 8,000 yards along with 58 TDs and 18 interceptions in two seasons at Georgia— not to mention his 24-3 record as a starter.     

As for the Irish’ QB situation, I wonder if we’ll see Kenny Minchey play here. CJ Carr was named the starter but it was a close competition between the two throughout camp. Regardless, both of these teams open their season at Hard Rock Stadium, and will look to end it there— as the national title for the 2025-26 CFP will be held here.

Two Heisman favorites clash in Death Valley

We’ll see two of the top quarterbacks in the country face off on Saturday, with Clemson’s Cade Klubnik taking on LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier. Klubnik was one of four FBS players to account for 4,000+ yards of total offense and 40+ TDs last season, joining Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and Will Howard. Nussmeier, on the other hand, is the only returning QB in the country that had 4,000+ passing yards last season. At FanDuel Sportsbook, they are currently both at +900 to win the Heisman— trailing only Manning at +700. 

Brian Kelly is still looking for his first season-opening win at LSU having lost his last three. He hit the portal hard, bringing 18 players— good for the top-ranked transfer class, according to 247Sports.  

Side note— something I find hilarious is the amount of similarities between these two programs. Both call their stadium Death Valley, both have a Tiger mascot and both have purple as one of their school colors. But I think the real question is whether or not you’re taking Cajun food or a smokin’ pig!

Transfer QBs to watch this week

There are several transfer QB’s to watch out for this weekend. Below are some I’m especially curious to see in Week 1. 

• Carson Beck: takes on Notre Dame this week, averaged 275.0 pass YPG in two seasons at Georgia, with 57 total TDs; also averaged 313.7 pass YPG with a TD-INT ratio of 11-0 in his last three healthy games for the Bulldogs (before season-ending elbow surgery).
• John Mateer: takes on Illinois State this week, led the nation with 44 total TD last season along with 330.4 total YPG; he was the only FBS player last year with 25+ pass TD and 15+ rush TD— and the first to do that in a single year since Jalen Hurts in 2019.
• Jackson Arnold: takes on Baylor this week; former 5-star recruit who went 5-4 as a starter for Oklahoma last year with 16 total TDs and just 3 INT.
• Thomas Castellanos: takes on Alabama this week; in two seasons at BC, he recorded 47 total TD, leading all FBS QBs in rushing TDs in 2023 with 13
• Fernando Mendoza: takes on Old Dominion this week; averaged over 300 pass YPG in the final eight games of the season at Cal, and finished the year with 19 total TD and 6 INT.
• Nico Iamaleava: takes on Utah this week; former 5-star recruit who went 11-3 as a starter at Tennessee with 27 total TD and 5 INTs.

Potential Group of 5 vs Power 4 Upsets

There’s a few G5 teams that I think can upset their P4 opponents this week. None of them are huge programs, but it’s worth mentioning Toledo went to Mississippi State last year and came out with a win. They take on a Kentucky team this week that went 4-8 and 1-7 SEC play last season, the former being their worst record since 2013. The line for that game opened at 10.5 and has now dropped to 7.5. Southern Miss (+13.5 vs Mississippi State), Hawaii (+17.5 vs Arizona) and Coastal Carolina (+11.5 vs Virginia) are all double-digit underdogs worth considering. 

Seminoles take on Tide

This is an interesting one as Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer is under a lot of pressure in Year 2. A lot of people think Bama is “back” because Ryan Grubb left his role as the offensive coordinator of the Seahawks to call plays for the Tide. But Ty Simpson is unproven and as always, Alabama has several difficult games on the schedule. In the same vein, there’s a chance FSU is like 6-6 this year despite bringing in 23 portal players—good for the No. 6 transfer class according to 247Sports. They are currently a two-TD home underdog against Bama, which seems a bit high. They were double-digit neutral-site favorites last season and ended up losing by three to Georgia Tech, sending them on a 2-10 tailspin—the fourth-worst record in school history. Maybe they reverse things this year.

Rich Rod back in Morgantown

Welcome back home, Rich Rod! The 62-year old played defensive back for the Mountaineers from 1981-84, was a student assistant there in 1985, came back as a linebackers coach in 1989, and then was the head coach from 2001 to 2007. From 2005-07, he led them to a 32-5 record. In the 17 seasons since his departure, West Virginia has only won 10 games in a season twice. Can one of Morgantown’s favorite sons bring them back to national relevance? Only time will tell. 

Notable Friday games

While the Saturday slate is loaded, there are still some really great games on Friday. Deion Sanders and the Buffs will take on a feisty Georgia Tech team in their opener, looking to show everyone that they can have success without Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. Baylor takes on Auburn in a great quarterback matchup on Friday. Sawyer Robertson threw for over 3,000 yards with a 28-8 TD-INT ratio for the Bears last year while former 5-star recruit Jackson Arnold will look to have a breakout year after spending two seasons at Oklahoma.

The Jim Donnan Bowl

Kirby Smart and the Dawgs will take on a Thundering Herd team that lost most of its players to the portal, as Charles Huff took most of his guys with him to Southern Miss. Tony Gibson is the man at Marshall now, making his head coaching debut after serving as NC State’s defensive coordinator for five seasons. Why am I calling this the Jim Donnan bowl? Because Donnan was the head coach at both schools, going 64-21 in six seasons at Marshall and 40-19 in five seasons at Georgia. The legendary coach went 4-0 in Bowl games for Georgia and still lives in Athens. 

Flashback of ’98 for Vols and Orange

Syracuse and Tennessee have to be playing for the first time, right? Wrong! The two orange teams have met three times prior, with the last matchup taking place in 2001. What’s more noteworthy is that the Volts opened their 1998 national title season against No. 17 Cuse, squeaking out a 34-31 win off a game-winning field goal. Donovan McNabb went 22-of-28 with 300 yards passing and 2 pass TDs for the Orange, while Tee Martin and Jamal Lewis totaled 284 yards of offense and 4 TDs for the Vols. 

Big test for Road Runners to start the year

Jeff Traylor is entering Year 6 with UTSA, highlighted by a 12-2 season in 2021 followed by a 11-3 campaign in 2022. While he’s only 16-10 over the last two seasons, he’s won back-to-back bowl games and brings back Owen McCown under center— who finished last year as one of 11 FBS QBs to record over 3,700 yards of total offense, 25+ total TDs with 10 or fewer INTs. The Roadrunners are three-TD ‘dogs against a highly-talented Texas A&M team, but if they can keep it close, there’s a real chance they end up favored in every game the rest of the way.

The debut of Nico Iamaleava

There might not have been a player with a more drama-filled offseason than Nico Iamaleava. After requesting a raise for his NIL to be $4 million with the Vols, the former 5-star recruit entered the portal and ended up signing for a reported $1.5 million with the Bruins. From what I have heard, he’s looked even better than Bruins coaches expected. A Los Angeles native, he’ll take on a Utah defense that finished 25th in FBS in scoring defense last season and third in third-down defense. Utah also has a new face under center, with Devon Dampier coming from New Mexico. He rushed for 1,166 yards and 19 TDs, ranking in the top five among FBS quarterbacks in both categories last season. Kyle Whittingham’s squad might be coming into season with less national expectations than usual which is always a good thing. I think they should be favored to win the Big 12.    

Sneaky matchup in New Orleans

Tulane will host Northwestern as 4.5-point favorites in their opener. This is the type of game which can shape a narrative for either team or league. If Tulane, the AAC favorite, loses at home to one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, that will sting. Conversely, if the Wildcats pull off the upset on the road, it will only fuel the notion that Big Ten football is dominant. Given the slow start for the Mountain West this season, there’s a real chance the AAC winner will be the Group of 5 representative in the CFP. 

Old School Pac-12 after dark

How about a good old-fashioned Pac-12 after dark matchup! Cal travels to Corvallis to take on Oregon State in a 10:30 ET kickoff. The Bears will have to replace their 2024 leaders in passing, rushing, receiving, tackles, sacks, interceptions, and pass breakups, while Oregon State brings in transfer QB Maalik Murphy from Duke. He threw for 2,993 yards and 26 TDs last season. 

Chris “The Bear” Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an “occasional” wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.

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