Game of the week – Georgia @ Oklahoma St. – 3:30 ET, ABC Regional, Sean McDonough and Matt Millan
Yes, I believe this is the game of the week over Alabama/Virginia Tech. Georgia is being undervalued again like it was in 2003, 2005, and 2007 while Oklahoma St. is loaded on offense. This game ultimately rides completely on the Georgia running game. I was at last years Holiday Bowl where Oklahoma St. was run over by Oregon. If Georgia can get even close to that kind of production to set up the passing game, the Cowboys won’t be able to keep up, even with their great offense. I am going with Georgia and Mark Richt’s incredible record in both true road games (rarely loses) and non-conference games (only loss to Georgia Tech last season). Georgia 38, Oklahoma St. 30
Alabama vs Virginia Tech – 8:00 ET, ABC, Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit
Let me start by saying I think both teams are overrated. Virginia Tech is being pushed as a national title contender and they don’t have that kind of talent on offense, particularly since they will play the season without their top running back. Last year’s Alabama team was built on the line and steady, mistake-free play from the quarterback. Both are rebuilt and new. By the end of the season, the Tide will have three losses, but one of them won’t be here because Virginia Tech won’t be able to move the ball enough for Alabama’s future offensive issues to matter. Alabama 17, Virginia Tech 7
Oregon @ Boise St. – 10:15 ET THUR, ESPN, Mark Jones and Bob Davie
Barring the Oregon quarterback injury bug hitting again, the Ducks are just a flat-out better team enjoying what should be a nice matchup for their offense. The one area where Boise might struggle this season is in stopping the run and run is what Oregon does best. Boise will keep it competitive into the second half before the Oregon running game takes over completely and helps the Ducks pull away. Oregon 41, Boise St. 24
Oklahoma vs BYU – 7:00 ET, ESPN, Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge
Everything I’ve seen about this game so far has said Oklahoma blowout and I can’t understand why. While I expect Oklahoma to win, BYU will keep it close all the way through because I don’t trust the rebuilt Sooner offensive line this early (they will be fine later in the season after a few games seasoning) and the BYU offense is pretty good allowing them to keep up in a little bit of a shootout. Oklahoma 34, BYU 24
Missouri vs Illinois – 3:30 ET, ESPN, Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham
Another neutral site game, this one features two teams that are rebuilding. I think Missouri is going to be a lot better than people think (maybe even the equal of last year’s underachieving 10 win crew) while Illinois could win the Big Ten if they can get their turnover problems under control. That said, Illinois has more experience in the key offensive positions so I am going with them because Missouri hasn’t proven they can stop anyone, even with most of the defense back from last season. Illinois 35, Missouri 30
Maryland @ Cal – 10:00 ET, ESPN2, Terry Gannon and David Norrie
It’s payback time. Last season Cal traveled across the country for a morning kickoff at Maryland and didn’t wake up until they were trailing 28-6 in the 4th quarter of what became a 35-27 loss. There won’t be any of those problems with the home opener. The last two years, the Cal running game has steamrolled decent opposition to open the season at home (Tennessee and Michigan St.). I expect the same result this year. Cal 41, Maryland 14
Baylor @ Wake Forest – 3:30 ET, ABC Regional, Dave Lamont and Shaun King
Sorry to those of you receiving this game on your network instead of Georgia/Oklahoma St. If it’s any consolation to you, this should at least be entertaining. Baylor QB Robert Griffin is one of the top 10 quarterbacks in all of college football while Wake Forest is rebuilding its defense and relying on what has been an underachieving offense since winning the ACC in 2006. It should make for an entertaining game much like last season’s under the radar Wake Forest/Ole Miss turned out to be one of the better games of the season. Griffin will be too much for the rebuilt Wake defense and the Wake offense won’t be able to keep up. Baylor 31, Wake Forest 21
Cincinnati @ Rutgers – 4:00 ET MON, ESPN, Bob Wischusen and Bob Griese
An intriguing game to start with in the wide-open Big East. Rutgers is considered by many the favorite to win the Big East despite having to replace the best passing attack in school history (and still not dominating last season). Meanwhile, Cincinnati is the defending champion in the league, but returns only one defensive starter. The game will swing completely on this as Cincinnati will score about 24 points. How good is the rebuilt Rutgers passing game and how good is the rebuilt Cincinnati defense? Expect it to be close. Cincinnati 24, Rutgers 23
Miami @ Florida St. – 8:00 ET MON, ESPN, Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge
Both teams have loads of young talent. Florida St.’s isn’t quite as young and there are depth issues at Miami, especially at quarterback. Later in the season, this pick might change, but it’s being played in the opener. Florida St. 21, Miami 16
Nevada @ Notre Dame – 3:30 ET, NBC, Tom Hammond and Pat Haden
Notre Dame needs to be very, very careful here. They have more talent and are the better team, but that was the case against San Diego St. to open last season and they almost lost. Nevada has an explosive offense and I expect them to move the ball up and down the field quite a bit. Too bad for the Wolfpack that they have no defensive capability whatsoever. Notre Dame will be in for a battle before finally getting a few stops to pull away in the second half. Notre Dame 45, Nevada 31
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