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Week 1 college football schedule for 2025. Read the early look at the Week 1 matchups, lines, and schedule for Week 1 of the 2025 NCAA season.
Texas at Ohio State
We’re truly spoiled with this matchup in Week 1. The defending national champions will host the team they knocked out of the College Football Playoff in one of the sport’s best and most historic stadiums. It’s Arch Manning’s time in Austin, and he’ll get his redshirt sophomore season started in a matchup between two of the country’s most talented rosters. A loss will not knock either program out of the CFP, but this game will set the tone for how their seasons could go. Get your popcorn ready.
DraftKings Spread: Ohio State -3
Alabama at Florida State
Talk about a Week 1 matchup with a ton of pressure on each head coach. Florida State’s Mike Norvell is coming off a disastrous 2-10 campaign, while Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer went 9-4 in Year 1 with the Crimson Tide, a horrific season by that program’s standards and expectations. Both programs and fanbases expect to win these types of big games, and a victory here would capture significant momentum right out of the gate. Both teams will break in new quarterbacks.
DraftKings Spread: Alabama -9.5
Tennessee vs. Syracuse (In Atlanta)
After leading the country in passing yards (4,779), Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord decided to enter the 2025 NFL Draft. Running back LeQuint Allen Jr. and tight end Oronde Gadsden III are also gone, so it’s tough to know what to expect out of the offense in 2025. Meanwhile, Tennessee returns quarterback Nico Iamaleava but is tasked with replacing SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson and its top three leading receivers from last year.
However, the Vols have far superior overall talent in this battle between the two shades of Orange. This would be a huge win for Syracuse coach Fran Brown but a bad loss for Tennessee coach Josh Heupel.
DraftKings Spread: Tennessee -14.5
LSU at Clemson
Unbelievably, the LSU Tigers have lost five consecutive season-openers. Losses to FSU (twice) and USC in Week 1 over the last three seasons have put the Tigers behind the eight-ball right out of the gate, so the pressure is on Brian Kelly to win in the hostile environment that is Memorial Stadium. That won’t be easy with Dabo Swinney potentially fielding his best team since he last won a CFP national title. Bring on the matchup between the two Tigers and the two “Death Valleys”
DraftKings Spread: Clemson -2.5
Auburn at Baylor
Heading into Year 3 under Hugh Freeze, the Auburn Tigers are viewed by many as a sleeper contender in the SEC. Oklahoma transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold fits the profile of a Freeze signal-caller, and Auburn is too good of a program to go another year without at least eight wins. Meanwhile, Baylor coach Dan Aranda rebounded nicely with eight wins in 2024 after a three-win 2023 campaign. A bad season could put either coach out of a job, so starting the year off right is key.
DraftKings Spread: Auburn -1.5
Georgia Tech at Colorado
Neither Georgia Tech nor Colorado are viewed as championship contenders in 2025, but it will be fascinating to see how the Buffaloes perform without quarterback Shedeur Sanders and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. It’s time for Deion Sanders to show we he can do without his longtime stars, and a matchup with Georgia Tech is no easy task. Sixth-year gun-slinger Haynes King is back for another year and could quietly be one of the nation’s best quarterbacks.
DraftKings Spread: Georgia Tech -3.5
Utah at UCLA
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is coming off his first losing season since 2013, while UCLA head coach could already be competing for his job after a poor start in the Big Ten. Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar is expected to start at QB for the Bruins after posting 60 total touchdowns over the last two years, and he’ll presumably face Utes QB Isaac Wilson to kick off his career in Los Angeles.
DraftKings Spread: Utah -3
Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina (in Atlanta)
In the second game of the week in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer will take on the program his father led for 29 years. South Carolina won six consecutive games to close the 2024 regular season and were knocking on the door of the CFP, so don’t count the Gamecocks out of SEC title contention. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry needs a signature win, and this would count as one.
DraftKings Spread: South Carolina -10.5
Notre Dame at Miami (FL)
Notre Dame came oh so close to winning a College Football Playoff National Championship despite dropping a game against North Illinois in Week 2 of last season. The Irish will have to replace quarterback Riley Leonard, but it should continue to have a strong ground game with dynamic running back duo Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Their year will start with a trip to Miami to face a team looking to make up for last season’s late-season collapse that cost them a trip to the CFP. Georgia transfer Carson Beck will replace Cam Ward at QB.
DraftKings Spread: Notre Dame -2.5
TCU at North Carolina
This game is likely between two “irrelevant” teams in the playoff picture, but it’s a standalone Monday night game that features head coach Bill Belichick making his debut in Chapel Hill. Will the greatest NFL head coach of all time find early success at the college level, or will it take time for him to build a competitive team? This matchup with the Horned Frogs will give us early signs.
DraftKings Spread: North Carolina -2.5
