After Ohio State football won the national championship over Notre Dame on Monday night, both programs are locked into matchups with blue-blood teams again in 2025 when they take the field for the first time next season.
Week 1 features some of the most intriguing matchups to kick off the season in recent memory, and among them are a Buckeyes rematch from the 2024-25 College Football Playoffs.
Week 0’s annual game in Dublin, Ireland, to kick off the season will also be a game to watch, as Big 12 foes Iowa State and Kansas State bring ‘Farmageddon’ across the Atlantic Ocean.
Here’s a look at the top college football matchups of the 2025 season:
College football Week 1 schedule 2025
Here are the best matchups for Week 0 and Week 1 of the 2025 college football season:
Saturday, Aug. 23: Kansas State vs. Iowa State
In recent seasons, the unofficial start of the college football season has come in ‘Week 0,’ where only a few teams are in action. Most notable among those games next season is a matchup in Dublin, Ireland, and in 2025 it’ll take place between Kansas State and Iowa State, two likely ranked conference opponents.
The Big 12 programs are also rivals, with fans calling the game ‘Farmageddon,’ given their Midwest roots. Both teams return starting quarterbacks Avery Johnson and Rocco Becht and should both be near the top for the conference championship race.
The Aer Lingus College Football Classic saw Georgia Tech beat Florida State in 2024, and had matchups between Notre Dame and Navy in 2023 and Northwestern-Nebraska in 2022.
There’s no game scheduled in Dublin for 2026, but Wisconsin and Pitt are set to play in 2027.
Saturday, Aug. 30: Texas at Ohio State
A rematch of the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, Texas heads to Ohio State to battle the reigning national champions, with both teams replacing their quarterbacks.
The Longhorns will turn to Arch Manning, the former No. 1-ranked recruit and nephew of NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Manning has waited his turn behind Quinn Ewers, who’s off to the NFL.
Ohio State will likely turn to redshirt freshman Julian Sayin, a former Alabama signee who transferred to Ohio State last spring after Nick Saban’s retirement.
Texas had a chance to tie the game in the red zone on fourth down against the Buckeyes in the fourth quarter of the Cotton Bowl, but Jack Sawyer became an Ohio State legend when he strip sacked Ewers and returned the fumble for a touchdown to give OSU a 28-14 lead, which secured the game.
The Longhorns will certainly be seeking revenge this time around, with their second consecutive game being against Ohio State.
Saturday, Aug. 30: Notre Dame at Miami
Notre Dame, which fell in the national championship game to Ohio State, takes on new-look Miami on the road in its first game of the 2025 season.
The Fighting Irish will be with a new quarterback, as Riley Leonard moves on to the NFL after he exhausted his eligibility in 2024-25. So will the Hurricanes, who landed former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck in the transfer portal.
Beck, a two-year starter for the Bulldogs, initially entered the NFL draft but opted to transfer to Miami instead. He will look to follow in the footsteps of former starter Cam Ward, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist and improved his draft stock tremendously in 2024.
Both teams are expected to be highly ranked in 2025, and it is a matchup between two top-tier programs historically.
Saturday, Aug. 30: LSU at Clemson
LSU travels to Clemson in a battle between two of the top returning quarterbacks in college football – LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik.
A battle between two Tigers, LSU looks to return to CFP contention in coach Brian Kelly’s fourth season. Meanwhile, Clemson, which snuck into the 12-team CFP last season after winning the ACC championship, returns plenty of offensive production, along with a new defense under Tom Allen, who was hired away from Penn State in the offseason.
Saturday, Aug. 30: Alabama at Florida State
Florida State was abysmal in 2024, finishing with a 2-10 record. However, the Seminoles are only two years removed from a 13-0 regular season finish and ACC championship and will look to show the college football world that they can reload quickly.
Meanwhile, Alabama, which lost second-year starting quarterback Jalen Milroe to the NFL draft, will test its new starter with a road game in Tallahassee. Alabama is likely to turn to Ty Simpson for the job, but 5-star freshman Keelon Russell and multi-year backup Austin Mack, who Kalen DeBoer brought over from Washington, will also compete for the job.
FSU coach Mike Norvell was also a potential candidate for the Alabama opening when Saban retired, and a win over the Crimson Tide would show the Seminoles are back on track after a devastating year in 2024.
Here are other intriguing matchups in Week 1 of the 2025 season:
TCU at North Carolina (Aug. 30)
Syracuse vs. Tennessee (Aug. 30 in Atlanta)
Auburn at Baylor (Aug. 30)
Georgia Tech at Colorado (Aug. 30)
Nebraska vs. Cincinnati (Aug. 28 in Kansas City)