Aside from Oregon and LSU, most of the nation’s top ranked college football teams should breeze through the opening weekend of the 2011 season, the long Labor Day weekend..
Depending on which pre-season poll you’re reading, the Ducks and Tigers are the only highly-ranked teams taking on another top-25 team in the September 1-5 weekend, which starts on Thursday September 1 and concludes Monday September 5. Oregon and LSU will battle for what is expected to be a second or third-place spot in the early season rankings They will meet in an ESPN-televised game at Cowboys Stadium near Dallas Saturday, September 3.
The national football networks have had to stretch to find other promising games for that weekend.
Oklahoma Opens Against Tulsa
Top-ranked Oklahoma should be able to handle intrastate rival Tulsa. But Alabama is expected to romp over Kent State and could move to No. 1 in the early polls if the Hurricanes give the Sooners any kind of trouble.
Wisconsin, which is ranked 10th in some pre-season polls, opens the weekend (and the college season) with a Thursday, September 1 night battle against UNLV. The Badgers beat the Wolf Pack by 20 last season and might do even better this year when they play in Madison instead of Las Vegas. It will be a tempting night to show Badger power to a national TV audience.
Boise State, a sixth place choice in some polls, may have one of the toughest challenges the first week of the season when it travels to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in another ESPN-televised game. The Bulldogs are not ranked this season, but are a perennial power in the tough Southeastern Conference. In Atlanta, the ‘Dogs could be a real problem for Boise State.
In three all-Texas battles: Baylor hosts 13th ranked TCU Friday September 2 in an ESPN-televised game; Texas meets Rice Saturday September 3; and 9th-ranked Texas A&M faces Southern Methodist on Sunday, September 4.
Notre Dame Ripe for Upset?
If there’s an upset waiting to happen in the opening week, it may be when 11th-ranked Notre Dame hosts the University of South Florida (USF) in an NBC-televised game at South Bend. The Irish could be caught looking ahead to their big match with Michigan the next weekend. USF went 8-5 last season and finished by beating Clemson in the Meineke Car Car Bowl, so it’s no pushover. Also, at last check, the Irish were still trying to select a starting quarterback, not always a good sign.
Minnesota goes to Southern Cal for an ABC-televised battle between Big 10 and Pacific-12 conference teams on September 3.
In what could be some good September 3 football games without any great impact on national rankings:
- Ole Miss hosts BYU.
- Colorado rewards its players with a nice trip to Hawaii.
- Virginia and William & Mary meet at Charlottesville.
- Boston College hosts Northwestern.
Maryland, Miami Battle on Labor Day
Closing out the extended Labor Day weekend:
- West Virginia and Marshall do battle on Sunday, September 4 at Morgantown.
- Maryland hosts Miami (FL) on Monday, September 5.
Those last six games will be televised by ESPN, part of its 400-plus schedule for the 2011 season.
It just doesn’t look like the rankings will change much after the first weekend of the season.
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