NCAAF teams
John Silver, ESPN.com 8y

Countdown to college football: 1 day

College Football, Clemson Tigers

The long wait is over. The college football season is here and our college football countdown has reached one day until the greatest first week in college football history officially begins on Thursday.

The No. 1 is an appropriate number for Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson who is a one-of-a-kind player in college football history. Watson became the first player to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in FBS history as he led the Tigers to the College Football Playoff championship game where they fell to Alabama. The preseason No. 2-ranked Tigers will open the season on Saturday at Jordan Hare Stadium against Auburn (9 p.m. ET, ESPN) as we will find out quickly whether Clemson will be national players this season.

Watson was third in Heisman Trophy balloting last season and is one of the favorites this season with Christian McCaffrey of Stanford and Leonard Fournette of LSU. The Tigers went 14-1 last season, losing only to Alabama in the national championship game. If they are going to get back there, they'll need Watson to have another big season. Watson passed for 4,104 yards last season and 35 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. He also was a top rushing threat with 1,105 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns.

Watson ended last season with 478 yards of total offense, a national championship game record, in the loss to Alabama, and is the sport's top player at quarterback going into this season. 

In case you missed any part of our countdown:

2 days: Kansas and UCF were winless in 2014

3 days: Michigan had three shutouts in 2015

4 days: Dalvin Cook ran for FSU-record 1,691 yards for the preseason No. 4 team

5 days: Ohio State, Bama among five bounce-back champions

6 days: Christian McCaffrey's six games with 300-plus all-purpose yards in 2015

7 days: UNC's Ryan Switzer has seven career punt-return touchdowns

8 days: Alabama's record eight wins vs. AP Top 25 teams last season

9 days: Nick Saban is 9-0 against his former assistant coaches

10 days: Temple's 10 sacks in win over Penn State last season

11 days: Navy won a school-record 11 games last season

12 days: Alabama has won 12 straight games, the longest active FBS streak.

13 days: Lucky number 13 for a trio of teams last season.

14 days: Boise State has played in 14 straight bowl games.

15 days: Kansas has lost 15 straight games, the longest active FBS streak.

16 days: Peyton Manning wore No. 16 for Tennessee.

17 days: TCU QBs completed 17 of 17 passes in a game in 2012, an FBS record.

18 days: Ohio State has won an FBS-best 18 consecutive road games.

19 days: There are 19 head coaches at their alma mater this season.

20 days: It has been 20 years since Florida won its first national championship.

21 days: Oklahoma led the nation in average scoring margin (21.5) last season.

22 days: Ohio State has been in the top 10 of the AP poll for 22 straight weeks.

23 days: Virginia Tech has played in an FBS-best 23 straight bowl games.

24 days: In the first game of the historic rivalry, Navy beat Army 24-0.

25 days: Michigan's Desmond Howard won the Heisman 25 years ago.

26 days: Arkansas State led the nation with 26 interceptions in 2015.

27 days: Clemson's Greg Huegel led the nation with 27 field goals in 2015.

28 days: Adrian Peterson wore No. 28 for Oklahoma.

29 days: Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium opened in 1929.

30 days: Miami's Vinny Testaverde won the Heisman 30 years ago.

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