Week 1 2015 College Football Preview

Patrick McHugh, Staff writer

College football season is just around the corner, and it’s time for another year of shocking upsets and exciting finishes. Week one already has plenty for fans to talk about.

On Saturday at 6:00 p.m., 15th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils face off against the Texas A&M Aggies at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on ESPN. Head Coach Kevin Sumlin’s A&M team is looking to improve from their disappointing 8-5 record by upsetting the Sun Devils in this SEC vs Pac-12 matchup. The Sun Devils and Aggies both have high powered offenses that should lead to an exciting shootout and come down to the last minute. However, due to the more older and experienced Sun Devils team compared to the relatively young Aggie team they should have the edge over A&M.

On NBC Saturday at 6:30 p.m., unranked Texas visits 11th ranked Notre Dame in what will be an important game for Texas head coach Charlie Strong who was hired last year after long-time head coach Mack Brown resigned. There are high expectations for Coach Strong because of his success in Louisville. After a disappointing first year at Texas with a 6-7 record, many believe Coach Strong is under pressure to improve. Texas will have a tough time against Notre Dame because of sophomore quarterback Malik Zaire who is expected to have a standout season. While Charlie Strong is a great coach and good things are to come from this Texas team, they do not seem to match up well with Notre Dame’s great defense and all-star receivers.  Make sure to tune in for this high stake Saturday night game.

The 6th ranked Auburn Tigers and Louisville Cardinals duke it out in this SEC vs ACC matchup. Auburn, under Coach Gus Malzhan, comes in as a double digit favorite against the Cardinals. Coach Malzhan has high hopes for his junior quarterback Jeremy Johnson who many have compared to Cam Newton.  However, Louisville should be no walk in the park for Auburn. The Cardinals are coming off a solid 9-4 record from last year and are looking for a huge upset to start off the season. Louisville kickoff is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

Mizzou comes in to this season ranked 24th in the nation and have many uncertainties this year on how well they’re going to do. Quarterback Maty Mauk hopes to improve from his inconsistent year in 2014. Mauk has been working on his pocket presence over the summer and coaches have said he has improved greatly, however it may not do much good since Mizzou has almost no returning receivers from last year and have lost many of its all-star defensive line to the NFL draft. However star running back Russell Hansbrough returns for his senior year from his 1,084 yards in rushing last year. Mizzou first test is Southeast Missouri State which should be an easy win for the tigers. The game is on 3:00 0n the SEC network.

No matter what the outcomes to these games it will be good to have college football back again.