September 3, 2009, at 3:26 am
The wait is finally over. College football starts tonight!
Full picks column coming by Friday night, but here are some quick ones for opening night.
South Carolina vs. N.C State – South Carolina won 34-0 last year. Expect different things this year. South Carolina has a young team with some uncertainty at the quarterback position. NC State’s Russell Wilson threw only one interception last season and is ready to take that next step. If Wilson improves on his 54% completion percentage, he should be able to do that. Also, don’t think 34-0 hasn’t been thrown around a lot this week. Players have pride.
The Pick: NC State
North Texas vs. Ball State – After a season in which he ran for over 1700 yards, Ball State’s Miqual Lewis is the leading returning rusher in the country. Look for him to have a big game
The Pick: Ball State
Utah State vs. Utah – Utah needs every game in what should be a fascinating MWC. They have some uncertainty at quarterback now that Corbin Louks has moved on to Nevada. The jury was still out on whether Louks would win the job anyway, but now Utah is looking at even less experience at quarterback. I think this will hurt them late in the year when they play TCU. However, it won’t make much of a difference tonight.
The Pick: Utah
Oregon vs. Boise State – The game of the night, by far. Maybe the game of the weekend (it’s at least top three). It’s rare that you can say this on the season’s opening night, but this is a really important game. Boise State needs to go undefeated to have a shot at the BCS. Oregon is, by far, the toughest game on the schedule. Kellen Moore had a great season for the Broncos last year and will be just as good, if not better, this season. This will be the first taste of how he meshes with his new group of top receivers (three of Moore’s go to guys in ‘08 are gone for ‘09).
Call me crazy if you’d like, but I think Oregon is overrated. The defense is rebuilding. The head coach, while from inside the program, is new. LeGarrette Blount is really good, but I think the defense will struggle a lot early. Going on the road against the high powered Broncos spells bad news.
The Pick: Boise State
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Reply to MattSorry if my posts aren’t more interesting, Matt. I guess I don’t have that kind of talent….Oh, can you tell me more about a Giants plane landing somehwere in Denver? It might be a photoshop or it might not! Stay tuned, more later in this facinating story!
Reply to Jordan Lauterbach