The annual oxymoronic is upon us.

With apologies to Week 0, Labor Day weekend is when we celebrate the true start of the college football (CFB) season by not laboring on the Labor Day holiday and instead bingeing on college football from Thursday 9/3 through Monday 9/7.😍

Reactions to Week 1 games will undoubtedly follow suit with the overreaction to Week 0 games.

I don't believe the UNC offense that put up 13 points against TCU under genius OC Bobby Petrino is ready to rampage through the ACC, that Billy Bob's job is safe, or that Jordon Hudson will use her fifth season of eligibility to captain the Tar Heels cheerleaders.

I don't believe TCU will finish the season defeated, or that UVA's beatdown of NC State means that the Cavaliers are a playoff lock.

I don't believe the Coliseum will be empty when Oregon, Washington, and Ohio State visit LA.

I do believe that former FCS power and now a Mountain West Conference member, North Dakota State that destroyed CUSA Conference member Jacksonville State 33- 7 in Week 0, will contend for the conference title and the G6 spot in the 2025 CFB playoffs.

All times are Pacific. Odds from Polymarket Traders. AP Poll rankings, including Others Receiving Votes, are used for team rankings.

28 BOISE STATE at OREGON -24.5 - AP No. 28 Boise State at 2nd-ranked Oregon this Saturday is the closest the Big Ten comes in Week 1 to a top-25 vs. top-25 matchup.

Polymarket Traders give Oregon a 95% chance to win and a 52% chance to cover.

OBD is the highest-ranked team that Boise State has ever played. This is the B1G's biggest game in Week 1, and Boise State's chance to show off on national TV.

Saturday, September 5, 2026, 12:30 PM. The Oregon season that begins with a natiowide broadcast on CBS hopefully ends on January 25, 2027, with a National Championship in Las Vegas.

Week 1 football begins with B1G games on Thursday, September 3rd.

UMASS at RUTGERS -29.5 - 3 PM Big Ten Network (BTN) - Rutgers has two All-B1G players on offense. Nevertheless, weddings should be attended, and picnics need not be interrupted.

EASTERN ILLINOIS at MINNESOTA -43.5 - 5 PM - Peacock - Some B1G team had to get the bird, right? Much B1Gger game next week when SEC Mississippi State visits Minneapolis.

UAB at No. 33 ILLINOIS -27.5 - 6 PM BTN - Oregon plays at Illinois in Week 8, with the Illini coming off a Week 7 bye. Underrated Illinois finished with nine wins in 2025 and 10 wins in 2024, with season-ending bowl victories over South Carolina and Tennessee.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th

INDIANA STATE at PURDUE -36.5 - 4 PM BTN

Yes, Virginia, Purdue will win a game this season. Holy Larry Bird! Larry's Sycamores are 5 TD+ underdogs to a team that has not won a Big Ten game in the last two seasons. Mercy!

TOLEDO at MICHIGAN STATE -10.5 - 5 PM FS1

Hopefully Fitz's Spartans will handle MAC title contender Toledo in his opener in East Lansing. This should be a competitive game.

FRESNO STATE at 14 USC -21.5 - 6 PM Fox

At least 54,000 fans will be in attendance, right? SC is favored to go 2-0 with wins over Mountain West San Jose State and Pac-12 Fresno State.

This season, Fresno State plays Boise State in Fresno and has a legitimate chance to win the (gulp) Pac-12 title. This is a much better team than the San Jose State team SC defeated in Week 0. This game could be close well into the second half.

No. 7 MIAMI -24.5 at STANFORD - 6 PM ESPN

Stanford is 1-0 after a close Week 0 win over Hawaii at Stanford Stadium.

The ACC starts conference play earlier than the other Power 4 conferences. Last week, UVA sent ACC dark horse contender NC State to the glue factory.

In 2025, Miami played ten games, including the title game against Indiana, in Florida. The farthest Miami traveled was a trip to Dallas to play SMU and a postseason trip to Dallas to play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

This one trip to play Stanford on Friday night is close to the mileage Miami traveled in the 2025 season.

Two years ago, when Miami traveled to Berkeley to play Cal and its QB Fernando Mendoza, the Canes were fortunate after knocking Mendoza out of the game to score 21 4th quarter points and escape with a 39 to 38 victory.

However, in 2026, Stanford is not as good as Cal was in 2024, and Fernando's in Vegas.

I think Miami will cover the -24.5 point spread. (But last week I thought TCU would defeat UNC, and that North Carolina State would cover the 5.5 spread in favor of UVA. 🤬)

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Saturday, 9/5: Games in addition to BOISE STATE at OREGON.

OHIO at NEBRASKA -24.5 - 9 AM FS1

Will UNLV transfer and 2025 Mountain West Player of the Year, QB Anthony Colandrea, be able to fill Dylan Raiola's cleats?

Will Coach Ruhle defeat a ranked team for the first time in his fourth season at Nebraska? The first opportunity should come on October 10th, when Indiana visits Lincoln.

No. 6 INDIANA -40.5 vs NORTH TEXAS - 9 AM Fox

This game being the Fox Nooner speaks to the paucity of B1G quality opponents in Week 1.

The guts of this No. Texas team can be found in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

If Cig releases the Hoosiers and wants to give new QB Josh Hoover as many reps as possible, this game could get as ugly as the kid whose mom puts meat around his neck so the dog will play with him. 🤪

18 PENN STATE -24.5 vs MARSHALL - 12:30 PM FS1

Marshall is ranked 88th in the CBS preseason poll; accordingly, the Thundering Herd represent Penn State's toughest out-of-conference opponent. Week 2 opponent Temple is ranked 104th, and Week 3 opponent Buffalo is ranked 114th.

I'm fairly certain Matt Campbell will begin his tenure at Penn State 3-0.

22 IOWA -31.5 vs. NORTHERN ILLINOIS - 1:15 PM BTN

No matter the starter at QB, the Hawkeyes cruise.

16 MICHIGAN -28.5 vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN - 4:30 PM NBC

Welcome, Coach Whit, to the Big Ten.

This is the first of Michigan's eight home games.

In-state opponent Western Michigan is the defending MAC champion and one of the favorites to win the MAC in 2026.

Notwithstanding Western's Big Mac bona fides, the competition ratchets up a bit in Week 2 when No. 10 Oklahoma visits the Big House.

MARYLAND -45.5 vs a Hamper, er, HAMPTON - 5 PM BTN

If you are not the Bald Man on Campus and you are watching this game, please dial 1-800-GET-LIFE.

NORTHWESTERN -13.5 vs SOUTH DAKOTA STATE - 5 PM BTN

FCS Power SDS is not a cupcake.

Will Chip and Jerry Neuheisel improve QB Aiden Chiles' play and improve the NW O?

UCLA -0.5 at CAL - 7:30 PM ESPN

An old Pac-12 at Nite matchup presents an early test for new coaches, Bob Chesney and Tosh Lupoi.

Will the UCLA Bruins get some payback for the $10 million-a-year Palamony Payment to the Golden Bears?

(If the fight songs sound the same, it doesn't mean you've had too much to drink. 🤪)

A sellout is expected, and the majority of fans will not be disguised as empty seats.

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SUNDAY 9/6 -

17 WASHINGTON -27.5 vs WASHINGTON STATE - 1 PM NBC

The point spread indicates a rotten Apple Cup for the Pac-12 Cougars.

WISCONSIN +20.5 vs No. 4 NOTRE DAME - Green Bay, Wisconsin - 4:30 PM NBC

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman played for Luke Fickell the one season Fickell was the interim coach at Ohio State and coached for Luke at Cincinnati.

Can Badgers QB Colton Joseph (😁) stay healthy and keep the game from turning into a blowout? Last season, Joseph's first play from scrimmage was a 76-yard TD run against Indiana in Bloomington, one of the few times in 2025 the Hoosiers trailed in a game.

No. 9 OLE MISS -6.5 vs 24 LOUISVILLE in Nashville, TN. - 4:30 PM NBC

91 games will be played in Week 1. This is the one game that matches up Top 25 teams. 😧

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MONDAY, 9/7

19 SMU -2.5 at FSU - 4:30 PM ESPN

After struggling for a win against New Mexico State in Week 0, the 1-0 Seminoles take on SMU, one of the favorites to win the ACC in 2026.

The SMU schedule is ranked 54th by SP+. SMU misses Miami and Clemson and hosts UVA.

If the Ponies can defeat FSU and win at Louisville in Week 3, SMU will have a good chance of playing for the ACC title and a decent shot at a playoff spot no matter the outcome of the game later in the season at Notre Dame.

Get Your Popcorn + IPAs Ready & Let's Watch OBD BEAT BOISE!

Thanks for the awesome update.

Great weekend to finish my summer projects, excluding Sat. afternoon of course.

Go Ducks!