College Football Week 1: TV, Live Stream Coverage and Best Games for Top 25 Schedule
August 31, 2024College Football Week 1: TV, Live Stream Coverage and Best Games for Top 25 Schedule
The first full Saturday of the 2024 college football season is finally here!
Saturday's slate features a pair of Top 25 contests and the usual set of low stakes games for top programs.
The top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs are one of two top-10 teams with an opportunity to post a notable win right away.
Georgia takes on the Clemson Tigers in the marquee game of the early afternoon slate in Atlanta.
The primetime focus will be on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Texas A&M Aggies in a top-20 battle at Kyle Field.
Week 1 Top 25 Schedule
Saturday, August 31
No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia (Noon ET, ABC)
No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia (Noon ET, Fox)
Illinois State at No. 25 Iowa (Noon ET, Big Ten Network)
Chattanooga at No. 15 Tennessee (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
South Dakota State at No. 17 Oklahoma State (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Akron at No. 2 Ohio State (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
Colorado State at No. 4 Texas (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 19 Miami at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Western Kentucky at No. 5 Alabama (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Furman at No. 6 Ole Miss (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
UT Martin at No. 18 Kansas State (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Idaho at No. 3 Oregon (7:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Fresno State at No. 9 Michigan (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
New Mexico at No. 21 Arizona (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sunday, September 1
No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Monday, September 2
Boston College at No. 10 Florida State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia
The majority of college football fans and experts should be backing Georgia to take down Clemson in Atlanta.
The Bulldogs could be on a bit of a revenge tour after not qualifying for the College Football Playoff last season.
Kirby Smart's team returns Carson Beck at quarterback, has an explosive set of skill position players led by Florida transfer Trevor Etienne at running back and once again has a strong defense.
Georgia's defense may be the key to halting any potential upset noise from Dabo Swinney's Tigers.
Clemson's Cade Klubnik struggled in the pocket at times last season and he does not have the same level of skill position players to work with as Beck does.
A loss for Clemson will not be as consequential as its 10-3 defeat to UGA at the start of the 2021 season because of the expanded 12-team playoff format.
However, a defeat would be another stain on the ACC's resume because that would mean both preseason favorites would already have a loss after Florida State's failure in Ireland last week.
A win for Georgia is expected and that would mark the start of a tough schedule to retain the No. 1 ranking. UGA visits Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss in SEC play.
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 20 Texas A&M
The primetime showcase game is fascinating because of all the unknowns surrounding Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
Notre Dame once again dipped into the ACC to land a transfer quarterback. Former Duke signal-caller Riley Leonard leads the offense this year.
The Irish have few opportunities to pick up marquee wins in 2024. A road win in the SEC would be massive for their playoff stock.
Texas A&M is hoping the Mike Elko era starts off with a win. Elko, who coached Leonard at Duke last year, took over for Jimbo Fisher in the offseason.
The Aggies also have a question mark at quarterback with Connor Weigman.
A&M may hang its hat on defense to start since that is Elko's expertise. The offense may come as the games go on.
A top-10 home win would help A&M's early playoff resume, but it has a long way to go to be considered for the postseason because of its tough SEC schedule.
No. 19 Miami at Florida
No team in the FBS has a tougher schedule than the Florida Gators.
Billy Napier's team begins the gauntlet at home against the Miami Hurricanes in a vital game for both program's seasons.
Florida needs a win because victories may be hard to come by, The Gators play seven ranked foes after Miami, including a five-game finish against Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State.
Napier enters the season on the hot seat and a win over Miami would at least cool things down for a bit.
As for Miami, the Hurricanes need a marquee win under Mario Cristobal to ignite their season.
Cam Ward was brought in from Washington State in the transfer portal to lead the offense and potentially win the ACC.
The Canes have a chance to run the table in the ACC, and if Clemson loses earlier on Saturday, they could leave Week 1 as the only projected playoff contender from the ACC to not have a loss.
