Ladies and gentlemen… it’s time. Saturday marks the first day of the FBS college football season and includes a trip across the pond for two Big Ten foes. Nebraska and Northwestern will square off at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland in what is a massive Big Ten West matchup that will set the tone for what should be a wild season in the division.
Those two teams aren’t the only FBS teams in action. Illinois will host Wyoming, Florida State will take on Duquesne, North Carolina will take on Florida A&M and Vanderbilt will make the trip to paradise to take on Hawaii.
Here’s a handy viewer’s guide to help you navigate through the action.
All Eastern Times
the best games
Nebraska vs. Northwestern (in Dublin, Ireland) — 12:30 pm on Fox, fuboTV (Try it for free): Cornhuskers coach Scott Frost is in one of the the hottest seats in the country, and lured former Texas starting quarterback Casey Thompson to Lincoln, Nebraska, to replace the recently deceased Adrian Martinez. Thompson possesses the same type of dual-threat capabilities as Martinez, who has been a staple of Frost-led offenses throughout his career as coordinator and coach. It’s an even year which, at least recently, means Northwestern will contend for the division title. Coach Pat Fitzgerald has a solid offensive line, but has kept his quarterback position close to the vest even after they arrived in Ireland.
Wyoming at Illinois — 4 p.m. on Big Ten Network, fuboTV (Try it for free): Coach Bret Bielema announced Thursday that former Syracuse starting quarterback Tommy DeVito will lead his team against the Cowboys. DeVito has had a lot of success at the FBS level and multiple weapons around him, including a potential star in tight end Luke Ford. Wyoming was absolutely decimated by graduation and the transfer portal, so it’s hard to estimate what we’ll see in Champaign, Illinois.
Duquesne at Florida State — 5 p.m. on ACC Network, fuboTV (Try it for free): Normally, a game between a former national powerhouse that has fallen on hard times and an FCS foe wouldn’t be a great game, but hey, it’s Week 0. Florida State coach Mike Norvell is in for a big year and it’s not as if the Seminoles had done it. he did well early in the season recently. It will be good to see where they have improved and what work needs to be done to get the ‘Noles back on top.
Florida A&M in North Carolina — 8:15 p.m. on ACC Network, fuboTV (Try it for free): The Tar Heels are in the first year of the post-Sam Howell era, and coach Mack Brown announced this week that redshirt freshman Drake Maye will start at quarterback. He comes for the quarterback intrigue, but stays for the joy of seeing star wide receiver Josh Downs in action.
Vanderbilt at Hawaii — 10:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network (find channel), CBSSports.com and CBS Sports App: The SEC season will kick off with the night cup when Commodores coach Clark Lea takes his team out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean to take on the Rainbow Warriors. If you don’t know Dores quarterback Mike Wright, you’ll see a lot of the dual-threat stud. The Timmy Chang era will begin for Hawaii when the former Rainbow Warriors quarterback takes over his alma mater in hopes of returning it to national prominence.
