2017 College Football Week 1 Preview (Everybody…Herbstreit’s Back. Alright!)

(Cover Photo courtesy of Genius.com/College-Football-Recaps)

-Shawn

College Football Season Is Here

Shhhh. Do you hear that? The pitter patter of footsteps around college campuses nationwide. August is officially coming to a close. Face it, summer is over folks. But have no fear, because the end of summer means it’s the most wonderful time of the year. That’s right boys and girls. College Football season is upon us, and I for one couldn’t be happier. My Saturday mornings will be filled with shaking off the cobwebs of Friday nights, and watching an unnecessarily high amount of College Gameday, which means I’ll hopefully hear “Look What You Made Me Do” a thousand times. Then I will traverse out into the wilderness to smash adult beverages into my face and scream at college kids on televisions and football fields nationwide. Sigh…it truly brings a tear to my eye. College football, you truly are a beautiful thing.

And with a small handful of games already in the books (I see you Stanford, thanks for hitting that over), here’s a breakdown of the games to watch this weekend.

Thursday, Aug. 31st – Florida International at UCF (6pm ET, CBSSN)

(New Name, Same Bounce. Photo Courtesy of UCFKnights.com)

This is more of a sentimental watch for me. I spent nearly three years in Orlando and was lucky enough to not only meet a lot of fantastic UCF alumni but also go to quite a few games at the self proclaimed “Bounce House”. Because of this, I try and catch as many UCF games on TV as I can. I’ll be intrigued to see how Coach Frost builds off the 6-7 finish from a year ago. The program will also shift the focus to on the field activities as they try and overcome the Donald De La Haye drama. AAC Defensive Player of the Year Shaquem Griffin will look to be a tone-setter on defense while McKenzie Milton will look to build off a solid 2016 campaign where he set the UCF freshman record for completions.  

Prediction: UCF wins 31-17

Thursday, Aug. 31st – (2) Ohio State at Indiana (8pm ET, ESPN)

(It’s like he’s pointing at you. Telling you to watch this game. Photo Courtesy of USA Today)

This game could (emphasis on could) be very interesting. The last time the Buckeyes went into Bloomington, the Hoosiers led most of the game and let up at the end to a very good Buckeye team. The Hoosiers improved defensively last season and will be looking to play spoiler to the College Football Playoff hopes of the Buckeyes. As always, expectations are high in Columbus, and OSU will more than likely live up to those expectations. This game will set the tone that Urban Meyer and Senior signal caller J.T. Barrett carry into a very difficult week two match-up against the preseason number seven Oklahoma Sooners.

Prediction: (2) OSU Wins 42 – 17

GAME OF THE WEEK – Friday, Sept. 1st – Utah State at (9) Wisconsin (9pm ET, ESPN)

(Soon Beautiful. Soon. Photo Courtesy of the Wisconsin State Journal)

To be honest, calling this the game of the week is probably an overstatement and I will probably use this phrase again this week, but whatever. The 2017 campaign for the home team kicks off under the friday night lights. There’s really not much to say on this one other than I’m beyond excited to walk into Camp Randall Stadium for the first time this year. The student section probably won’t fill up until well into the 1st Quarter. By that point, we should hopefully have a pretty good idea how the rest of the game is going to go. This one should be a snoozer by the second half. We already know how I feel about the Badgers season this year. This one’s going to be uglier than the T-Swift/Katy Perry feud. (T-Swift equals the Wisconsin Badgers in this narrative.)

Prediction: (9) Wisconsin wins 38-6  

Saturday, Sept 2 – (11) Michigan vs (17) Florida (3:30pm ET, ABC, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX)

(Jimmy stocking up for the season. Photo Courtesy of Houston Jay/Twitter)

One of two Top-25 matchups on Saturday, this battle of two of the three premiere conferences in college football will weigh heavily on the defensive side of the ball. Michigan’s defense was top notch a year ago and will look to carry that success into this year’s campaign. Florida’s defense was also very good last year, but will be solely dependent on the improvements in the secondary. However, when it’s all said and done on Saturday afternoon, Jimmy Khakipants’ defense will stand tall as Florida’s offense won’t have a solution.

Prediction: (11) Michigan wins 38-17

My Actual Game of the Week (DUH!) – Saturday Sept. 2 – (3) Florida State vs. (1) Alabama (8pm ET, ABC, Mercedez-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA)

(I’m setting the O/U on the cameras cutting to the Florida State Cowgirls at 7.5 in this one. Any Takers?)

The actual game of the week could very well be the first bookend to the 2017 College Football season. Both of these teams are on a lot of preseason National Champion prediction lists. And for good reason. FSU’s defense will look to set the tone early, while the explosive Bama offense will look to put a lot of points on the scoreboard as they have been known to do so very often under Nick Saban. If FSU can load the box successfully in the early rounds, sophomore Jalen Hurts will be forced to take control of the game. If last season’s National Championship game was any indication, this could spell trouble for the Tide. Thankfully, by the end of the first full Saturday of College Football, the SEC will be put on notice that the other Power-5 conferences are here. And they’re ready. Need a hype video? Here ya go.

Prediction: (3) FSU wins 31-24

Sunday Sept. 3 – (22) West Virginia vs (21) Virginia Tech (7:30 ET, ABC, FedEx Field, Landover, MD)

(Serious Question: What in the actual fuck is a Hokie? Photo Courtesy of SBNation)

I know both of these teams are looking to replace a significant portion of their respective offenses. That usually makes for a very intriguing game. And to be honest with you, it’s the last Sunday without meaningful NFL football, so might as well watch it. I don’t know much else about these two except that VT won’t be coming out to “Enter Sandman” which kind of sucks. I know I’m betting the over, because gamblers gotta gamble.

Prediction: (21) Virginia Tech wins 31-21

Monday Sept. 4 – (25) Tennessee vs Georgia Tech (8pm ET, ESPN, Mercedez-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA)

(That building is absolutely horrendous. And we get to see it twice this weekend! Yippee!!! Photo Courtesy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Again, it’s going to be the only football on Monday night before we start the NFL Season. I’ll probably be watching it. I’m hoping to hit the over. They’ll probably play “Ol’ Rocky Top” once or twice over the sound system in there. Who knows.

Prediction: Georgia Tech wins 28-24

So there you have it. It’s time to buckle in and get ready for another roller coaster College Football season. My Saturday’s for the next 4 months are thankfully booked solid and with good reason. College Football is upon us. And let me tell ya, it feels really good.

Writer’s note: T-Swift references in this article: 3.  If you haven’t guessed it yet, I’m T-Swift all the way. That “Swish-Swish” song was trash. Nicki Minaj couldn’t even save it.