What to know for Week 1 of the college football season
After a weekend of appetizers, the NCAA college football season starts in earnest this week with a full slate of games.
Georgia begins its quest for an unprecedented three-peat, Texas looks for a positive answer to the perennial "are they back?" question and fans scramble to learn who is in which conference for this season, only to learn a new set of league lineups next year.
Here is what to look for in the days and weeks ahead.
What are the big games this week?
The prime time showcase is Sunday night when No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Florida State meet in Orlando, Hurricane Idalia willing (see below). The 5:30 p.m. Mountain time kickoff is on ABC.
The only other significant matchup with two big names comes when unranked Boise State travels to No. 10 Washington at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC.
More: Playoff Top 10: Ranking the ten best contenders for the college football playoff
What is the storyline of the season?
Conference realignment is in midstream, as many leagues are in transition. That means a 14-team Big 12 with Texas and Oklahoma lame ducking it, and a farewell tour from the Pac-12, with everyone but Oregon State and Washington State playing with a foot out the door.
The American Athletic will have its new 14-team look, one of the only conferences settling into a new configuration this year.
Conference USA will sport a new look with four new teams and five returning ones as it anxiously awaits next year's arrival of Kennesaw State that will put it back in the Owl business.
Is Hurricane Idalia going to mess everything up?
Maybe, but with a projected Wednesday landfall, it might not be a huge factor by kickoff. Florida did leave early for its game at Utah. Florida State has expressed optimism its game with LSU will be largely unaffected.
Where are the locals?
After Week 0 upset losses, UTEP and New Mexico State both have 7 p.m. home games against FCS opponents making their season debuts, albeit teams from opposite ends of that world. The Miners take on defending FCS semifinalist Incarnate Word while the Aggies take on Western Illinois. The Leathernecks come to the Borderland on a 13-game losing streak after going 0-11 last year.
Whither the Texas schools?
The No. 11 Longhorns will prep for its Week 2 showdown with Alabama when it hosts Rice, a team it has beaten 15 consecutive times. They are 35-point favorites to make it 16 in a 1:30 p.m. game televised on FOX.
Texas A&M hosts New Mexico at 5 p.m. on ESPN while Texas Tech travels to Wyoming for a 5:30 p.m. kick on CBS. Baylor hosts Texas State at 5 p.m. on ESPN+ and UTSA plays its first game as an American Athletic member, traveling to a team it is replacing, the Big 12's Houston. That will be on FS1 at 5 p.m.
What about the team trying for a three-peat?
Georgia, who is trying to become the first team in the poll era to win three consecutive national titles, opens its defense at 4 p.m. on ESPN+. That they are on a streaming platform means they found a patsy. They host Tennessee Martin and there is no spread on the game.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What to know for Week 1 of the college football season
