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College Football Watch Guide, Week 1

The slate of games for week one isn’t great, but it’s football and football is good!

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: DEC 31 Redbox Bowl - Michigan State v Oregon
Week 1 is headlined by #11 Oregon taking on #16 Auburn.
Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The day has finally arrived. After months and months of waiting, after dabbling our toes in the water last weekend, we are ready to finally jump in with our clothes on tonight as college football is officially back, baby!

And I’m not talking about your typical one or two games on a Thursday evening, I’m talking a full lineup of games tonight, followed by another nearly full lineup tomorrow, the big day on Saturday and then two rounds of desert football on Sunday and Monday. So put the kids to bed early, fire up all the TVs in the house, grab your beverage of choice and let’s football!

Thursday, August

OK, so it is a full lineup tonight. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly a thrilling lineup of games. There are four ranked teams playing tonight, but none of them are facing off against another ranked opponent.

Things get started off at 6pm CT (for those new to this, we operate on God’s time so if we slip up and don’t give you a time zone, it’s central). with UCLA at Cincinnati. That’s not perfect, but it’s two P5 teams and it’s on ESPN. I’m in.

Other games of note tonight include:

#1 Clemson is hosting Georgia Tech. Clemson should roll, but it is an ACC opponent. Unfortunately, it’s on the ACC Network. If your provider doesn’t offer ACCN (time for a shameless plug of the Armchair QB’s Guide to TV for the college football season), you can stream on Watch ESPN via the link below.

At 8pm, Minnesota is hosting South Dakota State. That doesn’t sound super compelling, but SDSU is a damn good football team and the hype on Minnesota has gone too far. Tune in to FS1 for the schadenfreude.

And finally, the night cap is #14 Utah at BYU. That kicks off at 9:15 on ESPN.

Here’s the full slate tonight.

Thursday Game Schedule

Matchup Time (CT) TV Streaming
Matchup Time (CT) TV Streaming
UCLA at Cincinnati 6:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Wagner at UConn 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Albany at Central Michigan 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Morgan State at Bowling Green 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Robert Morris at Buffalo 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Florida A&M at #17 UCF 6:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Central Arkansas at Western Kentucky 6:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Gardner-Webb at Charlotte 6:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Georgia Tech at #1 Clemson 7:00 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Florida International at Tulane 7:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Alabama State at UAB 7:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Texas State at #12 Texas A&M 7:30 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
South Dakota State at Minnesota 8:00 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
Kent State at Arizona State 9:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Northern Colorado at San Jose State 9:00 PM None None
#14 Utah at BYU 9:15 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com

Friday, August 30th

Friday night lights baby! And since it’s week one, let’s go ahead and just get weird with it. This week, we get four (count em, 4!!) Big Ten teams playing on Friday night. Having one team on a Friday night might be an opportunity to showcase the conference an extra day and get some more TV money. Four seems like a way to be forgotten.

Anywho....

#18 Michigan State is hosting Tulsa on FS1 at 6pm. At the same time, #19 Wisconsin is AT USF on ESPN. At 6:15, rutger hosts UMASS on BTN in a game that will surely set football back 50 years. And at 8:30, Purdue travels to Nevada on the CBS Sports Network.

Elsewhere, there isn’t much exciting until the late games. At 9pm Colorado and Colorado State face off on ESPN. And at 9:30, Oklahoma State heads out to Oregon State. Do your best to keep track of which team is which after a couple of beverages on Friday night.

Here’s the full listing for Friday.

Friday Game Schedule

Matchup Time (CT) TV Streaming
Matchup Time (CT) TV Streaming
Rice at Army 5:00 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Tulsa at #18 Michigan State 6:00 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
#19 Wisconsin at South Florida 6:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
UMass at Rutgers 6:15 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Utah State at Wake Forest 7:00 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Purdue at Nevada 8:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Colorado State at Colorado 9:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Oklahoma State at Oregon State 9:30 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com

Saturday, August 31st

Alright, this is it. The first full slate of games on college football Saturday of the year. Annnnnd, it’s not great, Bob. Not great at all. By and large, Saturday features power five teams paying money to FCS and low-major programs to beat them handily. There are a few matchups with some mid-level FBS programs here and there and the occasional P5 matchup, but it’s not ideal.

So not ideal that there’s nothing worth mentioning on the TV front until the 2:30 slot. That’s when we get #2 Alabama hosting Duke on ABC. The fact that that’s the one I’m calling out should tell you everything you need to know.

In the same time slot, you also get South Carolina at North Carolina on ESPN (shouts to the state of North Carolina for scheduling P5 opponents week 1).

At 3pm, we get the best Big 10 matchup of the week as Northwestern travels to #25 Stanford. That’s on FOX. You’ve also got Virginia Tech at Boston College on ACCN.

Things kick off in the evening with Boise State at Florida state. That’s a 6pm kick on ESPN.

At 6:30, #3 Georgia is at Vanderbilt in an SEC matchup. That’s on the SEC Network. You’ve also got Virginia at Pittsburgh on the ACC Network.

And of course, you can catch the Hawkeyes’ beatdown of Miami (OH) on FS1 beginning at 6:30.

That will be completely overshadowed everywhere but Iowa City by the game of the week. Also kicking at 6:30, #11 Oregon takes on #16 Auburn from AT&T Stadium in Dallas on ABC. That’s what I’m talking about!

The night cap is largely forgettable. The most compelling game is probably Fresno State at USC. That’s a 9:30 kick on ESPN.

Here’s the full slate.

Saturday Game Schedule

Matchup Time (CT) TV Streaming
Matchup Time (CT) TV Streaming
Florida Atlantic at #5 Ohio State 11:00 AM FOX FoxSportsGo.com
Northern Iowa at #21 Iowa State 11:00 AM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
South Alabama at #24 Nebraska 11:00 AM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Akron at Illinois 11:00 AM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Indiana vs. Ball State 11:00 AM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Howard at Maryland 11:00 AM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Indiana State at Kansas 11:00 AM Fox Sports Net FoxSportsGo.com
Toledo at Kentucky 11:00 AM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Ole Miss at Memphis 11:00 AM ABC WatchESPN.com
Mississippi State vs. Louisiana 11:00 AM ESPNU WatchESPN.com
East Carolina at NC State 11:00 AM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
James Madison at West Virginia 1:00 PM AT&T SportsNet None
Rhode Island at Ohio 1:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Eastern Washington at #13 Washington 2:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Bucknell at Temple 2:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Duke vs. #2 Alabama 2:30 PM ABC WatchESPN.com
Idaho at #15 Penn State 2:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Colgate at Air Force 2:30 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Holy Cross at Navy 2:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina 2:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
South Carolina vs. North Carolina 2:30 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Georgia State at Tennessee 2:30 PM ESPNU WatchESPN.com
East Tennessee State at Appalachian State 2:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Northwestern at #25 Stanford 3:00 PM FOX FoxSportsGo.com
Portland State at Arkansas 3:00 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Montana State at Texas Tech 3:00 PM Fox Sports Net FoxSportsGo.com
Virginia Tech at Boston College 3:00 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
#22 Syracuse at Liberty 5:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Sam Houston State at New Mexico 5:00 PM None None
Incarnate Word at UTSA 5:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Campbell at Troy 5:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
UC Davis at California 5:30 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
VMI at Marshall 5:30 PM Stadium WatchStadium.com
Norfolk State at Old Dominion 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Alcorn State at Southern Mississippi 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Illinois State at Northern Illinois 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Monmouth at Western Michigan 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
SMU at Arkansas State 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Boise State vs. Florida State 6:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Nicholls at Kansas State 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Stephen F. Austin at Baylor 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
#3 Georgia at Vanderbilt 6:30 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Georgia Southern at #6 LSU 6:30 PM ESPNU WatchESPN.com
Middle Tennessee at #7 Michigan 6:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
#11 Oregon vs. #16 Auburn 6:30 PM ABC WatchESPN.com
Miami (OH) at #20 Iowa 6:30 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
Missouri at Wyoming 6:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Abilene Christian at North Texas 6:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Virginia at Pittsburgh 6:30 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Louisiana Tech at #10 Texas 7:00 PM Longhorn Network WatchESPN.com
Houston Baptist at UTEP 7:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at TCU 7:00 PM Fox Sports Net FoxSportsGo.com
Grambling at UL Monroe 7:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Weber State at San Diego State 8:00 PM None None
New Mexico State at #23 Washington State 9:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Southern Utah at UNLV 9:00 PM None UNLVRebels.com
Fresno State at USC 9:30 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com

Sunday, September 1st

Hey look, there’s more football! There isn’t much on this first day of desert, but Houston at #4 Oklahoma is compelling enough to tune in. It’s at 6:30 kick on ABC.

Monday, September 2nd

MOOOOAAAARRRRR FOOOOOOOOTBAAAALLLLLLL!

Week one wraps up with #9 Notre Dame at Louisville Monday evening. It’s a 7pm kick and you can catch the action on ESPN.


And that’s it for week one. You can view the full slate of games below.

What are you drinking this weekend?

Friday Game Schedule

Date Matchup Time (CT) TV Streaming
Date Matchup Time (CT) TV Streaming
Thursday, August 29th UCLA at Cincinnati 6:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Thursday, August 29th Wagner at UConn 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Thursday, August 29th Albany at Central Michigan 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Thursday, August 29th Morgan State at Bowling Green 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Thursday, August 29th Robert Morris at Buffalo 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Thursday, August 29th Florida A&M at #17 UCF 6:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Thursday, August 29th Central Arkansas at Western Kentucky 6:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Thursday, August 29th Gardner-Webb at Charlotte 6:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Thursday, August 29th Georgia Tech at #1 Clemson 7:00 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Thursday, August 29th Florida International at Tulane 7:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Thursday, August 29th Alabama State at UAB 7:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Thursday, August 29th Texas State at #12 Texas A&M 7:30 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Thursday, August 29th South Dakota State at Minnesota 8:00 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
Thursday, August 29th Kent State at Arizona State 9:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Thursday, August 29th Northern Colorado at San Jose State 9:00 PM None None
Thursday, August 29th #14 Utah at BYU 9:15 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Friday, August 30th Rice at Army 5:00 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Friday, August 30th Tulsa at #18 Michigan State 6:00 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
Friday, August 30th #19 Wisconsin at South Florida 6:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Friday, August 30th UMass at Rutgers 6:15 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Friday, August 30th Utah State at Wake Forest 7:00 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Friday, August 30th Purdue at Nevada 8:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Friday, August 30th Colorado State at Colorado 9:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Friday, August 30th Oklahoma State at Oregon State 9:30 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Florida Atlantic at #5 Ohio State 11:00 AM FOX FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Northern Iowa at #21 Iowa State 11:00 AM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st South Alabama at #24 Nebraska 11:00 AM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Akron at Illinois 11:00 AM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Indiana vs. Ball State 11:00 AM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Saturday, August 31st Howard at Maryland 11:00 AM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Indiana State at Kansas 11:00 AM Fox Sports Net FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Toledo at Kentucky 11:00 AM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Ole Miss at Memphis 11:00 AM ABC WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Mississippi State vs. Louisiana 11:00 AM ESPNU WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st East Carolina at NC State 11:00 AM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st James Madison at West Virginia 1:00 PM AT&T SportsNet None
Saturday, August 31st Rhode Island at Ohio 1:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Eastern Washington at #13 Washington 2:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Saturday, August 31st Bucknell at Temple 2:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Duke vs. #2 Alabama 2:30 PM ABC WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Idaho at #15 Penn State 2:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Colgate at Air Force 2:30 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Holy Cross at Navy 2:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Saturday, August 31st Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina 2:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st South Carolina vs. North Carolina 2:30 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Georgia State at Tennessee 2:30 PM ESPNU WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st East Tennessee State at Appalachian State 2:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Northwestern at #25 Stanford 3:00 PM FOX FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Portland State at Arkansas 3:00 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Montana State at Texas Tech 3:00 PM Fox Sports Net FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Virginia Tech at Boston College 3:00 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st #22 Syracuse at Liberty 5:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Sam Houston State at New Mexico 5:00 PM None None
Saturday, August 31st Incarnate Word at UTSA 5:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Campbell at Troy 5:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st UC Davis at California 5:30 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Saturday, August 31st VMI at Marshall 5:30 PM Stadium WatchStadium.com
Saturday, August 31st Norfolk State at Old Dominion 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Alcorn State at Southern Mississippi 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Illinois State at Northern Illinois 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Monmouth at Western Michigan 6:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st SMU at Arkansas State 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Boise State vs. Florida State 6:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Nicholls at Kansas State 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Stephen F. Austin at Baylor 6:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st #3 Georgia at Vanderbilt 6:30 PM SEC Network WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Georgia Southern at #6 LSU 6:30 PM ESPNU WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Middle Tennessee at #7 Michigan 6:30 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st #11 Oregon vs. #16 Auburn 6:30 PM ABC WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Miami (OH) at #20 Iowa 6:30 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Missouri at Wyoming 6:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com
Saturday, August 31st Abilene Christian at North Texas 6:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Virginia at Pittsburgh 6:30 PM ACC Network WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Louisiana Tech at #10 Texas 7:00 PM Longhorn Network WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Houston Baptist at UTEP 7:00 PM ESPN+ ESPN+
Saturday, August 31st Arkansas-Pine Bluff at TCU 7:00 PM Fox Sports Net FoxSportsGo.com
Saturday, August 31st Grambling at UL Monroe 7:00 PM ESPN3 WatchESPN.com
Saturday, August 31st Weber State at San Diego State 8:00 PM None None
Saturday, August 31st New Mexico State at #23 Washington State 9:00 PM Pac-12 Networks Pac-12.com
Saturday, August 31st Southern Utah at UNLV 9:00 PM None UNLVRebels.com
Saturday, August 31st Fresno State at USC 9:30 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com
Sunday, September 1st Houston at #4 Oklahoma 6:30 PM ABC WatchESPN.com
Monday, September 2nd #9 Notre Dame at Louisville 7:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com