College Football: The Best Offensive Matchups In the 2011 Schedule
There is no such thing as too much football, and with the 2011 College Football schedules being released, it is time to take a moment to take a look at the best offensive matchups for next season.
While not every team or every conference has finalized their schedules yet, the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, and Big 12 have all released the majority of their schedule.
You have the traditional rivalry games that should involve high-powered offenses, as well as some solid out of conference games that should give way to huge offensive performances.
Don't forget to mark your calendar for these games.
September 3rd: Boise State at Georgia
1 of 13
This may not be the highest scoring matchup of the week, but it will be the most intriguing offensive matchup.
Both Boise State and Georgia are losing their star receivers in A.J. Green and Titus Young, so it will be interesting to see how Kellen Moore and Aaron Murray respond.
Georgia is also bringing in stud running back Isaiah Crowell; expect him to get some touches in his first college game.
Kellen Moore is probably the quarterback with the most to prove this season, as he will be attempting to impress scouts to secure his draft stock.
September 10th: Notre Dame at Michigan
2 of 13
Maybe Michigan and Notre Dame are on this list because, well, it's Michigan and Notre Dame. However, this should make for an interesting matchup early in the season.
Denard Robinson was a Heisman hopeful last season, and he was the favorite after the Notre Dame game last year, remember?
Dayne Crist will be returning to the lineup and showed potential last season during his starts, but will Rees be on his heels if he slips up?
September 17th: Michigan State at Notre Dame
3 of 13
Notre Dame makes the list again, as we get to see Michigan State in its first real test of the 2011 campaign.
Last season, this game went into overtime and Michigan State won on a fake field goal.
It will be interesting to see how Kirk Cousins bounces back from their loss against Alabama in the Capital One Bowl. Cousins will be in his senior year and will be looking to draw on the success that Michigan State had in 2010.
Look for a similar finish to last season's 34-31 game in Lansing.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
September 24th: Oregon at Arizona
4 of 13
Everyone knows about Oregon's dominant offense, including Darron Thomas and LaMichael James, but Arizona's offense was impressive at times during last season, as well.
This game was a shootout last season as Oregon won 48-29, but Oregon added insult to injury late for Arizona.
Arizona is returning their two biggest weapons in QB Nick Foles, who has gotten better in each of his seasons as starter, and WR Juron Criner, who had 82 catches and 11 touchdowns last season.
This game will be another shootout, and Oregon better remain on upset alert when they head to 'Zona this year.
October 1st: Arizona at USC
5 of 13
This game was only 24-21 last season, but both offenses were young and improving. Things should easily get into the 30s this season.
Matt Barkley is entering his junior season and is looking to have a breakout year. With Arizona's seniors coming off an offensive showdown against Oregon, look for them to continue firing on all cylinders against a USC defense that really struggled against the pass last season.
This game looks to be a big game early in the Pac-12 season for these two teams, and don't expect their defenses to win the game.
If Missouri and Oklahoma opt to play on October 1st, that game will replace this one as the offensive matchup of the week.
October 8th: Kentucky at South Carolina
6 of 13
This is not exactly the matchup of powerhouses, but it is a matchup of two teams that have young offenses and bad defenses.
South Carolina has QB Stephen Garcia returning for his senior year, and RB Marcus Lattimore and WR Alshon Jeffrey preparing for their sophomore seasons. South Carolina's offense could be the best offense in the SEC with some of the elite offenses losing their QBs (Auburn and Arkansas).
Kentucky's offense is a little more up in the air, as their QB is yet to be determined. Morgan Newton played in the bowl game against Pittsburgh and showed some flashes of potential but also showed why he didn't beat out Hartline for the starting job. Kentucky also has rising sophomore Ryan Mossokowski who could beat out Newton.
Either way, Joker Phillips will look to improve on last season, and expect his offense to show up against South Carolina.
October 15th: Florida at Auburn
7 of 13
This will be a battle between two of the best offensive coordinators in college football: Charlie Weis and Gus Malzahn.
Barrett Trotter won the backup quarterback job for Auburn last season, so it will be interesting to see if he can win the starting job this year. He is a much different quarterback than Cam Newton, as he is much more of a pocket passer.
Florida is losing head coach Urban Meyer, so they brought in Charlie Weis to lead the offense. Watching him go toe-to-toe with Guz Malzahn should live up to the hype.
Both of these teams have question marks on offense, and this likely won't be the highest scoring game of the week, but the offensive creativity will be in full force.
October 22nd: Michigan at Michigan State
8 of 13
One of the best rivalries in all of college football is set to renew on October 22nd of 2011. Both of these teams are returning their featured weapons on the offensive side of the ball, which should make for a high scoring battle.
Michigan didn't sport much of a defense this past season, and Michigan State's defense looked dreadful in the Capitol One Bowl against Alabama.
Denard Robinson's running versus Kirk Cousins passing should lead to a high scoring shootout.
October 29th: Stanford at USC
9 of 13
Anytime two of the top 10 quarterbacks in the country square off, expect an offensive shootout. Andrew Luck is the premier passer in all of college football, and Matt Barkley was the top quarterback recruit in his class coming out of high school.
Barkley has been a bit of a let down in his first two seasons under center, but will be looking to break out in his junior year, as many quarterbacks do at the college level.
USC boasts a horrible secondary so expect a big day out of Andrew Luck. Barkley, on the other hand, might not have as big of a day but will do his best to matchup with the top quarterback in the country.
November 5th: South Carolina at Arkansas
10 of 13
Ryan Mallett might not be in Arkansas anymore, but don't look for their offense to miss a beat with Tyler Wilson leading the helm.
Wilson showed a lot of potential in their matchup against Auburn last season. He threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in the matchup and should pick up where Mallett left off last season.
South Carolina, on the other hand, has all of their major weapons returning on the offensive side of the ball, and Spurrier will have his sights on the SEC Championship game again next season.
South Carolina's offense should break out this season, and this could be the year that Spurrier finally gets South Carolina over the top.
November 12th: Oregon at Stanford
11 of 13
The most anticipated game on the West Coast this season will be Oregon and Stanford. Stanford lit up Oregon in the first quarter last season, leading 21-3 at the first intermission; however, that score didn't hold up long.
Oregon completed a rally to win the game by a wide margin of 52-31, outscoring Stanford 28-0 in the second half.
It is highly unlikely that Andrew Luck has forgotten about that game, as it was his only loss last season. Luck will come out firing on all cylinders, and the Oregon offense will be looking to prove themselves once more.
This will likely be one of the highest scoring games of the season and one of the most competitive.
November 19th: USC at Oregon
12 of 13
Last season, the Ducks put up 53 points on a poor USC defense. USC responded with a solid 32-point offensive performance. The USC offense is a year improved, and the defense has hopefully learned how to cover a few players.
In all likelihood, this will be another shootout. Oregon will likely come away victorious, but Matt Barkley will have something to prove after throwing two interceptions against Oregon in last season's game.
Expect another monstrous game out of LaMichael James, but not the 239 yards that he put up in last year's game.
November 26th: Florida State at Florida
13 of 13
There are a lot of matchups that could be included in the final week of the season, including: Alabama at Auburn, Ohio State at Michigan, Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, Notre Dame at Stanford, and TCU at Boise State (if the rumors about that being the last game of the year are true).
However, the lure of two teams trying to rebound from poor seasons is too much to turn down.
Likely it will not be the highest scoring game of the week, but Florida State is a team that has added a lot of offensive weapons and could become an elite offense if they figure out the quarterback position.
Florida has Charlie Weis. As mentioned previously, he made Matt Cassel a pro-bowler for the Chiefs this past season, and could work wonders with Jonathan Brantley next season.
Look for some fireworks and creativity in Florida next year for this game.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
