Until this year, there had never been three top-10 matchups so early in a college football season.
The excitement for Texas-Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday has been building since the teams met in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl. The Buckeyes went on to win the national championship; the Longhorns are the preseason No. 1 team for the first time.
But there's more!
No. 9 LSU visits No. 4 Clemson on Saturday night for a matchup featuring Heisman Trophy candidates Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik.
No. 6 Notre Dame plays at No. 10 Miami on Sunday night with the Irish's CJ Carr making his first career start and Georgia transfer Carson Beck making his 28th but first for the Hurricanes.
Each of the the winners will collect a big pelt for its CFP resume. Each of the losers can take solace that getting beat by a top-10 opponent this early is not a playoff deal-breaker.
No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State, Saturday, noon ET (Fox)
The storylines are abundant.
It's a rematch of last season's CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, a 28-14 Ohio State win.
It's the highest-ranked opener since No. 1 Alabama beat No. 3 Florida State 24-7 in Atlanta in 2017.
It’s a celebration of Arch Manning, nephew of Peyton and Eli and grandson of Archie, who has sole ownership of the starting quarterback job for the first time and is key to the Longhorns’ hopes of making a third straight playoff appearance.
It's the first start for Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who becomes the Buckeyes' third different quarterback in three seasons.
It's an anomaly with Ohio State a 2 1/2-point favorite as of Tuesday, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. This would be the first time a preseason No. 1-ranked team would enter its opener as the underdog, according to ESPN.
Texas' Manning, Clemson's Klubnik and LSU's Nussmeier are the top three early Heisman candidates, and they each have an opportunity to separate themselves from the pack.
Manning is the wagering favorite on BetMGM Sportsbook at 6-to-1. There's more hype than substance to Manning at the moment, mostly because of his football lineage. His only starts last year were against Louisiana-Monroe and what would be a two-win Mississippi State. Manning's stock skyrockets if he wins at the Horseshoe.
Klubnik and Nussmeier, both at 9-to-1, go head-to-head at Clemson. Klubnik had an incredible 36-6 touchdown-interception ratio last season. Nussmeier is the nation's top returning QB in passing yards per game (311.7).
6 — Total transfers signed by Clemson over the last five portal windows, fewest among power conference schools.
10 — Number of conferences, including all four power conferences, represented on Washington State's 12-game schedule.
11 — Texas' nation-best win streak in true road games.
25 — Ohio State's nation-best win streak in season openers.
1939 — Last time Pittsburgh played Duquesne, whose campuses are two miles apart. They meet Saturday.
Utah at UCLA, Saturday, 11 p.m. ET (Fox)
Nico Iamaleava makes his first start for UCLA after leading Tennessee to the CFP last season. Devon Dampier, the Big 12 preseason newcomer of the year, makes his debut for the Utes after leading the Mountain West in total offense at New Mexico.
The Bruins went 4-2 after a 1-5 start and look to continue building under second-year coach Deshaun Foster. Utah lost seven straight during a 5-7 season and are counting on Dampier and new coordinator Jason Beck to spark an offense that ranked 115th.
It looked like Scott Satterfield had Cincinnati headed in the right direction when it knocked off eventual Big 12 champion Arizona State in mid-October for a 5-2 start. Then came five straight losses to end the season.
The Bearcats are 8-16 under Satterfield in two years. Before that, they were 53-11 with a CFP appearance over five seasons under Luke Fickell. Granted, Satterfield's job has a higher degree of difficulty. His first season also was Cincinnati's first in the Big 12 after 10 years in the American Conference.
Still, this is a critical season for him. He has a returning quarterback in Brendan Sorsby and one of the easiest Big 12 schedules. The Bearcats don't play Arizona State or perennial contender Kansas State, and their toughest game, against Iowa State, is at home. They do have a challenging opener Thursday against Nebraska at Arrowhead Stadium.
FILE - Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) drops back to pass during the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game between Clemson and SMU Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman, File)
