College football kickoff: Georgia's Todd Gurley to test Clemson, Top 25 buzz ...

Here's a look at the big matchups and top storylines from around the nation as we near kickoff on the first Saturday of college football:

The Big Buzz: Rematch between the hedges No. 16 Clemson at No. 12 Georgia, 5:30 p.m. ET

For those thinking that this evening's tilt between Clemson and Georgia doesn't have the juice of last August's season-opening clash, think again. Sure, Tajh Boyd and Aaron Murray won't be calling the signals between the hedges tonight and neither team has a single-digit number next to their name in the rankings. But for the first time ever the college football season will end in a playoff, and there is no game today that will draw the eyes of the selection committee like this one.

A year ago it was Boyd and the Tigers who prevailed in Death Valley, cutting Georgia's all-time advantage in this underrated rivalry to a still-dominant 41-18-4. Despite that impressive track record, it's surprising that the Dawgs are more than a touchdown favorite against Clemson, which returns an awful lot of talent to a defense that led the nation with 122 tackles for loss a year ago.

But should we really be surprised? After all, Georgia has been the darling of the preseason poll in recent years. The Bulldogs have started every season since 2008 ranked in the AP Top 25, yet have only finished there three times. Only once in that six-year span did Georgia finish with a higher ranking than with which it started. Perhaps the most incriminating statistic is that the Bulldogs are 7-15 against ranked opponents over the past five years.

So why should we believe in the Bulldogs? The answer is an easy one: running back Todd Gurley. Georgia's preseason Heisman Trophy candidate was electric in a losing effort against Clemson last year, racking up 154 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries and giving Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney recurring nightmares in the process. Clemson safety Robert Smith likened bringing down Gurley to tackling a tree trunk, though he says the Tigers unit remains confident: (via ESPN.com)

'You can't let what he did last year affect you this year, but you know what he can do. He's a tremendous running back. We saw up close and personal. We don't forget. But we also can't let that hinder what we're going to do this season.'

As far as Clemson is concerned, Georgia can have all the preseason accolades. The Tigers have their eyes on something bigger. Football-crazed Clemson has been a factor in college football's national landscape for decades now, but the program has never quite earned the moniker of powerhouse. Under Swinney, who took over in 2008, the Tigers have steadily been building towards exactly that.

Swinney's bunch has suddenly racked up three consecutive seasons of double-digit victories. They've won 11 games two seasons in a row for the first time in school history and are coming off an impressive Orange Bowl triumph over Ohio State. Saturday night will go a long way to determine if they're here to stay as a juggernaut, but what's certain is they've come a long way from the days when 'Clemsoning' was used as a synonym for disappointment, as Swinney himself details: (via SI.com)

'I don't think Clemson was together. Clemson was fragmented for whatever reason. Clemson was good. Clemson was OK. But they weren't nationally relevant. My goal when I got this job was to create an attitude of belief, to change Clemson from the inside. If I could do that, eventually we'd blossom on the outside. That was the message from day one.'

The Tigers have their demons in Florida State and South Carolina, the only teams that have beaten them in the past two years. But they also have won four straight games over the non-South Carolinas of the SEC, including last season's win over Georgia and the 2012 season-opener against Auburn. They may no longer have offensive weapons the caliber of UGA's Gurley, but Georgia should count them out at their own risk.

Let's watch the crew at Campus Insiders breakdown the matchup between the Bulldogs and Tigers:

Top games

Here's a look at some of Saturday's other can't-miss matchups involving teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25:

* No. 5 Ohio State at Navy, 12 p.m. ET

* West Virginia vs. No. 2 Alabama, 3:30 p.m. ET

* Arkansas at No. 6 Auburn, 4 p.m. ET

* No. 1 Florida State vs. Oklahoma State, 8 p.m. ET

* No. 14 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 LSU, 9 p.m. ET

Headlines

* Blake Sims will reportedly start at quarterback this afternoon for Alabama but Jacob Coker, a Florida State transfer, is still expected to see time against West Virginia in the Georgia Dome. (via CBSSports.com)

* Although he's been suspended indefinitely for fabricating a story about how he was injured, USC cornerback Josh Shaw could potentially return to the Trojans this season, according to head coach Steve Sarkisian. (via ESPN.com)

* But that's not all that's happening with the Trojans, as former running back Anthony Brown, who quit the team a week ago, called Sarkisian a racist on social media this week. (via CollegeFootballTalk.com)

* Starting North Carolina defense tackle Ethan Farmer has been cleared by the NCAA to play for the No. 23 Tar Heels, who host Liberty this evening in Chapel Hill. (via CollegeFootballTalk.com)

* Nick Saban wouldn't rule out the availability of Eddie Jackson this afternoon, though the Alabama coach indicated the cornerback, who is still recovering from knee surgery, would only be used if needed. (via AL.com)

Who they're picking

* Sanford Stadium is no place for a visiting quarterback to start his first collegiate game, writes ESPN's Phil Steele, who expects Georgia to win by double digits over Cole Stoudt and Clemson.

* While the USA Today panel predicts mostly chalk throughout the top 10 today, Eddie Timanus is boldly going with Navy over visiting Ohio State in a noon upset that would shock the college football world.

* Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman both foresee a double-digit Alabama victory this afternoon, but neither Fox Sports pundit expects a rout against a West Virginia team with some dangerous weapons at the skill positions.

* LSU should top Wisconsin in Houston, according to Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports, who believes the Tigers and true freshman Leonard Fournette can run over a Badgers front seven that is in transition.

* Florida State and Auburn both have legitimate tests today in their first action since duking it out for the national title last season, though neither team will go down, according to the experts at SI.com.

What they're saying

* With the wait to see highly-touted running back Leonard Fournette nearly over, LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron indicated that the true freshman has miraculously been even better than expected: (via ESPN.com)

'Most 235-pound running backs get tired. This guy can run all day. ... I knew he was smart, and he's smart. I knew he was tough, and he's tough. I knew he loved football, and he loves football. But I didn't know that he could just run all day.'

* Word that fifth-year senior Blake Sims is poised to start at quarterback today is just the latest chapter in a winding Alabama career that has included a de-commitment, eligibility questions, injuries and several position changes, all of which Sims has taken in stride, according to coach Nick Saban: (via AL.com)

'If you look at Blake's career here, he's played every position we ever asked him to play. He's done whatever you ask him to do. He's very well-liked by all the players and the team and he's a really good guy to lead.'

* Redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett will take his first collegiate snap today in a game that could mean everything for Ohio State, writes columnist Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer:

The unknowable, unforeseeable, undetermined course of Barrett's career begins here, in a game that counts. There is no 'preseason,' a highfaluting term for exhibition season, in college football. If lost, the Navy game will already jeopardize plans to go to a fashionable bowl for the reduced Buckeyes and the shortened goals of the season.