Week 1 Primer

IT IS OFFICIALLY HERE!!!  Thats right folks, months of anticipation and agony is finally coming to an end.  This blogger can barely contain himself.  This Thursday the 2014 season will kick off and we will be inundated with its greatness for the remainder of the year.  Fantastic stuff.  Each week I will give you my top 5 games of the week.  Week 1 this year is especially juicy.  I recall a time when week 1 was full of clunkers and mismatches.  Not anymore.  Thankfully, teams are taking it upon themselves to schedule quality opponents.  The results are delicious matchups that fans get to devour to ring in the new season.  Awesome.  So without further ado here are my top 5 week one games

Wisconsin vs LSU (Houston)- Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen is taking a big risk in starting unknown Tanner McEvoy over known commodity  Joel Stave.  McEvoy is more mobile, but I think he is being thrown to the wolves against LSU.  Expect LSU to attack McEvoy by crowding the line of scrimmage to stop the run, forcing McEvoy to beat them with his arm.  Also, look for a wide variety of blitzes and pressures from John Chavis.  As always LSU has the horses up front to do this.  This will be a fascinating matchup.  In the end I think LSU overwhelms Wisconsin with their defensive speed and wins handily.

Florida State vs Oklahoma State (Arlington)- The Seminoles begin their defense of their championship in the same place they hope their journey ends.  The Pokes are a worthy opponent but they are in for it Saturday night.  The Pokes have too many question marks on defense and the Noles are just too good for Okie State.  The spread on this game is 18.  18!!  I think that might be too high, but it indicates what a mismatch the experts expect this game to be.  Even if Florida State struggles early on, I expect them to roll over the Pokes in a game that could become a laugher.

Clemson @ Georgia- This might be the very best opening weekend has to offer.  I have made it no secret that I am very high on the Clemson Tigers.  That defense will be awesome.  The offense might be a work in progress but I expect it to be effective.  The Dogs are a big question mark to me.  I just dont know what to make of the Dogs.  I think they are ranked far too highly.  I dont think Huston Mason is going to come close to filling Aaron Murray’s shoes.  As a result I’ll take Clemson to walk into Athens and beat the Dogs between the hedges.  This loss will put Mark Richt squarely on the hot seat where he will remain for the rest of the season.

Penn State vs. Central Florida (Dublin Ireland)- The James Franklin era begins for the Nittany Lions as they travel across the pond to play the defending AAC champs of UCF.  Last year the Knights went into Happy Valley and beat the Lions.  This year I don’t think that will happen.  Blake Bortles is in the NFL and I think Penn State will be squarely focused on the Knights this time.  This game will be a treat for early morning College Football hounds like me.  A 7:30 am start means breakfast and College Football.  This is reason enough to put this game on the list. 

Texas A&M @ South Carolina- Life after Johnny Football begins for the Aggies with a bear of a game.  The Aggs go to Columbia for a Thursday evening affair with a team I recently picked to win the national title.  Needless to say I think they are in some trouble.  South Carolina will absolutely hound and harass the Aggs.  I look for Mike Davis to run wild on an A&M defense that was awful against the run last year.  A&M ranked last in SEC play in rush yards per game allowed and yards per carry.  Those stats may improve in 2014, but I think they are in for it on Thursday evening.  There will be a whole lot of anticipation for this game, but I see it being a clunker.  The Gamecocks will dominate the Aggies in front of a national audience, and make a statement about their legitimacy.

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