5 games with the biggest College Football Playoff implications in Week 1

3. Penn State at Wisconsin

The first top-20 matchup of the season will take place at Noon ET on Saturday as the 12th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers host 19th-ranked Penn State.

You can see why Fox was excited to have this game for its first Big Noon Kickoff of the year and it’s a matchup between two teams with College Football Playoff aspirations.

Penn State might feel like more of a longshot than Wisconsin, but the Nittany Lions finished last season on a roll and have Sean Clifford back at quarterback. A number of key playmakers return on offense and Penn State also loaded up in the transfer portal.

I’d say the Nittany Lions are a bigger threat than Indiana to win the East and maybe the leading College Football Playoff contender in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin and the Buckeyes.

The Badgers have Jack Coan at quarterback, Jalen Berger at running back, and a bunch of skill guys back from last season. The O-line will be nasty and every key game but Notre Dame is at home and that’s on a neutral field.

A loss doesn’t eliminate either team, but they would have zero margin for error. The winner, on the other hand, will be an early College Football Playoff contender and a top-10 team before long.