Week 1 is here...

Finally GAMETIME!!! I know everybody is pumped. Here's a look at how some games from Week 1 will turn out.

Thursay, August 28
Oregon State (-3) at Stanford: Opening against a conference foe, on the road no less, can be a tricky thing. Unless of course, you get to play Stanford. I expect Harbaugh will have his boys ready to play. Stanford will start Tavita Pritchard of "2007 USC upset" fame at quarterback; and the D can't be any worse than last year can it?. But Oregon State returns a D that was top 10 in the country last year in Total D. And two expereinced QBs to choose from. Oregon State 31 Stanford 20.

NCState (+14) at South Carolina: I don't think USC is very good, but I think NC State is worse. After a summer of figuring out who will be the QB, NC State felt RFr Russell Wilson was a better option over returning starter Daniel Evans. Yikes!! USC ended the 2007 season with a 5 game losing streak, so expect Spurrier to run it up in the home opener. The ' Cocks will have a little more experience to work with, as junior QB Timmy Beeceher will be locked in to Kevin McKinley (77 catches in 2007) all night. 'Cocks 31, Wolves 14

Wake Forest (-12) at Baylor: This game has a chance to be more interesting than people think. The Bears return 9 on offense, including QB Blake Szymanski (2844 yards, 22 TDs). New head coach Art Briles ran a similar spread at Houston, as Baylor did last year. So don't expect many glitches. Wake returns QB Riley Skinner, who could emerge as the best QB in the ACC this year. Expect a few points to be put on the board in this one. Wake 38, Bears 30

Saturday, August 30
Michigan State at Cal (-5): Sparty will put up some points behind senior Bryan Hoyer, and the D is led by LB Greg Jones. MSU also returns RB Javon Ringer (1447 yards, 6 TDs in 2007) Cal sophomore Kevin Riley bumped 2 year starter Nate Longshore of the QB duties. Probably a good thing for the Bears. But with the losses of DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins, and Justin Forsett it may not matter who is playing QB. Cal also returns one of the better LB cores in the country, but it won't be enough. I'm taking the road upset. Sparty 35, Tree hugging Bears 24

Utah (+3.5) at Michigan: Let the Rich Rodriguez era begin! Everybody in Ann Arbor will be pumped to see a new offense on the field for the Wolverines. And on this day, it's going to suck. But the D will be one of the better in the Big 10, if not the country. Expect the Wolverine D to keep the Utes in check, and the O to find a way to make just enough plays. Michigan 24, Utah 21.

Missouri (-9) versus Illinois at St.Louis: Last season Mizzou ran up a big lead, only to see the Illini get back in the game, but eventually held on. I know Missouri has all the hype behind QB Chase Daniel and WR Jeremy Maclin. But Illinois remembers last year's game and will be looking to build upon last season' Rose Bowl appearance. Expect the Illini to pull the upset behind Juice Williams' legs and Arrelious Benn's playmaking. Illinois 30, Mizzou 28

Alabama versus Clemson (-4.5) at Atlanta: Another OOC neutral site, made for TV matchup...another upset. As I said in my pre-season write up, I ain't buying Clemson. And Tommy Bowden, simply put, sucks. If his last name was Smith he wouldn't have a job. I expect BAMA under Saban to make a nice leap in year two, much like his team did at LSU. They probably aren't going to the Sugar Bowl, but you get the point. Expect a Julio Jones coming out party in this one. Alabama 28 Clemson 20

Monday, September 1
Tennessee (-7) at UCLA: Tennessee will come out West for the second straight year, and expect a better showing than last season at Cal. The Jonathan Crompton era will take center stage finally (Wasn't Ainge in school longer than Jason White??) and S Eric Berry will make plays on D. As for UCLA, they have no QB thanks to an atrocious O-Line. Good grief, they couldn't even block in practice. They have no shot in an actual game. Expect this one to get ugly. Tennessee 35, UCLA 13.