A year after the traditional Labor Day weekend bonanza of college football was whittled down to fewer than a dozen games by the pandemic, the 2021 season starts like none ever before.
For the first time since 2005, when the holiday weekend became college football's official launch date, the season will open with five games pairing Top 25 teams — including a top-five match-up.
The jewel of Week 1 comes Saturday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, where No. 3 Clemson faces No. 5 Georgia.
Elsewhere, No. 1 Alabama opens its national title defense and season as it usually does: At a neutral site against a Power Five opponent.