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College football opens in earnest today. Here is your first general open thread of the season along with a few of the storylines I’ll be watching.
The Offense of the Year?
When Clemson travels to Auburn tonight, we’ll get our first glimpse of just how good Clemson’s offense will be. Most analysts think that Dabo’s crew is the team to beat in 2016. They may be right, but unranked Auburn is just the kind of wildcard week 1 opponent that can change a trajectory for a favorite. Watch this one closely.
Incidentally, how scary would Oregon be right now if they had managed to land b Deshaun Watson?
The REAL Hype Train
For all the hype surrounding UW this offseason, we’ve paid precious little attention to the real Pac 12 hype story: QB Josh Rosen of UCLA. The SI cover boy has been making waves in Westwood with his brash opinions, his tweets with women in his hot tub and his general cockiness. Yet, the eminently talented signal caller - just a sophomore - is a 16/1 bet for the Heisman and has most pundits predicting a UCLA South division championship.
Can he deliver in week one against a somewhat discombobulated Texas A&M team? Mr. Rosen, meet Myles Garrett. May the best man win.
An Upset in the Making
#3 Oklahoma is traveling to Houston this morning to take on the upstart Cougars. This one is going to be a shootout, folks. QB Baker Mayfield has some studs at his ready - guys like RB Joe Mixon (remember him) and RB Samaje Perine - and will be looking to spread out that Cougar D. But Houston is no slouch.
Houston is seeing this as a “must-win” if they want to crash the CFP this year. With Oklahoma possibly looking ahead to Ohio State and this one being in Houston, the conditions are ripe. I’m calling the upset in a barn-burner.
The Gameday Lineup
| Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
| Georgia Tech vs. Boston College (in Ireland) | 7:30 a.m. | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
| (3) Oklahoma vs. (15) Houston (at NRG Stadium) | Noon | ABC / WatchESPN |
| Bowling Green at (6) Ohio State | Noon | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Hawaii at (7) Michigan | Noon | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Boise State at UL Lafayette | Noon | ASN / ESPN3 |
| EKU at Purdue | Noon | ESPNNEWS / WatchESPN |
| Fordham at Navy | Noon | CBSSN |
| Howard at Maryland | Noon | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Missouri at West Virginia | Noon | FS1 / FS Go |
| South Alabama at Mississippi State | Noon | SECN / WatchESPN |
| Western Michigan at Northwestern | Noon | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| Liberty at Virginia Tech | 12:30 p.m. | ACCN / WatchESPN |
| Villanova at Pittsburgh | 1:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Abilene Christian at Air Force | 2:00 p.m. | MWN |
| Rutgers at (14) Washington | 2:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| (5) LSU vs. Wisconsin (at Green Bay, WI) | 3:30 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
| (16) UCLA at Texas A&M | 3:30 p.m. | CBS / cbssports.com |
| Miami, OH at (17) Iowa | 3:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| SE Louisiana at (21) Oklahoma State | 3:30 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
| Kent State at Penn State | 3:30 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Murray State at Illinois | 3:30 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
| Richmond at Virginia | 3:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Texas State at Ohio | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Louisiana Tech at Arkansas | 4:00 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
| UC Davis at (24) Oregon | 5:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| (18) Georgia vs. (22) North Carolina (at Atlanta, GA) | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Austin Peay at Troy | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Florida A&M at Miami (FL) | 6:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Hampton at Old Dominion | 6:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV |
| NC Central at Duke | 6:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Savannah State at Georgia Southern | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Southern Illinois at Florida Atlantic | 6:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV ($) |
| Western Carolina at East Carolina | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| VMI at Akron | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Alabama A&M at Middle Tennessee | 7:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV ($) |
| Alabama State at UTSA | 7:00 p.m. | KMYS-CW 35 |
| Rhode Island at Kansas | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| San Jose State at Tulsa | 7:00 p.m. | CBSSN |
| SE Missouri State at Memphis | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| SMU at North Texas | 7:00 p.m. | ASN |
| South Carolina State at UCF | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Southern at ULM | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Towson at USF | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| UMass at (25) Florida | 7:30 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
| Southern Miss at Kentucky | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| (20) USC vs. (1) Alabama (at Arlington, TX) | 8:00 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
| South Dakota State at (13) TCU | 8:00 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
| EWU at Washington State | 8:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| Fresno State at Nebraska | 8:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
| New Mexico State at UTEP | 8:00 p.m. | beIN SPORTS |
| Northern Iowa at Iowa State | 8:00 p.m. | Cyclones.tv ($) |
| Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech | 8:00 p.m. | FSN / FS Go |
| New Hampshire at San Diego State | 8:30 p.m. | TBA |
| (2) Clemson at Auburn | 9:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Arizona vs. BYU (at Glendale, AZ) | 10:30 p.m. | FS1 / FS Go |
| Northern Illinois at Wyoming | 10:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Northern Arizona at Arizona State | 10:45 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
| Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
| (10) Notre Dame at Texas | 7:30 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
| Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Streaming |
| (11) Ole Miss vs. Florida State (at Orlando, FL) | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |