After a long offseason, college football is finally back on our screens. While a long season is ahead, teams have tremendously important chances to make strong first impressions as Week 1 comes around the corner. While the sport has moved away from super marquee Week 1 games in exchange for bangers in Week 2 or 3, there are still numerous contests that could prove relevant to the postseason picture.
Lane Kiffin's former and current programs both play high-profile ACC opponents and upset spots. Of course, there's also high-powered Group of Six teams hoping to crash the party. Playoff cases aren't made in Week 1, but they can be lost.
And more importantly, narratives are set that can be hard to shake. With that in mind, here are five (well, technically seven) games that could impact the upcoming postseason race. All eyes will be on Baton Rouge as Lane Kiffin makes his LSU debut.
The Tigers have not made the CFP since Joe Burrow's magical season in 2019, and LSU has invested an otherworldly amount of money into this roster. Expectations are contention or bust, and faceplanting in the opener would expediently end the honeymoon. The Tigers had a disappointing 2025, but Clemson finally dipped into the transfer portal to build some immediate defensive line depth.
A win for Clemson would be a massive statement for the program and set the ACC up to get multiple teams in the CFP. There is a trend in this list: opponents can benefit greatly from playing high-profile SEC opponents. In this case, Louisville will try to stun Ole Miss in Pete Golding's first real game as head coach.
Golding was promoted to the full-time role ahead of the CFP, but this was his first offseason leading the team after Kiffin's departure. Louisville had a slightly underwhelming nine-win season last year, including a three-game losing streak in November. However, retaining star running back Isaac Brown and adding Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz at quarterback brings some intrigue.
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