With less than 100 days until the return of College Football season, the anticipation is mounting, and the days seem to stretch longer. Thankfully, we now have a glimpse of the excitement that awaits us, as Week 1 games, times, and dates have been unveiled.
Among these matchups (per ESPN), several stand out as highly anticipated rematches between potential top-25 opponents from last year. This season promises more of the same, with one particular clash potentially shaping up to be a top-5 showdown that carries significant early playoff implications.
Here are the college football Week 1 games that are must see, ranked:
10. East Carolina at Michigan
East Carolina has a history of being one of those sneaky east coast teams that like to cause fits for power-5 teams. Michigan, who seems primed to make another appearance in the College Football Playoff, will always be infamous for putting Appalachian St. on the map when they accomplished one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Things can get crazy, even in Week 1 games.
9. Coastal Carolina at UCLA
The Chanticleers are coming off another successful season under Jamey Chadwell, going 9-4 last season. This is a matchup much like the one mentioned previously. Chip Kelly is entering his fifth season at UCLA, looking to make even more progress with the Bruins before they enter the Big Ten next year. Again, it's Week 1, so anything could happen. This is a matchup worth watching.
8. West Virginia at Penn State
In the first power-5 conference game on the list, West Virginia visits Penn State. West Virginia's head coach, Neal Brown, faces a challenging season after finishing 5-7 last year. Penn State, determined to surprise the likes of Ohio State and Michigan, presents a formidable opponent.
7. Nebraska at Minnesota
This matchup becomes even more intriguing with the return of Matt Rhule to college football. Facing a strong P.J. Fleck-led Gophers team, Nebraska's first test under Rhule will be significant. Despite losing some offensive firepower, the Gophers remain a contender in the west.
6. Colorado at TCU
In some ways, this was one of the harder ones to rank on the whole Week 1 schedule. TCU is coming off their first national championship appearance where they got demolished by an overpowering Georgia team. Max Duggan and Quentin Johnson are now gone from the Horned Frogs but they're still looking to build off last season's magical run.
Colorado also lost a lot of players… because new head coach Deion Sanders arrived and completely flipped the program upside down. Sanders is what makes this matchup so intriguing, where it could arguably be ranked higher. It's just that nobody truly knows what to expect out of Colorado. It's likely they'll still be pretty bad, but it's also likely Sanders makes this team pull off some upsets during the season. Just maybe not Week 1.
5. Virginia at Tennessee (neutral site)
The Tennessee Volunteers are coming off the most successful campaign in some time and were the biggest surprise from the 2022 season. Though they've lost their once Heisman hopeful quarterback Hendon Hooker and a couple of highly touted receivers, this is a team to watch this year. The SEC-ACC matchup always has a bit of intrigue to it, given the geographical closeness usually. This will be like another home game for Tennessee with the game being in Nashville.
4. Boise St. at Washington
The Washington Huskies were quietly one of the better teams in the entire country last year, going 11-2. Maybe that's because of the Northwest location. Who knows? Regardless, Michael Penix Jr. returns this season with his top two receivers, along with a strong defensive front. Washington will be a team to watch out west.
3. North Carolina at South Carolina (neutral site)
A border matchup that presents a lot of intrigue early in the season. You have a Heisman hopeful and potential No. 1 pick in next year's draft in North Carolina's Drake Maye facing the traveled Spencer Rattler from South Carolina. If North Carolina can ever put together a defense, this is a formidable team. That being said, South Carolina turned a lot of heads last season when they upset a Tennessee Volunteers team that was looking to make the playoff. Then later followed up by upsetting in-state rival Clemson in Death Valley.
2. Florida at Utah
In a non-conference rematch from last season that came down to a game-ending interception, this is likely to be another good one — although these teams will look a bit different coming into 2023. Florida's Anthony Richardson is gone, while Utah lost the likes of Clark Phillips III and Noah Sewell. Can the Utes at home this year take out an SEC powerhouse in an ESPN primetime game?
1. LSU at Florida State (neutral site)
Set to take place in Orlando — ugh, another neutral site — this eagerly anticipated SEC-ACC showdown Week 1 game between Florida State and LSU hopes to deliver another nail-biter like last season that came down to a kick. Both teams were a bit of a surprise last season. Brian Kelly in his first season at LSU in a power-filled SEC conference, made it to the conference championship game in year one, winning the west. While the Seminoles, boasting a 10-win season last year, look primed to remind folks exactly who FSU is, with the hopes of taking the ACC crown for Clemson.
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