Finally!!! After 7 months of sadness, college football
finally returns. And boy, does it return!! This might be is the BEST
OPENING WEEKEND EVER. Honestly, if I leave from in front of my television at
any time Saturday, I’m doing it wrong. From 11:00 AM CST, and day long, we get
to watch bigtime matchup after bigtime matchup and I couldn’t be more excited.
I’m even planning on getting up early and watching all THREE hours of College
Gameday (You should too). Not to mention this but we have a primetime matchup
on Labor Day! My week 1 predictions are just that predictions. With this being
week 1, how much do we REALLY know about these teams yet? Not much, but I’ll do
my best.
OKLAHOMA (3) VS HOUSTON (15)
Right off the bat we get to see a Heisman candidate in Baker
Mayfield go up against a tough Houston team which is ready to take the next
step. Tom Herman turned down multiple opportunities to stay at Houston so it’s
clear he believes this team can continue their rise, coming off of knocking off
Florida State in last year’s bowl game. Greg Ward Jr. is a guy who like
Mayfield, can make plays all over the field and Houston’s defense is a problem!
Oklahoma clearly returns some talent but as I mentioned before, I think they
take a step back this year.
HOUSTON 26
OKLAHOMA 21
UCLA (16) VS TEXAS A&M
Even though there’s a HUGE buyout for Texas A&M coach
Kevin Sumlin, there’s been a lot of talk about him being on the hot seat so of
course this is a pretty big season for his team. UCLA should provide enough of
a challenge for him to show what the Aggies are capable of this season! UCLA
brings in a bigtime quarterback looking to build off an up and down freshman
year in Josh Rosen but I think he’ll have some troubles. While I still think
A&M may struggle against the run this year, they should have a VERY GOOD
secondary led by Armani Watts, Donovan Wilson, and Justin Evans. Making his
first start for Texas A&M will be OU transfer Trevor Knight. If he can get
back to playing how he did a couple of years ago and the Aggies defense hold
up, I see them getting this win.
TEXAS A&M 30
UCLA 20
GEORGIA (18) VS NORTH CAROLINA (22)
We still don’t know the who new head coach Kirby Smart will
start at quarterback for Georgia, but we know Nick Chubb will finally make his
return. Before his torn ACL injury last year, Chubb looked like a top 3 running
back in the country and now he’s back to prove it. Georgia should boast a
pretty good defense this year and whoever wins the quarterback job should have
plenty of weapons at his disposal. As I stated in my last blog, I see UNC
taking a step back this year but they have a good opportunity to get off to a
good start even though they’re replacing a few guys at key positions including
quarterback.
GEORGIA 27
NORTH CAROLINA 17
USC (20) VS ALABAMA (1)
Max Browne gets his intro to starting for a major college
football program this Saturday at Cowboys stadium. And it’s against Alabama…..yea,
good luck with that! Alabama head coach Saban hasn’t yet determined who will
start but the starting quarterback for Alabama typically doesn’t seem to
matter. Lane Kiffin has been a stable force at the OC position and I look for
him to make whoever work out well for the Tide. Now USC does have talent on the
offensive line which should help Browne out some, and also 2 GREAT weapons in
Juju Smith-Shuster, and Adoree’ Jackson. I expect USC to compete…for a half.
ALABAMA 33
USC 19
CLEMSON (2) VS AUBURN
Deshaun Watson starts his Heisman campaign again Saturday
night against an SEC team NEEDING a huge win. Guz Malzahn has been rumored to
be on the hot seat this year and a win against Clemson would go a long way
towards cooling it off. That’s very unlikely considering Clemson’s offense
should be one of the best we’ve seen in a few years. As great as they were last
year featuring Watson as the first quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards and run
for 1,000, Wayne Galman who rushed for 1500 yards last year, they are expected
to be even better with the return of receiver Mike Williams. I like Malzahn but
in this matchup, I just don’t see them having enough weapons to compete. Sean White
should be solid at quarterback but Auburn’s receivers last year couldn’t catch
a cold and without a huge addition in the offseason, I don’t see that changing
much.
CLEMSON 41
AUBURN 17
OLE MISS (11) VS FLORIDA STATE (4)
Should be a GREAT matchup Monday night between 2 teams with
championship aspirations that meet up in Orlando. Ole Miss despite some
controversy off the field brings in a talented roster led by Chad Kelly, and
FSU does the same with the best running back in the country in Dalvin Cook.
Florida State starts a redshirt freshman at quarterback in Deondre Francois,
but head coach Jimbo Fisher believes he’s ready for the challenge. These are
clearly 2 of the most talented teams in the country so I expect this game goes
down to the wire.
OLE MISS 34
FLORIDA STATE 31
Wow, writing all of that has even more excited than I was
when I began! One thing jumps out to me though. SEC fans think they’re the best
conference in America, so they get a chance to start the year trying to prove
it. Ole Miss/Florida State, Georgia/UNC, Auburn/Clemson, Texas A&M/UCLA all
give themselves a chance to make an initial statement for one league or
another.
I can’t wait to sit on the couch all weekend and watch it
all play out!
PRESEASON HEISMAN CANDIDATES
Deshaun Watson
Dalvin Cook
Chad Kelly
Royce Freman
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