Many years ago, far before most who will read this column were even born, the Saint Louis University football team threw the first forward pass. It is a statement of pride that sports fans on campus will be able to treasure forever. After 103 years, fans in St. Louis must travel at least two hours in any direction to witness a major college football game in person.
Thankfully, all SLU students must do to watch a college football game on any given Saturday is to turn on the television.
I’d be the first to tell you that I would not mind tailgating, painting up and joining thousands of other Billiken fans to cheer on our own football program. The logistics of breathing life back into a program that has been dead for decades, however, are quite difficult. For now, I will keep waiting and wishing.
That being said, another college football season begins today and SLU students still have their allegiances and watching interests. There are several intriguing matchups to begin another year in the quest for gridiron glory. Here are my top five games for week one of the 2009 season:
No. 16 Oregon at No. 14 Boise State – Sept. 3, 9:15 p.m. on ESPN. Boise State has probably heard just about enough of how they do not deserve to be considered a BCS program. I’m not exactly sure what they have to do to prove their worthiness, but beating a major Pac-10 program would certainly be a great stride in that direction. It will not be an easy task, especially with outstanding running back and 1,000 yard rusher LeGarrette Blount taking over for the departed star Jeremiah Johnson.
Distracting as the blue field in Boise may seem, Broncos’ head coach Chris Peterson will have his hands full in game one of their road to the BCS, as they attempt to nudge the door open for “mid-major” programs trying to earn spots in more marquee bowl games.
Nevada at No. 23 Notre Dame – Sept.5, 2:30 p.m. on NBC. This game made the list for one reason only: if the Fighting Irish lose their home-opener to an unranked Nevada team, all hell will break lose in South Bend, Indiana. The tears of Irish faithful everywhere will run through the streets like great flood waters if Jimmy Clausen does not lead the blue and gold to victory. Charlie Weis’ judgment year has finally arrived and not even “Touchdown Jesus” can save him if a loss to the Wolf Pack unfolds on Saturday. At least Weis is confident in the ability of his freshman kicker.
No. 13 Georgia at No. 9 Oklahoma State – Sept. 5, 2:30 p.m. on ABC. The storylines in this game are brilliant. For Georgia, many question marks surround the quarterback and running back positions after Matthew Stafford, the number one overall pick in the National Football League Draft and Knowshon Moreno waved goodbye for their shots at the pros. Fifth-year senior Joe Cox will take the reins at quarterback behind one of the most solid offensive lines in the NCAA. Behind at tailback will be sophomore Richard Samuel, who averaged 5.1 yards per carry behind Moreno last season. Returning for the Bulldogs will be wide-out A.J. Green, who led the SEC in catches at 56 and was tied for the lead in scores at eight.
Oklahoma State has everyone buzzing this offseason and with good reason. With two legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates filling out their offensive depth chart, the Cowboys are a team to be feared. Senior Zac Robinson will have some great tools to work with at quarterback as Oklahoma State takes on Georgia in their home-opener. Showing people that Michael Crabtree was not the only homerun threat in the Big 12 last season, Dez Bryant caught 87 passes, 19 of which were touchdowns, and amassed 1,480 yards. He also averaged 18 yards every time he returned a punt and had two scores on special teams. The final piece of the offensive puzzle is junior running back Kendall Hunter. Hunter rushed for 1,555 yards last season and averaged 6.1 yards per carry. At 40.8 points per game, the Cowboys were ninth in the country in scoring in 2008.
No. 20 BYU at No. 3 Oklahoma – Sept. 5, 6 p.m. on ESPN. I do not expect this to be a close game, but I have also watched plenty of Oklahoma football, and I know that expectations don’t mean much with the Sooners. In what will basically be a home game for Oklahoma at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Sam Bradford-led offense should come out banging on all cylinders after their loss to Florida in last year’s title game.
With all the controversy that surrounded Oklahoma’s presence in that game at the end of last season, this is definitely a statement game. Bob Stoops wants no more talk of who deserves to be competing for the championship over his team.
BYU, like Boise, have their own BCS concerns in this game. The more “mid-major” teams can upset the Alabamas and Oklahomas of the world, the better the shot they have at competing in more meaningful bowl games. BYU is certainly not a team to sneeze at either. Stellar quarterback Max Hall could make a strong case for himself as a Heisman contender with a solid performance in this matchup, as well as a Sept. 19 game against No. 18 Florida State.
No. 5 Alabama at No. 7 Virginia Tech – Saturday, 7:00 p.m. on ABC. Talk about a huge week one contest. With an excellent returning defense and the brilliance of sophomore receiver Julio Jones on their side, Alabama will look to erase the memory of an underwhelming loss to Utah after an outstanding season. They will be led on Saturday, however, by inexperienced freshman quarterback Greg McElroy. Defensive end Brandon Deaderick’s playing status is also in doubt after being shot in the arm Monday during a robbery attempt. Regardless of those holes in this Crimson Tide team, Nick Saban certainly will be looking to build on the progress of his first couple seasons as Alabama head coach.
For the Virginia Tech Hokies, the improvement of junior Tyrod Taylor will be an integral part of their success this season. Taylor only threw two touchdown passes in 173 tries last season. He did, however, rush for seven more scores. The Hokies finished their season strong with a 20-7 win over Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl, making it four wins in a row to close the year. That sort of run will be made more difficult after Hokies sophomore tailback Darren Evans tore his ACL in preseason practice. Evans, who rushed for 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2008, will be replaced for the season by redshirt freshman Ryan Williams. Although the Hokies start off the season ranked No. 7 in the country, the loss of such a key piece of their offense will be very detrimental to their path to success.
The first week of college football season is always exciting for a number of reasons. Usually, just having football on TV is enough to satisfy me. This year in particular seems to have some very solid games lined up to kick off the season on the right note. I, like many other college football fans at SLU, will be firmly planted on the couch Saturday afternoon and evening taking in all of the action.
In case some of you thought I forgot about a certain black and gold team about two hours west of St. Louis.I did. Then again, something tells me that a lot of other people will be doing the same this season.
