FOX Sports college football schedule: Five games to get excited for in 2023

FOX Sports recently announced select games for its upcoming 2023 college football slate, highlighted by head coaching debuts, key conference matchups and the next edition of “The Game” between Michigan and Ohio State.

Following the announcement, FOX Sports college football analyst RJ Young took a look at five games that fans should get excited about this fall, including a pair of matchups involving Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes.

You can catch the full list of 2023 college football games on FOX Sports here.

The Coach Prime era begins: Colorado at TCU; Nebraska at Colorado

Where: Amon G Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas; Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
When: Sept. 2, 12 p.m. ET on FOX; Sept. 9, 12 p.m. ET on FOX

Young: “The first two games Colorado plays in the Prime era will be on ‘Big FOX’ broadcast television. This is wild. It’s been about 30 years since we could talk about Colorado being on national television to open the season — since, basically, they won a national championship in 1990. The reason for this is Deion Sanders. There has been a lot said, and will be said, about Coach Prime and what the Buffs may or may not do. They set a season ticket sellout in a day in April. [For] Nebraska at Colorado, it’s going to cost you about $470 just to get in the door. For perspective there, it’s gonna cost you about $87 to get in the door at [two-time defending national champion] Georgia. That is how big a deal Coach Prime has turned out to be at Colorado.”

Revenge bid on Black Friday: TCU at Oklahoma

Where: Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
When: Nov. 24, 12 p.m. ET on FOX

Young: “This is one that Oklahoma has circled [since] the day after they got beat down last year. Before that beatdown by TCU, who then acquitted themselves by making the national championship game, it had been eight years since TCU had beaten Oklahoma. They had the losing end of this for some time. I’m sure Oklahoma would love to get one back on the way out to the SEC. That game might also be about playing in the Big 12 Championship. I think right there at the top — TCU, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas State — all those teams should be vying for the Big 12 Championship.”

Wolverines face test in Happy Valley: Michigan at Penn State

Where: Beaver Stadium, Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
When: Nov. 11, 12 p.m. ET on FOX

Young: “You see that Maryland is on the schedule for Michigan, but [besides that], they basically have to go up against Penn State as their first prove-it game — prove to us that you are a College Football Playoff and Big Ten title contender — in Week 11 against a Penn State team that I think could be the best Penn State team that we’ve seen since Micah Parsons was wearing No. 11 at Beaver Stadium. That defense does not really have any holes to fill in it. They’ve got dudes at every level — defensive line, linebacker, secondary. Offensively, Drew Allar is one of the premier talents in the Big Ten this year and making his debut as the starting quarterback in 2023. He’s gonna get help from a dude that I have been following for some time in running back Nicholas Singleton. Kaytron Allen is also back there. They’re getting KeAndre Lambert-Smith back. And they’re adding Dante Cephas, who caught 82 balls for over 1,200 yards at Kent State a couple of years ago.”

Ryan Day’s must-win game: Ohio State at Michigan

Where: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
When: Nov. 25, 12 p.m. ET on FOX

Young: “It’s always one of the biggest games of the year, and Ryan Day needs a win. It doesn’t matter that I think it’s asinine that Ryan Day’s job is actually up for debate after losing something like six games since being named head coach at Ohio State [in 2019] and having made the national championship game just two years ago and producing first-round quarterbacks like Lincoln Riley produces first-round quarterbacks.

“But with Michigan having won back-to-back games over the Buckeyes, both at home and at “The Shoe” in Columbus, there have been lots of people who have come back to what it really is about at Ohio State. It’s not necessarily winning national championships or even Big Ten championships. It’s did you beat Michigan, and then did you win the Big Ten championship, and then did you win the national championship? They got very used to beating Michigan in the Brady Hoke and Jim Harbaugh eras, and all of a sudden, Harbaugh has found a recepie that works in Ann Arbor and works specifically for them. [I’m] very excited for that game and what it could mean, specifically about what Ryan Day’s future at Ohio State looks like.”