College football season is an exciting time for sports fans. Each weekend from late summer into early December, teams from across the country lock horns hoping to qualify for the season-ending playoff, which begins on January 1 and culminates with the national championship game on January 8. Between now and then, college football fans can feast on these highly anticipated matchups on the docket for the 2023 season.
• Ohio State at Notre Dame, September 23: This matchup of midwestern powerhouse programs in week 4 of the college football season kicks off under the lights at historic Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Ohio State is a preseason national championship contender, while Notre Dame will begin the season ranked thirteenth in the preseason poll.
• LSU vs. Florida State, September 3: This matchup is the only game on the week 1 schedule between two teams ranked in the top 10 of the preseason poll. The game is a rematch of a memorable week 1 battle a season ago, when Florida State pulled out a late 24-23 victory in the LSU debut of head coach Brian Kelly. This year’s neutral site matchup in Orlando will see the fifth-ranked Tigers attempt to avenge a loss against the eighth-ranked Seminoles.
• USC at Oregon, November 11: USC’s pending departure for the Big Ten conference in 2024 means this clash of longtime Pac-12 rivals will likely pack a little extra punch in 2023. That the matchup occurs in week 11 also figures to add to the drama, as both teams could be fighting to earn a spot in the end-of-season playoff by the time this one kicks off in mid-November. Fans of great quarterback play also won’t be disappointed with this matchup, which features reigning Heisman Trophy winner (and preseason Heisman favorite) Caleb Williams under center for USC and the versatile Bo Nix taking snaps for the Ducks.
• Georgia at Tennessee, November 18: Another late-season matchup with potential playoff implications, this dual between two Southeastern Conference powerhouses could go a long way toward determining if the two-time defending champion Bulldogs can win their third straight national championship. It will be a tall order for the Volunteers, but they’ll make their case in front of what figures to be a raucous crowd of Tennessee faithful at Neyland Stadium.
• Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, November 4: Tensions figure to be high in this rivalry matchup known simply as “Bedlam.” Oklahoma is set to depart for the SEC after the 2023 season, which means this year’s installment of a rivalry that dates all the way back to 1904 could be the final chapter. That figures to add to the emotion in Stillwater on the first weekend in November, making this among the most notable dates to circle on the 2023 college football calendar.
