Guinness To The Gridiron: You Made It To The College Football Season! Start Preparing Best Excuses To Watch
Week zero of the season should be an opportunity to test your excuses to get out of boring events, as football is finally back.
Congratulations to all college football fans for making it through what was a cluster of an offseason, filled with House settlements, legal proceedings, and playoff format discussions that have become nauseating at this point.
For all the back-and-forth between conference commissioners regarding the CFP, we still don't have a decision yet, while the revenue-sharing conversation continues to run rampant.
But, while those topics are still important, thank goodness we have actual football being played this upcoming weekend. That should give us just enough to get to the next week, where all hell will break loose to ‘officially’ kickoff the season.
For the love of all that's good, get on the good side with your significant other, as I would imagine a majority of your Saturdays will be spent in the recliner, with multiple TV's going, enjoying what will undoubtedly be another season of college football filled with chaos.
It's truly fitting that we are opening the season in Ireland once again, coming off last year's game that saw Georgia Tech wreck Florida State's season, even if the Seminoles were unaware at the time just how bad it would be.
Here We Go, Top-25 Matchup Between Kansas State And Iowa State
The Big 12 is taking their show on the road to kickoff 2025, with the Wildcats and Cyclones facing-off in front of what should be an over-served crowd in Dublin, filled with plenty of Guinness beer.
It could honestly be two FCS teams playing in Ireland, and it would have my undivided attention. But thank goodness we are getting a Top-25 matchup instead.
We also get a quarterback showdown that should have the crowd entertained, as Avery Johnson and Rocco Becht will look to put on a show in this early-season showdown.
I was surprised to find out that neither team is actually being paid to play in this game, as noted by the Des Moines Register.
"The company Irish American Events Limited will provide charter flights to be used by the team, as well as transportation for up to 20,000 pounds for team equipment. IAEL will provide 113 hotel rooms over three nights at the official team hotel and breakfast, lunch and dinner for up to 150 people over three days, as well as on-campus housing, transportation and meals for the official travel party."
Ok, that's a lot of equipment that is being hauled to Ireland.
No matter how you feel about the two teams playing, we are opening the season with a Top-25 matchup, and for that, I'm also hopeful for a stellar game. Just as we watched last season when Georgia Tech defeated Florida State.
Don't Sleep On Other Saturday Games, Just Enjoy It
For all the talk during this long offseason about how bad you needed actual football in your life again, I don't want to hear any complaints regarding the other games taking place on Saturday.
The Dan Mullen era at UNLV will officially start, as they welcome Idaho State to Vegas. IF we're being honest, I'm just excited to see Mullen on the sidelines again, so any glimpse at what the UNLV offense will look like is a win for me.
As for the game you should not be sleeping on, Kansas will officially open its renovated stadium on Saturday night at 6:30 pm ET against a Fresno State team looking to ruin the experience for Jayhawk fans. Just take it in, as this will be the third team from the Big 12 playing on Saturday, though I don't expect an upset in this one, even with Fresno State being a formidable opponent.
If you're running multiple televisions, make sure to have your gameday setup complete, with two other matchups taking place around the same time.
Sam Houston will take on Western Kentucky, while Stanford will visit Hawaii.
And, luckily for you, this game with Stanford is not starting at 11pm ET. You'll have to wait to get that late-night action fix until Labor Day weekend.
Take this upcoming Saturday as a run-through with the spouse. See if there are some things you can get out of, like that trip to look at antiques, or the local farmers' market for an afternoon lunch. This is your opportunity to test your significant other, just to see what you'll be able to get away with.
But, don't set yourself up to fail in Week Zero. We've got a full season of action upcoming, so if you need to sit out a few of these games on Saturday, for the better good of the overall season, I won't fault you.
We made it. The football season is officially here, so congratulations to you all for making it through a wild offseason.
Let me know what you have planned for the upcoming weekend, as you prepare for the official 2025 college football season. Email me at Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com