The Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida State Seminoles are seeded 1-2 in many of the preseason college football rankings. That has added even more buzz to their highly anticipated season opener on Saturday September 2nd. The Crimson Tide will host the Seminoles in a clash that will have major implications at a national level. We decided to look back at some of the best Week 1 games that we have seen in recent years. Here is a look at the best college football openers over the last decade.
2011: #4 LSU Tigers defeats #3 Oregon Ducks 40-27
This 2011 opener was also extremely hyped with the projected top-two teams in the country going head-to-head. It was also special since it was billed as the SEC versus the Pac-12. In the end, LSU came out on top in the first of 13 wins that helped complete one of the best regular seasons by a team in FBS history.
2007: Appalachian State defeats #5 Michigan 34-32
It isn’t just the matchups featuring elite teams that have earned a spot on this list. Nobody will forget the 2007 opener that doomed Michigan’s championship hopes from the outset. Back then one loss ended almost any program’s hopes at competing for a national title so when the Wolverines were shocked on their own turf by an unranked opponent it was disastrous. It didn’t take long for Lloyd Carr to lose his job and be replaced by Rich Rodriguez. Even still, that loss definitely took its toll on the Michigan program that season and for years to come as one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
2013: #8 Clemson Tigers defeats #5 Georgia Bulldogs 38-35
Senior quarterback Tajh Boyd led the Tigers to a memorable 38-35 win over Georgia at home in Clemson’s 2013 opener. That victory helped pave the way to an 11-2 season and the beginning of something special for the Tigers. It also sent shockwaves through the top-10 with the Bulldogs faltering in Week 1. Ultimately, it’s safe to say that win helped pave the way on a long road that led to Clemson’s national championship win this past season.
2009: #14 Boise State Broncos defeats #16 Oregon Ducks 19-8
Nobody will forget Boise State taking down Oregon for the first of 14 wins in their perfect regular season back in 2009. The Broncos shocked the world with an upset on the road and put the Power Five conferences on notice that they could not be overlooked. Nobody will forget after the game when LeGarrette Blount punched Boise State defensive end Byron Hout’s jaw and set off a media frenzy either.
The Ducks would recover fairly well as they would go on to win 10 of their final 12 games that year. They ended up going to the Rose Bowl where they faced No. 8 Ohio State. They lost that contest 26-17, but for the most part, had a very successful season even though they had a very rocky start to the 2009 campaign.
2016: #1 Alabama Crimson Tide defeats #17 USC Trojans 52-6
While it turned out to be a blowout this game had major repercussions on the 2016 season. USC’s schedule was by far the toughest in the country but nobody expected them to get dominated by Alabama the way they did in their opener. The Trojans would start 1-3 before rallying with nine straight wins to claim a spot in the Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide cruised to a 14-0 record before eventually falling to Clemson in the national title game. After being billed as a matchup of two legitimate championship contenders and with the underlying SEC vs. Pac-12 theme, the matchup disappointed but it will be a long time before people forget the statement that Alabama made in this game.
The Trojans had a really rough start to the 2016 schedule with three matchups against Top 25 teams in their first four weeks. All of those games turned into losses for them. However, they ended up winning every other game on their schedule. That’s why there is so much optimism about their 2017 campaign. They’ll have a couple of tough games in Weeks 2 and three, but they won’t have to deal with another big-time clash in Week 1 like they did last year.
Click here to bet on the college football futures for the 2017 college football season right now. DSI will have all of the latest lines, spreads and props for this year’s action!
