No. 21 Ole Miss vs. Georgia State: 49-3. Ole Miss wins (Russ Eddins)
The mostly-new Rebel football team should have no trouble with Georgia State before getting to SEC play in Week 2 against Kentucky. The Rebels take on Georgia State for the first time in program history this Saturday.
Quarterback Austin Simmons will get his first start of his college career. Ole Miss only returns four starters from last year so this will be Rebel fans’ first chance to see the new look roster.
Last year, Ole Miss’ running game was weak. The team averaged 175.7 rushing yards per game, good for No. 44 in the country. The new running back room is led by Logan Diggs (No. 22) and Kewan Lacy (No. 5).
The passing game was amazing last year and this year’s receiver room is one of the deepest in the nation. Returner Cayden Lee and transfers De’Zhaun Stribling (No. 1) and Harrison Wallace III (No. 2) will lead a fantastic group of receivers.
Ole Miss had arguably the best defensive line in 2024-25. They led the nation in tackles for loss with 120 and were third in sacks with 52. Linebacker and edge rusher Suntarine Perkins, who had 10.5 sacks last year, is the lead returner for the defense.
Transfers Princewill Umanmielen (No. 16) — the brother of Princely Umanmielen — and De’Shawn Womack (No. 15), will join homegrown talents Cam Clark (No. 35), Kam Franklin (No. 5), Will Echoles (No. 52) and Jamarious Brown (No. 96) to hopefully replace last year’s production. Returner Zxavian Harris will also be a major factor.
Ole Miss will have to stop quarterback Christian Veilleux, who threw for over 2,000 yards last year. Their running back room is led by senior transfer and former Rebel Rashad Amos. He had nine carries for 75 yards last year.
No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State: 38-31. Texas wins (Will Wright)
Texas wants revenge. Ohio State wants to remind everyone they are still the standard. Something has to give.
College football does not usually wait long to deliver drama, but this year, it wastes no time at all. On the first Saturday of the season, fans get a playoff rematch: No. 1 Texas vs. No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
They clashed in last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal, a back-and-forth slugfest that Ohio State sealed with an 83-yard fumble return in the final minutes. The Buckeyes went on to claim the national title, while Texas was left with heartbreak.
Now, the Longhorns get their shot at redemption, and it comes in the toughest environment possible: a packed Ohio Stadium, with a roaring fanbase hoping to continue their dominant home record.
For Texas, Arch Manning will step into the fire. The redshirt sophomore carries the weight of the No. 1 ranking, the Longhorn legacy and the expectations of a fanbase that believes this is the year.
Across the field, Julian Sayin gets his own introduction. The redshirt freshman and former five-star recruit beat out Lincoln Kienholz for the starting job, inheriting the keys to a championship roster. With weapons everywhere and one of the nation’s deepest defenses behind him, Sayin just needs to avoid big mistakes and allow the former championship roster to do what it does best.
It is only Week 1, but the implications are massive. The winner gets a playoff-quality win on its résumé before Labor Day. The loser? Still alive — but suddenly on a much thinner margin for error. This is the kind of game college football lives for.
No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami: 20-14. Notre Dame wins (Nate Donohue)
Will there be some big plays in this game? Undoubtedly. But Notre Dame is stronger in the trenches, and that will ultimately make the biggest difference. The Fighting Irish win this game by one-score.
Miami made a splash in the portal when former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck committed to the Hurricanes. In his two seasons as starter for the Bulldogs, Beck threw for nearly 7,500 yards, but he tends to get careless with the football. Beck also threw 12 interceptions last season.
Additionally, Beck is coming off a torn UCL, which he suffered in the SEC Championship game against Texas. The quarterback claims that his arm feels good as new, but against a stingy Irish secondary headed by smooth corner Leonard Moore, throwing will be no easy feat.
Notre Dame recently named redshirt freshman CJ Carr as the starting quarterback. A former four-star recruit, Carr lacks experience, but he is a downfield thrower who can burn the defense at a moment’s notice, per camp reports.
One of Carr’s top targets is Malachi Fields, a 6-foot-4-inch wide receiver who creates constant mismatches and had over 800 yards apiece in each of his past two seasons at Virginia. Still, former quarterback Riley Leonard will be difficult to replace, and Carr may struggle against a strong Miami front led by edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr.
The Fighting Irish will lean on the running game. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is one of the best players in the nation. Despite a lowly four carries for three yards in the National Championship last season, Love rushed for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.
Love is big, fast and makes the most of his touches: he averaged 6.9 yards per carry last season. Notre Dame’s offensive line — featuring center Ashton Craig and tackle/guard Charles Jagusah — is one of the strongest units in America.
No. 8 Alabama at FSU: 38-14. Alabama wins (Wilson Engeriser)
Football is back with a matchup of two storied programs with diehard fanbases that are looking to recover from unfortunate seasons last year. Alabama was extremely disappointing by Crimson Tide standards.
Florida State had similar troubles, but to a much larger degree. After going 12-0 in the regular season and winning the ACC Championship, they went 2-10 in 2024. This could be a make-or-break game for head coach Mike Norvell. After such a disappointing season, FSU brought in over 40 new players and will try to make drastic improvements to return to their 2023 form.
Playing at their offensive best, FSU should be more balanced, using many RPOs and option plays to influence the line of scrimmage while relying heavily on Boston College transfer Thomas Castellanos as a dual-threat quarterback.
One of Alabama’s biggest weaknesses last season was an inefficient offense. Their rushing numbers were mediocre, ranking No. 47 in rushing yards per game nationally, which was influenced by quarterback Jalen Milroe being their leading rusher with 726 yards.
There are many questions still surrounding this rushing game, especially since starting running back Jam Miller will miss the FSU game due to injury. This leaves inexperienced players like Richard Young and Daniel Hill who have a combined 231 collegiate rushing yards to try to lead the attack.
With Milroe gone to the NFL, Ty Simpson steps in as QB1 for the Tide. He had an excellent fall camp; however, this is his fourth year, and he has yet to see any extensive playing time.
There is some concern about how Simpson can handle the spotlight. With star wideout Ryan Williams and returning senior Germie Bernard the passing game will thrive.
On the other hand, FSU is looking to rebuild instead of reload, which is helped by having the sixth best transfer portal class in the nation. Their offense took a major jump after bringing in Castellanos at quarterback and pass catchers Duce Robinson from USC and Squirrel White from Tennessee.
Georgia Tech at Colorado: 31-21. Georgia Tech wins (Tanner Shapiro)
Georgia Tech will win this game in a tight battle. The Buffalo defense will fail to contain King both on the ground and in the air and Tech will leave Colorado with a Power Four win.
The Yellow Jackets will travel to Boulder, Colo., to play the Buffaloes this Friday. Colorado lost multiple talented players to the NFL Draft, including wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Georgia Tech ended last season with a 7-6 record including a close loss in overtime to Georgia.
The Yellow Jackets bring back many key players, such as dual-threat quarterback Haynes King, who ran for 11 touchdowns and threw for 14 in 2024-25.
Colorado’s uncertainty at quarterback shows that the coaching staff lacks faith in Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter. Still, the offensive line — and the defense as a whole — should perform better this season.
