College Football Crapshoot, Title Game Nostalgia: PSU-'Bama, FSU-OU, MIA-OSU

Alfred KonuwaSep 10, 2010

[Crappy Record: 3-3]

Week 2 in college football sees a full slate of ranked vs. ranked matchups, many of which are rematches of National Championship games from both the BCS era and before the BCS was created.

Ohio State will be hosting the University of Miami in a rematch of the 2003 National Championship game (Fiesta Bowl), which a key game as it pertains to early positioning for a possible national championship run.

Florida State will go on the road to do battle with Oklahoma in a rematch of 2001 National Championship game (Orange Bowl) that occurred during the now defunct "Big Game Bob" era.

Penn State will show off its guts by traveling to the always hostile Bryant-Denny Stadium to play the No. 1 team in the nation in a purist playback rematch of the 1982 National Championship game.

And then there's Boise State.

The get-rich-quick school from Idaho will be nowhere to be found in the "Showdown Sunday" slate of games that will occur during Week 2, as they'll be enjoying a bye week.

How fitting.

The Broncos will have two weeks to prepare before taking their traveling fraudulent salesman act to some 900-seat concession stand in Wyoming en route to a possible apocalyptic appearance in the BCS National Championship game.

In all fairness, however, it's quite obvious why these big schools have chosen to play each other during Week 2. Those who believe that the losers of these big games will lose significant ground in the national title picture are sadly mistaken. Week 2 is a popular week to play in these big spots (see Ohio State-USC) as the human voters will have largely forgotten about the outcomes by the time it's time to cast their big boy votes for who gets to play in the BCS Championship three months from now.

Cheeky bastards.

Crappy Video of the Week: J-State Shocks Ole Miss

One early game that did disqualify a team from national championship contention (as if they had a shot) was Appalachian Jacksonville State's dramatic victory over the Ole Miss Masoli's on the last play of the game in double-overtime. All is not lost, however, as Ole Miss seems to be a completely different offense (in a good way) under the direction of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. Dare I say Jeremiah stole the show?

There's always the Sugar Bowl. Or the Cotton Bowl. Or the Outback Bowl...

HERE'S WHAT I KNOW IS GOING TO HAPPEN...

I KNOW that Ohio State will beat Miami University outright. To follow the theme of the week, demonstrated by many teams not named Boise State, I'm taking on the big games head on. The OSU-Miami game could be one of the best games of the weekend, and with two black quarterbacks at the helm (in Jacory Harris and Terrelle Prior), you and your friends should definitely play a drinking game as to how many times the term "natural athlete" is used on this broadcast.

Ohio State's defense is just too good, and with Jacory Harris prone to throwing interceptions and inconsistent against top defenses, expect him to struggle all game long against State. Jim Tressel's struggles in the big game are well documented, but at home against a team that is still in upstart mode, despite having a storied history, Ohio State should win pretty comfortably.

I KNOW Oklahoma will regroup and beat Florida State decisively. Sure, OU won last week, but it was a sloppy and ugly win in a game I thought they would dominate. An ugly win over an inferior last week made boosters, agents, alumni, fans, Jim Ross and the rest of Sooner Nation nervous as to the championship potential of this program.

A week of more inspired practices, after apparently looking ahead to FSU, will lead to a more motivated Sooner team that will take care of business on their own home turf. Florida State will be good this year, but I don't see them quite on Oklahoma's level, and a double digit victory by OU would not come as a surprise.

HERE'S WHAT I THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN...

I THINK Alabama will barely beat Penn State. Penn State is young, but still pretty damn good with potential to reclaim the Big 10 title. I still don't know how good the Nittany Lions are, but with the biggest game of their season coming so early Penn State definitely has value as a 12-point underdog. Nick Saban is 2-3 against Joe Paterno, and Paterno's presence should only help this young team deal with the most hostile environment they may see all season.

The Big Ten has had a history of getting blown out while out of conference, especially on the road. But I see this one being closer than many think. I think.

I THINK Notre Dame will beat Michigan. While I'm not quite sold on Denard Robinson being the next Pat White, I really do like him as a good fit for Rick Rod's spread offense that he's been force feeding this historic program for the past few seasons. Michigan-Notre Dame figures to be a dogfight from the opening whistle, but a new look Notre Dame team seeking revenge for Michigan's last-minute win last season will have the emotional advantage.

With their first win out of their way over Purdue in a game that was not as close as the score implies, the Fighting Irish should will not have to deal with any potential over reaction of going 0-2 under a new coach whose job is to win now. Michigan should hang with the Irish tit for tat, but when the smoke clears, the Notre Dame should win by at least a field goal. I think.

HERE'S WHAT I'M PROBABLY WRONG ABOUT...

I'm probably WRONG, but Stanford will blow out UCLA. I am very high on Stanford this season as they are a team with possibly the best quarterback in the Pac-10 in Andrew Luck. UCLA was beaten up by Kansas State last week, and will now begin a crucial conference schedule against a surging Stanford team.

I'd love to tell you that UCLA's loss last week prior to a home game adds value to them, but I'd be lying. Stanford is significantly better (more than six points) and should control this contest from the jump.

Stanford should strke early to take the UCLA crowd out of the game, and a hobbled Kevin Prince will lead to the imminent downfall of the Bruins, who are thin at quarterback. Stanford by more than two touchdowns.

I'M PROBABLY WRONG, but Arkansas will survive a scare from Louisiana-Monroe. After registering an impressive victory against their first creampuff opponent last week, things could get tricky for the Razorbacks this week as they host Louisiana-Monroe just one week prior to beginning conference play.

Arkansas begins its most crucial stretch of the season next week, with three of its next four games against ranked SEC opponents. It will be easy to overlook Louisiana-Monroe, but the circumstances of this matchup have "buyer beware" written all over them for anybody who plans on taking the 34 points. Arkansas may be prone to an upset here as Louisiana-Monroe covers by a mile.