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 itโs up to lawvol standards, as Iโve told him that he may fire me/kick me out/banish me/screw with my posts if I donโt meet the excellence that heโs built with his work here. Anyways, on to my opening week previewโฆ
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 - itโs 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 Iโll take playing primetime Labor Day Monday night.
As a student though, my weekends have always started on Thursdays and this year itโs even better: only having Tuesday/Thursday classes means I get four-day โweekendsโโฆMONEY. But not getting our home opener for a couple more weeks? Garbageโฆ
Anyways, thereโs plenty of football before then, and thatโs where I come in. Iโm going to go through some of the more notable games this weekend and let you know what games Iโll be watching and what else Iโll be looking for.
Two things: first, Iโm going to always include all games with SEC teams because itโs 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 itโs Appalachian State, more on that later). Anyways, here it goesโฆ
THURSDAY
NC State at South Carolina: Basically the first game of the year. Itโs not literally the first one, but itโs the โmarqueeโ ESPN game, so itโs good enough for me to tune in. If the Gamecocks struggle, then well, weโll just know that still donโt have enough for the Eastโs Big Three - NC State isnโt very good.
Vandy at Miami (OH): Vandy losing would honestly not shock me. The โDores are gonna be really green on offense and the Redhawks are one of the MACโs contenders. That said, Vandy, please donโt 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 donโt have that channel.
Elsewhere, Jacksonville State visits Georgia Tech, and while this game wouldnโt even get noticed, the fact that Ryan PerryLou is JSUโs QB has a bit of my interest. Also, if youโre one of those Pac 10 types, Oregon State plays at Stanford on ESPN2.
SATURDAY
UPSET ALERTS: East Carolina โhostsโ Virginia Tech in Charlotte, and the Pirates played VT pretty tough last year. Also, Iโm 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 thatโs a lie.
The only other non-SEC games of noteโฆOklahoma State-Washington State in Seattle, TCU-New Mexico, and Michigan State-Cal, Washington-Oregon. Yes, these games wouldnโt even be sniffed if not for a lack of any other games worth a crapโฆ
Illinois vs. Missouri in St. Louis: Seriously, who thinks Illinois is any good? Were they any good last year? They sure didnโt 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 wonโt play. Not like that improves Hawaiiโs 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 itโs still August. Ouch.
Oh, and Iโm sure Urban wonโt call off the dogs. Florida should get 50 in the 3rd quarterโฆ
Georgia Southern at Georgia: UGAโs 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 suspensionsโฆ
Mark Richt wonโt run it up like Urban will, though. Oh, GSU has Ohio State transfer Antonio Henton at QB. Hmmmโฆ.
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, itโs not going to happen, but Appy State and Armanti Edwards keep it close, but really they arenโt 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? Theyโll win (I think), but it makes no sense.
Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn/Western Illinois at Arkansas: Snoozeโฆ
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 debutโฆ
Really though, from where Iโm from (Memphis) this game is a pretty big deal and I would much like to watch it on TV, but its pay-per-viewโฆOh wellโฆ
Alabama vs. Clemson in Atlanta: This is a great game for some Vol fans. Obviously ,we all want Alabama to get crushed, but I canโt lie and say I would get a laugh out of the Tide spoiling Clemsonโs season in the opener. Iโll still probably root for Clemsonโฆ
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. Bamaโs the underdog, as they should be, but that could easily play into their favor. And kudos to whoever decided to play this game, because itโs the best game Saturday. Iโm going to be enjoying it, thatโs 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. Mondayโs 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 Rutgersโฆ
I know all but a few of these matchups pretty much suck, but footballโs football people, and Iโm ecstatic itโs here.
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