I’m looking forward to getting into the heart of college football this year and NEXT week (Labor Day Weekend) is going to be awesome. BUT - thankfully for junkies like you (if you’re reading this) and me, we have an odd but fun “Week Zero” of five FBS level games - as well as a bunch of FCS games - to get your tastebuds watering.
So which of the five FBS games are the most interesting?
1. Nebraska @ Illinois: It’s somewhat weird to have a conference matchup to open the season - but the Big 10 seems to be going this direction more and more. This game is really REALLY important for the Cornhuskers as Scott Frost opens the season on an extremely toasty seat. Illinois is a team that a Nebraska should beat - but a pretty bad Illini team (that ended up firing their coach) thumped Nebraska in Lincoln last year. For the Huskers to get to at least bowl eligibility - the minimum I would think needed to save Frost’s job - this is a must win. For the Illinois side, it will be interesting to see what changes new head coach Bret Bielema will bring - considering his power running, Wisconsin background.
2. Hawaii @ UCLA: I find this game interesting for two reasons, one is that Hawaii is a bit of a mystery while UCLA is expected/hoped to be continuing to improve. What I’ll watch for is whether the Bruins can have a solid win getting ready for a huge matchup next week against visiting (and in need of a good start to their season) LSU. When UCLA’s QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson was healthy last year, the Bruins looked like they were finally getting untracked on offense. We’ll see!
The Rest:
UConn @ Fresno State: Unless you are interested in watching the worst coach in FBS and perhaps America (imho), Randy Edsall of UConn, this game ain’t much. I DO think Fresno has a lot of potential to improve this year but this matchup won’t tell us much.
UTEP @ New Mexico State: I really got nothing here…two pretty bad teams - although I guess it’s technically a border rivalry!
Southern Utah @ San Jose State: This FCS vs. FBS matchup isn’t going to tell us much but I AM interested in seeing if San Jose State can followup last year’s dream season (for them) with another good year. If so, head coach Brent Brennan will be on top of a number of head coaching lists moving forward - including skyrocketing up my list of best G5 coaches.
Next week we’ve got some really amazing matchups - I’m looking forward to breaking that down and getting the season really rolling!
As always, I love to hear your thoughts on Twitter @ReadyCFB.