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10 games and the national title
By Paul Casey Gotham
Shhhhhh….did you hear that? Tick, tock, tick, tock…The time is drawing near. College pigskin kicks off on Thursday, September 2nd with 18 games including openers for Ohio State, Miami, Pittsburgh and even Lane Kiffin’s folly. There is no playoff, so, as the talking heads say: EVERY GAME MATTERS. Here are a few games that might matter more than others.
10. Boise State at Virginia Tech – September 6: Gentlemen start your engines! A top 10 tilt in the first weekend – the Hokies and Broncos are wasting no time with a soiree on Labor Day. Plenty of time to recover from a loss and get into the BCS, but the blemish could exclude from the title game.
9. South Florida at Miami – November 27: The Bulls won’t be competing for a national title, but the Hurricanes might. Skip Holtz should have his gang focused by this time. Miami won by 21 last year. Not so easy this time.
8. Oregon State at TCU – September 4: Geez. Gone are the days when teams opened against the sisters of mercy. If the Horned Frogs want a shot at the title game, they have to beat a school from a “power” conference. Then, they need to go on and beat another school from a “power” conference – Baylor (Big 12). And they need to beat BYU. Oh yeah, and they have to beat Utah. Don’t forget SMU – June Jones is there now. And they have Air Force on the ledger. Hmmmm…maybe the Mountain West isn’t for patsies after all. Back to the point, TCU better beat Oregon State and make it interesting.
7. Pittsburgh at Notre Dame – October 9: I know. I know. Pittsburgh? Notre Dame? National title? Don’t forget. Last year, the Panthers lost at West Virginia by 3 and to #5 Cincinnati by one. They went on to win a bowl game over UNC. Pitt has beefed up the schedule with an opening weekend game at Utah and a game against Miami. The Big East gets a spot in the BCS. Pitt could earn it. If Pitt is 4-0, ND could come bearing pumpkins.
6. Georgia Tech at North Carolina – September 18: Both are ranked in pre-season polls, and both want to take out the Hurricanes. Let’s see. Last year, the Ramblin’ Wreck won by 17 in Georgia. It’s going to be different this time around. If the Heels open with a win over LSU, this could be very interesting.
5. Stanford at Oregon – October 2: Someone from the Pac 10 is going to get a BCS game. The Ducks have some unfinished business after falling to the Cardinal last year.
4. Florida at Alabama – October 2: A spot in the SEC title will be at stake. How good is Mark Ingram?
3. Texas at Nebraska – October 16: The Longhorns get a week to rest before this one. Mack Brown’s crew will need it. After a three-year absence from the polls, the Cornhuskers finished in the top 20 last year and almost look relevant again. Some are suggesting this is a bigger game than the Red River shootout. Nahhhh!
2. Texas at Oklahoma – October 2: It’s the Red River Shootout. It’s Mack Brown and Bob Stoops. It’s the end of the Big 12 as we know it. Whooaaaaaa Nellllllllllllllllllllie!!!!!!!!!!
1. Ohio State at Iowa – November 20: Last year, the Hawkeyes looked past Northwestern and fell on their collective face. For good measure, Iowa followed that with an OT loss to the Buckeyes. This could be a late-season battle of two undefeated teams.
4 Responses to “10 games and the national title”
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Way to get things kicked off, Casey!
I’m just having trouble believing that Iowa is as good as their initial rankings here (#10). I hope I’m wrong though, since I’d like to see them do something in the Big 10 … it’s been awhile!
What about Ohio State … they host Miami on 9/11 and also visit Wisconsin in mid October.
Oregon State also visits Boise State in late Sept. I’ll be there for that one.
This may not be necessary to say, but I don’t think Boise State, TCU or anyone from these “not quite major conferences” can have a loss and play in the title game. Can they lose once and play in a BCS game? Maybe. But not the title game. On the other hand, Va Tech may be able to lose a close one to Boise State in week one and then run the table and possibly play in the title game. It’s not right … it stinks, but that’s the way it is today.
What about the Mayor’s Cup (Phila.) on 9/3? Temple will get Villanova this year. Assuming I’m the only one who cares about that, let me say this…
I can’t believe Butch Davis has people outside of Carolina talking about UNC. They choke every year. It’s such a dull program. I think they still talk about beating Miami those couple of times. I know every program violates rules, but Butch Davis is the Al Capone of college football.
Rey-
I’m with ya on UNC. I’m convinced they have a large following only because kids like the powder blue or “Carolina blue” colors. Anyway, Butch’s teams, UNC or otherwise, have always lacked offensive punch, hence dullsville. Plus, as you say, his adherence to the rules is “questionable” at best.
It will also be interesting to see if Florida State can ressurrect itself post-Bowden.
Casey, glad to see you include the 10/9 matchup of Pitt at ND. I fully expect 2 undefeated teams to be going head to head that day. I think because of Brian Kelly’s “history” with Pitt, they may become one of ND’s fiercest rivals over the next few years.