College Football is here!
College football’s Week Zero brought us a couple of fun matchups, most relevantly the big Memphis win at UNLV. But, blessedly, Week One is finally here, and we can stop talking about restraining orders and transfer portals and dig into a full weekend of college football.
Here are five games I’ll have my eyes on this weekend.
1. Arkansas State at Memphis
Saturday, 6:00 p.m., ESPN+
The Tigers wowed everyone in week zero, and now they get to return home to break in a freshly renovated Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. I’m interested to see if the Memphis defense can continue the dominant line play they unlocked in the second half against UNLV, or if that was a function of UNLV’s injuries and shaky QB play. And speaking of QBs, while we’ve heaped praise on the Memphis defense, let’s not forget Memphis quarterback Marcus Stokes, who improved as the game went along and threw for 123 yards and a TD in the second half.
2. Clemson at #11 LSU
Saturday, 6:30 p.m., ABC
This is probably the biggest matchup this weekend, although not necessarily for football reasons. LSU has been the driving force behind much of the controversy in college football over the last few months, from poaching Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss to leading a legal charge to allow NFL players to play college football. (Which is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds.) Clemson isn’t expected to be as strong as they’ve been in past years, so this game may not be as close as an impartial viewer might hope. But will LSU be as dominant as they dreamed they’d be under Coach Kiffin? That journey starts here.
3. #24 Louisville vs #9 Ole Miss
Sunday, 6:30 p.m., ABC
This is the only game between two ranked teams this weekend. While the spotlight this offseason has been on Kiffin, his former team, Ole Miss, has mostly been under the radar. They had a terrific season last year, capped by a playoff run. The Landsharks return star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, although they lost the offensive coordinator who called plays a season ago. Ole Miss may have the bigger names, but keep an eye on Louisville RB Isaac Brown, who led the country last season with 8.8 yards per carry. This one should be high-scoring, at least.
4. SMU at Florida State
Monday, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
I spent last Saturday night with a friend with Florida State ties, so we ended up with the New Mexico State/FSU game on the TV all afternoon. If you look at the final score—FSU won 34-17—it seems like another boring early season blowout. But this game was much closer than the score suggests, and I’m not convinced Mike Norvell has overcome the bugaboos that have defined his time at Florida State. SMU might not be as well known, but they are favored in this game by 3 points.
5. Tennessee State at Georgia
Saturday, 2:00 p.m., SEC Network
Thanks to a family visit over the long weekend, I will be in attendance at this game on Saturday in Athens, where the temperature is projected to reach 100 degrees. Last week in Los Angeles, the USC Trojans began their season in front of less people than saw The Odyssey, in part because of the sweltering 91-degree heat. Yet, we already know Sanford Stadium in Athens will be full on Saturday, despite the heat. I’m not saying we are built different in the South, but we are. Because to us, it just means more.
Odds and Ends…
- This is a fun game: How well can you remember colors?…
- The winners of the 2026 iPhone photo awards. Surprisingly, none of my pictures of my dog made the cut…
- Scientists have reconstructed what a Jurassic-era forest might have sounded like. Call me crazy, but it sounds sorta like…a forest?…
- These scientists have been busy: They also discovered six mystery structures inside the Earth!…
- Got sucked into this 9-minute video about how pencils are made…
- Football is here, and it’s a long weekend. You should make wings on the grill or in the oven. Do it!