Ranking the 99 best games of college football’s 2014 opening week
After waiting out an entire offseason, just about every college football game sounds pretty great. Let us know your top five in the comments!
Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
College football is here, and there are plenty of exciting games on opening weekend to let fans get right into the thick of things. There are many, many more games, however, that are not so exciting. What follows is a list of the top 10 games of Week 1 (Aug. 27-31) plus the best of the rest. (Thanks to Jon Morse of Bring on the Cats for helping with this list.)
All times Eastern.
- Clemson at Georgia, Saturday, Aug. 30, 5:30 p.m. After a decade without a game, the Clemson-Georgia rivalry started anew last season in fiery fashion, with the Tigers pulling out a dramatic 38-35 win. Quarterbacks Aaron Murray and Tajh Boyd are gone to the NFL (as is Sammy Watkins), but wherever Todd Gurley is, we'll be watching. If last year was about the offense, this year sees two of the best defensive units in college football (Georgia's linebackers and Clemson's defensive line).
- Wisconsin vs. LSU in Houston, Saturday, Aug. 30, 9 p.m. Melvin Gordon against SEC speed? Leonard Fournette versus a Big Ten defense? If this game were on campus, it would take the No. 1 slot.
- Texas A&M at South Carolina, Thursday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. The SEC schedule starts early for the Manziel-less Aggies and Clowney-less Gamecocks. It's not all gone, however -- Mike Davis looks to be one of the best running backs in the conference, and Texas A&M boasts a strong offensive line for new quarterback Kenny Hill.
- West Virginia vs. Alabama in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 30, 3:30 p.m. Florida State transfers Clint Trickett and Jacob Coker are expected to quarterback West Virginia and Alabama, respectively, though Bama's yet to say so. The Mountaineers are considerable underdogs.
- Oklahoma State vs. Florida State in Arlington, Saturday, Aug. 30, 8 p.m. Jameis Winston will face off against former Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year J.W. Walsh. And running back Karlos Williams has a much bigger role in the offense ahead of him for the Seminoles, while Desmond Roland is one of the top running backs in the Big 12.
- Miami at Louisville, Monday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m. A rematch of last season's Russell Athletic Bowl finalizes Bobby Petrino's return to the Cardinals. A healthy Duke Johnson means a dangerous Miami offense, and this could be quite different from last year's 36-9 Louisville rout.
- Boise State vs. Ole Miss in Atlanta, Thursday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. Boise State suffered a blowout loss to Washington in its opener last season. The Broncos have a new head coach in Bryan Harsin, their former offensive coordinator who won a share of the Sun Belt title in his only year as the head man at Arkansas State. They'll have to contend with an Ole Miss team whose stellar 2013 recruiting class is now one year more experienced.
- Utah State at Tennessee, Sunday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m. Welcome back Chuckie Keeton! One of college football's most exciting players returns to face a rebuilding Tennessee. The Volunteers will attempt to turn a massive, 32-member recruiting class into their first bowl appearance since 2010.
- Penn State vs UCF, Saturday in Ireland, Aug. 30, 8:30 a.m. This was a great game last season, and this year it takes place in Dublin -- that is, if a volcano doesn't get in the way. Penn State has the star power in Christian Hackenberg and new head coach James Franklin, and UCF seeks to replace Blake Bortles and Storm Johnson.
- Rutgers at Washington State, Thursday, Aug. 28, 10 p.m. This will be Rutgers' first game as a Big Ten school, and it could be a tough one. Mike Leach doubled his win total in his second season at Washington State.
- UCLA at Virginia
- California at Northwestern
- Fresno State at USC
- Arkansas at Auburn
- SMU at Baylor
- UNLV at Arizona
- North Texas at Texas
- Washington at Hawaii
- Colorado State vs. Colorado
- Ohio State at Navy
- Rice at Notre Dame
- BYU at Connecticut
- North Dakota State at Iowa State
- Ohio at Kent State
- Eastern Illinois at Minnesota
- Temple at Vanderbilt
- Wake Forest at Louisiana-Monroe
- Boston College at Massachusetts
- UTSA at Houston
- Bowling Green at Western Kentucky
- Tulane at Tulsa
- St. Cloud State at Minnesota State-Mankato
- Troy at UAB
- Louisiana Tech at Oklahoma
- Appalachian State at Michigan
- Western Michigan at Purdue
- Marshall at Miami (Ohio)
- Florida Atlantic at Nebraska
- UTEP at New Mexico
- Grand View at Drake
- New Hampshire at Toledo
- Georgia Southern at NC State
- Southern Miss at Mississippi State
- South Dakota State at Missouri
- Elon at Duke
- Portland State at Oregon State
- James Madison at Maryland
- Indiana State at Indiana
- Villanova at Syracuse
- Abilene Christian at Georgia State (bonus points for being the first FBS game of the season, though Eastern Washington would probably still beat Georgia State)
- Youngstown State at Illinois
- Delaware at Pittsburgh
- South Dakota at Oregon
- NC Central at East Carolina
- Montana at Wyoming
- Southern Utah at Nevada
- Northern Iowa at Iowa
- Idaho State at Utah
- Wofford at Georgia Tech
- William & Mary at Virginia Tech
- Bryant at Stony Brook
- Liberty at North Carolina
- Samford at TCU
- Central Arkansas at Texas Tech
- Alabama A&M vs. North Carolina A&T
- Western Carolina at South Florida
- Jacksonville State at Michigan State
- Stephen F. Austin at Kansas State
- Prarie View vs. Texas Southern
- Cal Poly at New Mexico State
- Montana State at Arkansas State
- Southern at Louisiana-Lafayette
- Colgate at Ball State
- Idaho at Florida
- Northern Arizona at San Diego State
- Bethune-Cookman at Florida International
- North Dakota at San Jose State
- Weber State at Arizona State
- Hampton at Old Dominion
- Nicholls State at Air Force
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Texas State
- Coastal Carolina at The Citadel
- Chattanooga at Central Michigan
- UC Davis at Stanford
- West Texas A&M at Colorado State-Pueblo
- Tennessee-Martin at Kentucky
- Duquesne at Buffalo
- Morgan State at Eastern Michigan
- Austin Peay at Memphis
- Howard at Akron
- Presbyterian at Northern Illinois
- Missouri State at Northwestern State
- Valparaiso at Western Illinois
- Florida A&M at Jackson State
- Marist at Sacred Heart
- Gardner-Webb at Furman
- Grambling State at Lamar
- UNC-Pembroke at Winston-Salem State
- Eastern Kentucky at Robert Morris
Your guide to the two best
Your guide to the two best
More Xs and Os
More Xs and Os
Hey, we finally joined Facebook!
See More:
