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There will be no "Enter Sandman" at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg or "Sandstorm" in Columbia, South Carolina as those teams will meet in Atlanta in one of two Aflac Kickoff Games on Sunday afternoon at 3 on ESPN. There will be no running through the "T" in Knoxville or "Hell's Bells" in Syracuse as the Vols and Orange will be the first Aflac Kickoff game on Saturday at Noon on ABC.
(NOTE: all times referenced in this article are eastern time.)
There will be other traditions on display around the country, including the "Dotting of the 'I'" in Columbus when Texas and Ohio State clash at Noon on Fox on Saturday, and "Jump Around" in Madison as Wisconsin hosts Miami (Ohio) at 9 on Thursday on the Big Ten Network (BTN).
Ohio State is the last team Texas faced in 2024, falling 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl semifinal playoff game in Arlington on January 10.
Using the AFCA Coaches' Poll as our guide, the Longhorns at Buckeyes tops the list for rank matchups as Texas is No. 1 and Ohio State No. 2. After that, it's a toss-up between No. 9 LSU visiting No. 6 Clemson on Saturday at 7:30 on ABC, and No. 10 Miami (FLA) hosting No. 5 Notre Dame at 7:30 on Sunday on ABC..
It's not a ranked vs. ranked matchup, but it's a made-for-TV battle when Alabama goes to Tallahassee to open against Florida State at 3:30 on Saturday on ABC. Both teams have fan bases looking for bigger things in 2025. The 'Noles have a bigger hole to climb after going 2-10 in 2024 while the Tide went 9-4 in their first season under Kalen DeBoer after Nick Saban's retirement.
Other games worth following are No. 7 Oregon hosting FCS No. 2 Montana State at 4 on Saturday on BTN, and Nebraska vs Cincinnati in Kansas City at 9 on Thursday on ESPN.
There's also Georgia Tech at Colorado, and Utah at UCLA.
The two newest FBS and Conference USA members - Delaware and Missouri State - will debut this week as the Blue Hens host Delaware State at 7 on Thursday on ESPN+, and the Bears visit USC at 7:30 on Saturday on BTN.
The weekend concludes with the debut of Bill Belichick as North Carolina's head coach when the Tar Heels welcome TCU on Monday night at 8 on ESPN.
In all, 127 teams will play their first game of the 2025 season after 9 did so a week ago. Stanford is the only FBS team with an OPEN week.
Of course, the biggest game this weekend is the one between the team you are rooting for and whoever they are facing.
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SEE: Schedule/Picks
OHIO (Tied with Marshall) - Won 7 straight over-all
Last: Won 30-27 over Jax State in the Cure Bowl on December 20 in Orlando.
Next: at Rutgers on Thursday, August 28
MARSHALL (Tied with Ohio) - Won 7 straight over-all
Last: Won 31-3 over Louisiana in the Sun Belt Championship game. Opted out of bowl season for lack of players have head coach was fired. Replaced in Independence Bowl by Louisiana Tech.
Next: at Georgia on Saturday, August 30.
OREGON - Won 18 straight regular season games. Had won 14 straight over-all before....
Last: College Football Playoff No. 1 seed lost 41-21 to No. 8 seed Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, January 1.
Next: Hosts Montana State (FCS) on Saturday, August 30
GEORGIA - Won 31 straight home games.
Last: College Football Playoff No. 2 seed lost 23-10 to No. 7 seed Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, January 2.
Next: Hosts Marshall on Saturday, August 30.
BOISE STATE - Won 12 straight conference games. (Tied with Army)
Last: College Football Playoff No. 3 seed lost 31-14 to No. 6 seed Penn State in Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, December 31.
Next: Visits USF on Thursday August 28.
TEXAS - Won 11 straight true road games (at opposition venue).
Last: College Football Playoff No. 5 seed lost 28-14 to 8-seed Ohio State in the Cotton playoff semifinal on Friday, January 10.
Next: Visits Ohio State on Saturday, August 30
KENT STATE - Lost 21 straight over-all. Lost 16 straight conference games. Lost 9 straight home games. Lost 14 straight road games (2nd-longest).
Last: Lost 43-7 at Buffalo on Tuesday November 26.
Next: Hosts Merrimack (FCS) on Saturday, August 30.
TEMPLE - Lost 20 straight true road games.
Last: Lost 24-17 at home to North Texas on Saturday November 30.
Next: Saturday, August 30 at UMass
FBS schools were 115-6 in FBS-FCS games last season, and are a cumulative 1,915-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there were 121 matchups scheduled between FBS and FCS schools with 119 playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each played two.
This year, there are 126 games (one each for 126 of 136 teams). 47 of those matchups will take place this week, from Thursday to Saturday, equating to 37.3% of all such games scheduled in 2025. Add the one such game that took place last week when Idaho State lost 31-38 at UNLV and only 78 will remain.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23