Thursday, Aug. 28
North Carolina State at South Carolina
Neither team went bowling last year, and they finished with similar records: NCST at 5-7, and SC at 6-6. South Carolina played in the tough SEC East, and while the ACC Atlantic is fairly competitive, it really doesn’t compare very well. Many expect South Carolina to compete for the SEC East this year, but there aren’t a lot of expectations for NC State.
Wake Forest at Baylor
New Baylor head coach Art Briles had high-scoring teams at Houston, finishing fourth in total offense and 23rd in scoring nationally. The problem is, this isn’t Houston. Wake Forest, on the other hand, had the 27th-best total defense and could be even better this year.
Oregon State at Stanford
Oregon State looks to build on a nine-win season that included a bowl win. Stanford looks to build on a season that was highlighted by beating eventual Pac-10 champion USC and rival Cal.
Friday, Aug. 29
SMU at Rice
June Jones debuts at SMU and in Conference USA play. Rice returns a solid unit on both sides of the ball, with eight starters back on offense and seven on defense.
Saturday, Aug. 30
Virginia Tech at East Carolina
East Carolina seems to be a lot of people’s pick to upset the defending ACC champions. Virginia Tech is still expected to play for the ACC title, while many also pick East Carolina to play for the CUSA title.
Syracuse at Northwestern
I like this one for my BCS pillow fight of the week. Syracuse is again picked to finish last in the Big East, while Northwestern is a bottom third pick for the Big Ten.
Ohio at Wyoming
These are two teams that appear to be set to finish in the middle of their respective conferences. In last year's game at Ohio, Wyoming won 34-33.
USC at Virginia
Southern Cal is again picked in the top five in the country and is a popular pick to play for the National Title. First they have to go across the country to take on what appears to be a rebuilding Virginia team with quite a few question marks.
Utah at Michigan
Utah is another trendy upset pick, and they are also a popular pick for a BCS bid. The Utes are led by a senior QB, RB, WRs, and a fairly experienced O-line. Michigan is going through a transition with a new coach and new system, and they lost a number of leaders to graduation and the draft. Don’t forget what happened to Michigan last season in the opener.
Oklahoma State at Washington State (in Seattle)
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