College Football Week 1 Viewing Guide: Weekday Edition

From now on these viewing guides will be done on a weekday/weekend basis.

Thursday

Main Event: #21 Texas A&M at #9 South Carolina

The first ever meeting between the Aggies and Gamecocks is going to be more about who isn't here (Jadeveon Clowney, Connor Shaw and Johnny Manziel) than who is (Mike Davis and...um...Mike Davis?). The Aggies are starting a bit of a youth movement, but not a total youth movement, not yet. Kyle Allen got the nod over the very highly touted Kenny Hill. Meanwhile the Gamecocks have the aforementioned Mike Davis who is infinitely better than the last Mike Davis to play running back for South Carolina. He is really, really good at running past people trying to do him bodily harm, which is the primary charm of football. As an added bonus Hatin Ass Spurrier will be there, which is always great. The only problem is that the game is on the SEC Network, so you may or may not be able to watch it.

Undercard: Boise State at #18 Ole Miss

The reason to watch this game is simple, all of the freakish freshmen that Ole Miss threw to the wolves for seasoning like the Spartans used to do (or so 300 tells me) are now walking into sophomore seasons wearing nice warm wolf pelts. Not that you need a wolf pelt in Oxford, or indeed Atlanta where this game is being played. That's what I am watching this for, to answer questions. Can Laquon Treadwell build on his stellar debut? How much better did the walking Dreadnaught Robert Nkemdiche get? Is Laremy Tunsil still amazingly advanced for his position and age? (hint: he is). That's why I am watching. That I want to see if Boise can get back to being Boise after a year of not being very Boise like at all in 2013.

Of Interest: Tulane at Tulsa, Temple at Vanderbilt

Friday

Main Event: UTSA at Houston

To be honest, its a pretty light slate on Friday, but this is probably the best of the bunch. Houston will be opening their brand new stadium, and it is a beaut. They are also embarking on the most promise filled season since the Case Keenum era ended. This is a team that has a ton of talent coming back and should be pretty good this year. UTSA isn't a great test of their mettle, but we will know more about how these Cougars deal with expectations based on how they go about dispatching the Roadrunners.

Undercard: UNLV at Arizona

Everyone is sort of assuming that UCLA will emerge from the PAC 12 south to face the winner of the Stanford Oregon battle. I am not so sure about that, there is a lot to like about the Wildcats as a sleeper in that division. I am not sure they can win the thing, but they are more than capable of tripping up one (or more) of the favorites. Of course now that I like them, watch the moribund Rebels of Bobby Hauck pull off the upset

Of Interest: BYU at UConn

Only if you are interested in watching puppies fight a buzzsaw