Best Week 1 Matchups (5. Nebraska at Minnesota)

[BleedGopher]

Best Week 1 Matchups​

— And finally, it’s never too early to look forward to college football. Here are the five best Week 1 matchups.

1. Florida State vs. LSU​

The obvious choice, both of these squads have legitimate CFP aspirations in 2023. The Seminoles are one of the hottest teams in the nation heading into the fall, as Mike Norvell has dominated the portal and managed to keep stud DL Jared Verse in Tallahassee instead of heading to the draft. It's not only the best game of opening weekend, but one of the best non-conference matchups of the season.

2. UNC vs. South Carolina​

The Gamecocks have as much momentum as any program at the end of 2022, with big wins against Tennessee and Clemson to close out the regular season. Both teams come in with great offenses and questionable defenses, so it should be a barnburner. Don't be surprised when Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler throw for a combined 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns.

3. Florida vs. Utah​

Billy Napier might already be on the hot seat in Gainesville, so replicating last year's opening win against the Utes could take some of that pressure off of him at the start of the season. But it will be a lot harder to do so in Rice-Eccles stadium, one of the loudest stadiums in the country. Returning for his final season, Cam Rising will be hoping to redeem himself for some late mistakes in last year's contest.

4. TCU vs. Colorado​

All eyes will be on Deion Sanders' debut as an FBS coach, and the Buffs drew a fascinating matchup in their opener. Coming off of their national title game appearance, the Horned Frogs will be breaking in a new quarterback and a lot of new skill players. Anything could happen in this one.

5. Nebraska at Minnesota​

I know, I know, Big Ten West football is rarely watchable. But Matt Rhule has already sparked a new wave of interest in the Cornhuskers, and his debut is going to be interesting to watch. Across from him, PJ Fleck needs to reload an offensethat lost a few key pieces, including All-American John Michael Schmitz and record-setting running back Mohamed Ibrahim.

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Go Gophers!!

 

[Some guy]

The great thing about that TCU Colorado matchup is a TCU team that will end up finishing 7-5 will play a close game against a Colorado team that will finish 5-7 but the hype will be so real that both teams will be top 20 at the end of the week

 

[UncleSam'sMisguidedChild]

That write up does absolutely nothing to make non-Husker or non-Gopher want to watch that game. "Big Ten West football is a joke and we have no idea what to expect from either team next year, but they'll probably suck," is how I read it.

 

[Plato]

From my point of view, it will be an interesting game to watch for it might predict how the rest of the season turns out for both teams.
NE with a new coaching staff and new players from the portal.
MN starting a new QB and RB after what seems like a decade with the same players.
MN with a revamped OL and a glimpse of how the defense performs against a different NE offense.
It is not the usual nonconference cupcake for the first game and conference W/L are the only games that count.
MN has a far more challenging schedule this year and it's PJ's last chance to win the West.

 

[Gold Rush]

From my point of view, it will be an interesting game to watch for it might predict how the rest of the season turns out for both teams.
NE with a new coaching staff and new players from the portal.
MN starting a new QB and RB after what seems like a decade with the same players.
MN with a revamped OL and a glimpse of how the defense performs against a different NE offense.
It is not the usual nonconference cupcake for the first game and conference W/L are the only games that count.
MN has a far more challenging schedule this year and it's PJ's last chance to win the West.

Right on the money. This will be a huge game for the Gophers and should give us a good idea how the rest of the season will go - we need this one! Nebraska is in a state of flux with a new coach but Minnesota will be breaking in a new QB and RB with several new receivers. Hopefully we pull it out!

 

[kg21]

Right on the money. This will be a huge game for the Gophers and should give us a good idea how the rest of the season will go - we need this one! Nebraska is in a state of flux with a new coach but Minnesota will be breaking in a new QB and RB with several new receivers. Hopefully we pull it out!

Well, last year our opening Big 10 game was a complete destruction of MSU. It was then a question of who we were going to play in the Big 10 championship.

Just beat Nebraska, as I hate them.