Top Five Games To See This Season

            So I was walked into work this morning, I went through the typical morning routine. Sat-down, had my breakfast, checked my email, and then proceeded to procrastinate a little. I came across a YouTube video of the fan reaction to both U.S. games, the win against Ghana and the tie to Portugal. I love these videos because it shows the pure emotion in sports, and it captures the essence of how much people invest into these “games”. Sometimes I wish I had a camera on myself when the Patriots defeated the Rams for the first Super Bowl victory, or when Luis Gonzalez’s blooper floated over the head of Derek Jeter in the World Series (ah what a year 2001-2002 was). But naturally I would not want anyone rolling film when “the flip” happened, nor “the catch” for that matter. The videos then inspired me to look up the fan reaction from last year’s Iron Bowl matchup between Alabama and Auburn after the famous, or infamous depending on how you look at it, “field goal return for the game winning touchdown play”.  That video is just pure entertainment:

            Once I got done watching the video, I began to become giddy over the fact that the College Football season is only 2 ½ months away. Then became sad over the fact that the College Football season is 2 ½ months away. So in order to revel in my happiness and “Ease My Pain” as Shoeless Joe Jackson would say, I began to look at this year’s up and coming schedule and find what classic games I could be talking about one year from now. Here is my “Top Five Games To See This Season”:

5) Michigan State vs. Oregon Week 2, Saturday September 6^th

            There is nothing like a little out of conference matchup to get the season going, and the dreams of title contenders to get some momentum or wake up to the reality of titles gone by. Michigan State proved they can beat any top tier program but going to Autzen Stadium is another beast. But this promises to be a battle between two programs who win in very different ways. Oregon is going to come out with their high flying offense led by Marcus Mariota, where Michigan State is a very disciplined, lethargic offense, who wins by playing excellent defense and not turning the ball over. This is truly the battle of the irresistible force against the immovable object.  And for those you who think Sparty cannot win this game, I implore you to compare Michigan State’s blueprint for winning with another Pac-12 foe (Stanford’s ideology sound familiar? Stay tuned).

4) Baylor vs. Texas Week 6, Saturday October 4^th

            This game should prove to be the game that determines the fate of the Big 12. I know a lot of the experts believe this is Oklahoma’s division to lose, but in one of my future blogs, I will attempt to debunk that notion. Baylor and Texas I believe however will be there at the end to determine the winner. Last year the title also came down to these two with Baylor embarrassing Mack Brown’s final Texas team. I have no doubt that Charlie Strong who inherited the program this year, will have that game circled on the calendar. If Texas is going to turn things around, beating Baylor would be the first step.

3) USC vs. UCLA Week 13, Saturday November 22^nd

            The Pac-12 promises to be one of, if not the most, entertaining and competitive conferences in all of college football, and yes I am including the SEC. But the battle of L.A. will have huge impacts on both the conference and title implications. Steve Sarkisian hopes to revive the Trojans and bring them back to the glory days of old, but in this first season, he would be happy if he could bring them to the level of play that UCLA is now known for. While the Clippers may be taking the limelight over the Lakers in the NBA, the Bruins have done something similar to USC. If USC hopes to regain their clout as the power of the west, they first must take back L.A. from UCLA.

2) Stanford vs. Oregon Week 10, Saturday November 1^st

            This has been the most anticipated matchup in the past two seasons and twice, the Stanford Cardinals have prevailed over the Ducks, robbing Oregon of any shot at the title. This time we go back to Oregon for Round 3 of this epic bout. If Oregon can figure out how to beat Michigan State in week 2, perhaps they can use those lessons learned on Stanford’s potent redundancy on offense and its crack the defensive shell that has kept the Oregon offense at bay the past two seasons. If not Oregon will fall to Stanford once again. And if Stanford can win, perhaps this is the year the year they do not trip up, and put together a team that can lobby for a spot in the final four.

1) Auburn vs. Alabama Week 13, Saturday November 29^th

            There is no question that this will be the most anticipated game of the season. While it may be a shock that Alabama-LSU did not make the list, and it very well should if the incoming freshman of LSU can live up to the expectations. But on the end, on the last day of the season, Alabama and Auburn will be the most anticipated game of the season. Especially since both are favored to be the leading contenders in the hotly contested SEC West. While redemption will be on the line at Bryant-Denny Stadium, so will the title.