Season launch: Top showdowns you can't miss in Week 1

Well, here we are. We have made it past the long days of the winter, spring, and summer. America's greatest sport is back.

The 2024 college football season is upon us.

We already have some intriguing matchups to follow closely. With that said, let's take a look at the top games during week 1 of the 2024 college football season.

When: Thursday, August 29th at 8:00 PM ET Location: Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota TV: FOX Betting Line (DraftKings): Minnesota -2.5 Last Matchup: North Carolina won 31-13(2023) All-Time Series: North Carolina leads 1-0

This is the second all-time meeting between UNC and Minnesota. The two schools met for the first time last year back in Chapel Hill. In that game, the Tar Heels rolled all over Minnesota in a 31-13 drubbing.

This year's matchup takes place in Minneapolis, and the results will surely be different. This will not be a blowout as both teams look different to open the 2024 campaign.

In 2023, Minnesota's offense was abysmal. They ranked 125th in the nation for total offense and last year's matchup served as a frustrating omen of things to come for the offense. The Gophers only racked up 303 total yards in that game.

Now things hope to be different. That leads to one of the bigger headlines surrounding this rematch. Both teams have new starters at quarterback.

For North Carolina, they haven't announced a starter. However, Drake Maye is now with the New England Patriots. They have three guys in the mix to be the starter including Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson and Arkansas transfer Jacolby Criswell.

Whoever gets the nod will have a decent amount of weapons to spread the ball around.

UNC's receiving core did take a hit with the loss of Devontez Walker to the NFL. However, the team still has J.J. Jones and Nate McCollum, who were 1 & 2 in receptions for UNC last year.

UNC also possesses arguably the nation's best running back in Omarion Hampton, who'll work behind a front five that returns three starters from 2023.

It'll be interesting to see how Minnesota's frontline and linebackers will handle Hampton and the running game. Minnesota's run defense ranked 64th in the nation and 10th in the Big Ten, giving up an average of 149 yards per game.

Last year, the Gophers did a decent job of containing Hampton as he only rushed for 46 on 13 carries.

However, they need to prove that they can shut down a decent running game. The pass defense needs to also show improvement as well, after giving up 219 yards per game through the air. The Gophers gave up over 400 passing yards in last year's matchup.

Now, for Minnesota, they have a new QB as well and the starting job is secured. Last year, Gopher fans had to watch Athan Kaliakmanis, who is one of the more underwhelming QBs in major college ball.

He's off to Rutgers and in steps New Hampshire transfer Max Brosmer. Brosmer proved to be one of the best quarterbacks in the FCS over the last couple of seasons. He's thrown for well over 8,000 yards and 70 scores. He can also move around and run as well.

A degenerative passing game was one of Minnesota's biggest struggles. Brosmer's arrival should turn that around. He's going to work with a receiving group that needs to prove they can be effective.

Minnesota's leading receptionist from last year, Daniel Jackson, is still around and will line up in the slot. It's the others who need to give more of a contribution, especially Elijah Spencer and tight-end Nick Kallerup.

Minnesota also still has their top two rushing leaders in Darius Taylor and Jordan Nubin. Both are parts of a deeper rotation as running back, who has three transfers that are ready to chip in when needed.

In last year's matchup, one of the biggest themes in UNC's blowout victory was their time of possession. They dominated that statistic and Minnesota didn't have time to do much of anything.

If Minnesota is going to win, their going to have to flip the script on that. Despite some of the changes that have occurred with the UNC offense, the unit is still expected to be one of the best in the country.

The Gophers are going to have to keep the Tar Heels offense off the field for as much as possible. Minnesota's offense should be better and more productive, especially with a more capable signal-caller, who will give them the ability to run a more balanced attack.