Since Ohio State is already victorious this week, here are five other college football matchups from around the country we have our eyes on this Saturday.
Nooners
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#19 Penn State vs. #12 Wisconsin, 12 p.m. on FOX
Probably the game that matters the most to college football fans in the Midwest today.
As has seemingly become tradition in the Big Ten of late, Wisconsin is once again the favorite to win the West and Penn State is once again favored to be the team that gives Ohio State the most trouble in the East. Given the respective performances of the Buckeyes and Northwestern on Thursday and Friday, each team likely feels more motivated than ever in pursuit of accomplishing their goals.
Sean Clifford will begin his third season as Penn State's starting quarterback after guiding the team to an 0-5 start last season. While the team rallied to victories in its final four games of the 2020 schedule, the team's lofty placement early in the season will come with an expectation of better performance early on.
As for Wisconsin, Big Ten fans may recall last season when Graham Mertz dazzled the college football world in the team's season debut against Illinois. Mertz completed his first 17 throws and missed only one of 21 attempts on his way to throwing for five touchdowns and nearly 250 yards. Mertz was not nearly as sparkling through the rest of Wisconsin's 2020 campaign, but has the team primed to return to the Big Ten Championship in his sophomore season.
One of these schools started 2020 slow and finished strong, while the other began with a bang and ended with a whimper (that is, no Big Ten Championship appearance). It will be interesting to see how such an early schedule matchup between two vital Big Ten teams factors into the postseason later on.
Army vs. Georgia State, 12 p.m. on ESPNU
W I L D C A R D of the W E E K
If you are looking for a potentially entertaining game to flip to while Fox goes to commercial, look no further than this matchup between an Independent and a Sun Belt startup.
It was not even four years ago that Army's chaotic triple option offense gave Ohio State a bizarre early-season test in Columbus following a loss to Oklahoma. Today, that offense will take on a Georgia State team that returns two all-conference receivers, a two-time all conference tight end, and the Sun Belt's third leading rusher last season.
Among them will be Sam Pickney III, a member of the Biletnikoff Award watch list that will regularly commit Mossings on helpless defenders downfield.
Some @workin_hard15 highlights to bless your timeline. #SoundTheHorn | #OurCity pic.twitter.com/FZQ3IFRy9E
— GSU Football (@GeorgiaStateFB) August 17, 2021
One team will be running the most annoying offense to stop against a Sun Belt defense, and the other will be cascading long balls against Independent cornerbacks as often as possible. For football nerds looking for something way off the usual path today, this could be the most entertaining game on the slate.
Afternooners
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#17 Indiana vs. #18 Iowa, 3:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
When serving as the team to beat in a conference, having watchful eyes on rising threats in a division is always important. Some Ohio State fans figure that the Hoosiers will offer more of a scare going forward than their Nittany Lion counterparts have over the previous decade.
In truth, nine-win Indiana is no longer the fantasy of mad men craving an athletic renaissance in Bloomington that goes beyond basketball and beer festivals disguised as bike races. Michael Penix Jr. figures to return today and should pick up right where he left off last season prior to tearing his ACL just over a week following Indiana's loss to Ohio State. Buckeye fans may remember him as the quarterback that threw for just shy of 500 yards and five touchdowns in Columbus last season with the help of his extremely talented receiver Ty Fryfogle.
@Ty_Fry3 fried him!@IndianaFootball is not going away quietly in this one pic.twitter.com/tT9l6BtNyi
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 21, 2020
Iowa certainly serves as no slouch of a first opponent for any team. However, the key to victory in this one may simply come down to whether or not the Hoosiers are able to force the Hawkeyes into turning the ball over.
Iowa has won 15 straight games in the last five years when it has been able to finish with zero fumbles or interceptions. That runs counter to an Indiana defensive unit that prides itself on creating backfield chaos and havoc for opposing quarterbacks.
One of these teams will start off on their journey today towards making a lot of noise in their division this season. Buckeye fans may hope the excitement stays in the western half of the conference, but should not be surprised if the Hoosiers emerges with a strong victory.
#23 Louisiana vs. #21 Texas, 4:30 p.m. on FOX
Steve Sarkisian's debut as the head coach of Texas coincides with the return of 2020's Sun Belt darlings—the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana. The former offensive architect at Alabama gets to guide the game plan for Bijan Robinson, one of the most highly touted ball carriers across the season's names at running back.
But the Ragin' Cajuns are more than just a fun nickname. Outside of running back, the Louisiana offense that averaged over 420 yards of offense and 34 points per game a year ago returns all of its starters. They beat an Iowa State team last season that right now sits in the top 10 at the dawn of the 2021, so they are more than up to the task of squaring up with the best of the Big 12 has to offer (for a few more years, at least).
You will probably be tempted to watch the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game between Alabama and Miami instead. Understandable. But the D'Eriq King Show will be on at least 11 more times this season—including against Clemson—and it’s only going to salt your spirit a bit when the prospect of a Crimson Tide season-opening upset goes up in flames after the first quarter.
Get another laugh in at the fall of the Hook 'Em empire instead.
Primetime
Photo: Josh Morgan-USA TODAY Sports
#5 Georgia vs. #3 Clemson, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
The game everyone needs to watch today if for no other reason than the massive College Football Playoff ramifications.
A win for either of these teams likely vaults them into second place in next week's top 25 rankings, putting them in the driver's seat to finish the season with a favorable image to the CFP selection committee. A loss will have interesting implications much later in the season depending on the ultimate performance of each team.
After losing tonight, both of these teams would presumably have to run the table and win their conference championships in order to make the Playoff. Clemson would presumably have a much easier path to doing so in the ACC, and it could make the argument that it has the best loss of any CFP candidate should Georgia represent the SEC East in its conference title game.
Conversely, a loss for Georgia tonight would require the Bulldogs to defeat Alabama in the SEC Championship Game to earn a playoff spot. If Alabama has held on to the No. 1 spot through the season to that point, there could be a very interesting discussion among the selection committee about once again admitting two SEC teams to the Playoff.
As for tonight's game itself, the contest will feature a duel between two Heisman candidate quarterbacks in Clemson's D.J. Uiagalelei and Georgia's JT Daniels. Though the Duke’s Mayo Classic is technically a neutral site game, Clemson is very comfortable at Bank of America Stadium – having won five straight ACC Championship games there. While this is the first time these two teams have met since 2014, the schools are only about a two-hour drive apart and have played each other well over 60 times in the last 120+ years.
This is a matchup between two top five teams in primetime on the opening weekend of college football. What more could you ask for?
On the Radar for Next Week
- 2015 CFP National Championship rematch: #11 Oregon vs. #4 Ohio State, 12 p.m. on FOX
- Cy-Hawk Trophy: #18 Iowa vs. #7 Iowa State, 4:30 p.m. on ABC
- Holy War: #24 Utah vs. BYU, 10:15 p.m. on ESPN
