College football: Notre Dame, Navy lead opening weekend schedule
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Aug. 23 (UPI) -- An internationally staged Notre Dame-Navy matchup will launch the college football season Saturday in Dublin. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans also will be in action.
Ten games will air Saturday as part of college football's annual Week 0 opening weekend. Notre Dame and Navy will kick off at 2:30 p.m. EDT at Aviva Stadium. The matchup between the longtime rivals will air on NBC.
"I'm expecting to see a very aggressive, talented football team that plays extremely hard," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman told reporters Monday at a news conference in Notre Dame, Ind. "They've shown that on film and we are looking forward to the challenge."
Mercer will face North Alabama in the next game at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. The University of Texas at El Paso will then play Jacksonville State at 5:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
New Mexico State will host UMass at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Ohio will face San Diego State at the same time on FS1. Albany will play Fordham in another 7 p.m. game, which will stream on FloFootball.com.
Vanderbilt will battle Hawaii at 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Jackson State will face South Carolina State at the same time on ABC.
Williams and the Trojans will host San Jose State at 8 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network. Louisiana Tech will meet Florida International in Saturday's nightcap at 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Notre Dame, the No. 16 team in the country, is a 20.5-point favorite to beat Navy. No. 6 USC is the biggest favorite (30.5) of Saturday's active teams going into their matchup with San Jose State.
No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Alabama will be among the top teams to start their seasons Sept. 2. No. 5 LSU will face No. 8 Florida State on Sept. 3 in this season's first matchup between ranked teams.
"It's a blessing," Navy quarterback Tai Lavatia told Navy Athletics at fall camp, when asked about facing Notre Dame. "Not a lot of people get the opportunity to do what we are about to do.
"I think it's a very important game to show what we are all about."
Who to watch
Williams, who led the nation with 42 touchdown passes last season en route to Heisman Trophy honors, is a heavy favorite to capture the award again in 2023.
Quarterbacks Jayden Daniels of LSU, Quinn Ewers of Texas, Jordan Travis of Florida State and Cade Klubnik of Clemson are among the other favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.
North Carolina's Drake Maye, Notre Dame's Sam Hartman, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, Oregon's Bo Nix and Georgia's Carson Beck are expected to be among the top quarterbacks this season.
Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Florida State defensive end Jared Verse, Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt, Washington defensive end Bralen Trice and Georgia tight end Brock Bowers are among the other top college prospects ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Schedule
All times EDT
Saturday
Navy vs. Notre Dame at 2:30 p.m. on NBC
Mercer vs. North Alabama at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
UTEP at Jacksonville State at 5:30 p.m. on CBSSN
UMass at New Mexico State at 7 p.m. on ESPN
Ohio at San Diego State at 7 p.m. on FS1
Fordham at Albany at 7 p.m. on FloFootball.com
Hawaii at Vanderbilt at 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network
South Carolina State at Jackson State at 7:30 p.m. on ABC
San Jose State at USC at 8 p.m. on Pac-12 Network
Florida International at Louisiana Tech at 9 p.m. on CBSSN
