Even more good news to lovers of the game- rarely
has a season started where there were more holes on more teams. This
year’s race for the BCS Championship Game is absolutely wide open (more
on that later).
The weather is still warm in most of the country,
but that will not stop millions of fans from packing stadiums this
weekend to see if their teams have what it takes to possibly claim a
spot in the BCS.
So here we go with the opening weekends top three
storylines.
1.
The Pac Ten vs. the
SEC.
It is a strange thing, the rivalry that exists
between these two conferences. For the most part, this rivalry seems to
exist because the two conferences so rarely meet on the field. They very
rarely meet in bowl games, and both like to argue that the other is
overrated. This weekend will go a long way to determining which
conference has bragging rights this season. USC, trying to rebuild from
losing Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White, and Winston Justice,
will head down to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks. The Trojans
embarrassed the Hogs last year 70-17 in Los Angeles, but this year’s
Arkansas team looks poised to be an upstart in the SEC, and they tend to
win a game or two like this every season under Houston Nutt. California,
the Pac Ten’s second best team lead by running back Marshawn Lynch,
heads to Knoxville to take on a Tennessee team looking to bounce back
from a disappointing 5-6 season a year ago. Washington State and their
sensational wide receivers Michael Bumpus and Jason Hill head to Auburn
to take on the Tigers and running back Kenny Irons, as Auburn looks to
prove they belong in the national title discussion. USC is favored to
win handily, as is Auburn. The natural thing to do is to assume that the
winner of the Tennessee-Cal game should represent the better conference,
provided all else goes to form. However, I believe that the key is the
point differential. If Arkansas nearly beats USC, Auburn blows out
Washington State, and Cal wins a close game, then I think an argument
can be made that the SEC is the better conference. On the other hand, if
USC wins in a blowout, Washington State loses a close one to Auburn, and
Tennessee slips by Cal, then an argument can be made that the Pac Ten is
the better conference. My bet…nothing is decided by this weekend and the
debate will rage on.
2.
The ACC hits
primetime. OK, so the ACC has been a big time conference all
along. But this weekend, the ACC will get a chance to show the country
what it’s got on a major national stage. On Saturday night, Georgia Tech
hosts Notre Dame. The Irish are the number two team in the country, and
the Yellow Jackets think they have a real shot to pull off the upset and
propel themselves into the discussion for the ACC title. The Irish are
looking to prove that they deserve their lofty ranking. On Monday night,
Florida State heads to Miami in a match-up of ACC powerhouses. Last
year’s game between the two was very ugly and showed that the ACC might
not be as good as everyone had anticipated. This year’s game needs to be
a little bit more attractive to the viewer to prove that these two teams
are both solid leaders in the ACC races. The ACC could go a long way to
earning a lot of respect with a good showing this weekend.
3.
The small
conferences get their shot. Every year in the first weekend, some small
schools get their shot to prove they belong with the big boys. TCU did
it a year ago when they stunned Oklahoma on the opening weekend. Several
more teams get their shot this weekend. Marshall goes to West Virginia
in an in-state war. UAB goes to Oklahoma, who is without quarterback
Rhett Bomar for the season. Akron, the reigning MAC Champions, head to
Penn State. Bowling Green plays Wisconsin in Cleveland, Ohio, with a
shot to take down the Barry Alvarez-less Badgers. Central Michigan hosts
Boston College on Thursday night. Miami of Ohio also hosts Northwestern
on Thursday night. Utah goes to UCLA and BYU goes to Arizona. Hawaii
also heads to the mainland to play Alabama. Lots of shots for a small
conference school to prove they belong. More than likely, one of them
will. Which one is the question that must be answered.
GAMES TO WATCH
Debates rage on each season about who belongs in
the BCS or in the BCS title games. The goal of this section is to help
you be an informed fan by actually watching the teams play that are in
contention for these spots. These are the three games that if you want
to be an informed fan and be able to argue about what you actually saw
on the field, you need to watch. Of course, there are always a ton of
games to choose from, but this will also help you when it comes time to
pick who you think will win the BCS Championship Game on January 8. So
hop on board! All times are Eastern.
California at Tennessee (5:30,
Saturday, ESPN)-
The Golden Bears really believe that they have a team that can compete
for the national title. Lee Corso picked them to win that title on the
season preview. This game will tell us a lot about the Bears, who have
Marshawn Lynch as the key to the offense. He is a darkhorse to win the
Heisman Trophy at this point. He could surge onto the national scene in
this game. The Vols are coming off of a 5-6 season. Erik Ainge is still
the quarterback, and his fragile psyche could use a big lift in this
game. Vol fans would probably prefer to see their offense score 40 and
lose 45-42 than a 13-10 loss. A 13-10 loss still leaves plenty of
question marks about this team, while a 45-42 loss means that the
offense has come around since last season. The defense will be there for
the Vols by season’s end. This game is all about where Tennessee’s
offense is. A Vols win would announce to the country that they are back
on the national scene. They have not won a game against a Top Ten team
at home since 1999. Yet somehow, the Vols are still favored. Go figure.
Phil Fulmer better hope for a solid first month or his job could be on
the line by the end of September.
Notre Dame at Georgia Tech (8:00, Saturday,
ABC)- The last time we saw Notre Dame, they were giving up more than
600 yards to Ohio State. Is it possible that Georgia Tech could do the
same thing? Well, they have a dual threat quarterback in Reggie Ball and
a superb wide receiver in Calvin Johnson. The offensive line also
returns nearly in tact from a year ago. This offense could present some
real problems to Notre Dame. That being said, the Irish offense seems
more than capable of lighting up the scoreboard themselves. Brady Quinn
is the popular choice for the Heisman Trophy this preseason and looks to
be able to put a ton of points on the board, even against a pretty good
Tech defense. Throw in Jeff Samardzija at wide receiver and Darius
Walker running the ball, and you can see why this offense is expected to
be the best in the country. This is a good Irish team. If they get out
of Atlanta with a win, they will have silenced a lot of their doubters.
This should be a classic tilt.
Florida State at Miami (8:00, Monday, ESPN)-
These two teams are supposed to be the two best in the ACC year in and
year out. So far, that has not been the case, despite the Seminoles
winning the ACC a year ago. Both Florida schools have struggled for much
of the last two years, and Larry Coker finds himself squarely on the hot
seat in Miami this year. Kyle Wright leads an offense that must get on
track for the Hurricanes. Tyrone Moss is a good, but so far
unspectacular running back. The defense should be OK for the Hurricanes,
as it has become an example of solid play year in and year out. Florida
State has similar questions on offense. Drew Weatherford was just a
freshman a year ago, and lead the team very nicely. He must continue to
improve, because it is unclear if the running game will be any better
this year with Lorenzo Booker. The Seminoles lost a lot on the defensive
side of the ball, but should continue to be solid there. Florida State
won a sloppy match-up last year with Miami, and this one should be
entertaining and have plenty of emotion. If the game is any prettier
remains to be seen. But this rivalry is always worth watching.
Notes on the Rankings
This section will include my Top 25 beginning on
September 26. For now, let’s discuss the rankings as we head into the
season.
The only place to really even have a discussion is
about the number one team. Does Ohio State deserve to be number one?
This is an interesting question. To me, this is the pollsters predicting
who they think will wind up number one, rather than a statement of who
is number one right now. If the voters would change their minds once
they actually saw the teams play, this distinction would be unimportant.
Since they rarely do change their minds and preseason rankings are so
important, this seems to be a major flaw in the system.
I am not one that believes that just because you
won the national title the year before you should automatically be
number one the following preseason. However, I see no way under the
current climate of voting conditions that any other team should be
number one than Texas.
Every team in the country is has massive question
marks heading into the season, as does Texas having to replace Vince
Young. But in the absence of a team without any question marks, wouldn’t
voting Texas (who’s question marks are no bigger than anyone else’s)
number one make sense?
An argument could be made to me that USC should be
voted number one in the preseason on the basis that Vince Young
single-handedly beat them a year ago and if not for him they would have
won the national title. USC has as many question marks as anyone right
now, but voting them number one makes some sense.
Now, as for me, my preseason rankings are just
predictions on where the teams will finish and then I take in as many
games as possible, and rank not taking into account my preseason teams
on September 26. If every voter did this, then I would have no problem
with Ohio State being number. By September 26, they will have proven if
they deserve it or not, having gone to Texas and hosting Penn State (and
heading to Iowa the following week) by then.
As for my prediction on who meets in the BCS
Championship Game, I am going with USC and Florida. The Gators have a
ton of flaws too, but I really think Chris Leak will have a very good
season in his second year in Urban Meyer’s system. My pick is USC to win
their third national title in four years…according to the AP Poll.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns
please e-mail me at
JohnRoberts_CFN@yahoo.com.