This Week in College Football: Week 1

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Thursday

7:00:

  • Kent State @ Central Florida (FS1): It’s UCF’s first week in the Big 12, and they start with what will probably not be a very good MAC team.
  • Elon @ Wake Forest (ACCN)
  • St. Francis @ Western Michigan (ESPN+)
  • Rhode Island @ Georgia State (ESPN+)

7:30: North Carolina State @ Connecticut (CBSS): One of the more delightful aspects of college football is a relatively high number of live mascots, and while both of these teams feature canines as mascots, only one of them has two living examples of some actual good dogs. Unfortunately, the Jonathans cannot win UConn this game.

8:00:

  • Nebraska @ Minnesota (FOX): It’s the first game in the Rhule-era at Nebraska, and while they should look better, the Gophers are just a better team at this point.
  • Florida @ Utah (ESPN): As I noted in the non-con preview, the Utes have the schedule to be a darkhorse playoff team. That starts here, which was a major missed opportunity for them in Gainesville last year. This time, it’s in Salt Lake an they should continue being able to shut down this still very-much-a-project Gator squad.
  • South Dakota @ Missouri (SEC)
  • Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Tulsa (ESPN+)
  • North Carolina A&T @ Alabama-Birmingham (ESPN+)

10:00: Southern Utah @ Arizona State (Pac12)

Friday

6:30: Howard @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)

7:00:

  • Central Michigan @ Michigan State (FS1): The Spartans should have no problems here.
  • Miami @ Miami (ACCN): Y’all. Y’all! This hasn’t happened nearly often enough. The reason why these teams are usually suffixed is because they’re both, well, Miami, and yet they have only played 3 times and none since 1987! That said, well, it’s at Miami and there’s basically no reason to think the Canes will fall to 3-1 against this particular Miami team.

7:30: Louisville vs. Georgia Tech (@Atlanta, GA; ESPN): It begins. At last, we are freed from possibly the dumbest era of Georgia Tech football. One where any momentum was squandered and the shortcomings of the regime blamed on the previous one. While I’m not especially crazy that we still went with a coach from the previous staff, in his interim stint one couldn’t help but notice that we just basically looked like a football team for the first time since 2018. I’m not entirely sure how it’ll go in this battle of new coaches. The Cardinals finally brought Jeff Brohm home and expect to have an exciting, high-flying offense for the first time since Lamar Jackson was slinging passes for them. We have some concerns on defense, but I also expect the offense to show a basic level of appearing to have any what they’re doing for the first time in a while, so hopefully those things even out.

8:00: Missouri State @ Kansas (ESPN+)

11:00: Stanford @ Hawaii (CBSS): While the Pac-12 burns around them, the Cardinal go on vacation. That said, this Hawaii team is game as they just gave what’s supposed to be a solid Vanderbilt team all they wanted in Nashville last weekend. While I can’t really predict the Rainbow Warriors to win, I will say that if they can move the ball on Stanford this one could get very interesting.