Week 2 - Let's Go!

There are some very interesting match-ups this week in college football. I like that some teams are taking the challenge and playing some good non-conference opponents. Here are three games I'm most intrigued by this weekend:


Brigham Young vs. No. 24 Texas - Austin, TX - Brigham Young won an ugly game last week at Ole' Miss to get their first win as an independent. Now, they face a legitimate college football team. Playing on the road against Ole' Miss means a lot of beautiful women get to see you play. Playing on the road against a Texas team that is looking to bounce back after a down year will be a new challenge for Bronco Mendenhall. It'll be interesting to see if BYU can match the athleticism of Texas and if the Longhorns can limit their own mistakes.

It's put up or shut up for the O-line.

No. 12 South Carolina vs. Georgia - Athens, GA - For Mark Richt, this is it. There's really no other way to view this than a must-win game for Richt and the Georgia program. After all the talk of major offseason changes and a new attitude and commitment, the Bulldogs took a hard face-plant against Boise State. The offense showed glimpses of life in the second half against Boise State, but the offensive line needs to be much more physical to hold up against the South Carolina defensive line. As is the case with most SEC games, this one will be decided in the trenches. Can the Georgia defensive line put pressure on Stephen Garcia and neutralize Marcus Lattimore? And can the Georgia offensive line protect Aaron Murray from the great pass rushers of South Carolina. One thing is for certain - the winner of this game gets the inside track to the SEC Championship.

Utah vs. USC - Los Angeles, CA - I love this match-up. Could there be more of a contrast between the culture of two programs? USC is one of the most high-profile, flashy programs in the country. Utah goes about their business with very little national attention. USC has a young, arrogant coach who is disliked by most of the country. Most college football fans around the country can't even name Utah's coach. Both teams picked up wins against mediocre opponents last week, but this is a great way to kick off the new Pac-12.

Kick it Off!

It's time for another season of college football! One of the things I missed about not being in the U.S. last fall was the ability to watch football on Saturday afternoons. Because we were in Switzerland, I would stay up and try to follow games during the middle of the night and see if I could find any websites that were streaming games. I know this is hard to believe, but it wasn't quite the same. After losing last year, I'm definitely excited about getting this season started. Here are 3 games I'm looking forward to this weekend.

Will LaMichael James run wild?

#3 Oregon vs. #4 LSU - Cowboys Stadium - 8:00pm ET.
This is the game that is receiving all the hype. And with two preseason top 5 teams, it should be the one receiving the hype. ESPN's College Gameday will be set up in Dallas, and all the story lines surrounding LSU over the past few weeks have made this game even bigger. I'm looking forward to seeing the match up of Oregon's blazing offense against LSU's ferocious defense. And I'm interested to see which uniforms the Ducks break out. However, if this game ends up being lopsided and doesn't live up to expectations, I don't think the media should blame the losing team. Blame the media for screwing up with the USELESS preseason rankings.

#5 Boise St. vs. #19 Georgia - Georgia Dome - 8:00pm ET.
As a Georgia fan, this game brings some nervous excitement. I'm excited because I hope this is the beginning of a turnaround season for Mark Richt and the Bulldogs. I'm nervous because I'm worried Georgia might continue to struggle and be the first team from the SEC to lose to Boise State. It's a definite possibility. Boise State jumped all over Virginia Tech to start their opening game last season and the Hokies were unable to recover. I'm hoping Georgia will be the more physical team from the opening kick and be able to impose their will against the Broncos. I also hope Georgia's defense will be able to constantly put pressure on Kellen Moore. And please, NO STUPID PENALTIES!

#14 TCU vs. Baylor - Waco, TX - Friday, 8:00pm ET.

Can TCU stop Robert Griffin III?

If this game is anything like last season, it won't be exciting at all - TCU won 45-10. This year, they are playing at Baylor and the Horned Frogs no longer have Andy Dalton leading the team at quarterback. Instead, Baylor will be the team with the best quarterback and might have a dark horse Heisman candidate in Robert Griffin III. You know Gary Patterson will do a great job with the TCU defense so it'll be a fun match up to see how they handle Griffin and the duel-threat ability he provides. One amazing stat about TCU - they haven't lost a regular season game since 2008! Unbelievable.