2025 Games of the Slot: Week One
Breaking down which game to watch at each time slot this weekend
Week Zero didn’t disappoint, with a wonderfully sloppy Farm O’Geddon in Dublin, a nail-biting Hawaii upset of Stanford and a near miss in an FBS-FCS affair.
Week One might be better. We’ve got more playoff implications, blue blood on blue blood crime and a lot of questions that are about to be answered in some way shape or form.
And the return of a ton of other slots with multibox options!
We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s just dive in. As always, all times listed are in Eastern.
Friday Night
Game of the Slot: Auburn at 22 Baylor (8 p.m., FOX)
Yeah, this one’s going to be chaotic.
Auburn under Hugh Freeze has been nothing short of a disaster. All throughout the SID Sports Season Preview are mentions from both myself and the panel I had vote on conference standings talking about how Freeze is on thin ice. But he brought in a host of transfers that can make a difference. Does Jackson Arnold thrive in a Freeze offense? Can a remade receiving corps build chemistry with a new quarterback? Is the defense even able to compete at a high level?
On the flip side, Baylor has a few more questions with answers but still has serious question marks. The good news is the offense, lead by quarterback Sawyer Robertson, should be lights out. Most of the top contributors, including two dangerous tailbacks, return. But like Auburn, Baylor has a ton of questions on defense. Namely, can Dave Aranda get his Bears playing like they did early in his tenure?
I expect a full-fledged, last team with the ball wins shootout. Not a bad way to break in the weekend.
Multi-Box Games: Georgia Tech at Colorado (8 p.m., ESPN); UNLV at Sam Houston (9:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network); Appalachian State at Charlotte (7 p.m., ESPNU)
Admittedly, Georgia Tech at Colorado is also going to be a blast. The Yellow Jackets have some solid hype behind Haynes King and Jamal Haynes’s returns, but Colorado has to weather the storm of losing Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. Plus, Coach Prime knows how to handle a hype train. UNLV had a rough showing against FCS Idaho State last week, but so did Sam Houston against Western Kentucky. Already, both teams are battling to get on the right track. Finally, the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff pits two head coaches new to their North Carolina programs against each other. I think Appalachian State is in a better spot, but Tim Albin at Charlotte may have something fun up his sleeve.
Saturday - 12 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 2 Texas at 3 Ohio State (FOX)
This is the one. The game to truly get us going. Two top-five teams. The two cover athletes of the SID Sports Season Preview. Corso’s final game. The triumphant return of college football.
Texas has a great roster and a defense that I think is being seriously slept on. They get all their injured running backs from last season healthy again. But that’s not the reason for excitement. That, my friends, is solely on the shoulders of Arch Manning. The heir to the Manning passing dynasty is finally the unquestioned starter in Austin and gets his first true test against the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes. It just doesn’t get better than this.
Speaking of those defending champs, Ohio State has a ton of question marks too. Former five-star Julian Sayin is getting his first crack at extended collegiate action. 14 players are off to the NFL. The two new coordinators, Brian Hartline and Matt Patricia, had serious issues last time in their positions. But this is still Ohio State. Jeremiah Smith is still the nation’s best player. Caleb Downs is still the best defensive playmaker in the nation. Ryan Day is still recruiting like nobody else. This is still Ohio State.
Last year’s playoff meeting between these two programs was a slog. Expect the same here.
Multi-Box Games: Syracuse at Tennessee (ABC); Toledo at Kentucky (12:45 p.m., SEC Network); Northwestern at Tulane (ESPNU)
An orange bowl (not that one) between Syracuse and Tennessee has shootout written all over it. I’m interested to see how each team’s new quarterback (Syracuse with Steve Angeli and Tennessee with Joey Aguilar) acclimates to each program’s pass-first scheme. Toledo at Kentucky is my upset pick of the week, but is it an upset if Toledo is expected to win? I ranked the Rockets 32nd in my Preseason 136 and Kentucky 83rd. Hope I’m not wrong on that. The same can be said for Tulane at Northwestern. If the Green Wave and Rockets are going to push Boise for the Group of Six playoff spot, Power Four wins early are a huge boost to their resume.
3-4 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 6 Alabama at Florida State (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Now here’s a game with some interesting behind the scenes stuff.
Alabama’s first year under Kalen DeBoer was a so-so season. Nothing special either way, until an undermanned Michigan dog walked the full-strength Tide in the Reliquest Bowl. Now, DeBoer is feeling some pressure to get back to Alabama’s winning ways. Reuniting with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb gets me excited and I think Ty Simpson is a better fit for the offense than Jalen Milroe. But all my questions are on the offensive side of the ball, as Kane Wommack should have the Alabama defense rocking.
All the questions are in Tallahassee. What version of Florida State do we get? The one that competed for a playoff bid or the one that had the worst season we’ve ever seen from a presumed contender? Mike Norvell turning to former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn to lead the offense with dual threat Thomas Castellanos has a ton of fun potential and there’s a whole host of transfer power across the Seminole roster. This game isn’t really a referendum on where the Florida State program sits, but we’ll overreact to it no matter what happens.
Multi-Box Games: Holy Cross at Northern Illinois (3:30 p.m., ESPN+); Temple at UMass (3:30 p.m., ESPN+); South Dakota at 23 Iowa State (3:30 p.m., FOX)
You may have to look deeper for interest in these multibox affairs, but hang with me. Holy Cross routinely lands among the FCS’s most potent offenses and NIU posted one of the FBS’s top defenses last year. Should be an interesting matchup with upset potential. Temple at UMass isn’t a great game on paper, but it’s a battle between two new hires looking to rebuild long down-trodden programs. That’s enough to give me a Sicko watch. Finally, we have the most wild FCS upset potential, but one I’m not ruling out. South Dakota is ranked fifth in the FCS Coaches’ Poll and gets a jet-lagged Iowa State fresh off a trip to Ireland. If there’s any sloppiness from the Cyclones like we saw in Dublin, South Dakota may just pounce on a shocking opportunity.
Wondering where these rankings come from and want to see where your favorite team and archrivals land in a 136-team rankings? Check out the SID Sports Season Preview Magazine for free!
6-8 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 8 LSU at 1 Clemson (7:30 p.m., ABC)
A top-10 battle for the Tiger Bowl is among one of the best games of the weekend.
LSU and head coach Brian Kelly are feeling the pressure. They went all in on the portal to try to build a championship front runner around star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. But Nussmeier is dealing with tendonitis in one knee. He should be all clear for action and ready to lead the high-powered Bayou Bengal offense. On the defensive side of the ball, LSU has work to do. Blake Baker started getting the LSU defense on track last year, but it fell apaprt down the stretch. With even more transfers and the return of Harold Perkins Jr., Baker has his best team to work with.
They’ll get a serious test from the Clemson team I put number one. Dabo Swinney has the nation’s top returning production, a stud coordinator hire in Tom Allen to revive the defense up to their championship standards, and he finally dipped into the transfer portal to add three high-impact players. The offense under Garrett Riley and Cade Klubnik will give LSU all it can handle. But I want to see what Allen cooks up to defend Nussmeier and the LSU receiving corps, which ranks up with Ohio State as the best in the nation.
Expect a close game here with tons of fireworks on both sides of the ball.
Multi-Box Games: UTSA at 15 Texas A&M (7 p.m., ESPN); Nicholls at Troy (7 p.m., ESPN+); UTEP at Utah State (7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
I tabbed Texas A&M as a team that can surprise, even considering their 15th ranking, but they have to clear the easy test in UTSA first. The Roadrunners were much better down the stretch last season and should be able to hang with the Aggies. It’s up to Texas A&M to put them away. Nicholls just pulled a massive FCS upset over fourth-ranked Incarnate Word and could keep the ball rolling against a Troy team that may struggle this year. FCS upset enjoyers, here’s your game. Finally, UTEP is breaking in former five-star Malachi Nelson under center and Utah State is getting used to the Bronco Mendenhall offense. That’s going to have a lot of chaos and firework potential in Logan.
West Coast After Dark
Game of the Slot: 20 Utah at UCLA (11 p.m., FOX)
Transfer quarterbacks are the story here and both teams have interesting ones under center.
For Utah, we’re looking to see if the duo of offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterback Devon Dampier can reignite the Ute offense like they did at New Mexico last season. With a strong offensive line and a charactheristically good defense, Utah is a prime bounce-back candidate. We’ll just have to see how Dampier’s run-first style translates to Power Four football.
UCLA was part of the highly-publicized NIL drama that landed them Nico Iamaleava and his brother Madden. Well, all that’s in the past and it’s time to strap up and play. Iamaleava spent the last two seasons in Tennessee’s unique veer and shoot offense where he was making quick half-field reads and running the ball a lot. The offense Tino Sunseri is installing at UCLA is much different. Without the level of talent he had at Tennessee and the quarterback friendly scheme, can Iamaleava stay successful? UCLA certainly is betting on it.
Multi-Box Games: Hawaii at Arizona (10:30 p.m., TNT/HBO Max); California at Oregon State (10:30 p.m., ESPN); Idaho at Washington State (10 p.m., The CW)
Hawaii is a great team to watch, from lefty baller Micah Alejado at quarterback and their YouTube-taught Japanese kicker and everything in between. They already beat one Power Four foe in Stanford, can they do it again against Arizona? If the Wildcats come out flat like last season, it’s very possible. California at Oregon State isn’t much of a highlight battle, but the quarterback situation is one to watch. Cal is going with highly-touted true freshman Jaron Keawe-Sagapoulete and Oregon State has Duke transfer Maalik Murphy taking over. Finally, Idaho at Washington State is another FCS possible upset. Especially since most of Washington State’s players come with their coaching staff from South Dakota State. This’ll be an interesting battle of FCS superpowers with one masquerading as an FBS program.
Sunday - 3 p.m.
Game of the Slot: Virginia Tech at South Carolina (ESPN)
Neither team enters the season ranked, but both have plenty to prove.
Virginia Tech let down most everyone that was hyping them as a dark horse ACC contender last season with another mid-table finish. Can this be the year Brent Key’s team finally breaks through? Kyron Drones is still quarterbacking the Hokies, and a great transfer running back in Terion Stewart means Virginia Tech is going to run the ball a lot. But can the defense step up? And what if Drones needs to pass?
For South Carolina, all eyes are on the sophomore duo of LaNorris Sellers and Dylan Stewart. The Gamecocks’ hopes on both sides of the ball rest on those youngsters. Sellers has Heisman potential and may be one of the nation’s most electric players. When he turned it on down the stretch, there were few quarterbacks better on the ground and in the air. On the defensive side, Stewart is the key to the pass rush. If he gets home and can attack, opposing offenses are going to struggle. And that means Drones and Stewart won’t have clean running lanes.
Want to dive deeper into these teams? Check out the SID Sports Season Preview, compared by one generous reader to the Sporting News’ Season Previews!
Sunday - 7:30 p.m.
Game of the Slot: 9 Notre Dame at 10 Miami (ABC)
It’s not quite Catholics v. Convicts levels of hype, but this is a massive game for the playoff race.
Notre Dame, as an independent, needs to build their resume with wins like this. They also need to break in a new quarterback in C.J. Carr. Carr has all the tools to be the best home-grown Notre Dame quarterback in years and finally solve their incessant hunt for aging transfers, but this is his first action. Can he deliver on the big stage against another top-10 foe? He’ll have Jeremiyah Love to be the offense’s focal point, but Carr is going to be the X-factor. The defense is also undergoing a bit of a revamp, with Chris Ash making his return to coordinating. That could either go fine (see, Ash at Ohio State) or poorly (see, Ash at Rutgers).
Miami has a ton of question marks even if you look past Mario Cristobal’s questionable clock management. Transfer portal savior Carson Beck had UCL surgery that held him out of most of the preseason work. Is he ready to hit the field again? And has he moved past those interception issues that plagued Georgia last season? The defense has stars like Wesley Bissainthe and Rueben Bain Jr. ready to go, but new coordinator Corey Hetherman has to rebuild the secondary. Starting off against a fresh starter like Carr isn’t the worst and can get some confidence brewing in the Miami defense if they play well. If they don’t, things could snowball.
Monday Night
Game of the Slot: TCU at North Carolina (8 p.m., ESPN)
It’s only fitting that this is the Monday night matchup. Bill Belichick’s first ever college football game on the sideline comes on the traditionally NFL Monday night slot. TCU, once again, breaks in the offseason’s most talked about hire two years after they matched up with Deion Sanders’s Colorado.
This time, TCU seems more prepared. They have more returning leaders. They know how to handle the spotlight. Quarterback Josh Hoover is now a seasoned starter, ready to take the world by storm. The Horned Frogs, as always, have questions on defense, but the offense is ready to take over.
Meanwhile, Belichick’s Tar Heels are virtual unknowns. The offense, led by Freddie Kitchens, is unknown. How much will Belichick let the mad scientist Kitchens dip into his bag of tricks? What does the defense look like? Does it resemble Steve Belichick’s unit at Washington last year? What about compared to the Patriots’ defenses under Bill? And how does the offense run with uber-efficient dual threat Gio Lopez manning it? At this point, nobody knows. But we’ll find out on Monday.
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