Skip to main content

Hope you got the chores done early. College Football Week 1 offers a dense slate of marquee matchups from Thursday to Monday. Through a mess of 80+ games, which are the handful you have to get on the big screen?

Buckle up, because it's going to be a wild ride this Labor Day weekend.

All kickoff times listed below are in Central Time (CT)

West Virginia Mountaineers at #17 Pitt Panthers

Thursday, Sept. 1, 6:00 p.m., ESPN

This rivalry was first played in 1895 and existed all the way up until 2011, dubbed "The Backyard Brawl." Despite not having played in 11 years, there's no love lost between these teams.

Tune in for a look at a pair of USC transfers helming each team at QB: Kedon Slovis (Pitt) and JT Daniels (West Virginia). The Mountaineers also have some sweet uniforms on tap. This is the right way to kick off the 2022 college football season.

Penn State Nittany Lions at Purdue Boilermakers

Thursday, Sept. 1, 7:00 p.m., FOX

Make sure your remote is nearby, because you'll want to flip back and forth between these two games. Penn State visits Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium– a place where good teams go to die.

The Boilermakers return top-flight QB Aidan O'Connell against Penn State veteran Sean Clifford. Expect a physical, scrappy game with an ending you won't want to miss. The one-hour staggered start time from the Backyard Brawl means you'll get to soak it in un-interrupted.

Virginia Tech Hokies at Old Dominion Monarchs

Friday, Sept. 2, 6:00 p.m., ESPNU

The last time Virginia Tech walked into Norfolk, they were upset in one of the wildest games of the season. Surely still on their mind– though none of the Hokies from that team are playing now– Virginia Tech won't take this one lightly.

That said, ODU hasn't gotten a crack at Virginia Tech at home since 2018. Upstart Hayden Wolff and the Monarchs are down an offensive coordinator, but they have a sellout crowd backing them fervently.

North Carolina Tar Heels at Appalachian State Mountaineers

Saturday, Sept. 3, 11:00 a.m., ESPNU

Similar to the previous game, App State sold this game out in no time. If anything, you'll want to tune in for the atmosphere alone. But stay tuned for the possible upset as the Mountaineers are actually favored in this game.

Fans from both sides will be strong in numbers and it's a pleasing uniforms matchup. All around, this game should be pleasant watching with the chance at witnessing one of the games of the year right out of the games of the year

#13 NC State Wolfpack at East Carolina Pirates

Saturday, Sept. 3, 11:00 a.m., ESPN

Another game you'll want to tune in for the atmosphere alone is NC State at ECU. The game is also sold out, with Wolfpack fans expected to show up in droves. This is a terrific QB matchup between NC State's Devin Leary and ECU's Holton Ahlers, both of which are promised to have huge outputs this season.

NC State hasn't been ranked this high in the AP Top 25 to start the season since 1975 under Lou Holtz nor this high in any ranking since 2002. Expect ECU to take that personally and try to knock them from their ivory tower.

#23 Cincinnati Bearcats at #19 Arkansas Razorbacks

Saturday, Sept. 3, 2:30 p.m., ESPN

How do you follow up a season like Cincinnati had in 2021? The Bearcats were the first Group of Five representative in the College Football Playoff. Now, they return down a starting QB and most of their defensive starters and travel to Fayetteville.

This game pits two of America's sweetheart teams against each other right in Week 1. Star QB KJ Jefferson returns for Arkansas along with his entire offensive line. However, Cincinnati rosters a monster pair of linebackers and an upcoming talented secondary.

#11 Oregon Ducks vs. #3 Georgia Bulldogs

Saturday, Sept. 3, 2:30 p.m., ABC

Dan Lanning didn't have to wait long to have a reunion with his previous employer. After leaving Georgia to be the head coach at Oregon, Lanning gets a crack with a talented Ducks roster at Georgia right off the bat.

Auburn transfer Bo Nix is 0-3 in his career against the Dawgs. He faces one of the nation's top defenses heading into 2022 with a strong defense of his own. If you're a fan of superstars on defense, this game's got them: Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe are a dynamic LB duo for Oregon while Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith were both named All Americans on defense for Georgia.

#7 Utah Utes at Florida Gators

Saturday, Sept. 3, 6:00 p.m., ESPN

Styles make fights. Aside from being a great uniform matchup, we get a rare Pac-12 vs. SEC at a home site game in this one. Anthony Richardson takes over the starting QB job for Florida– a freshman who showed explosive promise last season.

He faces another athletic and well-coached Utah team fixed to play another season of tough football under Kyle Whittingham. Cameron Rising was electric in the Utes' Rose Bowl loss from December and he looks to carry on the fireworks into this year.

#5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at #2 Ohio State Buckeyes

Saturday, Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m., ABC

The marquee game pits two top-five teams against each other in Columbus. This is the site of College GameDay and is certainly appointment television.

Notre Dame is led for the first time in the regular season by Marcus Freeman, a former Ohio State staffer and player himself. The task of defeating the nation's most talented offense on the road is a tall one, though.

The Buckeyes return Heisman favorite CJ Stroud and a nasty group of skill players led by Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson. This game will certainly have the grandeur of top-flight college football.

Boise State Broncos at Oregon State Beavers

Saturday, Sept. 3, 9:30 p.m., ESPN

Just because the marquee slate is over doesn't mean it's time for bed. Don't turn in before watching this terrific matchup out West. Boise State is positioned to return to the top of the Group of Five and gets a crack at a very interesting Oregon State roster.

This feels like one of those games where if you miss it, you'll see it all over Twitter the next morning. Hank Bachmeier of Boise State is a scrappy off-script QB, facing an Oregon State roster full of playmakers. Things get weird after dark in college football and you won't want to wake up with FOMO.

Florida State Seminoles vs. LSU Tigers

Sunday, Sept. 4, 6:30 p.m., ABC

The beautiful thing about Labor Day weekend before the NFL kicks off is college football doesn't end on Saturday. Last season, Florida State opened up their year at home on Sunday against Notre Dame. They fought back from a 38-20 4th quarter deficit to take the game to overtime.

This year, they travel to New Orleans to face the new-look LSU Tigers. LSU was a mainstay in the headlines after hiring Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame. They also rebuilt their roster through the transfer portal– a style of roster-building we haven't seen before in the college ranks.

#4 Clemson Tigers at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Monday, Sept. 5, 7:00 p.m., ESPN

It's not a blockbuster, but college football also carries over into Monday! Here, you'll get a look at maligned DJ Uiagalelei and a Clemson team moving on from both its coordinators. For the first time in years, we're not sure what to make of the Tigers.

Sadly this game is played at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta as opposed to at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Georgia Tech's campus. However, it's football.

At the very least, you'll probably be able to turn in by halftime, as Clemson is over a three-touchdown favorite in this game.


Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!

Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.