Five College Football Games You Should Watch: Week One

This piece is a continuation of our weekly series, Five Games You Should Watch. The premise is simple: you're obviously going to watch Saturday night's Beaver game versus Cal (7:30 PM on ESPN), but here are five more games for you to consider.

#1 Texas at #3 Ohio State - 9 AM on Fox

This game has it all: a rematch of last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal, a matchup of two blue chip programs, and an arduous quest befitting the heir to a royal line. Texas starting quarterback Arch Manning, grandson of hall-of-famer Archie Manning, and nephew of Peyton & Eli, has drawn hype since he was in middle school. Tomorrow he’ll lead the preseason #1 into The Horseshoe, facing a hostile crowd and the defending national champions.

In last season’s CFP semis, Texas earned more first downs (21-18), and fewer penalties (5 for 54 vs 9 for for 75) but 2 costly turnovers swung the game against them. Expect emotions to run high and motivations to appear clear on Saturday night.

#8 Alabama at Florida State - 12:30 PM on ABC

It just matters more. The longtime creed of the Southeastern Conference is perhaps best exemplified by Alabama Crimson Tide fans; merely a single loss can send them into sports hell. Now consider that last season saw new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer lose four games, fall far short of the SEC Championship, and miss the College Football Playoff.

If the Crimson Tide kick off their season with a loss to Florida State, a program mired in its own doubts after a rock bottom 2-10 season, DeBoer will quickly learn just how much more college football matters in Alabama.

Montana State at #7 Oregon - 1 PM on Big Ten Network

On paper, this should be a rout, but football games are not played on paper. Last season, the Ducks opened their year with a sluggish win over FCS-level Idaho that outlets called underwhelming, worrying, and even harrowing.

This season, the green & yellow open their season against another FCS-level foe: last season’s FCS championship runner ups, Montana State. Betting lines heavily favor the home team in Eugene, but don’t be surprised if Dan Lanning’s Ducks struggle in another season opener against an overlooked opponent.

#9 LSU at #4 Clemson - 4:30 PM on ABC

When Brian Kelly left his seemingly safe tenure at Notre Dame for the pressure cooker of deep south football diehards at LSU, one selling point stood out: in Baton Rouge, Kelly would have the budget to build a juggernaut.

While Kelly’s teams have been successful by the conventional definition - winning at least 9 games in all of his 3 seasons on the Bayou - those records have fallen far short of a juggernaut. Saturday night’s opener against #4 Clemson could set the scene for a season that finally lives up to the expectations.

Colorado State at Washington - 8 PM on Big Ten Network

As I wrote in yesterday’s Pac-12 Notebook, this game could trigger fans with the most anxiety-riddled three-word-phrase in college football: Pac-12 After Dark.

Colorado State will join the conference in 2026, and Washington left the conference after the 2024 season, but still carry a storied tradition as a century-spanning banner-carrier for the Conference of Champions.

Saturday, the new Pac-12 meets the old Pac-12. A win for the Rams would garner Mountain West Conference championship buzz, and a loss for the Huskies would send their fanbase into an incredible panic. To me, that’s more than enough of a reason to watch.

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