Never has a college football season opened with such high stakes: Three of this weekend's games feature a matchup between two top-10 opponents, the most for an opening week in the sport's history.
There's plenty to look forward to this year — including the most-hyped player of a generation taking the helm at one of the sport's most historic programs — so long as you're lucky enough that your TV provider isn't in a contract dispute with Fox.
With Week 1 of the college football season officially underway, read on for a preview of what to know:
The Arch Manning era is here
The madness officially began last month, when the headliner at the SEC Football Media Days took the stage: a 6-foot, 4-inch 21-year-old dressed in a crisp navy blue sport coat, complete with a polished Texas Longhorn pin.
The progeny of football's most famous quarterback family, Manning is currently the favorite to win this year's Heisman Trophy and is already being talked about as a future No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft — despite having thrown fewer than 100 passes in his collegiate career to date. ("I'm grateful that y'all think that, but I've only played, what, two games? So I've got a lot to prove," he told the crowd of reporters.)
Manning dutifully rode the bench for his first two years at Texas, as the school made the jump from the Big 12 to the SEC behind then-starting quarterback Quinn Ewers. Now, Manning is the undisputed starter, and so far he's played the part to a tee, saying all the right things to the media. "I have really good friends, good family to keep me grounded, keep me honest," he said. "Whenever I'm acting like a turd, they tell me."
The expectations, though, are title or bust for the Longhorns. And there's no time to warm up, as the Longhorns' first real test arrives Saturday with a rematch of last year's playoff loss against defending national champion, Ohio State, which is ranked No. 3.
College football's TV takeover
That Texas-OSU matchup is joined by two other top-10 games this weekend to open the season, alongside No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson Saturday evening and No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami on Sunday.
This is arguably the biggest Week 1 in the sport's history. In fact, a weekend with three top-10 matchups has only happened a handful of times during any regular season in the past 40-odd years.
Yet it could be the new normal in this big-dollar college football world, in which powerhouse programs have consolidated into fewer conferences with bigger TV deals in an effort to dominate America's TVs every Saturday each fall … and reap the windfall that results.
Now, most weekends on the schedule have what could be a contender for "Game of the Year": Texas at OSU in Week 1, Oregon at Penn State or Alabama at Georgia in Week 5, Penn State at Ohio State in Week 10, or Texas at Georgia in Week 12. Maybe it'll be the game between Ohio State and Michigan in Week 14, or the Red River Showdown between Texas and Oklahoma in Week 7.
The sport — especially the Big Ten and the SEC — wants a huge matchup every week, especially now that a court settlement earlier this year paved the way for schools to pay players directly this season for the first time ever. That new salary cap of $20.5 million has to come from somewhere.
Strength of schedule matters more this season
If you were disgruntled about last year's College Football Playoff selection, never fear: There are "enhancements" coming this season! The CFP committee announced last week that, going forward, the selection criteria will place greater weight on overall strength of schedule and how teams fare against quality opponents. "This metric rewards teams defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team," the committee said.
This follows the debate last December over the final playoff spot — should it go to Southern Methodist, who had lost fewer games but played an easier schedule, or Alabama, who'd lost more games overall, but played a tougher schedule and had more wins against top-25 opponents? The spot ultimately went to SMU, but there was enough of an uproar that the committee clearly felt it needed to act.
Other things to know
A rich transfer market means new looks for many contenders, including Oklahoma, which is hoping to return to heavyweight status with the arrival of quarterback John Mateer from Washington State after he scored 44 touchdowns and racked up nearly 4,000 yards last year. Miami, which thrived last year with the NFL's top draft pick in quarterback Cam Ward, will now be helmed by former Georgia playcaller Carson Beck. And Texas Tech spent more than $12 million on transfers alone, with the tab for its full roster totaling around $25 million, school officials have said — a sum 25% greater than last year's Ohio State championship squad. The bad news: Any team can spend tens of millions of dollars, but only one can bring home the title.
Bill Belichick's debut as a college football coach is set for the back end of Labor Day weekend when North Carolina hosts TCU on Monday night. You'd be forgiven for being surprised to hear the one-time New England Patriots legend hasn't actually coached a game yet, given the unending stream of media coverage of him and his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson. This week, the pair leaned into the discourse around their relationship by filing, via an LLC, for a trademark for the phrase "gold digger" (with the intent, the filing says, to sell jewelry and keychains). Tired of them already? Don't worry, there's a Hulu docuseries about this UNC season coming this fall!
Good news for YouTube TV subscribers, as Google and Fox reached a "short-term extension" on Wednesday to avoid what could have been a blackout this weekend. Nearly 10 million people subscribe to Google's TV streaming service, and if a long-term deal proves hard to reach, the dispute puts them at risk of missing Fox programming, including a whole lot of college football games (the contract includes not just Fox, but also the Fox Sports suite of channels along with the Big Ten Network). Live sports are the last thing with any real value in the broadcasting rights world, which has upped the stakes for disputes like this — but on the other hand, consumers have more ways to watch games now. In a blog post earlier this week, YouTubeTV encouraged subscribers to simply sign up for Fox's own direct-to-consumer streaming service to watch games in case of a blackout.
Finally, a role model for us all: Colorado's live buffalo mascot, Ralphie VI, is retiring after four years of service due to her "indifference to running." (Ralphies are always ladies due to their more agreeable size and temperament, the school says.) Although a Ralphie VII is currently in training, there is no timeline for her debut, according to the university. Apologies to the Buffaloes (human), who must now take the field to begin this season without their iconic mascot — but flowers to Ralphie VI, our relatable queen.
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