Games to watch this weekend

Ladies and gentlemen, we made it. In a little over 24 hours, we will have FBS college football games for the first time since Alabama emphatically beat Ohio State to lift the National Championship Trophy back in January. The passion, the pride, the pageantry of our nation’s best sport is knocking on the door of our fall Saturdays.

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It’s time to let it in. It’s time for college football Week 0.

Week 0, the official opening weekend on the road to the national championship, may not feature any top-25 teams as per the AP Poll, but there’s plenty of action to keep you occupied. Furthermore, there are several 2022 NFL Draft prospects to watch in the following college football games.

Nebraska at Illinois | Saturday, August 28, 1 PM ET

While some people overlook Week 0 as the official start of the college football season, the Big Ten has rewarded those who will be sat avidly in front of their TVs with an all-conference clash to kick off this week’s slate. Okay, it’s not Ohio State versus Michigan, but Nebraska at Illinois is not a bad way to begin the weekend.

Neither team had a particularly stellar 2020 college football campaign. Head coach Scott Frost is on the hot seat after a disappointing 3-5 season where Nebraska ranked in the bottom 30 for offensive scoring. Illinois fared even worse, parting ways with Lovie Smith during a 2-6 campaign. The Fighting Illini showed little fight, ranking 112th on offense while also allowing a disastrous 34.9 points per game.

Nevertheless, Illinois took home the honors in the most recent meeting between the two. The Illini ended a four-game losing streak to the Huskers with a crushing 41-23 win on the road. Still, Nebraska holds a 13-1-4 advantage and are seven-point favorites heading into Saturday afternoon’s clash.

2022 NFL Draft prospects to watch in Nebraska at Illinois

There are several notable 2022 NFL Draft prospects to watch from both teams in this college football Week 0 game. Those with a lust for linebackers will be in their element. Illinois boasts two potential NFL Draft prospects in Jake Hansen and Khalan Tolson, while JoJo Domann leads Nebraska’s defense.

Domann led the Huskers in total tackles (58), tackles for loss (6.5), pass deflections (5), and forced fumbles (2) last fall. He recently received a sixth-round grade from Pro Football Network’s Senior NFL Draft Analyst Tony Pauline in his Big Ten Scouting Reports. The 6’1″, 230-pound super senior flashes football intelligence, versatility as a coverage linebacker, and while lacking elite athleticism, is impressive coming downhill.

Other potential NFL Draft prospects

Nebraska

Cam Taylor-Britt, CB
Adrian Martinez, QB
Cameron Jurgens, C
Samori Toure, WR

Illinois

Daniel Barker, TE
Vederian Lowe, OL
Doug Kramer, OL
Tarique Barnes, LB

Hawaii at UCLA | Saturday, August 28, 3:30 PM ET

Wait a minute, what’s this? A matchup between a Pac-12 team and Hawaii, and it kicks off at a time that’s palatable to college football fans on the East Coast?! The college football scheduling gods have been truly kind with some of these Week 0 games! In what could be the most entertaining game on the slate, Hawaii takes on UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

The last time the two teams met in Pasadena, the Bruins drained all the color from the Rainbow Warriors with a 56-23 beat down in 2017. In fact, Hawaii has never beaten UCLA, albeit in a small three-game sample size dating back to the 1930s.

Although the oddsmakers give Hawaii little chance of an upset win to start the season, there are reasons to be hopeful. Their defense improved last year, averaging under 30 points allowed per game for the first time since 2014. Furthermore, they held traditional offensive powerhouse Fresno State under 20 points and limited potential 2022 NFL Draft first-rounder Carson Strong‘s Nevada offense to 21 points.

Additionally, Chip Kelly has never won a season opener as the head coach of UCLA. That should probably change this coming Saturday.

2022 NFL Draft prospects to watch in Hawaii at UCLA

The Bruins have a host of potential 2022 NFL Draft prospects amongst a large number of returning starters to an offense that ranked 20th in the nation last season. UCLA averaged 35.4 points per game, and receiving yards and touchdown leader Greg Dulcich is an under-the-radar tight end prospect.

However, the best 2022 NFL Draft prospect on the offense is tackle Sean Rhyan. The Bruins left tackle is starting to draw attention from the NFL Draft community, finding himself in the first-round conversation ahead of this weekend’s college football games. The 6’5″, 320-pound left tackle has a tantalizing mix of power and athleticism. He is equally adept in pass protection and run blocking, adding a mauler mentality in the ground game.

Hawaii hasn’t had a defensive back drafted to the NFL since 2009. Yet, cornerback Cortez Davis represents a genuine NFL Draft prospect in the 2022 class. After securing 12 pass deflections and a first career interception in 2019, teams actively avoided throwing at the 5’11” cornerback last season. In fact, Davis kept top-10 wide receiver prospect Romeo Doubs under wraps in 2020.

Other potential NFL Draft prospects

Hawaii

Darius Muasau, LB
Kohl Levao, OL
Calvin Turner Jr., RB
Chevan Cordeiro, QB

UCLA

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB
Paul Grattan, OL
Quentin Lake, S
Kyle Philips, WR

Southern Utah at San Jose State | Saturday, August 28, 10 PM ET

The last Week 0 game sees Mountain West champion San Jose State host Southern Utah of the Big Sky Conference. The game is a ridiculous mismatch on paper after the Spartans went 7-1 last fall while the Thunderbirds went 1-5 during the FCS spring season.

Still, don’t be fooled by the overall record. Southern Utah lost just one game by more than three points through the spring. The Thunderbirds’ 27 points per game ranked in the top 30 of all FCS teams. Additionally, they had one of the better offensive lines in the FCS, giving this clash against a top-15 FBS defense some potential excitement that might not be instantly apparent.

2022 NFL Draft prospects to watch in Southern Utah at San Jose State

One of the reasons this game could be so interesting to watch is the matchup of 2022 NFL Draft prospects. As mentioned above, the Thunderbirds’ offensive line is highly rated. While it might not pose the toughest test of the season, it gives San Jose State defensive lineman Cade Hall an early opportunity to prove his mettle.

It’s not unfair to say Hall will be the best 2022 NFL Draft defensive prospect on show in this game. Outside of Washington’s Zion Tupuola-Fetui, he led all college football players in sacks per game last fall. He missed out on being the nation’s sack leader by just half a sack despite playing three games less than Jordan Strachan and five games less than Will McDonald IV.

That said, Southern Utah has its own dominant defensive prospect. It’s not easy to spell La’akea Kaho’ohanohano-Davis, but it is easy to see his potential. The star linebacker earned multiple FCS honors after racking up 57 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles during the spring campaign. This matchup gives him the opportunity to put himself in the NFL Draft shop window against FBS opposition.

That will be especially true if he manages to penetrate a San Jose State line led by Jack Snyder. The left tackle has prototypical NFL size at 6’5″ and 310 pounds and should be one of the most experienced offensive line prospects in the class. Furthermore, Snyder allowed zero sacks, zero quarterback hits, and just 2 pressures all last season.