As there are no NFL games this weekend other than the final preseason game which doesn't mean anything other than to see who gets cut, it's nothing but college for week one. There are two top tier matchups with LSU and Oregon and then Boise State playing at Georgia, with a bunch of other middle of the road games. This year with every single game I pick, I will give the time and network these games are on, as there are so many networks which broadcast games, it's ridiculous. O, and I will be using the AP rankings every week up until the first BCS rankings, which I'll then be using from then on out. All games on Saturday unless otherwise noted.
# 3 Oregon vs. # 4 LSU, at Arilington, TX, 8 p.m. ABC
This game comes after an offseason where both teams went through turmoil. LSU has several players suspended, including starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who will be replaced by a very capable backup in Jarrett Lee, who started five games last season. Then, there is Oregon, which is coming off a national title game, but lose their two biggest wide receivers. However, that isn't too much of a problem, since they have a Heisman candidate in LaMichael James in the backfield who can do wonders. This will be a game of offense (Oregon) versus defense (LSU), which I think offense will win out.
Pick: Oregon 38, LSU 21
# 5 Boise State vs. # 19 Georgia, at Atlanta, 8 p.m. ESPN
Boise State is coming off a one-loss campaign, where their only loss came to eventual WAC champion Nevada, at Nevada. But, now Boise is looking to crash the BCS party for the third time in the past five seasons. Boise is even coming in off of some NCAA investigation, but no loss of scholarships, which is a good thing. Boise has a Heisman candidate in its own right with Kellen Moore, who is entering his senior season and would love to play for a national title. Georgia, on the other hand, wants to get back to being one of the big dogs, pun intended, of the SEC. The Bulldogs would love to forget about a 6-7 season and focus on getting back into the SEC title game. They can do that with returning quarterback Aaron Murray, who was outstanding in his first season at Georgia.
Pick: Boise State 24, Georgia 23
Southern Methodist at #8 Texas A&M, Sunday, 7:30, Comcast SportsNet
Texas A&M is beginning its final season in the Big XII, which really is the Big X, with only ten teams, but anyway, the Aggies have decided to exit the conference and try to escape the University of Texas. A&M has high expectations this season after beating the Longhorns and advancing to the Cotton Bowl where they lost to LSU. SMU is trying to continue its resurgence under June Jones and advance to the C-USA title game for the second consecutive year. Granted, the Mustangs will be competitive, but not in this game.
Pick: TAMU 42, SMU 20
#14 TCU at Baylor, Friday, 8 p.m. ESPN
Don't laugh at this game, TCU could get upset here, as Baylor is on its way up as far as a football team, as they advanced to their first bowl game since 1994. To give you an idea of how hard it is to miss a bowl game now, all a team has to do is finish .500 and voila, the team is in a bowl. Anyway, the team is going to be around an 8-4 team in the regular season this year, with one of those losses coming here. TCU crushed Baylor 41-14 last season, and I expect nothing different here with TCU's relentless attacking defense and their amazing running game.
Pick: TCU 39, Baylor 13
South Florida at #16 Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m., NBC
This should be a great litmus test for both teams, as both teams have second year head coaches in Brian Kelly with ND and Skip Holtz with USF. Both teams have high expectations this season, with South Florida hoping to get into the BCS for the first time by winning the Big East and Notre Dame getting into the BCS for the first time since 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame finished last season on a five game winning streak where they won in the Sun Bowl against Miami. South Florida should fare well in a weak Big East as well, so they could easily make that race interesting. However, I'm a fan, and will pick ND here.
Pick: Notre Dame 30, USF 21
Tulsa at #1 Oklahoma, 8 p.m., FX
Now, I'm really trying to see if any games look at least remotely ok, and this one does. Oklahoma is ranked number one because of them bringing so many people back. This should be a cakewalk against a Tulsa team which lost their head coach to Pittsburgh.
Pick: OU 59, Tulsa 14
Akron at #18 Ohio State, noon, ESPN
Ohio State is entering this year without its star quarterback, Terrelle Pryor and without Jim Tressel, its head coach for the first time since 2000. Now, it's a new era with Luke Fickell in as the new head coach and Ohio State trying to overcome a lot of NCAA scrutiny. They should fare very well in this game, as it's against a cupcake opponent, but watch out for later in the season, where they will probably fall to the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.
Pick: Ohio State 28, Akron 3
#12 South Carolina vs. East Carolina, at Charlotte, 7 p.m., ESPN3.com
South Carolina will look to continue to improve and get into its second ever SEC title game with Stephen Garcia and Marcus Lattimore leading the way. East Carolina will try and ruin the party, but it's not likely.
Pick: SCAR 40, ECU 10
Rice at Texas, 8 p.m., Longhorn Network
Texas will look to rebound from its first losing season since 1997 when it starts out against Rice, which wants to improve from its own 4-8 record. However, it won't do it against this Texas team which totally revamped its coaching staff from last season and is hungry to get back to the BCS.
Pick: Texas 56, Rice 3
Indiana State at Penn State, noon, Big Ten Network
Now, please comment if you think Indiana State has any chance of realistically winning this game. Or, comment anyway for your thoughts on how I can make this blog better, thanks. Penn State will beat down this opponent easily with either Matt McGloin or Rob Bolden at quarterback, as they must decide before they face SEC west favorite Alabama in Happy Valley next week.
Pick: Penn State 38, Indiana State 7
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