The last time the college football season kicked off as early as August 24 was 2019 when Miami and Florida met in Orlando to commence the 150th season of the sport. While the Hurricanes and Gators open their seasons in Gainesville, it is another team from the Sunshine State that will play a part in kicking off 2024.
Here is a look at this weekend’s ACC matchup in Dublin and a handful of key Week 1 games over the Labor Day weekend.
August 24: No. 10 Florida State vs Georgia Tech (Dublin)
September 2: Boston College at No. 10 Florida State
How well did Mike Norvell reload after his quarterback, top three receivers, leading rusher and two leading tacklers departed? We will have a very good idea by the time Labor Day weekend concludes.
An overseas trip to open the season Saturday and having to get right back at it with another ACC matchup Labor Day evening poses a number of challenges out of the chute. That includes both opponents, which showed much improvement last season.
Brent Key had a nice first year as a head coach in leading the Yellow Jackets to a 7-6 mark, the program’s first winning season since 2018. All arrows continue to point up for Tech which, led by quarterback Haynes King, returns most of last season’s production.
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Bill O’Brien returned to the collegiate coaching ranks when he took over for Jeff Hafley in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles return most starters on both sides of scrimmage following a 7-6 season that included a 31-29 loss to the host Seminoles in the conference opener. O’Brien did a nice job in working the portal by reeling in experienced running backs and receivers.
Thursday, August 29
North Dakota State at Colorado
A team that needs a hot start? Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes accomplished just that last season in opening 3-0 before going 1-8 the rest of the way. Sanders’ second season gets underway in Boulder against the FCS powerhouse Bison, winner of nine national titles in a recent 11-season (2011-21) stretch. During that run, NDSU won all six games against FBS opponents, including Minnesota, Kansas State, Iowa State and what was No. 13 Iowa. (Arizona snapped the six-game streak in 2021 in a contest the Bison led going into the fourth quarter before losing, 31-28.)
The Bison open the season No. 2 in the FCS with Tim Polasek, who has four championship rings from his time as an assistant in Fargo, running the program. Colorado, back in the Big 12, has great talent at the glamour positions, including the addition of receiver and return specialist LaJohntay Wester from FAU. It is the play up front on both sides of the ball that will be under the spotlight, especially a rebuilt offensive line after CU placed next-to-last nationally last season in yielding 56 sacks.
August 31: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 14 Clemson (Atlanta)
The Bulldogs opened at No. 5 and the Tigers at No. 3 when they last met in the 2021 season opener in Charlotte. A 10-3 UGA victory featured all of 436 yards between the teams. Kirby Smart’s squad, of course, went on to win the first of two straight national titles and Clemson had its first three-loss season since 2014.
This time around, the Bulldogs are coming off a 13-1 season with the only loss to Alabama in the SEC championship game while Dabo Swinney’s Tigers lost four games for the first time since 2011. National title expectations are high once again in Athens with Heisman candidate Carson Beck at quarterback and what should again be a smothering defense.
Questions in Death Valley include whether QB Cade Klubnik can step up into the elite category after his first full season as a starter, and if a defense that lost several key parts can once again be, well, elite.
No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia
It was 11 years ago when the former Eastern rivals announced they would play a home-in-home in 2023 and 2024. The Nittany Lions make their first trip to Morgantown since 1992 when Joe Paterno and Don Nehlen were on the respective sidelines. That was also last meeting between the schools prior to last season’s matchup in State College, a 38-15 Penn State victory.
The Nittany Lions, who have dominated the series 49-9-2, are expected to make the cut with an expanded playoff. While such chances will likely come down to snapping a seven-game slide against Ohio State and/or a three-game losing streak to Michigan, James Franklin’s team will have its hands full in this opener.
Meanwhile, Neal Brown, whose seat was getting warm heading into last season, led the Mountaineers to their first nine-win campaign since 2016 and only second bowl win since 2015. As a result, he had his contract extended one year to 2027. While a win would, of course, be the best case, WVU needs to at least play a solid 60 minutes of football in what is sure to be a raucous atmosphere.
No. 19 Miami at Florida
As noted at the top of this column, the in-state rivals last met in 2019 when they kicked off the 150th season of college football in Orlando. Both teams open 2024 with much to prove. Gator Nation wants to see that everything is looking up at the start of Billy Napier’s third season in Gainesville after a pair of sub-.500 disappointments. More to the point, UF needs a strong start to a schedule that includes trips to Tennessee, Texas and Florida State, visits from UCF (you know Gus Malzahn’s Knights will be fired up), Kentucky, LSU and Ole Miss and the clash with Georgia in Jacksonville.
Speaking of disappointments, the ‘Canes have been a middling outfit (40-34) the past six seasons and have seemingly invented ways to lose games — see Middle Tennessee in 2022 and Georgia Tech last year. While the Gators must have a strong start to Napier’s third season, Miami needs to at least be on the fringe of the national conversation as a potential playoff team in what is also Mario Cristobal’s third season. A win in the Swamp, even against a Florida team that has been down the last couple of years, would provide an immediate boost.
The winning team will bask in the glow for at least a week while the loser will face a lengthy list of questions and doubts. The Hurricanes lead the all-time series 29-27.
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M
This matchup in College Station is oozing with subplots. Mike Elko makes his A&M head coaching debut against his former quarterback at Duke, Riley Leonard. The senior transferred to Notre Dame in December after three seasons with the Blue Devils, the last two under Elko. Elko served as Jimbo Fisher’s defensive coordinator at A&M for four seasons (2018-21) before accepting his first head coaching gig at Duke.
Adding to the storylines is that Leonard’s 2023 season was cut short due to an ankle injury sustained against, you guessed it, the Irish. He has had a healthy preseason after he was largely a bystander during spring drills. Speaking of ankle injuries, Elko has turned to Connor Weigman, who is back running the Aggies’ offense after missing more than half of last season with his own ankle problems.
Sunday, September 1
No. 13 LSU vs No. 23 USC (Las Vegas)
The Trojans make their Big Ten debut in what will be the third meeting between the teams. The most recent was 1984 when LSU won in Baton Rouge five years to the day of the first meeting in 1979 when USC won at the Coliseum. With the last two Heisman winners, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and USC’s Caleb Williams in the NFL, the page has turned to Miller Moss at SoCal and Garrett Nussmeier in Baton Rouge. Both impressed last bowl season when their predecessors were getting ready for the draft.
Even with Williams and other playmakers (WR Tahj Washington among them) departed, Moss and the rest of the Trojans’ offense should provide a test for a Tigers’ defense that ranked 106th (417 yards) last season. Brian Kelly attempted to remedy that side of the ball by hiring coordinator Blake Baker, who was Missouri’s DC the last two seasons after serving as LSU’s linebackers coach under Ed Orgeron in 2021.
