Ohio State opens the year as the top-ranked team in the nation, trailed by another Big Ten team, Oregon. The SEC has five teams in the top 10, led by No. 3 Georgia and No. 5 Texas. Lane Kiffin’s first LSU team is just outside at No. 11. The highest-ranked Big 12 team is Texas Tech at No. 12. With the Buckeyes visiting the Longhorns in Week 2, nothing in these rankings will remain set for long.
Stats courtesy of ESPN Research.
All times ET.
2025 record: 12-2
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Ball State, 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
Stat to know: Ohio State enters the season having been favored in 31 straight games, the longest active streak in the FBS.
2025 record: 13-2
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Boise State, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Stat to know: Dan Lanning is 48-8 in his four seasons at Oregon, tied with Ryan Day for the third-best record among active FBS head coaches in that span.
2025 record: 12-2
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Tennessee State, 3 p.m., SEC Network+
Stat to know: The Bulldogs wrap up the regular season at home against Georgia Tech; Georgia was won eight straight meetings, tied for the longest win streak by either school in series history (Georgia Tech won eight in a row from 1949 to 1956).
2025 record: 10-2
Week 1: Sept. 6 vs. Wisconsin, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Stat to know: Last season was Notre Dame’s fifth consecutive year with a new starting quarterback. CJ Carr, however, begins this year as the starter and is set to be the first QB to start consecutive season openers for the Irish since 2019-20.
2025 record: 10-3
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Texas State, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Stat to know: The Longhorns averaged just 388.5 yards per game, 6.0 yards per play and 137.8 rushing yards per game, their lowest marks since Steve Sarkisian became head coach in 2021.
2025 record: 16-0
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. North Texas, noon, Fox
Stat to know: The Hoosiers have four games scheduled against teams that finished ranked in the final 2025 AP poll.
2025 record: 13-3
Week 1: Sept. 4 at Stanford, 9 p.m., ESPN
Stat to know: Miami didn’t leave the state of Florida until Nov. 1 last season. This year, they travel over 2,500 miles out of the gate to play Stanford. This will be just the second time Miami opens with a true road game over the past 10 years.
2025 record: 11-2
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Missouri State, 7 p.m., ESPN
Stat to know: A&M closes the season hosting Texas, whom they haven’t beaten since 2010. The Aggies suffered their first loss of last season in Austin, 27-17, after entering the game 11-0.
2025 record: 13-2
Week 1: Sept. 6 vs. Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Stat to know: Ole Miss has not lost a season opener since 2020.
2025 record: 10-3
Week 1: Sept. 4 vs. UTEP, 8 p.m., SEC Network+
Stat to know: The Sooners don’t have back-to-back road games all season.
2025 record: 7-6
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Clemson, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Stat to know: The season opener will be just the second regular-season meeting between LSU and Clemson. Before last season, the previous four meetings occurred in bowl games.
2025 record: 12-2
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Abilene Christian, 7 p.m., FS1
Stat to know: The Red Raiders open with three in-state opponents in their first four games. Texas Tech hasn’t lost to any of those three foes since 2009 against Houston.
2025 record: 11-4
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. East Carolina, noon, ABC
Stat to know: The Tide look for revenge against Florida State in Week 3. The Seminoles would be the second team to beat the Tide in consecutive seasons since Kalen DeBoer took over in 2024, joining Oklahoma.
2025 record: 12-2
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Utah Tech, 8 p.m., ESPN+
Stat to know: The Cougars have a 23-4 record over the past two seasons. They are one of five FBS teams to win 11-plus games in each of the past two seasons and the only one in that group to not make the CFP.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 0: Aug. 29 vs. San Jose State, 3 p.m., NBC
Stat to know: After opening with three straight nonconference games, the Trojans start Big Ten play with a cross-country trip to Rutgers, roughly 2,700 miles away. Since joining the Big Ten in 2024, USC has struggled on the road in conference games, going 3-6, compared with 8-1 in home conference games.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Western Michigan, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Stat to know: Michigan first-year head coaches have traditionally done well. Going back to Bo Schembechler’s first year in 1969, six of the past seven new coaches have won at least eight games.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: Sept. 6 vs. Washington State, 4 p.m., NBC
Stat to know: QB Demond Williams was tied for 19th last season with 25 TD passes. He ranked 32nd in passing yards with 3,065.
2025 record: 7-6
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Marshall, 3:30 p.m., FS1
Stat to know: Though the Nittany Lions will play Michigan for the first time since 2023, a lot of the discussion around the PSU schedule is about who is not on it. Penn State won’t have to play Ohio State, Oregon or Indiana during the regular season.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: Sept. 7 at Florida State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Stat to know: Since joining the ACC in 2024, SMU is 1-4 against teams that finished the season ranked in the AP Top 25 (only win vs. Miami in 2025), compared with 19-3 vs. all other teams.
2025 record: 8-5
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Furman, 3:30 p.m., SEC Network+
Stat to know: Tennessee enters the year with a 96-26-6 record in season-opening games (2020 win was vacated) and a 5-0 opening record under head coach Josh Heupel, outscoring opponents 260-58.
2025 record: 11-2
Week 1: Sept. 3 vs. Idaho, 9 p.m., ESPNU
Stat to know: Morgan Scalley is just the fourth Utah head coach since 1990, following Ron McBride, Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Northern Illinois, 4:15 p.m., Big Ten Network
Stat to know: The Hawkeyes lost four games last year, all by five points or fewer.
2025 record: 10-3
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Oregon State, noon, ESPN
Stat to know: After a 4-8 debut under Willie Fritz, the Cougars improved to 10-3 last year. His winning percentage in Year 3 of a job tends to hold steady around .725.
2025 record: 9-4
Week 1: Sept. 6 vs. Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Stat to know: Only one contributor is returning for the offensive line as transfers will be filling the rest of the spots.
2025 record: 8-5
Week 1: Sept. 3 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 8 p.m., SEC Network
Stat to know: Although last season didn’t end in a win, Missouri won eight games for the third straight year, the second-longest streak in program history (behind only a six-season streak from 2006 to 2011).
