Latest Forum Posts College Football Games I'm Looking At This Week
The college football season opens this weekend and while there is only one real blockbuster game, there are several solid matchups happening this week. In looking at the best conference in the nation - the SEC - I notice that they all really scheduled up by playing this difficult lineup: Southern Mississippi, Miami (Ohio), Louisiana-Lafayette, Jacksonville State, Tennessee-Martin, Tennessee Tech, San Jose State, Memphis, and Arkansas State. At least LSU is playing a good game against North Carolina. Otherwise, for a league that is always flapping their gums about being dominant, it'll be a while before we get to see it this season. Enough about that. Here are some games I'm excited about this weekend.
Pittsburgh at Utah. 
Utah’s defensive line is going to be very solid this year, but can they stop Dion Lewis? Pitt is breaking in three new interior linemen, but Lewis could probably get positive yards with me and a couple of friends blocking for him. I keep hearing that the Utes have some ridiculous blitz packages prepared for this game, so they may have the Pitt offensive line looking silly. The last time these teams played the Utes beat the piss out of the Panthers in the Fiesta Bowl. Pitt brings a pretty lofty ranking into this game, and Wannstedt’s teams never seem to reach expectations (last year being an exception). Can they beat Kyle Whittingham and the Utes, considering that Whittingham is 7-2 against teams from BCS leagues in the past three years? Don’t be surprised to see Utah win at home. They always get up for big games.
Oregon State vs TCU. This game could have BCS implications. Oregon State has the chance to really put down the non-AQ teams this year because they get TCU this week and Boise State later in the season. The last time Oregon State played a non-AQ team they lost to BYU 44-20; this is the same BYU team that lost at home to TCU 38-7. Not that comparing scores will get you anywhere, but that’s quite the difference. TCU will look to exploit their speed advantage. How often can you say that the non-AQ team is much faster than the BCS squad? Not too often, but the speed difference in this game will be very evident. Oregon State better hope that Quizz Rodgers can control the clock on the ground, or else they’ll be in for a long game.
LSU vs North Carolina. Everyone is on North Carolina’s jockstrap this year. I can hardly find anything on ESPN about college football without someone having an orgasm over the Tar Heels defense. Will they live up to the hype? Obviously the talent is there. Can they score enough points? The offense was pretty futile last season, so they better step it up if they expect to have a better showing this season. LSU has been a bit down the past two years, but they are still extremely talented and definitely have the horses to win this game. And for what it’s worth, as good as the Carolina defense is, they don’t have the best defensive player in this game. That would be Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU. 
Washington at BYU. Can Jake Locker redeem himself? After his controversial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (see the pic of him tossing the ball) that led to a BYU blocked extra point to seal the victory two years ago, will Locker come out on fire and light up the Cougars? Will Jake Heaps, a Washington native who was the #1 QB in high school last year, play well with the pressure of going against his hometown team? BYU is traditionally very tough at home, but both of their losses last year came in blowouts at home. Washington has sucked on the road the past few years, having lost 11 straight. BYU lost a ton of starters, but has a lot of young talent. Washington’s offense returns almost in tact, but the defense is a major question. All of the unknowns make this a very intriguing game.
UConn at Michigan. This game interests me bigtime. UConn is severely underrated nationally. Their linebacking corps is one of the best in the nation and they sport an underappreciated offense. Michigan is looking to break out under Rich Rodriguez. His teams have always improved very quickly - and it looked to be the same after a 4-0 start last year - but so far things haven’t gone his way in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines boast a fair amount of talent, but can they put it together and get a win against the Huskies? The Wolverines have lost to Purdue, Utah, Toledo, Illinois, Northwestern, and Appalachian State in the past few years. All at home. Maybe UConn will add their name to that list.
Boise State vs Virginia Tech. This is clearly the game of the weekend. For the first time in years, the questions about Va Tech are 
on defense. The offense should be extremely explosive, so if the defense is as tough as it usually is, the Hokies could be a national title contender. Boise State carries the BCS title game hopes of the underdog on its shoulders. Can they win their biggest game of the year? Over the years I have continually doubted Boise State, only to see them come up big. Last year I picked Oregon to beat them in week 1. Wrong. I picked TCU to beat them in the Fiesta Bowl. Wrong. I thought they’d lose to Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Oregon State in the past few years. Wrong on all counts. I’m not betting against them this time. Now they’re going to lose for sure...
