10 Early Season College Football Games with National Championship Implications

2014’s winter has been long, cold and seemingly unrelenting.

Even though the calendar has officially turned to spring, it doesn’t feel that way in many parts of our fine nation, with early-spring/late-winter storms buffeting the East Coast.

The good news? We’re just over five months away from the opening weekend of the 2014 college football season.

When Texas A&M and South Carolina kick off Aug. 28 at Williams-Brice Stadium, another highly anticipated college football season will lurch into gear.

This season will be more anticipated than any in memory, largely because of the increased possibilities. The controversial, often-lamented Bowl Championship Series is gone, replaced with the new College Football Playoff.

Teams across America will be fighting for one of four playoff spots, doubling the opportunities available to play for a national title under the BCS system.

Early-season games will be as important as ever: A team could afford a loss and perhaps fight its way back into playoff contention by the end of the season, but it isn’t advised. A number of high-profile games will shape the national title conversation. Here are 10 early-season games with national championship implications.

The new SEC Network could hardly have picked a better game to kick off its college football coverage.

These two teams combined for 20 wins in 2013, and both finished inside the final top 20. Both suffered major early losses to the NFL draft: South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel could both be among the first five picks in May’s NFL draft.

But don’t be fooled into thinking there will be a major drop-off.

A&M will pick from talented youngsters Kyle Allen and Kenny Hill or senior Matt Joeckel to replace Manziel, and South Carolina will install experienced senior Dylan Thompson to replace the gutty Connor Shaw at quarterback.

The Aggies lost All-America left tackle Jake Matthews and Biletnikoff Award finalist Mike Evans, and the Gamecocks lost receiver Bruce Ellington, corner Vic Hampton and defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles to the NFL. But South Carolina does return 14 starters, led by star tailback Mike Davis.

A&M will return a strong tailback group and talented wideout Ricky Seals-Jones, who redshirted last season with a knee injury. Plus, the Aggies’ young defense can only improve.

On opening night in Columbia, one team should feel a lot better about itself before the rest of the nation even kicks off.

Both of these programs took a small step back last season. The Tigers finished 10-3 with an Outback Bowl win over Iowa, while Wisconsin finished 9-4 with a Capital One Bowl loss to South Carolina.

This spring, LSU must find a replacement for talented senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger, and six Tiger underclassmen, led by tailback Jeremy Hill and receivers Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry, who left for the NFL. Sophomore Anthony Jennings is trying to hold off highly touted incoming freshman Brandon Harris at quarterback.

Tailback Leonard Fournette, the nation’s No.1 overall recruit , per 247Sports, and receivers Malachi Dupre and Trey Quinn could all make immediate contributions.

Wisconsin loses the core of a talented defensive front seven and 1,000-yard receiver Jared Abbrederis, but brings back 1,600-yard rusher Melvin Gordon and starting quarterback Joel Stave, who threw for 22 touchdowns in 2013.

Both teams use a pro-style offense with bruising tailbacks, and it should be a fun game in Reliant Stadium. I’m not sure both teams are bona fide national title contenders, but after this game, one team certainly won’t be on Aug. 31.

Here are two programs, 90 miles apart, who simply don’t play often enough. Last season’s meeting in Clemson proved that. Senior quarterback Tajh Boyd out-dueled fellow senior Aaron Murray in a 38-35 victory that featured an absolutely electric environment in Memorial Stadium.

A year later, both Boyd and Murray have graduated, but that doesn’t mean the rematch in Sanford Stadium will be any less fun or meaningful. Clemson is auditioning senior Cole Stoudt, sophomore Chad Kelly and talented early-enrollee freshman DeShaun Watson to replace Boyd, while Georgia will hand its offensive reins to senior Hutson Mason, who impressed in a late-season trial after Murray suffered a torn ACL.

Clemson must also replace star wideout Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant. Senior Adam Humphries, junior Charone Peake and sophomore Mike Williams are the top returnees mixing with a trio of freshmen early enrollees in Demarre Kitt, Kyrin Priester and Artavis Scott.

Georgia will return one of the nation’s top backfields in junior Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, who is recovering from a season-ending knee injury of his own, just one of a plague of injuries that savaged the Bulldogs last fall.

Clemson will be without several key players in senior defensive end Corey Crawford, senior offensive guard David Beasley, senior cornerback Garry Peters and junior tackle Shaq Anthony, all of whom will miss the game for unspecified rules violations.

Georgia coach Mark Richt is still mulling punishment for starting safety Tray Matthews and defensive linemen Jonathan Taylor and James DeLoach and wide receiver Uriah LeMay, all of whom were arrested recently for theft by deception after attempting to cash university-issued stipend checks multiple times.

The Tigers have an improving defense, but expect a game much like a year ago with plenty of points. It is a marquee game on both teams’ slates, and both would like nothing more than to start 2014 with a season-defining win.

This was very nearly the 2014 Rose Bowl, and it sets up as a classic clash of styles. Michigan State wins with defense, the ground game and hitting you in the mouth. Oregon succeeds with flash, fast-paced offense and gaudy, ever-changing uniforms.

In Week 2, they’ll collide in a huge Big 10-Pac-12 clash that will have a major impact on the early national championship picture. A year ago, the Spartans lost only to Notre Dame in rolling to a 13-1 season, capped with a Rose Bowl win over Stanford. Oregon went 11-2 in Mark Helfrich’s first season as head coach, showing little drop-off, following Chip Kelly’s departure to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

Oregon returns electric quarterback Marcus Mariota, a draft-eligible sophomore who turned down the NFL for his junior season in Eugene, as well as 10 offensive starters. All-America corner Iko Ekpre-Olumu also returns.

Michigan State loses the core of a beastly defense, including All-America cornerback Darqueze Dennard, safety Isaiah Lewis, linebackers Denicos Allen and Max Bullough and defensive tackles Tyler Hoover and Micajah Reynolds. However, quarterback Connor Cook, who threw for nearly 2,800 yards and 22 touchdowns, returns, as does tailback Jeremy Langford.

Both teams should be preseason top-10 fixtures, and this will be an early season referendum on the Big 10 and Pac-12’s 2014 strength.

Let’s be honest: These programs really don’t like each other. Going all the way back to the “What’s your deal?” controversy between Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll, a rivalry that has spilled over into the NFC West, these Pac-12 powers signify a California dichotomy: Bay Area vs. SoCal; substance vs. style.

NCAA probation followed by the Lane Kiffin era combined to drag USC down from its national power perch, but the Trojans hope that the hiring of Steve Sarkisian from Washington can reconnect them to the glory days of Carroll, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart.

Southern Cal lost five juniors to the NFL draft, led by star wideout Marqise Lee, but does return eight starters on defense, led by All-America defensive end Leonard Williams (13.5 sacks in 2013).

Offensively, quarterback Cody Kessler, who proved himself as a capable passer in 2013, throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, returns, as does tailback Javorius Allen (1,027 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns) and wideout Nelson Agholor (1,444 all-purpose yards and eight receiving scores).

Harbaugh’s successor, David Shaw, led the Cardinal to a Pac-12 title last fall but must replace four offensive linemen, with talented left tackle Andrus Peat the only returning starter.

Tailback tandem Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson are gone, as are defensive standouts like linebackers Shayne Skov and safety Ed Reynolds.

Still, Stanford has proven itself as the kind of program that reloads rather than rebuilds, and this will be a strong early-season test. It’s also a chance for Sark and the Trojans to launch themselves back into the limelight, which makes it extra intriguing.

Here are two programs not that far from each other that are looking for very different things. Ohio State ended 2013 in highly disappointing fashion. The Buckeyes’ 24-game winning streak and BCS title hopes went by the boards in a Big Ten title game loss to Michigan State, and Clemson handed Ohio State a 40-35 Orange Bowl defeat.

Urban Meyer’s bunch lost a pair of junior defensive standouts in cornerback Bradley Roby and Ryan Shazier to the NFL draft, and defensive end Noah Spence will sit out this game as the final game of a three-game Big Ten suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.

Electric quarterback Braxton Miller is back to lead the Buckeyes offense, but only one starting offensive lineman returns. Bruising tailback Carlos Hyde (who rushed for over 1,500 yards in 2013) is gone, too.

Seven defensive starters return, but given the Buckeyes’ struggles to contain foes last fall, is that such a good thing?

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech will be breaking in a new quarterback following the graduation of talented-but-maddening Logan Thomas. The Hokies slipped to 8-5 last fall, raising questions about whether longtime coach Frank Beamer was still the man to keep the program nationally prominent.

In Scot Loeffler’s second season as offensive coordinator, the offense should be improved. Running backs Trey Edmunds and Marshawn Williams should contribute, and Texas Tech transfer Michael Brewer could have the edge over a trio of challengers in the quarterback competition.

Bud Foster’s defense was stingy last season and should be again this fall. The trip to Columbus will be a major early test for the Hokies, and it is one that Ohio State can’t afford to fail if it hopes for national success.

Everything about AT&T Stadium (aka JerryWorld) is big, and this game is no different. New Texas coach Charlie Strong will bring his Longhorns in for his first marquee game as the program’s new leader, facing a UCLA team that could be among the preseason top 10. The Horns are badly in need of toughness, something that Strong can certainly provide.

Defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat (winner of the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end) graduated. So did wideout Mike Davis, who finished his career fourth on Texas’ all-time receptions list, fourth in receiving yards and fifth in touchdowns.  But the rest of a solid defense returns, as does a decent offensive talent pool led by quarterback David Ash (who redshirted following concussion issues in 2013) and tailbacks Johnathan Gray, Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown.

UCLA had a breakout 2013 under coach Jim Mora Jr.,  finishing 10-3. Junior quarterback Brett Hundley will lead a loaded offense that will return nine starters. Hundley passed for 2,865 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions last fall, adding 587 rushing yards and nine scores on the ground. All-America linebacker Anthony Barr should be a top-10 NFL draft pick, but the Bruins will return seven starters from a young defense led by two-way talent Myles Jack.

Playing Texas in a not-so-neutral site game will be a big test for the Bruins, but it could prove their national mettle. It could also be a huge early boost for Strong if the Horns can hook an upset.

Auburn was one of 2013’s biggest national surprises and success stories. The Tigers went from a 3-9 record and winless SEC record under coach Gene Chizik to 12-2 and within seconds of their second BCS crown in four years under new coach Gus Malzahn.

The Tigers will be without tailback Tre Mason, a Heisman Trophy finalist who declared for the NFL draft after rushing for 1,816 yards and 23 touchdowns. Left tackle Greg Robinson also declared for the draft, but Auburn brings back four starters on the line, as well as quarterback Nick Marshall, who was outstanding in his first season in Malzahn’s hurry-up, no-huddle system.  Auburn returns six starters on defense, although end Dee Ford’s NFL draft declaration hurts.

Playing at Kansas State on a Thursday night is a fascinating move. The Wildcats slipped from 11-2 in 2012 to 8-5 last fall, but will boast a raucous environment in Manhattan. Last fall, Jake Waters emerged from a two-quarterback system with Daniel Sams to lead the Wildcats to wins in six of their final seven games, including a Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl rout of Michigan.

As is coach Bill Snyder’s style, K-State signed a large junior college transfer class which should make an immediate impact.

The Wildcats might not be national title contenders this season, but on a Thursday night on the Plains, they could certainly put a damper on Auburn’s run for the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Last October, this was the biggest game in ACC history, a matchup of top-5 teams with huge national title implications. Florida State quickly turned the game into a yawner, jumping on a pair of early Clemson turnovers and rolling to a 51-14 rout that kick-started the Seminoles’ run to a BCS national crown.

Florida State is returning sophomore and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, who is likely entering his final season of college football as a draft-eligible sophomore. He’ll have to find several new targets to throw to, following the departures of Kelvin Benjamin and Kenny Shaw, but wideout Rashad Greene and talented tight end Nick O’ Leary return, as does most of an offensive line, which paved the way for last fall’s potent attack. Tailbacks Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr. also declared for the NFL draft.

The Seminoles return 13 starters in all, although they must replace nose guard Timmy Jernigan, safety Lamarcus Joyner and linebacker Christion Jones off of a nasty defense.

However, Florida State has recruited exceedingly well, and it’s a matter of reloading, not rebuilding.
Meanwhile, if Clemson survives the opener at Georgia, it will bring its new starting quarterback into an even more hostile cauldron. The Tigers face two major road tests in the first three weeks of the season, with the winner of this game having a serious inside track for the ACC Atlantic Division and, likely, the ACC title.

Florida State will be the clear favorite, but even a one-loss Clemson team could find its way back into the playoff mix by season’s end. Either way, it’ll be a pivotal night in Tallahassee with the Tigers seeking revenge.

A year ago, the Bayou Bengals handed Auburn its only regular season loss in a bruising defeat. This time around, Auburn welcomes LSU to its Jungle, Jordan-Hare Stadium, for a crucial early-season matchup.

Both teams will have had a month to figure themselves out before stepping into an important SEC West showdown. Assuming that LSU survives Wisconsin and Auburn figures out Kansas State, it could also be a top-10 matchup.

The SEC West will be loaded again with the two Tigers, Alabama and Texas A&M, but this will be the first key division matchup and will set the tone for a thrilling two months to come. Whoever emerges victorious will have their playoff hopes intact, but will hardly be able to rest on their laurels.