Estimated read time: 11-12 minutes
Fight songs and tailgates or Cougar Tails and Aggie Ice Cream. College football is back and this year is shaping up to be the most intense yet. Only four power conferences and a 12-team playoff await the start of the new year.
We are going to highlight the five best non-local games throughout the country to pay attention to this weekend while you celebrate your team's victory, watch in sorrow after a loss, or if you are waiting for your game to start.
These games will not include games that are in the KSL.com Sports College Football Pick'em.
All dates and times are MST
No. 14 Clemson at No. 1 Georgia on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 10 A.M. (ABC)
The No. 14 Clemson Tigers will travel to Atlanta to face off against the number one team in the nation, the Georgia Bulldogs. Two teams who dominated the original four-team college football playoff format are opening up the year in what is anticipated to be the best game of the week.
Georgia quarterback and Heisman hopeful Carson Beck is back and looking to improve off of a solid year with the Bulldogs where he threw for nearly 4,000 yards, 24 touchdowns, and six interceptions on a 72.4% clip.
The big question mark with Georgia will be establishing their run game with Florida transfer Trevor Etienne, the younger brother of Clemson alum and current Jacksonville Jaguar, Travis Etienne.
Etienne rushed for 753 yards on 131 carries paired with eight touchdowns for the Gators last year and is expected to get the majority of carries for the Bulldogs this season.
The Dabo Swinney-led Tigers come into the year after a 9-4 season last year that saw wins versus No. 20 North Carolina and No. 15 Notre Dame.
The Tigers are led by Cade Klubnik who had an average season throwing for 2,844 yards along with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions, but only at a 63.9% rate.
The Tigers averaged 29.8 points per contest last season, which was good for 53rd in FBS last season. That number will need to improve this year, especially if they want to beat a top-five defense in Georgia.
The last time these two teams met was in 2021 when the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers 10-3 in a defensive battle that saw zero offensive points.
LINE: -13.5 UGA
OVER/UNDER: 48.5
No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 10 A.M. (Fox)
This is one of the most underrated week-one games in the country this year. Penn State is supposed to be a candidate for the Big 10 championship behind Oregon and Ohio State and is just simply a very complete team behind a solid head coach in James Franklin. The Nittany Lions went 10-3 last season with losses against No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus, eventual national champions Michigan, and Ole Miss in the bowl game.
Make no mistake, this Penn State team is deep. Drew Allar only threw one interception last year paired with 23 passing touchdowns and four on the ground. While he may not be the next big thing in the NFL, Allar is completely capable of leading this team.
Similar to Penn State, West Virginia's losses came to solid opponents. The Nittany Lions defeated WVU last season, along with No. 17 Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Houston.
Garrett Greene is the Mountaineers quarterback for the second consecutive year with his backup being BYU transfer and Springville High School alum, Ryder Burton.
Greene has shown he is capable of being the guy for West Virginia, though struggles with consistency. Greene threw for 2,406 yards on just a 52.9% completion percentage. Which just is not good enough for Big 12 Football.
Jahiem White rushed for 792 yards on only 97 carries, good enough for an 8.2-yard per-carry average. Oh, as a freshman.
White is a legitimate running back. He is a reliable back who didn't fumble once last year and scored in four games despite having four games of over 100 yards.
White rushed for 110 yards against Duquesne, 146 on BYU, 204 on Cincinnati, and 133 on Baylor. White is a highly anticipated NFL draftee for the 2026 draft.
So why so much about White? Because Penn State stops the run.
Well, they stop everything being the No. 4 team in ESPN's SP+ rankings, but only two teams had a better rush defense in yards per game – UCLA and James Madison. Penn State allowed just 836 rushing yards last season in the BIG 10. The next closest was Utah with 1,011, a 175-yard difference.
The Nittany Lions held one of the best running backs in the country, Quinshon Judkins, to 106 yards on 34 attempts, which is just 3.1 yards per carry, 1.2 lower than his average.
This game should be a dogfight. West Virginia faithful will be loud with country roads blasting for this week one matchup.
LINE: -8 PENN STATE
OVER/UNDER: 51.5
No. 23 USC vs No. 13 LSU (Neutral site game in Las Vegas, NV.) Sunday, Sept. 1 at 5:30 (ABC)
It's been nearly 40 years since these two teams faced off. It came in the 1984 season – the same season BYU won the national championship and yes it was that long ago – when LSU defeated the Trojans 23-3.
LSU is coming off an extremely successful season in which Jayden Daniels was recognized as the Heisman, the first since Joe Burrow in 2020, after a terrific year where he threw for 3,812 yards and ran for 1,134. Oh, and he threw for 40 touchdowns, rushed for 10, and only turned the ball over four times.
But, LSU lost Daniels, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas to the NFL. Similar to the 2020 LSU Tigers, the offense has been sort of gutted.
But, you rebuild. Kyren Lacy is a great WR1. Shadowed by two first-round picks at the receiver position, Lacy should be a first-round candidate of his own this year. Lacy caught 30 balls for 558 yards and seven touchdowns in 10 games for the Tigers last year.
LSU also brought in Liberty transfer CJ Daniels to help presumed starter Garrett Nussmeier. Daniels brought 47 catches for 988 yards on 10 touchdowns last year for the Flames before entering the portal.
Nussmeier is the biggest offensive question mark for the Tigers. Though looked great at times, he is obviously quite the drop-off from a Heisman quarterback. Nussmeier started the bowl game for LSU last year against Wisconsin in which he balled out, throwing for nearly 400 yards on three touchdowns in a 35-31 victory.
The Tigers have a great offensive line, including projected top-5 pick Will Campbell. The defense was the Tigers kryptonite last year and could cause them issues again this year. But the highlight on the defense is edge linebacker Harold Perkins who had 7.5 sacks for the Tigers as a freshman and 5.5 last year, though he played more off-ball last year.
The good news, the Tigers brought in Blake Baker from Missouri to staff the defense. Baker recruited Perkins when he coached the Tigers linebackers in 2021 and was the defensive coordinator for Miami (Fla.) in 2019-2020.
Similar to LSU, USC lost their Heisman quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams to the Chicago Bears. After head coach Lincoln Riley bolted from Oklahoma to the Trojans, USC has been revitalized of sorts. The Trojans made the Pac-12 conference championship in 2022 before losing a 17-3 lead, which turned into a 47-24 loss to the Utah Utes.
Quarterback Miller Moss is an unknown for USC. He's appeared in eight career games in three seasons and started one. In the start, however, he threw for 372 yards and six touchdowns in a 42-28 victory over Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.
The difficult thing for USC is the lack of returning production on offense, which is similar to the Tigers. But they don't have a Kyren Lacy in terms of returning yardage. Duce Robinson is USC's No. 1 wideout. The 6'6" wideout is very, very good. He caught 15 balls for 351 yards for USC last year, but that is the most returning yards for USC this year in the wideout position. Robinson only appeared in seven games for the Trojans but is a name to watch for the next few years for NFL scouts.
USC also had issues with the defense last year, finishing as the 105th defense in college last year where LSU finished 35th, according to SP+ rankings.
Provo High School alum Mason Cobb is the main man for USC. Cobb had 85 tackles for USC last year and is one of the better linebacker prospects this upcoming draft.
This will be an offensive battle between two of the better offenses in the country.
LINE: -4 LSU
OVER/UNDER: 64.5
North Dakota State at Colorado on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 6 P.M. (ESPN)
Primetime for Coach Prime Deion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes are something they are used to. But it isn't typically against an FCS opponent. Well, this FCS opponent is the top dog every year. "I'm mad at Rick (George) right now for putting them on the schedule, to open up with them. Like can you give me a layup or something?" Sanders said.
Shedeur Sanders is a great quarterback. Shedeur threw for 3,207 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only three interceptions for Colorado last year. He is a projected top-15 pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
Travis Hunter played like a Heisman candidate last year before his injury, playing both cornerback and wide receiver. He brought in 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns and picked off three balls on the defensive side of the ball, proving to be an elite two-way player.
Despite the offensive firepower for Colorado last year, they struggled to score in many games. Averaging just 23 points per game in losses last year, the Buffs struggled mightily. Including losses to 3-9 Stanford and 5-7 Washington State, Colorado could never get over the hump..
Expect a big game from Jimmy Horn Jr. Horn was a red zone threat for opposing defenses last year where he led the team in touchdowns with six.
The run game is not expected to be as prominent for Colorado this year. Expected starter Charlie Offerdahl appeared in one game last year and had two carries for 11 yards. It is expected to be a very pass-heavy offense.
North Dakota State is an average pass defense at the FCS level. The Bison finished 24th (out of 50 teams) in pass defense, though they played in 15 games. Expect Sanders to throw the ball, a lot.
Senior QB Cam Miller has been solid for the Bison. The fourth-year starter has accumulated 6,469 yards in his three complete years as the Bison's quarterback including 48 touchdowns and 15 picks. He can also run, really well. Miller ran for 645 yards last year and 13 touchdowns. For a team that was statistically one of the worst defenses last year in Colorado, they may have their hands full. SP+ ranked the Buffaloes at 113th out of 133 teams in pure defense.
The Bison running back room is loaded. Barika Kpeenu was great for NDSU in a backup role last year, they also brought in 3-star running back Chamar Brown who ran for 2,610 yards and 38 touchdowns in his high school career.
As much as Coach Prime won't like this, it is going to be a close, high-scoring game. North Dakota State has proven to be one of the best FCS dynasties, winning nine championships since 2011.
Expect a shootout in Boulder.
LINE: -10 Colorado
Over/Under: 59.5
South Dakota State at Oklahoma State (ESPN+)
Oklahoma State is coming into the season with the third-best odds to win the Big 12 Championship according to most betting sites. The Cowboys have one of the best – if not the best – running backs in college football, Ollie Gordon. But if it is like the Cowboys of last year, don't underestimate your opponent.
Oklahoma State welcomed South Alabama into Boone Pickens and got stomped. Plain old stomped. The 33-7 victory was flat-out embarrassing for the Cowboys, though they were able to turn the season around and end up in the Big 12 Championship to face Texas.
The Cowboys are a good team. The aforementioned Gordon rushed for 1,732 yards last year along with a blistering 21 touchdowns. The leading receiver Brennan Presley, who nearly reached 1,000 yards of his own, is also back.
Quarterback Alan Bowman is also back, but spending on who you ask could be where the problems are.
Bowman threw for 3,460 yards with 15 touchdowns but had 14 interceptions. Bowman is entering his seventh college football season after spending three years at Texas Tech, two at Michigan, and one with the Cowboys.
The bright spot for Oklahoma State is the offensive line. The offensive line is great. The team only saw their quarterback go down 13 times last year.
Now, the Jackrabbits.
The reigning back-to-back FCS Champion Jackrabbits that is. SDSU is ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll receiving all 25 possible votes. The Jackrabbits have not lost a football game since Sept. 3, 2022. The loss came to Iowa in a scorching 7-3 finish where Iowa had two safeties and a field goal in the game.
Since then, SDSU has won 29 consecutive football games, 24 of which were by more than one score.
South Dakota State returns their starting quarterback, WR1, WR2, tight end, and pretty much their whole team.
The quarterback is Mark Gronowski who threw for over 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns with just five picks last year for the Jackrabbits. Gronowski also won Offensive Player of the Year in the FCS. Backup running back Amar Johnson is now the lead man in the backfield. Johnson rushed for 801 yards and four touchdowns as the backup to current New York Jet, Isaiah Davis who rushed for 1,578 yards.
The Jackrabbits are the type of team you don't want to see, whether you are an FCS or FBS team; they are complete.
Line: -9.5 Oklahoma State
Over/Under: 54.5
