Five under-the-radar college football games to watch in Week 1

The first full weekend of the college football season brings 91 games from Thursday through Monday, including Clemson at LSU, Louisville vs. Ole Miss, Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin and SMU at Florida State.

But those aren't the only games worth putting on the television.

Some of the most intriguing Week 1 games are flying under the radar. Whether it is a quarterback matchup, a team looking to make a statement, or simply two evenly matched programs, these five games deserve more attention than they might initially receive.

Note: These games are listed chronologically, so think of this as a viewer’s guide for the weekend.

Colorado at Georgia Tech

Thursday, Sept. 3 — 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

The Yellow Jackets won 27-20 when they met in Boulder last season. Another competitive matchup would not be surprising.

Georgia Tech enters a new era at quarterback. Alberto Mendoza, the brother of last year’s Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, comes in following the departure of Haynes King. After a disappointing 3-9 campaign in 2025, Colorado is counting on former five-star recruit Julian Lewis to take a significant step forward in his second season.

Georgia Tech has established itself as a competitive ACC program under Brent Key, while Deion Sanders desperately needs Colorado to show signs of progress.

Baylor vs. Auburn in Atlanta

Saturday, Sept. 5 — 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC

Baylor and Auburn will meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a matchup featuring two intriguing quarterbacks. Florida transfer DJ Lagway takes over at Baylor, while new Auburn coach Alex Golesh brought over his quarterback at USF, Byrum Brown.

The quarterback storyline alone makes this worth watching.

Brown helped South Florida defeat Lagway and Florida last season, and now the two quarterbacks will meet again under very different circumstances.

Auburn is favored entering the matchup, but Baylor has enough offensive talent to make this interesting. 

Boise State @ No. 2 Oregon

Saturday, Sept. 5 — 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS

Never forget that Boise State beat Oregon in back-to-back years in 2008 and 2009 (LeGarrette Blount would probably want people to forget that). They also took Oregon to the brink in 2024 with Ashton Jeanty. Had it not been for Oregon’s special teams, Boise State would’ve walked out of Autzen again with a win.

Oregon enters this season with national championship expectations, while Boise State is again expected to be one of the strongest Group of Six programs. 

UNLV at Hawaii

Saturday, Sept. 5 — 10 p.m. ET

This is where the under-the-radar label really starts to fit.

UNLV and Hawaii are both coming off Week 0 losses, making this an unusually important game. Neither team wants to begin the year 0-2.

UNLV lost 27-21 to Memphis, while Hawaii fell 37-27 at Stanford.

The quarterback matchup is especially intriguing. UNLV has former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold, who is trying to revive his career under Dan Mullen. Hawaii counters with Micah Alejado, who threw for 3,106 yards and 24 touchdowns last season and is regarded as one of the Group of Six's top quarterbacks.

A late-night game in Honolulu is always a different challenge, and this one could have significant early-season implications for both teams.

UCLA at Cal

Saturday, Sept. 5 — 10:30 p.m. ET

If you're still watching college football late Saturday night, don't overlook this one.

UCLA and Cal are former Pac-12 rivals meeting as nonconference opponents for the first time since realignment separated them. 

More importantly, both teams are entering new eras.

UCLA has first-year head coach Bob Chesney along with returning quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Cal begins the Tosh Lupoi era with sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele returning after an impressive freshman season.

Sagapolutele threw for 3,454 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2025 and is already generating significant buzz entering his second season.

This game also looks like one of the most evenly matched contests on the schedule. Cal was a slight favorite entering the week, making this much more than a late-night showcase.