1 of 6 | Running back Jamal Haynes (11) and Georgia Tech will face Florida State in the first game of the 2024 college football season at noon EDT Saturday on ESPN. Photo by Danny Karnik/Georgia Tech Athletics
Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will take the field first, kicking off opening weekend of the 2024 college football season Saturday in Dublin, Ireland.
Florida State and Georgia Tech will kick off at noon EDT Saturday at Aviva Stadium. The season-opening matchup will air on ESPN.
"I think they will do a really good job," Seminoles quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei told reporters Wednesday, when asked about the Yellow Jackets.
"It will be a good game for us and a good test."
Seven games are scheduled Saturday. The majority of other college football programs will launch their seasons next week. A full schedule, with broadcast information, is available on the NCAA website.
The Seminoles, who posted a 13-0 regular-season record in 2023, are 10.5-point favorites to beat the Yellow Jackets, who haven't won more than nine games in a season since 2014.
"Game week is here," Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key said. "Super excited. The team is excited. We put a lot of hard work in since January. ... It's a great opportunity for us."
McNeese will take on Tarletan State in the second game of the season at 3:30 p.m. in Stephenville, Texas. Coverage will air on ESPNU.
New Mexico will host Montana State at 4 p.m. Saturday in Albuquerque. That matchup will air on FS1.
North Alabama will meet Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala. That game will be featured on ESPN. Norfolk State will then play Florida A&M at 7:30 p.m. in Atlanta, with coverage airing on ABC.
Nevada will host SMU in the next game at 8 p.m. in Reno, with coverage available on CBS Sports Network. Hawaii will host Delaware State in the final game of the day, which will held in Honolulu and air at midnight on Spectrum Sports.
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are the biggest favorites (40.5) in Saturday's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) slate. SMU (25) and Montana State (12.5) also are expected to start the season 1-0.
The 134 FBS teams will battle for placement in the new 12-team College Football Playoff throughout the regular season. The first round of the new format will start Dec. 20. The quarterfinals will start Jan. 1 and the semifinals will be held Jan. 9 and 10. The College Football Playoff finale will be held Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
In total, 17 of the Top 25 teams will launch their seasons Aug. 31, including No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Notre Dame, No, 8 Penn State and No. 9 Michigan, the defending champions.
The top-ranked Bulldogs, who won two of the last three national titles, will face No. 14 Clemson Tigers in the first matchup between two ranked teams. That game, featuring Georgia quarterback -- and Heisman contender -- Carson Beck, will kick off at noon Aug. 31 in Atlanta.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and Ohio State quarterback Will Howard are among the other preseason Heisman favorites.
Georgia and Ohio State are favorites to win the national title. Oregon, Texas, Ole Miss, Alabama, Notre Dame, LSU, Penn State, Florida State and Michigan are among the other expected title contenders.
Beck, Ewers, Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams, Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr., Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, LSU edge rusher Harold Perkins and offensive tackle Will Campbell, Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III and Michigan cornerback Will Johnson are among the players projected to be first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sanders has the top name, image and likeness valuation -- $4.7 million -- in college sports, according to On3.com. Texas backup quarterback Arch Manning ($3.1M), Hunter ($2.7M), Milroe ($1.7M), Ewers ($1.7M), Beck ($1.4M) and Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart ($1.3M) also rank inside the Top 10 in NIL valuation.
The first set of College Football Playoff rankings will be released Nov. 5. Those rankings will come out weekly through Dec. 8 selection day.
Notable season openers
Saturday
No. 10 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech at noon on ESPN
McNeese at Tarleton State at 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU
Montana State at New Mexico at 4 p.m. on FS1
North Alabama vs. Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. on ESPN
Florida A&M vs. Norfolk State at 7:30 p.m. on ABC
SMU at Nevada at 8 p.m. on CBSSN
Sunday
Delaware State at Hawaii at midnight on Spectrum Sports PPV
Thursday
Western Carolina at No. 24 NC State at 7 p.m. on ACC Network
Murray State at No. 11 Missouri at 8 p.m. on SEC Network
North Carolina at Minnesota at 8 p.m. on Fox
North Dakota State at Colorado at 8 p.m. on ESPN
Lindenwood at No. 22 Kansas at 8 p.m. on Big 12 Network/ESPN+
Southern Utah at No. 12 Utah at 9 p.m. on Big 12 Network/ESPN+
Aug. 30
Temple at No. 16 Oklahoma at 7 p.m. on ESPN
TCU at Stanford at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
Aug. 31
No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia at noon on ABC
Illinois State at No. 25 Iowa at noon on Big Ten Network
No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia at noon on Fox
Virginia Tech vs. Vanderbilt at noon on ESPN
UConn at Maryland at noon on FS1
Chattanooga at No. 15 Tennessee at 12:45 p.m. on SEC Network
South Dakota State at No. 17 Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. on Big 12 Network/ESPN+
No. 19 Miami at Florida at 3:30 p.m. on ABC
Colorado State at No. 4 Texas at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
Akron at No. 2 Ohio State at 3:30 p.m. on CBS
North Dakota at Iowa State at 3:30 p.m. on FS1
UTEP at Nebraska at 3:30 p.m. on Fox
Western Kentucky at No. 5 Alabama at 7 p.m. on ESPN
Furman at No. 6 Ole Miss at 7 p.m. on ESPN+/SEC Network
UT Martin at No. 18 Kansas State at 7 p.m. on Big 12 Network/ESPN+
UNLV at Houston at 7 p.m. on FS1
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. on ABC
Fresno State at No. 9 Michigan at 7:30 p.m. on NBC
Idaho at No. 3 Oregon at 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
UCLA at Hawaii at 7:30 p.m. on CBS
New Mexico at No. 21 Arizona at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
Wyoming at Arizona State at 10:30 p.m. on FS1
Sept. 1
North Carolina Central vs. Alabama State at 3 p.m. on ESPN
No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU at 7:30 p.m. on ABC
Sept. 2
Boston College at No. 10 Florida State at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN