By: David Folz
As we kick off the college football campaign we focus on
what to watch for this weekend, as well as the top five games to keep an eye on
this weekend. Since it will be the
opening week, we will see a lot of new things in the world of college football:
new uniforms, players on teams, and freshmen looking to make an impact right
away. With that here are things to look
for in the opening week:
South Carolina in Nashville: The Gamecocks open up vs.
Vanderbilt, who has not been the easy opponent that they used to be. The WR position for South Carolina will need
to be figured out during this game, so if Vanderbilt can contain Marcus
Lattimore then they pose a really good upset threat. Vanderbilt also will have potential
all-conference RB Zac Stacy leading the way but will need quarterback Jordan
Rodgers to progress and this is a prime opportunity.
Boise State: This will be the best test for the Broncos, who
start Friday against Michigan State.
Boise will look to prove they reload like the best teams in the
nation. The Spartans are also breaking
in an entirely new host of offensive players like the Broncos, so defense could
be a premium in this game.
Urban Meyer takes over OSU: It may be Miami-Ohio as an
opening opponent, but this is Urban Meyer’s first test in his tenure with the
Buckeyes. They will not be playing for
any post-season accolades this year, so it will be just winning and nothing
more for Ohio State.
Penn State takes the field: The Nittany Lions take on Ohio
in the first game following the tumultuous end of last season and the
off-season sanctions that followed from the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The matter is only made worse when it is a
completely new coaching staff, an offense with no proven talent outside of the
quarterback position and a secondary that is suspect. Things will not look good for the Nittany
Lions this year, but at least they are not out of football completely.
Five Games to Watch:
5. Notre Dame vs. Navy in Dublin, Ireland: Yes, you read
that right, Navy and Notre Dame are playing in Dublin for this game. This is a big game for both teams as they
open the season and both for many various reasons. For Navy, they had a down season by their
standards of late, not having a winning season and failing to get a bowl berth
for the first time since 2002. For Notre
Dame, they are looking to get to the BCS for the first time since Charlie Weis
led them to the Sugar Bowl back in 2006.
The Irish also have backup quarterback Everett Golson starting in place
of the suspended Tommy Rees. Also the
Irish will be without running back Cierre Wood, who was suspended on Monday for
the first two games.
4. Clemson vs. Auburn: Last year the high-powered Clemson
Tigers offense was too much for Auburn’s shaky defense. This year however, the Auburn defense will be
better and Clemson will be without Sophomore superstar receiver Sammy
Watkins. A primetime game, this will
have a good sense where the SEC could stand as far as the middle of the SEC
standings from last year improving or regressing.
3. Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech on Labor Day: College
football’s two hardest working teams appropriately do battle on the holiday of
workers. These two along with Virginia
factor to be the top three teams in the Coastal division in the ACC so it will
come to no one’s surprise if defense rules the day in this game, as the key
will be Virginia Tech’s passing attack being the difference. A thing to look for is how well the Yellow
Jackets triple option, wishbone offense works as the Hokies have had a summer
of scouting it.
2. Boise State vs. Michigan State on Friday: For some reason
Boise State always seems to play these opening games on a weekday night, though
this would gain huge national attention during the afternoon on Saturday due to
the lack of any real great games. Both
teams are going to have many tools to replace on offense, all at the skill set
positions. Do not be surprised if this
game is the first to score 17 points wins, because defense is going to dominate
the game with the new players on offense for both sides.
1. Michigan vs. Alabama in Arlington, Texas: This is by far
the most important game of the opening weekend as it pits two national
contenders in Texas Stadium. There are
many twists to this game, from Denard Robinson opening his Heisman hopeful
season against the #2 team in the nation, how Michigan’s defense will fare
against an SEC team, the Alabama defense reloading and its offense needing to
find its footing early, and finally to how these two teams will stack up in the
national title picture. Michigan comes
in with their highest ranking since 2007, while Alabama is the defending
national champion. The offense of
Michigan will be high-powered while Alabama’s defense will be stout, so it will
come down to whose weakness is more shored up from a year ago to win the game
for each team. The Michigan defense has
started to bring in talent, and Alabama’s offense could be a suspect factor in
this game, but the offensive line will be very good in getting A.J. McCarron
time to throw and Eddie Lacy room to run.
This could be a preview of things to come at the top of both the Big Ten
and SEC.
Please join us on our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter @DailyShootout
0 comments:
Post a Comment