The Ultimate Guide to Week 1 of the 2025 College Football Season

By Owen Pannell | KZA Sports

The full college football season is upon us, and CFB fans couldn’t be more excited. Here is all you need to be ready for Week 1 of the 2025 college football season.

Biggest Games

1. Texas at Ohio State (-1.5) - 12:00 pm ET

This game has been talked about since it was announced: No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State. The defending champs vs. the wannabe champs. Arch Manning’s first real test as a starter—if he balls out, the hype will be proven true. The Shoe will be absolutely nuts, and the Buckeyes are not willing to lose this game. Their elite defense, led by top CFB safety Caleb Downs, will be all over Manning and the unproven Texas offense. I expect it to be a defensive battle—we’ll see who I pick later.

2. LSU at Clemson (-4) - 7:30 pm ET

In my opinion, the winner of this game is the best team in the country. Yes, that’s an unpopular opinion, but I think Clemson is currently the best team, and if LSU goes into Clemson and gets a win, they’ve earned the No. 1 spot in my eyes. They’re 1 and 4, respectively, in my personal top 25, but in the AP they are 4 and 9. It’ll be the battle of top QBs—both Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier can make a case for being the best. It’s gonna be a great game and a great nightcap to an already loaded slate.

3. Notre Dame (-2.5) at Miami - 7:30 pm ET Sunday

Traditional Sunday game on Labor Day weekend—this one will be fun. In my opinion, Miami is fraudulent, but they have a chance to prove they aren’t against a very good Notre Dame team coming off a National Title appearance. CJ Carr will have a nice test in his first start; it’ll be interesting to see if they made the right choice picking him over Kenny Minchey. Miami lost a lot of talent, but they believe Carson Beck will have a big year and finally get them a playoff appearance.

4. Alabama (-13.5) at Florida State - 3:30 pm ET

I fully expect Alabama to run away with this game, but Bama at Florida State is a big game no matter the talent of the teams. FSU QB Thomas Castellanos has been doing a lot of talking about this game, and it’s time to put his money where his mouth is. If the Seminoles make this a game, maybe last year was just a fluke—or Alabama just isn’t the same in the DeBoer era.

5. Auburn (-2.5) at Baylor - 8:00 pm ET Friday

This will be a great appetizer to the Saturday slate. We’ve been hearing a lot of negative buzz about Auburn recently, and it’s time to see what their QB situation is all about. Baylor could be one of the best Big 12 teams, and this is a huge game for them to win to prove that. It’s gonna be a fun environment in Waco and should be a great game.

Best Non-Saturday Games

If you’re like me, you love college football on days that aren’t Saturday, so here are the best games on each day to hold you over until we get there.

Thursday: Nebraska (-7) vs. Cincinnati - 9:00 pm ET

This game will be played in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and it’ll show us a lot about these teams. Nebraska has been getting a ton of hype, but Cincinnati isn’t a cupcake. It’ll be a good win and a great Thursday night game.

Friday: Georgia Tech (-4) at Colorado - 8:00 pm ET

I mentioned the Auburn-Baylor game already, so I’m talking about this one here. Colorado could have a good team this year—I really like the addition of Kaidon Salter. They have good skill-position guys and a solid O-line. However, there are questions about the defense, and going against a good Georgia Tech offense could be trouble.

Sunday: Virginia Tech at South Carolina (-8) - 3:00 pm ET

Similar to the Friday game I picked, I already talked about Notre Dame vs. Miami. South Carolina looks to make a CFP appearance, and that starts here vs. the Hokies. They are clearly the better team, but Kyron Drones is an experienced playmaker at QB who could cause some trouble.

Monday: TCU (-3) at North Carolina - 8:00 pm ET

The first game of the Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill, and they’ve got a tough opponent in TCU. The Horned Frogs are one of the more underrated teams in the Big 12 in my opinion, and Josh Hoover is an experienced QB who could definitely light up this UNC secondary. It’ll be a good one, and it could really go either way.

Biggest Storylines

• Is Arch Manning legit? Obviously you’ve heard the hype surrounding Texas redshirt sophomore QB Arch Manning—but is it legit? He is very unproven, starting in two games in 2024 against very poor teams. Ohio State’s defense will be all over him, and in Columbus it will be really hard for him to get going. If he plays well, the Longhorns might actually have a Heisman-caliber QB.

  
  

• How good is the LSU O-line? One of the biggest question marks about LSU entering the season is their offensive line. Going up against potentially the best D-line in CFB, they need to play well to have a chance to win this game. If they aren’t good this season, LSU’s great roster could be wasted.

  
  

• Bryce Underwood. The true freshman plays in his first-ever college football game on Saturday. He should look good against New Mexico, but he goes to Norman in Week 2. He needs to get good reps this week, or he’s going to be in for a rude awakening next Saturday.

  
  

• Bill Belichick. Coaching in college is a whole different animal than coaching in the NFL. Coach Belichick will have a big test in his first-ever college game, and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles it.

  
  

• Colorado. Coach Prime is going into his third year at Colorado, and this time he doesn’t have his son or Travis Hunter. How will he perform without stars? The roster is still very good, and I like what they got in the portal, but with a good Georgia Tech team coming to town, it’ll really show what they’ve got.

Players to Watch

1. Arch Manning – Texas QB - We’ve talked about this dude ad nauseam so far, but he’s arguably the biggest part of Week 1. I expect him to be pretty bad against the Buckeyes, but we’ll see what happens.

   
   

2. Cade Klubnik – Clemson QB & Garrett Nussmeier – LSU QB - Just like in the Week 0 preview, I’m combining two QBs who play each other. The battle between these two is going to be cinema, and whoever comes out on top will likely be an early leader in the Heisman race.

   
   

3. Jeremiyah Love – Notre Dame RB - Widely viewed as the best back in the country, the Irish will need Love to go nuts vs. the Hurricanes. In a run-first offense, Love should have a great season—potentially first-rounder level—and it all starts Sunday.

   
   

4. John Mateer – Oklahoma QB - Mateer is considered a top-5 QB, transferring to OU from Washington State, and even though it’s against Illinois State, it will be interesting to see how he performs. I want to see at least five TDs from the guy, who will likely only play 2–3 quarters.

   
   

5. Caleb Downs – Ohio State S - Downs is the best safety in college football—there’s no doubt about that. If he can disrupt the Texas passing game, get a couple of deflections, and maybe an interception, that would go a long way in getting the Buckeyes a win.

   
   

6. True Freshman Starting QBs - Bryce Underwood, Bear Bachmeier, Malik Washington, and Jaron-Keawe Sagapulotele are all true freshmen starting at QB for a Power 4 school. Watching them in their first-ever game will be interesting. Cal plays Oregon State, so it’ll be a good test for Sagapulotele, but the rest of them play cupcakes.

   
   

7. Jeremiah Smith – Ohio State WR - Obviously, I have to mention the best player in CFB. Smith is going against one of the best defenses in the country, and with a new starting quarterback it won’t be easy. If he can rack up over 100 yards, everyone should be very scared of this man.

   
   

8. Anthony Hill Jr. – Texas LB - Already the fourth member from this game I’ve mentioned, Hill needs to be a game-changer for the Horns. He should be flying all over the field, wrecking plays in the run and pass game. Texas needs him to be elite for them to win.

   
   

9. TJ Parker – Clemson DE - Parker should go nuts against this LSU offensive line. They are expected to be the weakness of that team, so if Parker can take advantage and make life miserable for Nussmeier, that would go a long way.

   
   

10. Zach Calzada – Kentucky QB - The Wildcats are only 7.5-point favorites vs. Toledo. Recently named starter Zach Calzada must be good for Kentucky—losing to Toledo would be a very bad look. He’s on his fourth team, and this is his final chance to make an impression on the CFB world.

Game Predictions

After going a terrible 2-3 with 3 points in Week 0, I need to bounce back. I keep track of my record and points each week. If you want to play along, all you have to do is pick 25 games each week (you can do the same ones I do, or pick your own) and use #KZACFBpicks and post on X/Twitter. The winner each week gets a cash prize! The scoring system will be at the bottom of this article.

• Nebraska (-7) vs. Cincinnati: Nebraska - This will be a good game, but I think Nebraska will pull away with a good performance by Dylan Raiola.

  
  

• Boise State (-6.5) at South Florida: Boise State - South Florida is solid, but I just don’t believe they are on the same level as Boise State talent-wise.

  
  

• Auburn (-2.5) at Baylor: Baylor - Auburn has too many questions, especially at QB, for me to be comfortable picking them on the road vs. a good Baylor team.

  
  

• Georgia Tech (-4) at Colorado: Georgia Tech - Colorado will make this a game for sure, but I think the Yellow Jackets just outmatch them in the fourth quarter.

  
  

• Texas at Ohio State (-1.5): Ohio State - Texas is extremely unproven. I don’t feel as if they deserve the No. 1 spot, and Ohio State returns good talent from their National Title team.

  
  

• Syracuse at Tennessee (-13.5): Tennessee - It might be a rough start for the Vols, but I expect them to be able to pull it together in the second half and get this win.

  
  

• Northwestern at Tulane (-6): Northwestern - Tulane is a very good team, but I like Northwestern’s roster. Tulane lost some important pieces, so I’ve got the Wildcats in a road upset.

  
  

• Toledo at Kentucky (-7.5): Kentucky - Toledo might be one of the better G6 teams, but I don’t think they have the talent to beat the worst SEC team. Kentucky pulls away in the second half.

  
  

• Alabama (-13.5) at Florida State: Alabama - The Seminoles are surely going to be better than last year, but still not good enough to beat Alabama. Bama covers.

  
  

• LSU at Clemson (-4): Clemson - Clemson is the best team in the nation in my opinion, and at home I think they take care of the Tigers, who also have a top-5 roster in my eyes.

  
  

• California at Oregon State (-2): Oregon State - Cal lost a ton from last year, and I like this Beavers team. A true freshman on the road for his first career start isn’t great either.

  
  

• Hawai’i at Arizona (-17.5): Arizona - I don’t think they cover, but I do think Arizona will be able to beat a solid Hawai’i team coming off a good win vs. Stanford.

  
  

• Utah (-6.5) at UCLA: UCLA - Utah is overhyped in my opinion, and led by very talented QB Nico Iamaleava, I think the Bruins get this win at home.

  
  

• Colorado State at Washington (-22.5): Washington - This is gonna be closer than people think, but Colorado State doesn’t have the talent to hang with the Huskies.

  
  

• Virginia Tech at South Carolina (-8): South Carolina - The Gamecocks are in for a big year, and I’ve got them covering here vs. the Hokies to start it off right.

  
  

• Notre Dame (-2.5) at Miami: Notre Dame - The Irish are a better team than the Canes. Even at Miami, I think ND gets a great win to start off their quest for a championship.

  
  

• TCU (-3) at North Carolina: TCU - TCU will spoil Bill Belichick’s debut—UNC doesn’t have the roster to match the Horned Frogs. It’ll be a good game though.

  
  

• Ohio at Rutgers (-14.5): Ohio - A pretty big upset here—Parker Navarro and the Bobcats will pull off a big upset win at Rutgers.

  
  

• East Carolina at NC State (-14): NC State - I don’t love this NC State team, but they are still good enough to beat East Carolina.

  
  

• UNLV (-10) at Sam Houston: UNLV - This will be a tough game for the Rebels, but coming off a poor showing vs. Idaho State, I believe they can beat the Bearkats.

  
  

• Mississippi State (-12) at Southern Miss: Mississippi State - Jeff Lebby needs to have success in Year 2 with the Bulldogs, and I don’t see a way they lose to Southern Miss.

  
  

• Temple (-2.5) at UMass: Temple - Temple is plain better than UMass, so I think they’ll cover vs. the Minutemen.

  
  

• UTEP at Utah State (-6): Utah State - Veteran QB Bryson Barnes will bring the Aggies to a good Week 1 win vs. UTEP in the first game of the Bronco Mendenhall era.

  
  

• Georgia Southern at Fresno State (-1): Georgia Southern - I did not like what I saw from Fresno State last week, and I think they fall to 0-2 with a loss to Georgia Southern.

  
  

• Florida Atlantic at Maryland (-14.5): Maryland - Even though they have a true freshman at QB, Maryland will win this game.

KZA CFB picks Scoring System

• -35+ = 0.5 points

• -21.5–34.5 = 1 point

• -15.5–21 = 1.5 points

• -11–15 = 2 points

• -7–10.5 = 2.5 points

• -3.5–6.5 = 3 points

• -0.5–3 = 3.5 points

• +0.5–3 = 4.5 points

• +3.5–6.5 = 5 points

• +7–10.5 = 5.5 points

• +11–15 = 6 points

• +15.5–21 = 6.5 points

• +21.5–34.5 = 7.5 points

• +35+ = 10 points

You can find Owen Pannell on X here.

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