College football schedule: Spring games you should watch today

Keep an eye on these spring games as the college football schedule marches on towards the 2023 preseason

Spring has sprung and with it comes the annual schedule of college football scrimmages and spring games from around the country.

Hope springs eternal for fans to watch as their favorite schools get back in action and see how their offseason preparation has gone leading into the summer preseason.

Saturday will give fans one of the busier days on the spring calendar to watch with many high-profile programs contenders in action.

Position battles are still going on with plenty of opportunities for players to make themselves known and move into starting roles with their teams, while other schools are looking to build depth, get new recruits involved, and install transfer additions.

Here's a checklist of the more important spring football games you should keep an eye on this Saturday.

College football schedule: 2023 spring games you should watch today

What to watch on the spring college football schedule

All times Eastern

LSU: The surprise defending SEC West champs return to the field as Brian Kelly looks to prove his debut wasn't a fluke. He'll have plenty of tools to work with, including quarterback (and leading rusher) Jayden Daniels, his entire offensive line, some top-flight skill pieces to move the ball, and 12 transfers to work into the fold, including 5-star corner Denver Harris and former Bama receiver Aaron Anderson. One new wrinkle to keep an eye on is Harold Perkins moving to inside linebacker this spring. 2 p.m. on SECN+

Nebraska: Our first look at what Matt Rhule has been cooking up since his heralded arrival to revive the Cornhuskers program. So far, he's done everything right, resulting in a ton of optimism for the Nebraska faithful, but now we'll get a chance to see how the team's quarterback race is progressing — between incumbent Casey Thompson and transfer Jeff Sims — and what kind of physicality the team can generate on both lines of scrimmage, areas of weakness last season. 2 p.m. on BTN

Notre Dame: Some major changes to the Irish offense this offseason after play-caller Tommy Rees left for the Alabama and the addition of transfer quarterback Sam Hartman, the veteran who broke the ACC's all-time record in TD passes last year. Hartman inherits one of college football's best offensive lines and one of the game's better RB rotations, but is the job really his yet? Observers are high on Tyler Buchner, who has impressed so far this spring and is making a genuine case for himself in the competition with Hartman. 2 p.m. on Peacock

Wisconsin: Get ready to see a very new-look Badgers team. Not that first-year coach Luke Fickell will completely abandon Wisconsin's long-time identity of ground-and-pound Big Ten football, especially not with star back Braelon Allen returning, but by bringing on offensive coordinator Phil Longo, things are about to open up in a big way. Transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai and WR additions like C.J. Williams and Bryson Green will be key to that project. 2 p.m. on BTN

Alabama: All eyes are on the quarterback battle between Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson. The former is a dynamic, athletic option who showed flashes of real potential in limited action a year ago, and the latter is a former 5-star pro-style pocket passer with a big arm. Tommy Rees steps in to call plays on offense, and he'll be working with what Nick Saban promises is an improved protection unit up front and some promising speed at the skill positions, too. 3 p.m. on ESPN+ and SECN+

Colorado: The anticipated debut of Deion Sanders and his loaded transfer class in front of a sold-out crowd in Boulder. Colorado brought on around four-dozen new players onto the roster, including the coach's son at quarterback and former 5-star phenom Travis Hunter, who can play corner and receiver. 3 p.m. on ESPN

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Oklahoma: The return of quarterback Dillon Gabriel is an important foundation to build around, but the Sooners need to beef up their protection line, tease some more production from their returning offensive pieces around Gabriel, and rebuild a defense that was one of college football's worst, something of a surprise given Brent Venables' track record coaching defenses. Transfers like Dasan McCullough and Trace Ford are major pickups for the unit. 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Washington: Michael Penix is back after leading college football in passing yards, as are his two 1,000-yard receiving targets from a year ago. But the Huskies need to hone in on improving their defensive output this season in order to really profit from the team's superb attack and move into the Pac-12 title race. 4 p.m. on Pac-12 Network

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