The college football weekend kicks off big-time a bit early this weekend with a Friday night showdown that features West Virginia v. South Florida. The following is quick viewing guide for your college football weekend:
- West Virginia and South Florida will kick off at 7:00 tomorrow night on ESPN2. It's big, to say the least. A win here and the Mountaineers can easily run the table. On the other hand, if the Bulls can pull off the upset for the second year in a row, they could be headed for a BCS bowl. No major injuries or anything to speak of, it should be a good one.
- LSU v. Tulane will be the first game on television on Saturday, kicking off from the Superdome at 11:00 in the morning. LSU will be sporting new uniforms, including purple jerseys with a different striping design and a funky pelican logo. Also included are white pants and white helmets. Click here for pics. It's going to benefit the NOLA recovery. Enjoy the new unis, they'll probably be the most interesting thing in this game. Also, Early Doucet will likely sit out again with a groin injury. He's seemingly looking at the Florida game for a return. Flynn is still hobbled with a high ankle sprain, and likely won't be 100% for quite some time, so Perrilloux will play and may see a lot of snaps. Injuries or no, it's basically a glorified practice for the Bayou Bengals in preparation for the showdown next week versus Florida.
- Michigan plays Northwestern at 11:00, and it will be a snoozer. The interesting thing will be the Michigan quarterback situation. Carr says that the job is Henne's, but he's mum on who will be playing this weekend. We could very well have a quarterback controversy in Ann Arbor. And you have to keep an eye on the Wolverines, as crap-tacular as it is they have a great shot at winning the Little Ten.
- Notre Dame at Purdue kicks off at 11:00 on ESPN. The Irish are 0-4, Purdue is 4-0, and the Boilermakers are 21 point favorites over the hapless Irish. Tune in and hopefully you'll see the worst year in the history of Notre Dame football get that much worse.
- Mississippi State travels to Columbia to face South Carolina at 11:30 on Lincoln Financial. The Dave sisters will be covering the game in all of their commentary genius. Actually, though, it has some interesting story lines. Steve Spurrier benched Blake Mitchell after the LSU loss, and now Chris Smelley (of Tuscaloosa, Alabama) will be the starting quarterback. Also, the star of the Gamecock defense, linebacker Jasper Brinkley, is out for the year with a severely sprained knee that required surgery. MSU also catches another break with the continued absence of Michael Henig. This should be a loss for the Bulldogs, but if they are as good as Croom says they are, it's high time they pull an upset over a quality team. Spurrier and the Gamecocks must avoid the upset if they want any chance of winning the East. Surely, the 'Ol Ball Coach won't allow himself to be Croomed, though.
- Baylor and Texas A&M kick off at 11:30, too. Fran and his Aggies probably win, but a loss here and Fran probably doesn't make it to next week. Don't expect to happen, as Fran has made a living out of beating hapless opponents.
- Kentucky takes on Florida Atlantic at 12:00. The Wildcats should -- and yes the world is coming to an end -- move to 5-0, and Andre Woodson should increase his already record-setting streak of passes without an interception, which currently stands at 296. Moreover, Tony Dixon will play a lot at tailback for the 'Cats. Alabama prep followers will well remember him as the diminutive yet ridiculously successful tailback out of Parrish High School four years ago.
- Ole Miss travels to Athens to take on Georgia at 12:07. Interestingly enough, the Rebels have played good teams very close as of late -- LSU, Auburn, Georgia, and Alabama a year ago, and Florida last week -- and they may do it this year as well. Barring a dropped touchdown pass towards the end, Ole Miss would have knocked off Georgia last year, and this is definitely a trap game for Georgia, as Ole Miss is sandwiched between road games at Alabama and Tennessee. Seth Adams, too, should be healthier than a week ago, when he threw for over 300 yards against Florida.
- Oklahoma travels to Boulder to play Colorado at 12:38, and the Sooners look to annihilate yet another hapless opponents. Can the Sooners score 50+ for the fifth time this season?
- Cal travels to Oregon at 2:30 on ABC. Nothing specific to add here, but this is definitely a game you should take note of. Though USC is the undisputed king of the Pac-10, the winner of this game is the de facto second best team in the conference. This one could have legitimate BCS bowl implications. Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon had a meltdown in this game a year ago with three key interceptions, and his play will be key this year. Also, look for Desean Jackson, the Cal wide receiver / returner, he's one of the best in the country and will likely have a big impact on this game. He's been slowed the past couple of games, but he'll likely be ready to go for this one.
- Alabama takes on FSU in Jacksonville at 4:00 on CBS. We'll have more on that in other posts. Just some quick hitters: Mustin and Motley will play, and Christensen and Dial are healthy again. Saban says Upchurch will likely see an expanded role in the offense. Geno Hayes, FSU's top linebacker, was suspended for all of two days, and while he won't start, he's likely to be in for play number two. And oh yeah, some FSU players are accused of cheating.
- North Texas is playing Arkansas in Fayetteville at 6:00. Darren McFadden has missed practice most of this week with minor dings, but he'll play. Don't be surprised if they try to lighten the load on him, though. Also, Crosby Tuck -- the receiver who caught the long touchdown pass against us -- is going to be out for the season with a broken elbow. Also, Nutt is shuffling his offensive line and linebacker corps a bit, plus Antwain Robinson is slowed with a sprained knee. The Hogs should win with ease, but things aren't looking great for them.
- USC travels north to take on Washington at 7:00 on ABC. The Huskies looked pretty good early in with Jake Locker, but the Trojans should annihilate them. Locker is about all the U-Dub offense has, and the USC defense should do well with that. All in all, it's likely to be another dominating blowout in which the Trojans put on yet another show in front of the nation's poll voters.
- Auburn heads southeast to take on the Florida Gators in the Swamp at 7:00 on ESPN. For the Gators, they are generally healthy and ready to go. Andre Caldwell will not play (he too is targeting the LSU v. Florida game for a return), but aside from that, they are good to go. Speedster Percy Harvin has a hip pointer, but will play. For Auburn, things aren't so good. Brad Lester is suspended for another week, Tristan Davis may play but won't be 100%, Michael McNeil is below 100% with a knee sprain, and Tray Blackmon is still hobbled by an ankle injury though he will likely play. Also, Brandon Cox and Kodi Burns are again expected to split snaps at quarterback. At the moment, Auburn is an 18 point underdog. For those who bleed crimson and white, this could be quite enjoyable.