College football Week 1: Deion, coach debuts, stats to know - ESPN

Week 1 is here and we're as ready as ever for the college football season to kick off.

Florida is traveling to Salt Lake City to face No. 14 Utah (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in a must-watch game Thursday night. On Saturday, we have Deion Sanders' debut as Colorado's head coach as the Buffs take on No. 17 TCU (Noon ET on Fox), then on Sunday, No. 5 LSU faces No. 8 Florida State (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC). Clemson wraps up a jam-packed Week 1 on Labor Day against Duke (8 p.m. ET on ESPN).

Our reporters preview this weekend's games by highlighting coaches who are eager to get off to hot starts in new places and running backs to watch for. We also break down some of the week's best quotes and numbers to keep in mind over the weekend.

Louisville: Jeff Brohm is as eager as anyone to see what his team looks like when Louisville kicks off the 2023 season. He has an idea, of course, but there's just so much that's new — new coaching staff, new scheme, nearly two dozen transfers, including starting QB Jack Plummer. For folks around Louisville, the opener at Georgia Tech has all the excitement of Christmas morning with just a hint of the looming danger that accompanies any gender reveal involving pyrotechnics.

It could look great. It could be a mess. Either way, Brohm said, it'll be a learning experience.

«My nerves will be going,» Brohm said. «You want to please a lot of people and get off to a good start. You make sure you're as ready as you can be, but you have to just go out and play and coach and be positive with your players.»

There's ample promise surrounding this Louisville team. Brohm's return — he played for the Cardinals from 1989 through 1993 — has injected a groundswell of enthusiasm, but all that goes away, Brohm said, if the team