College football preview: Top-3 matchup and more

The start of a new college football season usually gets a lot of hype as it is, but the first full weekend of 2017 receives an added boost with Saturday night's game between top-ranked Alabama and No. 3 Florida State.

The result at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta means that one team already will have a loss and very little margin for error the rest of the season with the College Football Playoff selection committee. No two-loss team has made the playoffs in the last three years. But the panel emphasized strength of schedule last year, so maybe it won't put that much weight on losing to a heavyweight opponent, depending, of course, on how the winning team proceeds through the year.

And here's something to remember: No team has won a national championship after losing its season opener since 1983, when Miami lost to Florida in Week 1 but finished at the top.

So does Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher prefer this type of opener over playing Weakling State?

"Certain years, it's really good to do it. Others, it ain't," he said on this week's ACC coaches call. "It depends on the personality of your team and what you have back. But the problem is, you book these teams so far ahead.

"It's great for college football. But we'll be interested to see how these games are rewarded when we look at the national attention and all the things that go with it."

Michigan vs. Florida at Arlington, Texas, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, 6ABC: The Gators own the nation's longest winning streak in season openers, at 27, but they've probably never debuted with 10 suspended players during that time. The rebuilding Wolverines are filling in their holes with players from top recruiting classes.

Alabama vs. Florida State at Atlanta, 8 p.m. Saturday, 6ABC: The first opening-game matchup of top-three teams since the AP's first preseason ranking in 1950, this game features dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the Crimson Tide's Jalen Hurts and the Seminoles' Deondre Francois.

BYU vs. Louisiana State at New Orleans, 9:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN: This "neutral-site" game was moved from Houston because of widespread flooding from Harvey and relocated 80 miles from the Tigers' campus. All eyes will be on LSU's Derrius Guice, who could emerge as one of the nation's top running backs.

Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia at Landover, Md., 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 6ABC: The former Big East rivals, separated by just 250 miles, haven't met since 2005 and start their seasons taking a look at new starting quarterbacks: Josh Jackson of the Hokies, and Will Grier of the Mountaineers.

For many, Saturdays begin with "College GameDay" on ESPN, watching the mascot headgear selection of Lee Corso, the 82-year-old former college football coach who is entering his 30th year on the show.

Corso continues on despite having suffered a stroke in 2009. When he can't find the right words or ventures off topic, he receives help from people both on set and behind the scenes to get him through.

"To this day, there's no question in my mind that all the great things that Coach adds to the show outweigh those times when his tongue may get tied or he stumbles on his speech or has trouble getting something out," Lee Fitting, who oversees all ESPN college studio and remote programs, told the Associated Press.

He said the on-camera crew – Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack – gently help Corso along when he gets stuck.

"It's endearing to the viewer," Fitting said. "It's the family members picking another member of the family up."

If you go by the preseason rankings, Georgia is the best team in the SEC East though only 15th in the AP poll, and Florida is another two rungs down at No. 17. Before they embark on a wide-open race in the division, the Bulldogs and the Gators first will compete in some interesting openers.

Georgia will take on Appalachian State, which has won 21 games in the last two seasons and extended Tennessee to overtime last year before losing. The Bulldogs have a great running game behind Nick Chubb, but sophomore quarterback Jacob Eason needs to produce this year.

The Gators head to the home of the Dallas Cowboys to take on No. 11 Michigan without 10 suspended players, including key starters in wide receiver Antonio Callaway and running back Jordan Scarlett. Feleipe Franks, a redshirt freshman, has won the quarterback job over incumbent Luke Del Rio and Notre Dame transfer Malik Zaire.

Jeff Brohm is among the career passing leaders at Louisville. When he was head coach at Western Kentucky, he was asked about scheduling his alma mater and said he would only after quarterback Lamar Jackson graduated, according to the Associated Press. Brohm has taken over at Purdue and now has no choice facing Jackson, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, and the Cardinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (7:30 Saturday, Fox29). "He is kind of like the LeBron James of college football," Brohm said. "He is that incredible athlete that doesn't come along very often."

Chase Edmonds has embarked on his final season at Fordham seeking to rewrite college football record books for career rushing and touchdowns. Edmonds, recruited to the Rams by the staff of former head coach Joe Moorhead, now Penn State's offensive coordinator, compiled 5,285 rushing yards and 62 rushing TDs in his first three seasons. Adrian Peterson of Georgia Southern holds the FCS records with 6,559 yards and 84 touchdowns, but Edmonds could aim for the FBS records of 7,126 yards held by South Jersey native Ron Dayne of Wisconsin, and 88 TDs set last year by Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds.

Former Woodbury High School star Anthony Averett, a fifth-year senior cornerback for Alabama, received third-team honors in media voting for the preseason all-SEC teams. The 6-foot, 185-pound Averett also is ranked as the No. 1 cornerback among seniors by NFLDraftScout.com. He battled a sports hernia injury last season but still finished fourth on the Crimson Tide in unassisted tackles with 39, and is healthy to start this season.

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Florida State
4. Southern California
5. Clemson
6. Penn State
7. Oklahoma
8. Wisconsin
9. Oklahoma State
10. Louisiana State

QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville, 6-3, 211, Jr., Pompano Beach, Fla.

Jackson last year became the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy and added several other honors, including the Maxwell Award. He accounted for 51 touchdowns – 21 rushing, 30 passing – and set an ACC rushing record for a quarterback with 1,571 yards. He averaged more than 393 yards of total offense. Even though he has the fourth-best odds (15-2) for repeating as Heisman Trophy winner, he hasn't received a lot of hype, but maybe he likes it that way.