GOTW

Even if you're doing other things with your Labor Day weekend than watching college football - seriously? - take the time to tune into our Games of the Week. We can't promise any Instant Classics, but we're sure they'll be better than everything else is on TV. WATCH Thursday - Pitt at Utah Dave Wannstache's team should have won the Big East last year; Kyle Wittingham's knows all about beating BCS conference opponents. Saturday - LSU at North Carolina The losing coach's seat gets hotter, the winner's just simmers for another week. Saturday - Oregon State vs. TCU It's a virtual home game for the Horned Frogs, who play 15 miles across town in the Jerry Jones Dome. Mike Riley's teams usually take three or four games to find their stride. Monday - Boise State vs. Virginia Tech It's a virtual home game for the Hokies, who had No. 1 USC on the ropes in their last trip to FedEx Field in 2004. Boise's No. 3, but needs this for street cred. TIVO Thursday - Southern Miss at South Carolina Steve Spurrier's program opens the season on a Thursday night on ESPN for the fourth time in five years. Which makes them the most relevant program in the SEC for 48 hours. Saturday - UConn at Michigan Quietly, Randy Edsall did one of the best coaching jobs in the nation last season. Not so quietly, Rich Rodriguez didn't. Defenses even, edge offensively to Michigan. Saturday - Washington at BYU Steve Sarkisian returns to Provo with Mel Kiper's preseason No. 1 prospect at quarterback. Saturday - Purdue at Notre Dame Brian Kelly has won from Grand Valley State to Central Michigan to Cincinnati, and there's no reason that shouldn't continue on the biggest stage in South Bend. Probably starting Saturday. Saturday - UCLA at Kansas State Personally, I'd go to work before I watched the Bruins in anything. But Kansas State at home has the chance of an upset. CHECK ON YOUR PHONE Thursday - Marshall at Ohio State The start of Terrelle Pryor's Heisman- and the Buckeyes' BCS Championship Game-run. Or not. Thursday - USC at Hawaii The Trojans' first four quarters of full-contact since spring practice. Not that it matters. Saturday - Miami-Ohio at Florida Come for John Brantley, stay for the cheerleaders. Saturday - Kentucky at Louisville Dress rehearsal of the basketball rivalry. Joker Phillips takes over for Rich Brooks, who did just about all anyone could, at Kentucky, while Charlie Strong succeeds - if by "succeed," you mean replaces a losing coach - Steve Kragthorpe at Louisville. Saturday - Texas at Rice Garrett Gilbert acquitted himself well in the BCS Championship Game. That's the last time you'll see "Rice" and "BCS Championship Game" in the same paragraph. Sunday - SMU at Texas Tech The only coach bigger on campus than June Jones right now is Nick Saban. After being in Saban's shadow at Auburn, Tommy Tuberville moves to Mack Brown's at Texas Tech.

Will Masoli see the field this season?

The NCAA has ruled that Jeremiah Masoli will not be eligible for the 2010 season. This is another blow for the former Oregon Duck quarterback who has had a couple of run-ins with authorities that led to his dismissal at Oregon. Ole Miss officials are baffled by the decision and plan to appeal the ruling. An NCAA decision on the appeal is expected within one week of the appeal. For now, Masoli is in limbo and praying that he will see the field for the Rebels; it is evident that this kid wants to redeem himself and be the leader he believes he is. We will continue to follow this story and how this impacts the Ole Miss Rebels.

We hope for a speedy recovery...well, Alabama does

It was reported today that Mark Ingram, Heisman-winning running back for Alabama, suffered a knee injury and has underwent surgery. He is expected to miss the opener against San Jose State and likely the Penn State game on September 11th. Alabama is will make an effort to see how he is progressing after the surgery and determine what the timetable is for his return. It was made clear that he will not be rushed back into action, and his future is a concern and priority to them. The Crimson Tide will have his backup, Trent Richardson take on the starting position, so they will not miss a beat with Ingram sidelined. Last season, Richardson ran for 751 yards with eight touchdowns and it is documented that his number of carries would increase with this year as to keep the rotation of him and Ingram with fresh legs. We will watch this story and see how it unfolds as the first weekend of college football kicks off this Saturday.

Players We're Watching-Part 2

Landry Jones (Oklahoma)-A big surprise, especially for Bob Stoops and his staff. After Bradford got injured for the rest of the season in the first game against BYU, Jones became the starter and had a good year. He passed for 3,198 yards with 26 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. Now the fun begins for Jones who will have to face teams that have tape on him, so this season will be a big test for the sophomore. However, don’t be surprised if he pulls out a big win against Texas in the Red River Rivalry game to turn the tide in Oklahoma’s favor for the next couple of years. Kellen Moore (Boise State)- Coming into his junior year, there is only good things to say about this kid. In his 2008 freshman campaign, he threw for 3,486 yards with a 25-10 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. Last season, he continued with another 3,000 plus-yard season (3,536 yards, 39-3 ratio). Now this season he hopes to improve his numbers and get his team in the national title game. The first big game will be September 6th against Virginia Tech at a neutral site, and the second big test will be September 25th at home against Oregon State. If Boise State wins those games and goes undefeated they will have a good case for playing in the national title game. But I have a problem with that because I cannot put them in the title game over a one-loss Big 12, SEC, or Big Ten team. But that discussion is for another article. Trent Richardson (Alabama)-He is dynamite; I swear he has a faster first step than his Heisman-winning comrade Mark Ingram. Look for Richardson to catch some passes out of the backfield; we saw some of this in the spring game. With Ingram churning out yards and Nick Saban and staff finding ways to get Richardson out in space, this will be a potent offense. Greg McElroy can’t help but get better with such a good running game behind him. Christian Ponder (Florida State)- He just might be the best quarterback that will enter the 2011 NFL Draft, not Jake Locker. It seems after his injury last season, people forgot about him. Now, he has a new head coach in Jimbo Fisher, and he has tons of experience being the starter. With only nine games, last season, under his belt before he got injured, he threw for 2,717 yards with a 14-7 ratio. The Florida State Seminoles get a real test when they face the Sooners in Norman,OK. on September 11th, expect both secondaries to be tested as Landry Jones and Ponder will chuck the ball all day long. AJ Green (Georgia)-I like his humbleness and I cannot say enough how we need more players like him in college football. With a new quarterback, Aaron Murray, coming in, you would expect it to be a down year for the offense. However, Green and Murray have been working together in their spare time, fine tuning their chemistry. Look for Green to rebound from last year’s production (808 receiving yards with 8 touchdowns after amassing 963 yards and 8 touchdowns in his freshman year) after missing three games due to injury. However, he still put up good individual-game numbers: 137 yards-Arkansas, 153 yards-Arizona State, 99 yards-LSU, 95 yards-Vanderbilt, and 86 yards-South Carolina. John Brantley (Florida)- Brantley is no Tebow, let’s make that clear from the start; he will not plow through defenders, throw jump-passes, give season-defining speeches. Brantley is a pure pocket-passer with a very strong arm but don’t be fooled, he does have mobility. The reports coming out of Florida is very positive for Brantley; the only concern is his receiving corps, will they be consistent enough to help him? Ryan Mallet (Arkansas)- This will be a big year for him under the tutelage of Bobby Petrino, but can that defense stop anyone?? The defense gave up an average of 401.15 yards per game and they were ranked 89th out of 120 teams; if this problem is not solved, Mallet will have to rely on his arm to win a lot of their games and this is too risky. Last season, Mallet threw for 3,624 yards with a 30-7 ratio. He faces some big tests in a four-game stretch: @ Georgia on September 18th, home against Alabama and Texas A&M, and @Auburn. Expect shootouts, which will be exciting for the fans but frustrating for Petrino. Russell Shepard (LSU)-He will be the reason LSU has at least one big win this season (Week 10, playing host to Alabama). Coming in as a quarterback, Sheppard was then switched to wide receiver. But don’t be surprised, if the staff feels confident in him and Jordan Jefferson continues his inconsistency, that he plays some quarterback or becomes the starter. He has speed and good wiggle, not as fast as Pat White but very athletic. Look for him to line up at running back and in the wildcat formation; Les Miles will look for any opportunity to get him in space and rightfully so. Jake Locker (Washington Huskies)- Enough is enough: I’m tired of all the praise that the media-types are heaping on him. I personally don’t see it. Well, if he is going to be the top NFL prospect for the 2011 draft, he will have to prove it against BYU, Nebraska, USC, Oregon State and Oregon. Let the fun begin! Dion Lewis (Pitt)-He is special and last season he was the cream of the crop of Big East running backs and ranked third nationally with 1,799 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns; he averaged an insane 5.54 yards per carry. Lewis has speed, power, good lateral movement and uncanny vision for a second-year player. Let’s just hope they do not run him into the ground because they are going to need him down the stretch; they have four important conference games at the end of the season: @Connecticut and South Florida, @home against West Virginia, and away @Cincinnati. There is no question Lewis will be the focal point of this offense. Honorable Mention: Matt Barkley-USC, Jonathan Baldwin-Pitt, Dillon Baxter-USC, Case Keenum-Houston, Jon Bostic-Florida, Andrew Luck-Stanford, Matt Elam-Florida, Noel Divine-West Virginia, Marcus Lattimore-South Carolina.

Players We're Watching

So it's no poll - Matt M. doesn't believe in them until a few games are actually, you know, played - but there are 10 players who we think you should look for, as they'll be crucial to their teams' chances. Such as ... Big Ten: Terrelle Pryor. After its "upset" of Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was my way-too-early pick to win this year's national championship, and Pryor was the No. 1 reason why. He led the Buckeyes in rushing as a sophomore - the first Ohio State QB to do so since Les Horvath in 1944 - has an improved cast of receivers this season, and with Jim Tressel's trust, should make a run at the Heisman and BCS Championship Game. SEC: Julio Jones. Like Pryor, he was widely heralded as perhaps the best player in the high school Class of 2008, and like Pryor, he tantalized as a freshman before getting hurt and not playing up to enormous expectations as a sophomore. With last year's national championship-winning defense gutted and opponents keying on Mark Ingram, Nick Saban needs Jones to step up. Big 12: My first thought was Garrett Gilbert, who was almost good enough to come in cold and lead Texas past Jones and Alabama in the BCS Championship Game. Gilbert owns the state's prep record for most yards passing in a season, which if you know anything about football, or Texas, is a big deal. But I'm selling the Longhorns this year, preseason ranking be damned; Nebraska, I'm holding. A fan at last year's Holiday Bowl-demolition of Arizona refuted my reasoning that the Cornhuskers would be a national championship contender this season, saying Zac Lee and the offense was nowhere near as good as they showed against Arizona, and that the roster needed a couple more recruiting classes before being BCS worthy. Still, you know the offensive line and special teams will be good, so if Baker Steinkuhler - the son of 1983 Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award winner Dean Steinkuhler - can hold his own in place of Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska could top Texas in Bo Pelini's third year. ACC: Jacory Harris is the biggest wildcard - if he takes care of the football, Miami has the talent to win at Ohio State. If he gets hurt, Randy Shannon's in trouble - with Christian Ponder right behind him - he's a senior, and we're not sure if he's Chris Weinke or Dan Kendra - but the quarterback I'm most curious about will have his season defined in primetime Labor Day night. Tyrod Taylor arrived in Blacksburg as the next Michael Vick, shared time as a freshman, struggled (and almost redshirted) as a sophomore, improved as a junior and starts his senior season in Va. Tech's backyard against Heisman hopeful Kellen Moore and No. 3 Boise State. Win, and the Hokies go into conference play in the Top 5. Lose, and they'll be lucky to finish in the Top 3 of the ACC. Pac-10: As much as it pains me to say, Darron Thomas (or Nate Costa) at Oregon and Andrew Luck at Stanford are the difference makers to how my home conference plays out. If Jeremiah Masoli hadn't been A) stupid and B) suspended, Oregon would be the pick to win the Pac-10, even though the Ducks don't play the same away from home. With Masoli now in Mississippi, Thomas (or Costa) has the weight of 17 returning starters from last year's Pac-10 champs on his shoulders. Stanford ranks right behind Oregon and USC in terms of talent - if Jim Harbaugh weren't so unlikable, he'd be getting the credit he deserves for the coaching job he's done - but Toby Gerhart's run out on Luck, leaving what might be the best offense in the Pac-10 in the hands of the sophomore.

Preseason

Anybody can do a Top 10 list. The AFCA does it all the time! Nevermind that those coaches who vote in the Coaches Poll (USA Today Poll, if you're into marketing) don't necessarily cast their own votes ... or make those votes public ... or watch games other than their opponents' ... or vote anybody for No. 1 but the winner of the BCS Championship Game. The names have changed, but polls have been as much of college football as the forward pass the last 75 years, and aren't going to go away anytime soon, if by 'soon,' you mean ever. Which is fine by me. The Top 10 ... teams ... tailgates ... cheerleaders ... polls are good for America. So apologies if I don't know who's No. 1 in Athlon, or care who Sports Illustrated picks to win it all this year, or think it speaks to the decline of newspapers that the AP ranked Boise State as the third-best team in the nation. In the Mountain Time Zone? Too low. West of the Rockies? Sure. In the country? I know the dollar's not what it used to be, but please. Florida and Texas, which are ranked behind Boise at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, have more talent on their 20th anniversary teams than the Broncos do in their first-string. Now, does Boise have the third-best chance to go undefeated in the country? There's the secret to preseason polls. Sportswriters, who generally don't know any more about handicapping than they do handicapped parking places - I should know. I was one - get together every time this year, peer into their laptops, and try to predict who will finish where at the end of the year. Who's picked No. 1 has nothing to do with who's the best team to start the season and everything to do with who has the best chance to finish with the best record ... based off of what they did last year. There are some notable exceptions (see Steele, Phil), but for the most part, that's how it works.