College Football Week 1 Preview

The long offseason is about to end on Thursday night. A full slate of action is ready to bring the nation back to their couches and stadiums. Like the last few years, I will be looking at each week's slate and seeing the top ones to watch and some other worth contests.

Games to highlight in Week 1:

No. 10 South Carolina at Vanderbilt (Thursday August 30th): The biggest game on Night 1. South Carolina can provide a preview of their talent against a less than stellar opponent.

Miami (OH) at No. 25 Ohio State (Saturday September 1st): How will Ohio State start this year with sanctions preventing them from a postseason?

Ohio at Penn State (Saturday September 1st): It's been one of the toughest offseasons for Penn State than most schools have faced since SMU in the 1980s. How will they play on the field?

Nevada at California (Saturday September 1st): There is potential for open offenses or ugly football. Something potentially to watch anyway you look at it.

Top 5 Games of Week 1:

#5 Notre Dame vs Navy (from Dublin, Ireland)(Saturday September 1st): This unique regular season contest will only add to this rivalry. Navy's scheme mixed with Notre Dame's potential on offense can provide a high scoring affair. There might be some testing out early before a lot of second half action. PICK: NOTRE DAME

#4 Georgia Tech at No. 13 Virginia Tech (Monday September 3rd): Virginia Tech is looking to start the year with a big conference win. George Tech will likely provide some punch, but the Hokies' skill start the separation. PICK: VIRGINIA TECH

#3 No.16 Clemson vs No. 23 Auburn (at Atlanta, GA)(Saturday September 1st): This non-conference game has slowly turned into an interesting "tiger" rivalry. Some back and forth scoring looks probably before a couple tricks by Clemson puts them in a good spot. Auburn's late rally falls short. PICK: CLEMSON

#2 No. 21 Boise State at No. 9 Michigan State (Friday August 31st): Can Boise State do it again? This year looks like a tougher challenge than most in the past. They seem to lack a couple of big stars like QB Kellen Moore was for the Broncos. They keep the Spartans on their toes until late. PICK: MICHIGAN STATE

#1 No. 12 Michigan vs No. 1 Alabama (at Dallas, TX)(Saturday September 1st): This game will serve as a yardstick for Michigan and QB Denard Robinson. The same might be said for Bama as they prepare to defense their title. There should be a lot of fireworks off the field in Dallas then some big hits early. As the game settles in, Robinson will be the biggest x-factor. He will determine if this game is close or a landslide in Alabama's favor. The Tide will pack a few too many punches for even Denard. Close for most of the 1st half before a big 3rd for Alabama. PICK: ALABAMA

The games are ready for kickoff. Time to get the taste of the offseason out of our mouths and see as the season starts to unfold. The games will slowly increase to some big time main events and the title picture will slowly become clearer.