Here is a list of 9 Week 1 games to discuss, seeing as there have been very few discussions about the actual games. I will skip the Ohio State-Navy game and the Utah State-Tennessee game because those have been beaten to death in here.
1. 8/28. Texas A&M @ South Carolina. Line: South Carolina -11. Is Texas A&M a good team, or were they just a flash in the pan with Johnny M. there. A&M has a bunch of untested players on offense. The defense which was suppose to return 8 starters has already lost three of those starters. The Ol' Ball Coach just keeps on winning. Let's see what Sumlin does without Manziel.
2. 8/28. Ole Miss vs Boise State in Atlanta. Line. Ole Miss -10. A huge game for Ole Miss, who is considered to be a contender in the SEC West. They return 9 starters on defense. Boise State is known for covering the spread and flat out upsetting teams in games like this. Will New HC Harsin be able to keep that up?
3. 8/30. Penn State vs UCF in Dublin. Line. A PK to PSU -1. A very interesting game for two reasons. Penn State is stilll on probation, so can new HC James Franklin motivate this team? UCF is still considered as a possible contender for the now non-automatic Bowl Berth AAC. Both teams lose critical players. Still, a win by an AAC team over a Big 10 team of about equal strength would be huge for the AAC.
4. 8/30. Alabama vs West Virginia in Atlanta. Line. 'Bama -26 to 27. To most people, the only question is just how big of a route will this game be? The interesting question to me is how many points can the Kiffin/Saban offense minus any type of real threat from the QB position put up against a very pathetic West Virginia defense.
5. 8/30. Clemson @ Georgia. Line. UGA -8 to 8 1/2. Both teams lose their star QB's from last year, but UGA's QB did start when QB Murray was injured last season. The big question is how will UGA react with many of their former defensive starters this season now off the team and on the police blotters
6. 8/30. Washington vs Hawaii. Line. Washington -15 or 16. There is no question about who wins this game. The question is about the line dropping 5 points or more because Washington's starting QB has been suspended for the game. While the game may not be close, the line watching will be in full force.
7. Florida State vs Oklahoma State at Arrlington. Line. FSU -17 1/2. The Champs return to take on Okie State, a team with a major rebuilding job ahead of them. The defense must replace 7 starters, and they were not very good to begin with. The offense is not much better, with questionmarks at QB and the line.
8. LSU vs Wisconsin at Reliant Stadium. Line. LSU -4 1/2 to 5. The line opened at -7, and there is no apparent reason for the drop. Wisky is still a basic one demetional team on offense, and must replace 8 starters on defense. LSU loses most of their offensive scoring punch from last year, and will have to depend on their defense to keep them in games early on. This is a game between a Big 10 team favored to win the Big Ten West, and a SEC team favored to fnish 3rd in the SEC West. Let's see just how much better the SEC really is.
9. Miami (FL) at Louisville. Line. Lousiville -3 1/2. Miami is going through it's usual amount of pre-season commotion. The QB position is a huge question mark. Duke Johnson must stay healthy. The 'Canes need to improve on the defensive side of the ball. Louisville lost their HC and their Heisman Trophy Candidate QB. They will have to depend on their offense to outscore their opponents. They also are now playing in the ACC, NOT the AAC.
Let get some discussions going.