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Finally we come to the end of a stacked list of weekend previews. Whether intentionally or because of crappy tv deals, 8 of the 9 MWC teams play on Saturday (Utah was last night, obviously). We have a mix of games where MWC teams should dominate, competitive games, and at least one that probably will not [...] We interrupt our weekend previews to take a look at tonight’s games. We’ll have more in-depth looks at these weeknight games as the season unfolds, especially when they’re conference games that actually mean something. Anyway.. 5:00 PM- Villanova (FCS) at Temple: Villanova won the FCS championship (you know, in a playoff) last year, a season that included [...] The weekend is light for the WAC, with three teams playing last night, one off, and the last playing on Monday. Pity our friends in New Mexico who have to sit this week out. 7:00 PM- Utah State at #8 Oklahoma: Fitting, perhaps, that we move from Sun Belt blowouts on to this game. I think Utah State should be an improved team this year, but kicking it off at Oklahoma is not a great way to get the ball rolling. Line: Oklahoma by 33. Last year Oklahoma posted wins of 64, 45, and 55 points when the opportunities presented themselves, so 33 is certainly within range. Let’s say 48-7. The Sun Belt got an upset last night, although not the one they might have preferred. They’ll have a lot more opportunities this weekend, but I don’t have a good feeling about any of them. Also, I said I’d put Navy & Army here when they don’t play Fringe schools, but Navy plays on Monday so I’ll get them then. 12:21 PM, SEC Network- Louisiana at #21 Georgia: The Rajin’ Cajuns could make a game of this one for a while, but these games against the SEC always come down to depth, and most non-BCS teams just don’t have enough. Line: Georgia by 28. Seems high to me, Georgia should win comfortably but not by that much. Probably something like 38-17. We continue working our way across the country looking at games lined up for Saturday & Sunday. CUSA got off to a bad start Thursday night and will be looking to get things stabilized over the weekend. There are a bunch of FCS games lined up, but also a couple more games that could get ugly. All games are on Saturday except the last two, all times eastern, you get the picture by now. 3:30 PM, ESPN- #4 Texas at Rice (Reliant Stadium): Look out, this could get ugly. Rice should be better than last year’s 2-10 team, but this won’t be the time or place to figure out if they are or not. Line: Texas by 30.5. The question with lines like this one is not ‘can’ Texas win by that much, but ‘will they?’ Looking to last year, they won their first two games by 39 and 31, then won their other two C-USA games by 32 and 57. So yes, I’d say Texas will probably cover that line, let’s say 49-10. And that’s way more than I planned to write on this game. Weekend previews will appear in this space on Thursdays and Fridays, to look at the games happening on Saturday and some Sundays. Of course, weeknight games will get special attention, with posts of their own. Last year, the Mid American Conference had an abysmal opening week. This one should be better, with a ton of FCS games and even some upset potential in the bigger games. We hit the Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Kent State and Northern Illinois games from tonight in our earlier posts, and we’ll give Toledo & Temple a once-over tomorrow. For now, let’s see what the weekend holds for the rest of the MAC. All games are Saturday, all times Eastern, all rankings USA Today, and lines are from Vegas.com and subject to change before kickoff. *When Army & Navy play a non-BCS team, we’ll just lump them in with their opponents. When they play against the BCS, I’ll probably include them with the Sun Belt, since they have only 9 teams and are generally in the East. 12:00 PM, ESPN- Miami at #3 Florida: Obviously, this is not a game that many people have the RedHawks penciled in to win. Keeping it close to halftime will be an accomplishment, but after that it’s tough to compete against the depth of an elite program, especially in the 2 PM Florida heat. Line: Gators by 36.5. That’s a lot of points for a team that’s going to probably lead early and get some young players on the field. I’d take Miami plus more than five touchdowns. We’re halfway through looking at just one night worth of football, and we have 14 weeks of this goodness. Ahh, feels nice, right? Ok, back to your previews. Once again, all times eastern, lines from Vegas.com, and rankings are from the coaches poll. 8:00 PM- Florida Atlantic at UAB: This is the only game of the night featuring two non-BCS opponents going at it. Both teams have question marks, with UAB trying to replace QB Joe Webb, and FAU replacing just about everything but the quarterback. UAB should have a substantial edge here, but these types of games are hard to read in week 1. Line: UAB by 14. That seems generous- for FAU. UAB won the same game last year by 27, and I think they might do it again. 8:00 PM, Regional TV- Northern Illinois at Iowa State: NIU is hoping that this game is the coming out party for a big 2010 season. They’re stacked and the favorite to win the MAC, but ISU won’t be a pushover game just because they aren’t a national power. That said, if the Cyclones are looking ahead to Iowa, they could find themselves in trouble. Line: Iowa State by 4.5. I like NIU’s chances of winning this game a lot. I like their chances of keeping within four even more, I’d take NIU plus the points. 8:00 PM- Southeastern Louisiana (FCS) at Tulane: The SE Louisiana Lions went 6-5 in 2009. Tulane better win this one, because they’re not going to get much of a chance against Ole Miss, Houston, or Rutgers. Or many other teams after that. No line. There are so many games going on tonight that it’s going to take at least two posts. It’s a beautiful thing. Happy College Football Day, everyone. We’ll go vaguely from east to west on this thing. My plan for this year is to offer a little more opinion on potential outcomes, for better or for worse. All times Eastern, lines courtesy of Vegas.com. Let’s go. 7:00 PM – Southeast Missouri State (FCS) at Ball State: The SE Missouri Redhawks went 2-9 last year. That is the extent of my knowledge of Ball State’s opponents. The Ball State Cardinals might be a decent team this year and should win easily. No line. 7:00 PM – Rhode Island (FCS) at Buffalo: The Rhode Island Rams went 1-10 last year, and that is all I know about Buffalo’s guests. Once again, they should be no match for Buffalo, new coach and all. No line. 7:00 PM – Hampton (FCS) at Central Michigan: As you have probably figured out, there won’t be much time spent researching these 1-AA opponents. The Hampton Pirates were 5-6 last year, and again should not stand in the Chippewas way. As usual for FCS games, no line. If you find one offshore, just stay away, Vegas dodges them for a reason. 7:00 PM – Murray State (FCS) at Kent State: The Murray State Racers went 3-8 last year. I could have just copy/pasted these first four, huh? Kent State better not lose. No line. Now, on to the good stuff. Yes indeed, after doing nothing all summer long, what with coaching changes and massive conference realignment to keep an eye on, Football on the Fringe is back with a Bowling Green season preview! But seriously, after taking the extended break and thinking it over, I’m excited about doing this again for the new season. We are starting [...] The MAC Championship game is just hours away, set to kick off at 8 PM tonight on ESPN2. The conference has been flying under the radar this year for the most part, but suddenly they have a 10 win team and another 9 win team squaring off for the title, in what should be a very watchable matchup. The MAC game is again held at Ford Field, the indoor stadium home to the Detroit Lions. Central Michigan (10-2/8-0) is back in the title game for the third time in four years, after missing out a year ago. CMU won the game in 2006 and 2007. This is the first appearance for Ohio (9-3/7-1) since 2006, their only other title game to date. StorylinesFor Central Michigan, you’ll be hearing a lot about Senior QB Dan LeFevour. He currently sits 2nd on the active career passing yardage list, behind some guy named Colt from Texas, but is also ranked 18th on the active career rushing yardage list too- the highest ranked QB of only two on that list. In total, he is in first place in the individual total offense active list, well ahead of McCoy overall. This is his last conference game, and his biggest spotlight of the season, at least since they beat Michigan State in the early going. If the game does get out of hand and the commentators are forced to talk about other things, they’ll probably discuss his draft chances before moving quickly on to the SEC or Big 12 games. Ohio’s story will focus on coach Frank Solich, last remembered by the general public as getting fired by Nebraska after an 8-3 season. Since then, he’s worked toward making Ohio a consistent contender in the MAC, and while they did win the East back in ’06, it’s been a bit up and down. Still, the team has bounced back from a 4-8 season last year, and this is the second 9 win season under Solich, something they hadn’t had otherwise since 1968. Read Post |
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