Thursday Night
Tulsa @ #10 Oklahoma State- 7:30 FS1
#2 Ohio State @ Indiana- 8:00 ESPN
The full slate of college football kicks off on Thursday in Stillwater as Oklahoma State hosts Tulsa. Ok State comes in with arguably its highest expectations event, entering the season in the top 10. Mason Rudolph returns to lead the cowboys, who should have no trouble with Tulsa. However, Oklahoma State lost to Central Michigan last year, and can’t afford to take the Golden Hurricanes lightly. Elsewhere, College Gameday heads to Bloomington for the first time as Ohio State visits Indiana. Ohio State enters the game as the #2 team in the country lead by JT Barrett, while it is Indiana head coach Tom Allen’s first regular season game. Indiana has a history of nearly upsetting top teams, but are heavy underdogs in this one.
Friday Night
#8 Washington @ Rutgers- 8:00 FS1
Colorado State Vs Colorado- (Denver)- Rocky Mountain Showdown- 8:00 PAC12
Boston College @ Northern Illinois: 9:30 CBSSN
Washington faces its toughest non-conference opponent when it plays at Rutgers on Friday night. After making the playoff last year, Washington looks to be another contender while Rutgers tries to improve from a dredful season. In Denver, the 89th Rocky Mountain showdown pits Colorado State against Colorado. CSU won easily last weekend over Oregon State, and looks to beat is second PAC12 opponent in a row. Colorado had its most successful season in over a decade last year, and will be trying to prove that season was not a fluke. In a late night game, BC heads to Northern Illinois. (Preview coming later this week.)
Saturday Day
Maryland @ #23 Texas- FS1 12:00
Wyoming @ Iowa- 12:00 BTN
California @ North Carolina- 12:20 ACCN
The Saturday games kick off with a trip by Maryland to Austin to take on Texas in Tom Herman’s first game. Maryland finished .500 last season and presents a formidable opponent for Texas to prove if they deserve the pre-season hype. Elsewhere in Iowa City, projected first round pick Josh Allen and Wyoming look to upset Iowa. Wyoming played awful away from home last season but can beat anyone if Allen has a good game. Iowa looks to avoid being upset at home and get back to where they were in 2015. In Chapel Hill, Cal has to come across the country to play a game that starts at 9:20 am in Berkley. Cal always brings a high powered offense, but has no defense to back it up. UNC looks to take advantage, but has a question mark at QB after losing first round pick Mitch Trubisky.
Saturday Afternoon
NC State Vs South Carolina- (Charlotte)- Belk Kickoff Game- 3:00 ESPN
#11 Michigan Vs #17 Florida- (Dallas)- Advocare Classic - 3:30 ABC
Temple @ Notre Dame- 3:30 NBC
In Charlotte, South Carolina and NC State face off for the first time since 2009 in the Belk Kickoff Classic. NC State comes into the season with high expectations, and Jaylon Samuels is a playmaker who the Wolfpack will rely on. South Carolina improved as 2016 went on, and looks to continue this improvement in Will Muschamp’s second year at head coach. In Dallas, Florida plays a non-conference game outside the state of Florida for the first time since 1991. The Gators have won the SEC East the past 2 seasons, but have struggled on offense in both seasons. They have a question mark at QB, and head coach Jim McElwain has stated that they may play 3 different players at that position on Saturday. Michigan lost a lot of talent to graduation and the NFL draft, but is replacing those players with top recruits. Also at 3:30 Temple heads to South Bend to play Notre Dame. Notre Dame looks to rebound after a 4-8 season last year. Redshirt freshman Brandon Wimbush will lead the Irish, who face a tough defense in Temple
Saturday Night
Appalachian State @ #15 Georgia- 6:15 ESPN
Louisville Vs Purdue- (Indianapolis)-7:30 FOX
#3 Florida State Vs #1 Alabama- (Atlanta)- Chick-Fil-A Kickoff- 8:00 ABC
Georgia hosts App State in a potential upset game at 6:15. The Mountaineers won 10 games last season and nearly knocked off Tennessee in their opener. Georgia brings back Jacob Eason at QB who looks to improve in his second year as a starter. At 7:30 in Indianapolis, Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson gets his season under way. Louisville started strong but injuries and a bad offensive line lead to 3 straight losses to end the season. They look to get back on track against a Purdue team that does not have high expectations. In the ABC Saturday Night Game, #1 Alabama faces off against #3 Florida State in what could be the game of the year. Both teams are playoff contenders with Quarterbacks returning. The winner of this one will have a fast track to the playoffs and will be able to afford to lose a game later in the season.
Saturday Late Night
BYU Vs #13 LSU- (Houston)- Texas Kickoff- 9:30 ESPN
Montana State @ #24 Washington State- 10:30 FS1
LSU and BYU are looking to move their game from Houston due to the flooding of Hurricane Harvey. At the time of writing, the game has yet to be moved, but the LSU AD guaranteed the game will be played. BYU struggled in its opener against Portland State last week, and will need to improve quickly if they want to be competitive against LSU. This is LSU head coach Ed Ogeron’s first game since being name permanent head coach. He wants to start hot to prove he was the right man for the job. In the nightcap, Montana State takes on Washington State. The Cougars have lost to an FCS team each of the past 2 seasons, and want to avoid that fate again on Saturday.
Sunday Night
#22 West Virginia Vs #21 Virginia Tech- (Washington D.C.)- Black Diamond Trophy- 7:30 ABC
Texas A&M @ UCLA- 7:30 Fox
The Black Diamond trophy is contested for the first time in over 10 years as West Virginia and Virginia
Tech face off in Washington D.C. Each team comes into the game with its highest expectations in years, as both are ranked. West Virginia lost a lot of talent on defense last season, but Virginia Tech has to replace quarterback Jarrod Evans. Elsewhere, Texas A&M travels to the Rose Bowl to take on Josh Rosen and UCLA. UCLA struggled to protect Rosen last year and Rosen will need to limit his turnovers in order to give UCLA a chance. A&M will be starting a new QB for the 4th year in a row, as Trevor Knight graduated. Look for UCLA to try to pressure early to take advantage.
Monday Night
#25 Tennessee Vs Georgia Tech- (Atlanta)-Chick-Fil-A Kickoff- 8:00 ESPN
In the last game of the weekend, Tennessee faces hometown Georgia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A kickoff. While Tennessee did not live up to its incredible hype last season, they still produced a solid team. They should be good again this year and contend for the SEC East title. Georgia Tech loses its QB and its top running back from last season. However, the triple option of the Yellow Jackets is tough to stop, and could cause Tennessee fits.
No comments:
Post a Comment