2009 Big Games for Opening Weekend of College Football

While some schools out there open their football seasons by playing teams like the Scottsdale Community College Fighting Artichokes as a “warm up” game, there are others that go out and play a tough game right out of the gate.

Here is a look at opening weekend games that will likely be worth watching. I can’t predict the future, so don’t sue me if come September any of these games suck.

Sept. 4, 2009

Cincinnati at Rutgers

Here we have a couple of teams that should be right in the mix for the Big East title. Cincinnati, of course, won the Big East last season while Rutgers was one of the hottest teams at the end of the season.

Rutgers went 7-0 over the last seven games, including a bowl win in the Papajohns.com bowl against NC State.

Last year's meeting was a 13-10 win for Cincinnati at home. In the first game of the season, we will get an early look at the Big East race.

I could see a top 25 match-up here but it may be one team is ranked while the other is not.

Sept. 5, 2009

Maryland at California

Maryland was possibly the most inconsistent team in the nation, beating ranked teams and losing to un-ranked ones. One of the ranked teams they beat was California. That game was played at Maryland; this one will be played in California.

The game in Maryland ended in a 35-27 Terrapin victory. The Terps jumped out to a 28-6 lead going in to the fourth quarter.

Cal outscored Maryland 21-7 in the final quarter but it wasn’t enough to win. Both teams finished 2008 with a bowl victory.

I am not sure if either will be ranked, but if one is, I would suspect it would be Cal.

Virginia Tech vs. Alabama at the Georgia Dome

While last season's early game between Alabama and ACC favorite Clemson turned into a rout right away, I have to believe that Virginia Tech will be a better team than Clemson was believed to be. While Clemson fell to the road side through the season, Virginia Tech won the ACC.

Virginia Tech will again be one of the favorites to win the ACC and after a 12-2 season, Alabama be one of the early favorites for the SEC title and likely the National Championship.

This should be a top 10 match-up, maybe even top five.

 

Oregon at Boise State

Oregon lost to Boise State at home last season in a 37-32 loss that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. In true Oregon fashion, there was an issue at quarterback.

Starter Justin Roper was out due to injury suffered at Purdue the week before. Jeremiah Masoli stepped in, but was knocked out early. Oregon finished the season with a top 10 ranking.

Boise State, of course, will again be an early favorite to be a BCS buster. With the right pre-season ranking, an early loss may not completely eliminate them from the BCS running.

Oregon will be looking to make a run at the BCS as well and have been tabbed by many to be one of the main challengers to USC in the PAC-10.

This could very easily be a top 10 or top 15 match-up.

BYU at Oklahoma

The Mountain West is out to prove they should be in the BCS, no questions asked. BYU will represent the conference in a huge match-up with Oklahoma, the 2008 Big 12 champion and National Championship Game runner up.

A win by BYU will go a long way to making a case for the BCS bid for the 2009 season and for the Mountain West in the future. I don’t know if Oklahoma really has anything to gain here except maybe a win against a ranked opponent.

BYU should be just inside the top 25 while Oklahoma should be in the top five.

Georgia at Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State was being billed as one of the hottest teams in the country, having only lost to teams that were ranked one, two, and three in the country. Going into the Holiday Bowl, they were favored to win but lost a shootout with Oregon.

Despite the loss, I have not seen any early pre-season rankings that did not have Oklahoma State in them.

Then again, I haven’t seen any that didn’t have Georgia in them either. The Bulldogs were a 10-win team that finished the season with a bowl win over ranked Michigan State. Georgia will likely be the biggest challenger to reigning SEC champ Florida for the East title.

I think this could be a top 15 match up.

Sept. 7, 2009

Miami vs. Florida State

Monday night college football. Florida State was tied for the division but lost out on the tie breaker and did not play in the ACC championship game. Miami finished in the middle of the conference with five other teams that finished at 4-4 in the conference.

This game was a 41-39 win for the Seminoles. In recent history of the series it is a 4-3 in favor of Miami over the last six seasons.  They played twice in 2003.

All of the games were decided by one score with the biggest margin being in 2003 when Miami won by eight and the closest in last season's two-point difference.

Florida State is likely a top 20 team, but Miami will be on the outside.

Some people will only tune in to see their team. Others, like me, will try and watch as many games as possible. These games are the ones I know I won’t be missing.