Week 1 in college football is at hand, and that means your humble correspondents here at USA TODAY Sports will once again attempt to pick the weekly winners among the teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll. And what could be better than starting Week 1 of the college football season with games with early playoff implications?
Two of the three biggest games come at neutral sites. The Saturday showdown in Atlanta between No. 1 Georgia and No. 14 Clemson is the headliner. The Bulldogs will want to start their season off with a key non-conference win, while the Tigers are hoping to regain a measure of respect after missing the playoff the past three seasons.
The other game on equal footing comes Sunday in Las Vegas with No. 13 LSU facing off with No. 22 Southern California. The Tigers (Jayden Daniels) and Trojans (Caleb Williams) had the last two Heisman winners at quarterback last season. The team that transitions to its new era the quickest could be best positioned to emerge victorious.
Saturday evening sees No. 20 Texas A&M host No. 7 Notre Dame to start the tenure of new Aggies coach Mike Elko, who coincidentally was previously defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish. It’s a crucial game for Notre Dame, which has limited opportunities for quality wins in its bid to reach the playoff.
Here’s how our staffers see those and the rest of the Top 25 games unfolding.