5 spring games to watch in college football on April 22

We’ve got another weekend of spring college football games on tap and here are five that you should take the time to watch on Saturday. 

The college football spring season has another loaded weekend of games and there are some interesting storylines to follow.

As a college football fan, it’s going to be one of the last weekends of spring games, so better take advantage of it, before we have to wait until August to watch college football again.

I know spring games aren’t the same as an actual college football game. But more teams seem to be going back to playing a game instead of just running a controlled scrimmage.

Nebraska is one of the programs that will be hosting a spring game this weekend and Matt Rhule’s team wil be playing four quarters. That’s one game to watch this weekend and here are five college football spring games to watch on April 22.

Alabama (3 PM EST, SEC+)

The Alabama spring game is always interesting to watch just based on the level of talent. This year though, college football fans might have even more interest because the Crimson Tide are trying to find their next starting quarterback.

According to a report from On3.com, things are pretty even between Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe. There was even talk that Alabama could look to the transfer portal if the right player entered.

At this point, the pickings for a quarterback are pretty slim, but the transfer window isn’t over yet. At any rate, it will be interesting to see where things stand among Alabama’s quarterbacks.

Nebraska (2 PM EST, BTN)

Cornhuskers fans are excited about the first spring game under Matt Rhule and there have been a ton of tickets sold. Former head coach Frank Solich is being honored but the focus should be on the field as the Huskers try to become relevant in college football again.

The turnover for Nebraska wasn’t quite as great as it was at Colorado, but close to half the roster in terms of scholarships will be new by the fall. Not all of the incoming freshmen are on campus yet — Malachi Coleman, the No. 1 signee, isn’t. But he’ll likely be in attendance.

Rhule has done a great job of uniting the Nebraska football fanbase and he says Nebraska will play a real game, with live hits on the quarterbacks. You won’t see that many other places, so I’d say it’s worth the watch if you are really jonesing for some college football.

Colorado (3 PM EST, ESPN)

You can see the impact Deion Sanders has had on the Buffaloes by the mere fact the spring game will be on ESPN, while Alabama will be playing in front of a smaller audience.

If you’re a college football fan, it will be hard not to watch the Colorado spring game. At least a little bit. On3 reports that Colorado has 50 new players on this roster (out of 85) and one of them is Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, who plays quarterback.

Travis Hunter, the No. 2 prospect overall in the 2022 class, is another name to watch and it will be interesting to see if he gets time at wide receiver, in addition to cornerback.

Wisconsin (2 PM, BTN)

The first spring game under new Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell will be interesting because the Badgers have talked about opening up the offense.

They hired former North Carolina offensive coordinator Phil Longo and landed profilic quarterback Tanner Mordecai from SMU in the transfer portal. Mordecai threw for over 3,500 yards last season and 33 touchdown passes.

Wisconsin also added some big-time players at receiver, including CJ. Williams, a former USC Trojan. He was a top-100 recruit in 2022 and could be a breakout candidate for 2022.

It will be interesting to see how it will looks, but right now, Wisconsin feels like it could be a real sleeper heading into the 2023 college football season.

Notre Dame (2 PM EST)

Another game to follow is the Notre Dame spring college football game. Fighting Irish fans are likely itching to catch a glimpse of new quarterback Sam Hartman.

Tyler Buchner was the starter at the start of last season and played really well against South Carolina in the Gator Bowl at the end of the season.

Still, Hartman is a special player. He’s likely going to be an NFL quarterback and that’s an upgrade from Buchner, unless the former 2021 recruit has taken a big step forward. If Notre Dame can keep both on the roster, that would be ideal.

We’ll see how it looks on Saturday for the Irish and all these college football teams.