Everyone is excited for the return of college football. Week 0 gave the people a little taste but the real action begins Thursday night.
Among the blockbuster games is Georgia traveling to Death Valley to take on Clemson and Miami taking on Alabama. In total, there are five ranked games pitting preseason AP top 25 teams against each other.
Those are great without a doubt. In this piece though, the games involving one or no ranked teams are going to be put in the spotlight. Whether it be an upset possibility or because of high flying offenses, these five games are ones you cannot miss.
1. #16 LSU @ UCLA
Last week, this was a game that was being circled. After the drubbing that the Bruins put on Hawaii, it’s becoming one of the main events Saturday.
In Chip Kelly’s fourth year, UCLA is looking to put it together finally. The combination of an experienced quarterback in Dorian Thompson-Robinson along with a dynamic duo in the backfield has the Bruins looking dangerous. Last week, Zach Charbonnet and Brittain Brown combined for 184 yards and four scores. This adds up to a team that will be a fun match up for an LSU team that’s strength is in the secondary.
Consensus top five NFL talent Derek Stingley Jr. and super sophomore Eli Ricks are the names to know for LSU. How they defend Kyle Phillips and company will determine if UCLA can create explosive plays.
Offense is not the only thing brewing in Pasadena, the defense should improve again after taking steps to success in 2020. The Bruins are returning 91% of their tackle production, 90% of their sacks and every player who recorded an interception is back.
That returning defense will be challenged with the task of stopping what could be a prolific duo in 2021. Lefty Max Johnson won the starting job after a strong end to 2020 that included an upset over Florida. He has an established connection with sophomore wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. Boutte is looking to ride an incredible finish to 2020 into an All-American season this fall.
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2. Boise State @ Central Florida
Two Group of Five powers open up their season Thursday night in Orlando with no shortage of story lines.
Both the Broncos and the Knights are breaking in a new coach. Bryan Harsin left the blue turf in Boise for Auburn while Josh Heupel left to try and rebuild Tennessee. In to replace them are Andy Avalos and former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn respectively. Avalos will be tasked with stopping what should be a high flying UCF aerial attack.
At the helm of that attack will be Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel is going into his third season as a starter and should be among the nations most prolific passers. He will look to connect with leading returning receiver Jaylon Robinson on the outside. Robinson reeled in almost 1,000 yards last season in just 10 games. Defensively, Malzahn will have more of a challenge as the Knights gave up almost 500 yards a game in 2020.
Attacking that defense will be a experienced Bronco offense. Led by oft injured quarterback Hank Bachmeier, the senior will hope to play a full season for the first time in his college career. Supporting the QB will be a duo of talented Running backs. George Holani and Oregon transfer Cyrus Habbibi-Loko will form a thunder and lightning duo that will give the Knights problems.
The only thing that will be guaranteed from this game will be points. With a total of 69, college football is almost guaranteed a high flying track meet Thursday night.
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3. #4 Ohio State @ Minnesota
The Big 10 blessed us with a myriad of interesting week one conference match ups. The first of which will be Thursday night when the conference’s most prominent program opens up the season away from home.
For the first time since 2018, Ryan Day won’t have Justin Fields at the helm of his offense. It’ll be redshirt freshman CJ Stroud who will have the services of the best receiver duo in America. Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave come into the season as All-American picks and are expected to ease the burden on the first year starter.
For PJ Fleck’s team, it is going to be a make or break 2021. Following a difficult 2020 it appears the program is at a crossroads. With Tanner Morgan back at QB for a third season, the Gophers look to recapture the magic of 2019. He will combine with RB Mo Ibrahim who was one of the top rushers in the Big 10.
Tasked with stopping that run game up front will be a defensive line led by returning All-American Haskell Garrett. The super senior will be the leader for a defense that lost stalwarts Pete Werner, Shaun Wade and Tuff Borland.
4. #10 UNC @ Virginia Tech
College football did an incredible job of giving fans a midweek slate to be excited about. Friday night sees Sam Howell make his 2021 debut in hostile Lane Stadium.
After a season in which they made a major bowl game for the first time since 2001, Mack Brown’s squad is hoping to make that jump into the nations elite.
For the Tar Heels, it starts and ends with quarterback Sam Howell. The junior enters his third season as a starter and will do so with an entire new cast of weapons. Running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter are gone as well as leading receiver Dyami Brown. Hoping to fill those holes will be Tennessee transfer Ty Chandler and former top 100 recruit Josh Downs.
Tasked with slowing down Howell will be a Hokey team coming off their worst season since before Frank Beamer was hired. Justin Fuente will hope quarterback Braxton Burmeister can help right the ship. bri
The bigger challenge will be slowing down North Carolina’s offense. If Tech is able to do that, they could keep this close in front of a raucous home crowd. This could lead to an early shake up in the ACC Coastal standing.
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5. West Virginia @ Maryland
A mid-afternoon power five game between two programs on the upswing, who can say no?
After a 5-7 debut season at West Virginia, Neal Brown’s second season provided some optimism for the Mountaineer faithful. His squad went 6-4 capped off with a bowl win over Army.
In 2021, they will return Bowling Green transfer Jarret Doege for his second as a full time starter in Morgantown. Last year, he threw for over 2500 yards with 14 touchdowns while only turning the ball over four times. He will be helped out by senior running back Leddie Brown who rushed for over 1000 yards in an abbreviated 2020.
Defensively, they will be tasked with stopping a Maryland offense led by Taulia Tagovailoa. The junior QB showed flashes of brilliance for the Terps in 2020. With the loss of running back Jake Funk he will be burdened with more pressure in 2021. He will look to connect with former 5 star Rakim Jarrett on the outside. Jarrett showed flashes of brilliance his freshman year but will look to establish himself among the Big !0’s elite receivers this fall.
While these might not be two of the biggest brands in college football, a battle between two talented QBs should lead to a solid week one game between two teams that could make some noise in 2021.
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