(WSVN) - While the Canes play on Friday night, college football fans have a lot of exciting matchups to tune in to throughout Saturday to begin another season.
Starting at noon on WSVN Channel 7, the defending champion Indiana Hoosiers, who enter the new season ranked at No. 6, will take on the North Texas Mean Green at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN.
The Hoosiers capped off their perfect 16-0 2025 campaign with a dominant win over the Miami Hurricanes in the national championship game.
Coach Curt Cignetti now has to battle with preparing his squad for a different kind of pressure as reigning champions.
On top of that unique pressure, the Hoosiers have to contend with several key departures, including quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who went on to become the first pick in the NFL draft during the offseason.
“This is a new football team and we have a chance to be pretty good but we got to do it,” said Cignetti.
Meanwhile North Texas enters the 2026 season after winning 12 games the year before. Their ability to build off that success comes off a rebuilt coaching staff and revamped roster with several new faces.
Next on Saturday’s slate is a showdown between the Baylor Bears and Auburn Tigers in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 3:30 p.m. on Channel 18 ABC Miami.
Neither team has played a game yet for the new season so Saturday’s match will center around making a strong first impression.
Auburn made several coaching changes over the offseason while Baylor hopes to send a message against an SEC foe on the national stage.
Then later at 7:30 p.m. on ABC Miami, the No. 11 LSU Tigers host the Clemson Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA.
In what may be the best marquee matchup of the day, the showdown of tigers is loaded with expectations.
LSU opens their season under new head coach Lane Kiffin, who signed up after coaching for Ole Miss last season.
Meanwhile Clemson has a golden opportunity to earn a signature win to kick off their season over a ranked SEC foe.
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