Look Back to 2023 College Football Schedule

College Football Schedule Week of Sept. 1

As college football season is nearing its start, major networks are unveiling game times and channels for the initial three weeks – including an LSU-Florida State matchup for opening weekend.

It’s another busy week of games, kicking off with Texas-Alabama rivalry and featuring several marquee contests on the schedule.
Washington-Duke

As part of Week 1 action among top-25 programs, the Huskies travel to Duke with the latter favored by 14.5 points. After exceeding expectations in Mike Elko’s debut as first-year coach last year, this matchup in Seattle provides a crucial test of his second campaign as head coach.

College GameDay will broadcast from Clemson this Saturday morning when they host Wisconsin Badgers for an ACC-Big Ten clash, before Virginia takes on Tennessee in Nashville later in the day – both teams having had successful finishes to 2022 season.

The ACC Network will kick off its inaugural season with four contests: Syracuse at Georgia Tech will serve as the highlight on Sept. 2, followed by Boston College versus Virginia and Louisville against Georgia in a former conference rivalry matchup.

On the nonconference side, ESPN+ features games featuring schools from the American, MAC and Sun Belt conferences. Longhorn Network will broadcast Texas’ home opener against Wyoming at 8 p.m. on Friday.

ESPN platforms feature an industry-leading portfolio of star-studded showdowns, marquee rivalries, conference championship clashes and postseason coverage – with Bowl Season continuing through December and January and culminating with AT&T College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday January 8th. For more information visit ESPN Football – all times Eastern.
Florida-Utah

Florida and Utah will open College Football 2023 by meeting up on Sept 16 in Orlando for an exhibition game that may feature on ESPN’s College GameDay. Florida has yet to explain why it needs to play so early, though perhaps doing so gives its team enough rest after traveling all the way out west.

Utah and Florida meet again for their home-and-home series that began last season at Gainesville. Utah lost that game 29-26; they’ll look to avenge it this season when they visit Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City for Week 1. Utah opens their non-conference schedule with both games against Florida (29-26) and Baylor (24-53) that spent time in the AP Top 25 rankings last season.

Once Utah hosts UCLA, they’ll hit the road for two key Pac-12 matches against USC and Oregon – both potentially difficult tests for Utah as they seek to defend their conference crown. If Utah can overcome such hurdles successfully, they could make waves within their conference – possibly leading to another Rose Bowl appearance!
TCU-Colorado

Rematch of last season’s Big 12 Championship game marks an exciting first-week game in 2023. TCU edged out Texas A&M by one point at AT&T Stadium; an identical outcome here could go a long way towards deciding who makes another run at it in 2024. TCU lost some talent from 2022 but remains strong; Colorado hired former TCU defensive back Deion Sanders and made several strategic roster upgrades through recruiting and transfer acquisitions.

TCU is currently favored to win this matchup by 10.5 points according to Tipico Sportsbook. TCU won their previous meeting between these two schools in Boulder in 2022 and should continue building off that success this time around.

Deion Sanders will make his debut with Colorado in this game; their season under former coach Gary Patterson ended 5-7. Sanders’ impressive hire has generated significant excitement ahead of their matchup against Syracuse.

This late-night game on the West Coast will take place before a national audience and be broadcast by ESPN; those without cable can view it using Hulu with Live TV, FuboTV, Sling TV or DirectTV Now for free trials of their services. Featuring two teams with plenty to prove this season, it should provide for an intriguing contest.
North Carolina-Duke

North Carolina and Duke football rivalry was never more intense last season, when North Carolina became one of the rare FBS teams to start out ranked inside the top ten but finish with a losing record after being defeated 38-21 by South Carolina at Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

At Wallace Wade Stadium on Labor Day weekend, two teams will square off in an exciting Labor Day matchup that should draw big crowds and television audiences alike. UNC won the last meeting between these programs 20-0; that game featured the Victory Bell; it hangs from one corner of the field where winning teams claim victory and rings as soon as they do so.

Mike Elko’s turnaround at Durham last season stunned college football, but an encore will prove difficult. Their 2023 schedule features three games against top-10 opponents – including their ACC opener at Clemson!

UNC’s second month features games against Lafayette and Northwestern – two FCS teams who struggled last season – before playing five consecutive ACC teams that went to bowls last year in mid-October to early November; three away games. Duke may even pull off an upset and earn bowl bid.