College football Week 1 buzz: Upset picks, Deion's debut, more

While Florida's trip to face Utah in Salt Lake City kicks things off Thursday night, the weekend's headline game involves another Florida team. After last year's thrilling 24-23 win in New Orleans, LSU and Florida State take their series to Orlando. That's the only matchup between two ranked teams in Week 1, but that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of other interesting storylines.

Three of the four teams in the College Football Playoff have new quarterbacks, as do Alabama and Penn State, and USC's Caleb Williams tries to win consecutive Heisman trophies.

We asked college football insiders Heather Dinich and Adam Rittenberg for insight on the hottest topics of the week, including the buzz around Deion Sanders and Colorado in Week 1, which coach already is under pressure and more.

Jump to a section:
Week 1 excitement | Coaches under fire?
Expectations for Deion | Upset picks
Under-the-radar Heisman picks

The thing you're most excited about in Week 1 is ________?

Rittenberg: To see whether Florida State has actually turned a corner. Coaches at both FSU and LSU are expecting a higher quality matchup than what we saw last year in New Orleans. "It was two question marks battling," an assistant at one school said this summer. "Now it's two statements battling." But FSU must show it can back up the hype, especially with so many returning contributors. I'm particularly interested in Florida State's front seven play on defense and whether LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels will run as much as he did in 2022.

Dinich: Florida State beat LSU last year -- and still didn't turn a corner. There's no question we'll learn something about both of those teams, and it's the Week 1 game that will have the biggest CFP impact, but I'm most excited to see the debuts we've been waiting for -- new quarterbacks at Bama, Penn State, Ohio State and Georgia -- plus Coach Prime finally taking the field for the first time with Colorado against TCU. There's also Luke Fickell's first game with Wisconsin and the unveiling of its new-look offense. Of course, it's only the first game and there will be some sloppiness, jitters and rookie mistakes -- but that's all part of the fun.

Rittenberg: Good call on the Wisconsin offense, HD, as the sight of an up-tempo, four-wide, pass-heavy scheme could rattle Camp Randall more than "Jump Around." Coaches around the Big Ten are fascinated to see how coordinator Phil Longo's scheme works with a mix of transfers, including quarterback Tanner Mordecai, and holdovers like standout running back Braelon Allen. "It'll be a little bit of a culture shock," Longo told me this spring. "But hopefully [fans will] enjoy it. If we're scoring points, they'll enjoy it."

Dinich: Ohio State fans will enjoy seeing some points, too, now that Ryan Day has named Kyle McCord the starter against Indiana. This should be a good opportunity for McCord to ease into the role, and he certainly doesn't have to force anything with guys like Marvin Harrison Jr. around him. If the Buckeyes are going to get back to the CFP, though -- and beat Michigan along the way -- how that position unfolds will have a lot to do with it.

It's only Week 1, of course, but which coach is under the most pressure now?

Dinich: It should be Indiana's Tom Allen, who hasn't had a winning season since he went 6-2 during the COVID-shortened season in 2020, but his lofty buyout will keep him safe for at least one more year. The Hoosiers have won six games over the past two seasons. Six! IU also had the worst defense in the Big Ten last year, ranking last in opponent points (33.9) and opponent yards per game (450.3) and 20-yard plays (63). Meanwhile, former IU quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is at Washington and should be in contention for the Heisman Trophy and a Pac-12 title.

Rittenberg: Initially, it's West Virginia's Neal Brown. Unlike in 2022, when several Power 5 coaches entered the season with virtually no chance to save their jobs (and didn't), there's more of a wait-and-see approach around this year's coaching hot seat. But Brown has immediate urgency with a new athletic director (Wren Baker) evaluating him and a tricky September schedule that begins with Penn State (road) and also features Pitt (home), Texas Tech (home) and No. 17 TCU (road).

Dinich: Brown is undoubtedly the coach under the most pressure -- and he knows it. The question is what WVU will define as a successful, or job-saving season. Is it simply a bowl game? Over .500? Baker didn't put a number on it this offseason, but it's hard to imagine Brown surviving anything less than a bowl game, and even that might not be good enough.

Rittenberg: Other coaches who could use a strong start this year include Syracuse's Dino Babers, Cal's Justin Wilcox, Indiana's Allen, Missouri's Eliah Drinkwitz, Memphis' Ryan Silverfield and Houston's Dana Holgorsen. There aren't many true hot-seat candidates right now, but we've seen from the last few years how quickly the temperature can change around certain programs. The big subplot of the coaching carousel is figuring out the surprise firings, like Florida's Dan Mullen in 2021 and Wisconsin's Paul Chryst last year.

What's the buzz around Deion Sanders and the Buffs as the season starts?

Dinich: One Pac-12 head coach told me that Colorado's roster is "much improved from a talent standpoint," but wasn't sure how quickly that would translate into wins. Given how much turnover there was, few are willing to make any sort of predictions. There's a sense of needing to take them more seriously, but also some disbelief that there will be an immediate magical turnaround.

Rittenberg: There's a lot of skepticism in the coaching community about whether Colorado's roster renovation will actually work. Sanders clearly upgraded certain positions, including quarterback and cornerback, but offensive line play could present some challenges after Colorado lost some players to the transfer portal it probably needed to keep. "Some of their better players went in the portal," an opposing coach said. "I don't know who they're going to replace them with."

Read more: Inside Deion's Rocky Mountain remake

What's your upset pick for Week 1?

Rittenberg: Hawai'i (+3.5) over Stanford. Coach Timmy Chang's team already has played and held its own at Vanderbilt before a late interception ended an encouraging performance from quarterback Brayden Schager. Stanford is a big mystery as it makes its debut under new coach Troy Taylor with a long trip. Hawai'i rides the emotion of its first game on the island since the devastating Maui fire and beats Stanford on a late touchdown.

Dinich: South Carolina (+2.5) over North Carolina. Yes, there's a ton of hype around UNC quarterback Drake Maye, and deservedly so -- he will be the better QB on the field. But the Tar Heels' defense last year was gawd awful, and it has a lot to prove. UNC ranked last in the ACC in every major defensive category, and South Carolina averaged 44 points and 458 yards in its final three games last season. Spencer Rattler threw 10 touchdowns during that span.

We know the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. Who's your under-the-radar pick?

Dinich: Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU. He had a breakout season as a true freshman, leading the team in sacks and finishing in the top three in the SEC in forced fumbles, tackles for loss and sacks. That was as an outside linebacker. This year, he's moving inside and could be even more impactful with additional responsibilities.

Rittenberg: Joe Milton III, QB, Tennessee. I realize the risk in picking a player who has opened seasons for both Michigan and Tennessee as QB1, only to lose his job. But Milton ended last season playing at an extremely high level and brings loads of experience to complement talent that SEC coaches have raved about. "He reminds me of Hendon Hooker but more talented," an SEC defensive coordinator said of the quarterback who beat out Milton in 2021. "Finishing the year off the way he did, I think he's going to have a ton of confidence."

Let's empty your notebooks: What else are you hearing this week?

Dinich:

• There were no major decisions made this week on if the CFP will change the format for how it chooses the 12 teams next year in an expanded field, but Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher seemed to like the support in the room for a model that would reward the five highest-ranked conference champions.

(That's all assuming the Pac-12 dissolves next year, like many expect it to.)

"I felt good coming out of that conversation," he said. "Didn't take any sort of hands, I just felt good about that conversation."

• Notre Dame looked sharp in its Dublin drubbing of Navy, but it wasn't just transfer quarterback Sam Hartman who was impressive. There was some public pushback this offseason from fans who were disenchanted with Marcus Freeman's offensive coordinator hire, who went through a turbulent process before ultimately promoting tight ends coach Gerad Parker. Following the win over Navy, though, there was a sense within the program that the system worked.

"It was spectacular," athletic director Jack Swarbrick said. "To not have any motion penalties, any pre-snap issues, we had one timeout. It was really smooth -- really smooth."

The competition will obviously get more difficult, but for Notre Dame to start the season with an answer to one of its biggest questions is significant.

Rittenberg:

• When I visited Ohio State in early August, I was struck by the bold proclamations from a defensive line filled with high-level talent, but a group that hasn't been considered elite for a few years. "We are going to be the best D-line in the country," tackle Michael Hall Jr. told me. "That's the standard [defensive line coach Larry Johnson] holds us to." The spotlight will be on players like Hall and talented ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer to see if they can start the season strong at Indiana.

• Washington's interior offensive line should get an opening test from Boise State, as the Huskies integrate some new starters. One of the more intriguing new faces is guard Parker Brailsford, who is both young (redshirt freshman) and undersized (6-foot-2, 275 pounds), but wowed the staff during camp. "Just a really, really twitched-up kid that plays violent," an assistant said.

• Houston begins its Big 12 transition season with a quarterback who has Big 12 experience in Donovan Smith, a Texas Tech transfer. Smith completed better than 66% of his passes for the Red Raiders last year, recording 12 touchdowns but also eight interceptions. Consistency will be key as he leads a new offense. "He's one of those guys we call a band player," a Big 12 defensive coordinator said. "One of the bands is going to start playing when he makes a big play."