Games to Watch: Week 4

We have more conference matchups creeping in.  It's still early to get excited about a lot, but this is the week that a lot of the groundwork for the late season drama gets laid.

Thursday
7:30 PM
Clemson at NC State, ESPN.  I don't see this being a real test for Clemson, but it is their first conference game.  Cue the ACC Wheel of Destiny, although I don't see it being too crazy for the Atlantic Division.

Saturday
Noon
UNC at Georgia Tech, ESPN.  The ACC Wheel of Destiny spins on the Coastal side.  GT went to the championship game last year, but UNC should have if they weren't sanctioned.

Marshall at Virginia Tech, ESPNU.  I finally switched TV service this summer and now get ESPNU HD.  Figures that the first VT game on that channel is one I'm going to.  Tech's last non-conference game.

12:30 PM
Pittsburgh at Duke, ACC Network.  These teams could be wildcards for the ACC Coastal.  Or, it could be the toilet bowl of the division.  Both of these teams have been on the rise, although very uneven, over the last couple of years.

3:30 PM
Tennessee at Florida, CBS.  The SEC on CBS picks some really obvious games sometimes.

West Virginia at Maryland, ESPNU.  I don't know why this one jumps out at me, other than on conference realignment merits.  I'm all for ACC teams beating non-ACC teams, but Maryland has lame duck status in the conference, since they leave for the Big Ten next year. 

Michigan State at Notre Dame, NBC.  For some reason, I kind of like Michigan State, and Notre Dame has a way of making any game interesting this year.

7 PM
Arizona State at Stanford, FOX.  This could be a key Pac-12 battle.

8 PM
Michigan at UConn OR Kansas State at Texas, ABC.  We have ourselves a split primetime game.  I'm intrigued by the choice of the first matchup, because UConn appears to be pretty horrible.  And in the second matchup, we could be see the fall of Texas.

Under-the-Radar Games: Week 3

Under-the-Radar Games: Week 3

Another slate of games that may not be highly regarded, but could prove interesting in the long run.

1. Bowling Green at Indiana.  A team from the MAC against a "lesser" Big Ten team?  Sure, considering the roll the Falcons are on.  If they can get by the Hoosiers, then the "BCS Buster" whispers begin...at least until their game against Mississippi State.  Alternatively, if Indiana is truly a program on the rise, they NEED the win (esp. after their loss to Navy).

2. Boston College at USC.  A solid win for BC against Wake Forest a week ago.  An ugly loss for the Trojans against Washington State.  BC certainly has the capability of pulling off the upset, and if they do, I imagine the wheels really come off for USC's season.  Lane Kiffin's time as USC head man might be soon to expire!

3. Ole Miss at Texas.  Similar to BC at USC.  If Texas drops a second game in a row, this time to a team the Longhorns curb-stomped a year ago, the mood in Austin is sure to take a steep drop (as will Mack Brown's job survival chances).

4. B1G vs PAC-12.  Only four items this week, but this last one contains four games within itself.  4 games between the Rose Bowl conferences, evenly split between 2 home and 2 away for each conference.  Interestingly, the higher-ranked team happens to be the road team in all four cases.  Which conference will gain the edge?  Don't forget, the Big Ten already has a 1-0 head start, thanks to Northwestern's Week 1 win at Cal.
As for those four games, those would be:
UCLA at Nebraska
Washington at Illinois
Ohio State at Cal
Wisconsin at Arizona State

Games to Watch: Week 3

Here are the games I will be keeping an eye on during week three.  Again, still early in the season, so it's harder to pick out the big games beforehand.

Saturday
Noon
Virginia Tech at East Carolina, Fox Sports 1.  Obviously, I'm only interested in this as a Tech fan.  Hopefully, Tech's offense will show some improvement, and of course the defense is already top notch.

3:30 PM
Alabama at Texas A&M, CBS.  The way ESPN's been hyping it, you would almost think this is the only game this week.  Regardless, this game is key in determining the postseason this year.  It definitely has implications for both the national and SEC titles.

Tennessee at Oregon, ABC.  I'm intrigued by this matchup.  Oregon really seems to be stretching out for its opponents, which can only help them.  Even if they are playing teams from the middle or lower ends of the ACC or SEC, it's still better than Whosheardofme U.  It's definitely a good alternative if I get tired of the SEC game.

7 PM
Ohio State at California, FOX.  Another matchup that intrigues me.  Ohio State has been winning, but sliding in the rankings.  And there's still questions about the health of their QB.

8 PM
Notre Dame at Purdue, ABC.  ESPN/ABC really loves to show Notre Dame whenever they can.  Since I'm not as familiar with ND or Big Ten history, I don't really know why this game gets played every year.

Under the Radar Games: Week 2

For the past few years, I've found myself taking great enjoyment in watching some of the most random games at the most random times.  Starting in Week 2, I'll highlight five "Under the Radar" games of the week, and why I feel they are worthy of my attention and typing time.

1. Buffalo at Baylor
  -  Some, including myself, see Baylor as a Big 12 dark horse this year.  Can the Bears take care of business against this same Buffalo team that capitalized on some Buckeye mistakes and put up 20 points on BCS Championship contender Ohio State?  A Baylor win, even a big one, won't tell much.  But we could get an idea of whether or not Baylor's defense really is improving since its upset of K-State late last season.

2. Western Kentucky at Tennessee
  -  If the Sun Belt wants to even entertain the thought of a BCS Buster, then the Hilltoppers are its best bet.  They won convincingly against a rebuilding Kentucky team a week ago - can they claim another win against a rebuilding SEC team?  What a program-defining moment that would be, even if the two SEC teams are truly awful.

3.  Syracuse at Northwestern
  -  A matchup of "Power 5" conference schools, one of which is ranked, is flying surprisingly low here.  If the Wildcats can prevail here, and I predict they do (though Syracuse has been known to pull some upsets), then they should be looking at a very special first weekend in October.  4-0, hosting Ohio State, quite possibly a GameDay appearance for the first time since 1995.  Just like Baylor, I LOVE watching programs like this grow!

4.  Washington State at USC
  -  USC has been known to blow its share of conference games, especially early in the season.  After a respectable performance at Auburn (albeit a losing effort), I'm interested to see if Mike Leach can go the next step, and pull off a win against a team that may not see them as much of a threat.  Anti-Lane Kiffin fans might also be rooting for the Cougars, to help with their "get someone else" campaign.

5. San Jose State at Stanford
  -  In a bit of a scheduling quirk, Stanford managed to have a bye in Week 1, and the Cardinal start their Week 2 game at the latest time slot of the week - officially starting their season after many teams have two games in the books.  As for the game itself, I'm interested to see how Stanford performs with such high expectations, even against an opponent it's highly favored against.

Games to Watch: Week 2

Another mix of tune up games with some big matchups thrown in.  Not much on Thursday or Friday, but Saturday has a decent game in each major timeslot.  In fact, it might even be better than the week 1 lineup.

And here we go...the 2013 season begins

Hopefully this year will have more interesting storylines than last year.  Unfortunately for me, with Virginia Tech struggling, the lack of decent storylines, and the resurgence of the Redskins in the NFL, my interest in football has shifted slightly towards the pro side.  I'm looking forward to the Redskins opener on September 9th more than the Hokies opener on August 31st.  We'll see how things change as the games start playing out.

Games to Watch: Week 1

And, we're back.  As usual, we have another season with a lot of bowl-like matchups headlining week one mixed in with the usual tune up games, followed by 2-3 weeks of cupcakes.  At least we have 5 days of college football this week.

Conference Realignment Scorecard - 2013 edition

As we move through hopefully the last of the major shakeups, we still have a few minor moves over the next few years.  Hopefully, we've listed everything here, but you'll understand if we missed a few schools, or got a few years wrong.

Welcome to the ACC

July 1 marks the addition of Pitt, and Syracuse to the ranks of the ACC.

On behalf of Virginia Tech fans, I say welcome.  Or, in a strange way, welcome back.




Oh, and welcome to Notre Dame, even though we won't see you full time in football.

College Football Online 4/24/13

Hey!  Are we back?  Maybe...but the details of the new College Football Playoff are starting to come out, and giving us something to be excited about near the midpoint of the offseason.

Sorry for abandoning the blog, but the demands of a newborn plus the worst Virginia Tech season in two decades didn't exactly make life easy for the blog.  But here are some links....

Pat Forde - the college football playoff is the College Football Playoff
The Peach Bowl is back! -- We think...the summary of the article used in Facebook sharing seems to backtrack.