Predicting the best atmospheres in college football this weekend

Across America, fans have waited for tailgate parties, marching bands, and smoke-and-fire festooned field entrances. Yes, college football is back-- but at a few selection stadiums, it's going to be a little bit extra. Here's a rundown of the top atmospheres for college football's opening week.

Georgia Tech at Colorado

A Friday battle of unranked teams at Folsom Field is a top environment? Well, there's a lot going on around this game. Colorado emerged from a lengthy struggle as a college football punching bag with a 9-4 season in 2024 that left the Buffs just outside the CFP. With Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders gone, the Buffs are frequently disrespected in preseason considerations. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is off back-to-back winning seasons and bested Florida State and Miami a year ago. Boulder will be rocking and the $125 lowest ticket price listed by Vividseats proves the point.

Texas at Ohio State

The nation's marquee game figures to be raucous. The defending champ faces the preseason top-ranked team. The Big Ten battles the SEC, Sayin versus Arch, Hook 'Em Horns versus O-H-I-O. There's so much pageantry to unlock and it'll go down in Ohio Stadium in front of over 102,000 maniacs. The cheapest price to join the party at the time of writing is $211. The experience, frankly, might end up being pricless for fans of the winning team.

Alabama at Florida State

At how many schools would a 2-10 team's first game be a big deal? Needless to say, the Seminoles aren't a typical 2-10 team and Doak Campbell Stadium will be rocking for the showdown with No. 8 Alabama. While the Seminoles didn't slide from college football's elite in a second, a win over Alabama would right the ship in a hurry. Add in one of the nation's most fervent fan bases on the other side and you end up with an atmopshere so wild that Vividseats' cheapest ticket price is $192.

LSU at Clemson

Week 1's toughest ticket? That'd be Death Valley, where Clemson will file in past The Rock and bring over 80,000 fans to a frenzy for a showdown with No. 9 LSU. A pair of top 10 teams, a pair of serious fan bases, and a showdown of two of the nation's likely top half dozen QBs in Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik sounds pretty wild. With the cheapest ticket going for $319, it's hard to argue the point.

Notre Dame at Miami

For those new to the college game, these two programs have a history-- quite a history. Catholics versus Convicts, for instance. It's a culture war-- religious and secular, midwestern versus coastal, ACC versus Intensely Unaffiliated. With both teams in the top 10, it's a huge game for potential CFP implications, particularly given Notre Dame's advantage in making the CFP field without a particularly impressive schedule. With tickets starting around $212, it's not hard to see why fans would want to be in Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday night.