On Campus 9/8/07

5 Games to Watch

#19 TCU @. #7 Texas- The Horned Frogs are th ebets team int he country that nobody talks about. They have won 11 games in 3 of the last 4 seasons and right now hold a 4 game winning streak against Big 12 opponents. They have a potent offense and a defense that can rival anyone in the country. Defensively they have speed at every position and going against an inexperienced Texas offensive line could spell trouble for Colt McCoy. Lastly, TCU is playing with a huge grudge on their shoulder after Texas Coach Mack Brown failed to put them in his final season poll Top 25 last year.

#10 Cal @ Colorado State- The Bears come off a huge win against Tennessee last week, but going to Fort Collins could be a trap. CSU lost a heartbreaker last week to arch rival Colorado, but they are still a good team. They have a super tailback in Kyle Bell who missed last year with an injury, and a solid senior leader in QB Caleb Hanie. Rams coach Sonny Lubbeck always has a trick up his sleeve andpulls off an upset or two when he has his most veteran teams. Nate Longshore will need to continue to improve and play mistake free football if he wants to lead his Bears to another big victory.

South Florida @ #17 Auburn- Anyone who knows me knows at this point that I have a huge man crush on the South Florida football program, Coach Jim Leavitt and most especially Matt Grothe (who is my 2008 Heisman Trophy Winner). This team has a devestating defense which can take Auburns mediocre offense and make it look downright bad. The Tigers are not as talented as the used to be on either side of the ball and they will have to rely more on the raucous SEC crowd to help will them to victory. The Bulls have a chance in front of a national television audience to prove that they have what it takes, adn this could be the coming out party for Grothe and the crew.

Missouri @ Ole Miss- Missouri has a chance to open up the season 2-0 on the road against two BCS conference teams, albeit Illinois and Ole Miss, that would still be impressive. QB Chase Daniel picked right where he left off last season throwing for over 300 yards and 3 TD's. Ole Miss is a program that is still running in place with Coach Orgeron and this is a chance for them to get their first big win in years. The Ole Miss defense will need to be up to task to stop the high octane Missouri offense. If the Rebels defense struggles it could be a long afternoon for the people down their int he Grove and I wouldn't be suprised if grumblings about Orgerons's future are being heard.

South Carolina @ #11 Georgia- Down between the hedges the Bulldogs and Gamecocks lock horns in their seasonal Week 2 match-up. This game usually shapes both teams season, especially the Gamecocks. This is a chance to get off to an early 1-0 start in conference play. Coach Spurrier leads the Gamecocks into Athens with more questiosn than answers; his defense which was supposed to behis team stength gave up 250 rushing yards and missed a bunch of tackles versus Louisiana-Lafayette last week and 5th yr Senior QB Blake Mitchell was suspended, so this will be his first start. Georgia on the other hadn played a solid game against Oklahoma State and QB MAthew Stafford looks poised for a big season.

4 Players to See

Glenn Dorsey, DE LSU- He is one of the best Defensive Tackles in the country and he has a chance to be the difference maker today agaisnt Virginia Tech. The Tech line last week couldn't stop the front seven of East Carolina, which should have Dorsey licking his chops. Dorsey could havea field day today and live int he Tech backfield making things difficult for Sean Glennon to pass and even harder for Brandon Ore to get anything going onthe ground.

Kirby Freeman, QB Miami- The Junior signal caller won the job fair and square in fall camp but looked unimpressive in the season debut last week, going only 9-21 and leading his team to 24 points (one defensive TD) against Marshall. Freeman leads his men into hostile territory today in Nroman Oklahoma, where the Sooner defense is ready to reclaim its position as one of the nations best. Freeman will have to play mistake free and complete more passes if Miami has any chance to wint his ballgame.

Ben Olson, QB UCLA- The 24 yr old Junior has been through a lot in his college football life including starting school orginally at BYU, this weeks opponent, before going on a mormon mission and ending up transferring to UCLA. Last season started off with a lot of promise for Olson before an injury. He is back and looking sharp this season throwing 5 TD passes in his first start. Look for Olson to have a big game against his former team.

Louis Rankin, RB Washington- Last week Rankin torched the Syracuse defense up and down the field, averaging over 8 yards per carry and three touchdowns. This week the Huskies welcome Boise State to town, everyones darlings. The Broncos defensive line isn't as good as it was last year and Rankin could have another big day. Last season Rankin rushed for 112 yards at Oklahoma but was slowed by injury. This season healthy he could havea 1500 yard year and another big game against Boise State will put him on track for just that.