It has been nearly eight months since Michigan's national title coronation. Nick Saban has retired, and Jim Harbaugh has left for the NFL (again). Fifteen FBS teams have taken on at least 20 transfers. The Pac-12 is essentially gone. The Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC have expanded to the west. The SEC has incorporated the Red River Rivalry. We've got an actual, honest-to-god tournament to look forward to in a few months.
Rarely has so much of college football's fabric changed in a single offseason. And yet, the Week 1 family reunion will likely feel as good as ever. You can smell it in the air. From Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Georgia vs. Clemson) to Milan Puskar Stadium (Penn State at West Virginia) to Paulson Stadium (Boise State at Georgia Southern) to Washington-Grizzly Stadium (Missouri State at Montana) and everywhere in between, college football feels as college football as ever. More than 60% of Week 1's games are FBS-versus-FCS affairs, we've got only three ranked-versus-ranked games to look forward to, and in this moment it doesn't matter. This weekend, we feast.
We've already seen a Hail Mary miracle coming up 4 yards short (Colorado-NDSU) and accidental fireworks after a missed game-winning field goal (North Carolina-Minnesota). Now it's time to turn on the fire hose. Here's everything you need to know to get ready for Week 1 of the 2024 season. (All times are Eastern.)
Jump to a topic:
Notre Dame-A&M | Clemson-Georgia
USC-LSU | Miami-Florida
Penn State-West Virginia
BC-Florida State | Top-10 blowouts?
Week 1 playlist
A million questions in College Station
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN+)
Notre Dame and Texas A&M have played only five times in their respective histories, all in a window from 1988 to 2001. But they'll face off in what could be the most interesting game of Week 1. These are two of the teams I have the most questions about heading into the fall, and the matchups are such that we'll get a lot of immediate answers.
When Notre Dame has the ball
Is Riley Leonard fully Riley Leonard? Last we saw Leonard, Duke coach Mike Elko was shutting him down for the season after a nasty ankle injury and a case of turf toe. Leonard transferred to Notre Dame and underwent a pair of offseason ankle surgeries, and now he'll face an A&M defense led by ... head coach Mike Elko.