Week 1 cannot come fast enough for college football fans. Thousands of enthusiasts will plunk down on their couches this Labor Day weekend to take in a wall-to-wall slate of games that begins on Thursday and continues through that Monday, but not before 87 contests take place on three continents.

The SEC is featured in many of the opening weekend’s prominent matchups, including seven games that feature ranked teams. But there is also a slew of premium tilts outside of the conference as well.

Here’s a look at five of the top non-SEC games to watch when college football kicks off the 2016 season in Week 1.

5. California vs. Hawaii

When: Aug. 26, 10 p.m. (ET)

Where: ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia

Thanks to the departure of Jared Goff to the NFL, California will have a new quarterback under center when the Golden Bears travel down under to Australia for the 2016 season’s opening game against Hawaii.

It’ll be the third college football contest played on Australian soil and first since the 1985 Australian Bowl between Texas-El Paso and Wyoming, and the Melbourne Bowl, featuring BYU and Colorado State.

Cal and Hawaii aren’t the biggest of rivals, but Australia appears to be a new recruiting battle ground these days. Cal basketball traveled to the continent for a game in August, while Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has chosen Australia as a site for several of his controversial satellite camps.

The matchup is technically a week before Week 1 as the Warriors will play their second game of the season against Harbaugh’s Wolverines on Sept. 3, while most squads will be competing in their first contest. Either way, college football will be officially back and nitpicking over the week name is a moot point.

4. Boston College vs. Georgia Tech

When: Sept. 3, 7:30 a.m.

Where: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

College football is atoning for making you stay up until 10 p.m. (ET) for the start of Cal-Hawaii by kicking off its first Saturday game of the season at the crack of dawn. Boston College and Georgia Tech will square off against one another in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland. It’s the fifth time that college football has graced the shores of the Emerald Isle and third time in the last five years, the last coming in 2014 between Penn State and Central Florida. The Eagles return to Ireland for the first time since beating Army in the inaugural Aer Lingus Classic in 1988, then known as the Emerald Isle Classic. Football is back, so getting up early won’t be a problem.

3. Kansas State at Stanford

When: Sept. 2, 9 p.m.

Where: Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, Ca.

The first two games on this list are a nice, campy reminder that college football has returned, and watching games at a unique site always piques the interest. However, Kansas State-Stanford highlights some of the best non-SEC matchups in Week 1. The opening tilt between the Wildcats and Cardinal give us our first look of the season at Heisman candidate Christian McCaffrey. The Stanford running back set the NCAA record for all-purpose yards in 2015, surpassing Barry Sanders’ old mark with 3,864 yards. Stanford lobbied for a spot in last year’s College Football Playoff, but a loss to Northwestern in Week 1 helped to spoil those efforts. Kansas State, in what could be coach Bill Snyder’s final season in Manhattan, Kan., would love nothing more than to deal the Cardinal a similar fate in a rare Friday night game.

2. Notre Dame at Texas

When: Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

College football wants your attention all weekend. And to do so, they are presenting Notre Dame at Texas in what’s being billed as the sport’s biggest regular season college football game ever on a Sunday, when it was officially moved to that day of the week in April. The Irish should be strong again, but Texas will be looking to avenge a 38-3 loss to Brian Kelly’s squad in 2015 on South Bend’s hallowed grounds. The Irish own the all-time series with the Longhorns, winning nine of the 11 times the two storied programs have met.

1. Oklahoma vs. Houston

When:  Sept. 3, Noon

Where: NRG Stadium, Houston

The Oklahoma versus Houston matchup hits the apex on the list.

Tom Herman made a grand head coaching debut in 2015, guiding Houston to a 13-1 record. An encore performance — replete with an upset of Oklahoma — would almost assure the Cougars coach doesn’t reach the end of the five-year contract extension he signed in December before someone throws a better offer his direction. Oklahoma enters the season thinking big after bowing out in the semifinals of last year’s College Football Playoff to Clemson. Returning to lead that charge is Heisman-hopeful quarterback Baker Mayfield.

The NCAA wastes no time in throwing this heavyweight matchup at its fans with a noon kickoff in Houston, giving a distinct advantage to the upstart Cougars.

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE

  • Hawaii at Michigan
  • Colorado vs. Colorado State (Denver)
  • Arizona vs. BYU (Phoenix)
  • Rutgers at Washington
  • Miami (OH) at Iowa
  • Fresno State at Nebraska

WEEK 1 SEC GAMES

  • Alabama vs. Southern California (Dallas)
  • Clemson at Auburn
  • Ole Miss vs. Florida State (Orlando)
  • North Carolina vs. Georgia (Atlanta)
  • LSU vs Wisconsin (Green Bay)
  • Appalachian State at Tennessee
  • Massachusetts at Florida
  • Louisiana Tech at Arkansas
  • Southern Miss at Kentucky
  • South Alabama at Mississippi State
  • Missouri at West Virginia
  • South Carolina at Vanderbilt
  • UCLA at Texas A&M

Christopher C. Wuensch is a contributor for Saturday Down South. Contact him at Christopher.Wuensch@gmail.com