College Football Week 1 preview

The first season of the 12-team College Football Playoff has high anticipation going into the first full week, and many contending teams face tough opponents immediately.

Rivalries will be renewed, new faces will be looking to make strong first impressions for their programs and more as the 2024 college football season begins for many teams.

Power Four Game of the Week: (7) Notre Dame vs. (20) Texas A&M: Saturday, August 31, 7:30 p.m. EST, ABC

The Mike Elko era in College Station begins with a matchup against the Fighting Irish and Elko’s old quarterback at Duke, Riley Leonard.

Leonard threw for 4,069 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushed for 1,051 yards and 17 more touchdowns in 20 games in two seasons in Durham under Elko, but he’ll have to mesh with a new supporting cast quickly.

Clemson transfer Beaux Collins will offer some juice in the Irish passing game, but Notre Dame will have to replace 1,300-yard rusher Audric Estime and No. 5 overall draft pick Joe Alt at left tackle, among other positions.

Notre Dame's projected starting left tackle, Charles Jagsuah, suffered a season-ending pectoral injury on August 5, which bodes well for Purdue transfer Nic Scourton, Shemar Turner and the rest of Texas A&M’s solid defensive front.

The Aggies return quarterback Conner Weigman, who played only four games in 2023 due to a foot injury but he’ll have a tough matchup against AP Second-Team Preseason All-American Benjamin Morrison and the Irish secondary.

Texas A&M also lost a key offensive piece to injury, with former five-star running back Rueben Owens likely out for the season following a foot injury during an August 17 scrimmage.

Group of Five Game of the Week: Boise State vs. Georgia Southern: Saturday, August 31, 4:00 p.m., ESPNU

Boise State, the 2023 Mountain West champions, led by AP Second-Team Preseason All-American running back Ashton Jeanty, got the most votes out of any Group of Five program in the AP Preseason Poll with 47, making them a leading Group of Five CFP contender.

The Broncos named redshirt sophomore Maddux Madsen, who threw for 1,191 yards and nine touchdowns in nine games in 2023, their starting quarterback on August 18 over USC transfer Malachi Nelson.

Georgia Southern began 2023 by going 6-2 but collapsed, ending the season on a five-game losing streak, and they lost starting quarterback Davis Brin to graduation.

In a Sun Belt that features CFP contender Appalachian State, it’ll be tough for Georgia Southern to make noise, but this game would be how they would do it.

Under-the-Radar Game of the Week: Boston College vs. (10) Florida State: Monday, September 2, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

The Seminoles suffered an upset at the hands of Georgia Tech, losing 24-21 in Dublin, Ireland on a 44-yard field goal by Aidan Birr as time expired.

The Yellow Jackets almost doubled Florida State’s rushing yardage, running for 190 compared to the Seminoles’ 98.

Now down a game in the ACC standings, the Seminoles head home to face a team that gave them trouble in their 2023 matchup, as they escaped with a 31-29 win in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts on September 16, 2023.

In that game, Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos had a field day, throwing for 305 yards as he almost brought them back from a 21-point third-quarter deficit.

Castellanos returns for 2024 under new head coach Bill O’Brien, who was most recently the offensive coordinator of the NFL’s New England Patriots.

An offensive line led by potential All-ACC tackle Ozzy Trapilo protects Castellanos and opens holes for ballcarriers like former Seminole Treshaun Ward.

Potential Upset of the Week: West Virginia over (8) Penn State, Saturday, August 31, noon, FOX, CommRadio

Big Noon Kickoff comes to Morgantown to begin the 2024 season, and the Mountaineers will seek revenge after falling to the Nittany Lions 38-15 in State College on September 2, 2023.

Penn State welcomes back most of its core skill players, most notably running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, as well as plenty of defensive playmakers such as defensive end Abdul Carter but the pressure is on quarterback Drew Allar.

Allar flourished against West Virginia in his best outing of 2023, throwing for 325 yards and three touchdowns, but the chance to watch the film of that game may offer West Virginia and head coach Neal Brown an opportunity to make adjustments.

The Mountaineers may have lost center Zach Frazier to the NFL, but they return plenty of skill players, including running backs C.J. Donaldson and Jaheim White and quarterback Garrett Greene.

Greene threw for 2,406 yards and 16 touchdowns and ran for 772 yards and 13 scores in 12 games in 2023.

Perhaps this game’s X-factor will be how well the Nittany Lion offense works under new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who previously held the same role at Kansas.

You can tune into CommRadio and listen to all the action from Morgantown.

Other Games to Watch

(14) Clemson vs. (1) Georgia (in Atlanta): Saturday, August 31, noon, ABC

South Dakota State vs. (17) Oklahoma State: Saturday, August 31, 2:00 p.m., ESPN+

(19) Miami (FL) vs. Florida: Saturday, August 31, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Fresno State vs. (9) Michigan: Saturday, August 31, 7:30 p.m., NBC

(23) USC vs. (13) LSU (in Las Vegas): Sunday, September 1, 7:30 p.m., ABC

Owen Klein is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ojk5092@psu.edu.