Earliest Test for College Football's Top Contenders in 2023 Season

Upsets are a significant part of what makes college football so compelling, but not every contender has a marquee game on the schedule right away.

LSU and Florida State square off in Week 1, while Texas and Alabama are slated to meet in Week 2. On the other hand, it's fair to say Michigan isn't exactly facing a strong opponent until, at the very earliest, the final weekend of September, if not later.

To be clear, the timing of marquee games is not a reason for criticism. The intent here is to explore when each title-contending program first challenges a well-respected team.

Using championship futures on DraftKings, we've highlighted the 10 teams with the shortest odds to win a national title.

Week 1: LSU vs. Florida State (in Orlando)

You might recall the chaotic final quarter of last season's contest in New Orleans. LSU clawed back from a 24-10 deficit and scored a touchdown as regulation expired, only for Florida State to block the extra point and celebrate a stunning 24-23 win. This time around, the neutral-site affair heads to Orlando.

Week 2: Texas at Alabama

In another rematch from 2022, the visitors are looking for redemption. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers exited the showdown with Alabama because of an unfortunate shoulder injury. Texas nearly managed to pull off an upset anyway, but Bama kicker Will Reichard hit a 33-yard field goal in the closing minute to give the Crimson Tide a 20-19 victory.

At first glance, it might seem Clemson has an opportunity to ease into the season. Don't overlook Duke, though.

Last year, the Blue Devils rattled off a 9-4 record. They return dual-threat quarterback Riley Leonard—who threw for 20 touchdowns and ran for 13—along with a strong majority of their offensive production.

Duke is set to host Clemson on Labor Day night, marking the final game of college football's first full weekend.

Clemson will be a double-digit favorite, yes. But a road trip to a solid conference opponent is not a painless opener.

Otherwise, the Tigers' next marquee game arrives a few weekends later. They should cruise past Charleston Southern and Florida Atlantic before hosting Florida State for a pivotal ACC battle in Week 4.

Early on, the two-time reigning champions have a couple of tune-up outings with UT Martin and Ball State.

Week 3 brings the first potential quality eye test.

South Carolina hardly put up a fight during 2022's meeting, surrendering 547 yards in a 48-7 blowout. Later in the season, however, the Gamecocks toppled Tennessee and Clemson, effectively stopping both programs from making the College Football Playoff.

Georgia, of course, is an even fiercer level of competition. But after watching South Carolina earn those two results, it'd be unfair to doubt the Gamecocks at the outset of 2023.

From there, either a trip to Auburn in Week 5 or a home game against Kentucky in Week 6 will be UGA's next key contest.

The bad news is Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is facing a four-game suspension to open the season.

The good news is I could lead the Wolverines to a 4-0 start.

Michigan kicks off the campaign with four consecutive home games, taking on East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green and Rutgers. Appalachian State, my friends, they are not.

Once the Maize-and-Blue leave Ann Arbor, they'll face a wild card in Nebraska. Expectations for first-year coach Matt Rhule are modest, but, hey, maybe? That's basically the vibe around Minnesota, too; the Golden Gophers have intriguing talent if their defensive transfers play well.

Given that Michigan travels for both games, this is the likely range. If not, a jaunt to rival Michigan State in Week 8 is the Wolverines' last contest before a tough November.

Ohio State, conversely, has a massive game in September.

While the opener at Indiana is worth mentioning, a prime-time clash with Notre Dame looms for the Buckeyes in Week 4.

Although they squeezed out a 21-10 victory last season, it wasn't a beautiful performance from OSU. Notre Dame led 10-7 until the final minute of the third quarter, and a stingy defense held C.J. Stroud to just 6.6 yards per attempt. The hometown crowd in Columbus undoubtedly endured some nerves.

And this showdown will be in South Bend.

Ohio State has a more talented roster, but ND is built to stress the Buckeyes' new quarterback—whether that's Kyle McCord or Devin Brown—and a rebuilt offensive line.

While it feels improper to call September a gauntlet for Penn State, the opening month is full of thorns.

The team's first matchup is opposite West Virginia, which enters the season with head coach Neal Brown on the hot seat. Want him to stay around? Upsetting a Top 10 opponent is a good start.

After hosting Delaware, the Nittany Lions travel to Illinois in Week 3. Despite dropping four of the last five games in 2022, the Fighting Illini still finished 8-5. They must replace a handful of valuable players on both sides of the ball, but they could be excellent on defense again.

Illinois, for the record, is my pick.

In case that doesn't suit you, though, Week 4's prime-time outing against Iowa is yet another thistle for Penn State to navigate in September.

Rounding out the contenders is USC, a program with dreams of exiting the crumbling Pac-12 as a national champion.

Similar to Michigan—a future Big Ten counterpart—the Trojans don't have an obvious first test. USC's opening stretch includes San Jose State, Nevada, Stanford and trips to Arizona State and Colorado.

At least one of them has to challenge USC, right?

Arizona State and Colorado, which both host the Trojans, are the more likely candidates. ASU hired Kenny Dillingham to spark the offense, and the Sun Devils hung around with USC in 2022 anyway. Colorado lived in the transfer portal to restock the roster for Deion Sanders' debut season, so maybe all that talent pays off in a stunning way.

If that's not compelling enough, USC travels to Notre Dame for a prime-time showdown in mid-October.

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