-Originally published 8/27/21-
Football is back in full swing to kickoff week Zero Saturday, August 28th. Just five games will be played this Saturday with Nebraska @ Illinois) and ULCA hosting Hawaii being the marquee contests. UConn will be travelling to Fresno State for the Huskies first game since 2019, UTEP and stud RB Sincere MCcormick will travel to New Mexico State and San Jose State is a sneaky team to compete for the Mountain West. They’ll be hosting Southern Utah.
Nebraska @ Illinois – 1:00pm on FOX
A Big 10 showdown on Fox is how the 2021 season will get underway. Scott Frost will probably be coaching his last season at Nebraska (3-5 in 2020) and can’t afford a loss to lowly Illinois (2-6). Brett Bielema returns to the Big 10 (Wisconsin 04-12) to head an Illini team that returns the bulk of its starters. Whether that’s a good thing or not is yet to be seen. Nebraska will be favored but this game is a coin flip. Either squad will be fortunate to make a bowl game this season.
UConn @ Fresno State – 2pm on CBSSN
Truly a game you can skip. UConn didn’t play last season and is currently an independent. They finished 2-10 in the AAC in 2019 and only have 2 Power-5 schools on the schedule this season but will but exceeding expectations if they double 2019s win total. The school just isn’t invested in the football program. Fresno State is on track for a solid season in what should be a competitive year in the Mountain West. We just won’t learn much about them in this horrible mismatch.
Hawaii @ UCLA – 3:30pm on ESPN
This opener is big for the UCLA Bruins. The Pac 12 is largely considered to have a handful of teams that can compete for the conference title (ASU, Oregon, USC, Utah, Washington), a half-dozen teams already sorted into the bottom half of the conference (Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State) and UCLA alone in a middle tier. Next week that perception could change when LSU flies across the country to play UCLA for the Tigers opener. This “tuneup” will be huge for Chip Kelly and fourth year starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson at QB. Inconsistency has been the name of the game for Kelly (and his QBs) who needs a good season to keep his job. Almost all of his starters return. Hawaii will be playing a 13 game schedule (so weird) and is usually the case offense will be plentiful and defense absent. Ten defensive starters return to a squad that was 105th in rushing defense so it can’t get much worse. QB Chevan Cordiro is an exciting duel threat and could be another great Hawaii QB in a long line that’s never appreciated. If you catch any game Saturday, this is the one from an entertainment perspective and to get a look at UCLA heading into next week.
UTEP @ New Mexico State – 9:30pm
New Mexico State is an independent (for those that weren’t aware NMS even played D1 ball) but the I-20 rivalry was missed only twice from 1946-2021 (2001, 2020). They didn’t play in 2020 due to covid, return three starters and struggled in two spring games against FBS foes. They were 15-34 in four seasons 2016-2019 with a 7-6 campaign in ’17 accounting for half those wins. It’s going to be a struggle this season. UTEP welcomes back RB Sincere MCcormick and 19 starters from a squad that went 3-5 last season. They were 2-34 the previous three combined. The roadrunners are trending upwards and could make a bowl this season.
Southern Utah @ San Jose State – 10:00pm on CBSSN
Brent Brennan is entering his 5th season with San Jose State and after going 8-29 his first three season the Spartans finished 7-1 and won the Mountain West Conference last season. Only a couple starters depart from last season’s squad and the team is set to push for 10-wins and repeat as conference champs. Success for SJS will be determined in the trenches behind the previously excellent pass protection/poor run blocking of the O-line and the depth of the D-line behind returning MW Defensive Player-of-the-Year Cade Hall (8 sacks, 9 Tks for loss). The next three weeks will see SJS on the road @USC, @Hawaii, and @Western Michigan. Next Week’s USC game will be underrated matchup. Sothern Utah is a semi-regular to the playoffs at the FCS level and will only be a warmup for the Spartans.
