College football picks: ESPN GameDay makes Week 1 game predictions

As the Week 1 college football schedule kicks off for real today, the gang at ESPN's College GameDay locks in their final picks for the big games.

Locking in our Week 1 college football picks for today with the help of the guys on ESPN's College GameDay. / USA Today Sports | IMAGN

Today is the day. After a long offseason, and an appetizer over the last few days, the 2024 college football season begins in earnest on Saturday, with the rest of the country kicking off a historic campaign marked by conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff.

Now, the guys on ESPN's College GameDay have made their final picks for the most important games on today, including two head-to-head matchups featuring teams in the AP top 25 rankings.

Clemson and Georgia square off in an SEC vs. ACC classic loaded with early playoff implications, while Notre Dame goes on the road to face off against Texas A&M under the lights in sight of The 12th Man at Kyle Field.

Nick Saban joins the College GameDay party this season, bringing the expertise and analysis of the former head coach who holds the NCAA record with seven national championships, including six titles he won at the Alabama dynasty he built that remains the gold standard for the sport.

Enough talk. It's college football time. Here are GameDay's picks for the biggest Week 1 games today.

College football Week 1 picks

USC vs LSU ... Pat McAfee was the sole vote in favor of the Trojans to win the opener, as the others are siding with the SEC challenger.

Boston College at Florida State ... A unanimous decision from the GameDay boys for the Seminoles to recover from their Week 0 loss in this ACC matchup.

Boise State at Georgia Southern ... Expect a win in the opener for the Broncos as they start out on a quest to earn the Group of Five's playoff consideration.

Virginia Tech at Vanderbilt ... Lee Corso was the sole analyst to pick the Commodores in what would be a huge upset against the ACC upstart Hokies.

Penn State at West Virginia ... Corso and Herbstreit stick with the favored Nittany Lions while Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, and Pat McAfee took the Mountaineers.

Miami at Florida ... McAfee was the sole picker to take the Gators at home while the others selected the Hurricanes to win as favorites.

Clemson vs. Georgia ... The Bulldogs got all the votes on the GameDay set over Clemson, along with 87 percent of the fan vote.

Notre Dame at Texas A&M ... All of GameDay's pickers went with the Aggies to defend home field against the Fighting Irish, all except one...

Lee Corso's headgear pick: Notre Dame over Texas A&M

College Football HQ picks...

• Best games on today
• Week 1 picks against the spread
• Straight-up picks for Week 1
• Penn State vs. West Virginia
• Miami vs. Florida
• Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M
• Georgia vs. Clemson
• Michigan vs. Fresno State

College football rankings

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Georgia (46)
2. Ohio State (15)
3. Oregon (1)
4. Texas
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Penn State
9. Michigan
10. Florida State
11. Missouri
12. Utah
13. LSU
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Oklahoma State
18. Kansas State
19. Miami
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. Kansas
23. USC
24. NC State
25. Iowa

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