Having delivered some really vital news in Week 0 of the college football slate…
…I guess I should tell you what else the Big Ten will be doing on the non-conference slate. There are some really fantastic ones… fantastic? Am I 80 years old? In week 1, and many questions to answer.
The best
Even if there is a loss or two between these games, here are the ones to watch in Week 1.
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Thursday, 7 p.m. | FOX
Minnesota playing Thursday night games “because of the State Fair” or whatever is low-key, one of the best parts of the Big Ten’s early draws: the exciting 2015 game against No. 2 TCU, the state of Oregon in 2016, outlasting South Dakota State. in 2019, the close loss to Ohio State in 2021, that hot nonsense with Nebraska last year. Basically, if it’s the Gophers and a P5 team on a muggy Thursday night in Minneapolis, I’d tune in.
Will QB Max Brosmer’s transfer go well? Will Sieh Bangura be another Sean Tyler, or could the Gophers have some firepower out of the backfield?
I’m sure WSR answered those questions and didn’t just mail out their Gophers preview, so it’s worth considering that the Tar Heels brought Texas A&M any QB Max Johnson, which could be fun, and Mack Brown in overall it has been good. for a laugh at the beginning of the year.
Classification: 4.5/5
Indiana Hoosiers vs. FIU Sunblazers
Saturday, 11:00 am | BTN
Two coaches at opposite ends of their careers: Curt Cignetti turned James Madison into something special and decided he wanted to try to do the same at Indiana, yelling…Ohio State?… in the process, while Mike McIntyre… . from that 10-2 season at San Jose State before everything fell apart in Colorado—he’s grimacing on hot nights in Miami.
McIntyre’s Sunblazers have shown an ambivalent relationship with “playing defense,” which should make it even more interesting to see if Indiana’s rebuilt offense can score.
Classification: 3/5
UCLA Bruins at Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors
Saturday, 6:30 p.m. | C.B.S.
I highlighted it last week in the Week 0 preview: the games played in Hawai’i’s temporary stadium are pure college football silly fun. Don’t think too much about this and just enjoy a ridiculous and probably high-scoring game.
Classification: 3.5/5
USC Trojans vs. LSU Tigers
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. | KeynoteUSA | In Las Vegas
Ten years ago, if you had asked me which of Brian Kelly or Lincoln Riley would be a Big Ten coach, I wouldn’t have had the right answer or the right team.
Fun fact: When you search “Miller Moss” on Wikipedia, it shows you something completely different. Ask me how I know!
Classification: 4.5/5
The depressed
Are you excited to see a Big Ten team lose to a lesser foe? These are the games you should look for.
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Miami-Ohio Redhawks
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. | BTN
Yeah.
Look, I enjoy Chuck Martin because he wears sweater vests and looks like your dad’s old army buddy who falls asleep on the couch when he’s in town. The Redhawks were MACtion champions in 2023 and allowed no more than 28 points to a non-Miami team, including no more than 21 points in MAC play.
Calling Northwestern a MAC-level offense insults the MAC, a conference I care deeply about.
So!
Classification: 5/5 forks by eye
The rest
These games are happening too!
Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Howard (Thursday, 5 p.m., BTN)
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Eastern Illinois (Thursday, 8 p.m., BTN)
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Western Michigan Broncos (Friday, 8 p.m., FS1)
Penn State Nittany Lions at West Virginia Mountaineers (Saturday, 11 a.m., FOX)
Maryland Terrapins vs. UConn Huskies (Saturday, 11 a.m., FS1)
Purdue Boilermakers vs. Indiana State (Saturday, 11 a.m., BTN)
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. UTEP Miners (Saturday, 2:30 p.m., FOX)
Ohio State vs. Akron Zips (Saturday, 2:30 p.m., KeynoteUSA)
Michigan Wolverines vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (Saturday, 6:30 p.m., KeynoteUSA)
Oregon Ducks vs. Idaho Vandals (Saturday, 6:30 p.m., BTN)
Washington Huskies vs. Weber State Wildcats (Saturday, 10 p.m., BTN)
There’s real potential in a couple of these: West Virginia-Penn State if the Nits fall into a trap (but 49-9-2 lifetime and last year’s 38-15 blowout suggest otherwise), and Maryland-UConn if it were any month other than August/September.
Other than that, there should be plenty of body bags stacked at the end of Week 1. But that’s okay, because it will mean Big Ten football is back.
Survey
Best B1G game of week 1?
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