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

When: Saturday, August 31st at 7:00 ET Location: John O'Quinn Field at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas TV: Fox Sports 1 Betting Line (DraftKings): Houston -1 Last Meeting: Houston won 47-14(2014) All-Time Series: Houston leads 3-0

The Houston Cougars are entering their second season in the Big XII and things are supposed to be heading in the right direction. Willie Fritz has been in this situation before, coaching Tulane into a respectable program in the American Conference.

Before that, he went 17-7 across two years at Georgia Southern. Now he's tasked with building Houston into a successful Power 4 program for the first time.

Last year, the Cougars went 4-8 in their inaugural Big XII season. The defense was a mess, allowing nearly 400 yards and 31.5 points a game. Their offensive line struggled, especially in pass protection, which left promising quarterback Donovan Smith running for his life.

Now several changes will help both sides of the ball improve. For the offense, Fritz hired Kevin Barbary as the coordinator.

Over the last several years, he's produced some of the most electric offenses in the country, while implementing a well-balanced system.

The offense will revolve around the aforementioned Smith, who has the talent to be one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards with 22 scores. He also ran for 428 more yards and six touchdowns. He could do it all. He just needs to cut down on the picks.

Despite losing Samuel Brown and Mathew Golden to Miami and Texas, respectively, Houston still has reliable targets for Smith to throw to. Joseph Manjack IV, who was the team's second-leading receiver in 2023, and Stephone Johnson Jr, return.

The duo combined for 70 catches and nine touchdowns. The transfer portal beefed up the group by adding tight end Maliq Carr from Michigan State among others.

The offensive line is the biggest question mark. Tank Jenkins is the lone holdover for a unit that lost four starters from last season. That's not necessarily a negative, as last season's bunch gave up 27 sacks. However, there is still some legitimate reason for concern.

Donovan Smith was indeed running for his life as his 428 rushing yards and 138 carries prove that. however, with better protection for him, that'll go down, and the combined efforts of tailbacks Parker Jenkins and Stacy Sneed will certainly reach 1,000 yards.

As mentioned earlier, the defense was Houston's biggest issue. The Cougars are depending on a massive transfer portal overhaul to hopefully fix the issues. A whopping 13 upperclassmen from the portal are expected to play critical roles.

Out of all the transfers coming in, the linebackers should help the most. Third-leading stopper Jamal Morris is the foundational piece here.

Now, in steps Corey Platt from Tulane, Michael Batton from Louisiana-Monroe, and Kendre Gant from Louisiana.

They should all produce as they slot in and out of the rotation, and they have to. Batton racked up 80 tackles in all 12 games last season. Gant also excelled making 64 stops to go along with 12 TFLs and 6 sacks. The defensive line brings in a few transfers such as JUCO prospect Xavier Stillman.

The secondary added six new defensive backs from the portal. Once again, there is a foundational piece as AJ Haulcy led the team with 98 tackles at the free safety spot.

There are good transfers that will get playing time. Names include Bryan Massey from SMU and Hershey McLaurin from West Virginia. The entire unit will be fine under defensive coordinator Shiel Wood, who oversaw an Army, Troy, and Tulane defense from 2021-23.

In his single season at each school, the respective units finished in the top 50 nationally in total defense. The Army and Troy years stand out as they both ranked in the top 20.

On the other side, UNLV has been turning several heads around the country ever since Barry Odom stepped in as head coach. Last season was his first year and the Rebels improved immediately UNLV went 9-5, including going to the Mountain West Championship.

2023 was UNLV's first winning season since 2013 and it was just the third time the program won nine games since becoming an FBS team back in 1978.

UNLV went from a program with no expectations to a program that expects winning, which is great. Now, can Odom's team keep the momentum going in 2024?

The pieces are there. UNLV can put up points in the blink of an eye. However, they need to find a replacement for quarterback Jayden Maiava, who left to be under Lincoln Riley's stewardship at USC.

There are a couple of candidates looking to earn the spot including Holy Cross transfer Mathew Sluka and Campbell transfer Hajj-Malik-Williams.

Whoever earns the job has receivers to work with. Ricky White is arguably the best receiver in the Mountain West and is a major star. He caught 88 passes for nearly 1,500 yards and eight touchdowns. He's a baller.

UNLV also still has Jacob de Jesus, who caught 60 passes, and deep-threat, tight end Kaleon Bullungay.

The offensive line will be fine as four of the five starters return. The headliner is tackle Tiger Shanks. The block for a running back group that lost leading rusher Vincent Davis.

However, NC State transfer Michael Allen and Central Arkansas transfer Kylin James will be fine alongside Jai'Den Thomas, who had a tremendous freshman year for UNLV.

Similarly to Houston, UNLV's biggest issue was its defense as well.

Now, it wasn't terrible as they got off the field most of the time. However, the big plays weren't there, the pass rush was almost non-existent, and there just wasn't much overall production. However, with Barry Odom being a defensive-minded coach, things should get better.

The front is back entirely with all homegrown talent. Tatuo Martinson, Jalen Dixon, and Cooper Webb were pretty good and all are senior veterans. The Rebels brought in Jackson State transfer Antonio Doyle Jr to help get the pass rush going as a defensive end.

Leading tackler Jackson Woodard is also back for his last college season. He'll lead the linebacking corps that shill has plenty of depth and talent. Second-leading stopper Marsel McDuffie also returns.

The secondary is the position group that should benefit most from the transfer portal. Senior strong safety Jonathan Baldwin is the main start of the group, leading the unit with 77 tackles. Cameron Oliver also picked off five passes.

However, there is some excitement around the new guys such as corner Tony Grimes from Texas A&M and safety Jalen Catalon from Texas. Them along with a couple of others will beef up this portion well.

As far as what you'll see during the game, you can expect an offensive shootout. Remember, these are two teams with great offenses that scored a lot last year.

These two teams are very similar and while the defenses will look for improvement, it won't happen right away. While we don't know who UNLV's starter at quarterback is in this game, the main man will put up huge numbers.

The same goes for Donovan Smith at Houston. The secondaries will certainly get burned up a few times in this game, especially UNLV's. He'll also cause problems with his ability to run.

Overall, this will probably be in the discussion for the highest-scoring game in the season's opening week. If you don't have a side in this contest and if you're looking for a good alternate option to watch during the evening, this is your best bet.