Spring ball is over, and not that those exhibitions — or in some instances mundane practices — bring the same atmosphere as an actual fall college football game, spring games do offer a nice little nugget for those of us who just enjoy watching football no matter the quality. Now the long summer begins.
But it’s never too early to start looking ahead, and with rosters set for the fall 2026 season, we can start thinking about the opening few weeks of the college football season.
Teams will meet or defy expectations. Surprises of the season will reveal themselves with gusto. It’s a great time. And the opening month of the year features some absolute bangers in SEC country.
Here are the 10 September games I cannot wait to watch.
Clemson at LSU — Sept. 5
This was a top-10 game when these 2 teams met to open the 2025 season. Based off the seasons they’d go on to have, the 2026 opener in Baton Rouge has no business even being a top-25 game. But it’s Clemson, and it’s a Lane Kiffin-led LSU squad, so they’ll earn preseason rankings regardless.
Still, I don’t need a media ranking for either of these squads to get excited about what we might see. This will be Kiffin’s debut inside Death Valley. The energy should be outstanding. LSU could be really good. I’m not sure we’ll definitively answer that question in this game because Clemson is a big bag of question marks, but the entertainment factor drives the value here more than anything.
Kiffin has morphed into the college football villain. The casual college football fan loves to see Dabo Swinney fail. Whoever loses will get clowned. Whoever wins will get “national championship contender” buzz from Stephen A. Smith the morning after. It’s going to be a marvelous time on the internet.
Projected point spread: LSU -10.5
Score prediction: LSU 45, Clemson 17
Mizzou at Kansas — Sept. 12
This is one of the best rivalries in college football. But because they stopped playing each other when Mizzou left for the SEC more than a decade ago, the game fell out of our collective consciousness. A 42-31 game in Columbia last year was a wonderful reintroduction to the series. Now it shifts to Lawrence, where Kansas will be just one game into the post-Jalon Daniels era.
Daniels was everything to the Kansas offense last season, with 319 pass attempts and 117 rushing attempts. The Jayhawks have a quarterback competition to replace the 45-time starter, so there’s a big question mark there. And they have to show they can stop the run better than they did a year ago while having to replace 7 starters. Mizzou ran for 261 yards in its game against the Jayhawks — 1 of 5 teams to go for at least 199. Early in the season, Mizzou should be leaning on Ahmad Hardy to ease Austin Simmons into a groove. Emphasis on should. This could be a hate-filled afternoon where Hardy just carves up another leaky KU defense, or it could be a mistake-filled affair that leaves the result in balance well into the fourth.
Projected point spread: Missouri -9.5
Score prediction: Missouri 31, Kansas 27
Oklahoma at Michigan — Sept. 12
From 2017 through 2024, Utah ranked 40th or better in adjusted EPA per play allowed on defense all but one time. Under Kyle Whittingham, Utah built a successful program that leaned on defense, strong line-of-scrimmage play, and development. The Utes were the Michigan of the West. Now Whittingham is running the real Michigan. He brought in key players from Utah on defense, retained a few key Michigan starters on defense, and managed to keep Bryce Underwood in town to lead the offense. Underwood has to take a step, but he’s a caliber of quarterback Whittingham hasn’t had at the position since Tyler Huntley.
I can’t wait to see what his first Michigan team looks like. Week 2 against the Sooners will be Whitt’s first test, and he’ll be expected to pass it at home. John Mateer was poor over the back half of last season and Oklahoma has a ton to sort through on its remade defense.
Projected point spread: Michigan -3
Score prediction: Michigan 24, Oklahoma 20
Ohio State at Texas — Sept. 12
The meeting in Columbus between these 2 teams last season was boring. It’s OK to admit that. And, not even in a “boo we don’t like defense, give us points” kind of way. Neither quarterback was comfortable. Julian Sayin was still figuring things out for the Buckeyes. Arch Manning was going through whatever Arch Manning was going through. The rematch in Austin will have equally insane stakes, but this time it’ll feature a pair of quarterbacks who have worked through questions and come up with some darn good answers. Ohio State might not be as good on defense. Texas has a new (sort of) coordinator on that side of the ball. This should have plenty of big plays; there’s too much offensive firepower between the 2 sides.
Projected point spread: Texas -1.5
Score prediction: Texas 38, Ohio State 31
Arizona State at Texas A&M — Sept. 12
I love Kenny Dillingham. Big Dilly guy here. He was handcuffed last season by his quarterback situation. The Sun Devils responded to the loss of Sam Leavitt by grabbing Cutter Boley from Kentucky, who could do excellent things with the Sun Devils. When ASU is written off, it’s dangerous, and it feels like ASU is flying a bit under the radar.
Texas A&M didn’t really find itself until Week 3 in South Bend last season. The first 2 weeks were less than convincing. I’m not expecting chaos in College Station, but I do think this is a sneaky early test for the Aggies, who looked broken the last time we saw them.
Projected point spread: Texas A&M -17.5
Score prediction: Texas A&M 34, Arizona State 23
Alabama at Kentucky — Sept. 12
Alabama solved its road issues last season. Three road defeats in Year 1 under Kalen DeBoer had Alabama fans trying to win the lottery just so they could pay his buyout. The Crimson Tide lost their season-opener on the road, but went on to win their last 5 true road games, 3 of which were over top-15 teams. All is forgiven, right?
Right?? Surely Lexington won’t give another SEC power absolutely all they can handle in a difficult early-season conference game. Alabama plays East Carolina in Week 1. The Crimson Tide, at home, should not be tested in the second half of that game. Following that up with a road trip to an SEC peer is tough.
Projected point spread: Alabama -10
Score prediction: Alabama 17, Kentucky 14
Florida at Auburn — Sept. 19
One of these teams is going to make life miserable for the SEC’s contending class in 2026. Heck, both might. I love Florida’s hire of Jon Sumrall. Auburn has the mystique of Jordan-Hare and a quarterback who might be a problem for SEC defenses. Emphasis on might. Byrum Brown was excellent last season, particularly when he led South Florida into The Swamp to stun the Gators. That loss is a big part of why Sumrall has the job, and while it doesn’t mean anything to him personally, this game, because of all its ties to that UF-USF game, will mean something to a ton of Gators. This is a statement opportunity for Florida.
Projected point spread: Auburn -1.5
Score prediction: Florida 28, Auburn 13
LSU at Ole Miss — Sept. 19
Lane Kiffin is going back to Oxford.
Do I need to write anything else? I don’t think I do.
Projected point spread: Ole Miss -2.5
Score prediction: Ole Miss 42, LSU 35
Texas A&M at LSU — Sept. 26
Here’s a fun quirk of the SEC’s schedule change. Texas A&M went to Death Valley last season and embarrassed LSU. This season, A&M goes back to Baton Rouge for a second consecutive year. The Aggies will be making their first road trip of the season. The Tigers will be coming off an emotional game against Ole Miss, and they will be just weeks removed from a wild opener against Clemson. The front third of this schedule is loaded for LSU, and I’m curious what kind of headspace the group will be in when A&M rolls into town.
Projected point spread: LSU -3
Score prediction: LSU 35, Texas A&M 34
Oklahoma at Georgia — Sept. 26
Oklahoma and Georgia have played each other once in program history. They met for the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day in 2018, and one of the best games in College Football Playoff history ensued. The actors have changed, but the brands remain. If this game is anything like that CFP semifinal, we’ll be in for a doozy.
Projected point spread: Georgia -8.5
Score prediction: Georgia 35, Oklahoma 13
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
