The Best CFB Weekend
I provide some color commentary on the must watch games of Labor Day weekend.
The opening Labor Day weekend of college football is unquestionably the best CFB weekend there is for five reasons.
The weekend provides a never ending smorgasbord of games —this year there are games from Wednesday through Monday.
College football alone has the spotlight all to itself—as the NFL has not started and the MLB is not in playoff mode yet—and it always delivers.
There are marque non-conference matchups; and as the sport has evolved now there are now critical conference openers.
There is that perfect emotional combination of joy and hope for your team that matches as the calendar turns from summer (joy) to fall (hope).
It is upset rich that either fans the flames of hope or dashes it in an instant. The ball forever bounces in unforeseeable, unpredictable and unimaginable ways.
With that said, I go day by day to list the games you have to be glued to your tv this week and try to guess how it may play out.
Must Watch Games
Wednesday
UAB takes on Jacksonville State in the only game of the day. The school shut down the Blazers football program in 2014 before reviving it in 2017; so this will be a nice national spotlight for them.
Thursday
Boise State will travel to Central Florida in what is a highly anticipated Group of 5 matchup. The Knights are favored in this one, but the Broncos rose to fame by making a living in scheduling Power 5 teams and pulling off opening weekend upsets: Oregon (2008-09); Virginia Tech (‘10); Georgia (‘11); Washington (‘15); and Florida State (‘19). The winner will be on the fast track to be the best G5 team this season.
No. 4 Ohio State travels to Minnesota to face the Golden Gophers with new quarterback CJ Stroud. Could this be a trap game right out of the gate? Road conference games are no gimmes, and PJ Fleck and company want to rebound to row the boat like they were in 2019 prior to the pandemic. And wouldn’t one of ESPN golden boys losing be fantastic?
There are a staggering 16 total games on Thursday alone with seven major conference teams—and another interesting seven G5 teams— kicking off. Coastal Carolina, Tennessee, Rutgers, Appalachian State and Arizona State to just name a few.
One of the more interesting matchups may be N.C. State vs South Florida. There is a lot of hype around the veteran Wolfpack this season to see if they can make some noise in the ACC.
Friday
No. 10 North Carolina travels to Virginia Tech with quarterback Sam Howell at the helm and Mack Brown’s Tar Heels looking to kick off a special season. It should also be the first game to truly show the significance of the return of home field advantage after a season without fans.
I do not know for sure if the Hokies have enough firepower to keep up with how UNC has been depicted in the media; however, I do know that Blacksburg will be rocking on Friday with all the eyes in the nation on them. It’s closer than the experts think and I would not be shocked if they pull of the first major upset.
That is followed by Northwestern hosting Michigan State. The Wildcats have made the Big 10 Championship game two of the past three seasons, but lose a lot this year. Quarterback, and Clemson transfer, Hunter Johnson has been named the starter and a captain—incredible when you remember that he was not very effective in the 2019 action he saw in the Cats 3-9 season.
Therefore it will be Johnson, who has last seen meaningful game action as a high school senior in 2016, trying to avenge Northwestern’s loss to Sparty last year when the Cats were undefeated and ranked No. 8 in the CFP Rankings.
Saturday
An action packed day with several key contests.
No. 19 Penn State is at No. 12 Wisconsin to begin the season. So many hopes are involved in this one. For the Badgers, they know they are loaded again with their top passer and rusher returning in Graham Mertz and Jalen Berger respectively. They want an ultimate shot at Ohio State and the CFP, but will have to get past the Nittany Lions, Michigan and Notre Dame in addition to the Big 10 West in order to do so.
Fans in Happy Valley expect a rebound season from Sean Clifford and want to avoid a repeat of their opening day misery last season when they traveled to Indiana and lost on that stretch two-point conversion in overtime. They lost their first five games before winning their last four—a wave of momentum they hope to ride into 2021 on.
Another ranked Big 10 showdown is when No. 17 Indiana roll into Iowa City to take on the No. 18 Hawkeyes. Dark horses in their respective divisions, a win here could provide the jet fuel needed to blast off a magical season. Both quarterbacks return, but I like Iowa edging this one out.
Last year, Louisiana rolled into Ames, Iowa, and upset an Iowa State team that eventually would be ranked No. 6 heading into the Big 12 title game. And that—combined with outstanding undefeated seasons from Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati— still bought Group of 5 teams no respect from a biased Playoff Committee.
This year, the No. 23 Cajuns roll into Austin to face the No. 21 Texas Longhorns with their fourth head coach in eight seasons. Texas has announced they are leaving the Big 12, and may be caught sleeping on a ‘lesser’ opponent like they have in so many openers before: BYU (2013-14); California (‘15-16); Kansas (‘16); and Maryland (‘17-18).
I like Louisiana for the upset win. The Playoff Committee may then have a dilemma on their hands should Texas then turn around to win the Big 12, and Louisiana the Sun Belt.
No. 1 Alabama vs No. 14 Miami. Ah, the annual ‘can anyone beat the Tide?’ season opener. Alabama has been thwarting big branded non-conference opponents with Nick Saban in season openers for over a decade now. You name the team, Alabama has cruised to an easy victory: Clemson (2008); Virginia Tech (‘09, ‘13); Michigan (‘12); West Virginia (‘14); Wisconsin (‘15); USC, (‘16); Florida State (‘17); and Louisville (‘18). I do not believe Miami will be different, but one can hope.
There are a few Pac-12 games to keep an eye on. Specifically, No. 11 Oregon vs Fresno State. The Ducks are the favorite to win the conference, however, the Bulldogs have a game under their belts and many like them as a top G5 team.
The second game is UCLA hosting No. 16 LSU at the Rose Bowl. The Tigers come in looking to rebound from a five hundred 2020 season where their most memorable game came in the Swamp with Florida throwing the shoe.
The Bruins, on the other hand are looking to return to glory, and may be on the precipice after running back Zach Charbonnet rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns on six carries against Hawaii. All aboard the hype train if UCLA can knock off LSU.
The biggest primetime game of the night is No. 5 Georgia vs No. 3 Clemson. This has huge Playoff implications for not only these two teams but everyone else as the Committee has not been shy about selecting teams that have already played in the season.
The loser could still win their conference and get in against to play who they lost to. Or if the winner of this game losses their conference title game to an undefeated UNC or unbeaten ‘Bama, they could still be selected due to their strength of schedule.
A win here defines the Playoff quest for everyone involved, and that is why it is so vital to get a win. It is a neutral field, and I just like the Bulldogs in this one.
Sunday
No. 9 Notre Dame plays Florida State in what is sure to be an emotional night due to honoring the late coach Bobby Bowden. The Irish should be able to win this classic ‘90s rivalry.
Monday
Louisville vs Ole Miss. An interesting storyline is that Luke McCaffrey transferred to the Cardinals from Nebraska, and then transferred again to Rice after not getting the starting job at Louisville. Not sure how great this game will be, but it will be nice to have one more.
Any games or storylines that I missed; please let me know what you are looking forward to!