College Football season is almost upon us so it's time to mark your calenders and cancel any plans that will take you away from your wide screen TV, unless of course you're going to the game and then your calender should already be marked.
It all starts off with a bang on September 1st with a big time grudge match. Tennessee plays at California. Quarterback Erik Ainge might emerge as a legitimate NFL Prospect if he can look good and win this game. But it won't be easy, Tennessee crushed California last year 35-18 in Knoxville and this year it is at California, plus the Bears have had a full year to plot their revenge. Did I also mention California is a solid football team with a Heisman Trophy Candidate named wide receiver DeSean Jackson that can score from any point on the field. Also that weekend Oklahoma State plays at Georgia. Watch wide receiver Adarius Bowman launch himself on the national stage, but also keep an eye on the young, talented sophomore Georgia quarterback Mathew Stafford. He has serious NFL potential for the future.
September 15th might be USC's toughest game of the season. USC is the top ranked college football team in the nation and their opponents won't have any problem getting up for them. They play at Nebraska and this should be Coach Bill Callahan's best team since arriving in corn country. USC has a phenomenal defense with 9 out of 11 starters eventually very early NFL Draft picks. Nebraska has a secret weapon this year named Sam Keller, but don't call Vegas with an upset pick, the last time Keller faced USC he was the QB of Arizona State and he threw five interceptions.
September 22nd looks like a wild weekend for the Big Ten, a solid Penn State team travels to Ann Arbor and plays a dominate Michigan squad. The Wolverines are loaded on offense, so I don't see an upset in this one, however it should be a good, physical game. I like the Iowa Hawkeyes in a surprise upset over highly ranked Wisconsin. The Hawkeys will go only as far as young untested sophomore Quarterback Jake Christensen will take them. Christensen has patiently been waiting in the wings to take over at quarterback ever since he signed with the Hawkeyes in 2005. He (Christensen) is the son of former NFL quarterback Jeff Christensen. Jake was one of the nation's most highly rated and recruited quarterbacks coming out of Lockport Illinois High School.
September 29th highlights Nick Sabans return to NCAA football after failing with the NFL's Miami Dolphins. Trust me, by all reports Nick Saban is a man possessed, he wants to win again badly. Saban is the Coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide now and the Tide travel to the state of Florida and take on Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles. In this game I want you to watch mammoth offensive lineman Andre Smith (6' 4" 345 lbs) from the Alabama side. He is rated as a top ten NFL Draft pick for the 2009 or 2010 NFL Draft.
October 6th might be the biggest weekend of the season for college football (so far). Florida travels to LSU, the defending national champion Gators and Sophomore Quarterback Tim Tebow get their first real road test down in Bayou country. NFL Draft prospects will be all over the field in this game and if LSU wins they look like USC's opponent in the national championship game. Also don't miss Texas against Oklahoma played in Dallas. The winner of that game will also have something to say about who the eventual national champion is. The winner of the Texas/Oklahoma game has played for the BCS title three times in four years.
October 13th should remind everybody who the best player in college football is when we get to see Arkansas' Running back Darren McFadden play at home against arch rival Auburn. The Tigers will be stacking eight defenders in the box to stop McFadden, who gouged them for a whopping 145 yards last year (2006).
If you are an NFL Scout you will love October 18th. South Florida plays at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are loaded with NFL talent, everybody knows about all world running back Ray Rice, but watch offensive linemen Pedro Sosa and Jeremy Zuttah dominate their opponents. Junior safety Courtney Green is a player that we will be hearing about in the future for Rutgers. But South Florida is where the real story is, under the radar they have emerged as the other Florida powerhouse and they will be sending a few talented prospects to the NFL in the future themselves. CB Mike Jenkins is one of the top rated corners in the nation and wide receiver Amarri Jackson (6' 4" 195 lbs) is a lanky talent. This game might be fun to watch as an offensive shoot out.
October 20th pits an always interesting instate rivalry between Miami and Florida State. Beleaguered Hurricane quarterback Kyle Wright might get to redeem himself, but I doubt Wright can do much against that tough FSU defense. The Hurricaine defense should be Stout in it's own right with supreme NFL Draft prospect defensive end Calais Campbell. If you like defense you will enjoy this game. Keep an eye on FSU sophomore Safety Myron Rolle (6' 2" 218 lbs). He looks like a very high future NFL Draft pick. USC also plays at Notre Dame, which on paper looks like a blow-out for USC, but in that annual rivalry game you never no what will happen.
Well that breaks down the first half of the season, check back in a couple days and I will highlight some of the best college football games for the second half of the 2007 NCAA Football season.
No comments:
Post a Comment