Get out you face/body paint and your giant foam hand. Brush up on those fight song lyrics. College football season is officially underway! Let’s look at what is in store with a full Labor Day Weekend lineup.
The biggest Thursday night match-up featured (16) Oregon at (14) Boise State in the late night West coast showdown on the famed blue turf at Bronco Stadium. Boise State returning quarterback Kellen Moore looks to lead his Broncos to their second BCS bowl in four seasons.
Friday night is not just for high school football anymore. Tulane will host Tulsa in a Conference USA battle televised on ESPN at 8 p.m. Just because they are unranked doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch. Tulsa finished last season with 11 wins, losing to East Carolina for the C-USA Championship.
The beginning of the college football season used to start off with very little excitement as teams would “warm-up” against lower quality teams before conference play in week three or four.
While those “warm-up” still take place (Florida is a 73-point favorite over Charleston Southern), this Saturday features three huge, make-or-break games.
At 3:30 p.m. on ABC, (13) Georgia faces (9) Oklahoma State in Stillwater. With covers on Sports Illustrated and loads of airtime on ESPN, the Cowboys are not coming into this season quietly.
Much is anticipated of this team with returning QB Zac Robinson and Kendall Hunter in the backfield.
While the Cowboy defense has always been something of a sore spot, they play a Georgia team that lost their starting QB Matthew Stafford, who went No. 1 in the NFL draft, and both of their running backs.
Don’t look for Georgia to roll over. As an SEC powerhouse, they will bring that tough SEC defense to Stillwater. Look for newly renovated Boone Pickens Stadium to be rocking Saturday afternoon.
At 7 p.m. on ESPN, (3) Oklahoma will face off against (20) BYU at the new Texas Stadium in Arlington, TX. Quarterback Sam Bradford will be leading the Sooners for the third year in a row and all eyes will be on the new offensive line, which features four new starters, protecting him.
Quarterback Max Hall and the BYU offense ranked sixth in the nation in passing last season with 310.4 yards per game.
If BYU can put pressure on Bradford early, BYU could score the upset.
At 8 p.m. on ABC, (5) Alabama will challenge (7) Virginia Tech at the Georgia Dome. Alabama will be start first year QB Greg McElroy behind an inexperienced O-line.
The Tide have eight starters returning on defense however, and after coming so close to reaching the National Championship, Alabama will be a team on a mission.
But you can never count out “Beamer Ball.” Since 1987 (when Frank Beamer took over as head coach), the Virginia Tech defense has scored 79 touchdowns while the special teams have scored 41.
The heated instate rivalry between Colorado and Colorado State will feature the 81st meeting of the teams at 7 p.m. in Boulder on Sunday. Rankings don’t matter much in this rivalry game. Look for this one to be a loud affair.
On Monday at 8 p.m., ESPN will feature (18) Florida State hosting instate rival Miami. While this rivalry had cooled since the famed “Wide Right” days of the early 90s, the intensity has reemerged with Monday’s game being the first time either team came into the game ranked since 2006.
This is only the first week of 17 explosive weeks in college football. With upsets expected each week, you don’t want to miss out on any of the action.
The biggest Thursday night match-up featured (16) Oregon at (14) Boise State in the late night West coast showdown on the famed blue turf at Bronco Stadium. Boise State returning quarterback Kellen Moore looks to lead his Broncos to their second BCS bowl in four seasons.
Friday night is not just for high school football anymore. Tulane will host Tulsa in a Conference USA battle televised on ESPN at 8 p.m. Just because they are unranked doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch. Tulsa finished last season with 11 wins, losing to East Carolina for the C-USA Championship.
Saturday is Showtime
The beginning of the college football season used to start off with very little excitement as teams would “warm-up” against lower quality teams before conference play in week three or four.
While those “warm-up” still take place (Florida is a 73-point favorite over Charleston Southern), this Saturday features three huge, make-or-break games.
At 3:30 p.m. on ABC, (13) Georgia faces (9) Oklahoma State in Stillwater. With covers on Sports Illustrated and loads of airtime on ESPN, the Cowboys are not coming into this season quietly.
Much is anticipated of this team with returning QB Zac Robinson and Kendall Hunter in the backfield.
While the Cowboy defense has always been something of a sore spot, they play a Georgia team that lost their starting QB Matthew Stafford, who went No. 1 in the NFL draft, and both of their running backs.
Don’t look for Georgia to roll over. As an SEC powerhouse, they will bring that tough SEC defense to Stillwater. Look for newly renovated Boone Pickens Stadium to be rocking Saturday afternoon.
At 7 p.m. on ESPN, (3) Oklahoma will face off against (20) BYU at the new Texas Stadium in Arlington, TX. Quarterback Sam Bradford will be leading the Sooners for the third year in a row and all eyes will be on the new offensive line, which features four new starters, protecting him.
Quarterback Max Hall and the BYU offense ranked sixth in the nation in passing last season with 310.4 yards per game.
If BYU can put pressure on Bradford early, BYU could score the upset.
At 8 p.m. on ABC, (5) Alabama will challenge (7) Virginia Tech at the Georgia Dome. Alabama will be start first year QB Greg McElroy behind an inexperienced O-line.
The Tide have eight starters returning on defense however, and after coming so close to reaching the National Championship, Alabama will be a team on a mission.
But you can never count out “Beamer Ball.” Since 1987 (when Frank Beamer took over as head coach), the Virginia Tech defense has scored 79 touchdowns while the special teams have scored 41.
The heated instate rivalry between Colorado and Colorado State will feature the 81st meeting of the teams at 7 p.m. in Boulder on Sunday. Rankings don’t matter much in this rivalry game. Look for this one to be a loud affair.
On Monday at 8 p.m., ESPN will feature (18) Florida State hosting instate rival Miami. While this rivalry had cooled since the famed “Wide Right” days of the early 90s, the intensity has reemerged with Monday’s game being the first time either team came into the game ranked since 2006.
This is only the first week of 17 explosive weeks in college football. With upsets expected each week, you don’t want to miss out on any of the action.
Friends Read Free