1 of 6 | Running back Jamal Haynes (11) and Georgia Tech face Florida State in the first game of the 2024 college football season on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN. Photo by Danny Karnik/Georgia Tech Athletics
Aug. 23 (UPI) – The Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will be first to take the field to kick off the opening weekend of the 2024 college football season on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland.
Florida State and Georgia Tech will face off at Aviva Stadium on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. EDT. The season opener will be broadcast on ESPN.
“I think they’re going to do a really good job,” Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei told reporters Wednesday when asked about the Yellow Jackets.
“It will be a good game and a good test for us.”
Seven games are scheduled for Saturday. Most other college football programs begin their seasons next week. A full schedule with broadcast information is available on the NCAA website.
The Seminoles, who posted a 13-0 regular-season record in 2023, are 10.5-point favorites against the Yellow Jackets, who have not won more than nine games in a season since 2014.
“Game week is here,” Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key said. “Super excited. The team is excited. We’ve put in a lot of hard work since January. … This is a great opportunity for us.”
McNeese will face Tarletan State in its second game of the season at 3:30 p.m. in Stephenville, Texas. Coverage will be on ESPNU.
New Mexico hosts Montana State on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Albuquerque. The duel will be broadcast on FS1.
North Alabama will face Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama. The game will be televised on ESPN. Norfolk State will then play Florida A&M at 7:30 p.m. in Atlanta. Coverage will be on ABC.
Nevada hosts SMU in its next game at 8 p.m. in Reno, with coverage available on CBS Sports Network. Hawaii hosts Delaware State in the final game of the day, which will be played in Honolulu and aired at midnight on Spectrum Sports.
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are the biggest favorites (40.5) in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) on Saturday. SMU (25) and Montana State (12.5) are also expected to start the season with 1-0 records.
The 134 FBS teams will compete for seeding in the new 12-team College Football Playoff throughout the regular season. The first round of the new format begins on December 20. The quarterfinals begin on January 1, and the semifinals will be held on January 9 and 10. The College Football Playoff final will be held on January 20 in Atlanta.
In total, 17 of the top 25 teams will start the season on August 31, including No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Michigan, the defending champion.
The Bulldogs, who are ranked atop the standings and have won two of the last three national titles, will face the No. 14 Clemson Tigers in the first meeting of two highly ranked teams. The game, which features Georgia quarterback and Heisman candidate Carson Beck, is set to kick off at noon on Aug. 31 in Atlanta.
Other preseason Heisman favorites include Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.
Georgia and Ohio State are considered favorites for the national title. Other expected title contenders include Oregon, Texas, Ole Miss, Alabama, Notre Dame, LSU, Penn State, Florida State and Michigan.
Beck, Ewers, Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams, Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr., Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, LSU cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, LSU edge rusher Harold Perkins, offensive tackle Will Campbell, Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III and Michigan cornerback Will Johnson are among the players projected to be first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
According to On3.com, Sanders has the highest name, image and likeness value in college sports at $4.7 million. Texas backup quarterback Arch Manning ($3.1 million), Hunter ($2.7 million), Milroe ($1.7 million), Ewers ($1.7 million), Beck ($1.4 million) and Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart ($1.3 million) also rank in the top 10 in NIL valuation.
The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released on November 5. These rankings will be released weekly until Selection Day on December 8.
Notable season openings
Saturday
No. 10 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech at 12pm on ESPN
McNeese at Tarleton State at 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU
Montana State vs. New Mexico at 4 p.m. on FS1
North Alabama vs. Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. on ESPN
Florida A&M vs. Norfolk State at 7:30 p.m. on ABC
SMU in Nevada at 8 p.m. on CBSSN
Sunday
Delaware State vs. Hawaii at midnight on Spectrum Sports PPV
Thursday
Western Carolina at No. 24 NC State at 7 p.m. on ACC Network
Murray State at No. 11 Missouri at 8 p.m. on SEC Network
North Carolina vs. Minnesota at 8 p.m. on Fox
North Dakota State vs. Colorado at 8 p.m. on ESPN
Lindenwood at No. 22 Kansas at 8 p.m. on Big 12 Network/ESPN+
Southern Utah at No. 12 Utah at 9 p.m. on Big 12 Network/ESPN+
30.August
Temple at No. 16 Oklahoma at 7 p.m. on ESPN
TCU at Stanford at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
31.August
No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia at 12 noon on ABC
Illinois State at No. 25 Iowa at 12 noon on Big Ten Network
No. 8 Penn State vs. West Virginia at 12pm on Fox
Virginia Tech vs. Vanderbilt at 12pm on ESPN
UConn in Maryland at 12pm on FS1
Chattanooga at No. 15 Tennessee at 12:45 p.m. on SEC Network
South Dakota State at No. 17 Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. on Big 12 Network/ESPN+
No. 19 Miami vs. Florida at 3:30 p.m. on ABC
Colorado State at No. 4 Texas at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
Akron at No. 2 Ohio State at 3:30 p.m. on CBS
North Dakota vs. Iowa State at 3:30 p.m. on FS1
UTEP in Nebraska at 3:30 p.m. on Fox
Western Kentucky at No. 5 Alabama at 7 p.m. on ESPN
Furman at No. 6 Ole Miss at 7 p.m. on ESPN+/SEC Network
UT Martin at No. 18 Kansas State at 7 p.m. on Big 12 Network/ESPN+
UNLV in Houston at 7pm on FS1
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. on ABC
Fresno State at No. 9 Michigan at 7:30 p.m. on NBC
Idaho at No. 3 Oregon at 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
UCLA in Hawaii at 7:30 p.m. on CBS
New Mexico at No. 21 Arizona at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
Wyoming vs Arizona State at 10:30 p.m. on FS1
1 September
North Carolina Central vs. Alabama State at 3 p.m. on ESPN
No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU at 7:30 p.m. on ABC
2 September
Boston College at No. 10 Florida State at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN