Posted: September 4, 2014

Random thoughts on the upcoming weekend of college football.

1. The week gets off to a Thursday start with Arizona at UTSA. First, is there a better nickname in college sports than the Roadrunners, maybe only Coastal Carolina (google it). Second, this game is being played at UTSA. How did they manage to get Arizona to come to them? Third, Larry Coker (UTSA HC) has more seniors and returning starters than any other school. The Wildcats will probably be tested tonight. I would keep this game on rotation with the Green Bay vs. Seattle game.

2. On Friday we will see if the Pittsburgh Panthers rushing attack will be as impressive against an FBS school. It looked mighty impressive against Delaware, but BC is in a different league, literally. If the Panther ground game is for real, the ACC Coastal could be very messy.

3. Also on Friday, the Mike Leach air attack goes to Nevada. The Cougars are #2 in passing yards and #119 in rushing yards. Is anybody surprised?

4. Upset special…Western Kentucky over Illinois.

5. Purdue has three games against teams with Michigan in their name and none are actually Michigan…Western, Central and State.

6. Northern Illinois at Northwestern. If the Wildcats lose this one, hello very long season. Northwestern has three games against schools with Illinois in their name, and yes one of them is Illinois. Northern, Western, and just plain Illinois.

7. Keep an eye on the South Carolina Gamecock secondary against East Carolina. The Pirates threw for 374 yards against weak competition and the Gamecocks gave up boatloads (511) to the Aggies. If the Gamecocks can not stop the Pirates, Coach Spurrier is going to have a very large problem on his hands.

8. The Michigan at Notre Dame game is going to be a very good one. I think both teams are a bit underrated this year and both teams are looking for a significant win to get things moving in the right direction. I like Notre Dame this year, but I think the Wolverines have a very good chance of going to South Bend and coming home with the victory.

9. Game of the Week 1…USC at Stanford. Keep an eye on the Stanford student section, classes don’t start until Sept. 22. I have no idea how this game will play out as I can see it going a few different ways. This is a must watch.

10. Game of the Week 2…Michigan State at Oregon. A very good game on a weekend very light in good games. But not as big as USC at Stanford because it is out of conference and I think the loser can still recover and get into the playoff scenario.