Week 1 Predictions

It is Thursday, September 3rd, which means it is officially gameday for several programs across the nation! Fans will be treated to several games on national television tonight- starting with South Carolina visiting NC State. For those who have ESPNU, North Texas takes on Ball State at 7:30. And then, of course, the ugliest college football game of all time: Oregon at Boise State will be on after USC/NC State.

There are some interesting match ups this week, the most highly publicized being Alabama vs. Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Another big time contest features UGA making the trip to Stillwater, OK to play Oklahoma State at 3:30. The only other game between two ranked teams features BYU at Oklahoma. The Sooners aren't exactly on upset watch, but it isn't completely out of the question for BYU to steal an early season win (though it will be very, very difficult).

I'm interested to watch Greg Paulus make his college football debut when Syracuse hosts Minnesota. That should be worth watching for at least two or three series. Ohio State gets a national tv game against Navy, that one should be over by halftime. It will be interesting to see how Rich Rodriguez handles playing three QBs when Michigan opens against Western Michigan. Michigan needs a good showing on Saturday after the recent struggles and negative publicity we've been seeing. Speaking of struggles, Charlie Weis better bring his A-game on Saturday when Nevada comes to South Bend to play Notre Dame.

On Sunday, #8 Ole Miss visits Memphis in a game that could be closer than many expect. There are a pair of big games on Monday as well: Cincinnati visits Rutgers in a game which should showcase the top two Big East Teams this year. Also on Monday night, Florida State hosts in-state rival Miami. There are enough quality games to keep us very entertained in week one. So, how about some predictions?!

WEEK ONE PREDICTIONS:

National TV Games:

South Carolina over NC State

Boise State over Oregon

Ohio State over Navy

Minnesota over Syracuse

Michigan over Western Mich

Illinois over Missouri

Oklahoma over BYU

California over Maryland

Rutgers over Cincy

Florida State over Miami

SEC Games:

South Carolina over NC State

Kentucky over Miami OH

Tennessee over Western Kentucky

OK State over UGA

MS State over Jackson State

Florida over Charleston Southern

Auburn over La Tech

Arkansas over Missouri State

Vanderbilt over Western Carolina

Virginia Tech over Alabama

LSU over Washington

Ole Miss over Memphis