Current:Home > reviewsCollege football Week 0 breakdown starts with Florida State-Georgia Tech clash -ApexWealth
College football Week 0 breakdown starts with Florida State-Georgia Tech clash
View
Date:2025-04-13 17:49:41
If you think Week 0 is a strange designation, you might have an even harder time wrapping your head around this little factoid. A half a dozen members of the Football Championship Subdivision will have played two games – by the end of Week 1. What’s more, one team will have already played two conference games.
Bearing all that in mind, however, Week 0 presents an abbreviated slate, with just four games involving FBS squads. But for true fans of the sport, this jump start to the season will definitely whet the appetite. Here’s a quick look at the Saturday schedule.
All the college football news to know: Sign up for USA TODAY's Sports newsletter.
No. 10 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech in Dublin, noon ET, ESPN
The easy choice for headliner of the day finds the Seminoles and Yellow Jackets leaping straight into ACC play overseas. It is in fact the first of two consecutive conference contests for FSU, which will play host to Boston College on Labor Day night to close out Week 1. Florida State is the lone ranked team to take the field on opening day and will be significantly favored, but the Yellow Jackets pulled off some upsets in 2023 and have enough returning talent to make a game of this one. The defenses might have the upper hand in the early stages. Newly arrived Seminoles QB DJ Uiagalelei and a rebuilt receiving corps must negotiate a Georgia Tech secondary featuring DB Clayton Powell-Lee that could be the unit’s strongest group. Yellow Jackets QB Haynes King has a year in the system under his belt but will face a nasty FSU pass rush led by DE Patrick Payton.
Montana State at New Mexico, 4 p.m. ET, FS1
The Lobos are the first of three Mountain West squads playing at home in Week 0. They’ll look to get the Bronco Mendenhall era in Albuquerque off on the right foot. The But they’ll likely get a stiff test from the Bobcats, perennial playoff contenders in the Football Championship Subdivision ranked fourth in the preseason FCS coaches poll. Montana State’s strength is its ground game, a big part of which is mobile QB Tommy Mellott. Finding real estate could be difficult against an FBS-caliber defense, even a rebuilt one like New Mexico’s. The Lobos’ attack will be in the hands of QB Devon Dampier, and his primary WR Caleb Medford is a candidate for a breakout season.
LEFT OUT:Five teams snubbed in the preseason Top 25 ranking
WHAT TO KNOW:Outlooks for every team in preseason poll
SMU at Nevada, 8 p.m. ET, CBSSN
Among the trio of Mountain West clubs in action on Saturday, the Wolf Pack are the only ones hosting another Bowl Subdivision team. The Mustangs will get an early taste of life on the road as they embark on their new era in the ACC. Nevada is not exactly expected to contend in the MWC, so any SMU struggles might set off alarm bells among its fans even on the road. Incumbent QB Preston Stone could quell any potential anxieties quickly if he gets the Mustangs rolling early.
Delaware State at Hawaii, 11:59 p.m. ET
You’ll have to stream this one if you’re curious, and Rainbow Warrior fans had better hope there is little drama as Timmy Chang’s third campaign helming his alma mater kicks off. His team would do well, however, to remember Howard, another MEAC squad, pulling off a historic upset of fellow Mountain West member UNLV back in 2017. Nevertheless, Hawaii will want to make short work of this one with UCLA coming to the islands next week, and the Delaware State's travel woes getting to Honolulu undoubtedly didn’t help their own preparations.
WANNA BET? These are the top NCAA football betting promos and bonuses in 2024
veryGood! (46)
Related
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- 2 Arizona women found dead in overturned vehicle on Mexico highway, police say
- Kamala Harris’ election would defy history. Just 1 sitting VP has been elected president since 1836
- 2 Arizona women found dead in overturned vehicle on Mexico highway, police say
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Court revives Sarah Palin’s libel lawsuit against The New York Times
- 'Yellowstone' First Look Week: Jamie Dutton doubles down on family duplicity (photos)
- In Final Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, BLM Sticks With Conservation Priorities, Renewable Energy Development
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Having a family is expensive. Here’s what Harris and Trump have said about easing costs
Ranking
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Surging Methane Emissions Could Be a Sign of a Major Climate Shift
- Pennsylvania ammo plant boosts production of key artillery shell in Ukraine’s fight against Russia
- Georgia’s former first lady and champion of literacy has school named in her honor
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Questions about the safety of Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ system are growing
- What’s hot in theaters? Old movies — and some that aren’t so old
- Massachusetts strikes down a 67-year-old switchblade ban, cites landmark Supreme Court gun decision
Recommendation
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
Sweaty corn is making it even more humid
Police in Washington city banned from personalizing equipment in settlement over shooting Black man
Stefanos Tsitsipas exits US Open: 'I'm nothing compared to the player I was before'
Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
The Paralympic Games are starting. Here’s what to expect as 4,400 athletes compete in Paris
Channing Tatum Accuses Ex Jenna Dewan of Delay Tactic in Divorce Proceedings
Brandon Jenner's Wife Cayley Jenner Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3