CFB South: Week 1 Preview
Week Zero of College Football’s 2025-26 season is in the books and we can now set our sights squarely on the sport’s major opening weekend. None of the Southern football programs I’m following this season played during the technical first week of games.
Power 4 Opponents: Zero.
None of the in-state games will be played against Power 4 opponents. Even given that context, though, there is probably some viewing potential.
Texas A&M (SEC) will be facing off against UT, San Antonio (American) in College Station, Texas. I don’t imagine the Roadrunners will walk away with a lot from this game but odder things have happened.
Stephen F. Austin (Southland) will drive travel from Nacogdoches to meet up with Houston (Big 12). The odds are probably a little more even in this matchup but still another significant undergo situation for the non Power 4 opponent.
Mississippi State (SEC) will meet up with Southern Miss (Sun Belt) for an in-state contest in Hattiesburg.
SMU (ACC) will be hosting East Texas A&M (Southland) up in Dallas.
And Louisville (ACC) will be acting as host for its Week 1 game against Eastern Kentucky (UAC).
Cross-State Games
There are five games that will be played by teams within the West and Core regions.
Power 4 Opponents: 2*
The big interregional matchup will be between Auburn (SEC) and Baylor (Big 12). It’ll be a rare meeting of the two programs. They’ve only played each other four times prior to this season, with the most recent game being held in 1976. The Baylor Bears lead the series 2-1-1 and they won the most recent matchup 15-14. The Auburn Tigers will hope to log their first win since 1954, when they bested Baylor 33-13. The ESPN analysis is leaning towards Baylor with a 51.8% chance of walking away with the victory.
Two of the interregional games will be played between Power 4 and SWAC (HBCU) teams.
Arkansas (SEC) will he hosting Alabama A&M (SWAC) at home in Fayetteville.
Texas Tech (Big 12) will be hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC) at home in Lubbock.
And the final interregional game will be played by Oklahoma State (Big 12) and UT Martin (OVC-Big South). UT Martin will be making the trek from Tennessee to meet the Cowboys in Lubbock.
Southeast Games
Five games will be played between Core/West teams and programs that are technically in the South but hug the East Coast.
Power 4 Opponents: 3
Two games in this group will be receiving a lot of national attention, mostly because they’'ll be pitting Power 4 opponents against each other to kick off the 2025-26 action.
LSU (SEC) and Clemson (ACC) will be meeting up on Saturday night in South Carolina. It’s kind of surprising that the two big time programs have only played against each other four times. 1959 - LSU (7-0). 1996 - LSU (10-7). 2012 - Clemson (25-24). 2020 - LSU (42-25). ESPN Analytics has the Tigers from Clemson with a 53.8%-46.2% advantage over the Tigers from LSU. Regardless of the outcome, I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of post game conversations fired up in the region.
Another big matchup will be between Alabama (SEC) and Florida State (ACC). Again, it’s surprising that the two programs have only played against each other five times. 1965 - Alabama (21-0). 1967 - Tie (37-37). 1974 - Alabama (8-7). 2007 - Florida State (21-14). 2017 - Alabama (24-7). Both programs will be looking to bounce back from underwhelming 2024-25 seasons and ESPN Analytics has Alabamaba with a 90.6% win probability. Given both fanbase’s histories and tendencies, I kind of just want to skip to the post game reactions.
TCU (Big 12) and North Carolina (ACC) will close out the week 1 slate on Monday night in Chapel Hill.
Ole Miss (SEC) will be hosting Georgia State (Sun Belt) down in Oxford.
Vanderbilt (SEC) will be hosting Charleston Southern (OVC-Big South) in Nashville.
Out-of-Region Games
Four Power 4 teams will be taking on opponents from outside of the South, including the East Coast states.
Power 4 Opponents: 2
There’s another really big time game during Week 1.
Texas (SEC) will be traveling up to Columbus to duke it out with Ohio State (Big Ten). The Longhorns and they Buckeyes have only met four times going into the 2025-26 season. And the series is dead even. 2005 - Texas (25-22). 2006 - Ohio State (24-7). 2009 - Texas (24-21). 2025 - Ohio State (28-14). The Buckeyes walked away with the National Championship last season and somehow the Longhorns earned a #1 preseason ranking. ESPN Analytics has Texas favored with a 53.3% win probability.
Tennessee (SEC) will be playing against Syracuse (ACC) in a neutral game site down in Atlanta’s Merceds-Benz Stadium.
Oklahoma (SEC) with be hosting Illinois State (MVFC) in Norman.
