THE GREATEST DAY EVER

September 8, 2010

Last year’s college football season was flat out boring. What was the major upset that shook up the polls? What highly ranked power lost? USC falling to Washington? Within a month, everyone was beating the Trojans. Well, everyone not named Notre Dame anyway. The pre-season favorites all ran the table. Sure, Texas almost lost the Big 12 Championship Game… almost.

Even for a Penn State fan, the year was boring. When they won, they won big. When they lost, they looked dreadful. The only thing to get excited about was a last minute bowl win in the mud against LSU.

The national championship game was even ruined. Alabama vs. Texas. Pasadena. The crystal football on the line. I thought maybe after all the blasé weeks we would at least get a memorable finish. Then Colt McCoy went down on the opening series. I know Garrett Gilbert made it interesting in the fourth quarter, but we still didn’t get the game we expected and deserved as fans.

This season couldn’t get here fast enough for me. Let’s start over. New upsets. New stars. New drama. I began examining schedules on January 9^th, looking for great match-ups I could look forward to during the long summer months. I liked what I saw.

In 2009, there were very few non-league games that were “can’t miss.” This season is the complete opposite, and Saturday is THE day! There are a couple of early league games of note. South Carolina hosts Georgia in the SEC East, and UCLA faces Stanford in the Pac 10. However, the real intrigue comes in SIX major non-conference contests. They are my games of the week.

Here are my thoughts on each. I’ll start with the game that an upset would stun me most and end with the biggest toss up

Games of the Week:

Penn State @ Alabama –Heisman Trophy winning RB Mark Ingram is questionable and star DE Marcell Darius is suspended. None of that will matter Saturday night. PSU will be starting true freshman Robert Bolden at QB. Can you think of a tougher road debut than this? Joe Paterno said Bama may be the best team he’s faced since the 1986 Miami Hurricanes. Expect PSU to try and make this an ugly game (i.e. any PSU gameplan in Columbus). That will likely keep the score from being embarrassing, but Bama will still win easily. Just like beating Youngstown State didn’t really tell us much about the Lions, losing here won’t tell us much either.

Oregon @ Tennessee – A new era began in Knoxville last week. The Derek Dooley era was ushered in with a 50-0 rout of FCS Tennessee-Martin. This week, the Ducks roll in fresh off a 72-0 pasting of New Mexico. The Vols will start Matt Simms (son of Phil Simms) at QB. Senior WR Gerald Jones is out with a broken bone in his left hand, and two other offensive starters are questionable (WR Denarius Moore and G Jerrod Shaw). The Ducks rolled up 720 yards of offense last week while breaking in a new QB and playing without RB LaMichael James. I expect the Ducks to have too much for the Vols… too much talent, too much experience and too many points.

South Florida @ Florida – The John Brantley era (or more accurately, the post-Tebow era) began inauspiciously Saturday. The Gators defeated Miami, OH 34-12, but wow, was it ugly! Florida fumbled eight times (losing three). Through three quarters, they had 25 yards of offense and minus-16 yards rushing. They will get some help this week with four offensive contributors expecting to return from injuries/suspensions. The Bulls are now coached by Skip Holtz. Remember, last year they won in Tallahassee. Don’t be surprised if they pull an upset. At the very least, Florida is in for a fight.

Miami, FL @ Ohio State – The Canes have talent and experience. They just don’t have experience up front on offense. You know the Buckeyes will be strong defensively and on special teams. They play disciplined football… something Miami has never been known for. A lot of people expect a shootout behind QBs Jacory Harris and Terrelle Pryor. I expect points to be hard to come by. A low scoring, pressure packed game favors OSU. They are used to those kinds of games in the Big Ten, and they are at home.

Florida State @ Oklahoma – So much for a tune-up game. The Sooners got a fight from Utah State last week but prevailed 31-24. OU gave up 421 total yards (341 through the air). QB Landry Jones completed just 17 of 36 passes and threw two interceptions. Meanwhile, the Noles gave Jimbo Fisher his 1^st win by rolling over Samford 59-6. If this game was in Tallahassee, it’d be a slam dunk for FSU. The Sooners will get up for this stiffer test, but will it be enough? I say no.

Michigan @ Notre Dame – It’s hard to tell how good either team is after wins over UConn and Purdue last week. I’m not really sure we will be any closer to knowing how good either team is after this game. Has Michigan turned the corner under Rich Rodriguez? Or did they simply defeat one team that plays no defense and another that’s breaking in a new coach? Has Brian Kelly got the Irish focusing on more than lighting up the scoreboard? Or did they simply beat two middle of the pack at best Big Ten teams? Even if we learn nothing from this, it will still be fun to watch ND try and defend Denard “Shoelace” Robinson while Michigan’s porous defense tries to slow down Allen, Crist, Floyd and Rudolph. I’ll take the Irish at home in a close one.