IT'S OPENING WEEK OF THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON!!! WHO'S READY?!?!?!
I am just a little excited about this. This year looks to be one of those years where every week there will be at least 1 game with huge Top 25 implications. Starting now!
Here are the games that I am most excited about this week and the reasons why.
Thursday: North Carolina@South Carolina
Wow, what a way to start a season.
Team that has the most to lose: South Carolina - getting beat by an un-ranked ACC team to start the season would not be the ideal way for South Carolina to start going after a BCS berth, not that they couldn't come back....but yeah they probably wouldn't be able to come back.
Team that has the most to gain: North Carolina - I have already stated how the season is set up for UNC, a win against SC would make them legit automatically and put them in the Top 25 I'm sure.
Potential impact on the Top 25: Medium to High
Alabama@Virginia Tech
Team with the most to lose: Alabama - in what is their biggest test outside of conference the number one team in the country cannot fall to the Hokies.
Team with the most to gain: Neither, a win for the Hokies will not mean much for them in the long run of this season and Alabama stays at #1 with a win.
Potential impact on the Top 25: Very high with an upset
Mississippi St@Oklahoma St
Team with the most to gain: Mississippi St - rebuilding year or are they going to build off the success of last year? Bragging rights for the SEC are on the line. Could get Miss St some respect and an outside shot of the Top 25.
Team with the most to lose: Oklahoma St - they cannot lose at home to an un-ranked team. This game could cost them nationally, but they aren't a Top 10 team either, but in the framework of the B12 this game doesn't mean much. *check out comment below for retraction*
Potential impact on the Top 25: Medium
Boise State@Washington
Team with the most to gain: Washington - can they get the monkey off their back and beat a Mountain West team as well as a ranked team? This could be the stepping stone to a season to remember for Washington.
Team with the most to lose: Washington - Or could this be a stepping stone to more of the same ole same ole....Boise could lose their top 25 ranking with a loss, but the love affair is hopefully over with them this year so a win over Washington wouldn't mean much either.
Potential impact on the Top 25: Low to Medium
Georgia@Clemson
Two of the best in the country going at it in week 1!!! Lots of offense in this one for sure!
Team with the most to gain: Clemson - they bolster their standing in the Top 10 and stay relevant through-out the entire season as long as they keep winning in the ACC which they should.
Team with the most to lose: This is pretty even between the two. A loss to a Top 10 team early in the season will not damn a team to destruction by the end of the year. Neither one drops out with a lose and neither one moves up very high with a win unless the teams in front lose or have bad showings.
Potential impact on the Top 25: Low
LSU and TCU at a neutral location
As offensive as Georgia/Clemson will be look for this game to be the absolute opposite. This is the game I will blogging about immediately after its completion on Saturday night!
Team with the most to gain: TCU - talk about respect, a boost nationally, and a way to put last year behind them! This is the gift TCU needs. But even if they lose, it won't hurt them in the B12 and it won't kill them nationally.
Team with the most to lose: LSU - if they lose this game, they plummet down the Top 25, if they play bad and still win, they could drop in the Top 25. LSU needs to dominate this game if they want to get back into the ranks of Bama, SC, Georgia, Florida and A&M.
Potential impact on the Top 25: High
Sunday: Ohio@Louisville
Team with the most to gain: Louisville - they start proving that last year wasn't a fluke and they deserve to be in the Top 10, although not much room to go up with a victory here.
Team with the most to lose: Louisville - they start proving that last year wasn't a fluke and they deserve to be in the Top 10...they wouldn't drop fast enough for some people with a loss.
Potential impact on the Top 25: Very high with an Ohio victory
Monday: Florida State@Pittsburgh
Team with the most to gain: Pitt - they have been trying to get relevant for years, a win against FSU in their first year AND first game in the ACC would go a long way to helping that.
Team with the most to lose: FSU - as I have stated, FSU is a team on the brink, are they going up or going down. They cannot afford to sleep against an un-ranked opponent and create an up-hill battle in the ACC and in the national spotlight.
Potential impact on the Top 25: High to Very High with a Pitt victory
That's it for now!! I will see all of you on Saturday when I post about LSU/TCU and the rest of the day's action!!
As always, please leave your comments below or send them to collegefootballfanweekly@gmail.com! OR starting today you can follow me on the ol' Twitter! Aubrey Mos@SimplyNCAAF where I will be live twitting during this week's games!
I just recently had an OK St fan point out to me that the MissSt/Ok St should have been listed as a neutral site game. Completely my bad, completely slipped my mind when I was writing, I had it in my notes, and I didn't catch it till now. For this error my editor has been fired...of course my editor quit weeks ago after he was told there would be no compensation. So what does this mean for the game? Well Ok St still cannot lose to an un-ranked team because it will still hurt their national chances but it wouldn't be as big of a hit on a neutral field against an SEC foe. They still have the most to lose of the two teams, but not as much as previously stated.
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