College football Week 1 running thread.

I like the Illini in that one, DW. Could be a shootout, just like last year, but I think Juice will find both Arrelious Benn and Jeff Cumberland a lot. And I think Jason Ford will have a breakout year at running back.

Of course, if Mizzou beats Illinois, it could be a real tough start for the Illini. Their first three Big 10 games are at Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State.

 

All that you need to know about how far into irelevancy these two programs has fallen is that Florida State-Miami is this weekend and nobody has even mentioned it -- both here (unless I missed it) or anywhere outside of South Beach and Tallahassee.

My God, for a long time that was the game of the year in college football, now it is just two mediocre teams trying to recapture glory. Miami will suck this year and FSU should win this game, but Miami always seems to find a way.

 

In Louisville's newly-expanded and surely to be more than half-empty stadium. I remember when they first moved to that stadium, you could buy $10 tickets at Kroger on the Friday night before games because it was never anywhere near sold out. Of course, that stopped during the Petrino years when they were good. But given that UofL just added 16,000 seats in a year in which it failed to sell out its season tickets and had to send back a couple thousand tickets to Kentucky for the game in Lexington later this month, I'd say the Kroger deal might be back on soon.

 

I had no clue they were playing Saturday. Amazing.

Meanwhile, the FCS team I cover opens its season Thursday, hoping to snap a 10-game losing streak.

In two seasons of covering this lousy program, I've seen three wins.

 

John, FSU and Miami are playing Monday. Amazing indeed. And Indy State needs to play someone who will roll up 100 on it.

 

With all Mizzou lost, and all Illinois has coming back, there's no real reason to believe Mizzou will win.

Except Juice Williams. I believe Juice can throw a costly pick at the right time, just like he's done the previous three years. And I believe he will.

 

Not sure I agree on the easy-win predictions for Boise. I see a lopsided win going the Ducks' way Thursday night.

 

I'm definitely a homer, no getting around it, but if VT is really a 7-point dog, I'm gonna be a rich man come Saturday night.

 

You think Russell Wilson is better than Riley Skinner?

 

Never mind the fact that the penalty call was directly out of the rulebook and is exactly the type of celebration the NCAA intended to stop. Nevermind that teams routinely make 33-yard field goals (the new length of that PAT). Blame the officials for doing their job. That rule didn't get changed this year, so for all the commentator squawking that went on after that "horrible" call, the coaches on the rules committee didn't see fit to change the rule.

At least you mentioned that they had it blocked, meaning their line wasn't in tune enough to allow a kicker to get a kick off.

 

May be rethinking my USC-OSU stance.
Apparently Barkley was not all that impressive in USC's final scrimmage.

 

More exciting, at least. Skinner is very good and accurate and polished, but he'll never put a team on his shoulders and just win a game by himself. Wilson and Taylor are both capable of doing that.