College football roundtable: Toughest Week 1 challenge

10:25 AM ET

We continue this week’s national roundtable series with a look ahead to Week 1, because this year’s slate of high-profile, season-opening clashes between powerhouses is looking absolutely loaded. Today, we’re trying to answer this question: Which team faces the toughest Week 1 challenge?

ACC: Florida State vs. Ole Miss

Truthfully, this is toss-up between Clemson-Auburn and Florida State-Ole Miss. Clemson opens on the road at a difficult place to play at night, facing much higher expectations than Auburn. Though Clemson is the better team, this could be a tricky game. But ultimately, Florida State faces the bigger challenge against Ole Miss in what should be a much more evenly matched game. Both teams are in the way-too-early preseason top 15, and both have significant contributors to replace. Though Florida State does return more starters, including running back Dalvin Cook, the big question is what happens at quarterback? Coach Jimbo Fisher has given no hints about whether he will turn to veteran Sean Maguire or redshirt freshman Deondre Francois, saying only that he will pick the player that gives his team the best chance to win. That decision will go a long way toward determining how this matchup plays out. — Andrea Adelson

Big 12: Oklahoma vs. Houston

Back in September 2014, Oklahoma announced it had agreed to open the 2016 season at Houston’s NRG Stadium against the hometown Coogs. This matchup looked like a big win-win for the Sooners: play in a city filled with Oklahoma alumni, fans and recruits, and take home a fat neutral-site game check. Here’s what it looks like now: Oklahoma must face the nation’s best …

continue reading in source espn.go.com