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BURNING QUESTIONS

Five Week 1 Ponderings

1️⃣ Is new Auburn QB Jackson Arnold ready for baptism by fire?  

Year 3 of the Hugh Freeze experiment is upon us, and there are more questions than answers about the Tigers’ offense.

Auburn has ranked just 71st nationally in offense in each of Freeze’s first two seasons on The Plains. Payton Thorne’s time is done, and in steps former Oklahoma prized recruit Jackson Arnold. Last season, Arnold endured a tough stretch and eventually lost his starting spot to Michael Hawkins Jr. This offseason, he hopped in the portal and was courted by Auburn, with the hope that Freeze could help him rediscover his five-star potential. 

Arnold enters the fold with a bevy of weapons at his disposal, only heightening the pressure on both him and this unit in 2025. Sophomore wide receiver Cam Coleman showed flashes of All-American talent last year. Auburn also nabbed arguably the top pass catcher in the portal in former Georgia Tech wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. And the Tigers bring back three starting offensive linemen, plus a starting-caliber transfer from Virginia Tech.

We’ll likely find out a lot about Arnold and this unit before the start of October, with tough road games against Baylor, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M all on the docket. Last year, Baylor had a dreadful defense even by Big 12 standards. Auburn needs to start fast and find a way to win this opener to shift the vibes around the program.

If Arnold can rekindle that early-career promise, Auburn could be a real player in the meaty middle of the SEC. If he and this offense falters, we might see a frosty finish to the Hugh Freeze tenure.

2️⃣ The Arch Manning Era is here. Is he ready for his first big test?

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. In a sport obsessed with bloodlines, few debuts come heavier than this one. 

The 2025 offseason has been dominated by Arch Madness, and rightfully so. After a 2024 season of spot duty and gadget plays, Manning is ready to ascend atop the burnt orange throne. Now the real work begins.

On Saturday, Manning and the top-ranked Longhorns will travel to Columbus to take on the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in a rematch of last year’s College Football Playoff Semifinal, and a game being earmarked as the biggest season-opener ever.

Last season, Manning flashed equal parts brilliance and quarterback naivety. This season? He’ll be asked to lead Texas to the promised land. That journey will take months to unfold, but the clash with Ohio State offers an early litmus test of just how ready he is for the moment.

Manning won’t be alone. Texas brings back a stacked running back room, numerous weapons on the outside, and a fearsome defense that caused havoc in 2024. But the offensive line looks very different from what it did a year ago, and it’ll have to answer questions immediately against the Buckeyes’ front.

For Manning and Texas, the stakes feel massive. But it’s worth remembering: it’s just one game.

3️⃣ Did Florida State wash the stink off?

Florida State’s 2024 season wasn’t just a collapse; it was a stinking odor that still hangs over Tallahassee. Now the challenge isn’t just winning again, but scrubbing away the smell of soiled undergarments. 

After a truly baffling 2024 season where the Seminoles notched just one win against an FBS opponent, Florida State will look to shake off the stink against mighty Alabama. This season brings a sense of cautious optimism, even if there are still hints of a strange smell coming from the back of the FSU fridge.

Out with the old, in with the new. Florida State brought in a whole host of new faces to tackle the 2025 season, chief among them being offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, defensive coordinator Tony White, and new starting QB Tommy Castellanos.

Castellanos has talked the talk this offseason, and now it’s time to walk the walk. After a Jekyll-Hyde 2024 season at Boston College, head coach Mike Norvell hopes Castellanos will be a breath of fresh air for a stagnant offense.

On defense, former Nebraska DC Tony White comes in to establish an identity with his signature 3-3-5 defense. Couple that fast and attacking style with some exciting transfers, and that unit should be much improved. 

Taking down Alabama might be too big an ask. But a decent showing could be a good first step to clear the air.

4️⃣ Can Brian Kelly overcome Week 1 ghouls in a different Death Valley?

Brian Kelly’s biggest ghost isn’t a rival coach or particular opponent – it’s season openers. LSU is 0-5 in its last five season-opening games, having lost three straight since Kelly joined from Notre Dame.

Now, like Ichabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Kelly and the Tigers ride into a new season with sky-high expectations, hoping to overcome Dabo Swinney’s Clemson team waiting in the shadows of Death Valley. 

Heisman-hopeful star QB Garrett Nussmeier is back for a last hurrah season, hoping to push the Tigers over the hump and into the College Football Playoff. LSU hit the portal hard this offseason, reeling in the top-ranked class that includes wideouts Barion Brown (Kentucky), Nic Anderson (Oklahoma), EDGE Patrick Payton (Florida State), as well as a pair of starting-caliber offensive linemen. 

The Tigers face a daunting schedule, which includes this weekend’s primetime showdown against Clemson. Now-or-nevers rarely live up to the billing, but it fits in this scenario. Throughout the history of LSU football, every national title-winning coach has won the big one in four seasons or fewer. This is Year 4 for Brian Kelly, which means if it’s going to happen, the time is now.

It remains to be seen if Kelly and the Tigers can flip the opening-weekend script in 2025 or if they’ll be haunted by Week 1's past. 

5️⃣ Miami’s defense can’t get much worse. But how much better will it be in 2025?

The 2024 Miami Hurricanes were anything but boring. 

Last year’s group rallied from 25 points down on the road (in the wee hours of the morning) to outlast Cal and rose to No. 4 in the polls before getting stung by Georgia Tech. And had their eventual No. 1 pick quarterback, Cam Ward, remove himself at halftime of the Pop-Tarts Bowl. 

For all of the flash and fun Ward and company produced last season, the Miami defense failed to hold up their end of the bargain time and time again. The defensive unit ranked 69th in opponent points per game (25.3) and gave up 329 points over the entirety of the season. 

Fast forward to 2025, former Minnesota DC Corey Heatherman is calling the shots. Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor are two of only four returning starters. And the Hurricanes’ hopes of pushing Clemson—and making a run at the ACC title—likely rest on this unit’s ability to drastically improve.

The defense needs to be boring. They need to put out fires instead of igniting them. Leave opponents feeling frustrated instead of fired up.

In 2025, Miami’s best path to an ACC title run isn’t flashy or fun. It’s winning ugly.

THE PODCAST

Your Week 1 Primer is live!

Week 1 is here! We take a look at the weekend’s biggest games that Stakeout Saturday has to offer, from the big Texas-Ohio State and LSU-Clemson games, to Notre Dame’s trip to Miami, Alabama’s opener at Florida State, the Beamer Bowl between Virginia Tech and South Carolina, Bill Belichick’s debut with North Carolina, and so much more. Plus, we give you a full breakdown of your Saturday Window of Opportunity, the most ideal quad for your viewing pleasure, and a special Patriot League Lighting Round.

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