Sections

Advertisement

USA TODAY Sports college football staff picks for Week 1

Virginia Tech tight end Bucky Hodges catches a pass in the end zone for a touchdown against Ohio State.

(Andrew Weber, USA TODAY Sports)

College football is back. Unfortunately, the schedule isn’t so welcoming for the first weekend.

Just one matchup of ranked opponents is on the schedule when No. 3 Alabama plays No. 20 Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas.

Among the plethora of mismatches involving Top 25 teams, there are a few other intriguing matchups. No. 11 Notre Dame hosts Texas. No. 16 Arizona State faces Texas A&M in Houston. And No. 1 Ohio State travels to Virginia Tech, which gave the defending champion Buckeyes their only loss last season.

Nicole Auerbach Paul Myerberg George Schroeder Erick Smith
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech ohio state ohio state ohio state ohio state
No. 2 TCU at Minnesota tcu tcu tcu tcu
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 18 Wisconsin alabama alabama alabama alabama
No. 4 Baylor at SMU baylor baylor baylor baylor
No. 5 Oregon vs. Eastern Washington oregon oregon oregon oregon
No. 6 Michigan State at Western Michigan michigan state michigan state michigan state michigan state
No. 7 Auburn vs. Louisville auburn auburn auburn auburn
No. 8 Florida State vs. Texas State florida state florida state florida state florida state
No. 9 Georgia vs. La.-Monroe georgia georgia georgia georgia
No. 10 USC vs. Arkansas State usc usc usc usc
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. Texas notre dame notre dame notre dame notre dame
No. 12 Clemson vs. Wofford clemson clemson clemson clemson
No. 13 LSU vs. McNeese State lsu lsu lsu lsu
No. 14 UCLA vs. Virginia ucla ucla ucla ucla
No. 15 Mississippi vs. Tenn.-Martin mississippi mississippi mississippi mississippi
No. 16 Arizona State vs. Texas A&M arizona state arizona state texas a&m texas a&m
No. 17 Georgia Tech vs. Alcorn State georgia tech georgia tech georgia tech georgia tech
No. 19 Oklahoma vs. Akron oklahoma oklahoma oklahoma oklahoma
No. 20 Arkansas vs. UTEP arkansas arkansas arkansas arkansas
No. 21 Stanford vs. Northwestern stanford stanford stanford stanford
No. 22 Arizona vs. Texas-San Antonio arizona arizona arizona arizona
No. 23 Missouri vs. Southeast Missouri Missouri Missouri Missouri Missouri
No. 24 Boise State vs. Washington boise state boise state boise state boise state
No. 25 Tennessee vs. Bowling Green tennessee tennessee tennessee tennessee
Eddie Timanus Dan Uthman Dan Wolken
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech ohio state ohio state ohio state
No. 2 TCU at Minnesota tcu tcu tcu
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 18 Wisconsin alabama alabama wisconsin
No. 4 Baylor at SMU baylor baylor baylor
No. 5 Oregon vs. Eastern Washington oregon oregon oregon
No. 6 Michigan State at Western Michigan michigan state michigan state michigan state
No. 7 Auburn vs. Louisville auburn auburn auburn
No. 8 Florida State vs. Texas State florida state florida state florida state
No. 9 Georgia vs. La.-Monroe georgia georgia georgia
No. 10 USC vs. Arkansas State usc usc usc
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. Texas notre dame notre dame notre dame
No. 12 Clemson vs. Wofford clemson clemson clemson
No. 13 LSU vs. McNeese State lsu lsu lsu
No. 14 UCLA vs. Virginia ucla ucla ucla
No. 15 Mississippi vs. Tenn.-Martin mississippi mississippi mississippi
No. 16 Arizona State vs. Texas A&M arizona state arizona state arizona state
No. 17 Georgia Tech vs. Alcorn State georgia tech georgia tech georgia tech
No. 19 Oklahoma vs. Akron oklahoma oklahoma oklahoma
No. 20 Arkansas vs. UTEP arkansas arkansas arkansas
No. 21 Stanford vs. Northwestern stanford stanford northwestern
No. 22 Arizona vs. Texas-San Antonio arizona arizona arizona
No. 23 Missouri vs. Southeast Missouri Missouri Missouri Missouri
No. 24 Boise State vs. Washington boise state boise state boise state
No. 25 Tennessee vs. Bowling Green tennessee tennessee tennessee
Note: Picks are made straight up, not against the spread.
Complete college football coverage
More NCAAF