Week 1 of the college football season isn’t about marquee matchups. To find games of interest, you have to dig a bit deeper.There is one top 25 matchup that pits No. 9 Ole Miss against No. 24 Louisville on a neutral field in Nashville on Sunday. The Rebels and Cardinals join just two other preseason AP Top 25 teams in facing spreads tighter than 20 points this weekend: No. 11 LSU is favored by 10 at home against Clemson on Saturday and No. 19 SMU is favored by a field goal at Florida State on Monday.For ranked teams, Saturday’s slate appears to be a preseason tune-up week. Get a blowout win under your belt and get ready for harder games to come. That does mean there are plenty of opportunities for upsets, but for the most part, games involving ranked teams aren’t expected to be close.With that in mind, most of the games our staff is picking do not include top teams. With a couple exceptions, we focused on ones with closer spreads. So let’s take a look at the picks before diving into what to watch in each.Wild-card picksEvery week, our pickers select another bet of their choosing that isn’t limited to the games above.Matt Baker: New Mexico -10 vs. Central MichiganMark Cooper: Western Kentucky -1.5 at NevadaSeth Emerson: Baylor vs. Auburn under 59.5Sam Khan Jr.: Texas State +30.5 at TexasAustin Mock: UMass at Rutgers over 51.5Dan Santaromita: Fresno State at USC over 51.5Daniel Shirley: Indiana State +35.5 at PurdueDavid Ubben: Oklahoma State -13.5 at TulsaChris Vannini: Tarleton State +2.5 at Bowling GreenPrimetime top-25 testsClemson at No. 11 LSU, 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABCNo. 24 Louisville vs.* No. 9 Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday on ABCNo. 19 SMU at Florida State, 7:30 p.m. ET Monday on ESPN*at Nissan Stadium in NashvilleThere’s college football for five days wrapping around Labor Day weekend. Saturday, Sunday and Monday feature intriguing games in primetime.Saturday’s primetime game feature a rematch of last year’s season opener between LSU and Clemson. Both teams were hyped then, and both ended up being disappointments. After winning in Clemson, LSU is favored by 10 points at home this time around. All eyes will be on coach Lane Kiffin in his first game in charge of the Bayou Tigers, but Dabo Swinney also has something to prove at Clemson after going 4-4 in the ACC in two of the past three seasons.On Sunday, Kiffin’s old school, Ole Miss, is in the only game featuring two top-25 teams. The Rebels are favored by more than a touchdown against Louisville.Monday features a game that could be big in the ACC title race. SMU is only favored by a field goal at Florida State, which beat Alabama in its 2025 season opener before finishing 5-7. The Seminoles beat New Mexico State 34-17 in Week 0.Football at LSU is 'just different.' Here's whyMatt BakerBig spreads with some intrigueWashington State at No. 17 Washington, 4 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCWisconsin vs.* No. 4 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC*at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.Washington and Notre Dame are both favored by roughly three touchdowns, but it’s easy to see some appeal to these games.The Apple Cup lives on despite Washington’s move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. The Huskies are big favorites, but it’s still an in-state rivalry game with a cool name and a trophy on the line.Notre Dame taking on Wisconsin sounds good, but this is not your older sibling’s Wisconsin. The Badgers have had two straight losing seasons, something that hadn’t happened in Madison since 1992. Coach Luke Fickell is 16-20 since taking over and might be lucky to still be in the job as he heads into Year 4.The Fighting Irish started 0-2 last season, but the early schedule appears far more forgiving than Texas A&M and Miami were. This game taking place at Lambeau Field on a Sunday will also make for some good and/or annoying “Notre Dame is basically an NFL team anyway” jokes.Power-4 matchups to watchColorado at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. ET Thursday on ESPNBaylor vs.* Auburn, 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABCBoston College at Cincinnati, 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on FOXUCLA at Cal, 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN*at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in AtlantaIf you want competitive games between power conference teams, these are the games for you. Auburn, Georgia Tech and Cincinnati are all favored by around a touchdown.Can Deion Sanders guide Colorado to a bowl game in Year 4? Year 3 featured his his worst record (3-9) since taking the job in Boulder. Georgia Tech has been a solid program under Brent Key, so it would be a solid statement win.Auburn began last season with a win at Baylor and still finished just 5-7, leading to a coaching change. This is Game 1 for Alex Golesh.UCLA and Cal cap off Saturday’s action with a nonconference game that would have been Pac-12 After Dark just a few short years ago.