Week 1 of the College Football Season is finally here!

The whole “Week 0” thing is a failure and annoying to us fans, but it did wet our appetites on Saturday.

The very first “upset” of the season came, as 10th ranked Florida State losing to unranked Georgia Tech, 24-21 in Dublin, Ireland.

Lot of the media and fans, had the Seminoles as favorites to win the ACC, and get a first-round bye in the college football playoffs. While that is not a lost dream, the road there is much more difficult now.

It’s true that Week 1 gives us a lot of “gimme games”, like #2 Ohio State Buckeyes taking on unranked Akron Zips, it also is giving us a few good games, with one being a potential college football playoff preview.

It starts off with #1 Georgia Bulldogs vs #14 Clemson Tigers, in Atlanta. Game starts at Noon, on ABC.

The Tigers have a chance to make a big statement here. They’re led by returning junior quarterback Cade Klubnik, who threw for 2,844 yards, with 19 TDs to 9 INTs. They return two of their top three pass catchers. They lost Will Shipley to the NFL, however, their best rusher was running back Phil Mafah, and he’s bringing his 13 TDs and 5.4 YPC back with him.

The Bulldogs are the Bulldogs. They have a legit Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Carson Beck. He threw for 3,941 yards with 24 TDs to only 6 INTs. The offense lost a ton of talent to the NFL, but they got running back Trevor Etienne in the transfer portal. He had a 5.7 YPC average and 8 TDs, while at Florida last season. They also return four of five starting offensive linemen from last season.

Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney refuses to use and is critical of the transfer portal. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is the complete opposite. He uses the portal and is hoping that all the moves will pay off this season.

#7 Notre Dame makes the trek down to Kyle Field, in College Station to take #20 Texas A&M. Game starts at 7:30 PM on ABC. This game is going to tell us a lot about each one of these teams.

The Aggies return 7 of 11 starters on offense. They’re also going through a coaching change, as Mike Elko is now calling the shots. Their schedule has them playing their 4 toughest games, all at home. If they want to start removing the stigma of always being overrated, then they need to win this game.

The Fighting Irish are hoping that Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard came in through the portal. They have a potential star in running back Jeremiyah Love, who can catch it out of the backfield or the slot. Notre Dame returns All-American and Bronco Nagurski Award winning safety Xavier Watts, as well as 2 potential first-round draft picks at CB in Benjamin Morrison and Christian Gray.

Can head coach Marcus Freeman, finally break through? Will he lead Notre Dame to a spot in the inaugural 12-team college football playoff?

In in the Sunshine State, the #19 Miami Hurricanes travel to “The Swamp” to face off against the Florida Gators. The Hurricanes managed to land quarterback Cam Ward in the portal, and they are hoping that he can lead them to their first ever ACC Championship. The Gators are hoping that with the majority of the offensive starters returning and the return of injured quarterback Graham Mertz, they can finally give Coach Napier a winning season. Their schedule is BRUTAL though, as they play 8 of their 12 games, against ranked teams.

#13 LSU Tigers and the #23 USC Trojans play Sunday Night, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Game starts at 7:30 PM EST on ABC.

Both teams have major question marks at the quarterback position. LSU head coach fired most of his defense staff, after allowing over 416 yards and 28 points per game last season. USC head coach Lincoln Riley is known as an offensive genius and “quarterback whisperer”. Will he be able to help starter Miller Moss put up enough points to make up for their horrible defense?

There is a potential Sleeper Upset when #8 Penn State, travels south to Morgantown to battle it out with unranked West Virigina. Game starts at Noon on FOX.

The Mountaineers bring back 7 of 11 starters on an offense that ranked 38th in scoring and 3rd in rushing in all of college football last season. CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White combined for 1,570 yards and 24 TDs last season. All 5 of their offensive linemen started at least 4 games last season. This team finished 9-4 last season.

The Nittany Lions simply need quarterback Drew Allar to take that next step and play his best in the big games. They have their own 1-2 combo at running back in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The same can be said for head coach James Franklin. He does very well in recruiting and wins the games he should win. He struggles against Ohio and Michigan and 6-6 in Bowl Games.

I’m not saying that an upset is going to happen. I’m just saying, this is a game to keep an eye on.

Thursday Night at 6 PM EST, on FloSports is a good game. A potential FCS Playoff Game as #23 Youngstown State travels to #6 Villanova. The Penguins will be looking for revenge as the Wildcats beat them 45-28 in the 2nd Round of the playoffs last season. That makes this 1st of 2 scheduled meetings really intriguing.

Don’t forget about the FCS, as they have a few teams could pull off an upset or two. North Dakota State at Colorado. South Dakota State at #17 Oklahoma State. North Dakota at Iowa State. Southern Illinois at BYU.

It’s time to fire up the BBQ grill, pop the top on your favorite cold beverage of choice, munch down on some chips with salsa, and enjoy this Labor Day Weekend with some college football.

– by Sean McKenzie

Follow me on X(Twitter) JoeAmerican6771 and OhioMan1776.

Stats and information courtesy of…..ESPN, wiki, Lindy’s, and SI.

Pictures courtesy of…..wallpapersafari, ESPN, 247sports, and ysusports.