We’re around three months away from Week 1 of the 2025 college football season, so we can officially look forward to the early-season marquee matchups. Preseason projections will soon give way to the real turnouts on the field, but as it stands today, we can get excited for some good football in the first official week of the season.
Biggest Matchups To Watch in Week 1 of the 2025 College Football Season
Big matchups early in the season give us a glimpse into what could eventually be playoff games in the winter. Let’s look at some Week 1 games that should be marked on your calendar.
Texas vs. Ohio State
In Week 1, we get a rematch of last season’s Cotton Bowl, which went to the eventual national champion, Ohio State. These two teams have only faced off two other times, and to this point, they have split.
This game features two quarterbacks who are both replacing guys who were drafted in April. The Arch Manning era will officially begin in Texas, and Julian Sayin looks like the most likely candidate to be the new man in charge at Ohio State.
It’s hard to imagine this game won’t be a primetime game, as it features the two teams with the most favorable odds to win this year’s national title. This will be the game of the week in Week 1.
ESPN BET has Ohio State at -3 currently.
LSU vs. Clemson
This game has already been slotted for a 7:30 ET kickoff on ABC and could also feature two playoff teams. These two have played four times in their history, and the Tigers hold a 3-1 record, including a win in the last matchup in 2020.
Clemson is coming off a better 2024 season and will look to turn the tide in this series at home as quarterback Cade Klubnik looks to take another step this season. LSU coach Brian Kelly has never faced Clemson while at LSU, but he was 1-3 against them at Notre Dame.
ESPN BET has Clemson -2.5 currently.
Notre Dame vs. Miami
We go from Brian Kelly’s current team to his old team, Notre Dame. The Irish are fresh off a national title loss, and the Hurricanes look to rebound from an electric season that ended on a very sour note.
This once-storied matchup hasn’t had a new installment since 2017, when Miami won the game. The Irish have been the better team in this series with a 17-8-1 record, and they look to have a better team in 2025. Notre Dame’s championship odds range between +1200 and +1400, while Miami’s odds are between +2800 and +3700.
Miami will host this prime-time matchup at 7:30 p.m. Newcomer Carson Beck is at quarterback now, as Miami looks to extend its series winning streak.
ESPN BET has Notre Dame -2.5 currently.
TCU vs. North Carolina
Bill Belichick makes his college football head coaching debut in Chapel Hill against TCU. The Tar Heels are 3-0 in this series, and they haven’t met in 28 years, so there isn’t a lot of history.
UNC is coming off a losing season, while TCU finished with a more than respectable 9-4 record in 2024. TCU lost a couple of high-end playmakers, but they still look to be a competitive team in 2025. However, this game is really all about Belichick.
Since the hiring, Bill has been in the headlines nationwide for virtually every reason imaginable, but he and UNC are looking to make the right kind of noise on the field this fall.
ESPN BET has UNC -2.5 currently.
Georgia Tech vs. Colorado
Last but not least, we will see the new-look Colorado Buffaloes in prime time on Friday of Week 1. Colorado saw four players drafted in 2025, most notably Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, leaving a massive void to fill.
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Coach Deion Sanders was active again in the transfer portal, and ESPN ranked Colorado with the 12th-best transfer class this offseason. Sanders is looking to build on the growth from 2024, and Georgia Tech looks to improve on a winning season with an important Week 1 road game in the first-ever matchup between these two.
ESPN BET has Georgia Tech at -3.5 currently.
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