Florida State will play Clemson on Labor Day night on ESPN
-Hooray! No more Miami/FSU to kick off the year. Not only did that routinely suck, but neither team has meant diddley-poo in the national race for at least three years and last year's snorefest was the final straw. The problem is not so much with the FSU/Miami game but the fact that no college team looks all that good the first week of the year. Regardless, a big rivalry game like FSU/Miami should not be the opener. FSU/Clemson is something of a rivalry, dating back to the Deion Sanders days, but not on the same level.
Tommy: "Dad, I have to win to save my job"
Bobby: "Again? Daggummit."
It should be a very, very interesting game beyond the Bowden Bowl angle that ESPN will be sure to beat into the ground before, during and after the game. I thought that angle was cute the first time they played but after almost a decade? Meh, we get it. It doesn't lessen the impact of the game on these two teams. FSU spent their holidays in San Francisco playing UCLA in the Emerald Bowl to avoid their first losing season in multiple decades and pounded a team that beat USC to end the season. It doesn't change the fact that FSU was awful this year and lost, at home, to Wake Forest 30-0. A loss in the opener would not do anybody any favors in Tallahassee.
As for Clemson, it's the same old story. At one point, there were in the top ten and had BCS dreams. Then they reeled off losses to Virginia Tech, Maryland and rival South Carolina and plummeted from New Year's Day to a virtual road game in the Music City Bowl against Kentucky, which they promptly lost. Tommy Bowden is permanently on the hot seat and it has been years since Clemson has played past the New Year. Clemson fans are itching to get to the BCS, especially having seen teams like Maryland and Wake Forest win the ACC in recent years.
Lastly, the Clemson/FSU games have generally been fun with two straight Clemson home wins and a thrilling Clemson victory this September that featured two blocked kick returns for Florida State and a last-minute touchdown.
Arizona State will play USC on Thanksgiving night on ESPN-This is part of a new ESPN deal with the Pac-10 that will also see Oregon/Arizona play on ESPN Thursday night. I think it's a coup for ESPN to get the Trojans, who could be in the national title picture, play in primetime on Thanksgiving. Last year, ESPN got stuck with a dog of a game between 5-6 Miami and a decent Boston College team. For years, the network had gone with rivalry games on Thanksgiving -- West Virginia/Pittsburgh and Ole Miss/Mississippi State -- but it appears they want to end that trend. While I liked the rivalry games on Thanksgiving due to tradition, as long as the game has good teams involved I'm happy. Unfortunately, with Dennis Erickson at the helm ASU could be 4-6. Who cares?
Another Pac-10 note, all the traditional rivalry games will be played on Dec. 1, save for the Apple Cup in Washington that will be Thanksgiving weekend. There had been some grumbling among Pac-10 coaches about the change because the conference, like the Big Ten, had tried to keep most of its games before Thanksgiving. But TV has come a-calling and there's plenty of TV opportunities the first weekend of December because of the SEC/Big XII/ACC title games.
September 8th is going to be a very, very good day
-We all remember Sept. 16th of this year and how it was dubbed "Separation Saturday" because of seven games between ranked teams. This Saturday isn't nearly that ridiculous but it should be fun...some examples.
Oregon at Michigan
-In 2003, Oregon beat up Michigan at home. Michigan could be a top five team with QB Chad Henne, RB Michael Hart and a bunch of receivers returning. Oregon faltered down the stretch but is always dangerous. Who knows what wacky uniforms the Ducks will bust out.
Miami, Fl at Oklahoma
-Now this is a great game. OU is still trying to get back to the national title discussion with a bunch of question marks while Miami has a new coach after a very, very average 7-6 season. Winner could be poised for big things.
Virginia Tech at LSU
-Holy crap! Not only did an SEC team schedule a big-time out-of-conference opponent, Virginia Tech is playing somebody! No more Cincinnati's and Rhode Island's for them. Just a monstrous game.
BYU at UCLA
-BYU went 11-2 and was arguably the best non-BCS team last year. Yeah, I think they would've beat Boise. UCLA almost beat Notre Dame, beat USC and lost to Florida State. Oh, and UCLA has this QB Ben Olson that originally committed to BYU, went on a Mormon mission and is now a Bruin. He was supposed to be pretty good. He might be a backup. Very interesting West Coast matchup.
TCU at Texas
-TCU gets it shot at the big dog in the state. Texas should be loaded with Colt McCoy and a host of others returning. TCU is always yearning for respect. A win here for the Horned Frogs would shatter the foundation of the state.
Boise State at Washington
-You know Boise will get its share of preseason hype even if they will be in rebuilding mode, losing most of its starters. Washington will be getting pub for all the wrong reasons: once-proud school in the midst of long-term suckitude, a mass exodus from the team and former Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham struggling to turn the program around.
Notre Dame at Penn State
-Yeah, I think a few people might turn into this one. Their game this past year got NBC's highest ratings for a Notre Dame game and the second-highest rating for a Saturday afternoon game, behind only Ohio State/Michigan. And ND has the QB, Jimmy Clausen or something, who is supposed to be kind of a big deal. If Notre Dame wins its opener against Georgia Tech, this game will be huge. And since it'll probably be on ABC, you can be sure of lots and lots and lots of hype. They should probably just start the countdown now.
Sean O
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