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Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Week 2 of college football's season openers, the finale of golf's FedExCup Playoffs and the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament lead an action-packed sports weekend. This final weekend without NFL games until February also features the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and regular-season MLB and MLS games.
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College football's second week started with one game Wednesday and 16 games Thursday. Powerhouses Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Georgia and Notre Dame are among the teams who start their seasons this weekend.
College football
North Carolina, the No. 9 team in the Coaches Poll, battles Virginia Tech in the first of eight games Friday in college football. The Tar Heels and Hokies kick off at 6 p.m. EDT on ESPN.
Charlotte hosts Duke in the second game of the day at 7 p.m. on CBSSN. Michigan State battles Northwestern in a Big Ten matchup at 9 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
Nine games kick off at noon EDT Saturday. Michigan hosts Western Michigan on ESPN. No. 15 Wisconsin hosts No. 20 Penn State in another Big Ten matchup on Fox. No. 3 Oklahoma faces Tulane on ABC.
Six games air at 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday. No. 1 Alabama battles No. 16 Miami in one of those matchups on ABC. No. 17 Indiana faces No. 18 Iowa on the Big Ten Network. No. 8 Iowa State plays Northern Iowa on ESPN. No. 10 Cincinnati hosts Miami University on ESPN+.
No. 23 Louisiana faces No. 19 Texas at 4:30 p.m. on Fox. No. 14 USC hosts San Jose State at 5 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
No. 2 Clemson and No. 5 Georgia face off in one of the best matchups of the weekend at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
No. 6 Texas A&M hosts Kent State at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. No. 13 LSU faces UCLA at 8:30 p.m. on Fox.
No. 7 Notre Dame starts its season against Florida State in the weekend's final game. That matchup kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EDT Sunday on ABC.
Tour Championship
The 2021 Tour Championship, the final leg of the PGA Tour's FedExCup Playoffs, teed off Thursday and runs through Sunday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
World No. 1 Jon Rahm and No. 4 Patrick Cantlay are co-favorites to win the event. The champion claims the FedExCup title and a $15 million prize.
No. 7 Bryson DeChambeau, No. 9 Tony Finau, No. 6 Justin Thomas, No. 2 Dustin Johnson, No. 23 Cameron Smith and No. 14 Jordan Spieth are among the other favorites.
The Tour Championship field features 30 players and does not have a cut through the first two rounds. Johnson is the defending champion.
The second round of the Tour Championship airs from 1 to 6 p.m. EDT Friday on Golf Channel. The third round airs from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday on Golf Channel and from 2:30 to 7 p.m. on NBC.
The final round airs from noon to 1:30 p.m. EDT on Golf Channel and from 1:30 to 6 p.m. on NBC.
U.S. Open tennis
The 2021 U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the season, started Monday and airs through Sept. 12 on ESPN platforms. No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia is the favorite to win the men's singles title and complete his calendar-year Grand Slam.
No. 1 Ash Barty and No. 3 Naomi Osaka, the defending champion, are the Top 2 favorites to win the women's singles title.
Osaka faces No. 73 Leylah Fernandez of Canada in her third-round match Friday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Forest Hills, N.Y.
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka battles No. 29 Danielle Collins of the United States in her third-round match on Friday.
No. 5 Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, No. 10 Garbine Muguruza of Spain, No. 9 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and No. 13 Simona Halep of Belgium are among the other top women in action Friday in Forest Hills.
No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and No. 7 Andrey Rublev, both of Russia, No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and 14 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina are among the top men who play third-round matches Friday at the hard-court Grand Slam.
Friday
Tennis
U.S. Open: Third round from noon to 6 p.m. EDT on ESPN, from 6 to 11 p.m. EDT on ESPN2
Golf
Tour Championship: Second round from 1 to 6 p.m. EDT on Golf Channel
MLB
Pirates at Cubs at 2:20 p.m. EDT on MLB Network (Out of market only)
Phillies at Marlins at 7:10 p.m. EDT on MLB Network (Out of market only)
Dodgers at Giants at 9:45 p.m. EDT on MLB Network (Out of market only)
College football
North Carolina at Virginia Tech at 6 p.m. EDT on ESPN
Michigan State at Northwestern at 9 p.m. EDT on ESPN
South Dakota State at Colorado State at 9 p.m. EDT on FS1
Soccer
MLS: NYCFC at Nashville at 7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
MLS: New England at Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
MLS: Portland at Houston at 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
MLS: Kansas City at LAFC on 10 p.m. EDT on TUDN
Saturday
Tennis
U.S. Open: Third round from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. EDT on ESPN2
Soccer
Men's World Cup Qualifier: Cyprus vs. Russia at noon EDT on ESPN3
Men's World Cup Qualifier: Norway vs. Latvia at noon EDT on ESPN+
Men's World Cup Qualifier: Croatia vs. Slovakia at 2:45 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
Men's World Cup Qualifier: France vs. the Ukraine at 2:45 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
Friendly: Portugal vs. Qatar at 12:45 p.m. EDT on espn+
MLS: Austin at Vancouver on 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
MLS: Columbus at Orlando on 7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
MLS: Miami at Cincinnati at 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
MLS: Dallas at Salt Lake at 8 p.m. EDT on TUDN
MLS: Colorado at San Jose at 10 p.m. EDT on TUDN
College football
Western Michigan at Michigan at noon EDT on ESPN
Penn State at Wisconsin at noon EDT on Fox
Stanford at Kansas State at noon EDT on FS1
Oklahoma at Tulane at noon EDT on ABC
Fresno State at Oregon at 2 p.m. EDT on Pac-12 Network
Alabama vs. Miami at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ABC
Indiana at Iowa at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Big Ten Network
West Virginia at Maryland at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN
Northern Iowa at Iowa State at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
Miami University at Cincinnati at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
Louisiana at Texas at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Fox
San Jose State at USC at 5 p.m. EDT on Pac-12 Network
Oregon State at Purdue at 7 p.m. EDT on FS1
Texas Tech vs. Houston at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN
FAU at Florida at 7:30 p.m. EDT on SEC Network
Clemson vs. Georgia at 7:30 p.m. EDT on ABC
Kent State at Texas A&M at 8 p.m. EDT on ESPNU
Montana at Washington at 8 p.m. EDT on Pac-12 Network
LSU at UCLA at 8:30 p.m. EDT on Fox
Nevada at Cal at 10:30 p.m. EDT on FS1
BYU vs. Arizona at 10:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN
Golf
Tour Championship: Third from 1 to 2:30 p.m. EDT on Golf Channel, from 2:30 to 7 p.m. EDT on NBC
MLB
Orioles at Yankees at 1:05 p.m. EDT on MLB Network (Out of market only)
Twins at Rays at 4:05 p.m. EDT on FS1
Dodgers at Giants at 9:05 p.m. EDT on MLB Network (Out of market only)
NASCAR
Xfinity Series Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at 3:30 p.m. EDT on NBCSN
Sunday
Tennis
U.S. Open: Round of 16 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN, from 7 to 11 p.m. EDT on ESPN2
Soccer
Men's World Cup Qualifier: England vs. Andorra at noon EDT on ESPN2
Men's World Cup Qualifier: Belgium vs. Czech Republic at 2:45 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
Men's World Cup Qualifier: Germany vs. Armenia at 2:45 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
Men's World Cup Qualifier: Spain vs. Georgia at 2:45 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
Men's World Cup Qualifier: Switzerland vs. Italy at 2:45 p.m. EDT on ESPN+
Men's World Cup Qualifier: Canada vs. USA at 8 p.m. EDT on FS1
Golf
Tour Championship: Final round from noon to 1:30 p.m. EDT on Golf Channel, from 1:30 to 6 p.m. EDT on NBC
MLB
Indians at Red Sox at 1:10 p.m. EDT on TBS (Out of market only)
Astros at Padres at 4:10 p.m. EDT on MLB Network (Out of market only)
Dodgers at Giants at 7:08 p.m. EDT on ESPN
NASCAR
Truck Series In It To Win It 200 at 1:30 p.m. EDT on FS1
Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at 6 p.m. EDT on NBCSN
College football
Notre Dame at Florida State at 7:30 p.m. EDT on ABC
