What’s better than one weekly college football series? That’s right, two.  

With LSU not scheduled to play, you might be wondering “is there anything to look forward to in college football this weekend?”. The answer to that question is always yes.  

You might also be wondering, “Doesn’t LSU play almost every weekend? What are you going to do when they do have a game on Saturday?” To which I have a simple answer, great question.  

It wouldn’t be much of a series if I only covered the weeks that LSU wasn’t scheduled to play. Therefore, I’ve come up with a solution.  

For weeks not featuring LSU, I will choose three aspects, whether it’s an individual player, position group, matchup or something else, to shine a spotlight on heading into the upcoming weekend. For every other week, I’ll do the same thing, but with one of those aspects involving LSU’s opponent.  

Now, let’s get into the first potential highlight of the weekend.  

 1. Nebraska Receiving Core

The Cornhuskers have arguably the most important game out of any team playing this weekend, with Head Coach Scott Frost at the top of the hot seat list entering the 2022 college football season. Couple that with the fact that this is the only matchup that features two Power Five teams and you’ve got yourself the must-watch game of the week.  

With a lot riding on the outcome, expect Nebraska to come out firing right out the gate.  

Though Casey Thompson’s first start with the program is also worth keeping an eye on, I’m most interested in seeing what their receiving room will look like, with it mostly being transformed from last season. The names to keep an eye on are Omar Manning, Trey Palmer and Marcus Washington.  

Manning is the only returner of the trio and was heavily featured in the offense last season, finishing the season third in receiving yards behind Samori Toure and Austin Allen. With both those players departing for the NFL, Manning is in line for an elevated role in 2022.  

This receiving core not only appeals to the average college football fan, it also appeases LSU fans looking for someone to pull for in Week 0. Trey Palmer, who started at the slot last season for the Tigers before the emergence of Malik Nabers, now has a beneficial change of scenery to work with this season.  

Despite a decreased role later in the season, Palmer was still fourth in receptions and receiving touchdowns and came away with four receptions that went for more than 30 yards. He should have more success in a bigger role this season.  

Lastly, former Longhorn Marcus Washington finished his sophomore season with nearly 300 yards receiving, with most of that production coming with No. 2 receiver Jordan Whittington out. He now has the chance to start a full season with the Cornhuskers, and that comes with a former Longhorn at the helm.  

With most of Northwestern’s secondary from last year moving on, the Nebraska receiving core could be in line for a big day.  

 2. Illinois Rushing Attack 

Staying within the Big 10, the next highlight of the weekend comes in Illinois’s opening matchup against Wyoming.  

After struggling to become relevant in the Big 10 for years under Lovie Smith, the Fighting Illini went in a new direction in hiring Bret Bielema. Bielema previously coached at Wisconsin and Arkansas with varying degrees of success before spending a couple seasons in the NFL as a coordinator.  

The forefront of Bielema’s offensive scheme in year one was the rushing attack, which was particularly apparent in their wins against Penn State and Minnesota, where run plays accounted for nearly 80% of their offensive plays.  

While Illinois is in a better position at quarterback than it was last season after picking up Tommy DeVito from Syracuse, I still expect Illinois to key in on the run, at least early in the season. Wyoming does return some prominent starters on defense, but as mentioned in the Pick ‘Em article, that defense ranked incredibly low in rushing defense last year.  

The Illini return both their most effective runners from last season in Chase Brown and Josh McCray, who combined for over 1500 yards and seven touchdowns last season. They should benefit from a full offseason of preparation, a more established quarterback at the helm and an opponent bound to give up some big runs. 

This should be a fun one, but this does have the potential to get out of hand, so be sure to tune in early on to get the most enjoyment you can out of it.  

 3. RB Re’Mahn Davis (Vanderbilt) 

Davis has had a roller coaster ride of a college football career. It kicked off with Temple, where things started off incredibly promising.  

He finished his freshman year with over 1100 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns on nearly five yards per carry. While his sophomore year could be considered a slump at first glance, that season featured a small sample size of games, one of which his entire offense was shut down against Tulane.  

He was undoubtedly a workhorse that season and continued to display his impact of the Owls’ passing game before opting to transfer to the SEC for his junior year. In his first season with the Commodores, his averages returned to normal, but before he got the chance to face an SEC opponent, he suffered a season-ending injury.  

He now gets another chance to headline the Vanderbilt backfield this season and could have a big day against Hawai’i, who’s comes into this season sporting a transformed coaching staff and team.