Week 1 Preview

Its finally here the college football season! After several months of waiting and all the talk, the games are finally going to be played. The polls and analysis can now turn to the cold hard facts: results on the field. There will be intriguing matchups throughout the season and I will look to bring up the ones I think my be worth watching. The ones that might have an intriguing story line or the matchup holds huge ramifications for a conference title or better yet, the national title game. One loss and your season could go from national title hopes to BCS possibility. Another loss and the road becomes tougher for a season that most teams strive for.

To start things off, how about a couple games that most likely shouldn't be close but will highlight the two teams that very likely could be playing for the national title come January. This will be games for both teams to tune up and prepare for a long season in the SEC and Big 12 respectively.

Charleston Southern visits No. 1 Florida AND
Louisiana-Monroe visits No. 2 Texas


Then there are a few games that don't really offer a big matchup. They may however provide us with an upset or a sign of things to come from the favored team.

These include:
Western Kentucky at Tennessee: Will the Lane Kiffin hype lead to a strong start for the season for Tennessee?

San Jose State at No. 4 USC: How will the Matt Barkley-led Trojans fair in their season debut in their quest for another PAC-10 title and possible national title?

Nevada at No. 23 Notre Dame: How will Notre Dame start off a year ranked and with pressure to succeed? Will this be a let down game for the Fighting Irish?

Western Michigan at Michigan: How will Michigan respond following their worst season ever and dealing with the current allegations circling around Ann Arbor?

Missouri vs Illinois (neutral site game: St. Louis): These two have played the last couple years and last year was a classic shoot-out as both teams combined for 94 points. Who knows how this one might go? Neither team will probably be as good as they were two years ago, but it could be a surprisingly good game.

Monday afternoon: Cincinnati at Rutgers: This one might be a bit of a pick based on me being an alum of Rutgers, but still...the game should be good as most Big East games have tended to be in recent years. Cincinnati is the defending Big East champ and this could be Rutgers' year to finally claim that elusive Big East title and BCS birth. This game would be a major step for either.

Now to my top 5 matchups of Week 1:
5)Monday at 8pm- Miami (FL) at No. 18 Florida State: This one is almost always a classic showdown between the two in-state rivals. Some years there are national title hopes at stake. I doubt that is the case this year, but this is starting to become quite the traditional game for Labor Day. Could come down to a field goal...would not be the first time. Pick: Miami

4)Saturday at 7pm- No. 20 BYU vs No. 3 Oklahoma (at neutral site-Dallas): This a matchup on paper that could be interesting or could be a blow-out. Oklahoma was very lethal on offense last year, but BYU the last couple years has proven to be more than a worthy challenge. Oklahoma should win the game, but an upset is very possible if Oklahoma underestimates BYU. Stranger things have happened. Pick: Oklahoma

3)Saturday at 3:30pm- No. 13 Georgia at No. 9 Oklahoma State: Two teams that have national title hopes clashing in a Week 1 showdown. The loser will have a harder road to a national title or even a conference title. Georgia plays in the same division as Florida while Oklahoma State has games with both Oklahoma and Texas to follow. Could be a close one or Oklahoma State could over power Georgia with their offense. Pick: Oklahoma State

2)Thursday at 10:15pm- No. 16 Oregon at No. 14 Boise State: This is a rematch of last year's showdown when Boise State stunned Oregon at Oregon. This time the game is on the blue turf in Boise. Both teams would love a big win to start the year. An Oregon win puts them on track to possibly knock off USC as Pac-10 champ and make a run like 2 years ago for a national title. A Boise State win could catapult them to a BCS birth. As a non-BCS team, Boise State has a tougher road and doesn't face too many tough challenges after Oregon. Both team have a lot to prove. Pick: Boise State

1)Saturday at 8pm- No. 5 Alabama vs No. 7 Virginia Tech (at neutral site-Atlanta): This is in my opinion the best game of the week. Two top 10 teams squaring off to start the year. Alabama had a great year last year until their final two games when they got beat by Florida for the SEC championship then to Tide followers they were upset and embarrassed by Utah. Virginia Tech had another solid year and are looking to take the next step: a national title birth; something they haven't had since the 2000 season. A win over the other would definitely add to each's out of conference schedule. The neutral site does help both as going to either's home field would slant the advantage to that team. Hopefully it should be a close game with a lot of good defense. The injury to Tech's starting HB might be the difference. Pick: Alabama


There are a lot of good games to start the year and finally college football is back!