RADIO
Dominick Petrillo's Week 1 college football preview and must-watch games. How to watch the top games for Week 1 including Texas vs. Ohio State, and more.
Finally! The long offseason is over, and we are ready to start the college football season.
Sure, there were some games last week. But this is the first full week of the 2025-26 season. There is no better way to spend a Saturday than watching the next NFL stars, and some accountants, mechanics, and oil workers give their all for our selfish enjoyment.
With selfish enjoyment in mind, here are the top games of the week and where you can find them.
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
When/How to Watch: Thursday, 9:00 P.M. EST on ESPN
Game Line: Nebraska -6.5
Point Total: 52.5
With legacy Dylan Raiola in year two at quarterback, it is time for Matt Rhule to pull off some magic once again. After going 11-3 at both Temple and Baylor in his third season, Rhule needs to get the Cornhuskers to a minimum of eight and hopefully nine or 10 wins this season.
With Raiola at QB and several impact transfers on the roster, including a top 10 DL from the 2024 class in Williams Nwaneri, this team could compete at the top of the Big Ten West. Unfortunately for them, this division is no longer in place, but they can still compete for fourth place in the conference. This finish could be good enough for a playoff berth.
The Bearcats have had a tough transition to the Big 12 thus far. This is likely to continue in 2025-26 as coach Scott Satterfield looks to save his job. A job gotten after Luke Fickell left for Wisconsin. Both decisions are coming to regret. This will be a tough challenge for Cincinnati, and they will be lucky to keep the final score within the 6.5-point spread being offered.
It may have been an easier task if this game were being played in Cincinnati; instead, it is being played at Arrowhead Stadium—home of the Kansas City Chiefs and Raiola, a doppelganger of Patrick Mahomes.
Texas Longhorns vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
When/How to Watch: Saturday, 12:00 P.M. EST on FOX
Game Line: Ohio State - 2.5
Point Total: 47.5
Let’s be fair. This and LSU at Clemson are the two main games.
This game in Columbus is a rematch of a Semi-final showdown, which started close and ended in a 28-14 Ohio State victory—a win which sent the Buckeyes into the National Championship Game against Notre Dame.
If the odds are correct this year, it could also be a preview of the 2026 Orange Bowl.
The biggest key to this game will be how both sides can replace their litany of draft selections. Both Texas and Ohio State lost first-round talent and their starting QBs. While the Longhorns are getting back to an elite RB in C.J. Baxter, the Buckeyes lost both Treveyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins to the NFL, making it much more difficult for new QB Julian Sayin behind the offensive line.
Texas also lost a lot on the offensive line, including Kelvin Banks Jr., but their QB, Arch Manning, is far more mobile than Sayin and will be able to make more out of nothing when he gets moved out of the pocket.
ARCH MANNING HAS ARRIVED. TD TEXAS🔥 🙌
FIRST TEXAS TD FOR ARCH 👏
(via @InsideTexas)
pic.twitter.com/0vsv0LtQgJ— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 31, 2024
Neither team needs to worry about missing the playoffs, as that would be highly unlikely. But both teams will need to be at their best this week. Something that is challenging against another elite team, rather than an FCS opponent.
Syracuse Orange vs. Tennessee Volunteers
When/How to Watch: Saturday, 12:00 P.M. EST on ABC
Game Line: Tennessee -13.5
Point Total: 50.5
Fran Brown went 9-3 in year one with the Orange. He showed what an easy schedule can do to lift the perception of a record. The hammer will drop this season as the Orange have an Over/Under of 5.5 wins. This gauntlet begins with a trip to Atlanta to play a Tennessee Volunteer team that lost many players to the draft.
They also lost their talented yet disappointing starting QB to UCLA in Nico Iamaleava. A transaction that ultimately turned into a trade, as Joey Aguilar, the Appalachian State QB who transferred to UCLA, is now in Tennessee as the starter. Got all that?
The Volunteers are unlikely to perform as well in 2025-26 as they did in 2024-25. A playoff berth might not be in the cards. However, the school's team fans still love the direction of the program. They just signed coach Josh Heupel to an extension through the 2029-30 season. Showing the faith they have in him.
What is likely to be a lopsided game after halftime, it will still be interesting to see what Tennessee and Syracuse both show coming off their best seasons in the past decade.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Florida State Seminoles
When/How to Watch: Saturday, 3:30 P.M. EST on ABC
Game Line: Alabama -13.5
Point Total: 50.5
Much like Texas at Ohio State, this is going to be a showdown between two teams with new starting QBs. Fortunately for Alabama and Florida State, these QBs have a lot of time in college, with Thomas Castellanos coming over from Boston College and Ty Simpson waiting his turn and finally getting the start after three seasons as the Crimson Tide backup.
Alabama loves to play games in Florida. They have made a living getting some of their best players from the Sunshine State. This game in Tallahassee will provide an even greater opportunity to regain any ground lost in the state since Nick Saban's retirement. This is the year for the Tide to use a roster that has the most talent in the country to get Alabama into the 12-team playoff. Otherwise, a coaching search might be coming.
After a 13-0 season followed by a 2-10 disaster, how is Mike Norvell and the Seminoles going to bounce back? Norvell needs to hope it is getting back to at least eight wins in a down ACC with few teams at the top.
LSU Tigers vs. Clemson Tigers
When/How to Watch: Saturday, 7:30 P.M. EST on ABC
Game Line: Clemson -3.5
Point Total: 57.5
The battle of Death Valley. Which is the real one? I will take Baton Rouge, but who cares? The real Death Valley does not matter. What matters for both Tigers’ teams is getting off to a quick start this season.
Last season, Clemson was dismantled by Georgia 34-3 in the opening game. They were able to bounce back and make it to the playoffs by winning the ACC Championship. But the season was still a disappointment.
LSU started 2024-25 losing to UCLA in Las Vegas. They were also able to recover, but not enough to make the playoffs in a far more difficult SEC. Now they bring in a top-3 portal class in hopes of fixing the defense, and they also bring back Garrett Nussmeier as a second-year starting QB.
His offensive line is gone, and it will be going against a Clemson defense that includes Peter Woods, a top-5 player in the 2026 draft early projections. If Woods, along with the rest of the talented Clemson pass rush, can get to Nussmeier, Clemson can beat LSU by the same 34-3 score Georgia subjected them to.
If LSU is what many think it might be this season, it will be a close game that goes down to the wire.
Utah Utes vs. UCLA Bruins
When/How to Watch: Saturday, 11:00 P.M. EST on FOX
Game Line: Utah -5.5
Point Total: 51.5
Speaking of Iamaleava, he will be the starter against another new starter in Devon Dampier as UCLA finishes the Saturday slate against Utah, which is coming off a disappointing first season in the Big XII. Not only did they fail to win the conference, as they were favored to do, but they also finished 5-7, which placed them 15th in the Big 12, and missed a bowl game.
With two projected top 10 picks on the offensive line in Spencer Fano at RT and Caleb Lomu at LT, it is time the Utah running game makes another appearance, especially with the immense running ability of Dampier.
Coach DeShaun Foster must hope for the defense, and surprisingly, the running game also gets going for the Bruins if they wish to make a bowl game and go over their win total of 5.5. Starting with Utah and having to play Michigan and USC will not make it easy. But if they can get by Utah in a high-scoring game, who knows what can happen?
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Miami Hurricanes
When/How to Watch: Saturday, 7:30 P.M. EST on ABC
Game Line: Notre Dame -2.5
Point Total: 49.5
Notre Dame and Miami both have many things going for them in 2025-26. However, in a recurring theme that spans the country, they will also be counting on a new starting quarterback. Notre Dame with C.J. Carr, the second-year signal caller brought in through recruiting in 2024, and for Miami, Carson Beck, who had to have arm surgery in the offseason, but hopes to be the second straight number one overall draft pick to transfer into Miami.
Both teams also have talent at offensive line, with each having arguably the top line in the country. This will be good for both QBs as they get settled. Still, it will also be good for both running backs, especially Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame, who played through injury after injury to lead the Irish into the title game against Ohio State.
With only 4 more days left until Notre Dame Football returns it’s a great day to relive #4 Jeremiyah Love’s touchdown against Penn State in the Orange Bowl last season. It quickly became one of the greatest TD runs in Notre Dame History ☘️ pic.twitter.com/PW3G4Oduh2
— Bruce Straughan (@bruce_straughan) August 27, 2025
He comes in this season as the early favorite to be the first RB taken in the 2026 NFL Draft, and he will be the key to this game if the Irish plan to pull off a road win in front of 50,000 Irish and 25,000 Hurricane fans.
TCU Horned Frogs vs. UNC Tarheels
When/How to Watch: Monday, 8:00 P.M. EST on ABC
Game Line: TCU -3.5
Point Total: 56.5
Good game? No. Interesting game? Yes.
The only reason this game is listed is due to the coach of UNC.
What is Bill Belichick going to be able to do in year one as a college coach at a school that prioritizes another sport, basketball? Lucky for him and the team, he has an easy schedule in his first year, which will allow him to compete for a bowl game.
For TCU and coach Sonny Dykes, after a shocking season one, which saw them beat Michigan in the semi-finals before losing a close game 65-7 to Georgia, the seasons have been lacking. Max Duggan moved on to the NFL and had their best season since last year, when they finished 9-4. TCU has the money, a solid coach, and the determination to win.
Now it is just a matter of beating teams they should be able to defeat, such as UNC, in this game.
