Notre Dame

Sure, Ohio State getting beat down by a two-loss LSU team in the National Championship game was a pretty anticlimactic way to end the season, but the ride there was a wild one, with a merry-go-round of unexpected teams rising to the top every week, and getting knocked off the next.

Think about it: in one year, Boston College, Cal, Oregon, USF, and Kansas were all ranked #2 in the country. For about a week each. And that's to say nothing of Missouri- a team who, until last year, had a reputation for being perennial chokers- at one point being ranked #1 and very narrowly missing a chance to play for the National Championship, an exclusion that caused, to put it delicately, a veritable shitstorm of controversy.

But we'll save the usual bitching about the NCAA needing desperately to institute some kind of playoff system until December, because its a brand new season with brand new controversies to unfold.

2008 is pretty unlikely to be the near-comedic clusterfrick that 2007 was, but it will probably be just as memorable. As per usual, the Robin to my Batman, Mikey "G-Unit" Glover, will be here to chime in with his two cents and help me make sure I've got everything you need to know covered. If all goes as planned, you should be reading this no later than Thursday morning. Mikey and I will be back Monday morning to cover all of the action from the weekend, and then back next Thursday to look ahead to Week 2.

The format for this puppy isn't set in stone yet, so don't be surprised if we change up from week to week. We definitely want your feedback, so if you have anything- positive, negative, or indifferent- drop us a line on the DML forums, or send us a message through DML's MySpace.

We'll kick this week off with some news, then get into a preview of this weekend's games. We're going to gloss over the relatively small games and obvious squashes- sorry, all you MAC and WAC fans- but we'll try to hit the bigger match-ups in depth.

And with that, let's get this mother rolling!

- This should surprise nobody, but seven players for the Miami Hurricanes have been suspended for the season opener against Charleston Southern. This ought to be pretty much a non-factor because it's Charleston Southern, and the only major name that won't get to play is starting quarterback Robert Marve, a redshirt freshman. He'll be replaced by true frosh Jacory Harris. Marve was arrested last Halloween for smashing a car mirror, which you have to admit is pretty tame compared to what generally goes on with that program.

Mike Glover: 2nd year head coach Randy Shannon has his hands full with this team. Shannon is not only trying to change the team’s toughness and mentality, but he’s also trying to change the aura and reputation surrounding Miami football. Good luck with that Randy, as your players do not respect you or the university, and firmly believe that they are guaranteed something since they play for “The U”.

- I couldn't think of a clever joke about the luck of the Irish running out on Notre Dame. Instead, I'll just march right on ahead with the news: tight end Mike Ragone is going to miss the entire season with a torn ACL. Ragone has already underwent surgery, but this isn't good news for the Fighting Irish, who already have the misfortune of having Jimmy Clausen as their starting quarterback.

MG: Chris has held a grudge against Notre Dame ever since they were unable to knock off USC in what should have been a loss for the Trojans in 2005. If it weren’t for Reggie Bush pushing Matt Leinart into the end zone with no time left, USC would not have played for the national championship and Chris would probably still be on the Fighting Irish bandwagon. Don’t sleep on Notre Dame and Charlie Weis, as I predict them to win 7 games this year.

- Cal has named their starting quarterback for the season opener against Michigan State, and to my surprise its not senior Nate Longshore. Instead, sophomore Kevin Riley has won the job. You might remember Riley as the dopey putz who cost Cal their #2 rank last season against Oregon State; going for an ill-advised scramble with just seconds left on the clock instead of spiking the ball to allow the Golden Bears to kick the game-tying field goal.

MG: Don’t forget that Riley took over after the first quarter in last year’s Armed Forces Bowl, when Nate Longshore lead the Bears to a 0-21 deficit, and rallied to lead Cal to a 42-36 victory over Air Force, earning the game’s MVP honor along the way. Nate Longshore is the more polished quarterback, but Kevin Riley is the playmaker. Fans always want to see the playmaker.

- Ben Mauk will not take no for an answer. The quarterback from the Cincinnati Bearcats has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, who has three times now turned down his appeals for an additional year of eligibility. I don't think he's going to get the end result he's hoping for, but props to the kid for tenacity, I guess.

MG: It’s rather unfortunate for Ben Mauk, but I feel like this should be a good lesson for most colleges to take note of. Programs have been redshirting players their first year on campus for no good reason, and now it finally came back to bite someone in the ass. Mauk was forced to use his redshirt year as a freshman, when he was fully healthy, and then wasn’t able to use it on the year that he missed 90 percent of the season due to injury. I bet they are rethinking that decision right now. On a side note, Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones will now be the starting QB for the Bearcats.

- Florida may be in for a bit more of a struggle against Hawaii than they had anticipated this weekend: star wideout Percy Harvin is suffering from his chronic heel injury that required surgery during the off-season, and middle linebacker Brandon Spikes hurt his foot during practice; both are currently expected to sit out the opening game.

MG: 2008 was supposed to be the year when Senior QB Tyler Graunke finally got his chance to shine as the full-time starter for the Warriors. Unfortunately, he has been excused from all team activities due to academic problems. What a stupid mofo. This is not good news for first year head coach Greg McMackin, as Graunke was the only one on offense with any real experience.

- Good news for USC fans, bad news for everybody who is ready for this Trojans "dynasty" to just die already (i.e. me): Mark Sanchez is going to start Saturday against Virginia, playing through a dislocated kneecap that he says is mostly healed and isn't bothering him. The injury bug has been pretty brutal in Los Angeles so far this preseason, so Sanchez being cleared to play is a huge boost for them.

MG: Are people really picking USC for the national championship game this year? Seriously guys, get off the bandwagon already. Mark Sanchez is not nearly as good as people think. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the lose to Virginia in their first game out this season. Virginia only returns 11 starters from a team that won 9 games last year, but their biggest threat is playmaking junior quarterback Jameel Sewell who should only improve on his 11 passing TDs and 4 rushing TDs from 2007. I’m calling for the upset, and then praying that I’m right.

- The SEC signed a deal with ESPN worth a reported $2 billion dollars to televise their sporting events over the next 15 years beginning with the 2009-2010 season. While this probably won't directly affect you and I as fans, do not downplay the impact this is going to have on college football. With SEC teams being showcased weekly on both ESPN and CBS (probably the occassional game on ESPN's sister station ABC, as well) those 12 teams are going to be getting enormous exposure, which will, at least in theory, lead to bigger and better recruiting.

And with the latest news (as of this writing) out of the way, let's check out the schedule for Week 1 as we get ready for kickoff.

- Thursday night gets the ball rolling with more of a whimper than a bang. If you're into small conference match-ups that will be lucky to get so much as a 10 second recap on SportsCenter, UTEP will be heading to Buffalo to play the Bulls. Otherwise, you're looking at a lot of your run-of-the-mill Week 1 squashes- Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, UConn, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Troy, Miami (of Florida), and Iowa State all have glorified scrimmages against D-II opponents. Oh, and #23 Wake Forest goes on the road to Baylor, who probably should be D-II.

There are a few competitive, if ultimately uninteresting, games hiding out on Thursday night, though. Vanderbilt and Miami (OH) is a clash of the one of the SEC's bottom dwellers against one of the MAC's top teams. It isn't exactly the kind of marquee match-up that's going to draw a lot of eyeballs, which is probably why it's running on ESPN U instead of ESPN2, but it is going to be an interesting exercise in "is the worst of a BCS conference better than the best of a non-BCS conference?". Truth be told, as good as the Redhawks are, its kind of hard to bet against Vandy in this one.

A bigger, better game, and the one that ESPN wisely chose to feature, is North Carolina State going on the road against South Carolina. NC State has been pretty unremarkable in recent years- so much so that I just had to go and look up what conference they play in (the ACC. Who knew?)- but the Gamecocks haven't exactly overachieved for Steve Spurrier. This is a game that is likely to have precious little impact on anything that's going to happen come Bowl Season, but it's the most competitive of the Thursday night games, and it'll be sort of what a Bud Light is for someone with an otherwise empty fridge- it isn't going to satisfy your thirst and you may wonder why you bothered with it, but it's better than nothing. I have a hard time believing the Gamecocks lose this game.

MG: Looking at both teams from last year, I’d say this is a pretty evenly matched game. Both NC State and South Carolina finished without a winning record overall, both went 3-5 in conference play, both missed bowl games, and both have been perennial disappointments over the last several years. Both teams are looking at 2008 as a chance to get things turned around, but unfortunately someone is going to start out with a loss on their schedule. Steve Spurrier may not exactly be on the hot seat entering the season, but a loss to NC State to start the season will not help his case at all. I think he should be able to avoid that though. (MG pick: South Carolina 24-17) (CA pick: South Carolina 20-10)

Last up on Thursday night, an actual conference game taking place in the confines of the Pac-10 as Oregon State hits the road to take on Stanford. I know Stanford did upset USC at the Colliseum and everything last season, and Oregon State isn't one of the powerhouses of that conference, but trust me when I tell you this one is all but a foregone conclusion and the Beavers have got this one in the bag.

- Friday night looks no better than Thursday as far as exciting games. If Temple at Army is something you think you could get into, then ESPN Classic on Friday night is the place for you. If SMU at Rice is more of your style, then ESPN has the antidote to your illness. I'm probably a bit more of a college football fanatic than your average Joe, and even I'm planning to mow the yard and maybe play some Call of Duty on Friday night, so I don't think any of us will be missing out on much.

MG: June Jones’ first game as the new head of SMU should be appealing; the problem is that no one cares… including myself. I’ll be playing Call of Duty with Chris instead.

- Saturday, on the other hand, is where it all happens. You like squash? You'll get plenty of veggies, but there's also going to be some good football being played on Saturday.

#1 Georgia gets a tune-up at home against Georgia Southern and #2 Ohio State has a home date with Youngstown State. #3 USC has a little more of a challenge lined up, hitting the road to play Virginia. While I don't think there's just an incredible amount of upset potential here- although there is certainly some-, USC is injury-plagued and Virginia is better than people think, so it's going to be a little closer than a lot of folks are expecting. USC wins, but not by more than 17 or so.

MG: Write it down, Virginia upsets USC 27-21. Mark Sanchez will not be able to handle the disappointment and will probably get drunk, smash out a car window, and get arrested by the campus police. They’ll probably let him go due to “lack of evidence” though.

#4 Oklahoma and #5 Florida have home stands against Chattanooga and Hawaii, respectively. The Hawaii-Florida match-up has piqued my curiosity just a hair- after their demolition at the hands of Georgia to end their 2007 season, they're going to be playing with a huge chip on their shoulders to shut up all the people that called them also-rans who didn't belong in a BCS bowl. Then again, they'll be playing without Colt Brennan, their former QB who got them there in the first-place- single-handedly, depending on who you want to listen to- and former head coach June Jones, who has moved on to greener pastures at SMU. Florida is going to be playing without Percy Harvin and Brandon Spikes, but that will have little impact on the outcome of this game.

MG: Florida wins by 30. Tim Tebow goes home and has sex with half the girls on campus. Chris and I masturbate in the closet to avoid our wives.

One of the biggest match-ups in Week 1 is #20 Illinois hitting the road to take on #6 Missouri. Make no mistake, I have hopped on the Missouri bandwagon and I'll be the first to tell you that we're very likely to see Mizzou taking on Ohio State in the National Championship game in January. But if this year's Illinois is as good as last year's, this is a potential huge stumbling block for the Tigers. The Fighting Illini knocked off #1 Ohio State last season, and they're going to want to prove that 2007 was no fluke. Missouri was #1 at one point last season and very narrowly missed playing for the National Championship. This game is a big deal, and I think home field advantage- and better talent- gives Missouri the edge.

MG: 2 things: Chris jumping on a team’s bandwagon is like the kiss of death. He jumped on Notre Dame’s bandwagon in 2006 and they ended up losing 3 games, including a ass-whooping at the hands of LSU in the Sugar Bowl. Then in 2007 Chris was on the Michigan bandwagon, which caused them to lose to App State in their season opener. From there he jumped on LSU’s bandwagon, which caused them to accumulate 2 loses and somehow clusterfuck their way to a national title game. No team with 2 loses should be playing for the title, but thanks to Chris and the Michigan debacle, the entire season was in so much disarray that somehow LSU came out on top. I’m blaming the entire 2007 season of chaos on Chris Alt. With that in mind, I’m staying as far away from Missouri’s bandwagon as I can. Now on to my 2nd point: This game is not being played at Missouri’s home stadium. Instead it is being played in the neutral city of St. Louis. Still, I’m giving the edge to Mizzou. (MG pick: Missouri 34-21) (CA pick: 34-17)

Speaking of last year, the video featuring the soundbite of the unnamed radio announcer screaming with joy as Corey Lynch ran a blocked field goal attempt back for a touchdown as D-II program Appalachian State stunned the world, beating the Michigan Wolverines in the Big House, has become one of the iconic images of the modern era of college football. For at least one brief moment, the Mountaineers were a household name, a big freaking deal, if you will.

It’s been 12 months, and Appalachian State has all but faded from our collective consciousness, nothing more than an interesting footnote on the increasingly depressing story of the slow, painful death of Michigan football. But the Mountaineers have got a chance to prove that lightning can strike twice when they head to Baton Rouge to face the #7 LSU Tigers. Will the engineers of the ultimate upset work their magic again? Probably not. For one thing, as difficult as a stadium as the Big House is to play in, Death Valley is worse. You also have to consider that when the Mountaineers stung Michigan last year, the Wolverines were not taking that game seriously. LSU isn't making that mistake. An upset is possible, but not very likely. LSU wins, but the Mountaineers will hang in for the first half or so.

MG: I hate to correct you again buddy, but I cannot let our readers receive false information. Corey Lynch didn’t return that blocked field goal back for a touchdown. He almost did, but was tackled before he reached the end zone. App State was already ahead in the score when Michigan attempted that field goal. That block meant that Michigan had lost the game, but they didn’t score after that either. It was a pretty amazing moment nonetheless. I do agree with you that I don’t think lightning is going to be able to strike twice, and LSU should win this game pretty easily. Les Miles has been studying tape of App State’s spread offense and will be ready for it with different packages on defense. App State also lost their playmaking wide receiver Dexter Jackson from a year ago, and will be hard pressed to replace his amazing athleticism that was so vital in upsetting Michigan last year. (MG pick: 35-17) (CA Pick: 45-14)

And another big match-up involving a top 10 team on Saturday evening is #9 Clemson making a home field stand against #24 Alabama. Clemson has some huge expectations thrust upon them this season, with a lot of pundits and talking heads not only calling for them to win the ACC but also to make a run at the National Championship as well. With all due respect to the Tigers- a team that I genuinely like and want to see succeed- their track record with big expectations falls somewhere between "less than stellar" and "downright awful", and this game is probably going to make or break their season. The honeymoon is over between Alabama fans and head coach Nick Saban, so this game is a must-win for the Crimson Tide. Illinois at Missouri is more likely to have implications on the National Championship picture because I'm just not buying into Clemson as a real contender, but Alabama at Clemson is probably the biggest game this weekend in terms of overall importance to those two programs. For the record, as much as I want to see Clemson win and win big, their history with the pressure of being told "this is your year. No, seriously this time" makes me think the Tide pulls the upset on the road. Hopefully I'll get to eat some crow Monday on that one.

MG: I was actually thinking about going with Bama in this game, but now that Chris has picked them to win, I’m pretty positive that Clemson will win it instead. Nothing would make me happier then to Lucifer himself Nick Saban lose his season opener and end up with a horrible season. Now a loss for either team doesn’t mean that their season will be over, but it could ultimately ruin any sort of momentum they were hoping to attain going into this game. Alabama had the number 1 recruiting class in the nation and will definitely be a very a talented team, while Clemson boasts the nation’s top running back duo in C.J. Spiller and James Davis, but I think that this game will ultimately be decided by the play of senior quarterbacks John Parker Wilson and Cullen Harper. Both quarterbacks have really matured over the years and have demanded the respect of their teammates and fans. Whichever QB has a better outing on Saturday will ultimately win the game for their school. While I think JP Wilson is a damn good quarterback, my money is on Cullen Harper and Clemson. (MG pick: Clemson 31-21) (CA pick: Alabama 24-20)

Rounding out the top 25 is a whole lot more squash, so I'm not trying to disrespect anybody's teams by not covering them, but if you aren't Missouri, Illinois, Clemson, or Alabama its more or less a given than you're going to go 1-0. There just isn't a whole lot of upset potential in any of the rest of Saturday's schedule.

However, if you want to jump outside the top 25, there's one non-conference game worthy of some attention: Michigan State hits the road for a game at Berkeley against the Golden Bears of California. Over the last few seasons, Cal has been the Clemson of the Pac-10- always seeming to be poised for greatness, but never able to get the job done, not much more than an occasional thorn in the sides of USC and Oregon. Michigan State is the trendy pick to make a splash in the Big 10 this season, and while nobody is really calling for them to beat Ohio State or win the conference, they're being whispered to be the third or fourth best team in their conference. With the uncertainty at the QB position for Cal, I'm leaning toward the Spartans to steal this one. Regardless, its an interesting match-up and ought to be a fun game.

MG: I don’t think Michigan State can really “steal” this game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either team win or lose. Cal is not a very good team, despite what they think, and they are nothing more than a byproduct of a weak Pac 10 conference. I actually hope Michigan State wins, and wins convincingly.

Speaking of teams from the state with a bitchin upper peninsula, non-BCS darlings Utah hits the road for Ann Arbor, hoping to hand Michigan its second straight opening season upset. I know Michigan is rebuilding- recovering might be a more suitable word- but in spite of what more than one analyst has said, Michigan is not about to be embarrassed at home again to start another season. Sorry Utah, but it ain't happening.

Everything else, again, seems to be pretty standard Opening Weekend fare. If anything out of the ordinary happens, we'll definitely cover it Monday.

- There's a few games on the tube on Sunday, but nothing I'd cancel a barbeque for. Kentucky at Louisville is happening Sunday afternoon, and I know it’s a huge rivalry, but not one on a national scale like Ohio State-Michigan or Army-Navy or Auburn-Alabama. Sorry to be a dick, Kentucky, but nobody in the other 49 states cares much for your little feud. A year ago, this game was a bigger deal because Kentucky was actually kind of good and Bobby Petrino had thrown enough smoke and mirrors around Brian Brohm in 2006 that we thought Louisville was pretty good too. But Louisville was exposed in 2007 and Andre Woodson is gone from the Wildcats, so this one is likely to fly right under the national radar.

MG: I tend to disagree with Chris on this one. Even though the Kentucky vs Louisville feud is meaningless to everyone outside of the state of Kentucky, I think this game may end up being one of the better ones of the week. Don’t be surprised to see both teams score into the 30’s and this game might come down to whichever team has the ball last. Should be entertaining if nothing else. I won’t be watching it….not because I don’t want to, but because I will be out of town visiting with the wife’s family. But you can bet I’ll be here Monday to say “told you so.”

Sunday evening, two of college football's biggest afterthoughts match up when Colorado State visits Colorado.

- There are a pair of dandies going on Monday evening, but we're going to be back here Monday, so we'll cover them after we round-up what happens over the weekend.

All things considered, it isn't the biggest opening weekend we've ever gotten, but it isn't a total snoozer, either. There are three big games with Illinois-Mizzou, Bama-Clemson, and Michigan St.-Cal, and USC-Virginia has more upset potential than folks realize, so Saturday ought to be pretty intriguing. I'll be back Monday to cover the weekend and look ahead to Monday night's games, but for now I take my leave and I'll hand the keys over to Mikey. You guys enjoy the weekend. Mikey, take it away.

MG: As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Chris and I are giving our predictions and scores for all of the major games of the week. This trend will continue each week and we will keep a running tally of our total score so that you, as well as us, can keep track of how we are doing. I firmly believe that I will be up by at least 4 games by the time week 5 rolls around. That’s not to say that Chris doesn’t know college football, just that he sucks and I rule. You’ll see. Anyway, it looks like a great weekend for football. Chris and I will be cooking out on Saturday and watching all the big games on the television, as well as listening to our beloved Razorbacks beat the living piss out of Western Illinois on the radio. I’m going to take a Prilosec and bring some extra Tums, that way I can load up on some beer and bratwursts and not have to worry about the repercussions. Man I love football season.