While the NFL season is still a week away, college football officially kicked off on August 24th when Florida State faced Georgia Tech in Ireland. Week 1 of the season, however, begins today, August 29th, and fans across the country have a lot to look forward to this Labor Day weekend, starting with Howard vs. Rutgers at 6 p.m.
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Moreover, as per NCAA, the first major fixture involving a top-25 team is Western Carolina vs. NC State, scheduled for 7 p.m., and viewers can catch it on the ACC Network.
Deion Sanders’s Colorado faces North Dakota State at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and can be streamed on ESPN+, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, and YouTube TV. Notably, the Buffs are -9.5 points favorites despite the showdown being their first game in the Big 12 conference.
Some exciting fixtures are on the horizon this weekend, with many heavyweights kicking off their season, including top-25 teams like USC and LSU.
Missouri, ranked 11th nationally, will start their season against Murray State at 8. p.m. Fans can tune in to the SEC Network to watch this game. Meanwhile, Drake Maye’s North Carolina Tar Heels will take on Minnesota at 8 p.m. on Fox.
The No. 22-ranked Kansas Jayhawks Football, another Big 12 team and future opponents of Colorado, will open their season against Lindenwood. This game will be available on the Big 12 Network and ESPN+.
Utah Utes, a powerhouse in CFB and ranked inside the top 15, starts their journey against Southern Utah at 9 p.m. on ESPN+. Nevertheless, only a handful of games will be played on Friday after a congested Thursday. Yet, there are some good ones to look forward to.
August 30th Friday fixtures
After a congested Thursday featuring 74 football programs and 37 fixtures across four conferences, the Friday involves only 14 teams and 7 fixtures. However, these games won’t be short of excitement.
Lehigh takes on the Army at 6 p.m. on CBSSN. However, an hour after that, the No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners will open their season against Temple in an important SEC fixture that will be broadcast on ESPN.
Christian McCaffrey’s alma mater, Stanford, takes the field for the first time this season on August 30th at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN, facing off against the TCU Horned Frogs.
Saturday, August 31st, will be a feast for football lovers, as most of the fixtures are set for that day, making the Labor Day weekend an exciting time.
August 31st Saturday CFB fixtures
The first fixture of the Labor Day weekend promises to be an exciting showdown between two of the most successful teams of the past decade. Dabo Sweeney’s Clemson Tigers, ranked No. 14, visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium to take on the number 1 CFB team in the country, Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs.
This game will be available on ABC at noon. Eight more fixtures will take place in the same time slot. Illinois State will travel to play No. 25-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes Football. This game will be available on the Big 10 Network and Fox Sports.
Another standout fixture comes from West Virginia, where No. 8 Penn State opens their season. This fixture will be available on Fox Network. Peyton Manning’s alma mater, the Tennessee Vols, ranked 15 nationally, will start their season against Chattanooga. Fans can tune in to SEC Network to catch this showdown.
South Dakota State travels to Oklahoma to play No. 17 Oklahoma State. The fixture kicks off at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
Miami, ranked No. 19 nationally, will start its season with a Florida derby against the Florida Gators. This game will be aired on ABC at 3:30 p.m., with 12 additional games kicking off at the same time.
No. 4-ranked team Texas made the playoffs last season. However, the upcoming season will be tougher for them as they make their SEC debut against Colorado State. ESPN is the official broadcaster of this game.
Ryan Day’s No. 2 ranked Ohio State will get to start their season against Akron. Tune in to CBS to enjoy this fixture. Ole Miss Rebels look to clinch the playoff spot this season as the No. 6 team plays Furman at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and SEC Network.
Staying in the SEC, ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will start a season without Nick Saban after 16 years. However, the number 5 team will be hoping to make the playoffs again this season after opening their season against Western Kentucky. ESPN will broadcast this fixture at 7 p.m.
Another 7 p.m. fixture involves No. 18-ranked Kansas State, which will face UT Martin on ESPN+. Three exhilarating games will take place at 7:30 p.m. The Michigan Wolverines will start their Natty defense against Fresno State. NBC is the official broadcaster of this fixture.
Then the Oregon Ducks, ranked 3rd this season, will open their account at home against Idaho. However, the best fixture to be played at 7:30 will take place in Texas when the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on No. 20 Texas A&M. The fans can tune in to ABC to enjoy this game.
ESPN will broadcast the game between No. 21-ranked ASU and New Mexico at 10:30 p.m.
After another hectic day in the world of college football involving 170 CFB teams and 85 fixtures, the next two days involve only a handful of games.
September 1, Sunday, and September 2, Monday CFB fixtures
Only five games will take place on Sunday and Monday. North Carolina Central starts the proceedings at Miami Gardens in Florida against Alabama State at 3 p.m. on ESPN.
However, the most anticipated fixture of Sunday, which fans have been eagerly awaiting since the NCAA released the schedule, features two top-25 ranked teams. Caleb Williams’ alma mater, No. 23-ranked USC, will face off against the formidable No. 13-ranked LSU.
This fitting fixture will take place in Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. and fans can tune in to ABC to experience this thriller.
The last fixture of Week 1 of College Football sees No. 10 Florida State take on Boston College. ESPN will broadcast this fixture at 7:30 on Monday.
The next five days will be an absolute blast for the football enthusiasts. But they should brace themselves as this season will be the longest in CFB history.
Fans will enjoy 149 days of pure bliss as the College Football governing body implements a new playoff structure, giving more teams a shot at the National Championship.
However, only a few are worthy of reaching there. Let’s find out who they are in the next five months.
