In the opening Thursday night of college football, the Group of Five consisting of the MAC, MWC, Sun Belt, AAC, MWC, Army, and BYU face off versus Power Five (SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12) opponents in 4 games. Of those 4 games, Group of Five teams are getting a hosting/neutral site game in 2 games.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3:
Western Kentucky @ Vanderbilt (SEC Network): The Commodores and Hilltoppers have met three times with Vanderbilt winning all three games. The last meeting was in 1938 so those three games mean nothing heading into this season opening matchup. WKU is coming off of an 8-5 season in 2014 that saw the Hilltoppers put up 374.3 yards in the air per game, good for second nationally, and 44.4 points per game, good for sixth nationally. WKU had a horrid defense as the 124th ranked scoring defense, giving up 39.9 points per game. Vanderbilt was 100+ nationally in passing, rushing, points for, and points against. If WKU can at least repair that defense somewhat, this could be a statement blowout win for not only WKU but Conference USA as well.
Duke @ Tulane (CBS Sports Network): This game is similar to the WKU-Vanderbilt game except switching sides with Duke as the program coming off of a bowl season at 9-4 with Tulane coming in off of a 3-9 season in 2014. This is the fifth meeting all-time between these programs with a 2-2 overall record. Tulane beat the Blue Devils in 1964 and 1973 but Duke has been dominant in recent meetings in 2011 and 2014, winning by 21+ points in both matchups. Tulane struggles offensively with the 87th ranked passing attack and the 94th ranked rushing attack and one of the worst scoring offenses in the nation at 16.0 points per game. Tulane also struggled to keep opponents out of the end zone with a 28.4 points allowed average. This game shapes up to be a blowout in favor of Duke.
UTSA @ Arizona (Pac-12 Network): Playing for the third consecutive season, UTSA has been unable to beat the Wildcats in either previous meeting with the overall series going 2-0 in favor of Arizona. The Roadrunners are coming off of a 4-8 season that saw the inability to move the ball offensively damper hopes for a bowl berth. UTSA arguably could and should have beaten Arizona in 2014 but fell just in the 26-23 loss. Arizona is coming off of a Pac-12 South Division title and Fiesta Bowl berth with an offense that ranked in the top 50 in passing, rushing, and scoring offense. There are holes defensively that UTSA can take advantage of but the Roadrunners have to put up more than 23 points to have a chance at an upset. If it were in San Antonio, I would give the UTSA a chance but going to Arizona on a Thursday night is asking too much in the season opener.
Oklahoma State @ Central Michigan (ESPNU): This is the first meeting between Central Michigan and Oklahoma State and will be hosted by the MAC program. Very rarely does a Big 12 or any Power 5 team allow a Group of Five team to host the very first meeting but Oklahoma State has shown a habit of being willing to travel rather than pay ridiculous sums of money to constantly host Group of Five teams. This matchup will be only the third time in school history that the Chippewas face off versus a Big 12 program with trips to Kansas in both 2007 and 2014. CMU is facing a 2014 bowl team that while making a bowl, did not play up to its normal standards with the 54th ranked passing game, the 102nd rushing attack, only 27.6 points scored per game, and 31.2 points allowed per game. Central Michigan didn't have gaudy numbers in 2014 but improved as the season progressed and played some of their best football of the season in the second half of the Bahamas Bowl. Expect CMU to push Oklahoma State but run out of gas in the second half with Oklahoma State pulling away for a double digit win.
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