Week 1 of the 2016 college football schedule features 86 games with all but one of the 128 FBS programs in action.
Spanning across Labor Day weekend before the NFL kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 8, the collegians are set to play 16 games this Thursday, 11 on Friday, 57 on Saturday, one on Sunday, and one on Monday.
46 of the 86 games (53%) feature an FBS team squaring off with an FCS opponent. That leaves just 40 Week 1 contests pitting an FBS program against another FBS team.
Only 14 games are slated between Power Five programs, only two (South Carolina-Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech-Boston College) are conference games.
Take a look at a handful of vital stats related to this week’s schedule. All are unique to Week 1 matchups and all are limited to FBS vs. FBS action.
OFF THIS WEEK
Marshall, the only program scheduled to play 12-consecutive games in 2016.
RANKED vs. RANKED (4)
- (3) Oklahoma vs. (15) Houston (at NRG Stadium)
- (18) Georgia vs. (22) North Carolina (at Atlanta, GA)
- (20) USC vs. (1) Alabama (at Arlington, TX)
- (11) Ole Miss vs. No. 4 Florida State (at Orlando, FL)
FIRST-EVER MEETINGS (7)
- UMass at (25) Florida
- Charlotte at (19) Louisville
- Northern Illinois at Wyoming
- Texas State at Ohio
- Kansas State at (8) Stanford
- Appalachian State at (9) Tennessee
- Rutgers at (14) Washington
LONGEST SERIES OF THE WEEK
Colorado and Colorado State play for the 90th time on Friday, Sept. 2 (9pm EST). The Buffaloes lead the overall series 64-23-2.
OLDEST SERIES OF THE WEEK
Colorado and Colorado State first played in 1893 (though some sources date the first game back to 1890).
REUNITED
No. 4 Florida State and No. 11 Ole Miss play for the first time since 1961. The two square off in Orlando, Florida on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 5, 8pm EST).
STREAKS OF THE WEEK
5: (10) Notre Dame has won five straight over Texas.
6: Temple has won six straight over Army.
7: South Carolina has won 7 straight over Vanderbilt and UTEP has won seven straight over New Mexico State.
MOST-LIKELY WEEK 1 WINNERS BASED ON HISTORY (FBS vs. FBS only):
American: Tulane (2-0 all-time) vs. Wake Forest.
ACC: Georgia Tech (6-2-0 all-time and 3-2 in the last five) vs. Boston College.
Big 12: (3) Oklahoma (2-0 all-time) vs. (15) Houston.
Big Ten: (6) Ohio State (4-0 all-time) vs. Bowling Green and Penn State (4-0 all-time) vs. Kent State.
C-USA: Western Kentucky (1-0 all-time) vs. Rice.
MAC: Toledo (4-0 all-time) vs. Arkansas State.
MWC: Boise State (1-0 all-time) vs. UL Lafayette.
Pac-12: Colorado (58-22-2 all-time and 3-2 in the last five) vs. Colorado State.
SEC: (5) LSU (3-0 all-time) vs. Wisconsin.
Sun Belt: Georgia State (1-0 all-time) vs. Ball State.
FUN FACTS
Boston College and Georgia Tech play in Ireland
Slated for Saturday morning, BC-Georgia Tech is the first international college football game since last Friday, when Cal beat Hawaii 51-31 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
It’s also the ninth-ever college football game in Ireland, the most recent in 2014 when Penn State nipped UCF 26-24. The first dates back to 1988 when Boston College beat Army 38-24.
Boston College also left the country in 1978, falling to Temple 28-24 in Tokyo, Japan. It’s Georgia Tech’s first-ever international game.
Clemson hasn’t won at Auburn since 1950
On tap for Saturday night, No. 2 Clemson will try to break its seven-game losing streak at Auburn.
The last win, a 41-0 blowout, came 66 years ago. Clemson finished 9-0-1 that season including a 15-14 win over Miami (Fla.) in the Orange Bowl. Auburn, on the other hand, went 0-10, the all-time worst finish in school history.
Michigan has never lost to a Mountain West member
No. 7 Michigan hosts Hawaii in the early slot on Saturday, defending its 8-0 all-time mark vs. current Mountain West members.
The Wolverines are 2-0 all-time vs. Air Force, 1-0 vs. Colorado State, 2-0 vs. Hawaii, 1-0 vs. UNLV, and 2-0 vs. San Diego State.
North Carolina hasn’t beaten Georgia since 1963
The No. 22 Tar Heels and No. 18 Bulldogs meet late Saturday afternoon for the first time since the 1971 Gator Bowl. Georgia won that meeting in a 7-3 barnstormer, also its fourth-straight victory over UNC.
The Tar Heels’ most-recent win, 52-years ago, came during a 9-2 campaign, including a 35-0 win over Air Force in, ironically, the Gator Bowl. The ’63 Bulldogs posted a 4-5-1 record, well within the 20 worst finishes in school history.
Wake Forest has never beaten Tulane
On Thursday night, Wake Forest will try and beat Tulane for the first time in history. The Demon Deacons are 0-2 all-time vs. the Green Wave, the only two-ever meetings coming in 1995 and 1959.
Wake Forest is one of only five current ACC members Tulane has an all-time winning record against. The others are Clemson (6-4-0), North Carolina (9-5-2), Pitt (4-3), and Virginia (4-2).
It’s also the first-ever game at Wake Forest.
Historical data courtesy of Stassen.com and College Football Data Warehouse.
WKU plays rice. That’s is a conference game.
Let’s not forget that LSU plays Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Both head coaches are scared that the Lambeau Leap could result in penalties to the point that Les Miles wants to tell players that if they want a ride home with the team, to not commit the leap.
Digging this miscellaneous schedule info. Hope this is a weekly column.
It will be weekly.