College Football TV Schedule: The Best Week 1 Games To Watch
College football season is finally here and the opening week has already given us some great games.
But don't get up from the couch just yet— there are several more contests worth watching and we are going to preview them here for you, so you don't miss the best ones.
Some of the higher-ranked teams decided to ease into the season (in other words, schedule "Little Sisters of the Poor University"), but there are some great games left that feature ranked teams matching up against each other.
Let's get this going.
*To make it easy for you, we've got the times and networks. To make it simple, all times are EST.
(3) Boise State Vs. (10) Virginia Tech
1 of 10
Monday kickoff time: 8pm, ESPN
This is the Game of the Week, which is probably why it has the Monday Night Football slot.
If Boise State has any aspirations of winning a national title, they will have to start by beating Virginia Tech, most likely the toughest opponent they will face all year.
This is another one of those games that is supposedly at a neutral site, but given that FedEx Field is in Landover, Maryland—Virginia Tech's backyard—you can bet Hokie Nation will be going crazy.
BSU is led by their star quarterback and Heisman candidate Kellen Moore.
Last season Moore made NCAA history by tossing 39 touchdowns and only three interceptions, the best ratio ever.
Virginia Tech will counter with a stud quarterback of their own, Tyrod Taylor, who had 2,311 passing yards and 370 rushing yards in 2009.
Hokies' Coach Frank Beamer compares him to Michael Vick.
The winner of this game can consider themselves an early front-runner for a BCS title run.
The loser has to regroup.
I'm thinking Hokies, in an upset, by a field goal.
(6) TCU Vs. (24) Oregon State
2 of 10
Saturday kickoff Time: 7:45 p.m., ESPN
The Horned Frogs got a taste of the BCS last season and want another bite.
But the only way a "BCS Buster" can make it past the velvet rope and get one of those VIP invitations is to win big against ranked schools from BCS conferences.
That makes the Beavers a perfect way for TCU to start the season.
Though listed as being at a neutral site, the Saturday-night game will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, meaning that TCU fans will most likely outnumber the folks from Oregon.
Quarterback Andy Dalton is a four-year starter for TCU and will likely end the year as the winningest quarterback in TCU history. Last season he threw for 2,756 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
His counterpart, OSU starter Ryan Katz, will be making his first start. Katz is a sophomore who has appeared in only four games as a backup to last year's starter, Sean Canfield.
Luckily for Katz, he has Jacquizz Rodgers to take most of the offensive pressure off his shoulders.
Rodgers ended last season with 1,440 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns.
Look for TCU to win this game and start their season off impressively.
(18) UNC Vs. (21) LSU
3 of 10
Saturday kickoff time: 8pm, ABC
Saturday night’s game at the Georgia Dome not only features two ranked teams, the 18th-ranked North Carolina and the No. 21 LSU Tigers, but also the added spectacle of NCAA suspensions and what those missing players will mean to the outcome of the game.
As of right now, 12 Tar Heels have been ruled out of game due to an NCAA investigation into the "[violation of] school and/or NCAA rules.” North Carolina will reportedly be without two of their top running backs and three of their safeties, as well as many other key players.
Luckily for North Carolina, they will still have their starting quarterback.
Senior quarterback T.J. Yates threw for 2,136 yards and 14 TDs to lead UNC to an 8-5 record last season.
LSU will counter with their offensive leader, Jordan Jefferson, who led the Tigers to a 9-4 record and threw for 2,166 yards with 17 TDs and seven interceptions.
The Tigers are 7-1 at the Georgia Dome and 5-1 versus North Carolina.
With the Tar Heels barely able to field a team this week, this might get ugly.
LSU wins big.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
(7) Oklahoma Vs. Utah State
4 of 10
Saturday kickoff time: 7pm, regional coverage
The Sooners are looking to start the season on a better note than they did last season.
Actually they can't do much worse.
Last season started with a loss to a ranked BYU squad at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. But bigger than the loss in the game was the loss of their Heisman trophy winner, Sam Bradford, to an AC joint injury during the game.
This year, quarterback Landry Jones is no longer a nervous freshman stepping in for a legend. He is a relatively seasoned veteran on a stacked team.
They will be facing off against a Utah State team that has lost 26 straight to ranked opponents, including a 54-3 loss to Oklahoma three years ago. Expect more of the same as Landry Jones tries to build his own legend.
By the way, the kid is no slouch. He threw for an OU freshman-record 3198 yards last season and 26 touchdowns.
OU by seven—seven touchdowns.
Notre Dame Vs. Purdue
5 of 10
Saturday kickoff time: 3:30 pm, NBC
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly hopes to debut successfully against a Purdue team looking to avenge a close loss to the Irish last season.
Jimmy Clausen saved the Irish last season, tossing the winning touchdown with less than 30 seconds left as Notre Dame prevailed, 24-21.
Clausen is now in the NFL and Kelly will be bringing his version of the spread offense to South Bend.
Look for his new quarterback, Dayne Crist (perfect name for a Notre Dame quarterback), and star receiver Michael Floyd to put up huge numbers in this offense.
And this year's game won't be as close.
The Irish win for Brian Kelly in his first game.
(19) Penn State Vs. Youngstown State
6 of 10
Saturday kickoff time: Noon, Big Ten Network
Coach Joe Paterno leads 19th-ranked Nittany Lions in a game against Youngstown State on Saturday as he closes in on another milestone. JoePa is closing in on 400 wins, and everyone should pay attention because we will never see a coach put up numbers like that again.
At press conferences this summer, Paterno was asked several awkward questions about his health issues. So he, in turn, set the parameters for questions that he would take in the future.
“I have one request: please don’t ask if I’m going to die. Believe me, I got a few more days left,”
Penn State's Evan Royster is one of the best running backs in the country. Royster finished last season with 1,169 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
He is less than 500 yards from becoming the school's all time rushing leader.
He might get a big chunk of that this week, as Penn State wins big against an over-matched Youngstown State team.
(12) Wisconsin Vs. UNLV
7 of 10
Saturday kickoff time: 11 p.m., Versus Network
Scott Tolzien returns to Wisconsin after an impressive debut season where he led the Badgers to a 10-3 record.
Tolzien ended the season with 2,705 passing yards and 16 touchdowns.
If the Badgers are going to contend for the Big Ten title, however, Tolzien will have to cut down on his 11 interceptions from last season.
One way to do that is to hand the ball to running back John Clay, the 2009 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
Clay had 1,517 yards with 18 touchdowns in 2009.
They might need to score more this year since they lost half of their defense from last season.
But I see the Badgers having more than enough to get past the UNLV Rebels in their opener.
New UNLV coach Bobby Hauck has one main goal for his team this year: their first winning record since 2000.
But they won't get a win this week.
(8) Nebraska Vs. Western Kentucky
8 of 10
Saturday kickoff time: 3:30pm ABC
Western Kentucky has a new coach, Willie Taggart. They also have a 20-game losing streak and the 8th-ranked team in the country as their opponent this week.
Not the makings of a good coaching debut.
Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini thinks he has the makings of a national championship caliber team this season.
If that is true, he will need his quarterback to play well and stay healthy.
Zac Lee passed for 2,143 yards with 14 touchdowns. That's the good news.
The bad news is that Lee also threw 10 interceptions and is coming off elbow surgery.
Fortunately for Pelini, he has two young quarterbacks waiting in the wings for an opportunity.
The Cornhuskers intend to leave the Big 12 with one more title before heading off to the Big Ten.
Preferably a national title.
Colorado Vs. Colorado State
9 of 10
Saturday kickoff time: 2 p.m, regional coverage.
This intra-state rivalry is always heated and usually unpredictable.
Not sure if it is good news or not, but the Buffaloes bring back 17 starters from a 2009 campaign that ended with a 3-9 record.
One of those losses came at the hands of these same Rams: Colorado State upset the Buffaloes by a score of 23-17.
The big news out of Buffalo country? The team is probably going to go with junior Tyler Hansen at quarterback over senior Cody Hawkins, which might make Thanksgiving Dinner kind of awkward since Cody is Coach Dan Hawkins' son.
Anyway, I see the Buffaloes winning this rivalry game and attempting to prove to the world that they deserve their invitation to soon join the Pac-10.
Cincinnati Vs. Fresno State
10 of 10
Saturday kickoff time: 10pm, ESPN2
New coach Butch Jones will try to escape Brian Kelly's shadow by picking up where Kelly left off, with lots of wins. Luckily for most of the Bearcats players, Jones will run a version of the spread offense.
He will have part-time starter Zach Collaros, who showed in four starts last season that he could pass as well as run the ball, if necessary.
Jones also inherited another member of the very talented backfield, tailback Isaiah Pead.
Unfortunately for their opponent Fresno State, their best player from last year, Ryan Mathews, is now playing for the San Diego Chargers.
Look for Butch Jones to lead his high-scoring offense past the Bulldogs in this one.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
