College football bold predictions for Week 1 put Notre Dame, SMU on upset alert

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There was an appetizer last weekend. Now comes the main course. The college football season gets underway in full with the start of Week 1. After an offseason of preparation, every team has belief in a successful campaign. That optimism will get tested when the ball is kicked off,

How will things shake out Saturday? It's always an unpredictable first weekend with the lack of preseason causing some early growing pains as teams work out kinks. That creates the opportunity for unexpected results to happen. And there's plenty of games where favorites or College Football Playoff contenders could get tripped up.

Where will those possible surprises occur? Which teams could be an upset victims? That’s where the USA TODAY Sports college football staff comes in. Our experts weigh in with their bold predictions for Week 1 of the college football season:

Pittsburgh, Mason Heintschel get off to fast start

In the ACC this weekend, it will be Pitt's Mason Heintschel – not new Miami signal-caller Darian Mensah or SMU's Kevin Jennings – who makes the biggest statement at the quarterback position. Against a Miami (Ohio) team expected to challenge for the MAC and widely regarded as having one of the top-funded Group of Six rosters in the sport, Heintschel blasts off in Year 2 under offensive coordinator Kade Bell as a breakout-player candidate. Elsewhere, watch Tennessee QB Faizon Brandon – just 18 years, 3 months old – dazzle in a five-touchdown performance as the Vols' first true-freshman opening-game starter since 2004. – John Brice

Week 1 upsets nowhere to be found

We know preseason polls don’t really say if a team is actually going to be good, but it does sure to help in this season’s opening week. There aren’t many juicy matchups that make you think a major upset will happen out of the gate. All of the ranked teams playing unranked opponents won’t have any slip ups, with no upsets happening in Week 1 in a chalk-filled opening slate. – Jordan Mendoza

Florida State takes down SMU

Florida State scores a minor upset at home against No. 20 SMU to breathe some life into Mike Norvell's slumping program. To do so, the Seminoles need transfer quarterback Ashton Daniels to hit the ground running in his third Power Four spot (Stanford and Auburn) while the pass rush takes a big step forward after a woeful performance in the opener against New Mexico State. – Paul Myerberg

Notre Dame gets tested by Wisconsin

There have been glowing assessments about Notre Dame's chances to win a national title. And the players surely have been reading and hearing about how good they can be. But there's a danger in that with a trip to face the Badgers in Lambeau Field. Wisconsin, meanwhile, have been using being overlooked in this matchup as motivation. Look for a tougher-than-expected tussle in Green Bay to go into the fourth quarter with nothing decided. – Erick Smith

California wins track meet with UCLA

The Pac-12 is back with new membership, but if you’re feeling nostalgic for some old-school #Pac12AfterDark, you’re in luck. California and UCLA square off in the late-night window Saturday, and it could be the sneaky-good game of the entire weekend. For one thing, they’re still a wee bit salty up in Berkeley over UCLA’s role in breaking up the league. But on the field, both teams have first-year coaches but experienced quarterbacks, meaning the offenses could be ahead of the defenses developmentally speaking. Should that prove to be the case, we could see a track meet unfold. #Pac12AfterDark fun indeed! So who wins? We’ll go with the Bears at home, but we just hope for some fourth-quarter drama in the wee hours. Sleep is overrated anyway, right? – Eddie Timanus

Mike Norvell goes up as Dabo Swinney goes down

By the time Week 1 wraps up, we’ll be talking more about whether Dabo Swinney should be on the hot seat at Clemson, and less about the temperature on the thermometer in Tallahassee, Florida. Mike Norvell turns down the dial (however briefly) with a Florida State upset of SMU, and Swinney continues his retreat from relevance when Clemson loses big at LSU. – Blake Toppmeyer

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football bold predictions for Week 1 put Notre Dame, SMU on upset alert

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