Week One---Top Ten College Football Games

It’s week one of the college football season---FINALLY! Grab your chips & salsa and beverage of choice and settle into your spot on the couch to enjoy some pigskin over the Labor Day Weekend. Here is my list of top ten games to watch over a long weekend.

1. LSU/Oregon---SEC versus Pac-12, all the drama surrounding the LSU QB suspension and “the house that Jerry built” takes center stage Saturday night with a Top 5 showdown.

Prediction: LSU wins a close game 31-23.

2. Boise State/Georgia---SEC versus Mountain West, Heisman hopeful BSU QB Kellen Moore on a national stage and a relative unknown AJ Green(less) UGA offense with a highly recruited tailback Isaiah Crowell to make his debut in the Georgia Dome.

Prediction: Boise State paddles the “pups” 34-20.

3. South Florida/Notre Dame---Big East versus Independent, USF dual threat QB BJ Daniels takes on an Irish defense that only surrendered 39 points to its last four opponents in 2010, and once again, a Holtz (Skip not Lou) will patrol the sidelines under the Golden Dome.

Prediction: Notre Dame runs the Bulls out of South Bend 45-27

4. Miami/Maryland---This is the showcase game (oxymoron???) for the ACC on opening weekend, how will the “cheaters” I mean Canes, under new Head Coach Al Golden, handle the ‘Shapiro suspensions’ and will the top returning QB in the conference, Dan O’Brien, progress from his redshirt freshman year in a new system under new Head Coach Randy Edsell’s tutelage?

Prediction: Terps over "a shell of itself" Hurricanes team in an ugly game 23-17

5. BYU/Ole Miss---SEC versus Independent, the reverend Houston Nutt finally puts the Jeremiah Massoli disaster behind him, the newly independent Cougars travel to the loveliest scene in the Southeast (The Grove) and BYU sophomore QB Jake Heaps is a special player.

Prediction: BYU overcomes the oppressive heat/humidity and beats Johnny Reb 37-30

6. SMU/Texas A&M---Conference USA versus Big 12, the Aggies begin the farewell tour as a member of the Big 12 conference with potentially its replacement in the Longhorns & its little sister’s league, Texas A&M has high pre-season aspirations and SMU fields its most talented team since the pre-death penalty days in the 80s.

Prediction: Texas A&M saddles the Mustangs 48-34

7. Colorado/Hawaii---Pac-12 versus WAC, after a gluttony of college football all day Saturday why not end it in beautiful HI when the Buffaloes stampede into Honolulu. Colorado enters its initial season as a new Pac-12 member, as well as a new head coach, and Hawaii always seems to lull its brethren from the continental-48 without a “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow.

Prediction: Hawaii corrals the Buffaloes 49-27


8. UCLA/Houston---Pac-12 versus Conference USA, Heisman hopeful Case Keenum returns for another senior season at the controls for the Houston Cougars after suffering a season-ending injury in Pasadena last year versus UCLA, while Bruins HC Rick Neuheisel might not be in control in 2012 if the Bruins of Westwood suffer another losing season in the Pac 12.

Prediction: Houston clubs the Bruins 45-34

9. TCU/Baylor---Mountain West versus Big 12, TCU starts its farewell tour as a member of the MWC conference with a trip to Waco, TX where the Bears’ QB RGIII (that’s Robert Griffin, III) lies in wait. The Horned Frogs will be breaking in Andy Dalton’s replacement on the road and Art Briles’ high-octane Baylor offense will test the stingy TCU defense.

Prediction: TCU escapes Waco with a victory 27-23 (Wow, was I wrong, this was the score in the 2nd quarter last night!)

10. South Carolina/East Carolina---SEC versus Conference USA, this game got a whole lot more interesting to watch after Spurrier announced that sophomore QB Connor Shaw will start at quarterback instead of 5th year senior returning starter Stephen Garcia. East Carolina will bring its aerial assault across the Tarheel State to Charlotte and test the Gamecocks’ secondary all night, but USC will feature its most balanced offense under SOS and the nation’s best one-two combination at RB/WR in Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jefferey.

Prediction: South Carolina sinks the Pirates 55-20

My next post will be Monday when Spurspective reviews the USC/ECU game and peeks ahead to the showdown in Sanford Stadium next Saturday afternoon.