(Rankings based off of the AP Poll)
Usually there are more than 10 games a week, so I will choose the best 25 games in my opinion, but in Week 0, there are only seven, so I will rank those games.
- Ohio at San Diego State - Ohio is coming off of a 10-4 season where they were the runner up in the MAC, but also won the Arizona Bowl against Wyoming. They are returning 9 of their 11 offensive starters from last year, which includes quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who is the defending conference player of the year in the MAC. He’s coming back after tearing his ACL, so we’ll see if he’s lost a step. SDSU is coming off of their first season at their new stadium, Snapdragon Stadium. The Aztecs went 7-6, losing the Hawaii bowl to Middle Tennessee. After some offseason drama between SDSU, the Mountain West and the Pac-12, San Diego State stayed put, and were predicted to finish 4th in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll. They also had 4 preseason all conference team, including the preseason special teams player of the year, Jack Browning, who’s another great punter to come from San Diego State. I think Ohio pulls it out, winning 42-35. Odds: SDSU -2.5, O/U 48
- Navy Vs (13)Notre Dame - Notre Dame is one one of the most hated college football teams, but also one of the biggest. They’ve made the College Football Playoffs twice since its inception in the 2014 season. After a shaky first season with Marcus Freeman, the Fighting Irish are locked in and ranked 13th to start the year. They brought in San Hartman through the transfer portal, and he should play great this year. They play in Dublin against Navy, a team that doesn’t pass the ball. All Notre Dame has to do is stop the run in Ireland, and they can get an easy win. Navy is coming off of a 4-8 season, and lost to their rivals Army, Air Force, and Notre Dame. This is a revenge game for Navy, as they hope to turn it around from last year. Against Notre Dame last year, they fell by 3. That game was neutral site, just like this game, and that’s why I think Notre Dame wins 37-21. Odds: Notre Dame -20.5, O/U 49
- San Jose State @ (6)USC - The Trojans of USC are ready to take the field for the first time in 2023. Caleb Williams is trying to lead USC to their first playoff appearance, and the Pac-12’s first appearance since 2016 when Washington lost to Alabama in the Semifinals. Caleb Williams is last years Heisman Winner, and he’s hoping to repeat. He threw for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns, and had a qbr of 87.6, which was fifth overall across the NCAA. He also ran for 10 touchdowns. He’s currently the leading favorite in Vegas at +500. He and the rest of USC will take on San Jose State. They’re coming off of a 7-5 season. They’re bringing back Chevan Cordeiro, who threw for 3,250 yards, 23 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. SJSU is predicted to finish 5th in the Mountain West. SJSU is going to try their hardest, but USC has Caleb Williams and Calen Bullock on the defensive end, both are preseason All-Americans, and lead USC to a 65-17 win. Odds: USC -31, O/U 66.5
- Hawaii @ Vanderbilt - This same game happened last year, with Vandy coming out on top, 63-10, in Honolulu. Vandy went 5-7 in 2022, and have been improving every year under Clark Lea. Hawaii is coming off of a 3-10 season, and Timmy Chang should help improve Hawaii this season. Because Hawaii has to go over 4000+ miles to get to Vandy, I think AJ Swann carries the Commodores to a 56-8 win. Odds: Vanderbilt -17.5, O/U 56
- FIU @ Louisiana Tech - Two Conference USA teams are ready to face off in Week 0 when the Panthers of Florida International travel to Ruston, Louisiana to take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. FIU is coming off a 4-8 season, which was their first season under Head Coach Mike MacIntyre. They are projected to finish 8th in the conference, right in between the new FBS teams, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston. Louisiana Tech, however, have the preseason Special Teams Player of the Year, Smoke Harris. Outside of having one of the coolest names in college football, he had 640 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. He also had 753 yards total in returns last year, 517 of those coming from kick returns. Louisiana Tech is projected to finish 4th in the CUSA. I have Louisiana Tech winning 31-14. Odds: Louisiana Tech -12, O/U 57.5
- UTEP @ Jacksonville State - Two more CUSA teams are facing off in Week 0, when the UTEP Miners take on the new FBS team, Jacksonville State. After going 9-2 last year and upsetting Florida State back in 2021, JSU made the jump from the ASUN to the CUSA, and led by former West Virginia Head Coach Rich Rodriguez, JSU is looking to do well in their first season as a FBS team. Because they can’t make the postseason, JSU is not going to be able to play in a bowl game, but is still a very good team, and we’ll see how well their first season in FBS will go. UTEP is coming off of a 5-7 season last year, and are picked 6th in the CUSA, right above Jacksonville State. UTEP gets the dub in Jacksonville State’s first FBS game, 40-37. Odds: UTEP -1.5, O/U 54
- UMass @ New Mexico State - UMass is probably the worst college football team right now. They’ve won 3 games in 4 years. They went 1-11 last year, with their only win coming against Stony Brook, a FCS team. They face New Mexico State, a team who went 7-6 last year, capping the season off with a win against Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl. Their head coach, Jerry Kill is going into his second year as a head coach last year after having prior success at Minnesota 9-10 years ago. Nothing is going to be good about this UMass team, New Mexico State wins 34-3. Odds: New Mexico State -7.5, O/U 45
My top 5 Heisman candidates:
I already have a post up about my way too early Heisman candidates that went up about 2 months ago, but here’s my top 5:
- Caleb Williams
- Drake Maye
- Michael Penix Jr.
- Blake Corum
- Jordan Travis
