College Football National Preview- Week 1

I’m going to try something new for this season. Along with a Notre Dame preview each week and occasional Big 10 posts, I’m also going to do a quick preview of each week’s big games and pick a winner for those and games with Indiana teams.

Even though there are 17 games Thursday night (which is unbelievable) and five Friday night, the real kick off is on Saturday.  Can you guess which two teams are first to play on Saturday? Come on, if you know me, you can get this right. It’s Notre Dame and Navy! The two teams are playing in Ireland and the game begins at 9:00 a.m. EST. I wonder if the bars will open early in South Bend.

 After that early skirmish, there’s a huge showdown in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania. The Penn State Nittany Lions began a new chapter in the history of Penn State when they take the field without Joe Paterno on the sidelines. It will be a day of renewal for the players, fans, coaches, and everybody involved with Penn State and the scandal that will forever plague the program. On the flip side, the Nittany Lions opponents are looking to get a win just as badly. The Ohio Bobcats finished 10-4 last year and are looking to go undefeated and get to a BCS Bowl. If they out of Beaver Stadium with a win, they should have smooth sailing to the end of the season. This is the game I am dying to see because I don’t view either team as a clear favorite. I think Ohio is the better team on paper, but Beaver Stadium is going to be electric with 100,000+ screaming fans cheering on their team.

If you’re going to take some time to enjoy your Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, you can do that at 3:30 because there aren’t any intriguing games happening. Unless of course you’re a fan of Purdue but they should be able to handle Eastern Kentucky. The big game on Saturday is a huge showdown between #2 Alabama and #8 Michigan at 8:00 p.m. These are two of the most prestigious programs in the country and Alabama starts the season as the reigning national champions. Michigan will put points on the board with their quarterback Denard Robinson, but not enough to win the game. Plus, don’t forget that Alabama has a pretty good offense too.

Picks for this weekend. Winner in bold.

Thursday: #9 South Carolina at Vanderbilt. Eastern Michigan at Ball State.

Friday: Tennessee at North Carolina State. #24 Boise State at #13 Michigan State.  San Jose State at #21 Stanford

Saturday: Notre Dame vs. Navy. Ohio at Penn State. Eastern Kentucky at Purdue. #14 Clemson vs. Auburn. #8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama. Indiana State at Indiana.

Sunday: Kentucky at #25 Louisville

Monday: Georgia Tech at #16 Virginia Tech

UPDATE: How about getting off to a great start? I went 13-0 with my picks for Week 1.