2024 NCAAF one-month countdown

Last week ended an 11-year wait for many NCAAF fans with the worldwide release of "College Football 25." This week, we embark on a new countdown as we approach the one-month mark until the 155th college football season, which will kick off Saturday, Aug. 24, with a four-game slate in "Week Zero." 

Below YouBet provides a full breakdown of the four-game slate for Week Zero, as well as the marquee matchups in Week 1 of the 2024 college football season.

Week Zero schedule

Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024

In Week Zero, FCS school Delaware State will visit the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, who finished 5-8 in head coach Timmy Chang's second season at the helm. The Oregon Ducks were originally scheduled as Hawaii's opponent but canceled after opting to move to the Big Ten conference. Delaware State went 1-10 last season and will attempt a major upset of the home team in Honolulu.

At noon on Saturday, the Florida State Seminoles return to the field following an undefeated regular season that ended with a 63-3 blowout loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl in which FSU competed without a number of players. The Seminoles' opening-season opponent, Georgia Tech, is coming off a 7-6 record in Brent Key's first season — the first winning season for the Yellow Jackets since 2018. 

The FSU-Geogia Tech matchup will take place overseas in Dublin, Ireland, the site of ESPN's first "College GameDay" broadcast of the season. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban will also make his debut with the GameDay cast.

Next up at 4 p.m. ET, Montana State of the Big Sky will visit New Mexico, who finished near the bottom of the Mountain West and will look to improve under first-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall, previously the head coach of Virginia.

To close out the four-game slate on Aug. 24, Nevada (2-10 in 2023) will host the SMU Mustangs, who went 11-3 in the 2023 regular season and finished No. 24 in the final College Football Playoff poll.

Games to watch Week 1 of the 2024 NCAAF season

Following the "Week Zero" games on Aug. 24, Week 1 will officially kick off on Thursday, Aug. 29, with a matchup between Howard and Rutgers at 6 p.m. ET.

Thursday, Aug. 29

At 8 p.m., the "Prime Time" matchup to watch is Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes versus the North Dakota State Bison, who lost to Montana in double-overtime of the 2023 FCS semifinals. Colorado brought the hype ahead of the 2023 FBS season and made a splash in the season opener with a win over then-No. 17 TCU. However, the Buffs came back down to earth in the second half of the season, losing six straight to finish the year with a 4-8 mark.

Also at 8 p.m., it's an ACC-Big Ten matchup with North Carolina and Minnesota. The Gophers are a two-point home favorite over UNC, who lost quarterback Drake Maye, a first-round draft pick of the New England Patriots in the offseason.

Friday, Aug. 30

The marquee games for Friday night include a 7 p.m. ET matchup between Temple and Oklahoma and a 10:30 p.m. late game between TCU and Stanford.

Saturday, Aug. 31

The first official Saturday of college football is loaded with action, including a noon ET kickoff for Clemson versus Georgia inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Georgia finished the 2023 season with a 13-1 record and went 8-0 in the SEC but failed to make the College Football Playoff after losing to Alabama, 27-24, in the SEC Championship Game. The Bulldogs boast the No. 1 recruiting class and will face a Clemson team looking to rebound off a 9-4 season in 2023. Georgia is favored by 13.5 points and the total is set at 46.5. The game will air live on ABC.

On Fox, Penn State will visit West Virginia at noon. The Nittany Lions are currently listed as a 10.5-point road favorite over a Mountaineers team that finished 9-4 last season.

In the afternoon, the Miami Hurricanes will visit the rival Florida Gators at 3:30 p.m.. Potentially on the hot seat is Florida head coach Billy Napier, who was hired from Louisiana at Lafayette ahead of the 2022 season and went 5-7 last year following a 6-7 record in his first season at the helm of Florida. The Hurricanes are a 2.5-point road favorite and the total is set at 55. ABC will broadcast the matchup.

In the same time slot, Colorado State will visit Texas, who went 12-2 last season and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history. The Longhorns are projected as a top five team ahead of the 2024 season and enter Week 1 as a whopping 36.5-point home favorite over Colorado State. The game will air on ESPN.

One more top matchup to watch Saturday is the battle between Notre Dame and Texas A&M. The Jimbo Fisher era has ended in College Station, and Mike Elko will make his debut as the new head coach of the Aggies. Texas A&M is a one-point home favorite over the Fighting Irish, who went 10-3 last year and own the No. 6 recruiting class, according to 247 Sports. Texas A&M is one spot below at No. 7.

Sunday, Sept. 1, and Labor Day, Sept. 2

To close out Week 1, USC will visit LSU for a 7:30 p.m. ET matchup at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The Tigers lost Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels to the Washington Commanders and need to get better on defense to improve upon a 10-win season in 2023. LSU is a six-point favorite in Week 1 and the total is set at 62.5.

On Labor Day, Florida State is back on the field for game two of the Seminoles' season, with a matchup versus Boston College at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. Florida State is favored by 22 points and the total is set at 51.5 at the moment.