Download our Week One Game Watching Guide
This looks like the best opening schedule in quite a while. Last year, we were excited about Boise State versus Georgia – how sad. This year we have Cal vs. Tennessee; an improved Arkansas vs. a USC team looking to replace Leinart & Bush, and an incredibly over-rated Notre Dame team with no defense at Ga Tech. Personally I’d love to see a Southern sweep of those games.
Of course, we still have Florida State vs. Miami, and both teams should be better in ’06 with questions answered at QB. The Pack/VPI game will be missed, but overall the schedule is great for an opening weekend; so get out your TV’s. If you can’t spend the whole weekend in front of the TV, the heart of this schedule clearly begins 5:30 ET Saturday night with three outstanding match-ups and four other quality games.
As for the Big one’s…
Tennessee as always has talent, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. These guys have consistently put together top ten recruiting classes. So, while some of the luster may be gone in Knoxville, this is still an extremely dangerous team. California has a few extremely good players, but lets be realistic, this is not an elite team. Try to find a quality win from last year’s schedule. The only way Tennessee can lose this at home is if Erik Ainge is worse than he was last year. The Vols only other concern is experience on defense, but with four returning starters in the secondary, they should be able to make up for some new faces up front.
Taking a sincere look at the Irish program over the years, two things are clear: first, the Irish are almost certainly the best program of all time, and second, the Irish are almost certainly the most over-rated team in any given year. This year is no different. Much like Cal, try to find a quality win by the Irish last year – Navy? a 7-5 Michigan team? Despite whining over high entry requirements (that ND football players don’t actually meet) and poor recruiting by Willingham, this is actually a very talented team. In fact, Georgia Tech’s talent isn’t close to ND overall; however, where the Yellow Jackets have an advantage is with the match-ups. No one will be able to cover Calvin Johnson, and the ND defense doesn’t have the speed to contain Reggie Ball. Lots of points should be scored in this game, and anyone could come out on top. Ultimately, ND is not a real threat to win the national title unless the media awards it before the season as they’ve tried to do the past two years.
Not enough adjectives exist to describe the way USC destroyed Arkansas last year. No team will be more motivated by revenge than the Razorbacks. Luckily the game’s in Arkansas and the Hogs return nearly everyone – oops! All-SEC RB McFadden broke his toe in a bar fight and could miss the game. USC on the other hand, lost nearly every star player not playing WR. Leinart, Bush, and White deserve a ton of credit, but the USC offensive line last year was incredible also and only returns two starters. The Trojan’s much-maligned defense also loses its two best players though the LB’s will be amazing. At QB, if his fellow Evangel HS alumni are any indication, Booty will disappoint, much like his older brother Josh and Brock Berlin, Phillip Deas, and Brent Rawls. This game should be very interesting. If Arkansas can run the ball without McFadden, they should win this game.
Do I have to pick FSU/Miami? These teams couldn’t be more alike. Both teams have second year starters at QB, and both teams have lots of shoes to fill on defense – luckily shoes are free for the Seminoles. FSU should have the better offensive line, and I’d give Weatherford the slight nod over Wright at this point. On the other hand, Miami has won 4 of the last 5 and neither team really deserved to win last year. I think FSU comes out on top because of the intangibles. Miami is still in disarray after the Peach Bowl debacle. In any case, these teams are likely to play twice this year.
Other notes…
For each of these teams, the opening opponent really doesn’t matter, but they all open 2006 on TV. Spurrier opens the SEC season with the Cocks best chance at a division crown ever; every team in the SEC East has some questions. OU and Texas should be back to business as usual; last year proved Vince Young’s athletic ability not Mack Brown’s coaching ability, and freshman quarterbacks simply don’t win championships. OU looks to be back on top though the offensive line is a big concern; the Sooners do get more than a month to prepare for Texas. Ohio State’s offense should be incredible, but their defense is in rebuilding mode with only two returning starters. Northern Illinois is just the preseason opponent they need. I expect Penn State to be in the same mode as Texas. They were too dependent on the athletic ability of their QB and will pay for it this year.
Finally, Ole Miss coach Orgeron is an idiot. Even if Schaeffer makes it to Ole Miss, it was the wrong message to send to his team naming him the starter in February, but now, it looks like Brent may not make it at all. If he does, don’t expect great things. He lit it up against California JUCO defenses, but that’s not exactly SEC competition.
We’re trying a different format with the TV schedule this time. You’ll find it attached in a pdf. The first page includes the commentary, and the 2nd the TV viewing schedule. We’ll update this prior to the first game in case we have any late additions.
