College Football Picks Week 1: Top 25 Odds, Box Score Predictions, Rankings, Schedule (2024)

Some of the top teams in college football will receive tests right away in Week 1.

Six ranked programs will do battle across the weekend's three marquee games that could teach us a lot about where each of those teams stand.

All of them will try to avoid a let down in the first game, like the Florida State Seminoles experienced in Ireland in Week 0.

The top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs will be under the microscope first on Saturday against the Clemson Tigers, who all of a sudden may be the favorite to win the ACC.

Saturday's other marquee matchup sends the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to Kyle Field to face the Texas A&M Aggies at the start of the Mike Elko era in College Station.

Sunday's only game is important for the USC Trojans and LSU Tigers to show they are potential College Football Playoff contenders now that the playoff field has been expanded to 12 teams.

Thursday, August 29

Western Carolina at No. 24 NC State (-33.5) (7 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

Murray State at No. 11 Missouri (-48) (8 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

Lindenwood at No. 22 Kansas (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Southern Utah at No. 12 Utah (-38) (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Friday, August 30

Temple at No. 16 Oklahoma (-43) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Saturday, August 31

No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia (-13.5) (Noon ET, ABC)

No. 8 Penn State (-8.5) at West Virginia (Noon ET, Fox)

Illinois State at No. 25 Iowa (-22.5) (Noon ET, Big Ten Network)

Chattanooga at No. 15 Tennessee (-38.5) (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

South Dakota State at No. 17 Oklahoma State (-10) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Akron at No. 2 Ohio State (-50.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)

Colorado State at No. 4 Texas (-32.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

No. 19 Miami (-2.5) at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Western Kentucky at No. 5 Alabama (-31.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Furman at No. 6 Ole Miss (-42) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

UT Martin at No. 18 Kansas State (-36) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Idaho at No. 3 Oregon (-43.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M (-3) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Fresno State at No. 9 Michigan (-21.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

New Mexico at No. 21 Arizona (-30.5) (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Sunday, September 1

No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU (-4.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Monday, September 2

Boston College at No. 10 Florida State (-17) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

The first Top 25 clash of the 2024 season carries more stakes after the events of Week 0.

The Clemson Tigers have to see an opportunity in front of them to win the ACC after Florida State struggled with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Ireland.

That might provide some extra motivation for Dabo Swinney's team to keep it close in Atlanta with top-ranked Georgia.

The last meeting between the two sides in 2021 was a defensive stalemate in which UGA won 10-3.

More than 13 points should be scored in Atlanta on Saturday, but that gives an idea how hard it is for even the most consistent college football programs to score on the Bulldogs defense.

Georgia can match Clemson in the motivation department because it is out to prove that it is still the top program in the sport after not reaching the CFB Playoff last season.

The Bulldogs have the better quarterback in Carson Beck and a superior defense, but if Clemson can at least hang within the two-touchdown spread, the Tigers can go into the rest of their schedule with confidence they can hang with the sport's elite.

Only in the new era of college football can you have the situation that Notre Dame and Texas A&M face on Saturday.

New A&M head coach Mike Elko coached new Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard at Duke last season.

Leonard departed Durham as part of the program overhaul once Elko left for College Station. He is the second former ACC quarterback in a row that Notre Dame hopes it can turn into a star. The Sam Hartman experiment did not go as planned last season.

Elko's defensive background and familiarity with Leonard could help the Aggies start 2024 off with a home win.

However, do not expect many points on Saturday night because of Elko's defensive expertise and the offensive situations.

Leonard will play in his first game in a new offense against his former head coach, while A&M may be limited due to an injury to running back Rueben Owens.

A&M will take a win over the Irish no matter which way it comes because it will start the Elko era off on a high note.

Notre Dame could use a quality win over an SEC foe since its ACC-heavy schedule does not look as strong as it normally does.

Sunday's USC-LSU clash should look much different than a potential showdown between the Trojans and Tigers would have last year.

Both teams were easy to score on for most of the 2023 campaign, but fixes should be made on each side to prevent that in 2024.

USC hired D'Anton Lynn from UCLA as its new defensive coordinator and LSU brought in Blake Baker, who was Missouri's defensive coordinator last season.

There's also adjustments to be made at quarterback after Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels departed through the NFL draft.

USC's Miller Moss and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier both threw for over 300 yards last year in bowl games, but Moss may be better equipped to start 2024 on a high note.

Moss also has more offensive weapons to work with because LSU sent Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas to the NFL.

Both teams would love a win to earn a quality victory ahead of tough conference stretches, but at least right now, USC seems best equipped to hit the ground running on offense.

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