College Football Returns Saturday

After a long and crazy offseason, week zero of college football begins Saturday.

Who Plays

Saturday marks the first matchups of college football since the Georgia and Alabama national championship game.

Western Kentucky will host Austin Peay at noon to start off the campaign. Then, in the first power five matchup, Nebraska and Northwestern travel to Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, to face off in the seventh college football game in Ireland.

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Florida State also begins their season hosting Duquesne. The Seminoles missed an opportunity to play in a bowl game last year with a loss to Florida in their final game.

Staying in Florida, Florida Atlantic University starts its season with a game against Charlotte while Florida A&M and its game against North Carolina is in jeopardy as FA&M is having player eligibility issues, according to msn.com.

Also, Vanderbilt travels to Honolulu, Hawaii, to take on the Rainbow Warriors.

Week One Top-25 Matchups

The big day is Sept. 3, where three top-25 matchups take place. First, No. 3 Georgia hosts No. 11 Oregon starting at noon. Oregon had an early upset win against No. 3 Ohio State on the road last season and they’ll look to upset the reigning national champions in Atlanta.

Georgia vs Oregon is just 8 days away!!!

Want to know HOW and WHY #UGA is playing in this game? @JedMay_ sits down with Peach Bowl president and CEO Gary Stokan and finds out all…https://t.co/QA10sZhyTy#UGAvsOregon #chickfilakickoffgame

— Dave McMahon (@dave_mc_stats) August 26, 2022

No. 23 Cincinnati will travel to Arkansas to take on the No. 19 Razorbacks. The Bearcats were the first Group of Five team to make it into the college football playoff last season. Arkansas won five of its last six games to end the season, including a win against Penn State in the Outback Bowl.

Finally, a top-five matchup is set in Columbus, Ohio, between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame. Ohio State is coming off a Rose Bowl victory over Utah and will look to return to the College Football Playoff.

New head coach Marcus Freeman, who’s taking over for Brian Kelly, leads the Fighting Irish into a hostile Buckeye stadium.

Notre Dame and #OhioState under the lights…in 8 days!#Buckeyes 16.5-17.0 fav vs the Irish#GoBucks #BeatNotreDame pic.twitter.com/06YGmL0r28

— Buckeye Fans Only (@buckeyefansonly) August 26, 2022

Other Notable Games

In addition to the blockbuster matchups, some are flying under the radar.

Pittsburgh and West Virginia face off Thursday with College Gameday in attendance for pregame coverage.

The Gators host Utah in Gainesville for the second time in program. The Utes open up ranked seventh and gives Florida the opportunity to earn its first win against a top-10 opponent since defeating Georgia in 2020.

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The only Sunday game in week one will be Florida State traveling to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers.

Finally, to cap off week one, Georgia Tech is hosts Clemson at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta Sept 5.