Notre Dame at Texas A&M and NDSU at Colorado lead Week 1

The college football season is back on. Though it officially began last week with a light Week 0 (which included Florida State’s rout at the hands of Georgia Tech in Ireland), the season begins in earnest this week with a full menu of games.

Every week, we’ll be giving you a sort of visibility ranking, telling you which games deserve your attention and where you can watch them via some arbitrary and silly categories.

For starters, Georgia is the preseason favorite, ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, and the Bulldogs open the season with No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta at spaceship-like Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But the Dawgs are double-digit favorites, and there’s little reason to believe this game is going to be close or good.

Remember, the Tigers were the only non-FBS academy team this offseason that didn’t add a player via the transfer portal (and the only reason Army, Navy and Air Force joined Clemson in this is because they’re not allowed to accept transfers). While Dabo Swinney was busy changing the format of his radio show and not doing much to improve a roster that went 9-4 last year, Kirby Smart added running back Trevor Etienne from Florida, tight end Benjamin Yurosek from Stanford, safety Jake Pope from Alabama and three wide receivers from Power 4 programs. So, yeah, good luck, Clemson.

Now that we’re past the big Clemson-Georgia matchup, here’s your guide to what games to watch this week:

Game of the Week: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 20 Texas A&M

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. – ABC

This is a game with narrative and stakes. On the Aggies’ bench is former Duke coach Mike Elko, and under center for the Irish is former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. Together in Durham for the past two seasons, they made a lot of history and magic. Now apart, which will have more success at their new schools? Can Leonard pick apart an Elko defense he practiced a lot against while wearing royal blue, or can Elko identify Leonard’s weaknesses and stifle the Irish’s offensive game plan?

Plus, in this expanded world of the College Football Playoffs, where Notre Dame (which is still independent, in case you forgot amid all the restructuring) has to earn an at-large invite to get into the dance, it needs to rack up as many good wins as it can to build a resume that impresses the committee. Getting a win against an SEC team on the road would be a good start. On the other hand, a win over Notre Dame would make A&M brass feel better about betting on a capital-F football coach like Elko.

Game that could impact the College Football Playoff: No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia

Saturday, noon – FOX

In six of the past eight seasons, Penn State has had at least two losses but still finished in the top 12 of the final College Football Playoff rankings. Overall, the Nittany Lions have struggled to beat Michigan and Ohio State, but in theory, even with those two losses always on the books, Penn State would have been in the playoffs if it had expanded to 12 teams frequently over the past decade.

Fortunately for Penn State, it doesn’t play the reigning national champions in the regular season, but it does host Ohio State and has to travel to face some potentially tough opponents, such as USC and Wisconsin, and it also hosts Washington. So, for the purposes of this exercise, let’s assume Penn State has two regular season losses in Big Ten play this season.

If the Nittany Lions want to make the playoffs, they probably can’t afford a third loss on their resume. And suddenly, this season opener in a hostile environment like Morgantown, whose fans cherish old regional rivalries the way God intended and will treat this game like their Super Bowl, looks dangerous. The line has already moved from 10 points to 8.5 — still in Penn State’s favor — and the Nittany Lions are facing a Mountaineers team coming off a season in which they proved many wrong, finishing 9-4 with a bowl win as Neal Brown came off the bench.

If Penn State loses to WVU, James Franklin could also feel his seat getting warmed.

Strange Game of the Week: North Dakota State vs. Colorado

Thursday, 8:00 p.m. – ESPN

This is perhaps the most must-see FBS-FCS matchup in recent memory. On one side, you have a supremely talented quarterback with NFL aspirations in Shedeur Sanders, coached by his loudmouthed, flamboyant father who blew up his roster by bringing in 43 transfers after the Buffaloes went 4-8 in his debut season.

On the other side are the Bison, a team that has won nine FCS national titles since 2011 and is 6-1 against FBS opponents since 2010.

This is Flash vs. Smash, and it should be a lot of fun to watch.

Impressive Group of Five matchup worth watching: Boise State vs Georgia Southern

Saturday, 4 pm – ESPNU

The Group of Five is going to get one team into the College Football Playoff. If Boise State wants to clinch that spot, it has to start with a win over Georgia Southern. By the way, the forecast for Saturday in Statesboro, Georgia, is for a high of 92 degrees with 58 percent humidity.

For Southern, a win here would bode well for Year 3 of the Clay Helton era, who, despite scoring some big wins early on — such as at Nebraska and over a ranked team like James Madison — is just 12-14 over the past two seasons.

Sickos Guilty Pleasure Game of the Week: Sacramento State vs. San Jose State

Thursday, 10pm – truTV/Max

Yes, college football is on truTV this year. So if you’ve already forgotten where it is on your cable package since March Madness, it’s time to find it again — or you can watch it on HBO’s streaming service, Max, if you’re subscribed to it.

This is another FCS-FBS matchup that should be competitive and has some interesting storylines. On one side is Sacramento State, a very good FCS program that has been to the playoffs in each of the last four seasons. On the other side is a San Jose State team that is turning over a new leaf. After Brent Brennan left to take the head job at Arizona, the Spartans hired former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, who most recently was the tight ends coach at UCLA. Niumatalolo had plenty of success at Navy, winning six bowl games and seven Commander-in-Chiefs trophies, but was unceremoniously fired after three straight losing seasons.

Niumatalolo’s offenses at Navy excelled at running the triple option, but he’s expected to utilize something more modern with San Jose State. It’s worth seeing what kind of schemes and play designs Niumatalolo comes up with in this new role.

See also…

• Coastal Carolina at Jacksonville State: Thursday, 8:00 p.m. – CBS Sports Network
• South Dakota State ranked #17 Oklahoma State: Saturday, 2 p.m. – ESPN+
• No. 19 Miami in Florida: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. – ABC
• No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU (in Las Vegas): Sunday, 7:30 p.m. – ABC