Arkansas will feature in what is technically the second biggest game of the day when they host Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon.
With a little help from Georgia, which will face Oregon on ABC at the exact same time, the Razorbacks-Bearcats matchup could turn out to be the biggest game.
Should the Bulldogs stage a blowout, casual fans are likely to turn to ESPN for what is expected to be a late-night matchup between two teams that have become the favorites in American college football over the past two years.
With a game clearly reserved for Hog fans, what other games during this five-day pseudo-opening week will be worth your time?
Here is a list of the most interesting games in each time slot this week.
Thursday
Penn St. VS. PURDUE, FOX, 7 p.m.
Penn State is looking to bounce back from a rocky end to last season in which the Nittany Lions lost three of their last four.
Matt Pendleton/USA TODAY Sports
This is a kind of gimme. Not much to do on a Thursday night.
Plus, it gives Arkansas a chance to see where their latest opponent stands compared to next year as they assess whether the Nittany Lions’ game against Auburn in mid-September will be worth watching.
Friday
INDIANA VS. ILLINOIS, FS1, 7 p.m.
This is another chance to see if former Arkansas coach Barry Lunney, Jr. can make Illinois football even mildly interesting to watch.
Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports
If you watched the debut of Barry Lunny, Jr.’s offense in Illinois last week, you know how tough it was to watch.
Top-tier Big Ten football is the most boring of all the Power 5 conferences. Lower-tier Big Ten football is probably banned by the UN as an acceptable way to get the necessary information from a POW.
How Illinois got to 38 points is mind-boggling. Making that kind of point production feel like watching a 3-3 hit nap fest is dark magic.
That said, if Lunney can lead Voldermort’s Bret Bielema team to another victory in this one, he’ll really be someone to watch.
COLORADO VS. TCU, ESPN, 9:00 p.m.
TCU has some big upset potential in the Big 12. This matchup with Colorado will go a long way in showing just how much potential.
Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports
The Big 12 is going to be wide open this year. The three usual contenders, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Baylor are likely to be upset this year.
There’s a chance TCU could be the team to cause chaos across the league if the Horned Frogs can bounce back this year as expected. This season opener will give Razorback fans a good idea of whether the ticker is worth watching when TCU plays those teams.
Saturday
APALACHIAN ST. vs. NORTH CAROLINA, ESPNU, 11 a.m.
Former North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell is no longer with the team, making the Tar Heels ready for an upset in Week 2.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
If there is going to be a big surprise this week, this will be it. Anyone who has watched the Tar Heels against Florida A&M knows this team doesn’t seem to have much.
Carolina struggled with a team that was 26 players short because the Rattlers’ athletic office apparently had too few workers to do the compliance paperwork and the ones there weren’t qualified to do it.
Still, Florida A&M came out and scored 24 points and held up well for the most part against a team that should have had an insurmountable talent lead.
Appalachian State is always ready to surprise. Hosting this game makes it even more likely.
FLORIDA VS. UTAH, ESPN, 6 p.m.
Can Billy Napier take Florida back to the glory days of Tim Tebow? It will take a big upset from Utah for that to happen.
Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports
Newly hired Florida coach Billy Napier did not receive a favor by making this the first game of his tenure. Utah may be the Pac 12’s best shot at a legitimate college playoff team in a long time.
One way or another, Napier and his team are going to make a big impression. Fans will have to tune in to see if it’s positive.
OHIOST. vs. NOTRE DAME, ABC, 6:30 p.m.
Ohio State has a chance to knock Notre Dame out of playoff contention in Week 1 of the season.
Joshua A. Bickel/USA TODAY Sports
It’s always good to have games like this early on so we can get the suitors out of the way.
The Irish are traditionally the second most overrated team in college football, so it’s worth watching them take on a team that has a good chance of making the playoffs.
If they lose again like they did when they faced Cincinnati last season, they can be taken off the table and the game can move on.
If they somehow win, it will be one of the rare occasions when the rest of the football world will take them seriously.
Sunday
LSU vs. FLORIDA ST., ABC, 6:30 p.m.
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LSU fans will get their first look at new LSU coach Brian Kelly on Sunday against Florida State.
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Brian Kelly makes his debut.
That is all. That’s the only reason to watch this.
Florida State didn’t deserve a spot like this since Jimbo Fisher lurked on the sidelines and LSU was a mess last year. Tune in a bit, see if Kelly has anything, and move on.
Monday
GEORGIAN TECHNOLOGY VS. CLEMSON, ESPN, 7 p.m.
Clemson Tigers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will get a chance to prove he’s a solid No. 1 quarterback against Georgia Tech.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
It makes sense why Clemson is in this game, but Georgia Tech? Was this really the best game for a Monday night primetime of all the games this week?
Not exactly an exclamation point for the first week, but if you’re still in need of football after a long fix, drop by and see if DJ Uiagalelei has progressed enough to keep the young upstarts hot on his heels for the job at bay. of holder.
Games to watch on the hunt
NORTH CAROLINA ST. vs. EAST CAROLINA, ESPN, Saturday, 11 a.m.
East Carolina isn’t known for having the most educated fan base, but its football team has been known to pull off upsets at Power 5 schools quite often.
ALABAMA VS. STATE OF UTAH, RED SEC, Saturday, 6:30 pm
That is all. This is Alabama’s biggest non-conference game of the year.
Not only is Utah State the only non-conference opponent on the Crimson Tide’s schedule to finish ranked last year, they are the only team to finish without a losing record.
PITTSBURGH VS. WEST VIRGINIA, ESPN, Thursday, 6 p.m.
West Virginia always seems to be good at springing an upset, and Pittsburgh always seems up for one.
The NFL took on quarterback Kenny Pickett and USC beat everyone to buy wide receiver Jordan Addison on the free agent market. It will be a lot to hope that Pitt duplicates his success last season, so this has a high potential for an upset.
UTSA VS. HOUSTON, CBSSN, Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
If former Arkansas assistant Jeff Traylor wants to prove his Roadrunners belong in the conversation along with the Cincinnatis of the world and also find a way to sneak into future expansion discussions, he’ll need to pull off this win against future Big 12 member, Houston.
It will be his first venture as a head coach without former Arkansas coach Barry Lunney, Jr. calling plays for him.
VANDERBILT VS. ELON, RED SEC, Saturday, 6 pm
Currently, the Commodores are the No. 1 team in the SEC after holding off Hawaii on the Big Island. Keep an eye on this one just to see if that momentum holds up.
PIGS FEEDING:
PIGS WON’T CATCH CINCINNATI OFF BALANCE TRYING TO RUN THE BALL ON SATURDAY
SAM PITTMAN COULD USE SOME OF JIMMY JOHNSON’S PSYCHOLOGY TO DEAL WITH A HOT DAY
WHAT THE PIGS SAID AFTER TUESDAY AFTERNOON PRACTICE
QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT THE INSIDE LINE ON BOTH SIDES FOR THE BALL FOR RAZORBACKS AIMED AT THE STARTER
WILL DEPTH END UP BEING A PROBLEM FOR PIGS THIS YEAR?
SEC SHORTS TAKES HIS TURN HAVING FUN WITH AUBURN
WATCH SAM PITTMAN’S PRE-OPENING PRESS CONFERENCE AGAINST CINCINNATI
LAST YEAR’S NINE WINS MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THIS WEEK
WHO’S ON THE COACHING HOT SEAT HEADING INTO OPENING WEEK
WEEK 0 CREATES POTENTIAL FOR BIG MOVE IN STATE HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS
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