Circle these Group of 5 vs Power 5 college football games in Week 1

Virginia Tech at Old Dominion

September 2 at 7 PM ET on ESPNU

Old Dominion has been an active participant in conference realignment, eschewing their Conference USA home for the greener pastures of the Sun Belt, effective for the 2022 college football season. They’ll be looking to make a statement to their new conference mates with a big win over the ACC’s Virginia Tech.

For Virginia Tech, the Justin Fuente era is officially over and new head coach Brent Pry looks to get his first career win as a head coach. His team will be in a vulnerable position with it being their first game together, it being on the road, and in a hostile environment.

This is a huge game for Old Dominion and probably the biggest game they’ve hosted at Kornblau Field in half a decade. Coincidentally, the last time the Monarchs hosted a Power 5 opponent, it was against then-ranked No. 13 Virginia Tech back in 2018.

Memphis at Mississippi State

September 3 at 7:30 PM ET on ESPNU

The Memphis Tigers edged out the Mississippi State Bulldogs by three points at home last season inside Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. It was the biggest win of the season for the Tigers, who are members of the American Athletic Conference, and they look to replicate last season’s result.

It’ll be the toughest challenge of their season to go into Davis Wade Stadium, at night, for the very first game of the season but Memphis is more than capable.

The Tigers had one of the hottest true freshman quarterbacks in the country last year in Seth Henigan. He returns to take over an offense after throwing 25 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in 11 games last season.

Mississippi State Bulldogs Head Coach Mike Leach needs to get off to a good start this season to keep the sharks from circling him early in the season calling for his job. He’s 11-13 in his career in Starkville and losing to Memphis two seasons in a row will likely put some heat on that lukewarm hot seat.