There’s one more weekday tune-up on the Week 1 college football schedule before the 2026 season gets started in earnest, with several marquee programs on the field in their early action today, with three AP top 25 ranked teams kicking off.
Three of the Power Four conferences will be represented, including two top-ten ranked College Football Playoff hopefuls and Lincoln Riley coaching his second game of the season, with all three coming in as heavy favorites.
College Football Today: Week 1 Schedule, Top Games to Watch on Friday
All times Eastern, and game lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
UTEP at 10 Oklahoma
Fri., Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. on SEC Network Plus
A great defense and a meager offense defined the Sooners’ season last time out. And while it was enough to make the College Football Playoff, it won’t do to get anywhere in the postseason, but one key returning fixture could be the solution they need.
John Mateer is back under center as Oklahoma’s quarterback, but he needs to get much more efficient, much more consistently. He’ll also need help in that task from a rushing attack that was just 113th nationally a year ago, and from a group of blockers that were frequently over-matched last season, but should be better this time around.
No apparent worries against UTEP, and its basically entirely new offense, in the opener in Norman, as the Sooners are nearly six touchdown favorites.
Line: Oklahoma -40.5, 51.5
7 Miami at Stanford
Fri., Sept. 4 at 9 p.m. on ESPN
Mario Cristobal is credited with bringing The U back, taking the Hurricanes to the national championship game, and coming close against Indiana in a loss, and now the first pressure is on to prove that wasn’t a one-year wonder.
First up is a cross-country trip against a Stanford side that is already 1-0 after its win against Hawaii in Week 0 in which quarterback Davis Warren had a personal-best 310 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers.
Miami lost some key defensive contributors from that front seven after getting raided by the NFL Draft, but returns vital skill inputs like wide receiver Malachi Toney and rusher Mark Fletcher, and scored transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, who led all Power Four passers with 3,973 yards passing in 2025 and was second with 34 touchdowns.
Line: Miami -24.5, 48.5
Fresno State at 14 USC
Fri., Sept. 4 at 9 p.m. on Fox
Regardless of how many people saw, or didn’t see, and why, the Trojans won their 2026 season against San Jose State last weekend, they are back in the Coliseum again opposite a Fresno State side with possibly enough in the backfield to test USC’s rushing defense alignment.
Lincoln Riley’s team needs to show that they can compete for four full quarters and not have any drop-off in the second half against an over-matched opponent while perfecting their own rushing attack to compliment Jayden Maiava’s passing prowess.
Line: USC -22.5, 51.5
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