College football Week 1: Kiffin makes LSU debut, No. 24 Louisville-No. 9 Ole Miss only Top 25 game

After its soft launch last week, college football holds its grand opening on Labor Day weekend.

It's certainly not as grand as last year, when there were three Top 25 matchups, but fans hungry for football will find motivation to tune in as the race for the College Football Playoff begins.

The only game pitting two Associated Press Top 25 teams is Sunday when No. 24 Louisville meets No. 9 Mississippi in Nashville.

There are a handful of games Thursday before things rev up Friday with No. 7 Miami's visit to Stanford, which already has a win under its belt after holding off Hawaii last week.

No. 2 Oregon opens at home against Boise State on Saturday, and don't let the point spread keep you from watching. The Ducks are 24.5-point favorites, but the Broncos have been pointing to this game for a long time and they bring back big playmakers. Oregon won 37-34 on a last-second field goal in Eugene the last time these teams met, in 2024.

The game of the week, of course, is Clemson at No. 11 LSU on Saturday night. Drama seems to follow Lane Kiffin wherever he goes, and there's been no lack of it in Baton Rouge since he arrived, with most of it in the courtroom lately.

The Apple Cup meeting between Washington State and No. 17 Washington in Seattle kicks things off Sunday. Fans will have a decision to make in the evening or keep the remote handy: No. 4 Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay or Louisville-Mississippi. The holiday weekend wraps up with No. 19 SMU at Florida State on Monday night.

Best game is an ACC vs. SEC clash

Clemson at No. 11 LSU, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

All the talk about players returning from the NFL to suit up for LSU has overshadowed the actual matchup, which features two teams trying to recapture their former glory.

This was a top-10 matchup a year ago, with LSU coming from behind to win 17-10 on the road. Both teams went on to finish 7-6, with LSU firing Brian Kelly after eight games and Clemson recording its fewest wins since 2010.

Kiffin will unveil what's reportedly the highest-paid roster in the land featuring quarterback Sam Leavitt (Arizona State), offensive lineman Jordan Seaton (Colorado), edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen (Mississippi) and safety Ty Benefield (Boise State).

Chad Morris is back as Clemson's offensive coordinator, and talented wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. has returned from a serious, season-ending neck and back injury. Linebacker Sammy Brown anchors a defense that struggled and prompted Dabo Swinney to uncharacteristically lean on the transfer portal to shore things up.

Heisman Trophy watch

Notre Dame's CJ Carr and Texas star Arch Manning enter the season as front-runners for the Heisman Trophy, and Carr figures to get the tougher opening test against Wisconsin.

Carr led the Fighting Irish to 10 straight wins to end last season and finished with 24 touchdown passes, most by a Notre Dame quarterback through 12 starts since 1966. He needs to capitalize on the big stage of Lambeau Field to get his campaign started right because the Irish aren't expected to be seriously tested until mid-October.

Manning and the Longhorns face Texas State, a significantly softer opening opponent than a year ago when he went on the road to Ohio State and took a licking. Manning has more offensive pieces around him now, and that starts with AP preseason All-America receiver Cam Coleman.

Numbers to know

1 — Toledo's returning starters entering Mike Jacobs' head coaching debut against Michigan State.

26 — No. 1 Ohio State's consecutive wins in openers heading into Saturday's game against Ball State, the longest active streak in the country. The Buckeyes are 8-0 in openers under Ryan Day with an average margin of victory of 25.4 points.

91 — Oklahoma State newcomers brought in by first-year coach Eric Morris.

118 — Apple Cup meetings between Washington and Washington State, none as a season opener until this season.

1984 — Last time Virginia Tech played VMI, the Hokies' opening opponent in the James Franklin era. The schools are 83 miles apart.

Under the radar

South Dakota State at Northwestern, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (BTN)

The Jackrabbits are the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason favorites, ranked No. 2 in the Championship Subdivision and coming off a 70-7 win over Stetson. They're 2-11 all-time against the Bowl Subdivision and enter as 12.5-point underdogs.

Northwestern coach David Braun believes he has upgraded the offense with new coordinator Chip Kelly and quarterback Aidan Chiles, but a thin defensive front will be tested by the Jackrabbits' excellent ground game.

Hot seat

Florida State's Mike Norvell enters Monday's game against No. 19 SMU just 8-18 since a 13-0 Seminoles team was left out of the four-team College Football Playoff in 2023. Just when it looked like Norvell would get off the hot seat with a 3-0 start last year that included a 31-17 win over a top-10 Alabama, FSU lost seven of its last nine.

The Seminoles were so-so against overmatched New Mexico State last week, leading by just 10 points in the middle of the fourth quarter before winning 34-17. They will need to be sharper against SMU, widely considered the best team behind Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

And that's just the start of a rugged September and October schedule for the Seminoles and Norvell, who is under contract through 2031 and would be owed $53.3 million if he's fired after the season.

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