College Football 2011: A Far Too Early Preview of Boise State-Georgia

This may be a bit premature, but if you’re like me, you cannot wait till College Football kickoff weekend. Once the autumn air hits the ground, fans will be locked into stadiums and rooms with television sets watching their favorite schools do battle.

College Football has become a major hit on TV over the past decade and the NCAA and the networks have taken steps to ensure that the season starts with a bang.

The NCAA has begun to make the first week of the season a major attraction, as big, neutral-site games in NFL stadiums have become commonplace.  The Chick-fil-A College Kickoff is one such addition to the schedule.  Beginning in 2008, the Georgia Dome has played host to an out-of-conference battle, and all three times both teams have been ranked inside the Top 25.

This season’s edition pits the Boise State Broncos and the Georgia Bulldogs and figures to be as exciting a Chick-fil-A College Kickoff as any of the previous games. Both teams have a variety of goals set for 2011, and this game will go a long way in affecting their entire campaign. For Boise State this is probably the only national audition they will have the entire year. Last season, an opening night victory over Virginia Tech vaulted the Broncos into national championship contention and remained there until a heartbreaking loss to Nevada late in the season.

Expectations in Boise for 2011 are still high despite the loss in personnel, but the Broncos return the most important two people for the 2011 season:  head coach Chris Peterson and quarterback Kellen Moore.

The duo have combined for a 38-2 record over the past three seasons Their most dangerous opponent, TCU, has to come to the blue field on Nov. 12th, making it reasonable to believe that if the Broncos can grab a victory over the Bulldogs on opening night, a third undefeated regular season (and another BCS appearance) is in sight.

On the Georgia side of the field, the past few seasons have been a struggle.  Playing in the unforgiving SEC has played a major role in the problem,  but that’s not the only issue.

After winning four of six SEC East titles from 2002-2007, the Dawgs have gone 24-15 over the past three seasons and many are fearing that the early-decade success may never return.

There is hope in Athens this year, however.

All the headlines surround sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray.  After an up (Georgia Tech) and down (Liberty Bowl against UCF) freshman campaign, fans believe the former four-star recruit will break out in 2011 and lead the Bulldogs to big things.

He is protected by a mammoth offensive line, the smallest of which (Chris Burette) stands 6’2” and weighs 313 pounds.

Although star wideout A.J. Green is now an NFL draftee, Georgia has a cast that is capable of playing with the big boys of the conference and pulling off a few upsets.

Combine this with the fifth ranked (according to rivals.com) recruiting class coming in, and a few new faces could make an impact on this game if they play well during the summer.

While he may not on the hot seat yet, Dawgs coach Mark Richt knows that this could be a make or break year as far as his legacy is concerned. He is clearly one of the best coaches in college football but too many down seasons will have fans clamoring for a change.

As you can see, these two schools are coming into this contest from completely different wavelengths, but the game itself should be a tight affair that may not be decided until the final possession. Interestingly enough, the spread has nosedived from 6.5 points to 1.5, with the Broncos still being a slight favorite.

A lot of people are high on the Bulldogs this season, but they still have a lot to prove to justify a spot in the Top 25.

Boise State proved a year ago they can go on the road and defeat a marquee team, so they have to be considered the favorites at this point. However, a whole lot can change between now and game time.

Once we get closer to Sept. 3rd, we can break down the X’s and O’s of the particular matchup, I just wanted to provide a broad overview of what direction these teams are headed going into this marquee matchup.

The last time these schools met (an opening night affair in 2005), the Broncos were embarrassed 48-13 and gave up nearly 600 yards of total offense.