Worth watching
Six games that could be huge in 2018 season
Remember this time last year, when everyone was eyeing the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game between Alabama and Florida State in Atlanta as one of the most anticipated matchups of 2017?
Third-ranked Florida State lost that game and several more, barely finishing with a winning record in Jimbo Fisher’s final season as coach before he headed to Texas A&M, where he’ll now face Alabama on a regular basis as an SEC West foe.
Even late in the season, a huge showdown between two highly ranked teams might not mean as much in hindsight. Consider last year’s Iron Bowl between No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Auburn. Alabama lost the rivalry showdown to miss out on a spot in the Southeastern Conference title game, but the Nick Saban-coached Crimson Tide still went on to make the four-team College Football Playoff and win their fifth national title in the past nine seasons.
Predicting the most important games of the regular season is a tricky proposition, but with that caveat out of the way, there are several matchups that already stand out — and might figure largely in the CFP race — when looking through this year’s schedule.
Here are a few of those games to watch in 2018:
› Michigan at Notre Dame (Sept. 1): Jim Harbaugh is 28-11 since leaving the NFL to take over at Michigan. That’s a clear improvement from where his alma mater was when he came back to Ann Arbor, but it’s a bit underwhelming considering the hype and expectations that accompanied Harbaugh’s arrival. Specifically, the Wolverines have struggled against their big rivals, going a combined 1-5 against Michigan State and Ohio State in his tenure. This year’s team has the potential to be terrific after adding transfer quarterback Shea Patterson from Ole Miss, but the Wolverines face a brutal schedule that includes road games against the rival Spartans and Buckeyes. Winning this opener against the Fighting Irish would be a big step forward for Harbaugh’s program. Lose, and the honeymoon is well and truly over.
› LSU vs. Miami (Sept. 2): The AdvoCare Classic, a neutral-site meeting at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is an easier road trip for LSU fans than Hurricanes supporters. It’s not likely to be an easy test for the Tigers on the field. The Hurricanes took a 10-0 record into their regular-season finale in 2017, but a loss at Pittsburgh started a threegame losing streak that took some of the shine off Miami’s resurgence in Mark Richt’s second season in charge at his alma mater. The Tigers finished 9-4 last year in Louisiana native Ed Orgeron’s first season as coach, but an inconsistent group never won more than three games in a row and lost its Citrus Bowl matchup against Notre Dame. Both LSU and Miami may have tougher games down the road in conference play, but the winner of this one will earn some immediate buzz.
› Oklahoma at TCU
(Oct. 20): TCU takes on Ohio State in a huge nonconference matchup Sept. 15. If the Horned Frogs win that one, then this Big 12 battle a month later with the Sooners becomes even more intriguing. TCU had one of the nation’s top rushing defenses last year, but Oklahoma’s Rodney Anderson gained 151 yards on the ground against the Horned Frogs.
› UCLA at Oregon (Nov.
3): Chip Kelly’s debut season at UCLA includes a trip to Eugene to face the Ducks. Even if neither team turns out to be a title threat in the Pac-12, this should be quite a scene when the star coach takes on his former team. For the Southeastern Conference version of such a reunion, see the Dan Mullen-coached Florida Gators playing at Mississippi State on Sept. 29.
› Auburn at Georgia
(Nov. 10): The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry added an intriguing new chapter in 2017. These SEC cross-division rivals split two meetings three weeks apart toward the end of last season. Auburn blew out the visiting Bulldogs 40-17 in November, only for Georgia to take the rematch 28-7 in the SEC title game. There’s every possibility this matchup could impact the title race in both SEC divisions again.
› Wisconsin at Penn
State (Nov. 10): Given the uncertainty surrounding Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, currently on paid leave during an investigation of his handling of domestic abuse allegations against former assistant Zach Smith, it may be Wisconsin that is the Big Ten’s most likely playoff team. The Badgers appear to have a smooth path through their division, but they’ll have a lot to prove in a pair of crossover matchups against teams from the East. Wisconsin plays at Michigan on Oct. 13 and has this trip to face the Nittany Lions.