Weekend Game Guide: The journey begins

Welcome to the first installment of Weekend Game Guide! This will be a weekly article during the football season published on Thursdays where we will highlight games over the upcoming weekend that we think will be important or just enjoyable to watch. Our idea here is to help Maize n Brew readers keep track of key matchups both within the Big Ten and nationally, in addition to providing a one stop shop for those looking to map out the games they’ll watch over the weekend.

B1G Games to Watch

Let’s kick things off in the Big Ten, where things may not be the usual sleepy opening weekend. The weekend lacks a marquee matchup like Michigan vs Notre Dame last year or Michigan vs Florida in 2017, but for better or worse there still should be some close games.

South Florida vs No. 19 Wisconsin. The season may open for Big Ten teams tonight with Minnesota and South Dakota State, but the first game we’re highlighting is the Wisconsin Badgers against the South Florida Bulls. This shouldn’t end up being that close of a game, but it will provide an important picture of Wisconsin for what may be a wide open Big Ten West race this year. If the Badgers struggle to put USF away, bedlam could break loose in the West. If Wisconsin comes out swinging on offense and locks down the Bulls on defense, the Badgers could reign in the West this year. This game kicks off Friday at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.

Nevada vs Purdue. The Purdue Boilermakers look to bounce back from a disappointing 6-7 season in 2018. They’ll open 2019 on the road at Nevada on Friday at 9:30 p.m. on CBS Sports. Purdue went to the mat financially to keep head coach Jeff Brohm from bolting for greener pastures at Louisville this past off-season, agreeing to pay him an average of $5.25 million for the next seven years. The Boilermakers are favored to win their opener by ten, and should have a similar offense to last year with Elijah Sindelar at QB and Rondale Moore at WR. But how many wins that combination will actually amount to will have to be seen. If Purdue wins comfortably at Nevada, things are on track in West Lafayette.

No. 25 Stanford vs Northwestern. The Northwestern Wildcats open the season on the road against No. 25 Stanford at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday on Fox. Northwestern looks to once again be a dangerous team in the middle tier of the Big Ten. Coming off a 9-5 campaign last season, the Wildcats look to reload with their likely QB being Hunter Johnson; a former 5-star prospect and transfer from Clemson. Northwestern has a chance to build momentum early with a win on the road at Stanford.

National Games to Watch

BYU vs No. 14 Utah. This game may not have marquee name recognition, but it will be the first opportunity for a significant upset in the 2019 season. This evening at 10:15 p.m., the Cougars and the Utes will face off in this year’s edition of the Holy War (yes, that’s really what their rivalry is called). No. 14 Utah may have the superior ranking, but they’re only favored by five points—and they have to go on the road to face BYU. The Cougars looked strong on offense down the stretch last year, and they return several key pieces on that side of the ball. If BYU can get going early, they could score the first Top-25 upset of the 2019 season.

No. 16 Auburn vs No. 11 Oregon. The Oregon Ducks and Auburn Tigers are in the prime time slot on ABC for Saturday evening. Both teams are looking for redemption after 2018 seasons that weren’t quite as good as hoped for. Oregon returns key pieces of their offense like QB Justin Herbert, while Auburn is looking for answers on that side of the ball. The Tigers should have a strong defense, but head coach Gus Malzahn is under pressure after last year’s 8-5 effort so if things go sideways they could get ugly in a hurry. Auburn is favored by 3, but both teams will be hungry for a Week 1 win over a Top-25 opponent.

The Grid

Just because we’ve highlighted the five games above doesn’t mean they’re the only thing on TV this weekend. Below we have a list of every game taking place this weekend.

Think we missed a game that deserved to be highlighted? Sound off in the comments with the game and why.