NCAA Scouting
2010 Marquee Matchups
by Paul Hopkins
August 4th 2010
 
There's now just a little over a month until this year's college football season kicks off, and whilst the off-season has been dominated by teams moving divisions, the usual collection of arrests, off-field incidents and the USC sanctions (not to mention the antics of their new Head Coach, Lane Kiffin – which, incidentally, is deserving of a column all to themselves), it shall not be long before thoughts really begin focusing on what happens on the field.
 
To whet your appetite for the coming season, the Diner has been scanning the schedules and has picked out a handful of games to mark in your calendar now.
 
1 – Texas at Nebraska – 16 October – (Week 7)
 
There can be no doubt at all that this is the grudge match of the year (well, Tennessee isn't playing USC…). Texas and Nebraska have never really got along, with current Cornhuskers AD Tom Osborne never far from taking pot shots at their richer neighbours down south. Nebraska still feels that Texas stopped them getting a shot at the National Championship in 1996 and then they really have a strong sense of injustice about the end of the infamous game in Cowboys Stadium last December. Whilst the officials just about got it right, Osborne and the Nebraska nation have been steaming ever since. It boils down to Nebraska always feeling Texas gets the breaks. Whether its right or wrong, the feeling has been so strong that Osborne has taken the Cornhuskers out of the Big XII away from Texas (probably forever until they schedule some games) and into the Big Ten. Texas managed to keep the Big XII together (whilst cornering a bit more of the market in the process, perhaps proving Osborne's point…?).
 
Add on top of the already strong rivalry that this might be the last time they play for quite some time (and you know both sides will want to win and wave to the other in their rear-view mirror) and then mix in a rabid home crowd for Nebraska, who are being urged by their own school to go all out to beat the Longhorns ( view ) and this is the regular season game to see.
 
The most exciting thing is, even after this match, there's the real prospect that they could meet one final time in a repeat Big XII Championship game. If that happens, this game could end up being eclipsed in December.
 
2 – Florida @ Alabama – 2 October - (Week 5)
 
Week five of the season sees two of the five games in this list. And it's back to the best conference in college football for the renewal of the rivalry which over the past two years has determined one half of the National Championship game and the eventual National Champions. Things might have changed, in particular with the talismanic Tim Tebow eventually leaving Florida but Urban Meyer (who is still the coach, after taking a break for all of a day or two) still has assembled a cast of athletes that are pretty much unrivalled in the college world. Considering how effectively they were controlled by the Crimson Tide back in December, revenge will be firmly on the Gators' mind. Meanwhile the reigning National Champions return the majority of their winning team from January and will be looking to re-assert their supremacy over the Gators.
 
Given that these two are likely to be fighting it out again for supremacy in the SEC, and with the personalities involved – Meyer and Saban, this will be electric. And again, it could end up being a Championship game early in December.
 
3 – Boise State @ Virginia Tech – 6 September (Week 1)
 
The last game of week one and easily the best. Week one in the college season always seems to throw up a game which helps set the tone for the rest of the season in many ways. Last year we had Oregon at Boise State and all that threw up. This year we get this intriguing match-up between two teams, played at the home of the Washington Redskins, Fed-Ex Field.
 
Boise is no longer simply known for the blue turf. After a 14-0 season last year, culminating in a second BCS Bowl win (over TCU) and with 22 returning starters, there is talk that this team could contend for the National Championship. Quarterback Kyle Moore (39 touchdowns to only three interceptions in 2009) is among the leading pre-season contenders for the Heisman trophy as he leads a strong offence. But it could all come a cropper against the ever-strong Hokies under Frank Beamer. The Hokies will be looking to their freshman rushing sensation Ryan Williams, who will be joined by Darren Evans to take it to the Broncos defence. This game could shape the whole college season from the off.
 
4 – Texas v Oklahoma – 2 October - (Week 5)
 
The Red Rivers rivalry is always one of the pivotal moments in any college football season, as one and usually both teams are in The Sooners could go all the way this year. If they overcome the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl the Big XII and probably a National Championship berth could be theirs.
 
Three starters were all that were lost on offence. Losing Sam Bradford will be a blow but due to his injuries Landry Jones has already had plenty of game time and this is his team. Chris Brown may have left but DeMarco Murray remains. Ryan Broyles has chosen to come back and will be a dangerous weapon to watch all season long.
 
Texas and Oklahoma don't particularly like each other, and whilst Texas might be bigger targets for Nebraska this season the biggest game for Texas every year is the Red Rivers rivalry. Once you get past this, you know where your season is heading.
 
5 – Oregon @ USC - 30 October - (Week 9)
 
Ok, ok, this probably isn't one of the biggest games out there but after marking down the above four in my calendar I was left with a large number of games that all whet the appetite.
 
But I look on this as the game that Lane Kiffin knows he needs to win. Due to a variety of reasons, Kiffin is already under a lot of pressure. The sanctions imposed on the school weren't on his watch (although he was at the school during the period that investigated) but the fact that he's far from being uncontroversial following his time in Tennessee and in particular how he left them suddenly. And now, if he wasn't public enemy #1 he's crossed USC alumni and current Tennessee Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher culminating in legal action being taken. And then, there's just that USC last season weren't very good.
 
The Ducks probably are going to remain amongst the best teams in the Pac-10. Chip Kelly pulled them round after a disastrous day one defeat to Boise State and managed to take them to the Rose Bowl where they were quite easily despatched by Ohio State. And whilst they will face a strong instate challenge from the Beavers they should be looking at repeating as Conference winners.
 
This game will tell us a lot about how long Kiffin remains in Southern California.
 
Other games to look out for in the coming season
 
Week one sees two ranked teams face off in Pittsburgh and Utah…it also sees the much fancied Oregon State travel to Texas and Cowboys stadium to face the strong TCU team…in week two, new Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly welcomes the much maligned Rich Rodriguez and Michigan to South Bend for the 2010 instalment of the annual match-up, and with eyes on both for different reasons…the second week of the season also sees the fancied Miami Hurricanes who came back to national prominence last year travel to the ever-strong Ohio State Buckeyes, who some are tipping as a candidate for the title this year.
 
In week four, the reigning National Champions go on the road to Arkansas where they will come up against another of the pre-season Heisman candidates, Ryan Mallett….week seven has the Cougars from BYU rolling into Texas to face TCU in a match-up which might go somewhere towards identifying which 'small' school gate crashes the BCS come the end of December.
 
Week 10, in the crunch time for the season has Georgia Tech going to Virginia Tech, TCU at Utah and in the SEC, Alabama continuing their incredibly tough schedule with a trip into Louisiana to square off against Les Miles' LSU.
 
A week later, Penn State travel into the Horseshoe to face the Buckeyes in what might end up deciding the Big Ten for 2010… Two weeks on from this and despite what I've written above, USC might have a chance to derail Oregon State (much like the Beavers have done to them of late) as they travel into Reser Stadium.