It's been just over 36 hours since college football kicked off the 2013 season and already the chalk outline of the Big 12's Kansas State is being examined after the Wildcats were upset by the North Dakota State Bison in Manhattan (Kansas). College football season's soft launch provided its share of thrills, but the nation goes into an extra gear today. Every matchup can't be watched. Here are the ones you want to see.
No. 20 TCU vs. No. 12 LSU: TCU doesn’t have the same name recognition as Alabama, but the scoreboard won’t be able to tell the difference. The status of LSU starting running back Jeremy Hill is up in the air as Miles contemplates the fate of his running back who has as much of a tendency for breaking the law as he does arm tackles. Meanwhile, TCU quarterback Casey Pachall will be making his return after leaving the team midway through last season to enter into a substance abuse program.
This one even had a little pre-game squawking between coaches that sounded a lot like a Mayweather pre-fight press conference. The TCU and LSU uniforms won’t be the only purple these offenses will see after this one is over. Both squads are going to feel this one afterwards.
No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 5 UGA: Back when men settled their disagreements without lawyers, duels to the death typically took place at dawn. Shooters would stand back to back, walk ten paces, turn, draw their pistols on one another and fire. Sammy Watkins interjected himself into the storyline by promising a win, but the two senior quarterbacks with national championship aspirations and lackluster defenses will decide this shootout.
Virginia Tech vs. No. 1 Alabama: By a wide margin Logan Thomas was last season’s most disappointing Heisman contender. One game can expunge his junior season from the record. Thomas has the physical ability. He just has to harness his howitzer of an arm, mounted atop a 6-6 frame that moves like the former tight end that he is shock the nation by leading the Hokies to a win over the most formidable dynasty in all of sports. That’s easier said than done against the nation’s No. 1 ranked defense. Alabama’s defense has been burned before by mobile quarterbacks. I give Virginia Tech more of a chance than Frank Beamer seems to.
Boise State vs. Washington: After a year-long absence from the national stage, Boise State looks primed for another midnight raid of the BCS. Washington’s offense nosedived after offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier bolted for the same position with Alabama. The pressure is solely on Washington and senior Keith Price to get back on track. Boise State remains the little engine that could. An 11-2 season after losing Titus Young, Kellen Moore and Doug Martin isn’t bad at all. Joe Southwick got escaped Kellen Moore’s shadow by throwing for 888 yards, nine touchdowns and no picks in the month of November. This will set the tone for his senior season.
