SUN SPORTS:...Notre Dame vs. Navy...In Dublin, Ireland...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Are you ready?! College football begins today at noon - in Dublin, Ireland. That's where the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will meet the Navy Midshipmen. At 1:30 CST, on NBC. Ah, the smell of football in the air. Adios, long, hot summer. 

I'm ready.

Here, by the way, is the Associated Press Top 15 teams headed into the 2023 season:

#1 Georgia 

#2 Michigan

#3 Ohio State

#4 Alabama

#5 LSU

#6 Southern California

#7 Penn State

#8 Florida State

#9 Clemson

#10 Washington

#11 Texas

#12 Tennessee

#13 Notre Dame

#14 Utah

#15 Oregon

-0-

As most of you die-hard fans of college ball know #1 Georgia is going for a three-peat, having won the NCAA championship the last two years. The still-hungry Dawgs have another formidable powerhouse with many key players off last year's team returning.

Texas is on the upswing and needs to show that it has returned to prominence, as the school's faithful like to say every year at the beginning of a new season. This will be the last year in the Big 12 for the Horns. They will compete in the stronger Southeastern Conference (SEC) next year.

The Rice Owls fly into Austin next Saturday (Sept.2) in the season opener for both schools. The Longhorns then travel to meet Alabama the following weekend (Sept. 9). That road game will be a supreme test for Texas.

USC (University of Southern California) will take on the Spartans of San Jose State later tonight. USC quarterback Caleb Williams is considered the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. That could change, as often happens with marquee players.

The full schedule starts next weekend...

-30-