2024 College Football - Week 1: Labor Day Weekend Bonanza
Aug 29, 2024 18:49:27 GMT -6
Funkytown, Danchat, and 1 more like this
Post by Uncle on Aug 29, 2024 18:49:27 GMT -6
With the 2024 NFL preseason over and rosters trimmed to 53 players, it's nearly time to get ready for the Week 1 matchup between the Vikings and Giants at the Meadowlands on September 8th...
...but, before we get to NFL action, there's a full weekend of College Football this Labor Day weekend, and when I say full, I mean there are solid games from Thursday evening all the way through Monday evening. If you wanted to just be a couch potato from Thursday through Monday night and watch nothing but College Football, then all the networks and channels have you covered - including big matchups on Saturday with #14 Clemson vs #1 Georgia (at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium), #7 Notre Dame traveling to College Station to take on #20 Texas A&M on Saturday night and then #23 USC taking on #13 LSU in Vegas on Sunday night.
Get the back-to-school shopping done early this weekend, fire up the grill and start crackin' a few cold ones, because Football is back!
Thursday, 8/29 - Evening Games
North Carolina @ Minnesota - 8PM ET (FOX); spread is UNC -2
It's the ACC / BIG10 Challenge - only Football-style as the Golden Gophers get to open the 2024 season at home and in primetime. The Tarheels rolled-over Minnesota last season when Drake Maye came into town, but Drake Maye is a Patriot now and PJ Fleck's team reloaded their struggling offense from a year ago. While UNC will start a speedy former Texas A&M/LSU QB in Max Johnson, all eyes will be on Minnesota QB Max Brosmer who was a highly sought-after transfer portal catch for PJ Fleck from New Hampshire where he threw for over 8,700 yds and 70 TD's. Although PJ Fleck likes a more ball-controlled approach on offense, he'll need to lean on Brosmer this season to win these types of games if the Gophers are going to make any waves in the BIG10 this season w/ the former PAC-12 newcomers entering the Conference. I would look for the Golden Gophers to get a measure of revenge on the Tarheels and gain a bit of momentum to start out the 2024 season.
North Dakota St @ Colorado - 8PM ET (ESPN); spread is Colorado -10.5
It was at this point last season that Coach Prime was telling us all that his team of transfer portal players led by Travis Hunter and his son Shedeur would shock the football world in Week 1 and win on the road at a ranked TCU team. I don't think anybody believed it until it happened and we all witnessed Coach Prime asking us, "Do you believe me now?" in his post-game presser as Shedeur impressed the College Football world for a few short weeks in September 2023. And that September hype faded quickly as the Buffaloes got steamrolled in the PAC-12's final season and wound up 4-8. Can they improve upon that in Year 2 under "Prime" and another batch of transfer portal players? Sure, but he better "believe" that the Bison are not going to show up and roll over. The Bison might be a team in transition as their former HC left to be an Asst at USC, but they have experienced players across the board, including QB Cam Miller who threw 32 TD's against only 4 INT's in 2023. NDSU doesn't have the "elite" players like Sanders and Hunter, but they do have play a tough, physical style of football that should test Colorado and see if they shored-up both sides of their lines. Sanders - for as well as he played last season and the hype he's getting as the top, overall pick in the 2025 Draft - took an absolute beating in 2023 behind one of the worst OL's in College Football, and if Coach Prime didn't get some OL in the portal, it might not matter how many yards Sanders will throw for if he's laying on his back looking up at the Boulder, CO sky the entire night.
Friday, 8/30 - N/A
Normally, I'd highlight at least one game on Friday night during this Labor Day College Football weekend, but none of the matchups are any good on-paper and I don't see many "star" players to watch. If you really wanted to, you could stay up late for the TCU @ Stanford matchup.
Saturday, 8/31 - Early Afternoon Games
#14 Clemson vs #1 Georgia - Noon ET (ABC) - at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta - spread is Georgia -13.5
Many pundits are putting this matchup as the top one of the weekend, but not me. On paper, yes, this is a Top 15 matchup between 2 teams that account for 4 of the last 8 National Championships, but while Georgia has basically morphed into the new "Alabama" SEC powerhouse team under former Saban disciple Kirby Smart, the Tigers are a far cry from their National title days when Trevor Lawrence was still the QB and it's possible this one won't be much of a matchup at all. The Bulldogs are stacked yet again and have a Top 2025 Draft QB prospect in Carson Beck and they are looking to get back into the Playoffs that they missed a year ago when Saban's Crimson Tide upset them in the SEC Championship game in the same stadium they are playing in on Saturday. This is basically a home game for the Bulldogs and I think you'll see more "bite" from them and just a bunch of "yips" from the Tigers.
#8 Penn St @ West Virginia - Noon ET (FOX) - spread is Penn St -8.5
This might be the more intriguing early afternoon game than the one being played in Atlanta as the Mountaineers might be a bit overlooked this season. Once again, the Nittany Lions being as a Top 10 team that can't get past the elite teams in the BIG10, but this year, a few more elite teams join the fray in Oregon, Washington and USC, but beyond that, this revitalized West Virginia team is not cupcake, especially in Morgantown. The Mountaineers were 9-4 last season and bring back nearly their entire offense that scored 31+ pts per-game last season, including the team's top 3 RB's. Yes, the Nittany Lions brought in a co-offensive coordinator from Kansas to try and get QB Drew Allar going this season, but to me he was the most overhyped QB in the entire nation last year and looked completely lost when the going got tough late in the year vs Ohio St & Michigan. I don't think this game is going to be easy and it wouldn't shock me to see another Top 10 upset on top of FSU's loss to Georgia Tech in Week 0.
Saturday, 8/31 - Late Afternoon Game
#19 Miami (FL) @ Florida - 3:30PM ET (ESPN); spread is Miami -2.5
"The Swamp" in September is one of the most humid environments in College Football, and just imagine how hot & humid it'll be in August? And the temperature on the field isn't the only thing that's "hot" in this matchup because one of the reasons why this game is fascinating as the Head Coaches of both teams are entering the 2024 firmly on the "hot seat" and starting out the season with a Loss only cranks up the temperature to "pitchfork/torch" levels. With QB Cam Ward transferring-in from Washington St., the Hurricanes have some Playoff-level hopes/expectations in Coral Gables this year, while the Gators have a brutal schedule and I don't expect Florida HC Billy Napier to finish the season as the Head Coach unless he and his team pull off some miracles. While the 'Canes certainly have more talent for the early-season "Battle of Florida" battle, "The Swamp" is one of the most intimidating places in College Football and it'll be at it's loudest on opening weekend when the season hasn't quite slipped away for Gator fans. We could see another upset here.
Saturday, 8/31 - Evening Game
#7 Notre Dame @ #20 Texas A&M - 7:30PM ET (ABC); spread is Texas A&M -3
There's all sorts of storylines in this game, including the starting QB and HC from Duke last season now on opposite sidelines - QB Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame and Mike Elko is the HC in College Station. The Fighting Irish have all sorts of NFL talent on defense, but Leonard will need to play better than he did last season at Duke before his injury, especially in a tough environment at Kyle Field, which will have more than 100k Aggie fans trying to bring the "12th Man" energy to the home team. The Fighting Irish might need this win later in the season because their schedule does seem to lack some of the "marquee" games they've had in the past and they don't have a Conference Championship game to bolster them in November. Mike Elko was known for being a very disciplined, grinding Head Coach at Duke and I expect this game to be decided at the LOS and whomever doesn't commit those crucial turnovers.
Sunday, 9/1 - Evening Game
#23 USC vs #13 LSU - 7:30PM ET (ABC) - game played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas; spread is LSU -4.5
For the 3rd consecutive year, the Tigers are playing a bigtime game during Week 1 - the past 2 seasons they opened with a home-n-home series vs FSU and lost both. Will the 3rd time be the charm for Brian Kelly? For USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley, it's always the same story: great offensive mind, but his defenses are the reasons he can never get over the hump. Both Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley brought in new Defensive Coordinators in 2024 to try and get back to respectability, but this might hinge on the QB's - no more Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels as they are replaced by Miller Moss (USC) and Garrett Nussmeirer (LSU). Moss had a great Holiday Bowl game vs Louisville, but lacks the experience while Nussmeier has been in Baton Rouge since 2021 and biding his time behind Jayden Daniels. Both teams aren't expected to win their respective Conferences, but each have aspirations of getting into the 12-team Playoffs, and this early-season clash could be an early "knockout" game, of-sorts.
Monday, 9/2 - Evening Game
Boston College @ #10 FSU - 7:30PM ET (ESPN); spread is FSU -16.5
The Seminoles will be looking for a big bounceback game after their Week 0 loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland and they get a primetime game at Doak Campbell Stadium to do it. This one shouldn't be too close if FSU get dominate the LOS, but they sure didn't last weekend and the Eagles path to winning has traditionally been through solid LOS play. New HC and former Bill Belichick disciple, Bill O'Brien, will look to continue that at Chestnut Hill for Boston College and if they were playing at home, I might think they have a shot, but it's hard to not take the Seminoles getting to "right the ship" in this one.
...but, before we get to NFL action, there's a full weekend of College Football this Labor Day weekend, and when I say full, I mean there are solid games from Thursday evening all the way through Monday evening. If you wanted to just be a couch potato from Thursday through Monday night and watch nothing but College Football, then all the networks and channels have you covered - including big matchups on Saturday with #14 Clemson vs #1 Georgia (at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium), #7 Notre Dame traveling to College Station to take on #20 Texas A&M on Saturday night and then #23 USC taking on #13 LSU in Vegas on Sunday night.
Get the back-to-school shopping done early this weekend, fire up the grill and start crackin' a few cold ones, because Football is back!
Thursday, 8/29 - Evening Games
North Carolina @ Minnesota - 8PM ET (FOX); spread is UNC -2
It's the ACC / BIG10 Challenge - only Football-style as the Golden Gophers get to open the 2024 season at home and in primetime. The Tarheels rolled-over Minnesota last season when Drake Maye came into town, but Drake Maye is a Patriot now and PJ Fleck's team reloaded their struggling offense from a year ago. While UNC will start a speedy former Texas A&M/LSU QB in Max Johnson, all eyes will be on Minnesota QB Max Brosmer who was a highly sought-after transfer portal catch for PJ Fleck from New Hampshire where he threw for over 8,700 yds and 70 TD's. Although PJ Fleck likes a more ball-controlled approach on offense, he'll need to lean on Brosmer this season to win these types of games if the Gophers are going to make any waves in the BIG10 this season w/ the former PAC-12 newcomers entering the Conference. I would look for the Golden Gophers to get a measure of revenge on the Tarheels and gain a bit of momentum to start out the 2024 season.
North Dakota St @ Colorado - 8PM ET (ESPN); spread is Colorado -10.5
It was at this point last season that Coach Prime was telling us all that his team of transfer portal players led by Travis Hunter and his son Shedeur would shock the football world in Week 1 and win on the road at a ranked TCU team. I don't think anybody believed it until it happened and we all witnessed Coach Prime asking us, "Do you believe me now?" in his post-game presser as Shedeur impressed the College Football world for a few short weeks in September 2023. And that September hype faded quickly as the Buffaloes got steamrolled in the PAC-12's final season and wound up 4-8. Can they improve upon that in Year 2 under "Prime" and another batch of transfer portal players? Sure, but he better "believe" that the Bison are not going to show up and roll over. The Bison might be a team in transition as their former HC left to be an Asst at USC, but they have experienced players across the board, including QB Cam Miller who threw 32 TD's against only 4 INT's in 2023. NDSU doesn't have the "elite" players like Sanders and Hunter, but they do have play a tough, physical style of football that should test Colorado and see if they shored-up both sides of their lines. Sanders - for as well as he played last season and the hype he's getting as the top, overall pick in the 2025 Draft - took an absolute beating in 2023 behind one of the worst OL's in College Football, and if Coach Prime didn't get some OL in the portal, it might not matter how many yards Sanders will throw for if he's laying on his back looking up at the Boulder, CO sky the entire night.
Friday, 8/30 - N/A
Normally, I'd highlight at least one game on Friday night during this Labor Day College Football weekend, but none of the matchups are any good on-paper and I don't see many "star" players to watch. If you really wanted to, you could stay up late for the TCU @ Stanford matchup.
Saturday, 8/31 - Early Afternoon Games
#14 Clemson vs #1 Georgia - Noon ET (ABC) - at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta - spread is Georgia -13.5
Many pundits are putting this matchup as the top one of the weekend, but not me. On paper, yes, this is a Top 15 matchup between 2 teams that account for 4 of the last 8 National Championships, but while Georgia has basically morphed into the new "Alabama" SEC powerhouse team under former Saban disciple Kirby Smart, the Tigers are a far cry from their National title days when Trevor Lawrence was still the QB and it's possible this one won't be much of a matchup at all. The Bulldogs are stacked yet again and have a Top 2025 Draft QB prospect in Carson Beck and they are looking to get back into the Playoffs that they missed a year ago when Saban's Crimson Tide upset them in the SEC Championship game in the same stadium they are playing in on Saturday. This is basically a home game for the Bulldogs and I think you'll see more "bite" from them and just a bunch of "yips" from the Tigers.
#8 Penn St @ West Virginia - Noon ET (FOX) - spread is Penn St -8.5
This might be the more intriguing early afternoon game than the one being played in Atlanta as the Mountaineers might be a bit overlooked this season. Once again, the Nittany Lions being as a Top 10 team that can't get past the elite teams in the BIG10, but this year, a few more elite teams join the fray in Oregon, Washington and USC, but beyond that, this revitalized West Virginia team is not cupcake, especially in Morgantown. The Mountaineers were 9-4 last season and bring back nearly their entire offense that scored 31+ pts per-game last season, including the team's top 3 RB's. Yes, the Nittany Lions brought in a co-offensive coordinator from Kansas to try and get QB Drew Allar going this season, but to me he was the most overhyped QB in the entire nation last year and looked completely lost when the going got tough late in the year vs Ohio St & Michigan. I don't think this game is going to be easy and it wouldn't shock me to see another Top 10 upset on top of FSU's loss to Georgia Tech in Week 0.
Saturday, 8/31 - Late Afternoon Game
#19 Miami (FL) @ Florida - 3:30PM ET (ESPN); spread is Miami -2.5
"The Swamp" in September is one of the most humid environments in College Football, and just imagine how hot & humid it'll be in August? And the temperature on the field isn't the only thing that's "hot" in this matchup because one of the reasons why this game is fascinating as the Head Coaches of both teams are entering the 2024 firmly on the "hot seat" and starting out the season with a Loss only cranks up the temperature to "pitchfork/torch" levels. With QB Cam Ward transferring-in from Washington St., the Hurricanes have some Playoff-level hopes/expectations in Coral Gables this year, while the Gators have a brutal schedule and I don't expect Florida HC Billy Napier to finish the season as the Head Coach unless he and his team pull off some miracles. While the 'Canes certainly have more talent for the early-season "Battle of Florida" battle, "The Swamp" is one of the most intimidating places in College Football and it'll be at it's loudest on opening weekend when the season hasn't quite slipped away for Gator fans. We could see another upset here.
Saturday, 8/31 - Evening Game
#7 Notre Dame @ #20 Texas A&M - 7:30PM ET (ABC); spread is Texas A&M -3
There's all sorts of storylines in this game, including the starting QB and HC from Duke last season now on opposite sidelines - QB Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame and Mike Elko is the HC in College Station. The Fighting Irish have all sorts of NFL talent on defense, but Leonard will need to play better than he did last season at Duke before his injury, especially in a tough environment at Kyle Field, which will have more than 100k Aggie fans trying to bring the "12th Man" energy to the home team. The Fighting Irish might need this win later in the season because their schedule does seem to lack some of the "marquee" games they've had in the past and they don't have a Conference Championship game to bolster them in November. Mike Elko was known for being a very disciplined, grinding Head Coach at Duke and I expect this game to be decided at the LOS and whomever doesn't commit those crucial turnovers.
Sunday, 9/1 - Evening Game
#23 USC vs #13 LSU - 7:30PM ET (ABC) - game played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas; spread is LSU -4.5
For the 3rd consecutive year, the Tigers are playing a bigtime game during Week 1 - the past 2 seasons they opened with a home-n-home series vs FSU and lost both. Will the 3rd time be the charm for Brian Kelly? For USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley, it's always the same story: great offensive mind, but his defenses are the reasons he can never get over the hump. Both Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley brought in new Defensive Coordinators in 2024 to try and get back to respectability, but this might hinge on the QB's - no more Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels as they are replaced by Miller Moss (USC) and Garrett Nussmeirer (LSU). Moss had a great Holiday Bowl game vs Louisville, but lacks the experience while Nussmeier has been in Baton Rouge since 2021 and biding his time behind Jayden Daniels. Both teams aren't expected to win their respective Conferences, but each have aspirations of getting into the 12-team Playoffs, and this early-season clash could be an early "knockout" game, of-sorts.
Monday, 9/2 - Evening Game
Boston College @ #10 FSU - 7:30PM ET (ESPN); spread is FSU -16.5
The Seminoles will be looking for a big bounceback game after their Week 0 loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland and they get a primetime game at Doak Campbell Stadium to do it. This one shouldn't be too close if FSU get dominate the LOS, but they sure didn't last weekend and the Eagles path to winning has traditionally been through solid LOS play. New HC and former Bill Belichick disciple, Bill O'Brien, will look to continue that at Chestnut Hill for Boston College and if they were playing at home, I might think they have a shot, but it's hard to not take the Seminoles getting to "right the ship" in this one.
