(Top 25 Games)
Miami (OH) vs. #4 Florida
12:00 ET ESPN, Sat. Sept. 4, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Florida: The John Brantley era in Gainesville begins. The Gators will look to continue on the winning path and prove to the rest of the country they can win without Tim Tebow. The Gators return just 11 starters total but will be looking at getting a lot of youthful talent ready before SEC play begins. PLAYER TO WATCH: William Green – Jr. DE.
Miami (Oh): The Redhawks will be looking to escape Gainesville without too many bumps and bruises. The other Miami made it through a torturous season last year going 1-11, with their only win coming against Toledo. The Redhawks rush game averaged just 70 yards a game at just a 2.4 yard per rush average, something they will look to improve upon greatly this season. PLAYER TO WATCH: Jerrell Wedge – Jr. MLB
The Pick: I can’t see Florida letting this one get too far away from them against such a porous first week opponent. If the Gators let the Redhawks within 35 points of them, then Urban Meyer may really have some health issues to worry about. Florida 56 – Miami (Oh) 9 – (Bet the House pick)
(Give me a ticket to see...)
#24 Oregon State vs. #6 TCU
7:45 PM ET, ESPN, Sat. Sept. 4, Cowboy Stadium, Arlington, TX
Oregon State: It is the return to Texas for the Beavers two brightest stars in Jacquizz and James Rodgers. Surprisingly it is the first game the two have played in their home state since high school and will not be looking to disappoint plenty of friends and family. The Beavers will be looking at getting the ball into the Rodgers brother’s hands early to keep momentum on their side. PLAYER TO WATCH: Cameron Collins – Jr. SS
TCU: The Horned Frogs open the season in the national spotlight early and with the highest preseason ranking in school history. Quarterback Andy Dalton leads a potent offense that can score quickly with playmakers to go around. TCU will look to establish a ground game early then go over the top with quick strike passing plays to a set of talented wideouts. A stout defense led by linebacker Tank Carder, just may be enough to slow down Rodgers 1 & 2. PLAYER TO WATCH: Jermey Kerley – Sr. WR/KR
The Pick: I like Oregon State this season, a lot actually. Just not in this game. TCU is a tough opponent BCS National Championship eligible or not, the Horned Frogs are nothing to mess with. If Quizz Rodgers is able to get into a rhythm early, however, it may be a different story. But we did just see what the Mountain West did to Pitt’s Dion Lewis Thursday night. If your betting on this one, it might be best to just save little Timmy’s college fund for now. TCU 33 – Oregon State 24
#21 LSU vs. #18 North Carolina
8:00 PM ET, ABC, Sat. Sept. 4, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
LSU: The Tigers will be looking for an identity offensively in this one. Junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson was shaky at times last season and seemed to fade in big games. The rushing game was also off for the Tigers last season and with Charles Scott and Keiland Williams gone, the team will be looking to get Stevan Ridley and Mike Ford touches to take the pressure off of Jefferson. A strong defense remains, however, that gave up just 16 pts a game last year, led by corner Patrick Peterson leading the way. PLAYER TO WATCH: Russell Shepard – So. WR
North Carolina: OK, so who will be playing in this one? It looks like right now the Tar Heels will be without five of their top seven defenders, including three defensive backfield starters. Linebacker Bruce Carter and Quan Strudivant have been cleared to play, but with 12 other players on the no-go list, it doesn’t really matter at this point. The Tar Heels two biggest offensive weapons – Greg Little and Ryan Houston – will also sit this one out. Really terrible news for the Heels. PLAYER TO WATCH: Zach Pianalto – Sr. TE
The Pick: What was one of the hardest games of the week to pick became a whole lot easier when you take away 12 of one teams best players. I liked the Tar Heels by a short edge before and when the only suspended player was defensive tackle Marvin Austin, however, I can’t help but pick the Tigers in a Sunday morning drive game. LSU 31 – UNC 16
(Game of the week)
#3 Boise St. vs. #10 Virginia Tech
8:00 PM ET, ESPN, Mon. Sept. 6, FedEx Field, Landover, MD
Boise State: The pesky Bronco’s just can’t stay out of the spotlight these days. Another marquee early season matchup keeps Boise in the hearts of America, but this time however, the Bronco’s don’t have the blue turf to confuse their opponents. That’s how it works right? With only one starter gone from last year’s team, the Broncos will look to spread things out early in this one with Heisman hopeful QB Kellen Moore at the helm. PLAYER TO WATCH: Titus Young – Sr. WR
Virginia Tech: The Hokies will look to do one thing early in this one and that is get the ball into the hands of running backs Ryan Williams and Darren Evans and watch them take off. The duo of running back may be one of the best in the country. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is poised for his best season in a Tech uniform and would like nothing more than to be able to work in some deep play action in this one. An inexperienced defense of the Hokies will be tested early, however, and it will be interesting to see how Bud Fosters D reacts to the precision passing of Moore. PLAYER TO WATCH: Rashad Carmichael – Sr. CB
The Pick: How can the Bronco’s possibly open back-to-back seasons with BCS wins under their belts? Consistency, that’s how. Boise has been one of college footballs best for four years now and once winning starts to flow through a program, it becomes contagious. Tech won’t roll over close enough to their own back yard, however. The Hokies will make Boise fight until the end in this one. Boise State 23 – Virginia Tech 20
Other Intriguing Games:
Connecticut vs. Michigan
3:30 PM ET, ABC, Sat. Sept. 4, Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI
Michigan: What could be the final stage of the Rich Rod era kicks off with another home opener. The question in this one will be who will emerge at quarterback and will Rodriguez have to deploy three QB’s like he’s running a spring game all season, or is one finally ready to take the fulltime duties. My money is on Denard Robinson to take the job, outperforming Tate Forcier today. Up to 12 freshman could see action in this one, and against a solid team like UConn, that kind of news makes me a bit more worried than anxious to see new faces. PLAYER TO WATCH: Michael Shaw, Fr. RB
UConn: For a team that went 8-5 last season and has made three straight bowl games, the Huskies seem to still only be known as a basketball school. Notre Dame transfer, Zach Frazer, leads the way at quarterback, taking the fulltime starting duties this fall. Running back Jordan Todman was a 1,000+ yard rusher last season and the Huskies bring a tense defense, led by All-American linebacker Lawrence Wilson, to the Big House. PLAYER TO WATCH: Jesse Joseph, So. DE
The Pick: With so much youth spreading the field for the Wolverines and the quarterback still an unsettled position, it makes it quite hard to pick to home team here. If Big Blue would have left camp with a bit more confidence on defense and a clear starter at QB, Michigan would be the pick. But because I hate teams that rotate QB’s like defensive lineman, a mean UConn defense pulls it out. Connecticut 27 – Michigan 20
(Upset pick of the week)
Kentucky vs. Louisville
3:30 PM ET, ABC, Sat. Sept. 4, Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY
Kentucky: The Wildcats open the season with one of their biggest rivals in a game at Louisville. An exciting offense is led by the return of senior running back Derrick Locke who rushed for 907 yards and six scores last season. Kentucky often gets lost in the bottom of the SEC but continues to put out decent numbers year after year. Big wins last season came against Auburn and Georgia and the Wildcats are plenty capable of pulling of big performances when they feel up to it. PLAYER TO WATCH: Randall Cobb, Jr. WR
Louisville: The Cardinals are picked to finish at the bottom of the Big East, which looks bad on a resume when you’re mentioned in the same sentence as Syracuse. Charlie Strong takes over as head coach. The former Florida defensive coordinator brings discipline and a defensive minded game to a team that was lacking both. The offense remains a question, however, as it was a bit non-existent last season. Defense should prevail here though, with a lot of young speed and talent playing early in this one. PLAYER TO WATCH: Victor Anderson, Jr. RB
The Pick: The Cardinals are the clear underdog here, perhaps even more than the -5.5 points Vegas lied down. Kentucky has a lot of talent offensively with plenty of people who can score whenever they get the ball. The hiring of a coach who played against and shut down Kentucky for many years at Florida was a good move for Louisville however. I think they get the win and finish the season better than the bottom of the Big East. Louisville 28 – Kentucky 16
W. Michigan vs. Michigan State
12:00 PM ET, ESPN2, Sat. Sept. 4, Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Western Michigan: Western football has been a bit of an unpredictable game the last few season in K-Zoo. The Broncos have won when they should have been losing and lost when they should have been winning. Tim Hiller is finally succeeded, leaving the offense to be led by sophomore Alex Carder. A talented group of wideouts all return for the Broncos as well, leaving a lot of fire power for Carder to work with. PLAYER TO WATCH: Doug Wiggins, Jr. FS
Michigan State: State football has a lot to look forward to at the start of the 2010 season. The Spartans have put together their most impressive team and best defense in the Mark Dantonio era. The defense is led by All-American linebacker Greg Jones and All-Big 10 ‘backer Eric Gordon. It will be interesting to see how a full offseason for freshman running backs Larry Caper and Edwin Baker works out. The two were, for the most part unimpressive, after coming to State with such high expectations. Watch out for former QB Keith Nichol, who makes the switch fulltime to wideout. PLAYER TO WATCH: (backup) Andrew Maxwell, rFr. QB
The Pick: If all goes to plan for the Spartans fans will be enjoying some good MSU partying come 3:30 in East Lansing. You can believe, however, the football team won’t be invited, just for safety reasons.. The Broncos put together a decent team, but I can’t see MSU slipping up like they did last season against Central. The backups should be in by the fourth in this one. Michigan State 41 – Western 13
Washington vs. BYU
7:00 PM ET, TBA, Sat. Sept. 4, LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
Washington: Just three years removed from an 0-12 campaign, former USC assistant Steve Sarkasian has turned the Huskies into a PAC 10 contender. A lot of the credit can be credited to the play of senior QB Jake Locker as well. The team returns 18 starters from a season in which they saw wins over USC, Arizona and Cal. The Huskies last played BYU during the timorous 2008 season where they fell to the Mormons 27-28. PLAYER TO WATCH: Chris Polk, So. RB
BYU: The cougars bring an experienced team to the 2010 season but will be looking for answers at the quarterback position with heralded freshman Jake Heaps competing with junior Riley Nelson for the job. Breaking in a fresh new QB against a talented PAC 10 team isn’t ideal for the Cougars but Heaps may be talented enough to take the job and run with it. The defense is led by big senior safety Andrew Rich who did a little bit of everything last season. PLAYER TO WATCH: JJ Di Luigi, Jr. RB
The Pick: I can’t help but think that somehow Jake Locker has been ready for this one for quite a while. The senior will look to kick off his Heisman campaign with a nice looking win early and that’s exactly what BYU would provide. Provo is no easy place to walk into, however, even with a stadium full of sober fans. In the end a mean Huskies defense and leadership of Locker should strike revenge of an ’08 one point loss. Washington 26 – BYU 24
Purdue vs. Notre Dame
3:30 PM ET, NBC, Sat. Sept. 4, Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN
Purdue: A familiar face will take the field for the Boilermakers Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium. Junior quarterback Robert Marve begins his career leading a Purdue team on the way down in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers bring an experienced defense led by linebacker Jason Werner to South Bend, but the offense remains a large question mark. PLAYER TO WATCH: Keith Smith, Sr. WR
Notre Dame: What kind of Notre Dame team are we going to see Saturday? The 2010 season marks the most excitement the Golden Domers fans have had heading into a season in quite a while. Three straight less than satisfying seasons kicked Charlie Weis back to the NFL and led first year head coach Brian Kelly into his dream job. Wherever Kelly has coached the program has turned to gold – i.e. Grand Valley, Central Michigan, Cincinnati – but luckily for Kelly, half of Notre Dames campus is already painted gold so all he’ll have to do is bring is offensive generous mind. But wasn’t that all that Weis had to do too? The game also features the debut of once heralded junior quarterback Dayne Crist, who has been sharp in Kelly’s system all offseason. PLAYER TO WATCH: Manti Te’o, So. MLB
The Pick: The hiring of Kelly should pay off for Notre Dame. Unlike the hiring of Weis, Kelly was already an established HEAD-coach who knows how to turn around a program. The defense for the Irish is finally living up to where the offense was years ago, and fans should expect one of its better performances out of the unit in years. Marve could make a splash at QB for Purdue, but Notre Dame has too much talent to go around. Notre Dame 37 – Purdue 27
Navy vs. Maryland
4:00 PM ET, ESPN, Mon. Sept. 6, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Navy: Can a service player actually win the Heisman in this day and age? Ricky Dobbs, Navy’s hopeful at QB, will put that question to the test this season. Dobbs is a tremendous talent who rushed for over 1,200 yards and 27 scores last season. The senior QB will be counted upon to bring the Midshipmen another successful season after going 10-4 a year ago. The defense remains tough but will be breaking in six new starters come Monday. PLAYER TO WATCH: Marcus Curry, Jr. SB
Maryland: What should be Ralph Friedgen’s last season on the Maryland sidelines needs to open up with a bang. The Terrapins were a disappointment last season winning just two games with a talent rich team. The offense is led by a speedy duo of players in running back Da’Rel Scott and wideout Torrey Smith. Smith may be the ACC’s fastest player. A weak Terrapin defense will have a hard time shutting down the precise option offense of Navy though. PLAYER TO WATCH: Alex Wujciak, Jr. MLB
The Pick: The last time these two met was the 2005 season when Maryland walked away with the three point victory. With a talent rich offense and a dynamic player like Dobbs leading the way, that outcome may be far out of reach for the Terp’s in this one. If Maryland can’t get the ball into the hands of Smith and Scott early, the Navy offense will make them pay. Navy 28 – Maryland 18
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