After a tantalizing appetizer in Week 0, college football returned in full force over the holiday weekend. While we're still months away from the first College Football Playoff rankings, some of the top teams made strong statements.
Week 1 offered a mix of high-profile intra-conference matchups and tune-up games. The Georgia Bulldogs, the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, dominated the No. 14 Clemson Tigers with a 34-3 victory. Georgia's quarterback, Carson Beck, threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns, while the Bulldogs' defense held Clemson without a touchdown for the first time since 2021. The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, No. 4 Texas Longhorns, No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide, and No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels all easily handled unranked nonconference opponents. Meanwhile, the No. 3 Oregon Ducks had a sluggish start but eventually secured a 24-14 win over the Idaho Vandals, a far cry from their usual dominance against FCS teams.
Overall, the top six teams in the AP Top 25 combined for a decisive 301-23 margin of victory.
The highlight of the weekend was a defensive battle between the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies. The teams traded field goals in the first half and matched scores in the second, until Jeremiah Love's 21-yard touchdown run in the final minutes secured a win for Notre Dame. It was Love's second career touchdown and his first against an FBS opponent. The Irish defense held the Aggies to just 246 total yards, their lowest output since the beginning of last season.
Other top-20 teams and conference favorites also made their case for a spot in the expanded 12-team playoff field. The No. 19 Miami Hurricanes delivered one of the weekend's biggest wins with a 41-17 victory over the Florida Gators, highlighted by quarterback Cam Ward's 385 passing yards and three touchdowns. The No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions showcased the explosive plays they lacked last season, with two touchdowns of 40+ yards in a 34-12 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers, compared to just three such plays all of last year.
Here are our experts' top 12 College Football Playoff picks, by seeding (with the top four conference champions receiving the highest seeds):
**Top 12 playoff picks by seeding:**
- Andrea Adelson: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Kansas State 5. Alabama 6. Texas 7. Notre Dame 8. USC 9. Penn State 10. Ole Miss 11. Missouri 12. Memphis
- Kyle Bonagura: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Utah 4. Miami 5. Alabama 6. Texas 7. Notre Dame 8. Oregon 9. Michigan 10. Ole Miss 11. Arizona 12. Boise State
- Bill Connelly: 1. Georgia 2. Penn State 3. Miami 4. Oklahoma State 5. Texas 6. Alabama 7. Notre Dame 8. Ohio State 9. Missouri 10. Ole Miss 11. Oregon 12. Memphis
- David Hale: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Kansas 5. Notre Dame 6. Texas 7. Oregon 8. Alabama 9. Penn State 10. Ole Miss 11. Utah 12. Memphis
- Eli Lederman: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Kansas State 5. Notre Dame 6. Texas 7. Oregon 8. Penn State 9. Ole Miss 10. Alabama 11. Missouri 12. Memphis
- Chris Low: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Utah 5. Alabama 6. Texas 7. Notre Dame 8. Penn State 9. Ole Miss 10. Tennessee 11. Oregon 12. UNLV
- Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Utah 5. Texas 6. Alabama 7. Notre Dame 8. Penn State 9. Missouri 10. Ole Miss 11. Oregon 12. Memphis
- Ryan McGee: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Utah 4. Miami 5. Alabama 6. Texas 7. Notre Dame 8. Oregon 9. NC State 10. Ole Miss 11. Kansas 12. Boise State
- Max Olson: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Oklahoma State 5. Alabama 6. Texas 7. Notre Dame 8. Ole Miss 9. Oregon 10. Penn State 11. Utah 12. Boise State
- Adam Rittenberg: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Utah 5. Notre Dame 6. Alabama 7. Penn State 8. Texas 9. Ole Miss 10. Kansas State 11. Oregon 12. Memphis
- Mark Schlabach: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Utah 5. Alabama 6. Texas 7. Notre Dame 8. Penn State 9. Ole Miss 10. Oregon 11. Kansas 12. Memphis
- Jake Trotter: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Oklahoma State 5. Texas 6. Notre Dame 7. Oregon 8. Penn State 9. Alabama 10. Ole Miss 11. Kansas State 12. Boise State
- Paolo Uggetti: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Utah 5. Notre Dame 6. Texas 7. Alabama 8. Oregon 9. Kansas 10. Ole Miss 11. USC 12. Boise State
- Dave Wilson: 1. Georgia 2. Ohio State 3. Miami 4. Utah 5. Notre Dame 6. Alabama 7. Texas 8. Penn State 9. Ole Miss 10. Oregon 11. Oklahoma State 12. Boise State
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