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The cast of ESPN's College GameDay will look different this year, but the traveling pregame show will continue to roll along with Rece Davis in the host chair.
With the season roughly two months away, let's take a look at where GameDay could end up on the first Saturday of the FBS season.
1. Wisconsin vs. Alabama (AT&T Stadium, Dallas): Cool, a game between tradition-rich programs with beautiful and loud on-campus stadiums played in a sterile barn with a big TV in a state associated with neither program. Just what we all wanted.
2. Texas at Notre Dame: It's not really in his color palette, but it'll be interesting to see if Brian Kelly turns burnt orange after a terrible interception gets taken back for a Texas touchdown in the first quarter.
3. Arizona State vs. Texas A&M (NRG Stadium, Houston): The last time the Aggies played a challenging out-of-conference game, it was against a team they now share a conference with: Arkansas. Arizona State played Notre Dame last year the week after the Irish beat Navy, and dismantled them so comprehensively I thought I was watching a really depressing Western. Body blow theory is real, family.
4. Louisville vs. Auburn (Georgia Dome, Atlanta): The Cards will be wearing their hell bird uniforms. It's a pretty good argument against using realistically stylized versions of mascots.
5. Virginia at UCLA: The Bruins won last season's contest in Charlottesville, which also doubled as the first game of football in which both teams played with hands tied behind backs. It'll be tough for the encore to live up to the original's lofty levels of boobery, but lord, they'll try.
6. BYU at Nebraska: Get loud for (light) hostility in the heartland!
7. Stanford at Northwestern: Nerds.
8. Penn State at Temple: The Nittany Lions have responded well from a 1-3 stretch against the Owls during the interwar period to reel off 39 straight wins against their in-state ... rivals, I guess. You can really feel the passion in this one.
9. Mississippi State at Southern Miss:
In honor of Southern Miss and CLANGA renewing their friendly rivalry: pic.twitter.com/KXyqE1DBZp
— Peter Berkes (@peterberkes) August 30, 2014
10. Bowling Green vs. Tennessee (Nissan Stadium, Nashville): This may seem like a mismatch, but Tennessee should be advised to remain awake, or the Falcons might stunt on them.
Since college football has this weekend all to itself and doesn't have to share with the NFL, games will run from Thursday through Monday. Theoretically, GameDay could go to a non-Saturday game, but it would mess with tradition and timing. That's why these compelling non-Saturday games will not be hosting GameDay.
North Carolina vs. South Carolina (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte): This is the first stop where you can jump off the UNC hype train after hastily jumping on in June.
Michigan at Utah: Michigan gets a chance at revenge for its loss at home, which is also the game when Utah fans took over the entirety of the Big House after a prolonged rain delay.
TCU at Minnesota: It's a replay of 2014's most improbably important game. Sequels tend to be disappointing, so let's just hope for the best.
Washington at Boise State: This is the part where Chris Petersen puts on a happy face to try to show his old ex that he really is living well and doing great, just great.
Baylor at SMU: SMU has a new, exciting head coach, and Art Briles might still be out there cutting a promo on the selection committee.
Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech: Losing in back-to-back years to a Virginia Tech team completely without a functional offense might be more impressive than winning a national title. Reach for that brass ring, Urban.