Big Games-Part 1

With the beginning of the college football season a couple of weeks away, lets take a look at some of the games that will shape the national and SEC season. There are some great matchups on the way.



September 5th



The first weekend is filled with some great interconference games, including at least one with national championship ramifications.



While Florida, Texas and the real USC open up with patsies, Alabama and Virgina Tech get us started right in a made for TV mega matchup at the Georgia Dome. Va Tech is coming off a strong finish, with identical 20-7 wins over BC in the ACC Championship game and Cincinnati in the Rose Bowl. Alabama returns a ton of talent, but must replace well coiffed signal caller John Parker Wilson.




Boise State puts its chances at a BCS bowl on the line early, hosting Oregon. The Broncos went 12-0 last year, including a road win over the Ducks, but somehow settled for the Poinsettia Bowl.

Georgia will put first-time starting QB Joe Cox to the test early, travelling to Stillwater to take on Dez Bryant, Zac Robinson, and the Oklahoma State Cowboys.



Sept 7

Break out your CCDW permit, Florida State hosts Miami (FL).



Sept. 12


A ton of my college friends will be meeting me in Knoxville to watch my UCLA Briuns take on the Tennessee Kiffins. Man, I hate that guy.



Last year USC got Ohio State at home and shellacked the Buckeyes, 35-3. This year, the Trojans travel to Columbus. A win in this game makes either an instant title contender.



Georgia hosts South Carolina, in the kind of game Steve Superior needs to win if he is ever going to establish USC light as a conference power. The clock is ticking, Steve.




September 19th.



Pitino State travels to UK in a game that everyone is conceding to us, or in the case of UK fans chalking up as a win. This one could be a season ruining toe stub if the Cats don't take care of business. In a separate note, I still need tickets to this game.


Texas hosts the team that ruined its 2008 season, a now Michael Crabtree and Graham Harrell-less Texas Tech.


Oregon continues its quest to play the most thankless non-conference schedule in the country with its second non-BCS powerhouse in three weeks, hosting Utah, the same Utes that put it on Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.


West Virgina heads to Auburn. Gene Chizek could buy a lot of goodwill with the sceptical Tiger faithful with a good showing here.


Florida plays Tennessee in a game I seriously hope it wins 100-0.




September 24th


I'll be DVRing 30 Rock and The Office to see if Ole Miss can live up to the preseason hype and steal one on South Carolina's home turf.



September 26th


Cal heads to Oregon in a marquis early season PAC-10 tilt.


It isn't hyped as one of the SEC games of the year. In fact, it could prove one of the worst. But assuming UK hasn't lost to this point, the game against Florida will be the SEC's most attractive on this particular day. It could be the nationally televised 3:30 game on CBS. Lets hope for a better showing than last year.


South Florida hosts Florida State. This reminds me. On the list of things I'd like to see, how about letting the Big East and ACC play a series of games to see who gets to be a part of the BCS the following year?


Token Big Ten game alert: Penn State hosts Iowa. Yeah, I don't really care either.




OCT 3



CAL has a good schedule, including a chance to play its conference's only true powerhouse, USC, at home.



LSU heads to Georgia in a battle of the SEC's upper-middle class.


OCT 10


Florida and LSU kick it off in Death Valley. This is by far the toughest road test in the Tim Tebow Coronation Tour. Oh yeah, and the winner of this game has won the last 3 national championships.

meanwhile . . .

Alabama and Mississippi will be playing at The Grove for possible supremacy in the SEC West. Both must play LSU later in the year, but the winner of this one should be in real good shape.


Alex, Dave, Todd and Ben will be making the seven hour drive to Columbia to see the Cats take on the Cocks. Part of a crucial two game road swing for the Cats we'll discuss in more detail soon.



Oct 17



Texas and Oklahoma square off in Dallas in the "on paper" college football game of the year. Both should be 5-0 heading in. Last year, the Sooners managed to lose and sneak into the national championship game. I don't see that happening again. This could be a de facto national semifinal, played out seven weeks before the end of the season.


Georgia Tech hosts Virginia Tech in a matchup of quarterbacks, Josh Nesbitt and Tyrod Taylor, who both have a lot of hype, but need to improve their accuracy to take their teams where they want to go.


We'll cover the second half of the season in a later post. It is decidedly less interesting.