Rejoice! Football Is Here!
Ah yes, my first post with my new digs here at Gate 21 - and thanks to those who have so kindly welcomed me so far. Hopefully itās up to lawvol standards, as Iāve told him that he may fire me/kick me out/banish me/screw with my posts if I donāt meet the excellence that heās built with his work here. Anyways, on to my opening week previewā¦
I cannot believe the beginning of football season is just mere hours away. Indeed, after a seemingly eternity of an offseason - with the last few non-Olympic days being the longest - itās go-time.
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However, for us Vol faithful, we have the unfortunate task of being made to wait a couple more days for our opener out in LA. Of course Iāll take playing primetime Labor Day Monday night.
As a student though, my weekends have always started on Thursdays and this year itās even better: only having Tuesday/Thursday classes means I get four-day āweekendsāā¦MONEY. But not getting our home opener for a couple more weeks? Garbageā¦
Anyways, thereās plenty of football before then, and thatās where I come in. Iām going to go through some of the more notable games this weekend and let you know what games Iāll be watching and what else Iāll be looking for.
Two things: first, Iām going to always include all games with SEC teams because itās the SEC. Given the choice between the SEC and the NFL, give me the SEC PLEASE!
Second, the first week is always the weekend with the most boring lineup of games. All the big BCS teams are playing State Directional Schools, many being I-AA teams, which I am totally against (unless itās Appalachian State, more on that later). Anyways, here it goesā¦
THURSDAY
NC State at South Carolina: Basically the first game of the year. Itās not literally the first one, but itās the āmarqueeā ESPN game, so itās good enough for me to tune in. If the Gamecocks struggle, then well, weāll just know that still donāt have enough for the Eastās Big Three - NC State isnāt very good.
Vandy at Miami (OH): Vandy losing would honestly not shock me. The āDores are gonna be really green on offense and the Redhawks are one of the MACās contenders. That said, Vandy, please donāt lose to a MAC team. Actually this game gets started 30 minutes before the NC State-South Carolina game, so those of you with ESPNU can actually get a little football headstart on those of us who unfortunately donāt have that channel.
Elsewhere, Jacksonville State visits Georgia Tech, and while this game wouldnāt even get noticed, the fact that Ryan PerryLou is JSUās QB has a bit of my interest. Also, if youāre one of those Pac 10 types, Oregon State plays at Stanford on ESPN2.
SATURDAY
UPSET ALERTS: East Carolina āhostsā Virginia Tech in Charlotte, and the Pirates played VT pretty tough last year. Also, Iām not so sure about this move.
Mark it down: Utah is going to beat Michigan. Virginia might make things interesting with USC. Florida Atlantic thinks they have a shot at Texas - I say thatās a lie.
The only other non-SEC games of noteā¦Oklahoma State-Washington State in Seattle, TCU-New Mexico, and Michigan State-Cal, Washington-Oregon. Yes, these games wouldnāt even be sniffed if not for a lack of any other games worth a crapā¦
Illinois vs. Missouri in St. Louis: Seriously, who thinks Illinois is any good? Were they any good last year? They sure didnāt deserve that Rose Bowl. I have a slight bias towards Mizzou, but they should roll the Zooker this year.
SEC Games
Hawaii at Florida: Word on the street says Percy Harvin and Brandon Spikes wonāt play. Not like that improves Hawaiiās chances of stopping Tebow. Thousands of miles and like six time zones away?
The game starts something like 6 a.m. Hawaiian time. Oh, and I know from experience in mid September last year it was like a billion degrees, and itās still August. Ouch.
Oh, and Iām sure Urban wonāt call off the dogs. Florida should get 50 in the 3rd quarterā¦
Georgia Southern at Georgia: UGAās gonna win the game, but a late surge has put the Eagles ahead in suspensions, where previously UGA had a large advantage. The only question in Athens will be if Southern scores more points than suspensionsā¦
Mark Richt wonāt run it up like Urban will, though. Oh, GSU has Ohio State transfer Antonio Henton at QB. Hmmmā¦.
LSU Football | Gate 21" src="http://gate21.net/wp-content/uploads/Team%20Logos/FB-LSU.png" alt="" width="98" height="75" />Appalachian State at LSU: I WILL be watching this game on ESPN. Stop thinking upset, itās not going to happen, but Appy State and Armanti Edwards keep it close, but really they arenāt sneaking up on anybody this year.
Not sure I would be diving over the line of scrimmage against LSU's d-line if I were Armanti Edwards...
Mississippi State Football | Gate 21" src="http://gate21.net/wp-content/uploads/Team%20Logos/FB-MissSt.png" alt="" width="95" height="75" />Mississippi State at Louisiana Tech: Please explain to me why MSU agreed to play this game in Ruston? Theyāll win (I think), but it makes no sense.
Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn/Western Illinois at Arkansas: Snoozeā¦
Ole Miss Football | Gate 21" src="http://gate21.net/wp-content/uploads/Team%20Logos/FB-OleMiss.png" alt="" width="105" height="75" />Tiger High at Ole Miss: If Memphis won this game, I think it would be kinda funny. Talk about ruining a debutā¦
Really though, from where Iām from (Memphis) this game is a pretty big deal and I would much like to watch it on TV, but its pay-per-viewā¦Oh wellā¦
Alabama vs. Clemson in Atlanta: This is a great game for some Vol fans. Obviously ,we all want Alabama to get crushed, but I canāt lie and say I would get a laugh out of the Tide spoiling Clemsonās season in the opener. Iāll still probably root for Clemsonā¦
In all seriousness, I get the feeling the pressure falls more on Clemson than on the Tide, what with the high expectations this season and all. Bamaās the underdog, as they should be, but that could easily play into their favor. And kudos to whoever decided to play this game, because itās the best game Saturday. Iām going to be enjoying it, thatās for sure.
And finally, Kentucky plays at Pizza Box Stadium against Louisville Sunday afternoon, and UK might need this if they wanna sniff a bowl game. Mondayās appetizer for the real game of the week is Fresno State-Rutgers, which should be a pretty good game despite it, well, being Fresno State and Rutgersā¦
I know all but a few of these matchups pretty much suck, but footballās football people, and Iām ecstatic itās here.
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