Five CFB games to watch in Week 0: New Notre Dame QB could thrive

Finally...

The 2023 college football season kicks off Saturday with a slate of seven Week 0 games. Two ranked teams play, including a USC team that has national championship aspirations and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. 

Here are five games that could be worth your time:

The five-star game | Navy vs. No. 13 Notre Dame (2:30 p.m. ET | Dublin, Ireland)

As usual, Notre Dame enters the season with high expectations. Second-year coach Marcus Freeman got off to a rocky start in his debut season in 2022, but the Irish (9-4) finished strongly down the stretch. Notre Dame will introduce new quarterback Sam Hartman, a transfer from Wake Forest, who should provide a massive boost to its offense.

“Hartman has all the tools from touch, timing and accuracy to really thrive,” an NFL scout told ESPN. “He also has seen everything a college defense can throw at a quarterback. And he has a legit O-line and weapons, something he never had at Wake.”

Notre Dame is a heavy favorite, but its games with Navy are sometimes highly competitive. The Fighting Irish won last season, 35-32. 

The Heisman game | San Jose State at No. 6 USC (8 p.m. ET)

Every week, our Heisman game will focus on a Heisman Trophy front-runner. USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who won the award last season, is favored to win it again, per OddsChecker. 

Some project Williams as the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but Yardbarker's Daniel Kelly pegs him as a second-rounder. Keep an eye on Williams' footwork passing, Kelly insists.

"QBs rely on three-, five- and seven-step dropbacks in the pocket to coordinate the timing of their passes with receivers," the former Jets scout noted. "Because Williams' footwork is all over the place in the pocket, coupled with a tendency to lock in with targets, his accuracy is a concern."

Williams finished the 2022 season with 4,537 passing yards, 42 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. He lost one of his top wide receivers, Jordan Addison, to the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but USC's offense is still loaded. 

Upset special | Florida International at Louisiana Tech (9 p.m. ET)

After winning just four games a year ago, Florida International is entering the 2023 season with low expectations. The Panthers are a 12-point underdog, per OddsChecker, but don't rule out FIU pulling off the upset. FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre, the HC at Colorado from 2013-18, has the program headed in the right direction. Louisiana Tech finished 3-9 last season and lost to FIU, 42-34.

Under-the-radar game | Ohio vs. San Diego State (7 p.m. ET)

Neither Ohio of the Mid-American Conference nor San Diego State of the Mountain West is in national spotlight, but there is a lot to like about both of them. 

Ohio returns most of its starters from a team that won 10 games and averaged 31.8 points in 2022. Its most prominent returning starter is quarterback Kurtis Rourke, a 6-foot-5 redshirt junior who completed 69 percent of his passes and threw for 25 touchdowns last season. San Diego State boasted one of the nation's best defenses a year ago, finishing 19th in points allowed per game (20.5). 

The wild-card game | Hawaii vs. Vanderbilt (7:30 p.m. ET)

Vanderbilt won only five games last season, but it was a massive step forward for this SEC afterthought. The Commodores' Week 10 win over Kentucky snapped their 26-game conference losing streak. A week later, Vanderbilt stunned Florida and QB Anthony Richardson, who became the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

The SEC East is the weaker of the two SEC divisions — well, once you get beyond the monster that is Georgia — and it's possible Vanderbilt could become bowl eligible for the first time since the 2018 season.

Following former head coach Todd Graham's reign of error, Hawaii has one of the worst programs in the country. The facilities are terrible, the roster is depleted and the trip to Nashville for this game was looong (nearly 4,400 miles). Good luck, Rainbow Warriors.