Key matchups lurking as season kicks off
Top programs face potentially big tests later on schedules
The college football schedule offers a weekly selection of marquee games between top teams and some would-be contenders will get an early chance to shine.
Two games that will impact the AP Top 25 quickly: No. 5 Louisiana State playing No. 8 Florida State in Orlando, Florida, on Sept. 3, and No. 4 Alabama hosting No. 11 Texas on Sept. 9 in a preview of SEC games to come.
An early loss in an ambitious nonconference opener isn’t an automatic death knell for a program’s championship hopes. The virtual playoff elimination games come later when conference rivals in position for one of four playoff spots go head to head.
As Bobby Bowden quipped after No. 2 Florida State lost a November game at Virginia in 1995, “The national championship thing sorts itself out. Tonight, it sorted us out.”
Some don’t-miss games on the schedule this year:
No. 8 Florida State at No. 9 Clemson, Sept. 23
The resurgent Seminoles have lost seven in a row against the Tigers, who long ago supplanted them as the marquee team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
This Florida State team under Mike Norvell returns 15 starters from last year’s 10-3 version and has designs on its first playoff appearance since 2014. The Tigers have missed the playoff two years running and are hoping new quarterback Cade Klubnick, a sophomore who led them to the ACC championship last season, can re-ignite the offense, now led by offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.
No. 5 LSU at No. 4 Alabama, Nov. 4
This could decide the West Division title in the Southeastern Conference and the Crimson Tide have every reason to have circled this one on the schedule. Last year, they lost to the Tigers 32-31, the difference a stopped a two-point conversion try in the fourth quarter.
Brian Kelly has brought the Tigers back to relevance, but Alabama’s Nick Saban hasn’t won seven national championships — the first at LSU in 2003 and the last six at Alabama — by failing to have his team ready for its biggest challenges.
No. 10 Washington at No. 6 Southern California, Nov. 4
The Trojans will already have faced Notre Dame in South Bend and twotime defending Pac-12 champion Utah when they host the Huskies a week before they play at Oregon. The Huskies have an easier run-up, with only Oregon as a ranked foe, but their schedule gets tougher starting with their first visit to the LA Coliseum since 2015.
This could also have an impact on the Heisman Trophy race with USC’S QB Caleb Williams, last year’s winner, and Huskies QB Michael Penix Jr. expected to be among the contenders.
No. 11 Texas at No. 17 Texas Christian, Nov. 11
The Horned Frogs stated their case as a program to be reckoned with last season, beating Michigan in the national semifinals before getting blown out by Georgia in the title game. The Longhorns are favored to end their last season in the Big 12 as its champion, but they haven’t raised that trophy since 2009.
No. 1 Georgia at No. 12 Tennessee, Nov. 18
The two-time defending national champion Bulldogs will have faced only one team ranked in the preseason in No. 22 Ole Miss (Nov. 11) when they arrive the following Saturday at Neyland Stadium to face the Volunteers and more than 100,000 supporters. The Vols won’t have Hendon Hooker behind center when they try to payback Georgia for last season’s loss in Athens.
No. 3 Ohio State at No. 2 Michigan, Nov. 25
This becomes huge if both the Buckeyes and Wolverines get past Big Ten title contender No. 7 Penn State. Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines will be looking for their third consecutive win in the series, and the first two come by an average of 18.5 points.
The Buckeyes won the national championship in 2015 but are 1-4 in the playoff since and followed their only win by getting blown out in the 2021 title game by Alabama. Michigan has reached the last two playoffs and lost both times.