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| How legit are the Irish? We may find out early. |
It's my list, and I'm curious about the Irish, so this game leads off for me. Is Notre Dame really as good as the preseason hype? We may find out when they take on their first ranked opponent. Of course, we may get the answer earlier than that if the Irish come up short against South Florida and/or Michigan. Being optimistic though, the Irish feel confident they have a team that can get in the BCS. We'll get a glimpse of what they're made of this week. They'll still have USC and Stanford on the schedule later, but we'll know if we can take the Irish seriously after the Michigan State game.
9. Texas vs Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, Oct. 8
Why does this make the list? Because I'm curious if the sky is really falling in Austin like some people seem to think it is. The Longhorns had a bad season last year, but I don't think it's spiraling out of control. The roster is still loaded with blue chip talent that poured into Austin during and after the Colt McCoy era. This game makes the list because it's a measuring stick for Texas. Like Notre Dame, the Longhorns could get exposed and the bottom could fall out before we even get to this game (BYU and a trip to UCLA are on the slate before this). However, if Texas can get to this game 4-0, the Red River Rivalry game will have my attention because I want to see if Texas has truly rebounded or if I'm wrong and Mack Brown really has lost control in Austin.
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| It's really too bad this will be the only season TCU and Boise State are both in the Mountain West. |
There are few teams more polarizing than Boise State, always ripped for playing in a soft conference and taking the easy road to the BCS. Well, they're in a (slightly) stronger conference this season as they join the Mountain West. TCU, another team that draws some criticism for being in a non-AQ league, won a lot of respect last season by winning the Rose Bowl, and the Frogs certainly want to win the Mountain West one more time before heading to the Big East in 2012. In the past, these two teams battled without playing each other for an at-large BCS bid. This season, they get to settle it on the field. Teams in BCS conferences love this because it likely means that at least one of these two will be knocked out of BCS contention after this game.
7. Oklahoma at Florida State, Sept. 17
Bob Stoops is not afraid to challenge his team out of conference. This is a perfect example. The Sooners travel to Tallahassee in September for a top-five showdown with the Seminoles. The winner gets a big time quality win to put on its BCS resume. The loser won't be completely out of the national title picture, but will definitely have to shift its focus to conference play and learning from mistakes made in this game.
6. Nebraska at Wisconsin, Oct. 1
Yes, I'll admit I'm curious to see Nebraska's debut in the Big Ten. On top of that, both of these teams are ranked close to the top ten preseason, so this game could establish an early favorite in the new league. For those keeping score, Nebraska is in the "Legends" division while Wisconsin is in the "Leaders," so it's possible these two teams could meet again in the Big Ten championship game. As for the regular season showdown, there will be a LOT of red at Camp Randall that weekend, more than normal, which seems impossible. Husker fans, though, travel well and they'll find a way to invade Madison, but the Badgers have great fans and the place will be rocking for this prime time showdown. "Jump Around" may register on the Richter scale that night.
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| Can the Broncos beat an SEC team? I'm anxious to find out. |
at the Georgia Dome, Sept. 3
Yes, Boise State makes my list twice. We'll get a real glimpse of how legit the Broncos are on opening weekend. Georgia may not be a top ten team (yet), but they are an SEC team playing at home (well, close to home anyway in the Georgia Dome). Boise State made a big statement last season by going to Baltimore and knocking off Virginia Tech in a great game. They can win a lot of support this year by going into SEC country and knocking off the Bulldogs. Georgia, however, may be more desperate for respect. Mark Richt's seat has gotten a little warm lately. He could definitely cool it off by knocking Boise State out of the BCS picture early and vaulting his team up in the rankings.
4. Oregon at Stanford, Nov. 12
Stanford blew a big second half lead last season against the Ducks, and that was the only thing that kept the Cardinal out of the national championship game. Heisman contender Andrew Luck will be judged largely on how he performs in this game. If he takes over this game and leads Stanford to a win, he can probably start making some space on his mantle for a trophy. Also, don't forget the Pac-12 has divisions this year. The winner of this game is likely to have the inside track in the Pac-12 North (man, that sounds funny), which means a trip to the Pac-12 championship game.
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| If Miles the Tigers can shake their offseason troubles and beat Oregon and Alabama, they'll be in the title game. |
A lot of SEC pride will be on the line in early November. With Alabama ranked second and LSU fourth in the preseason, there is a decent chance this game could determine who wins the SEC West, the first step in these teams' quests to the national title. Arkansas and Mississippi State certainly could shake up the SEC West race, but the Tigers and Crimson Tide appear to the be class of that division right now.
2. Oregon vs LSU at Cowboys Stadium, Sept. 3
I love when top 10 programs schedule each other out of conference early in the season. It's a medium-risk, high-reward situation, and it's great for the fans, too. If you win, you have a high quality victory that could be the difference in the final BCS standings. If you lose, yes, you have that loss, but there's still plenty of time to climb back up in the polls if you really are a legit contender. Either the Ducks or Tigers will have a leg up on the BCS competition after this one. Kudos to both of these teams for challenging themselves early in the season. I can't wait to see what they have.
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| Can Weeden lead the Cowboys past the Sooners and into the BCS? |
If I didn't live in Oklahoma, this certainly wouldn't be at the top of the list. But I am, so it is. The anticipation on both sides of Bedlam is as high as it's ever been. The Sooners smell another national championship, and the Cowboys believe they finally have the formula to not only beat OU, but get into the BCS for the first time. The stakes were high in last year's Bedlam game, which was a great one. They could be even higher this year if all goes according to plan (which it rarely does, but let's play along, shall we?). Hopefully both of these teams reach this game still in the top 10 in the polls. If that's the case, this could have the feel of a Big 12 championship game, if not a national semifinal.
Once we get into November, this list could change drastically. I just hope the BCS works out so that all of the BCS games, including the championship, top all ten of these games when it's all said and done.
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