Best Weekend of the Year

The college football season is upon us.  It officially kicks off tonight, but the big match ups are this weekend.

Unlike the NFL where the teams that get hot at the end of the year (like the Packers) tend to do the best, or if they play a division rival early (like Chicago facing off against the Pack), regardless of the outcome, you know they will get a second shot at the match up again later in the season.  But in college, you have to do your best every single game.

While I do wish college football would go to a play off system, knowing that one loss at any time can drop you out of the national championship race does make every week of college football feel like the playoffs.

Just one slip up, just one missed field goal (ask Boise State from last year), just one early injury (just ask Oklahoma two years ago when Sam Bradford went down and they lost to BYU, dashing their national championship hopes in the first game) and your year can be ruined.

Yes, there are times during the season when there are huge conference rivalries.  Yes, there are times when the games are thrilling and the contenders have to rally for wins.  Even the two perfect teams that played for the championship last year (Auburn and Oregon) had to survive scares during the season to remain perfect.  For Auburn it was a great come from behind win over arch rival Alabama late in the season.  For Oregon it was a mid season come from behind win over Stanford.

But what I truly love about college football is that the opening weekend often pits some of the best teams against some very tough competition.

This year Boise State faces off against Georgia.  Now, Georgia is not a powerhouse, but if Boise beats them (and the've beaten Oregon twice and Virginia Tech once to open each of the last three seasons), they are set up nicely for a run at the national championship.  Oregon has also gone out on a limb and scheduled the weekend's premiere game against top ten LSU. 

Most teams like to schedule the sisters of the poor for their opening games.  The goal is to get out of the gate with a win and build some momentum.  But I always love the teams who take a chance and play a brutal schedule and still come out on top.