It's that time of year again. I'm sad, you're sad, we're all sad that another football season is in the rearview mirror. Some might cope with the grief by throwing themselves into other activities. I prefer, as I do every year in this space, to look ahead and present my preview of the next college football season, which happens to be the earliest such preview known to man.
Next year will kick off on Thursday, August 30th, with the bulk of games starting Saturday, September 1st. Interestingly, this year there is no Labor Day night game (although that obviously may change), which for the past several years has featured an ACC matchup — this past year, it introduced us to Maryland's winning entry in the Worst Uniforms of All-Time contest.
The first Thursday Night game for ESPN game is usually an SEC affair and usually involves South Carolina, and this year is no different, with the Gamecocks traveling to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt.
These are two teams that seem perpetually on the brink of two different desired realities: for Vanderbilt, to be a solid SEC program that nobody can take for granted. For South Carolina, a division championship and entry into college football's elite. I'm thinking we will be in for a close matchup.
Friday offers an even better game: Boise State travels to Michigan State for their annual showdown with a top-25 foe. Boise has been very successful in these forays, including on the road, but now they will have to do it without Kellen Moore. On paper I think Michigan State looks better, but I can't bring myself to pick against Boise.
Here are some of Saturday's key matchups:
Alabama vs. Michigan (in Dallas)
Obviously the game of the week. Michigan took great strides back to national relevancy last year, winning a BCS game. Is next year the year they snag a Big Ten title and start the year off by beating the national champions? No! It's not!
Clemson vs. Auburn (in Atlanta)
Clemson has been to Atlanta to kick off the season before, in 2008 against Alabama. Clemson was ranked 9th going into the season and Alabama 25th. But the Tide handled Clemson that day and would go on to reach No. 1 in the rankings before relinquishing it to Florida in the SEC Championship Game. This year, no one will be expecting much of Auburn, so the Tigers will hope history doesn't repeat itself.
Tennessee vs. North Carolina State (in Atlanta)
Yes, the organizers of the Chick-Fil-A College Kickoff are making it a doubleheader this year, with an undercard of two programs that have seen better days, Tennessee at North Carolina State. But ESPN is high on the Wolf Pack for the coming year, putting them in their "Way Too Early Top 25." Still, there's an overall talent difference to be made up between an also-ran ACC team and an also-ran SEC team.
Notre Dame vs. Navy (in Dublin, Ireland)
Top o' the mornin'! The lads from Our Lady are travelin' to the home of their mascot's forefathers! How happy the good people of Eire are to be the symbol of a once-great gridironin' program, in toiny punchin' leprechaun form! Faith n' begorrah, the lads better be wearing green right down to their knickers, aye!
Beyond those games, the soup gets pretty thin, even for Week 1. Some other games of semi-note:
UCLA at Rice
I'm circling this game because I happened to watch it the last time these teams hooked up in Houston. I remember it because Rice jumped out to an early lead, and a player started gleefully shouting, "THEY DON'T LIKE TEXAS FOOTBALL!" from the sidelines. Needless to say, UCLA went on to win easily. So we will see if this time Rice can be the avatar of the state they apparently feel they should be.
Southern Miss at Nebraska
Now this is a spicy little meatball. I'm sure when Nebraska scheduled it, it was viewed as a gimme win. But Southern Miss took out Houston from the ranks of the undefeated last year, and will not be an easy matchup for the Cornhuskers at all.
Texas-San Antonio at South Alabama
This game marks the Division 1-A debut for both of these schools. USA (yes, that's how they abbreviate it) will be joining the Sun Belt, and UTSA, along with Texas State, will be joining the now-dilapidated WAC. The WAC now has just seven teams for football, and I thought the NCAA required eight, but apparently not. USA and UTSA went a combined 5-7 last year against 1-AA opponents, and UTSA dropped a game to Division III McMurry, so it's going to be a tough road to hoe for these two programs.
February 10, 2012
Chicken Fever:
South Carolina and Vandy is going to be close? What, for about the first 3 minutes! The cocks will ruin their night!
February 16, 2012
[email protected]:
Um, the above comment makes me laugh.
Nice Irish “accent”! Not sterotypical or offensive at all! :)
I laugh that you put Michigan’s matchup (their first loss of the season, so yay) first; therefore the editor’s picture on the article’s blurb is of the yellow highlighter-panted ones.
Good job, so-called Buckeyes fan.
Nice article. Now, when are you going to write about the sport on EVERY AMERICAN’S mind these days….hockey?