A Look at the Opening Weekend of College Football

Football finally returns tomorrow night after a long, grueling summer of depending on sports such as baseball, golf, and dare I say tennis?

There is really only one noteworthy game on the slate Thursday night to get the season kicked off and that's No. 16 Oregon traveling to the blue turf and to take on No. 14 Boise State.

At face value this game might not have a lot of appeal for the average fan. Trust me there is plenty of value in this game, particularly for Boise State.

Boise State has a popular reputation of being the BCS busters every year but always seem to fall up short with the exclusion of their Fiesta Bowl appearance a couple of years ago.

If Boise State can figure out a way to get through Oregon, which is arguably the second best team in the Pac-10 outside of USC, then they will have an easy road to going undefeated.

I expect a great game in this one with plenty of offense. It's the first game of the season and the defense will be a little sloppy and both of these offenses have serious playmakers.

In the end I like Oregon to take the victory, but it won't be sealed until late in the 4th quarter.

This weekend is loaded with great games to get pumped for the return of college football and most will be seen on the ESPN family of networks.

One of the most intriguing games of the day will be pit the two best conferences in college football against each other as Georgia takes on Oklahoma State. Basically, good defense against good offense.

Something is going to have to give in this game and I like Oklahoma State to take the win. Georgia lost too much offense over the offseason and Oklahoma State is just stacked with offensive firepower, starting with quarterback Zac Robinson and wide receiver Dez Bryant.

The key game to watch for during primetime is No. 5 Alabama traveling to Blacksburg to take on No. 7 Virginia Tech. This game will be close early, but Alabama's defense will prove too much and the Hokies will go down with little to show for on the scoreboard.

Of course there are plenty more games than I mentioned above this weekend that will show why college football is one of the greatest, most exciting American traditions.

Other Key Games This Week

Thurs: Utah State @ No. 19 Utah
Sat: Navy @ No. 6 Ohio State, Nevada @ No. 23 Notre Dame, No. 20 BYU @ No. 3 Oklahoma, Maryland @ No. 12 California, No. 11 LSU @ Washington
Sun: No. 8 Ole Miss @ Memphis
Mon: Miami(Fla) @ No. 18 Florida State