Well, college football season has already arrived. Week 1 brings the first Saturday full of matches across the country, which means the return of live coverage of all the mayhem.
We were treated to an exciting thriller right away as Colorado held off a 45-42 back-and-forth battle with No. 17 TCU to give Deion Sanders a blowout win in his Power Five debut.
The entire offseason has been a Coach Prime show, but his stars gave for it in every way possible on Saturday. His son, Shedeur Sanders, threw for a school-record 510 yards and four TDs in his debut. Four of the Buffaloes’ receivers finished with more than 100 receiving yards — one of them Travis Hunter, a former five-star recruit who played for Coach Prime at Jackson State. Hunter finished with 11 catches for 119 yards and had an interception on plays both ways.
There are plenty of other good matchups to look forward to as the majority of teams open the 2023 season. Here are some of the key matchups we’ll be keeping an eye on the rest of the day (all times ET):
Time: 3:30 PM | TV: ABC | Font: UW -14 | Total: 58.5
Washington’s offense was excellent during a surprising 11-2 season last year and most of that unit is back, including QB Michael Penix, a legitimate Heisman candidate who has one of the best receiving corps in the country at his disposal. Can the Huskies continue last year’s success? A win over a potentially tough Boise State team would be a good start. Boise State has had its ups and downs in recent seasons, but it is the betting favorite to win the Mountain West and has plenty of history giving Pac-12 opponents a tough time.
Time: 7:30 PM | TV: ABC | Font: UNC -2.5 | Total: 64.5
Can North Carolina make some noise in the ACC? Clemson and Florida State are the clear favorites, but UNC was picked third in the preseason ACC poll. The Tar Heels return Drake Maye, who emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the country last fall. Meanwhile, South Carolina enters its third season with Shane Beamer as head coach. The Gamecocks went 7-6 in 2021 and then 8-5 last year in a campaign that included victorious late-season wins over Tennessee and Clemson. Can this momentum continue into 2023?
Time: 7:30 PM | TV: NBC | Line: PSU -20.5 | Total: 49.5
The Drew Allard era begins at State College. After the departure of four-year QB Sean Clifford, Allar takes over at quarterback for a Nittany Lions team that has high expectations this season. The defense is stacked and Allar has a lot of potential to carry Penn State to a lot of wins. This is a tough road game to open the season for a West Virginia team that has struggled greatly in four years under coach Neil Brown. He may be a coach for his job this season.
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