Week 1 Viewing Guide: Oregon's New Head Coach Returns to Georgia, Cincy Takes on the SEC, and Utah Travels Down to the Swamp

Nooners

#13 N.C. State vs. East Carolina, 12 p.m. on ESPN

The early pickings are slim for the first full Saturday of the season, with only three ranked teams kicking off at noon. Texas A&M will host an FCS team, while Michigan welcomes a Colorado State squad that finished just 3-9 last season and currently finds itself on a six-game losing streak. That leaves an in-state pairing between Carolina schools as the best viewing option for folks eager to jump into the action at the conclusion of morning pre-game coverage.

N.C. State quietly went undefeated at home a year ago and barely missed the ACC title game after losing two conference road trips by a combined four points. Their defense returns eight starters from last year's group and also welcomes back linebacker Payton Wilson, N.C. State's leading tackler across 2019 and 2020 who missed all but two games in 2021 with shoulder injuries.

Offensively, the Wolfpack need to improve their run production, but quarterback Devin Leary returns as the most important player in the offense. Leary posted a solid 35 passing touchdowns against only five interceptions last season, including a go-ahead strike in N.C. State's thrilling double-overtime upset against Clemson.

DEVIN LEARY TO DEVIN CARTER, TOUCHDOWN WOLFPACK!!! NC STATE TAKES THE LEAD OVER CLEMSON. pic.twitter.com/25NtOMBpn7

— Zak (@CaramelPhd) September 25, 2021

While the American Athletic Conference spotlight went to Cincinnati in 2021, East Carolina emerged as arguably the AAC's biggest surprise after entering the year with six straight losing seasons. The Pirates amassed two separate winning streaks of three-plus games and even held a lead over Luke Fickell's Bearcats after the first quarter before falling 35-13 in the regular season finale. ECU made its first bowl appearance since 2015 and would have played Jeff Hafley’s Boston College team had COVID-19 protocols not forced a cancellation of the Military Bowl.

The Pirates need improvement from their offensive line that returns four starters from the last two seasons, as well as a defense that toiled in inexperience a year ago due to reliance on underclassmen. However, with an effective returning backfield in veteran quarterback Holton Ahlers and halfback Keaton Mitchell, who rushed for 1,132 yards in 2021, ECU has plenty to build off of. If Ahlers can avoid getting swallowed by the Wolfpack pass rush, the early window could feature some competitive football in Greenville.

Afternooners

A Pair of Ranked Matchups & a Texas In-State Standoff

The second wave of Saturday's football is truly when the opening slate starts to pick up. There are a host of interesting contests on tap for Buckeye fans looking to wait out the final hours prior to Ohio State kicking off against Notre Dame.

• #11 Oregon vs. #3 Georgia, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
  H A Z A R D   W A R N I N G
  At a glance, this is today's most fascinating game excluding the top-five showdown in Columbus later in the evening. It's not often a reigning national champion defensive coordinator gets to make his head coaching debut against the school at which he became an architect of one of the most dominant defenses in college football history. Dan Lanning will do exactly that today when he faces his former boss Kirby Smart in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
  
  Narratives aside, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff tends not to bode well for Oregon. The Ducks enter as 17-point underdogs, while the expected point total of 53 suggests that Georgia should nearly double-up their “neutral-site” visitors. Though it’s possible Lanning has enough familiarity with Stetson Bennett to cause some headaches for the Bulldogs' quarterback, even that scenario lends itself to a sloppy low-scoring football game. Eyeballs should invest time elsewhere.
   
• #23 Cincinnati vs. #19 Arkansas, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
  Between the two top-25 showdowns in the afternoon window, this one figures to be the more competitive option. Coming off a lopsided letdown against Alabama in the College Football Playoff, Cincinnati will open its schedule seeking some revenge on the SEC West against an Arkansas squad that performed impressively last September before going just 4-4 across the rest of the regular season.
  
  Each school lost key contributors to the successes of their previous campaigns via the NFL draft, but the Bearcats will have more to prove across both sides of the ball. Most notably, quarterback Ben Bryant transferred away to start at Eastern Michigan last season before returning to Cincinnati in January. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks bring back their leading passer and rusher in KJ Jefferson, but will also usher in a considerable wave of transfer portal talent that includes former Oklahoma wide receiver Jadon Haselwood.
   
• #24 Houston vs. UTSA, 3:30 p.m. on CBSSN
  For a more unheralded viewing option, a Texas tango between schools in Houston and San Antonio may be of interest. The Cougars and Roadrunners are projected to score a total of more than 61 points with a spread of barely more than a field goal, and UTSA went undefeated prior to Thanksgiving a year ago in one of the season's most enjoyable breakouts.
  
  Both squads return highly productive and tenured quarterbacks between Houston's fifth-year starter Clayton Tune and UTSA senior Frank Harris. Tune also gets back star wideout Nathaniel Dell (90 catches for over 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago), while Harris will welcome Trelon Smith — Arkansas' top running back last year — to replace Sincere McCormick, who is now with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Primetime

#7 Utah vs. Florida, 7 p.m. on ESPN

Remember those pesky Utes that gave the Buckeyes a fight for the ages on New Year's Day? Most of them are back this season and eager to defend Utah's Pac-12 crown coming off a heartbreaking defeat in the Rose Bowl. Observing a road trip down to The Swamp to face the Florida Gators under new head coach Billy Napier should at least serve as an effective time-killing tactic for Ohio State fans attempting to wait out 30 more minutes before the scarlet and gray take the field.

After overtaking current Liberty quarterback Charlie Brewer for the Utes' starting job last season in less than four games, Cameron Rising returns to lead the offense for a full campaign. He will receive support from an offensive line that brings back three starters, 6-foot-2, 238-pound running back Tavion Thomas and a tandem of tight ends in Brant Kuithe and Dalton Kincaid that respectively led the team in receiving yards and touchdown catches in 2021.

I like Utah TE Dalton Kincaid - he's got some burst and catches everything, they line him up all over pic.twitter.com/Z0D47dweui

— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) December 8, 2021

Florida will hardly have an easy start to the Napier era after moving on from Dan Mullen toward the end of last season. Fortunately, the regular waffling that the Gators' coaching staff did with their quarterbacks in 2021 should be out of the equation, which will be an overall boost for the offense.

Now with Emory Jones at Arizona State, dual-threat sensation Anthony Richardson has the opportunity to shine singularly as a signal-caller that made several of Florida's most impressive plays a season ago. While the Gators lost their three leading rushers from last year, Richardson himself averaged nearly eight yards per carry in 2021. He will execute in the backfield alongside Louisiana transfer Montrell Johnson, the running back that most recently handled the greatest share of carries in Napier’s Ragin’ Cajuns offense.

An interesting player to monitor in this game will be Utah linebacker Mohamoud Diabate, who finished as Florida's leading tackler in 2021 before entering the transfer portal this past offseason. As the departure of such a key component in the Gators' defense would suggest, Florida will rely heavily on players lacking experience to stuff the run this season, which bodes poorly against Utah's battle-tested ground attack. Even so, Richardson has plenty enough talent to keep this game in Gainesville captivating throughout.

Saturday Night Fever

Boise State vs. Oregon State, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN

W I L D C A R D of the W E E K

Arguably the most compelling Week 1 meeting between unranked schools, Boise State enters its 2022 opener against Oregon State with perhaps the Broncos' most uncertain trajectory in a long time. The kings of blue turf remain the only FBS school over the last 25 years to avoid any losing seasons, but came dangerously close last year after concluding the schedule with a 7-5 record – the program's worst since 1998.

Boise State lacked the traditional components of its overall identity a season ago and now must entrust new players with reestablishing its winning standard. The Broncos’ usually stout run game tied for 99th or worse in rushing yards per game across each of the last two seasons, and three of the Broncos' four leaders on the ground in 2021 now find themselves elsewhere. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who has made 25 starts since 2019, returns for his senior season, but Boise State brings back only one player who caught at least 15 passes in its offense a year ago.

The defense remains more stable and surprisingly finished 2021 at 11th overall in opponent points per game ahead of even eventual Mountain West champion San Diego State. However, one weak spot the Broncos had was in stopping opposing rushing attacks, and they will need to do so while replacing the heart of their defense in Riley Whimpey, a veteran linebacker who finished top three on the team in tackles across each of the last four seasons.

Oregon State appears to have slightly better momentum after the school's former quarterback and current head coach Jonathan Smith led the team to its first winning record since 2013. While the season ended in a bowl loss to Utah State, the Beavers also hung 45 points on USC in Los Angeles before upsetting Utah at home less than a month later.

Oregon State puts together back-to-back 92-yard touchdown drives before the end of this half. The latest ends with Chance Nolan connecting with Tre'Shaun Harrison for a 36-yard touchdown to give Oregon State a 21-14 lead over USC. pic.twitter.com/NJkaVL0Clo

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) September 26, 2021

Chance Nolan will return at quarterback as well as two of the team's additional top four rushers from 2021. As a passer, Nolan needs to carve out a better touchdown-to-interception ratio (19 to 10 in 2021), but his rapport with Tre'Shaun Harrison as demonstrated in the USC game should pay dividends now that the latter steps into Oregon State's top receiving role.

Defensively, the Beavers left a lot to be desired a season ago and have gaps to fill including the departure of their most recent leading tackler. But the Beavers return four members of their secondary who earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention recognition last season. The Beavers have talent to build on, but will need to improve in the season ahead after finishing 11th in the Pac-12 in passing yards allowed per game last season.

Oregon State is listed as a 2.5-point favorite at home, so this should be a highly competitive contest carrying over into the early hours of Sunday morning.

Rejoice in the return of fall football Saturdays.

On the Radar for Next Week

• Buckeyes: Arkansas State vs. #2 Ohio State, 12 p.m. on BTN
• Primetime: #20 Kentucky vs. Florida, 7 p.m. on ESPN
• Saturday Night Fever: #10 Baylor vs. #25 BYU, 10:15 p.m. on ESPN