The College Football season starts tonight, with Hawaii and California kicking things off in Sydney. We take a look at the best college games this season.
Ranking the College Football Neutral Site Games
12. Air Force-New Mexico (Dallas)
When Air Force won last season, they won big. When they lost, they lost big. So for them, this game can go either way. As for New Mexico State, they are a team that can slump easily. So it looks as if Air Force will have no problem blowing the Aggies out.
11. Toledo-NIU (Chicago)
Northern Illinois has been a force to be reckoned with over the past half decade, making the MAC Championship game the last six seasons. They even played in the Orange Bowl one year. The Toledo defense is also one to be reckoned with. They recorded 12 interceptions and 26 sacks in 2015. It will be a big matchup between the NIU offense and Toledo defense. Whichever steps up bigger will lead their team to victory.
10. California-Hawaii (Sydney)
This is the first game being played in the college football season. Cal’s former quarterback Jared Goff just got drafted #1 overall by the Los Angeles Rams. The next starting quarterback at Cal, whoever it may be, will have some big shoes to fill. Hawaii quarterbacks combined for 2,501 passing yards in 2015. Not knowing what to expect from these two teams, the 2016 college football season could kickoff either with a bang or blowout.
9. Notre Dame-Army (San Antonio)
Based on the two teams’ records last season, this is shaping up to be an ugly game. On the surface, Army doesn’t seem to be a challenge to Notre Dame at all. However, Army was competitive in nearly every game last year, and could surprise many by making it competitive.
8. Notre Dame-Navy (Jacksonville)
When these two teams met last season, the Irish beat the Midshipmen by a final score of 41-24. Navy will be looking to make it a closer game than last season, and also will attempt to pull off a victory, when these two teams meet in Jacksonville, FL.
7. Notre Dame-Syracuse (New Jersey)
Notre Dame finished the 2015 with a 10-3 record and made it all the way to the Fiesta Bowl. Syracuse finished the season losing eight of their last nine games after a 3-0 start. It’s looking as if this will be a blowout game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
6. Tennessee-Virginia Tech (Bristol, TN)
There’s something different about this Sept. 10 game that differs from the rest of the neutral site games. This game will be played on the NASCAR track of Bristol International Speedway in Bristol, TN. What makes this game special for Virginia Tech is it is the first real test without long time head coach Frank Beamer. They do play Liberty the week before, but this will be their first big opponent.
5. LSU-Wisconsin (Green Bay)
This will be a home game for the Badgers, but the LSU will be a heavy favorite in this game. The player everyone will be watching in this game is LSU running back Leanord Fournette. He finished sixth in the Heisman voting, rushing for 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns. If the Wisconsin defense can stop him, they can have a chance to pull off a big upset.
4. Oklahoma-Houston (Houston)
This game between two teams that went far last season will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston. The Cougars earned a spot in the New Year’s Six and dominated Florida State in the Peach Bowl. The Sooners won the Big XII and made it to the College Football Playoff semifinals. These two teams have shown that they can be dangerous. When they get together, fans are in for a great game.
3. Alabama-USC (Dallas)
This is the game that most will be watching Week 1. Two historically great teams will be facing off in Jerryworld. Not only that, but there are coaches facing off against their former team. Lane Kiffin, who is now the offensive coordinator at Alabama, was a coach at USC. While he may not know their play style perfectly, he does know how they work and can use that to Alabama’s advantage.
2. Georgia-North Carolina (Atlanta)
While not many people are paying attention to this week 1 matchup in the ACC-SEC Chick Fil-A Kickoff, they most certainly should be. For Georgia, this will be the first game in which fans will see if the Bulldogs could equal the success they had under coach Mark Richt. Richt left for the University of Miami head coaching job.
North Carolina will look to repeat what they did last season when they played in the ACC Championship game. This game will be one that will see high-scoring and possibly an exciting finish.
1. Ole Miss-Florida State (Orlando)
When the Ole Miss Rebels and Florida State Seminoles meet at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL on Sept. 5, there will be a few powerful players taking the field. The biggest is probably FSU running back Dalvin Cook. Last season, Cook broke out with 1,691 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, quarterback Chad Kelly, nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, is looking to prove that he can be just as good as his uncle. In 2015, he even led the Rebels to a win over the Alabama Crimson Tide. This game will come down to which player can be a better leader for their team.
