Well thank goodness that is over. I mean just how much can rational people be expected to take? Sure, Summer is a swell idea. I mean you have vacation and no school and some time off from work. Maybe some exotic travel to places you have never been before. Heck, maybe it was just about lounging on the beach a lot. It sounds pleasant enough I suppose, but seriously, just how long are we supposed to muster up the intestinal fortitude to go so long without college football? To quote then-President Gerald Ford, “Our long national nightmare is over.” I’m pretty sure this is what he was talking about in 1976 when he said that. The season gets under way Thursday night and with a packed weekend, it’s not a moment too soon for the first national weekly preview:
College Football Week 1 Preview
North Carolina vs. South Carolina; Thurs. 6pm EDT ESPN; A neutral site game being played in Charlotte. South Carolina is going to have to rely on youth if it is to bounce back from last season’s disappointing fourth place finish in the SEC East. Connor Mitch, who threw all of six passes last season, is the starting QB for the Gamecocks. All-SEC WR Pharoh Cooper and RB Brandon Wilds should help relieve some of the pressure from Mitch. North Carolina, on the other hand returns nine starters on offense, including QB Marquise Williams. Both schools had miserable defensive campaigns in 2014 and both teams changed defensive coordinators in the offseason. SC’s Jon Hoke has more talent to work with than does NC’s Gene Chizik.
Utah vs. Michigan; Thurs. 8:30pm EDT Fox Sports 1; The much ballyhooed beginning of the Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan begins against a team that manhandled the Wolverines in Ann Arbor last season. Harbaugh has decided whether Jake Rudock or Shane Morris will start at QB and he has informed them. Which one is it? Harbaugh says that’s for him to know and you to find out. Tune in to see who goes under center. The offense is a question mark for Michigan because Harbaugh doesn’t have the type of players to run what he did at Stanford. Utah has no such questions. QB Travis Wilson begins his fourth season as the starter and the offense returns Devontae Booker who ran for 1,500 yards last season. Utah has a few holes to fill on defense, but it’s not likely to matter here.
Louisville vs. Auburn; Sat. 3:30pm EDT CBS; The SEC takes a lot of heat, quite frequently here, for having vacation-like non-conference games, so we eagerly await this matchup at the Georgia Dome. Louisville’s Bobby Petrino, will not….get ready….announce his starting QB before kickoff and even went to the trouble to list 4 QBs as potential starters on the depth chart this week. He admitted it doesn’t give the Cardinals a big edge, yet he did it anyway. The Cardinals are usually able to put up big numbers no matter who is running the offense. Whomever plays QB is going to be facing a new look Auburn defense. Will Muschamp returns for his second stint as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator. Auburn’s offense is going to be “by committee” at running back, wide receiver and even tight end. Something that makes Auburn stand out on opening weekend is that the Tigers aren’t pretending to hide the identity of their starting QB, having named Jeremy Johnson the starter after Spring practice.
Arizona State vs. Texas A&M; Sat 7pm EDT ESPN; It’s a neutral site game, but it’s in Houston, so a little more vacation travel for ASU than for A&M. The Aggies defense was so bad last year, they allowed nearly 37 points per game. They hired defensive coordinator John Chavis away from LSU to make major changes. Chavis inherits all SEC defensive end Myles Garrett but little else and the Aggies will get tested early by ASU’s veteran QB Mike Bercovici. He was a backup last year but actually played in 13 games and threw for 488 yards in a loss to UCLA. The Sun Devils are picked by some to win the Pac 12 South and it is because of the offense. The Texas A&M offense is going to be led by Sophomore Kyle Allen who started five games last year, but expect that at the first sign of offensive sluggishness, the A&M faithful will be looking to send him packing in favor of highly touted true freshman Kyler Murray
Alabama vs. Wisconsin; Sat. 8pm EDT ABC; Again, kudos to the two programs for a high profile opening weekend game between two teams that faced each other only once before, in 1928. This one is in Arlington, TX. Both teams will be breaking in new starting running backs, having lost their leading rushers from a year ago. Wisconsin’s Cory Clement is going to have to find yards behind a totally rebuilt offensive line. Alabama’s Derek Henry has had to get to know his new friends as the Tide have eight new starters on offense. Tide OC Lane Kiffin does a great job isolating his best player against the defense, but right now there is no real sense as to who Bama’s best offensive threat is. This is Wisconsin’s only game against a preseason Top 25 team, so if the Badgers get past this one…..
Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech; Mon. 8pm EDT ESPN; This was the one blip on OSU’s record last year…a blip that at one time could have cost them a shot at the playoffs. Year in and year out Virginia Tech has one of the best defenses in the country, including using a 5 man front against OSU last year. As deep as the Hokies are, we’re not sure it’s going to matter this time. The Buckeyes’ injuries throughout 2014 gave so much time to players that otherwise would have been reserves, so now the Buckeyes are loaded. Are they good enough to repeat? They are certainly deep enough. Former QB Braxton Miller will now be a hybrid receiver while Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett battle over the quarterback spot. Perhaps the most pivotal position is running back, where Ezekial Elliot is an early season Heisman favorite after rushing for 1,800 yards last season. It’s likely Ohio State won’t even notice they have four players suspended for the game.
We didn’t forget them, (we just ran out of space);
Washington @ Boise State; Chris Petersen returns to Boise but with a Washington team that is seriously undermanned and has no obvious leader at QB.
Stanford @ Northwestern; The “SAT Bowl;” Stanford has enough experience on offense to post a major improvement over last year, but they lost the entire starting defensive line and secondary. Northwestern is a heavy underdog and needs a win to show they have improved over last year’s poor season.
Texas @ Notre Dame; The Irish are feeling invigorated with Malik Zaire now owning the QB spot and a huge offensive line in front of him. For Texas, it is put up or shut time already for head coach Charlie Strong. He needs to show his imprint on the program and do it now.
Put your luggage away. The season is here.
