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How To Watch College Football on TV Today - Guide and Open Thread

All the storylines of week 1. And an upset pick.

NCAA Football: Texas A&M vs Arkansas
Myles Garrett is going to be a problem for UCLA QB Josh Rosen today
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

College football opens in earnest today. Here is your first general open thread of the season along with a few of the storylines I’ll be watching.

The Offense of the Year?

When Clemson travels to Auburn tonight, we’ll get our first glimpse of just how good Clemson’s offense will be. Most analysts think that Dabo’s crew is the team to beat in 2016. They may be right, but unranked Auburn is just the kind of wildcard week 1 opponent that can change a trajectory for a favorite. Watch this one closely.

Incidentally, how scary would Oregon be right now if they had managed to land b Deshaun Watson?

The REAL Hype Train

For all the hype surrounding UW this offseason, we’ve paid precious little attention to the real Pac 12 hype story: QB Josh Rosen of UCLA. The SI cover boy has been making waves in Westwood with his brash opinions, his tweets with women in his hot tub and his general cockiness. Yet, the eminently talented signal caller - just a sophomore - is a 16/1 bet for the Heisman and has most pundits predicting a UCLA South division championship.

Can he deliver in week one against a somewhat discombobulated Texas A&M team? Mr. Rosen, meet Myles Garrett. May the best man win.

An Upset in the Making

#3 Oklahoma is traveling to Houston this morning to take on the upstart Cougars. This one is going to be a shootout, folks. QB Baker Mayfield has some studs at his ready - guys like RB Joe Mixon (remember him) and RB Samaje Perine - and will be looking to spread out that Cougar D. But Houston is no slouch.

Houston is seeing this as a “must-win” if they want to crash the CFP this year. With Oklahoma possibly looking ahead to Ohio State and this one being in Houston, the conditions are ripe. I’m calling the upset in a barn-burner.

The Gameday Lineup

Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016
Matchup Time (ET) TV / Streaming
Georgia Tech vs. Boston College (in Ireland) 7:30 a.m. ESPN2 / WatchESPN
(3) Oklahoma vs. (15) Houston (at NRG Stadium) Noon ABC / WatchESPN
Bowling Green at (6) Ohio State Noon BTN / BTN2Go
Hawaii at (7) Michigan Noon ESPN / WatchESPN
Boise State at UL Lafayette Noon ASN / ESPN3
EKU at Purdue Noon ESPNNEWS / WatchESPN
Fordham at Navy Noon CBSSN
Howard at Maryland Noon BTN / BTN2Go
Missouri at West Virginia Noon FS1 / FS Go
South Alabama at Mississippi State Noon SECN / WatchESPN
Western Michigan at Northwestern Noon ESPNU / WatchESPN
Liberty at Virginia Tech 12:30 p.m. ACCN / WatchESPN
Villanova at Pittsburgh 1:30 p.m. WatchESPN
Abilene Christian at Air Force 2:00 p.m. MWN
Rutgers at (14) Washington 2:00 p.m. Pac-12N / Pac-12.com
(5) LSU vs. Wisconsin (at Green Bay, WI) 3:30 p.m. ABC / WatchESPN
(16) UCLA at Texas A&M 3:30 p.m. CBS / cbssports.com
Miami, OH at (17) Iowa 3:30 p.m. ESPNU / WatchESPN
SE Louisiana at (21) Oklahoma State 3:30 p.m. FSN / FS Go
Kent State at Penn State 3:30 p.m. BTN / BTN2Go
Murray State at Illinois 3:30 p.m. BTN / BTN2Go
Richmond at Virginia 3:30 p.m. WatchESPN
Texas State at Ohio 3:30 p.m. CBSSN
Louisiana Tech at Arkansas 4:00 p.m. SECN / WatchESPN
UC Davis at (24) Oregon 5:00 p.m. Pac-12N / Pac-12.com
(18) Georgia vs. (22) North Carolina (at Atlanta, GA) 5:30 p.m. ESPN / WatchESPN
Austin Peay at Troy 6:00 p.m. ESPN3
Florida A&M at Miami (FL) 6:00 p.m. WatchESPN
Hampton at Old Dominion 6:00 p.m. CUSA.TV
NC Central at Duke 6:00 p.m. WatchESPN
Savannah State at Georgia Southern 6:00 p.m. ESPN3
Southern Illinois at Florida Atlantic 6:00 p.m. CUSA.TV ($)
Western Carolina at East Carolina 6:00 p.m. ESPN3
VMI at Akron 6:30 p.m. ESPN3
Alabama A&M at Middle Tennessee 7:00 p.m. CUSA.TV ($)
Alabama State at UTSA 7:00 p.m. KMYS-CW 35
Rhode Island at Kansas 7:00 p.m. ESPN3
San Jose State at Tulsa 7:00 p.m. CBSSN
SE Missouri State at Memphis 7:00 p.m. ESPN3
SMU at North Texas 7:00 p.m. ASN
South Carolina State at UCF 7:00 p.m. ESPN3
Southern at ULM 7:00 p.m. ESPN3
Towson at USF 7:00 p.m. ESPN3
UMass at (25) Florida 7:30 p.m. SECN / WatchESPN
Southern Miss at Kentucky 7:30 p.m. ESPNU / WatchESPN
(20) USC vs. (1) Alabama (at Arlington, TX) 8:00 p.m. ABC / WatchESPN
South Dakota State at (13) TCU 8:00 p.m. FSN / FS Go
EWU at Washington State 8:00 p.m. Pac-12N / Pac-12.com
Fresno State at Nebraska 8:00 p.m. BTN / BTN2Go
New Mexico State at UTEP 8:00 p.m. beIN SPORTS
Northern Iowa at Iowa State 8:00 p.m. Cyclones.tv ($)
Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech 8:00 p.m. FSN / FS Go
New Hampshire at San Diego State 8:30 p.m. TBA
(2) Clemson at Auburn 9:00 p.m. ESPN / WatchESPN
Arizona vs. BYU (at Glendale, AZ) 10:30 p.m. FS1 / FS Go
Northern Illinois at Wyoming 10:30 p.m. CBSSN
Northern Arizona at Arizona State 10:45 p.m. Pac-12N / Pac-12.com
Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016
Matchup Time (ET) TV / Streaming
(10) Notre Dame at Texas 7:30 p.m. ABC / WatchESPN
Monday, Sept. 5, 2016
Matchup Time (ET) TV / Streaming
(11) Ole Miss vs. Florida State (at Orlando, FL) 8:00 p.m. ESPN / WatchESPN