Ranking the best Week 1 games on the 2022 college football schedule
Playing a good schedule is more important now than ever before as the College Football Playoff selectors place a heavy premium on playing (and beating) quality teams.
Getting off on the right foot is crucial, too, with many potential national championship contenders booking early season games that will test their teams right away.
Let's take a look at the best games on opening weekend this fall.
College football rankings: The best Week 1 games on the 2022 schedule
Penn State at Purdue (Sept. 3)
Super senior Sean Clifford returns to lead Penn State in the Big Ten race
Why you should watch: Purdue loses top receiver David Bell and edge rusher George Karlaftis, but returns strong-armed quarterback Aidan O'Connell and a solid looking backfield to play behind an experienced offensive line.
This team has the depth and experience to make a push for the Big Ten West, provided it can win games like this, against a Penn State team stuck in the mud the last few years in the East Division and needs to find a way to run the ball a lot better to complement sixth-year quarterback Sean Clifford.
Cincinnati at Arkansas (Sept. 3)
Arkansas wants to prove it belongs in the SEC West conversation
Why you should watch: An important non-conference litmus test for both teams coming into a season that will help define the direction each program could take in the future. Cincinnati is coming off making history as the first-ever non-Power 5 team to make the College Football Playoff, but lost a ton of the talent that got it there. Arkansas is an up-and-comer in the SEC West fresh off a 9-win season and returning star quarterback KJ Jefferson, coming off a 21 TD, 4 INT campaign in which he led the Hogs in rushing.
Florida State vs. LSU (Sept. 4)
LSU comes into Year 1 of the Brian Kelly regime
Why you should watch: Mike Norvell has won just eight games in two years with the Seminoles and is 0 for 6 in September, but he does bring on quarterback Jordan Travis, who had 15 TDs and six picks last fall, but didn't have a turnover in five outings. FSU went 4-1 in that stretch, and Travis could get something going against an LSU secondary still in the making. An intriguing debut for Brian Kelly before he gets into the gauntlet of the SEC West schedule. LSU was the undisputed king of college football after a record-breaking 2019 title run, but is just 11-12 since then.
Utah at Florida (Sept. 3)
Pac-12 champion Utah draws an SEC road trip in Week 1
Why you should watch: Year 1 at Florida under Billy Napier will likely be a foundation-setting season, and hosting the Utes gives this staff and roster a perfect test out of the gate. The defending Pac-12 champions, Utah returns its offensive core including quarterback Cam Rising and lead back Tavion Thomas, in addition to five of its top six receivers from a year ago. Utah always plays strong at the line of scrimmage and will be a test for how athletic Florida looks in the trenches, and how much work Napier really has to do.
Oregon vs. Georgia (Sept. 3)
Georgia is the defending College Football Playoff national champion
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Why you should watch: To see how well Dan Lanning can scheme against his own defense. Lanning orchestrated Georgia's historically-dominant D en route to a College Football Playoff title last fall before taking the head coaching gig at Oregon. Win this game, and Georgia could go undefeated the rest of the way heading into a likely meeting with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
Oregon can play some defense, too, with star linebacker Noah Sewell coming back with a solid group of edge rushers. But the Bulldogs will be able to move the ball like few teams in the country can, with quarterback Stetson Bennett distributing to the likes of Brock Bowers, Darnell Washington, and Arik Gilbert, in addition to Georgia's always-excellent stable of backs.
Notre Dame at Ohio State (Sept. 3)
Ohio State had the No. 1 offense in college football a year ago, but struggled defensively
USA Today Images
Why you should watch: Because the Buckeyes do look beatable at home when you look over the last decade or so, and even before. Statement home losses to USC in 2009, to Texas in 2005, to Oklahoma in 2017, Michigan State in 2015, and Oregon last season all stick out. Even to Virginia Tech in the year OSU won the first-ever College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame brings in arguably the best offensive line in the country and will test an Ohio State defensive alignment that performed poorly last season and is undergoing major change at all phases under first-year coordinator Jim Knowles, who coached the No. 3 defense in America at Oklahoma State last season.
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