CHARLOTTE: Georgia Bulldogs running back Kenny McIntosh is tackled on a run during the game between … [+]
The last time the college football season kicked off as early as August 24 was 2019 when Miami and Florida met in Orlando to commence the 150th season of the sport. With only three months before the 2024 season gets underway, here is a look at some of the more notable Week 0 and Week 1 matchups.
ESPN’s showcase game to open the season features what has become a toxic mix: the ACC and Florida State. Alas, let’s leave the boardrooms and courtrooms behind as the season gets underway in Dublin where Mike Norvell’s defending ACC champion Seminoles, now quarterbacked by D.J. Uiagalelei, face Georgia Tech. Brent Key’s first year as head coach of the Yellow Jackets resulted in their first winning season (7-6, bowl victory) since 2018.
Deion Sanders’ second season gets underway in Boulder against the FCS powerhouse Bison, winner of nine national titles in a recent 11-season (2011-21) stretch. During that run, NDSU defeated Minnesota, Kansas State, Iowa State and Iowa. First-year coach Tim Polasek has four championship rings from his time as an assistant in Fargo. ESPN will have the broadcast from Folsom Field.
The schools kick off against each other for the second time in four seasons. UGA prevailed in the 2021 opener in Charlotte, 10-3. The return of quarterback Carson Beck is key for Kirby Smart’s team, which is seeking a return to the CFP after winning it all in 2021 and 2022. If Tigers’ quarterback Cade Klubnik is to take the next step, this is a good place to start.
Much attention in this opening week will be on Tuscaloosa where Kalen DeBoer debuts on the Crimson Tide sideline. Nick Saban led Alabama for 17 seasons, a tenure that yielded six national titles. Alabama fans truly will need a program as their team lost about 50 players to a combination of the NFL, the portal and expired eligibility. A familiar and very important player returns in quarterback Jalen Milroe.
Quite an irony in this ABC primetime affair as Mike Elko makes his A&M head coaching debut against his former quarterback at Duke: Riley Leonard. Elko returned to College Station where he spent four seasons (2018-21) as Jimbo Fisher’s defensive coordinator before two successful years (16-9) with the Blue Devils. Leonard, whose 2023 season with Duke was cut short due to an ankle injury sustained against his current team, was largely a bystander during spring drills after he underwent a second ankle procedure in March.
The defending national champs have a new coach in Sherrone Moore, who served on Jim Harbaugh’s staff for six years, including the last three as offensive coordinator. The big question in Ann Arbor surrounds the quarterback. Specifically, who will it be?
Gator Nation is on edge heading into Billy Napier’s third season in Gainesville. He is the first UF coach since Raymond Wolf in 1946 and 1947 to post consecutive losing seasons. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes, who will have Washington State transfer Cam Ward at quarterback, are 12-13 in Mario Cristobal’s first two seasons running the show in Coral Gables. This will be the first meeting between the schools since the aforementioned 2019 clash. The ‘Canes lead the all-time series 29-27.
Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord makes his Orange debut in what will also be Fran Brown’s first game as a college head coach. The latter arrived at SU after serving as the defensive backs coach at Georgia with McCord making the move a couple of weeks later.
Jedd Fisch makes his UW debut after taking over for Kalen DeBoer. Fisch, the rare head coach who did not play high school or college football, arrived from Arizona where his Wildcats were 1-11 in 2021, his first season at the helm. Last year, he led them to a 10-3 mark, including a bowl win and No. 11 ranking in the final AP poll. Former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers takes over for Michael Penix.
The Dillon Gabriel era gets underway in Eugene. The former Oklahoma and UCF quarterback, whose resume includes the fourth-most touchdowns responsible for in a career at the FBS level (152, one behind Baker Mayfield) will be among the preseason Heisman favorites.
Once annual rivals on the Eastern football landscape, the Nittany Lions make their first trip to Morgantown since 1992 when Joe Paterno and Don Nehlen were on the sidelines. That was also last meeting between the schools prior to last season’s matchup in State College, a 38-15 Penn State victory. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 49-9-2.
The Trojans make their Big Ten debut in what will be the third meeting between the teams. The most recent was 1984 when LSU won in Baton Rouge five years to the day of the first meeting in 1979 when USC won at the Coliseum. Both fan bases got a glimpse of their new quarterbacks during bowl season when USC’s Miller Moss and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier led their teams to victory.
Bill O’Brien makes his debut at BC with his first college head-coaching gig in more than a decade. O’Brien, who led Penn State (2012-13) in the immediate post-Joe Paterno era before a seven-season stint coaching the Houston Texans, gets his start against the Seminoles, who do not get a week off (unlike Georgia Tech) after returning from Dublin.
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