College football is now less than three weeks from officially, fully kicking off in the final days of August. With that, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg looked ahead to a handful of games that he thinks the sport should be looking forward to this fall. On ‘Get Up’ on Tuesday, Greenberg released ‘The Green List’ with the […]
College football is now less than three weeks from officially, fully kicking off in the final days of August. With that, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg looked ahead to a handful of games that he thinks the sport should be looking forward to this fall.
On ‘Get Up’ on Tuesday, Greenberg released ‘The Green List’ with the top-five games for fans to circle on the schedule this season in college football. People won’t have to flip too far forward, though, with four of the five happening over less than the first month of the season from week one on August 30th through week five on September 27th.
Here’s ‘The Green List’ from Greenberg this morning with his top-five must-watch games of this upcoming season:
1. Texas vs. Ohio State (August 30th)
First on the list is one of the first games of the opening Saturday of the season with a top-three matchup now between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Ohio State. That’s with all kinds of storylines coming into and out of this playoff rematch, namely the ones involving the Longhorns’ quarterback, in The ‘Shoe.
“You will not have to wait long for the first one. The opener is Texas and Ohio State,” said Greenberg. “You have two of the top-three teams in the country. You’ve got Arch Manning’s first season as the entrenched starter there. You have Texas ranked number one, but an underdog in its first game to Ohio State, which of course is defending its national title.”
2. Alabama vs. Georgia (September 27th)
Second on the list was what’s become a staple matchup the past few years in the SEC with Alabama vs. Georgia, who each will open the season in the top-ten, with postseason matchups in conference and the playoff over the past decade before last season’s classic of a regular-season meeting in Tuscaloosa. Now, the Tide will make the return trip to Athens to open their conference play against the Bulldogs, who have had their issues with ‘Bama, between the hedges.
“You have Alabama-Georgia, which obviously always means everything,” said Greenberg. “Remember, Alabama was up 28-0 when these teams met last year, hung on to win 41-34. Kirby Smart is just 1-6 against Alabama.”
3. Ohio State vs. Michigan (November 29th)
Was there any doubt that The Game would find its way onto a list like this? Beyond the obvious in this rivalry, which recently favors the Wolverines over the Buckeyes, Ohio State vs. Michigan in their seasons finales this year in Ann Arbor will also be a matchup between the past two national champions in the sport
“The Game, as always – Ohio State-Michigan,” Greenberg said. “Michigan has won four straight meetings. You know that doesn’t sit well in Columbus, even as the defending national champs. Ryan Day is 47-1 against all other Big Ten teams. Is this the year that he finally beats the maize & blue?”
4. Oregon vs. Penn State (September 27th)
Another rematch that made the rating was Oregon vs. Penn State, with both teams entering this season in the top-ten after, last season, the Ducks won 45-37 in the Big Ten Championship before each team made the CFP. Now, this one will be a hyped game in the regular season with postseason implications as well as the Nittany Lions will host this one as their whiteout game in Happy Valley.
“Oregon and Penn State,” Greenberg said. “This is a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship. It will be Penn State’s annual whiteout game. This could be a Big Ten title game elimination match, and it comes fairly early in the season.”
5. LSU vs. Clemson (August 30th)
Rounding out the ranking was another highly-anticipated opener, this one in the top-ten opener, with No. 9 LSU vs. No. 4 Clemson in Death Valley. This game of Tigers will also make headlines with two of the best quarterbacks in the country playing against one another while all the pressure will be on both of those programs, considering this season’s expectations on each, to start out at 1-0.
“Finally, the fifth game? LSU and Clemson will feature, among other things, Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik, who figure right now maybe to be the first two picks in next year’s draft. Brian Kelly is 0-3 in season openers at LSU. A lot of pressure on him to finally get that win,” said Greenberg.
Category: General Sports
