Week 1 College Football's Best Games to Start the 2023 Season
The wait is finally over. After a long eight months without college football, Week 1 officially arrives just in time for the Labor Day weekend.
The 2023 slate of opening weekend games isn't quite as packed as years past, but there are still plenty of games to choose from throughout the weekend, starting Thursday night and through to Monday evening.
The biggest matchup comes Sunday night in Orlando, Florida, and plenty of Power Five teams take on smaller out-of-conference opponents throughout the weekend.
Let's run through the best games of college football's Week 1.
Odds via DraftKings. Notes about all-time records per Phil Steele's 2023 Preseason College Football Magazine.
Games That Should Be Tasty Appetizers
1 of 4
Colorado at No. 17 TCU
Saturday, Sept. 2 (Noon ET on Fox)
Deion Sanders' debut as Colorado head coach comes on the road against TCU.
The Horned Frogs beat the Buffaloes 38-13 in Boulder last season. And although TCU lost a ton of talent from its 13-2 team from last year, it's still a 20.5-point favorite.
It'll be interesting to see if Colorado can keep this one close. Sanders made headlines when he completely gutted the team's existing roster to fill it using transfer portal players and his own recruits this offseason.
The Buffaloes have a tough schedule in 2023, featuring Nebraska in Week 2 and road games against Oregon, UCLA, Washington State and Utah. They also play USC and Oregon State at home.
Virginia vs. No. 12 Tennessee in Nashville, T.N.
Saturday, Sept. 2 (Noon ET on ABC)
Tennessee is opening the season in Nashville for the third time and the first since 2015. Although the Vols have to replace quarterback Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt from last year's 11-2 team, expectations are high surrounding new quarterback Joe Milton III.
Virginia's defense returns eight starters from the unit that finished 30th in passing yards allowed per game last season (204.4).
South Alabama at No. 24 Tulane
Saturday, Sept. 2 (8 p.m. on ESPNU)
Tulane and South Alabama have met twice before in 2023 and 2020, and both games were decided by just three points each. The Jaguars won 41-39 in 2013, with Tulane winning 27-24 in 2020's game in Mobile. The Green Wave finished 6-2 at home last season.
Houston at UTSA
Saturday, Sept. 2 (7 p.m. on Fox Sports 1)
This game between these two last year was a thriller. It went into triple-overtime, and Houston scored a two-point conversion following its touchdown to win 37-35. The Cougars overcame a 14-point second half deficit, too.
Vegas likes UTSA as just a 1-point home favorite.
Rivalry Games and Fun Out-of-Conference Matchups
2 of 4
Fresno State at Purdue
Saturday, Sept. 7, (Noon ET on Big Ten Network)
This is the first-ever meeting between these two. The Boilermakers are 12-0 when hosting a non-conference opponent in season openers, but Fresno State has played Big Ten opponents close recently. In 2019, the Bulldogs lost 38-35 to Minnesota, and they upset Illinois 25-23 in 2010.
Purdue is just a 4-point favorite against Purdue.
No. 10 Washington vs. Boise State
Saturday, Sept. 2 (3:30 p.m. on ABC)
Washington leads this series 3-2, after winning 38-6 the last time these two played in Seattle in 2013. Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has a chance to kick off his Heisman campaign with a bang if he has a big day over Boise's defense.
The Broncos return five starters from a defense that finished fifth in passing yards allowed per game (167.7).
Miami vs. Miami (OH)
Saturday, Sept. 2 (7 p.m. on ACC Network)
College football's two Miamis face off for a fourth time, last playing in 1945, 1946 and 1987. The Hurricanes have won all three previous meetings and are 17-point favorites. The last time Miami hosted a non-conference opponent at home was Middle Tennessee, which upset the Canes 45-31.
Mario Cristobal's team can't afford to come out flat if he wants to show Miami fans that things are going in the right direction.
West Virginia at No. 7 Penn State
Saturday. Sept. 7 (7:30 p.m. on NBC)
What's better than rivalry games? Those that have been renewed, of course. That's the case for WVU and Penn State, who played each other every year from 1947 until 1992. The series ended following the Nittany Lions' move to the Big Ten and WVU going to the Big East in 1993. Penn State dominated the series with a 48-2-9 all-time series record.
Drew Allar hasn't been named the outright starter by Penn State head coach James Franklin, but the new quarterback is expected to start under center.
Conference Games
3 of 4
Minnesota vs. Nebraska
Thursday, Aug. 31 (8 p.m. on Fox)
New Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule makes his debut on the road on Thursday night. The visitor in this series is just 2-5 straight-up, and the Cornhuskers are 2-4 in their last six season openers. Meanwhile, the Golden Gophers have won the last four straight in this series.
We'll see if the Rhule era can start on a positive note.
Louisville vs. Georgia Tech
Friday, Sept. 1 (7:30 p.m. on ESPN)
Two new head coaches will make their debuts in this one, with Louisville's Jeff Brohm and the Yellowjackets' Brent Key facing off in the Chick-fil-A kickoff game. Key might have a slight advantage in experience with his team after being GT's interim head coach for eight games last season, going 4-4.
Brohm is implementing his new passing offense at Louisville, which might be why the Cardinals are 7.5-point favorites.
No. 3 Ohio State at Indiana
Saturday, Sept. 2 (3:30 p.m. CBS)
Ohio State has won the last 27 straight games in this series, dating back to 1988. The last two games haven't been close, either, with the Buckeyes winning by a combined score of 110-21.
This should be a good opportunity to see how Ohio State's offense will look under new quarterback Kyle McCord. As long as the 20-year-old keeps throwing to Marvin Harrison Jr., the Buckeyes should roll in this one.
No. 9 Clemson at Duke
Monday, Sept. 4 (8 p.m. on ESPN)
These two ACC teams haven't played each other often recently, meeting just four times since 2007. But thanks to the ACC doing away with divisions this year, we'll see a lot more former Atlantic and Coastal teams facing off.
Duke will be looking to build off its 9-4 season last year in head coach Mike Elko's second season. Clemson is rebuilding with new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley running the offense this season. Quarterback Cade Klubnik has some high expectations entering 2023, but this will be his first start on the road.
The home team is 11-5 in this series, so we'll see if Duke can give Clemson a scare early.
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The Headliners
4 of 4
Florida at No. 14 Utah
Thursday, Aug. 31 (8 p.m. on ESPN)
The second game of this home-and-home series kicks off in Salt Lake City on Thursday night. Last year, the Utes were upset in Gainesville 29-26. They had what looked like a game-winning touchdown drive, until Florida linebacker Amari Burney intercepted Cam Rising's scoring pass attempt.
Florida is rebuilding again following a 6-7 season, and the Gators return just 11 total starters from 2022.
Utah, meanwhile, has won back-to-back Pac-12 titles and gets 16 starters returning from last season.
The biggest question mark surrounding this game will be if Utah QB Rising will play. He suffered an ACL tear in the Rose Bowl vs. Penn State in January, and head coach Kyle Whittingham said earlier this week that he'll have to "wait and see" who's available. Tight end Brant Kuithe is also still rehabbing a knee injury he suffered last season.
Utah is a 4-point favorite.
No. 21 North Carolina vs. South Carolina in Charlotte, N.C.
Saturday, Sept. 2 (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
These two Carolina schools have played each other 59 previous times but just five times since 1991. Most recently, they met in the 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl, with the Gamecocks winning 38-21.
UNC returns 17 starters from its 9-5 team last season, and South Carolina gets back 10 from the team that upset Tennessee and Clemson in back-to-back weeks at the end of the year. Both quarterbacks, UNC's Drake Maye and SC's Spencer Rattler, will be looking to build on successful seasons in 2022.
This should be a fun one between a pair of talented teams, with some good old-fashioned rivalry energy mixed in.
UNC is a 2.5-point favorite.
No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 5 LSU in Orlando, Fla.
Sunday, Sept. 3 (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
The biggest game of the weekend comes Sunday night between Florida State and LSU. Both teams have real shots to make it into the College Football Playoff, so this one is crucial in Week 1.
Florida State has one of the most talented and experienced teams in the country, returning eight starters on offense and nine on defense. The biggest names back include quarterback Jordan Travis, a potential Heisman candidate, and defensive end Jared Verse.
LSU returns plenty of guys from last year's SEC West champion squad. Quarterback Jayden Daniels and leading receiver Malik Nabers are back, as is star linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.
These two met in New Orleans last season. Florida State won 24-23 thanks to LSU's blocked extra-point attempt that would have sent the game into overtime.
While whoever loses this game isn't out of the playoff hunt, it can't afford to lose again in the regular season to make it into the final four. The Seminoles still have to play Clemson, Wake Forest and Pitt on the road, while the Tigers go on the road to Ole Miss and Alabama, and they close the season out against Texas A&M.
This should be a great game on Sunday night.
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