Six teams from the AP top 10 are in action as the FBS college football season hits high gear on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Third-ranked Alabama (12-2) and No. 20 Wisconsin (11-3) meet in Dallas for the highest profile matchup among teams in the AP pre-season poll.
“This is obviously a very good team that we are playing,” Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban said in his weekly press conference. “They won 11 games last year. They’ve got a significant number of starters returning, including five or six on offense and five or six on defense.”
Wisconsin Head Coach Paul Chryst spoke in his weekly press conference about how the Badgers were preparing for the Crimson Tide.
“You could tell there was an energy,” Chryst said of the beginning of the week’s preparation. “It was fun being around our players. I like where the guys are at right now, and I think that we all certainly have a very healthy respect for Alabama.”
Another neutral site contest that will draw national interest is in Atlanta as No. 6 Auburn (8-5) plays Louisville (9-4).
No. 7 Oregon (13-2) entertains Eastern Washington (11-3), while Arkansas State (7-6) visits No. 8 Southern Cal (9-4).
Ninth-ranked Georgia (10-3) welcomes Louisiana-Monroe (4-8) in the season opener in Athens. No. 10 Florida State (13-1) starts its year at home against Texas State (7-5).
Other top 25 games: Texas at No. 11 Notre Dame, Woffard at No. 12 Clemson, Virginia at No. 13 UCLA, McNeese State at No. 14 LSU, No. 15 Arizona State at Texas A&M in Houston, Tennessee-Martin at No. 17 Mississippi, UTEP at No. 18 Arkansas, Akron at No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 21 Stanford at Northwestern, Southeast Missouri at No. 24 Missouri and Bowling Green at No. 25 Tennessee.
Editor’s note: Quotes, photos and logos courtesy of CollegePressBox.com.