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College football is back, and the 2016 season will roar into place with a slate of high-octane matchups.
Best Game(s): Tom Herman will try to keep No. 15 Houston moving towards college football's elite in a 3 p.m. upset bid against No. 3 Oklahoma. The Cougars will have a chance to topple the Sooners before making an impassioned plea to join them in the expanding Big 12 Conference. That game will be followed by the first college game at historic Lambeau Stadium since 1983 when Wisconsin plays host to No. 5 LSU. Two elite tailbacks -- the Tigers' Leonard Fournette and the Badgers' Corey Clement -- will tear up the not-yet-frozen tundra in one of the weekend's marquee matchups.
The late slate of games doesn't disappoint, either. No. 1 Alabama and No. 20 USC will clash in a battle between football royalty. No. 2 Clemson faces Auburn in a game that could drastically affect Gus Malzahn's coaching career. No. 18 Georgia will host No. 22 North Carolina in the day's third contest between two ranked teams.
Worst Game: It's not all rainbows and explosions. Rhode Island at Kansas could be the worst FBS-involved college football game of the season, and that alone could make it worth watching. Kansas is coming off an 0-12 season. Their spring practice highlight was a game of knockout (the playground basketball game, not just a bunch of dudes punching each other). Rhode Island is 2-20 in its past two seasons, lost its past two FBS games (against Syracuse and Marshall) by a combined score of 95-7, and hasn't had a winning record since 2001.
Saturday, Sept. 3
| Game | Time | TV / Online streaming |
| Georgia Tech vs. Boston College (Ireland) | 7:30 a.m. ET | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
| Boise State at UL Lafayette | Noon ET | ASN / WatchESPN |
| Bowling Green at No. 6 Ohio State | Noon ET | BTN / BTN2Go |
| EKU at Purdue | Noon ET | ESPNews / WatchESPN |
| Fordham at Navy | Noon ET | CBSSN |
| Hawaii at No. 7 Michigan | Noon ET | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Howard at Maryland | Noon ET | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Missouri at West Virginia | Noon ET | FS1 / FS Go |
| No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 15 Houston (NRG Stadium) | Noon ET | ABC / WatchESPN |
| South Alabama at Mississippi State | Noon ET | SECN / WatchESPN |
| Western Michigan at Northwestern | Noon ET | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| Liberty at Virginia Tech | 12:30 p.m. ET | ACCN / WatchESPN |
| Villanova at Pittsburgh | 1:30 p.m. ET | ACCNExtra |
| Abilene Christian at Air Force | 2 p.m. ET | MWN |
| Rutgers at No. 14 Washington | 2 p.m. ET | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| Kent State at Penn State | 3:30 p.m. ET | BTN / BTN2Go |
| No. 5 LSU vs. Wisconsin (Green Bay) | 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC / WatchESPN |
| Miami (Ohio) at No. 17 Iowa | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| Murray State at Illinois | 3:30 p.m. ET | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Richmond at Virginia | 3:30 p.m. ET | ACCNExtra |
| SE Louisiana at No. 21 Oklahoma State | 3:30 p.m. ET | FSN / FS Go |
| Texas State at Ohio | 3:30 p.m. ET | CBSSN |
| No. 16 UCLA at Texas A&M | 3:30 p.m. ET | CBS / CBSSports.com |
| Louisiana Tech at Arkansas | 4 p.m. ET | SECN / WatchESPN |
| UC Davis at No. 24 Oregon | 5 p.m. ET | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| No. 18 Georgia vs. No. 22 North Carolina (Atlanta) | 5:30 p.m. ET | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Austin Peay at Troy | 6 p.m. ET | WatchESPN |
| Florida A&M at Miami, FL | 6 p.m. ET | ACCNExtra |
| Hampton at Old Dominion | 6 p.m. ET | CUSA.tv |
| NC Central at Duke | 6 p.m. ET | ACCNExtra |
| Savannah State at Georgia Southern | 6 p.m. ET | WatchESPN |
| Southern Illinois at Florida Atlantic | 6 p.m. ET | CUSA.tv |
| Western Carolina at East Carolina | 6 p.m. ET | WatchESPN |
| VMI at Akron | 6:30 p.m. ET | WatchESPN |
| Alabama A&M at Middle Tennessee | 7 p.m. ET | TBA |
| Alabama State at UTSA | 7 p.m. ET | KMYS-CW 35 |
| Rhode Island at Kansas | 7 p.m. ET | Jayhawk TV |
| San Jose State at Tulsa | 7 p.m. ET | CBSSN |
| SE Missouri State at Memphis | 7 p.m. ET | WatchESPN |
| SMU at North Texas | 7 p.m. ET | ASN |
| South Carolina State at UCF | 7 p.m. ET | WatchESPN |
| Southern at ULM | 7 p.m. ET | WatchESPN |
| Towson at USF | 7 p.m. ET | WatchESPN |
| Southern Miss at Kentucky | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| UMass at No. 25 Florida | 7:30 p.m. ET | SECN / WatchESPN |
| EWU at Washington State | 8 p.m. ET | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| Fresno State at Nebraska | 8 p.m. ET | BTN / BTN2Go |
| New Mexico State at UTEP | 8 p.m. ET | beIN SPORTS |
| Northern Iowa at Iowa State | 8 p.m. ET | Cyclones.tv |
| South Dakota State at No. 13 TCU | 8 p.m. ET | FSN / FS Go |
| Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech | 8 p.m. ET | FSN / FS Go |
| No. 20 USC vs. No. 1 Alabama (Arlington) | 8 p.m. ET | ABC / WatchESPN |
| New Hampshire at San Diego State | 8:30 p.m. ET | TBA |
| No. 2 Clemson at Auburn | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Arizona vs. BYU (Glendale) | 10:30 p.m. ET | FS1 / FS Go |
| Northern Illinois at Wyoming | 10:30 p.m. ET | CBSSN |
| Northern Arizona at Arizona State | 10:45 PM | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |