It’s not quite December yet, but Saturday should feel like Christmas morning as we unpack the 2022 college football season with some mighty week one matchups featuring multiple national title contenders.
No. 2 Ohio State finishes No. 5 Hosting Notre Dame in Fighting Irish trainer Marcus Freeman’s season debut. Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner will make his first start under center, but he has the unenviable task of playing shot after shot with Heisman Trophy favorite CJ Stroud for the Buckeyes.
Elsewhere, No. 3 Georgia will make a one-hour trip west and have their national title defense against No. 11 Oregon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; No.7 Utah will take on Florida on Coach Billy Napier’s debut at The Swamp; and No. 23 Cincinnati will hit the road to face No. 19 Arkansas.
It’s going to be a busy day between the white lines. Here’s a handy viewer’s guide to help you navigate through the action.
All times Easter
The best games
#11 Oregon vs. #3 Georgia – 3:30 p.m. on ABC, fuboTV (try for free): Georgia’s defense accidentally lost five first-round picks to the NFL draft and its defensive coordinator to Oregon. Dan Lanning has taken on a Ducks program with college football playoff ambitions, and the team is led by former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, who is 3-0 in his career against the Bulldogs. If the Ducks can hang, that’s a big statement not just for Lanning’s team, but for the Pac-12 as a whole.
#23 Cincinnati in #19 Arkansas – 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, fuboTV (try free): The Bearcats became the first team in the Group of Five to make the playoffs last season but lost a small village of stars on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Desmond Ridder, by draft. Luke Fickell’s roster has CFP hopes again, but it’ll have to go through a tough Razorbacks team to create that opportunity. If you like smash mouth football, this is for you.
UTEP in No. 9 Oklahoma – 3:30 p.m. on Fox, fuboTV (try for free): Ex-Clemson defense coordinator Brent Venables had his first try at running a big program when he was hired by the Sooners, and job #1 is getting his defense to play at the elite level. The offense shouldn’t take a huge step back given the firepower available, including former UCF signal caller Dillon Gabriel, and a decent defense could catapult the Sooners back into “contender” status.
Rice at No. 14 USC – 6 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks, fuboTV (try for free): The game itself was supposed to be a no-brainer, but Trojans coach Lincoln Riley’s decision to leave Oklahoma to attend the most famous Pac-12 program of all time was one of the most surprising moves of the coaching summer slump. He brought along star quarterback Caleb Williams and opened his doors to several other studs in the transfer portal. Is USC a contender or pretender? On Saturday afternoon we will get an impression.
#7 Utah in Florida – 7 p.m. on ESPN, fuboTV (try free): The Utes are a trendy choice to make the college football playoff and a win at The Swamp would go a long way in impressing the CFP selection committee. Napier has a potential star under center in Gators QB Anthony Richardson and it will be fascinating to see him incorporate a running play against a tough Utes defense alongside Richardson.
#5 Notre Dame at #2 Ohio State – 7:30 p.m. on ABC, fuboTV (try for free): The Horseshoe should rock on Saturday night as the high-flying Buckeye offense – led by Stroud and stud wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba – will face off against a Fighting Irish team who are 17.5-point underdogs. Freeman made sure that spread this week, and it’s rare that a national title contender goes into a big game on the opening weekend with so little respect.
The best of the rest
- Sam Houston at No. 6 Texas A&M: Midday on SEC Network, fuboTV (try for free)
- Colorado State at No. 8 Michigan: Noon on ABC, fuboTV (try free)
- No. 13 NC State in East Carolina: Noon on ESPN, fuboTV (try free)
- Delaware at Navy: Noon on CBS Sports Network (find channel), CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
- Bethune-Cookman at #16 Miami: 3:30 p.m. on ACC Network, fuboTV (try free)
- #24 Houston at UTSA: 3:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network (find channel), CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
- Arizona, in the state of San Diego: 3:30 p.m. on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (free)
- Troy at #21 Ole Miss: 4 p.m. on SEC Network, fuboTV (try free)
- #25 BYU at USF: 4 p.m. on ESPNU, fuboTV (try for free)
- Albany at No. 10 Baylor: 7 p.m. on ESPN+
- Illinois State at No. 18 Wisconsin: 7 p.m. on FS1, fuboTV (try for free)
- Miami (Ohio) in No. 20 Kentucky: 7 p.m. on ESPN+
- Utah State at No. 1 Alabama: 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network, fuboTV (try free)
- SMU in North Texas: 7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network (find channel), CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
- Boise State at Oregon State: 10:30 p.m. on ESPN, fuboTV (try free)
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