The college football season kicks off in two weeks, so it’s time to dive into schedules and highlight games that could wow us. Not all are obvious.
Besides Texas at Michigan (Sept. 7), Georgia at Alabama (Sept. 28) and other huge games, dozens of under-the-radar games are on tap. Here’s a list of one for each week of the 2024 season.
Aug. 29 | North Dakota State at Colorado: Coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes won’t have it easy against the Bison, who are ranked second in the FCS behind South Dakota State. A loss would diminish the buzz surrounding Colorado, which is in its first season in the Big 12.
Sept. 7 | Kansas State at Tulane: After going 23-5 over the past two seasons with Willie Fritz at the helm, Tulane and new head coach Jon Sumrall get an early season test at home against No. 15 Kansas State. K-State lost last year’s starting quarterback, Will Howard, to Ohio State, but it replaced him with Avery Johnson, one of the best prospects the Wildcats have recruited.
Sept. 14 | Texas A&M at Florida: In what feels like a make-or-break season for Florida head coach Billy Napier, his Florida Gators will open SEC play against the Aggies. For A&M, this will be new head coach Mike Elko’s welcome to the SEC. Elko took the job at A&M after two seasons at Duke. Napier is 11-14 in two seasons at Florida.
Sept. 21 |
North Carolina State at Clemson: This is a big-time showdown in Death Valley, with NC State aiming to knock off the Tigers for the second year in a row. NC State features new QB Grayson McCall, who starred at Coastal Carolina.
Sept. 28 | Arizona at Utah: Two preseason top-25 teams will battle for the first time as members of the Big 12. This game also features two of the best returning QBs, Utah’s Cam Rising and Arizona’s Noah Fifita.
Oct. 5 | Clemson at Florida State: Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who played for Oregon State last season, will face his former team for the first time. Expect this to be a prime-time game.
Oct. 12 | Penn State at USC: In what will be USC’s first true test in the Big Ten, it will welcome Penn State to the Los Angeles Coliseum. This game will be a prime opportunity for both teams to establish themselves as contenders in the Big Ten. Bold prediction: The winner makes the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff.
Oct. 18 | Oregon at Purdue: Under head coach Jeff Brohm, Purdue is 3-1 against top-five opponents when unranked. Oregon is ranked third in the AP preseason poll.
Oct. 26 | Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech: This game features two of the more underrated teams heading into the season. Both could be ranked in the top 25 by the time this game is played.
Nov. 2 | Georgia Southern at South Alabama: This game could determine the winner of one of the divisions of the Sun Belt Conference, the only major conference split into divisions. The winner could get a chance to knock off Appalachian State in the conference championship game.
Nov. 9 | Oklahoma at Missouri: The Sooners, a newbie to the SEC, face one of their longtime rivals from the old Big Eight. This game could have SEC Championship Game implications.
Nov. 16 | Penn State at Purdue: Could the Boilermakers upset Penn State, which is ranked eighth in the AP preseason poll and should be a top-10 team in November?
Nov. 23 | Colorado at Kansas: This game will be a must-watch simply because of the quarterbacks: Shedeur Sanders of Colorado (27 TD passes, three INTs in 2023) and Jalon Daniels of Kansas (4,297 yards passing in four seasons).
Nov. 30 | Louisville at Kentucky: Of all the rivalry week matchups, this one always seems to get overlooked. Kentucky (7-6 in 2023) and Louisville (10-4) should be excellent.
