USA TODAY International Edition
Big Ten has an early showdown
Northwestern opens at Purdue
College football’s extended opening weekend kicks off Thursday with a handful of televised offerings. The slate includes two teams ranked in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll, as well as an actual Power Five conference game.
Some matchups will be more watchable than others, and as always we’re here to help you prioritize your night’s viewing. Times are p.m. Eastern.
Northwestern (0-0) at Purdue (0-0), 8, ESPN: This should be the game of the night. Both these Big Ten West hopefuls figure to be chasing Wisconsin all season, but the winner in West Lafayette, Indiana, will get a most welcome leg up to start the campaign.
The Wildcats welcome back QB Clayton Thorson, who had a tremendous second half of the 2017 season. But he blew out a knee in the Music City Bowl victory against Kentucky, so his first live contact will have fans holding their collective breath.
The Boilermakers defense was hit hard by graduation but has a nice building block up front in the person of DT Lorenzo Neal. Purdue has two quarterbacks with game experience, but both are also coming off injuries from last year. Coach Jeff Brohm hasn’t divulged whether Elijah Sindelar or David Blough will get the starting nod, but whoever takes the snaps will need to know the whereabouts of Wildcats LB Paddy Fisher at all times.
No. 23 Central Florida (0-0) at Connecticut (0-0), 7, ESPNU: This, too, is a conference game, the opener in the American Athletic. Efforts to make it into a trophy game fizzled, however, and this year’s version is also unlikely to be competitive.
UCF returns numerous key pieces from last year’s undefeated squad, most notably QB McKenzie Milton and a deep group of running backs. The defense will have new faces, and Huskies QB David Pindell and a slew of experienced receivers might be able to keep UConn close if the game becomes a track meet.
Wake Forest (0-0) at Tulane (0-0), 8, CBS Sports Network: An 8-5 finish with a bowl victory was cause for celebration among Demon Deacons fans. The reality of life in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal will arrive soon enough, so Wake must win all the games it’s supposed to, if it wants to earn another postseason date. The Green Wave have other ideas, such as upending a power conference member on their home field to jump-start a campaign for their own bowl appearance after coming agonizingly close a season ago.
The Demon Deacons will turn the offense over to true freshman QB Sam Hartman. He’d be wise to look often for WR Greg Dortch, who hopes to pick up where he left off when his breakout freshman campaign was cut short by an abdominal injury. Tulane has a versatile attack directed by veteran QB Jonathan Banks. Clock control is at the heart of it, so the Green Wave can’t afford to fall behind early.
New Mexico State (0-1) at Minnesota (0-0), 7, BTN: Independent life is off to a rocky start for the Aggies, who netted -9 yards on the ground in a rough home loss to Wyoming and must now venture into Big Ten territory on short rest. True freshman QB Zack Annexstad will make his debut for the Golden Gophers, though he’ll likely be handing off to RB Rodney Smith regularly.
Missouri State (0-0) at No. 25 Oklahoma State (0-0), 8, FS1: The Cowboys get an early tuneup against Championship Subdivision competition in what amounts to a live audition for the would-be successors to QB Mason Rudolph. Taylor Cornelius will take the first snap, but Hawaii transfer Dru Brown should see the field as well.
Northwestern State (0-0) at Texas A&M (0-0), 8:30, SEC: The Jimbo Fisher era gets started with what should be an easy opener as the Aggies look to smooth out any rough patches before next week’s showdown against Clemson. Kellen Mond won the competition for the quarterback job after an up-anddown season as a freshman. The A&M defense will be led by LB Tyrel Dodson.