Tremendous opening weekend for CFB

Double-check your calendar. It’s September, right? Not January? College Football is back, and it’s back with the best opening weekend ever. Alabama and USC, Texas and Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Florida State, and so-on. These are not postseason games, these are season openers.

There are big-time neutral site games in Arlington, Atlanta, Houston, Green Bay, Phoenix, Orlando and don’t forget about Dublin, Ireland where Boston College and Georgia Tech will kickoff College Football 2016’s first Saturday at 8:30 a.m. eastern time.

There are big true road games like Notre Dame in Austin, UCLA in College Station and Clemson in Auburn, to name a few.

In fact, the consensus preseason Top 4 – Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Florida State – are all playing bona fide nationally spotlighted opponents either on the road or at a neutral site.

If you go by the preseason polls, Alabama and Clemson are the undisputed top two teams in the country and if this was still the BCS era, they’d be facing each other for the national championship in every preseason bowl projection and Alabama and Clemson might be the only games that matter this weekend. Not anymore. The College Football Playoff will be impacted from the start.

A two-loss team has yet to make the College Football Playoff, despite Stanford making a push last year. Alabama is the favorite in the SEC West again, a division where six of seven teams received a vote in the AP Poll. If the Tide were to be knocked off by the Trojans, who may not win its own division, they likely can’t afford another loss for the rest of the season. The same goes for Oklahoma. And Clemson and FSU? If either one of them goes down in week one, that Oct. 29 matchup in Tallahassee is no doubt an elimination game for the Playoff.

But the team most in danger of having its Playoff hopes crushed in week one is Houston, as a non-Power Five team. The Cougars have ACC darkhorse Louisville in November. If it can go 13-0 with wins over the Cards and the Sooners, then Houston has a gripe to be in the Final Four - if it passes the eye test. But there’s that, too: the eye test. Winning isn’t enough anymore, so these games mean so much more from start to finish.

The SEC has seven big non-conference games and will either make another statement or face some criticism. The ACC has a chance to go 3-0 against the throne-sitting SEC.

And Oklahoma? The Sooners can’t and won’t take Houston lightly. Keep in mind that the last four times Oklahoma was in the preseason top four, it finished No. 15, No. 16 and unranked twice.

There are lofty expectations at Alabama, where the Tide goes for national title number six under Nick Saban. There are lofty expectations in Knoxville as this is potentially a make-or-break year for Butch Jones. Then there are the expectations out west with Washington. How about those expectations in Ann Arbor? Michigan has to live up to the hype that Jim Harbaugh has created.

Will expectations be met? We don’t know. There’s no guarantee. So just sit back and enjoy another great season of college football and a loaded opening weekend. This opening weekend is so unique that by the end of it, we’ll have the first ever 0-2 team after week one. (Hint: Hawaii is not going to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor).

Coaching Carousel

Mark Richt is no longer in Athens and Frank Beamer rode off into the sunset with an exciting bowl win to finish his Virginia Tech career. Baylor’s offseason led to the surprising dismissal of Art Briles, while Bronco Mendenhall made a surprising cross-country move. Lovie Smith is a first-time head coach at the collegiate level, Kirby Smart is finally a head coach while Clay Helton and Tracy Claeys take over programs full-time.

Here are the new head coaches in 2016: 

ACC – Mark Richt (Miami), Dino Babers (Syracuse), Bronco Mendenhall (Virginia), Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech)
Big 12 – Jim Grobe (Baylor), Matt Campbell (Iowa State)
Big Ten – Lovie Smith (Illinois), D.J. Durkin (Maryland), Tracy Claeys (Minnesota), Chris Ash (Wisconsin)
Pac-12 – Clay Helton (USC)
SEC – Kirby Smart (Georgia), Barry Odom (Missouri), Will Muschamp (South Carolina)
AAC – Scottie Mongtomery (East Carolina), Mike Norvell (Memphis), Willie Fritz (Tulane), Scott Frost (UCF)
C-USA – Seth Littrell (North Texas), Jay Hopson (Southern Miss), Frank Wilson (UTSA)
MAC – Mike Neu (Ball State), Mike Jinks (Bowling Green), Jason Candle (Toledo)
MWC – Nick Rolovich (Hawaii)
Sun Belt – Tyson Summers (Georgia Southern), Matt Viator (Louisiana-Monroe), Everett Withers (Texas State)
Independents – Kalani Sitake (BYU)

Quarterback Carousel

Here’s an interesting fact: five schools have two former quarterbacks that are starting at other schools – Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

From Alabama, Alec Morris is the only quarterback on the North Texas roster that has attempted a college pass, just one which went for 6 yards last season, and he is named the starter for the Mean Green as a graduate transfer. Alabama is also where the career of Florida starting quarterback Luke Del Rio began before he diverted to Oregon State before being handed the reins in Gainesville. 

From Tennessee, remember Nathan Peterman? His growth as he enters year two as the starter at Pittsburgh has drawn some NFL attention. And replacing NFL first round pick Paxton Lynch at Memphis is ex-Vols quarterback Riley Ferguson, who left Knoxville for junior college.

From Texas A&M, Trevor Knight comes in a transfer but two ex-Aggies are starting within the state. Kenny Hill is officially the man now at TCU and Matt Davis took over at SMU last season after spending his freshman year in College Station.

From Oklahoma State, you may not remember Richard Lagow but it’s a name you should begin to know. Lagow is a big passer that began his career at UConn before walking on as a transfer at Oklahoma State and redshirting in 2013. Then he went to junior college before winning the starting job at Indiana this season. The other ex-Cowboy is also in the Big Ten as Wes Lunt enters his senior season at Illinois.

And finally, at Texas Tech, there’s Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma and Davis Webb at California – two quarterbacks that are going to put up big-time stats, just no longer in Lubbock.

By my count, there’s 22 new starting quarterbacks this season that were transfers:
• Ferguson from Tennessee to Memphis
• Hill at TCU from Texas A&M
• Lagow from junior college to Indiana
• Del Rio from Oregon State to Florida
• Knight from Oklahoma to Texas A&M
• Webb from Texas Tech to Cal
• Morris from Alabama to North Texas
• Philip Nelson from Rutgers (from Minnesota) to East Carolina
• Patrick Towles from Kentucky to Boston College
• Ryan Finley from Boise State to NC State
• Jerod Evans from junior college to Virginia Tech
• Kurt Benkert from East Carolina to Virginia
• John O’Korn from Houston to Michigan
• Dakota Prukop from Montana State to Oregon
• Darell Garretson from Utah State to Oregon State
• Troy Williams from Washington to Utah
• Anthony Jennings from LSU to Louisiana-Lafayette
• Chad Voytik from Pittsburgh to Arkansas State
• Kevin Olsen from Miami to junior college to Charlotte
• Zack Greenlee from Fresno State to UTEP
• Mike White from South Florida to Western Kentucky
• Jared Johnson from Sam Houston State to UTSA

My College Football Playoff

1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Clemson
4. Michigan

Could this finally be the year that two teams from one conference get in? What about a two-loss team? The SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 champions all could have two losses.

But the College Football Playoff criteria has never been “the best four conference champions.” It’s been “the best four teams.” So let’s get the best four teams, regardless of conference and regardless of record in there. If I had to choose this today, I think Alabama comes out of the SEC, Florida State may be undefeated and Clemson’s lone loss may be to the Noles and then either Michigan or Ohio State could be a one-loss Big Ten team or the highest-ranked two-loss team. But hey, if we’re talking two-loss teams or a surprise conference champion, don’t count out LSU.

In my opinion, these teams (including the top four above) all are national championship contenders in 2016 (alphabetically):

• Florida, Houston, Iowa, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, UCLA

Division/Conference Breakdown

SEC West
My Favorite: Alabama – Lane Kiffin has proven that he can win with first-year starting quarterbacks. Nick Saban has recruited at an elite level and it’s hard to go against his proven track record despite the question marks surrounding certain positions.
Watch out for: LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Auburn

SEC East
My Favorite: Florida – I think this team is still very good on defense but has to prevent injuries and will be much better on offense. The Gators also have a more favorable schedule than Georgia and Tennessee.
Watch out for: Tennessee, Georgia.

ACC Atlantic
My Favorite: Florida State – I think the Noles are one of the nation’s most elite and most complete teams despite the redshirt quarterback Deiondre Francois being the starter.
Watch out for: Clemson, Louisville

ACC Coastal
My Favorite: North Carolina – The Tar Heels will continue to grow defensively under Gene Chizik and returns a lot of explosive playmaking ability on offense and I have a lot of confidence in Mitch Trubisky meeting expectations.
Watch out for: Pittsburgh, Miami, Virginia Tech

Big Ten West
My Favorite: Iowa – A favorable schedule helps Iowa again with Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska at home but the Hawkeyes will need to find receivers to help C.J. Beathard outside of tight end George Kittle. The defense should be solid again.
Watch out for: Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern

Big Ten East
My Favorite: Michigan – I’m feeling the Harbaugh Hype and think this team could make a big jump in year two. The Wolverines have talent everywhere and it’s senior-laden but those young Buckeyes could still reign supreme in the end and like every year, no one talks about Michigan State.
Watch out for: Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State

Big 12
My Favorite: Oklahoma – It’s hard to go against the Sooners but this conference will have some parity. TCU could emerge. Oklahoma State could emerge. Texas beat Oklahoma last season and the Longhorns will be much better but there’s a major question at quarterback. Texas Tech, West Virginia and Kansas State are sure to upset somebody and Baylor still has talent on the field.
Watch out for: TCU, Oklahoma State, Texas

Pac-12 North
My Favorite: Stanford – Stanford is the bully and the best team on paper but the Cardinal face a tough schedule. This is the year for Washington or Washington State to steal a division title.
Watch out for: Washington, Washington State, Oregon

Pac-12 South
My Favorite: UCLA – The Bruins need to find some reliable receiving options for Josh Rosen but I think Soso Jamabo will fill in the loss of Paul Perkins nicely and the Bruins will be good again defensively, especially with the return of Eddie Vanderdoes and Fabian Moreau. UCLA gets Stanford, Utah and USC at home. The Utes are a real team to watch.
Watch out for: Utah, USC

American Athletic West
My Favorite: Houston – This one kind of speaks for itself.
Watch out for: Navy, Memphis

American Athletic East
My Favorite: Cincinnati – I like the choice of Hayden Moore at quarterback. He takes care of the ball and gives them a chance to win. The Bearcats are replacing its top six receivers but there’s still talent there and they’re strong up front and good enough on defense.
Watch out for: Temple, South Florida, UCF

Sun Belt
My Favorite: Appalachian State – I think the Mountaineers are a really good football team. Maybe not beat-Tennessee-Week 1 good but the class of the Sun Belt right now with it’s upperclassmen talent while Arkansas State breaks in a new quarterback.
Watch out for: Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana-Lafayette, South Alabama 

Conference USA West
My Favorite: Louisiana Tech – I think the public likes Southern Miss and Nick Mullens returns but there’s a coaching change there and I like what Skip Holtz has built in Ruston and senior quarterback Ryan Higgins has waited for his time and the Bulldogs have impact players on both sides of the ball.
Watch out for: Southern Miss 

Conference USA East
My Favorite: Middle Tennessee – The Blue Raiders have suffered some big injuries at the receiver position, especially with the loss of Terry Pettis and Shane Tucker, but Brent Stockstill makes this offense go and MTSU gets Western Kentucky with a turnover-prone quarterback at home.
Watch out for: Western Kentucky, Marshall, Florida Atlantic

MAC West
My Favorite: Western Michigan – Northern Illinois has been the leader of this division but maybe Western Michigan has finally caught up led by NIU alum P.J. Fleck and his recruiting efforts. NIU’s Kenny Golladay is one of the league’s top receivers but WMU’s Corey Davis is one of the best receivers in the entire nation. Both have experienced senior quarterbacks in Drew Hare and Zach Terrell and strong running backs. This division is going to come down to finishing games. Toledo is still really talented too. There’s a reason why this was a 3-way tie last season.
Watch out for: Northern Illinois, Toledo

MAC East
My Favorite: Ohio – The MAC is competitive. Ohio gets Bowling Green at home so that helps. The Falcons are going to keep rolling on offense with James Knapke at quarterback. I think Ohio’s defense is going to step up in big games to lead this team to a division title.
Watch out for: Bowling Green, Akron

Mountain West West
My Favorite: San Diego State – The Aztecs have a tough game in week two against California but have a real shot to go undefeated. This is a really talented football team on both sides of the ball with some key seniors.
Watch out for: Nevada

Mountain West East
My Favorite: Boise State – The Broncos had three conference losses last season and need to get over the Air Force hump. Bryan Harsin is 21-6 in three years of conference play but the Broncos still have enough talent to still be a national story rather than San Diego State stealing the attention.
Watch out for: Air Force, Colorado State, Utah State.

Games of the Week (all times Eastern)

THURSDAY
South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. on ESPN
The SEC season kicks off on opening night in a matchup where the Gamecocks have seven straight in the series. Vandy has 15 starters back. Kyle Shurmur is the unquestioned quarterback of the Dores and gets back WR C.J. Duncan from injury while South Carolina has yet to name its starter but don’t be surprised if it’s the true freshman Brandon McIlwain in what should be a defensive battle.
Matchups to watch:
• South Carolina WR Deebo Samuel vs. Vanderbilt CB Torren McGaster
• South Carolina QB (whoever it is) vs. Vanderbilt LB Zach Cunningham
• Vanderbilt RB Ralph Webb vs. South Carolina LB T.J. Holloman

Oregon State at Minnesota, 9 p.m. on Big Ten Network
Gary Andersen has a quarterback now to run his offense but this is also going to be a more physical Oregon State team so this will be a physical game. Minnesota is going to want to pound the reloading Beavers front seven while Darell Garretson can consistently move the chains and keep the Beavers in the game.
Matchups to watch:
• Oregon State WR Jordan Villamin vs. Minnesota CB Jalen Myrick
• Oregon State OG Gavin Andrews vs. Minnesota DT Scott Ekpe
• Minnesota WR Drew Wolitarsky vs. Oregon State CB Treston Decoud

FRIDAY
Colorado State vs. Colorado, 8 p.m. on ESPN
Colorado has 17 starters back and hopefully a healthy Sefo Liufau at quarterback. This is a must-win game for the Buffs is they have 2016 bowl aspirations. Who doesn’t love a little Rocky Mountain Showdown in Week One? Colorado State hasn’t named a starter so Colorado has had to prepare for both Nick Stevens and Faton Bauta but the Rams lost its entire front four and are changing schemes on defense. There could be some growing pains.
Matchups to watch:
• Colorado State OG Fred Zerblis vs. Colorado DT Josh Tupou
• Colorado WR Shay Fields vs. Colorado State CB Tyree Simmons
• Colorado State RB Dalyn Dawkins vs. Colorado LB Addison Gillam

Kansas State at #8 Stanford, 9 p.m. on Fox Sports 1
Stanford is going with Ryan Burns over Keller Chryst as the quarterback while Kansas State gets a healthy Jesse Ertz back at quarterback. The Wildcats are still a tough team so this won’t be an easy out for Stanford. The K-State linebackers are athletic but ultimately the Wildcats won’t be able to score enough in Palo Alto.
Matchups to watch:
• Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey vs. Kansas State LB Elijah Lee
• Kansas State WR Deante Burton vs. Stanford CB Alijah Holder
• Stanford OT Casey Tucker vs. Kansas State DE Jordan Willis 

SATURDAY
#3 Oklahoma vs. #15 Houston, Noon on ABC
How about this week one matchup? Both of Baker Mayfield’s parents are Houston grads and Houston’s new weapon, running back Duke Catalon has some familiarity with OU being a Texas-transfer. The Sooners have won five straight season openers but the last time it played a notable non-conference ranked opponent in the opener, it lost to BYU in 2009. This game could very well come down to which defense makes more plays against two young offensive lines but dynamic quarterbacks and skill position players.
Matchups to watch:
• Oklahoma RB Samaje Perine vs. Houston LB Steven Taylor
• Houston WR Steven Dunbar vs. Oklahoma CB Jordan Thomas
• Oklahoma OT Orlando Brown vs. Houston LB Tyus Bowser

Missouri at West Virginia, Noon on Fox Sports 1
West Virginia has lost to 5 straight SEC opponents and Missouri has won 14 straight season openers. This could end up being a low-scoring game as both quarterbacks have something to prove and both defenses can create turnovers and plays. The difference might be the experience and improvisation skills of Skyler Howard.
Matchups to watch:
• West Virginia OC Tyler Orlosky vs. Missouri DT Rickey Hatley
• West Virginia WR Ka’Raun White vs. Missouri CB Aarion Penton
• Missouri DE Charles Harris vs. West Virginia OT Yodny Cajuste

#16 UCLA at Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. on CBS
This is the least talked about big game but it is a huge game. If UCLA gets a win in College Station, the Bruins could potentially go undefeated and have a shot at the Playoff. This is a great matchup in the trenches on both sides and of course the Aggies have ex-UCLA OC Noel Mazzone and ex-UCLA cornerback Fabian Moreau. If Trevor Knight runs this offense, the Aggies are really talented. So is UCLA though, but the Bruins have to break in new receivers for Josh Rosen and this could be a tough road game. I’m giving a slight edge to the Aggies since Mazzone knows Rosen’s strengths and weaknesses and could share that with John Chavis.
Matchups to watch:
• UCLA OT Conor McDermott vs. Texas A&M Myles Garrett
• Texas A&M WR Josh Reynolds vs. UCLA CB Fabian Moreau
• Texas A&M OT Avery Gennesy vs. UCLA DE Takkarist McKinley

#5 LSU at Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
On paper, this is a great matchup. It’s LSU vs. Wisconsin in Lambeau Field. But unfortunately it’s not as marquee a matchup on the field. Bart Houston makes his first career start in Lambeau, which is cool since he was named after Bart Starr. But, I think Wisconsin could struggle to put up points against this LSU defense led by ex-Wisconsin DC Dave Aranda. The Badgers missing linebacker T.J. Edwards will be a big factor against Leonard Fournette, too.
Matchups to watch:
• Wisconsin RB Corey Clement vs. LSU LB Kendell Beckwith
• LSU WR Malachi Dupre vs. Wisconsin CB Sojourn Shelton
• LSU OT Toby Weathersby vs. Wisconsin LB Vince Biegel 

#20 USC vs. #1 Alabama, 8 p.m. on ABC
We could have four quarterbacks playing in this game but it’ll be Max Browne getting the start for USC and likely Cooper Bateman for Alabama. Alabama has been here before, they’ve won the last four season openers against a Power Five opponent by an average of 18 points. USC has talent to compete but the Tide should take care of business in Dallas.
Matchups to watch:
• USC OT Zach Banner vs. Alabama LB Tim Williams
• Alabama WR Calvin Ridley vs. USC CB Adoree’ Jackson/Iman Marshall
• USC WR JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. Alabama CB Marlon Humphrey

#2 Clemson at Auburn, 9 p.m. on ESPN
Deshaun Watson gets a chance to play in Jordan-Hare after all, after he almost ended up an Auburn Tiger. Instead, he arrives at Auburn as the Heisman favorite for the Clemson Tigers. This game could be sneaky good, at least early on, but in the end, Watson can take over the game.
Matchups to watch:
• Clemson WR Mike Williams vs. Auburn CB Carlton Davis
• Auburn OG Alex Kozan vs. Clemson DT Carlos Watkins
• Clemson OC Jay Guillermo vs. Auburn DT Montravius Adams

SUNDAY
#10 Notre Dame at Texas, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
The Irish won 38-3 last year so Texas is looking for revenge and if not for some injuries to three offensive line starters, the Longhorns might have a shot. Texas is going to be much improved this season but the battle in the trenches will be tough in this one. There’s going to be four quarterbacks playing in this one too. Texas needs to capitalize and not let either quarterback get into a rhythm for the Irish. Keeping the Irish under three touchdowns and establishing the run is what the Horns need to do.
Matchups to watch:
• Texas OT Kent Perkins vs. Notre Dame DE Isaac Rochell
• Texas RB Chris Warren vs. Notre Dame LB Nyles Morgan
• Texas WR John Burt vs. Notre Dame CB Cole Luke 

MONDAY
#11 Ole Miss at #4 Florida State, 8 p.m. on ESPN
Jimbo Fisher is 6-0 in season openers at FSU and Hugh Freeze is 4-0 in season openers at Ole Miss. These two teams last met in 1961. This has big game potential with Chad Kelly facing the Florida State defense with playmakers all around him but the Rebels need to establish some kind of balance on offense and the biggest mismatch in this matchup is the Rebs offensive line against Florida State’s defensive line. That’s what it’ll come down to. Florida State is arguably putting the best starting 22 on the field in the country.
Matchups to watch:
• Florida State OT Roderick Johnson vs. Ole Miss DE Marquis Haynes
• Ole Miss WR Damore’ea Stringfellow vs. Florida State CB Marquez White
• Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly vs. Florida State S Derwin James 

Don’t sleep during these games

THURSDAY
Tulane at Wake Forest, 7p.m. on ESPN3
If Dave Clawson is to take the next step at Wake Forest, his team cannot slip up in this one. It’s a must-win game to get towards bowl eligibility. The good news is that Tulane doesn’t have a quarterback on the roster that’s attempted a pass but don’t count out a Willie Fritz-coached football team.
Matchups to watch:
• Wake Forest OG Tyler Hayworth vs. Tulane DT Tanzel Smart
• Tulane OG Chris Taylor vs. Wake Forest DT Josh Banks
• Wake Forest QB John Wolford vs. Tulane LB Nico Marley

Appalachian State at #9 Tennessee, 7:30p.m. on SEC Network
Don’t do it, Tennessee. Don’t go losing to Appalachian State like Michigan did way back when. This is a really good App State football team but Tennessee knows it. Taylor Lamb is one of the nation’s most efficient quarterbacks but Bob Shoop and the Vols defense should ultimately take control of the game.
Matchups to watch:
• Appalachian State OG Colby Gossett vs. Tennessee DT Danny O’Brien
• Tennessee QB Josh Dobbs vs. Appalachian State LB John Law/S Alex Gray
• Appalachian State LB Marcus Cox vs. Tennessee LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin

FRIDAY
Toledo at Arkansas State, 9 p.m. on ESPNU
These two teams have gotten familiar with each other recently but there’s a lot of new faces. Pitt-transfer Chad Voytik could be taking over at quarterback for the Red Wolves and former offensive coordinator Jason Candle takes over as the head coach of Toledo. There’s one constant though: Kareem Hunt. But this is a chance for Arkansas State to show the rest of the Sun Belt, they should still be considered the favorite.
Matchups to watch:
• Toledo OT Storm Norton vs. Arkansas State DE Chris Odom
• Arkansas State OC Devin Mondie vs. Toledo DT Treyvon Hester
• Arkansas State QB Chad Voytik vs. Toledo LB Ja’Wuan Woodley

SATURDAY
Georgia Tech vs. Boston College, 7:30 a.m. on ESPN2
Wake up! There’s an early kickoff in Ireland. Don’t be sleeping during this one. This kicks off the first College Football Saturday. Georgia Tech tries to rebound from last season and Boston College is looking to spark its offense. The starting quarterback hasn’t been named but it has to be Kentucky grad-transfer Patrick Towles, right? He’ll have some NFL eyes on him.
Matchups to watch:
• Georgia Tech OC Freddie Burden vs. Boston College DT Truman Gutapfel
• Georgia Tech QB Justin Thomas vs. Boston College LB Matt Milano
• Boston College RB Jon Hilliman vs. Georgia Tech LB P.J. Davis

Western Michigan at Northwestern, Noon on ESPNU
The Broncos have been voted the preseason MAC champion and rightfully so. The Broncos also get running back Jarvion Franklin so there’s two good backs to watch between he and Northwestern’s Justin Jackson. Western Michigan also Corey Davis, who could be the NCAA’s all-time leading receiver by the end of the season.
Matchups to watch:
• Western Michigan WR Corey Davis vs. Northwestern CB Matthew Harris
• Western Michigan RB Jarvion Franklinv s. Northwestern LB Anthony Walker
• Northwestern RB Justin Jackson vs. Western Michigan LB Asantay Brown 

Boise State at Louisiana-Lafayette, Noon on ESPN3
Anthony Jennings left LSU to be the starting quarterback at ULL. Boise State is 5-0 all-time against the Sun Belt but this is a tougher than you think road trip.
Matchups to watch:
• ULL RB Elijah McGuire vs. Boise State LB Tanner Vallejo
• Boise State WR Thomas Sperbeck vs. ULL CB Dominick Jones
• Boise State RB Jeremy McNichols vs. ULL LB Otha Peters

Rutgers at #14 Washington, 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Network
It’s the first ever meeting between these two teams and Rutgers goes out west again where it beat Washington State. This is a new Rutgers offense with Chris Ash bringing in Drew Mehringer to install an up-tempo spread attack. Washington has the Pac-12’s best defense from a year ago though.
Matchups to watch:
• Rutgers OG Chris Muller vs. Washington DT Elijah Qualls
• Rutgers WR Andre Patton vs. Washington CB Sidney Jones
• Washington OG Jake Eldrenkamp vs. Rutgers DT Darius Hamilton

Louisiana Tech at Arkansas, 4 p.m. on SEC Network
Arkansas did slip up against Toledo last season so a tough game with a good Louisiana Tech team wouldn’t be a huge surprise but in this particular case, the Bulldogs are starting redshirt freshman J’Mar Smith as Ryan Higgins serves a suspension for his DUI charge so the Hogs are off the hook but this game gives us our first look at Austin Allen as the starter and the new running backs.
Matchups to watch:
• Arkansas RB Kody Walker vs. Louisiana Tech LB Dalton Santos
• Louisiana Tech OT Darrell Brown vs. Arkansas DE Deatrich Wise
• Arkansas TE Jeremy Sprinkle vs. Louisiana Tech S Xavier Woods 

Southern Miss at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU
Despite losing Michael Thomas, Casey Martin and Jalen Richard, with Nick Mullens back the Golden Eagles offense should still be explosive. This Kentucky secondary has the players though to neutralize the Southern Miss receivers so I don’t think we’ll see an upset here but anything is possible.
Matchups to watch:
• Southern Miss OC Cameron Tom vs. Kentucky DT Matt Elam
• Southern Miss WR D.J. Thompson vs. Kentucky CB Chris Westry
• Kentucky QB Drew Barker vs. Southern Miss S D’Nerius Antoine 

Northern Iowa at Iowa State, 8 p.m.
Any time Northern Iowa or North Dakota State plays a lower Power Five team, there seems to be an automatic upset alert. Northern Iowa is ranked No. 5 in the FCS and has a dangerous dual-threat quarterback in Aaron Bailey. They could make this game interesting against the Cyclones in Matt Campbell’s debut but Iowa State won this matchup 31-7 a year ago and Campbell’s new vibes should have this Iowa State team overachieve this year, not lose to an FCS foe in week one.
Matchups to watch:
• Northern Iowa QB Aaron Bailey vs. Iowa State S Kamari Cotton-Moya
• Iowa State WR Allen Lazard vs. Northern Iowa CB Jamison Whiting
• Northern Iowa RB Tyvis Smith vs. Iowa State LB Kane Seeley

Eastern Washington at Washington State, 8 p.m. on Pac-12 Network
The Cooper Kupp show gets another shot at a Pac-12 opponent after Kupp had a huge game against Oregon. The Walter Payton Award winner is the most prolific receiver in the FCS and he’s going against arguably the most prolific receiver in the FBS in Washington State’s Gabe Marks.
Matchups to watch:
• Eastern Washington WR Cooper Kupp vs. Washington State CB Darrien Molton
• Washington State OC Riley Sorenson vs. Eastern Washington DT Matthew Sommer
• Eastern Washington QB Jordan West vs. Washington State S Shalom Luani 

BYU vs. Arizona, 10:30 p.m.
Three reasons to watch this one: 1. Taysom Hill’s return for BYU 2. Who’s Arizona quarterback going to be? 3. It’s a good matchup. Stay up late and finish your first College Football Saturday off strong. BYU has a brutal schedule to face but Bronco Mendenhall left behind quite a bit of talent.
Matchups to watch:
• Arizona OG Freddie Tagaloa vs. BYU DT Travis Tuiloma
• Arizona WR Trey Griffey vs. BYU CB Michael Davis
• Arizona RB Nick Wilson vs. BYU LB Harvey Langi 

My Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. LSU
4. Clemson
5. Michigan
6. Ohio State
7. Stanford
8. Oklahoma
9. Tennessee
10. Ole Miss
11. Notre Dame
12. Michigan State
13. Louisville
14. Iowa
15. Houston
16. UCLA
17. TCU
18. North Carolina
19. Florida
20. Washington
21. Arkansas
22. USC
23. Texas A&M24. Georgia
25. Oklahoma State
Also considered: Baylor, Utah, Washington State, Boise State, San Diego State