Week Zero college football: NebraskaNorthwestern is one to watch

So while there aren’t many marquee teams in action on Saturday, Week 0 will still serve to whet our appetite for next season.

Nebraska and the Northwest travel to Dublin for the first game of the season (and the only game of Week 0) with two power conference teams. The Cornhuskers won just three games for the second straight season in 2021, which nearly cost coach Scott Frost his job — he was forced to cut salary and fire four offensive assistants — but the underlying stats tell the story from a team that might have been Just plain bad luck: Nebraska scored 63 more points than its opponents over the course of the season, but was 08 in games decided by one score. Frost brought in a new offensive coordinator, Mark Whipple, who did wonders for Pittsburgh’s offense. That, plus a slew of transfers, could lead to brighter days in Lincoln (or at least Frost hopes). The Wildcats, meanwhile, posted a 39 record for the second time in three seasons, their season undone by a lead offense (they gained just 124 plays of at least 10 yards, which ranked 124th place out of 130 teams). …

Illinois, which hosts Wyoming, showed progress as coach Bret Bielema’s first Champaign campaign progressed, winning four of its last seven games in 2021, including that ridiculous nineovertime upset of thenNo. 7 Penn State. But the Illini lost a lot of production from that team and are pretty much starting from scratch. The Cowboys face a similar problem, especially on offense: They must replace their top two quarterbacks, leading rusher, top two receivers and two allconference linemen. But considering Wyoming’s poor offense last season, the Cowboys fell short of 20 points in six games last season, that may be a blessing in disguise. …

HawaiiVanderbilt it’s about as “Week 0 Nightcap” as a game can get, especially considering it will be played at the Rainbow Warriors’ 9,300seat practice arena after Aloha Stadium was declared unused after last season. Allegations of abuse by former coach Todd Graham sent many of Hawaii’s top players to the transfer portal, meaning little of last year’s 67 team remains for new coach Timmy Chang, who put up flashy numbers as quarterback for the Rainbow Warriors earlier this century. . Vanderbilt’s brief moment of competition — the Commodores went to five bowl games over an eightseason stretch from 2011 to 2018 — appears to be over — Vanderbilt has gone 528 over the past three seasons.