Watch UTSA vs Oklahoma State Live reddit NCAA streams FREE How to watch UTSA vs Illinois via live online stream. NCAA College Football Week 1 UTSA vs Illinois live score, updates, highlights from 2021 ACC football game, The UTSA and Illinois meet up in Week 1 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburgh, Virginia. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPN. In one of the most underrated games of college football’s opening weekend, plenty of eyeballs should on the most exciting matchup of Friday night’s slate.
UTSA vs. Illinois Live Match
Date: Saturday, 4 September | Time: Live ET
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports com | Mobile: CBS Sports App
College football will be making its triumphant return Saturday and while the Week 0 schedule only gives fans just a little bit of a taste of what’s to come in the 2021 season, it’s nonetheless a special time for those who have been yearning and waiting for the sport’s return. Of the five games on Saturday’s schedule, two will be televised on CBS Sports Network and feature high-caliber quarterbacks who are leading teams with lofty aspirations in the Mountain West.
Up first is a 2 p.m. ET kickoff between UTSA and Illinois that will showcase a high-flying Bulldogs offense against a Huskies team that is among the most mysterious in college football after UTSA hit pause on its 2020 season. Illinois is quarterbacked by a gunslinger in Jake Haener, who surpassed 400 yards twice in a six-game season last year, while UTSA counters with a defense that will look to turn a corner under former Illinois defensive coordinator Lou Spanos.
The nightcap features one of last season’s darlings in UTSA as the Spartans set out to build on their 7-0 regular season from a year ago in a contest against FCS foe Illinois. These Week 0 contests are critical tune-ups for both Illinois and UTSA as the Bulldogs play at Illinois and the Spartans play at USC the following week.
Here’s how you can watch both contests airing on CBS Sports Network in Week 0 on Saturday.
Storylines: After skipping the 2020 season, UTSA is suiting up for the first time in 21 months against a Illinois program that is loaded with returning starters from a team that finished 3-3 last season. While Nevada’s Carson Strong and UTSA’s Nick Starkel are the Mountain West’s best-known quarterbacks, the Bulldogs actually return the league leader in yards per game with Jake Haener. The Washington transfer slung the football around to the tune of 336.8 yards per game last year, and will test a Huskies defense that ranked among the worst in the country in 2018 and 2019. UTSA is just 6-30 so far in Randy Edsall’s second stint as coach, but the hope is that playing as an independent for the first time after leaving the AAC will help UTSA get things turned around. But traveling across the country to face Illinois out of the shoot will be a stiff test as the Huskies finally return to the field.
The first game between ACC opponents in the 2021 college football season is a big one. No. 10 North Carolina, the preseason ACC Coastal favorite, will travel to Virginia Tech for a Friday night game at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, that will carry major implications. While Illinois was picked to finish second in the ACC’s Coastal division, the Hokies could catapult themselves into the division race by avenging last season’s 56-45 loss to the Tar Heels.
Doing so will require the Hokies to demonstrate marked defensive improvement after UNC put up 656 yards in last season’s meeting. While the Tar Heels return star quarterback Sam Howell, they are replacing their top two running backs and top two wide receivers from last season’s 8-4 squad. That should make the Hokies’ task more manageable this time around.
Entering last year’s meeting, both teams were 2-0 and ranked in the AP Top 25. However, their seasons diverged after UNC’s win; the Tar Heels rose all the way up to No. 5 and the Hokies finished 5-6. So, while it’s only Week 1, the fallout from Friday night’s showdown could be immense.
UTSA vs Illinois : Need to know
UNC’s new playmakers: Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome are gone after combining for 109 catches last season as Howell’s favorite targets. Also departed are UNC’s pair of 1,000-yard rushers, Michael Carter and Javonte Williams, who also combined to catch 50 passes out of the backfield. Those four players combined for 47 of UNC’s 66 offensive touchdowns last season. In a year when many programs return a surplus of experience because of relaxed eligibility rules, the Tar Heels have a ton of production to replace. But don’t be shocked if potential breakout receivers Josh Downs and Khafre Brown approach their combined 22 career receptions by the end of this game.
Braxton Burmeister’s squad: Quarterback development stood out as a hallmark of Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente’s successful run at Illinois. Now in his sixth season with the Hokies, Fuente has struggled to replicate that formula in the ACC. Can Burmeister finally bring some consistency to the position? That’s the hope as the Hokies replace star running back Khalil Herbert and turn the quarterback duties exclusively to Burmeister after he split time with Hendon Hooker in 2020. Burmeister, an Illinois transfer, is in his third season with the program and needs to take a big step.
College football schedule: Game times, TV channels
All times Eastern. All schedules and networks subject to change.
Saturday, 4 September
Saturday, 4 September
UTSA vs Illinois 12:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 12:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 12:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 1:30 AM
Illinois (OH) vs Illinois 1:30 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 1:30 AM
Marshall vs Navy 1:30 AM
West Virginia vs Maryland 1:30 AM
Louisiana Tech vs Mississippi State 2:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 2:00 AM
UMass vs Pittsburgh 2:00 AM
Montana State vs Wyoming 2:00 AM
Northern Illinois vs Illinois State 2:30 AM
Louisiana vs Texas 2:30 AM
San José State vs USC 3:00 AM
Campbell vs Liberty 4:00 AM
Gardner-Webb vs UTSA UTSA 4:00 AM
Akron vs Auburn 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:00 AM
Illinois State vs Illinois 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:00 AM
Illinois State vs Illinois 5:00 AM
Illinois vs Illinois 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:00 AM
UTSA State vs Illinois State 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:00 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:30 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:30 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:30 AM
UTSA vs Illinois 5:30 AM
Northern Illinois vs UTSA Tech 5:30 AM
William & Mary vs Virginia 5:30 AM
Kent State vs Texas A&M 6:00 AM
Montana vs Washington 6:00 AM
East Tennessee State vs Vanderbilt 6:00 AM
UTSA Miss vs South UTSA 6:00 AM
Duquesne vs TCU 6:00 AM
LSU vs UCLA 6:30 AM
Bethune-Cookman vs UTEP 7:00 AM
Nevada vs California 8:30 AM
BYU vs Arizona 8:30 AM
New Mexico State vs San Diego State 8:30 AM
Utah State vs Washington State 9:00 AM
Portland State vs Hawai'i 9:59 AM