Eight Best College Football Games to Watch in Week 1: Arch Manning Mania Has Arrived

College football is back! After Farmageddon went Irish and delivered second-half fireworks in Week Zero, a full slate is on the docket for Labor Day weekend, including three ranked matchups and NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick debuting in Chapel Hill, N.C.

With so much on the schedule, how should you determine what to watch? Sports Illustrated has you covered.

Each week, SI will guide you through the best matchups, from where to find the game on TV to what players and storylines to watch when you get to the right channel. Plus, experts Pat Forde and Bryan Fischer have their thoughts on the most-antipacted games, as seen and heard on Forde-Yard Dash and SI’s new college football podcast, Others Receiving Votes.

Without further ado, here’s what you should prioritize in Week 1.

No. 1 Texas Longhorns at No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes

Saturday, noon ET, Fox

Come for Lee Corso’s College GameDay send-off, stay for the start of the Arch Manning era at Texas. Or to see the Buckeyes begin their title defense with new QB Julian Sayin slinging the ball to walking human highlight reel Jeremiah Smith. Or watch the best defensive player in the country in Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. You really can’t go wrong with this national semifinal rematch, which sets the tone for a stacked Week 1 with its noon kickoff.

What SI’s experts say:

Forde: “I like the Longhorns in this opener against the Buckeyes. I know they’re an underdog but I just think they have more pieces in place. Ohio State is replacing so much from that championship team … I think you throw Arch Manning out there and you say, ‘Go get it.’ We’re not going to wrap him in bubble wrap here in this game because he’s been in the program for two years. He’s been waiting for this. Let it rip. Open the playbook, Sark.”

Fischer: “I’m going with Texas in this one. And I think it’s the offensive line, to me, that’s the biggest question mark around Ohio State. Can Julian Sayin have enough time to throw it downfield to Jeremiah Smith? With that Texas front seven, I don't think that's the case.”

TEX-OSU, LSU-CLEM, MIA-ND Week 1 Picks!! | Others Receiving Votes

No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide at Florida State Seminoles

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

A pair of pitfalls—better known as getting upset by Vanderbilt and losing at middling Oklahoma—undid a dream debut season for head coach Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2024. But the Tide return plenty of talent in ‘25. Redshirt junior Ty Simpson gets the keys to the offense for the first time in Tallahassee and goes up against Boston College transfer QB Thomas Castellanos. Two big-name programs looking for redemption this season? Sign us up.

Montana State Bobcats at No. 7 Oregon Ducks

Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

Dan Lanning and the Ducks could have taken the Curt Cignetti way out and scheduled two Conference USA opponents and an FCS foe in the nonconference—and on paper, an untrained eye would point out that Oregon did exactly the latter for its opener. Except for the fact that the Bobcats are reigning runners-up at the FCS level and play in the ever-competitive Big Sky. New Ducks QB Dante Moore won’t get a walk in the park in Autzen Stadium this weekend, especially without top wideout Evan Stewart.

Brian Kelly and LSU eye their first season-opening win since 2019. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

No. 9 LSU Tigers at No. 4 Clemson Tigers

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

The last time Clemson won an opener? 2022. What about LSU? 2019. Yikes. In a battle between Brian Kelly and Dabo Swinney, desperation is on the menu, especially with the playoff-caliber rosters each team boasts this season. A preview of the Heisman Trophy ceremony could be in store with Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik behind center. Expect strong quarterback play and tenacious defensive lines in Death Valley East.

What SI’s experts say:

Forde: “Somebody’s going to walk out feeling great. Somebody’s going to say, ‘Gosh, maybe we’re not as good as we thought.’ But I think they’ll both be there for the long haul. I kind of like LSU in this spot. I think Clemson still has some ground to cover to be up with the elite. If you look at last season, they really didn’t beat anybody outside of SMU in the ACC championship game. So I’m going to take the [LSU] Tigers.”

Fischer: “I’ll go with Clemson at home. I think the experience there, I mean, [going up against LSU’s] rebuilt offensive line. I know Brian Kelly has said, ‘Hey, I really like this group,’ but it’s a different thing when you’re going against [T.J.] Parker and [Peter] Woods and a couple of first-round draft picks there for Clemson. So I will go with the [Clemson] Tigers at home.”

Utah Utes at UCLA Bruins

Saturday, 11 p.m. ET, Fox

A Pac-12 After Dark rivalry renewed. Nico Iamaleava will instantly get tested as he makes his debut for UCLA after a headline-filled offseason. Kyle Whittingham’s usually stout defense will surely give the former Tennessee signal-caller a difficult puzzle to solve, but it’s Utah’s revamped offense that’s worth watching. New Mexico OC-QB tandem Jason Beck and Devon Dampier could stand to keep the Utes in the picture in a toss-up Big 12 with a hot start against the Bruins.

What SI’s experts say:

Fischer: “I will go with Utah giving six and a half [points] at UCLA. Utes have won three of their last four against the Bruins there in the Rose Bowl, and this is the 380th game for Kyle Whittingham at Utah. Give me Utah. I think they make a big statement. I know there’s a lot of emphasis on Nico [Iamaleava] taking over that offense for UCLA, but I think the Utes are ultimately the offense that raises some eyebrows and gets it done there in Pasadena.”

Virginia Tech Hokies at No. 13 South Carolina Gamecocks

Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN

In perhaps the biggest neutral-site game of opening weekend, the Hokies begin their two-game gauntlet against SEC competition in Atlanta. Brent Pry could use a surprise win to get off the hot seat but will have his work cut out for him against Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers will get all of the attention, but it’s edge rusher Dylan Stewart who stands to take the biggest sophomore leap after a sensational rookie season.

No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at No. 10 Miami Hurricanes

Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Marcus Freeman may have firmly established himself as the right guy in South Bend, but he won’t have time to rest on the laurels of last season’s runner-up finish. The Irish head down to South Florida, where Mario Cristobal, Carson Beck and the expectation-laden Hurricanes await. Fans will get a first glimpse at CJ Carr behind center, but so long as he gets the ball into the hands of players like running back Jeremiyah Love and Virginia transfer receiver Malachi Fields, Notre Dame will be frisky right out of the gate.

What SI’s experts say:

Forde: “I think Notre Dame’s program is just in a better place than Miami’s. They’ve got superior personnel across the board. I expect them to walk in there, show up and say, ‘We can handle this. We’ve won playoff games. We’ve won in College Station.’ Nothing’s going to rattle the Fighting Irish about being in Miami Gardens, so I’m taking Notre Dame.”

Fischer: “I feel like this is more of a Big 12 type of coin-flip game. I really don’t know which way to lean, but I will go with the home team [Miami] there. And I do think there’s some faith there in Coral Gables in terms of Carson Beck being the guy that we kind of saw two years ago with Georgia. I think that we’ll see that addition there on Sunday before Labor Day.”

North Carolina Tar Heels Head Coach Bill Belichick on Gio Lopez

TCU Horned Frogs at North Carolina Tar Heels

Monday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Now introducing … Chapel Bill! At long last, the NFL coach with the most Super Bowls will take on one of his toughest tests yet: the unpredictability of college football. It’s entirely unclear what UNC will look like come Labor Day night, but we do know South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez will lead the way at quarterback. TCU head coach Sonny Dykes has now found himself on the opposite sideline of the most-covered coach in college football in his team’s opener in two of the past three seasons; the Horned Frogs were on the losing end of Deion Sanders’s Colorado debut in 2023.

What SI’s experts say:

Forde: “I don’t know how good North Carolina is. Nobody knows how good they are. We haven’t seen enough, we don’t know enough. This is a work in progress. But I like Bill Belichick’s body of work. I think he’s going to have his team ready. And I think they’re going to walk out with a victory and get the Bill Belichick era off to a promising start.”

Fischer: “Give me the Frogs. Talking to Sonny Dykes this offseason, he recognized that, you know, there were some issues in terms of that game preparation leading up to that game against Colorado a couple of years ago when they played Deion Sanders. They’ve made some changes internally. I think that’s going to pay off in this game. Josh Hoover is going to have a big one at quarterback. There was a reason why Tennessee, a couple others kind of dabbled in trying to lure him away from Fort Worth. I think TCU makes a big statement on opening weekend.”