Week 1 Preview

Ah, yes, it is finally here! A Saturday full of college football games.

The day starts off with Utah State at Auburn. Utah State may return 9 starters on offense but they were a poor 4-win team last year with the 97th best offense in the country. They aren't very good and will be a good first game for Auburn's youthful defense. It will be interesting to see what Barrett Trotter has, but Auburn has too much talent for this game to be close. Auburn by 2 or 3 scores.

Kent State at Alabama - The question here will be, can Kent State get past the 50 yard line, or can they get more than 3 first downs?

BYU at Ole Miss - Randall Mackey has been suspended for this game, making Barry Brunetti the starter. I don't know that either player is better than the other, but Mackey does have some experience above the high school level, and is a couple years older. Still, I have a feeling Brunetti will be able to lead the offense behind the solid O-line and very good tailbacks against a Mountain West (used to be anyway) defense. The question is - will Ole Miss' D be able to stop BYU? The Cougers have 10 returning starters on offense, including their highly touted QB. They may have only ranked #52 in offense, but BYU always has a good offense and the QB was a freshman last year. And this guy is being thought of like he could end up the best BYU QB ever, and that's a school with Steve Young, Jim McMahon, and Ty Detmer. I don't think Ole Miss' defense will be able to stop BYU. It will be high scoring, and the Cougers win 38-28.

Montana at Tennessee - I think this one's on pay-per-view. I'm sure UT will win 52-10.

South Carolina vs. East Carolina - This game is at a neutral site in Charlotte, but I'm sure USC will have at least 3/4 of the stadium filled with their faithful. East Carolina has a good passing attack with a QB who threw for over 4,000 yards and 37 touchdowns last year. That is South Carolina's weakness, but they do have Stephon Gilmore at cornerback who should be able to blanket their top receiver, Lance Lewis. South Carolina is too good, and they will win the game by a couple touchdowns, probably more.

Florida Atlantic at Florida - We know Florida's defense will be able to stuff FAU, the only thing to look for in this game is what will Florida's offense look like? Last year, they struggled in the first game against Miami of Ohio and then struggled the rest of the year. We'll see how this game goes for the Gators..but they win this one easily.

Missouri State at Arkansas - The over/under here is: will Tyler Wilson get 300 yards in the first half?

Elon at Vanderbilt - Vandy should come out fired up behind their new coach. I expect a beatdown here, and the Dores need to get this game under their belt to fine tune for UConn next week.

Georgia vs. Boise State - I'm sure the Georgia Dome will be packed with UGA fans, but Boise will probably bring some folks too, I'm guessing an 80/20 crowd. I don't think that matters though, Boise State will be prepared as always. Kellen Moore is experienced and even though they lost their top two receivers to the NFL, he will have the offense clicking in Game 1. Georgia's offense has a lot of question marks for me...Murrey and Orson Charles aren't, but what about that O-line that performed horribly last year and has been injury-proned this summer? Running backs are a major question mark and the loss of A.J. Green will hurt badly. Boise State has one of the best defensive lines in the nation, and if the Dawgs O-line isn't prepared to get hit full force Boise will gain momentum quick, and with a young running back and RB turned LB turned RB Richard Samuel in the backfield, it could mean a few fumbles. This will be a good game no doubt, there is plenty of motivation for both teams. Boise State is a 3 point favorite, but I think most people are picking them, and UGA has something to prove. But in the end, Boise State has the most to lose in this game as this is pretty much their whole season. The Broncos win the game 24-17.

LSU vs. Oregon - This game is, of course, huge. It is very tempting to say that Oregon will win the game because the LSU team has been overcome by off the field issues and suspensions of key players...but will it? Losing Jordan Jefferson hurts, but Jerrett Lee does have experience. And even if that experience involves throwing a ton of pick-6's, he is a senior and that might just change. Russell Shepard will also be gone, and that hurts a lot. Suffice it to say there is no way LSU is going to win this game if they get into a shootout with Oregon. The Ducks have their QB back and Heisman Trophy candidate, James, from last year back. They rely on smaller, quicker offensive lineman to run their fast paced offense. But the way I see it, LSU is just the defense to counter something like that. They stockpile defensive talent, and with an entire summer to prepare, I'm sure John Chavis will come up with something. I don't think Oregon will be scoring a ton. A. - it's the first game of the season. B. - LSU has tons of speed and Oregon won't be able to. LSU's D-line is big, fast, and physical. If Oregon can't get to the outside quickly they could be looking at a lot of negative plays. Throwing the ball won't be easy either against one of the best secondaries in the nation. But, will LSU be able to score? Not sure, but Oregon lost a lot of senior leadership on defense. Josh Dworaczyk, LSU's left tackle and probably best offensive lineman, went down this week and I just don't know if you can lose 3 key offensive starters a week before a game like this and win. Oregon gets a big win, 28-24.

Other games of note:

South Florida at Notre Dame - Everybody is back again this year to tell us Notre Dame will be good. I'm not going to hold my breath. I would not be surprised at all if South Florida wins this game. I will predict that it at least comes down to the final 5 minutes.

Tulsa at Oklahoma - Don't sleep on this game. Tulsa went 10-3 last year in CUSA and they have 18 returning starters including 10 on offense. Oklahoma is the better team here, but they were also the better team a few years ago when they lost to BYU to open the season. Could be much closer than the 21 point spread.

UCLA at Houston - This is an interesting game. UCLA has 17 returning starters and this is expected to be a make or break year for Rick Neuheisal. Case Keenum got injured in L.A. last year, he comes back for his 6th year of eligibility behind a team that's been pretty good the last few years. It should be a good game, and I'll pick Houston.


JB