College Football Weekend Watch Party: ASU-Texas A&M, Take The Points

Editor's note: Every Friday, we'll use this space to tell you about the college football game you absolutely need to watch that weekend, even if it's flying under the radar. It might not always be the matchup of the two best teams, but it will definitely be the most entertaining contest. Because fun is what college football is all about, right?

The opening weekend of college football is often bittersweet. On one hand, football is back! On the other hand, for a majority of the fans around the country, it means having to wait a few more weeks for a big game, as opposed to a cash-in contest against an overmatched cupcake.

That can't be said for fans of Texas A&M and Arizona State.

A quick note about your author's aesthetic preferences: I grew up in the Midwest, which means I absolutely appreciate hard-nosed, defensive-minded football. Low-scoring games can be entertaining, provided they're driven by dominant defenses. Otherwise, they can be pretty boring.

By contrast, points are always fun. And by that measure, the matchup between the Aggies and the No. 15 Sun Devils in Houston figures to be a blast. Last season, both teams scored more than 35 points per game—and gave up roughly 28 points. Don't expect either team to hold back this weekend, because, you know, math.

Texas A&M is an enigma. The Aggies underperformed last season, finishing with a 7-5 record, but coach Kevin Sumlin and quarterback Kyle Allen have so many weapons that A&M might be the most dangerous team in the Southeastern Conference. At least on offense. The defense, as you already know if you read the previous paragraph, is a question mark. Perhaps that's why the Aggies have been picked by national experts to finish anywhere between first and, um, last in the SEC West.

Arizona State, on the other hand, has arguably overachieved under much-maligned coach Todd Graham. (And yes: in the world of college football, you can overachieve and be much-maligned. Sports are not an entirely rational business.) The Sun Devils finished 10-3 last season and should challenge for a Pac-12 South title. That's impressive! That said, the biggest knock on Graham's squads is that you never know what you're going to get from them. Just consider these results, which each happened in consecutive weeks last season:

UCLA 62, Arizona State 27

Arizona State 38, USC 35

Arizona State 55, Notre Dame 31

Oregon State 35, Arizona State 27

How do you get destroyed by UCLA, then rebound to beat USC in Los Angeles? How do you demolish Notre Dame, then lose to cellar-dweller Oregon State? There's no good answer. Hence the maligning.

I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen in this game. Really, nobody does. It's Week 1! But it's almost certainly going to be a roller-coaster affair, regardless of the outcome. That's as good a reason as any to tune in.

Eastern Washington at No. 7 Oregon

One of the most fascinating storylines this season will be the performance of Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams, who transferred in from Eastern Washington to play his last year of eligibility. Adams wasn't heralded enough out of high school to play for an FBS school, but now he's good enough—in theory— to start at quarterback for one of the top programs in the country.

Adams shredded Washington's defense last season, throwing for 475 yards and 7 touchdowns (!!!) with a team full of FCS players. He beat Oregon State the year before. Now we'll see if he can be successful against FBS teams full-time. But first, an opener against his old team.

Nebraska at BYU

Oh boy, does this game have storylines. Taysom Hill is back at quarterback for BYU after losing half of last season to a torn ACL. Nebraska is breaking in new coach Mike Riley. BYU is trying to show it belongs in a power conference. Both teams will have players suspended—five for Nebraska and an undisclosed number for BYU—but neither will tell us who is suspended. Why? Because coaches are silly, and clearly hate America's hard-working college football gamblers. Anyway, more mystery means more potential for fun.

Louisville vs. No. 6 Auburn

Auburn should win this game. The Tigers are ranked in the top 10 and are even a trendy pick to make the College Football Playoff. But they have a lot of flaws on defense, and they have the biggest standard deviation when it comes to expert picks. We know more of what we're going to get from Louisville, and we know the Cardinals are going to be good.

Every Auburn game last season involved shenanigans. Will the trend continue. Will said shenanigans be good or bad for the Tigers? I don't know, bud, it's the first week of the season. Tune in to find out.

No. 1 Ohio State at Virginia Tech

Ohio State is the best team in the country, but the Hokies beat the Buckeyes in Columbus last year when the home team held that same designation. Virginia Tech is better this year, and while that is also true of Ohio State, the Buckeyes will be without a number of weapons—defensive end Joey Bosa, H-backs Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson and wide receiver Corey Smith. OSU should certainly be on upset alert.

No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 20 Wisconsin

Yeah, it's a matchup of two good teams, but we already know what's going to happen. Both teams will trade blows, it won't be a particularly dominating offensive or defensive performance, and in the end, superior talent will triumph and Alabama will win 24-17. Or something. It's football, and these teams are both impressive, but don't be surprised if you come away from the games listed above this one feeling a lot more satisfied. It's Saturday, and you can probably come up with something else to do.