Upcoming NCAA Football Games: Plenty of Competitive Matchups On Tap in Week 1

Not All of The Week 1 Matchups Are Expected to Be Over By Halftime

While the opening week of the college football season can result in the national powerhouses rolling past overmatched opponents thanks to the scheduling of routine wins by some programs expected to be in contention for the college football playoff. However, when looking at the upcoming NCAA football games, that is not the case in every game.

While 17 games do have college football betting lines of 20 points or higher, there are also some competitive games to keep an eye on.

Here’s a look at the early matchups with single-digit point spreads.

UTEP Miners vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks

• When: August 26, 5:30 p.m. ET
• Line: Jacksonville State -1.5
• On the Air: CBS Sports Network

It is a welcome to the Conference USA for Jacksonville State as veteran head coach Rich Rodriguez is back coaching at the Football Bowl Subdivision level for a program that won the Atlantic Sun Conference title in 2022.

When looking at the college football schedule, this will be the first of the matchups projected to be one-score games.

Ohio Bobcats vs San Diego State Aztecs

• When: August 26, 7 p.m. ET
• Line: San Diego State -3.5
• On the Air: FS1

San Diego State has been in the deadlines due to the uncertainty with their future in the Mountain West Conference.

Don’t forget that the Aztecs are typically among the toughest teams in the Mountain West while Ohio is coming off a division title in the MAC.

Florida Gators vs Utah Utes

• When: August 31, 8 p.m. ET
• Line: Utah -9.5
• On the Air: ESPN

If not for his recent shenanigans, this might be dubbed as the Urban Meyer Bowl as he enjoyed tremendous success at both programs.

The bigger news is that a team from the SEC is nearly a double-digit underdog against a Pac-12 school. Utah has the fourth-best odds to win the Pac-12 while Florida is tied for seventh in the odds to win the SEC.

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

• When: August 31, 8 p.m. ET
• Line: Minnesota -7.5
• On the Air:: Fox

Nebraska brought in the fourth-rated class of incoming transfers in the Big Ten. However, the Cornhuskers will be the underdog when they face a Minnesota team that does need to find a new top running back and quarterback.

Louisville Cardinals vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

• When: September 1, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Line: Louisville -8
• Television: ESPN

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will be the site for a pair of teams looking to turn the tide in the ACC in what could be one of the more intriguing showdowns in the upcoming NCAA football games.

Louisville is coming off an 8-5 season but finished just 4-4 in conference play. Georgia Tech also split its eight ACC games in 2022.

Fresno State Bulldogs vs Purdue Boilermakers

• When: September 2, 12 noon ET
• Line: Purdue -6
• On the Air: Big Ten Network

There are plenty of changes at Purdue with head coach Brian Brohm leaving to take over at Louisville and quarterback Aidan O’Connell now with the NFL‘s Las Vegas Raiders.

Fresno State has wins over FBS teams in each of the last two seasons.

Texas San Antonio Roadrunners vs Houston Cougars

• When: September 2, 7 p.m. ET
• Line: Houston -2
• On the Air: FS1

Just in case people forget how many top-notch players come out of Texas, tune into this matchup as the players out of Texas that are missed by the Power-5 Conferences are more than happy to shine at UTSA and Houston.

The teams were a combined 19-8 a season ago.

Army Black Knights vs UL Monroe Warhawks

• When: September 2, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Line: Army -7.5

The Warhawks will have plenty of time to prepare for the Army’s challenging triple option offense as the Army finished in the top five nationally in rushing offense in each of the last seven seasons. Louisiana-Monroe ranked 12th in the Sun Belt in rushing defense in 2022.

North Carolina Tar Heels vs South Carolina Gamecocks

• When: September 2, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Line: North Carolina -1.5
• On the Air: ABC

This is one of the most anticipated games in Week 1 with Heisman Trophy candidate Drake Maye of North Carolina going against a South Carolina team that led the SEC with 15 interceptions a season ago.

The game will be played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

South Alabama Jaguars vs Tulane Green Wave

• When: September 2, 8 p.m. ET
• Line: Tulane -7
• On the Air: ESPNU

Tulane was one of the better stories in college football, going from 2-10 to 12-2. The Green Wave could be tested in the 2023 season opener against a South Alabama team favored to win the Sun Belt.

Northwestern Wildcats vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

• When: September 3, 12 noon ET
• Line: Rutgers -5
• On the Air: CBS

Another Big Ten matchup between teams eager to return to the win column as Northwestern lost 11 games in a row after stunning Nebraska in the 2022 season opener and Rutgers dropped its last five contests.

These were the two worst offensive teams in the Big Ten a season ago. Will things be any different in 2023?

Louisiana State Tigers vs Florida State Seminoles

• When: September 3, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Line: LSU -3
• On the Air: ABC

Buckle up for this matchup at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

LSU (+1600) is seventh and Florida State (+1800) is tied for eighth in the odds to win the national title. When it comes to the upcoming NCAA football games, it is hard to top this matchup.

LSU was second and Florida State was sixth in the 247sports.com rankings of the top transfer classes.

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis is among the front-runners in the Heisman Trophy race and he will be tested by a talented LSU defense.

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