Week 1 Preview: Ironing Out the Grid

It’s here. It’s finally here.

Rabid fans, take heart! The college football season begins tomorrow, and I can hardly contain myself.

So many teams, so many questions, so many half-answers. Penn State and Alabama will be avenging disappointing ends to the 2008 season, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford return with their respective teams at the top of the preseason polls, and the Mountain West tries to confirm that it is for real. Oh, and Utah will try to continue a 14-game winning streak after being the only undefeated team in the nation at season’s end.

But nobody cares about 2008 anymore. We all just want to see Colt McCoy and his frickin’ sweet mustache win the BCS Championship already. (Yes, that’s how I declare my national championship predictions these days.)

So let’s get on to this week’s games!

Game of the Week: (5) Alabama at (7) Virginia Tech

The front office at Virginia Tech probably wasn’t betting on the fact that the legendary football programs at both Nebraska and Alabama would be on the upswing when they made their 2009 schedule. (Hey, mentioning VT and betting at the same time isn’t bad unless I mention the words ‘Vick,’ ‘dog,’ or ‘fighting.’)

No matter – this is a pretty sweet Week 1 bout.

As I said before, Alabama has something to prove: that the last couple games of 2009 were…um, flukes, and that the #5 ranking has nothing to do with the fact that Nick Saban’s job title was officially changed to Resident Badass after he ran up a 31-0 halftime lead on a third-ranked Georgia team last September.

Likewise, Virginia Tech hopes to prove that the BCS hype shouldn’t be tossed aside with whatever tissue scraps Darren Evans’ torn ACL surgery left. The running back’s season-ending injury all but halted discussion of an ACC uprising, at least in a national championship context.

But Beamerball has always highlighted defense and athleticism, something the Crimson Tide can appreciate. If Saban’s squad can pull off the road win in Blacksburg, it should provide great prep for the rest of conference play. Of course, both teams are lucky in that a loss doesn’t necessarily remove them from a conference – or, depending on how the winner fares through December, even national – championship.

Winner: Alabama. A top-tier SEC defense could – barring an Adrian-Peterson’s-rookie-year type of surprise – shut down the Hokies’ inexperienced tailbacks, and you better believe there will be fire in Nick Saban’s possibly soulless eyes (Bama fans, don’t get mad: souls aren’t required to win championships).

This year’s potentially awful Alabama-Clemson re-enactment: (13) Georgia at (9) Oklahoma State

Remember all the buildup for last year’s Week 1 match-up between first-year coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide and the then-thought-to-be-ACC-title-contender Clemson Tigers that turned out to be as memorable as Limp Bizkit’s 2005 comeback? No? Well, Alabama shocked the nation by blowing out the young Bowden’s crew, and Clemson lost to a rebuilding Nebraska team in the Gator Bowl after giving the reins to Dabo Swinney halfway through the season. So, without further ado, this year’s possibly sucky Week 1 game:

A lot rides on this game for both teams. Georgia – who was favored to be in the national title game a year ago – needs to earn some respect in the SEC East, and putting a dent in this year’s Big 12 dark horse would be a good start. Oklahoma State’s potentially lethal QB-WR combo of Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant (both big-time award contenders) want to justify T. Boone Pickens’ large donations to the program, and beating a big-time SEC opponent could do just that.

Of course, so little is really known about the on-field performance of either team. For all we know, this game could go four OTs, and both teams will end up bowl-less at 4-8. No matter – whatever the outcome of the game, it will no doubt add fire to the Big 12 vs. SEC flame that everyone loves to dwell on. As it’s early in the season (and I look at every team ranked between 7 and 16 as a risk to repeat an ’08 Clemson run), I really have nothing to guess winners by than pure speculation. Thus – due to my incredibly accurate gut-feeling prediction about how terrible last year’s Wisconsin Badgers were (a top 12 team until they got beat by Michigan…yes, you read that right) – I’m saying ‘sorry’ to UGA. You’re my ‘probably terrible’ team of 2009. Prove me wrong, kids.

Winner: Oklahoma State, because the game is in Stillwater, where fans are hungry for some intra-conference love. Beating an SEC opponent before the South gauntlet starts is the only way.

The Real Game of the Week: (16) Oregon at (14) Boise State

Seriously, guys. The Pac 10 is – according to more than a few people – right there, so close to the supremacy of the Big 12 and SEC that they can taste it. Many blame that whole East Coast Bias thing, but I say nay-nay. Yes, P10 teams like to schedule tougher non-conference opponents than some other teams (I’m looking at you, Ohio State, Florida and Texas), but it doesn’t make them a better conference if they lose. If you’re going to argue for a west coast conference, choose the Mountain West: they had great success against the Pac 10 last year and were home to Utah, who probably would have at least shared the national title if the BCS didn’t exist.

And just as the UGA-Okie State game will stir Big 12-SEC sentiments, this game will help solve that less-riveting (on the east coast) debate. I’ll definitely agree with the idea that this game would probably be a primetime Saturday game if it were two east coast teams, as it could very well be the best game of Week 1.

Winner: Boise State. The Broncos beat Oregon in Eugene last year by only a few points, but they were the underdog playing at one of the toughest locations in the country. With the game in Idaho on gaudy blue turf, the consistently impressive coaching and roster of no-names will probably overtake the Ducks and their cut uniform budget (Phil Knight, how could you?!)

Team I would love to see win: Iowa State

You have to feel sorry for the Cyclone football program. They’ve finished last in the Big 12 North for the last three years, and haven’t won a conference game since November 10, 2007. Their former head coach apparently just wasn’t trying in Ames, because he left to take over the helm at Auburn despite finishing on a ten-game losing streak (their only wins were against Kent State and South Dakota State). Cyclones fans, I have faith that they can win two in a row against SDS, but I don’t have faith that you’ll ever hear the phrases “Cyclones” and “win two in a row” in the same sentence again – unless the word “fail” is thrown in as well.

Team I would like to see lose (but won’t because of a cupcake Week 1): (6) Ohio State

Seriously guys, stop stealing JoePa’s TV time, will you? He doesn’t have much of it left. And I’m tired of seeing all the hype around you trouncing your mediocre conference before choking down the stretch/in the national championship game. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes are playing Navy in Week 1, and won’t lose, because they’re not Wolverines.

Team I would like to see lose (and actually might): (23) Notre Dame

Lou Holtz, you’re crazy. Notre Dame will not play in the BCS National Championship Game. They play Nevada, a team that can’t be overlooked, despite their lack of prestige. As far as WAC opponents go, they’re not quite Boise State or 2007 Hawaii, but they’re not quite San Jose State or Utah State either. Jimmy Clausen, Charlie Weis and company have a lot to prove to earn BCS-caliber respect from me, and I don’t want to give it to them, so I’d rather they just lose.

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