College Football Rankings: 10 Games We Already Have Circled on the 2011 Schedule
With the 2010-11 college football season over for nearly 13 hours, it's time to start thinking ahead to next season. There were a number of great games in 2010 and 2011 started off on a great foot with TCU winning the Rose Bowl and Auburn's hard-fought victory over Oregon in the national championship game.
There are a number of storylines going into next season.
How will Auburn fare (presumably) without Cam Newton and Nick Fairley?
How will Nebraska's transition into the Big Ten go?
Is Oregon or Oklahoma the top team going into the year?
But those are the storylines for the season. We are interested in the top games going into next season. Obviously it's never an easy thing to determine what will make a great game, so for this list we will be looking at a number of things.
We will look at how compelling the two teams playing will be. We want to have a meaty storyline going into the game. Last but not least, we are looking at how great the game looks on paper.
So for the 10 games that we are most looking forward to going into the 2011 college football season, keep reading on.
September 3: LSU Vs. Oregon (Game Played in Dallas)
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An epic clash of styles.
LSU is going to win games with that tough, pounding SEC defense. The Tigers will be physical and control the line of scrimmage in order to get pressure on the quarterback. Auburn laid out a good blueprint for LSU to slow down Oregon’s offense. It’s just a matter of LSU, which will be a stronger all-around defensive team next season than Auburn was this year, being able to execute that game plan.
Oregon returns the two key components of that fast, quick-strike offense from 2010: running back LaMichael James and quarterback Darron Thomas. Can Chip Kelly and the Ducks figure out what they didn’t do against Auburn and make the plays against LSU?
September 3: Georgia Vs. Boise State (Game Played in Atlanta)
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Boise State took this game to try and prove to the world that it can play with an SEC team. Regardless of which SEC team it is, if Boise can beat Georgia (and go undefeated the rest of the year) that would merit serious national championship consideration.
Georgia has fallen off a bit in the last couple of years. The Bulldogs are losing their best playmaker on offense, wide receiver A.J. Green, to the NFL. Mark Richt will have a very good recruiting class coming to Athens in 2011. A victory over a top 10 program would do wonders for his job security.
This is a game that Boise State has to win and can’t afford to lose.
September 17: Oklahoma Vs. Florida State
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This will be the first real test of the season for Oklahoma, the presumptive No.1 team in the country. The Sooners will have Landry Jones, Ryan Broyles and a loaded defense coming back to make a run at another national championship.
On the other side, Jimbo Fisher is building that Florida State program back up to prominence. The 'Noles will have to replace quarterback Christian Ponder, but he wasn’t the most effective player anyway. Backup E.J. Manuel was impressive in limited action. They will have a lot of talent coming to Tallahassee as well, as they currently have the third-ranked recruiting class according to Rivals.com.
Florida State can make a huge statement with a victory over the Sooners in this game.
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October 8: Ohio State Vs. Nebraska
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This will be Nebraska’s first conference home game as a member of the Big Ten. The Huskers will look to establish themselves in the conference by knocking off the two big boys in two consecutive weeks. They play at Wisconsin the week before this game against Ohio State.
If that’s not compelling enough for you, this happens to be the first game back for Terrelle Pryor and the other Ohio State players who were suspended for the first five games of the season.
This game could determine where Ohio State goes in 2011. It’s not unreasonable to think that the Buckeyes could be 3-2 going into this game.
October 29: Stanford Vs. USC
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I never thought about this game until I broke some things down.
Andrew Luck going against a suspect USC defense is always going to be entertaining to watch. But there is another quarterback in this game: Matt Barkley. He is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate going into 2011.
In 2010, Barkley threw for 2,791 yards and 26 touchdowns. It was a big improvement over his freshman season.
This could be the best back-and-forth battle between two quarterbacks in a game in 2011.
November 5: LSU Vs. Alabama
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This could be a defensive struggle for the ages.
Les Miles and the LSU defense always reload. The Tigers lose Patrick Peterson in the secondary and he will be difficult to replace, but they are loaded everywhere else on the field. They will need to get better on offense if they want to compete for a national title. They ranked 97th in the country in passing offense and 90th in rushing offense.
Alabama lost three games in 2010. Two of those losses came by a combined four points, including a three-point loss to LSU.
The 'Bama defense had to break in nine new starters and still finished second in the country in scoring defense. This year they will have nine returning starters. The offense will have a different look but that defense should be dominant.
November 5: Texas A&M Vs. Oklahoma
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Both of these teams will be clawing to get to the top of what should be an ultra-competitive Big 12 in 2011. Oklahoma lost two games in 2010, one to Missouri and the other to Texas A&M. The loss to A&M ruined any hope that the Sooners might have had to get into the BCS national championship game.
With a loaded team coming back to Norman next year, Bob Stoops won’t let his team forget that loss.
Mike Sherman has built a very good, underrated program in his three years as the Aggies head coach. They have gotten better every year and will have their best team ever under Sherman in 2011. They do lose Von Miller on defense, but they are stacked so his loss won’t be a big detriment.
The winner of this game will likely be the winner of the Big 12.
November 12: Oregon Vs. Stanford
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This is a game that Stanford has had circled on the calender since Oregon dropped 52 points on Stanford on October 2, 2010. The Cardinal would likely have gone to the national championship game if their defense hadn’t collapsed in that game (remember, they were winning 21-3 at one point).
Andrew Luck and Darron Thomas will be two of the best quarterbacks in the country in 2011. This game will be a showcase for both of them. The winner of this game will have the drivers seat in the newly-formed Pac-12 Conference.
November 26: Alabama Vs. Auburn
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Assuming that Cam Newton doesn’t return to Auburn, this game will lose a little of its luster in 2011 to casual fans.
That said, Auburn will bring back a good team in 2011 and Alabama will be one of the best teams in the country. Every single year this game delivers something memorable and there is no reason to think that the 2011 version will be any different.
The names playing in the game may change, but the fire and intensity remains every single year.
Date TBD: Boise State Vs. TCU
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Boise State is going to the Mountain West Conference in order to play a tougher schedule and to have a chance at playing for a national title. That was a good plan until TCU decided that it was going to the Big East in 2012. At least we have this farewell game between the two.
Boise State returns Heisman Trophy-finalist quarterback Kellen Moore for his 12th year at the school. Chris Petersen has built something special at Boise State and this could be the year that the Broncos get their chance to compete for a championship if they go undefeated in the regular season.
TCU will have a different feel on offense with quarterback Andy Dalton graduating. But don’t let that fool you. Gary Patterson built this team on defense and the Horned Frogs will be near the top of the rankings once again in 2011.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
