I'm pretty pumped up about college football starting! I've had the whole summer to think about this first week's slate of games...here's what I'll be looking for.
I expect Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Arkansas, and Alabama to roll through their opponents tomorrow, but I think Ole Miss and Tennessee may be off to slow starts before they lay it on in the 2nd half. Kentucky is playing rival Louisville and I expect the game to be pretty close until the 4th quarter. Vanderbilt will have have their hands full at home against Northwestern, and I don't expect them to win. Mississippi State plays Memphis in what I think is a crucial game to win to prove the program is going to take the next step...winning the games they should win. Memphis has a horrible defense and State should be able to play well offensively, and the Tigers offense isn't much better--it will be interesting to see State's new defensive scheme. I think the game will be close at halftime with the Dawgs pulling away fairly easily in the 2nd half, and I'll say the game is a push on the 21 point spread.
Without a doubt the game of the week in the SEC is the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic, LSU vs. North Carolina. This should be a great game to watch...if Les Miles gets LSU to show up, which I think he will. Defenses always start-up quicker than offenses and that is what North Carolina has, an incredible defense. The Tar Heels were ranked 6th in the nation last year on D, and have 9 returning starters (although we'll see how many end up being suspended). We'll see how much Jordan Jefferson has improved as he facing a tough task his first week out. UNC has 10 returning starters on offense including a 4-year starting quarterback. LSU should have a very good secondary, and their defense always has top athletes. According to Phil Steele, LSU's 1st and 2nd string is the most inexperienced in the country! --so that's not what you want going into a huge game against an experienced (UNC is 34th in the nation) and talented team. On the flip side of course are the off-field distractions that has plagued UNC all summer. I have thought UNC would win this game all summer but with the news that possibly as many as 16 players will not be playing for them, many of them starters, I'm going to have to go with LSU. This game could even get ugly with all the distractions North Carolina has, but I'll say it's relatively close at 20-10 with half the scoring coming from the defenses.
Elsewhere around the country the Connecticut at Michigan game looks very intriguing...Rich Rod is virtually a lame duck unless he wins 9 or 10 games this year, UConn is pretty good and I'm going with the Huskies to win this game. Purdue and Notre Dame should be another good one, I would take Purdue at -11 all day long...they might win that game. Remember a couple years ago when Jake Locker threw the ball in the air after scoring a touchdown and the ref called excessive celebration and Washington missed the 35 yard extra point to lose by one against BYU, well now we get Washington at BYU and if Jake Locker really is the great QB everybody says he is then I want to see it in this game, but for now I'm sticking with the Mormans. TCU has an early test at home against Oregon State, I think they win big in an effort to prove their place in the Top 10.
The biggest game of the weekend is the last one, Virginia Tech vs. Boise State on Labor Day Night. This should be a classic game with huge implications for both teams, especially Boise State. I do think Virginia Tech is over-rated this year (I think they are the 3rd or 4th best team in the ACC not the nation), but they should be well-prepared to face Boise on a national stage. Boise is loaded with experience at every position, a lot like Florida was last season, and VA Tech really doesn't have that much coming back from last year. I think it is a high-intensity game for 4 quarters, and I'm going to go with Boise State to pull out another big win, 27-20.
It should be a good first week of college football. There aren't very many marquee games, but that's ok because it's time for football!
JB
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