Oh glorious football season, you have finally arrived for our weekend enjoyment.
This weeks bring that start of the NCAA football season and Saturday’s will not be the same for the next four months. People who never mention where they went to school will suddenly become a die-hard fan and rub every win in your face. School colors will be displayed around town. Moods will change depending how games go. Basically life as you know it begins to revolve around these games. And this is only the beginning because the NFL will start next week and then the entire weekend will be consumed with the game.
The off season for college football was filled with changes and punishments and it will be interesting to see how these changes affect the game. Many of the changes will not take affect for a couple years but there will be rivalry games that will be more intense because they could be the last time the teams meet on a regular basis. Big programs were punished for infractions, most notably University of Southern California and their two year ban on the post season. Now the only thing they can play for is respect and to throw all the records into whack. If they go undefeated and then are not allowed to play one of the other best teams across the land, there will forever be question on whomever does win the big game. My advice is to forget all about those things and just to focus on enjoying watching these great young athletes play the game hard and intensely. Just watch and enjoy the beauty of non-paid athletes playing a game just because they love it. That’s the best thing about college football.
So prepare yourself, these last couple days before the start of the season are just the calm before the storm and the tidal wave that is football washes over this country and consumes us.
Top 3
1. College Football – No. 24 Oregon State at No. 6 TCU – Sept. 4 @ 7:45 pm
This is the first big game of the season and it happens during the first week. Awesome. The beginning of the season gives teams the best chance to move up in the rankings and Oregon State will look to capitalize on TCU’s off season rust and take out a Top 10 team to move up the rankings in a big way. But TCU could also make short work of Oregon State and solidify their place as a top team. Either way both teams will play with everything they have because this will be their first chance to play games that have meaning to them. We’ll get to see which teams can stand up to the pressure and which can’t hold up. Freshman will be playing in their first games and we’ll get to see which get stage fright from their first game with a college crowd. There are so many factors to take into play for these first couple games so it’s hard to say who really is better. Just know that each of these teams are good and by the end of the game you’ll know exactly which is better. Keep an eye on Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers, he is an outstanding player who is in the talk for the Heisman Trophy.
2. MLB – Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants – August 30 – Sept. 1
The National League West Division is almost out of reach with the Padres currently holding a five game lead over the Giants. While there is still plenty of time for that to change, the Padres don’t seem to be letting up. So the Rockies and the Giants will have to look towards the Wild Card and hope to make the post season that way. They are each in a tight race for that spot with the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals so every win is very meaningful and every game they can take from each other is doubly beneficial. These teams need to give it their all for every single game and make it count because if they don’t they will be done for the season. The highlight of this series is the Sept. 1 game between the Rockies Ubaldo Jimenez and Tim Lincecum of the Giants. Jimenez is one of the front runners for the National League Cy Young Award due to his outstanding season. Lincecum has received the award the past two seasons but this season he has struggled and most likely won’t get it a third time but he could make quite a statement by beating Jimenez and shutting down the Rockies. You have playoff intensity and two elite pitchers, what more could you ask for?
3. NASCAR – Atlanta Motor Speedway – Sept. 5 at 7:30 pm
With just two more races before the standings are solidified and The Chase for the Sprint Cup begins. It doesn’t matter where you finish as long as you are in the top 12 racers, once you’re in the post season all the points are reset and the race to the championship begins. The top spots are pretty much set but the bottom few spots can change depending on these last races. Big drivers like Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are not in the top 12 as of now and they will be very aggressive and fight for their place. You never know what could happen with some racers taking it easy and cruising their way into the post season while others are racing on every cylinder and giving it all they have.
Quick Picks
- For a complete first week schedule for NCAA Football, click here to see where your team is playing.
- The MLB season is coming to an end soon, check out the standings to see who to expect in the playoffs and then in the World Series. It will all be here before you know it.
