NCAA Week 1 picks

The new season commenses in less than 48 hours!  Where did my summer go?  I don't have a Top 25 to gauge games, so I'll just look at key Big Ten contests and other interesting matchups.  Many of the matchups favor home teams, as many teams start with weakling opponents.

Thurs, Sept 2
There are a few interesting games to watch.  Overall, there are plenty of games being played this evening, a larger opening night than usual.

Albany Great Danes at Maine Black Bears:  Sorry, but since I both teach and attend doctoral classes at UAlbany, I'll be discussing each game this season.  Hey, it's my blog, I don't have an editor, so I can do what I want!  Unfortunately, this is not a great way for Albany to kick off the season - this matchup definitely favors the home team.  Maine is one again a strong contender for the FCS title, and Albany is, well, Albany.  MAINE

Marshall Thundering Herd at Ohio State Buckeyes:  The Buckeyes prepare for a potential National Championship run by beating up on the Herd.  Terrell Pryor will generate some great numbers to boost his home grown Heisman campaign, but I don't think the voters will be fooled.  OHIO STATE

Pittsburgh Panthers at Utah Utes:  The Panthers are preseason favorites to win the Big East, but their warmup may be their toughest contest of the season.  The Utes are typically a strong team, and this year doesn't look much different.  Also, the Utes want to contend for the Mountain West title the next two years, leaving the conference with a bang.  Although Pitt might pull off the upset, I have to go with UTAH on this one.

USC Trojans at Hawaii Warriors:  With a start time of 11PM, I don't think I'll be staying up to watch this on ESPN; the first half, perhaps, but not the whole game.  Hell, I have office hours Friday morning!  This game won't be worth DVR'ing.  While USC will not likely contend for the Pac-10 title, they're still a good team.  Of course, they'll need a defense to slow Hawaii, as I don't think their offense can score on nearly every possession any more.  Hawaii plays tough at home, but the time difference won't be quite so difficult for the Trojans, so I think they'll win a game closer than Coach Kiffin would like.  USC

Fri Sept 3rd
Small slate of games, none of them especially note-worthy.  Marist kicks off their season (I used to live and work in the Poughkeepsie, NY area) and Arizona should win their opener against Toledo.  This game was scheduled back when the Rockets were a strong team.  You can't really say that about them this year.

Sat Sept 4th
Traditionally the start of the college football season, and we have a large slate of games.  Strangely, there's only a handful of interest of the average football fan, although I'll be tracking my Big Ten conference.

Eastern Illinois at Iowa Hawkeyes:  My projected conference winner opens against an average FCS team.  Cakewalk.  IOWA

UConn Huskies at Michigan Wolverines:  Prior to Rich Rodriquez's arrival, I'd have no hesitation picking Michigan.  However, Coach Rod has lost both of his season openers since arriving in Ann Arbor, and UConn should be a strong team this year.  I have to pick Michigan, just because the Big Ten is a tougher conference and I think Rodriquez has learned something from being there, plus he has his years of Big East experience to help him beat UConn, but I can't ignore the likelihood of a UConn upset.  MICHIGAN

San Jose State Spartans at Alabama Crimson Tide:  The Tide begin their National title defense with a dominating win over a weak WAC opponent.  Ho hum.  ALABAMA

Sunday Sept 5
Don't you love the first week of college football?  With only preseason NFL games to compete against, they schedule Sunday games.  Unfortunately, the four Sunday games don't feature anybody very interesting; Texas Tech probably ranks the highest.  You'd think they could have done a better scheduling job here.

Monday Sept 6
Labor Day weekend, and the lack of Monday Night Football, opens the door for the NCAA.  ESPN has an interesting double-hearder, starting with the ground-churning attack of Navy against Maryland.  Navy should win that one easily.  As for the other game...

GAME OF THE WEEK:  Boise State Broncos at Virginia Tech Hokies:  Geez, we have to wait until Monday to get the best matchup of the week!  Two potential Top 25 teams square off in a key game for each team.  If Boise State is serious about another chance to get to the BCS title game, they can't slack off.  They won't surprise, as top tier teams now know what the Broncos are capable of, so don't expect Virginia Tech and Frank Beamer to make this easy for them.  However, I think the Broncos will pull this one out, although it might be closer than they would like.  BOISE STATE