COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON BEGINS TONIGHT!

Here's to tailgaiting, marching bands, and oh those cheerleaders!!!

May the beer be cold and the pom-pom girls hot.

Right-Minded Fellow is not going to be your expert source for the latest dirt on NCAA football. There are so many teams, so much going on, and with a staff of one, there's only so much the "Big Guy" here can keep track of. As such, we'll be looking at the college game for just the fun of it all. Since "Right Minded Fellow" is an electronic journal of the Mid-Atlantic area, we'll surely have more to say on ACC and maybe Big East teams. However, how can anyone ignore the powerhouse teams of the SEC or the great rivalries of the Big 10 (as in Ohio State - Michigan)? Sure there's lots going on out west as Pete Carroll continues to lead USC to heights unknown. They are the football team for the Hollywood scene as Los Angeles, the second largest market in the whole USA, couldn't hang on to its two NFL football teams that bolted for St. Louis and Oakland in the mid-90's.

So here are some random thoughts, things to watch, hip-hip-hooray!!!

Here's the A/P top 10: (The USA Poll isn't that different, and for the sake of Pre-Season discussion, what's the big deal? Wait until the computers start cranking to determine the championship bowl picks, then we go crazy)

(Links to ESPN team pages, espn.com)
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. Missouri
7. LSU
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Auburn

Georgia is getting most of the buzz for number one but they are a most vulnerable team playing in the deep SEC. They start on Saturday against Georgia Southern (ho-hum.) Things will be pretty quiet for them until their 3rd game against Steve Spurrier visiting the South Carolina Game Cocks. They travel cross country the following week to face #15 Arizona State and come home to play #18 Tennessee, a team that sure has the potential to mess up a lot of dreams. They get a little breather on 10/18 against SEC whipping post, Vanderbilt, then it's off to the bayou country to face #7 LSU, last year's champs and recent SEC powerhouse. November begins against #5 Florida as QB Tim Tebow aims to become a two time Heismann winner. Their next game puts them against Kentucky, then they finish their season at #10 Auburn, and finish in theier annual ritual against Georgia Tech. Though they face a couple twinkie teams, they also play six top twenty five teams, two of which, Florida and LSU have to be in the National Championship hunt.

Ohio State (#2 A/P, #3 USA Today) has come so close to being champs recently something that folks in Baltimore need to remember about Quarterback possibility Troy Smith, not only is the Big Ten a tough conference, but that bowl experience is superb preparation for the kind of presure NFL athletes face. Here's what's in store for the Big Ten's biggest threat. They host Youngstown State on 8/30 and then Ohio, the next week, ho-hum. Their big test is for week #3 against #3 USC. Their stock will raise tremendously should they journey to LA-LA land and bring home a win. It's back to easy living the next two weeks against Troy and Minnesota at home. They begin October travelling to #13, Wisconsin. For the balance of their schedule the only to 25 teams remaining are #22 Penn State on 10/25 then a trip to #20 Illinois. Their great annual rivalry against Michigan is at home this year on November 22. Most folks expect a much lesser Michigan team as first year coach, Rich Rodriguez attempts to start a new Michigan legacy. It's hard to imagine it will be by visiting Columbus and beating the Buckeyes.

USC is the #3 team in the AP Poll, 2nd in the USA Today Poll, is the dominant college football program of the new century. Pete Carroll and crew recruit one super stud after another providing a gravy train of recruits to the NFL draft. The mighty Trojans are in play for the National Championship every year. They travel across country to begin their season at Virginia (unranked ACC), then things get hotter facing the team just above or below them in the rankings as the Buckeyes from Ohio State visit tinsel town. Week three takes them up the coast to Oregon State where they should win easily before hosing nationally ranked conference rivals #21 Oregon State and #15 Arizona State. They stick with western foes, at Washington State and Arizona closing out October. November starts with home games against Washington and California. Their next game of interest is on 11/15 visiting Stanford. Their next to last game is a salute to football tradition hosting a rebuilding Notre Dame team. It wasn't that long ago that the world would stand still for Notre Dame and USC to play so late (November 29) on the schedule. USC finishes travelling across town to UCLA, a team under Rick Neuheisel who's promising great things for that other big state team in the land of LA-LA. It's doubtful UCLA will even get a small slice of one of the LA's in this battle. It's LA-LA-LA-LA-LA for USC off to a major bowl appearance possibly seeded #1.

Oklahoma runs cowboy country as #4 in both polls. The Big 12 powerhouse, Sooners, are the top gunslingers in a strengthening conference. This team noted for its tough offense with QB Sam Bradford and running back DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma will attempt to run up the score against its rivals as all reports on the Sooner defense rates them as all too average. Working to their advantage, they face all their nationally ranked rivals at home, 10/11, #11 Texas, 10/18 #14 Kansas, and 11/22 Texas A&M. A real nail-biter could be week 3 when they travel to the northwest to face Washington. As the presumptive favorite in the Big 12, many commentators are looking at Missouri (#6 A/P, #7 USA Today) to be the dominant team in the conference. They have no regular season matchups.

Florida rounds out the top five in both polls. With Tim Teboe looking to achieve superhuman feats before being a top draft pick for pro action next Spring, the Gators stand ready to take a chomp out of their opposition. Their season begins against Hawaii, the team with the funny dance that was presumed so underrated last year. They take on in-state ACC rival, Miami in their second contest, September 6. Miami still has a way to go on their road back to national dominance as they are not even selected as a top seed in the ACC much less deserving a top 25 ranking. The Gators travel to face the underdog Tennesee Volunteers (#18) for their third contest. On 10/11, a huge contest for both teams will see LSU (#7) come to the swamp to do battle. Their toughest game on paper would be their November 1st battle visiting the #1 Georgia Bulldogs. Their customary last game will be on the road to face the once mighty Florida State in what could be coach Bobby Bowden's last game.

Of the remaining top ten teams, the #6,7 spots flip flop depending on survey feature Missouri then LSU in the A/P or reversed for the USA Today poll. LSU should never be counted out of anything. They open on Saturday against upset crazed Appalachian State. They visit nationalaly ranked Auburn #10 on 9/20 and #5 Florida on 10/11. #1 Georgia visits on 10/25 and #24 Alabama shows up on 10/8. With a gentler schedule, they could be right there to rival the Bulldogs at the end. Missouri on the other hand is a team many deem full of surprises this year. They open hosting Big 10 across the big river rival, Illinois (#20). Their other nationally ranked opponents are #11 Texas (away on 10/18) then hosting #14 Kansas (some say underrated) to finish their season on 11/29.

The rest of the top ten doesn't have any team that screams "underdog" as West Viriginia, Clemson and Auburn close out the A/P Poll. West Viriginia, Clemson, and Texas fill those spots in the USA today. It's interesting to note Clemson is the ACC's top pick. Whatever happened to the great rivalries the ACC raid on the Big East was supposed to yield? Miami has come on hard times with Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer's excellent program, has proven the toast of the new arrivals. Virginia Tech checks in at #17 (#15 USA Today) as the next ACC ranked team. Should we note that a Big East team, West Viriginia, is one step ahead of the first ACC team in the rankings? Only one more ACC team makes the top 25, #23 in both polls, Wake Forest, yes Wake Forest!!! Imagine that, what the world perceives as that tiny team that could rise up and bite Duke and Carolina occasionally in basketball stands atop Miami, Florida State, Viriginia, Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Maryland just to name a few in the confusing east coast conference. Meanwhile, the Big East, the conference that the ACC supposedly scavenged like road kill positions West Virginia, South Florida, and Pittsburgh from an eight team conference.

Looking at the conference battles, using the A/P rankings, the SEC leads with six teams, three in the top ten; The Big 12 places five teams, two in the top 10; The Big Ten places four teams in the top 25. The PAC 10, ACC, and Big East have five top 25 teams. Given it has three teams in the top seven, the SEC clearly looks to be the dominant conference. That the ACC has as many teams in the top 25 as the PAC-10 is misleading as SEC is truly a Championship contender. Clemson at #9 would have its hands full against the second strongest PAC-10 team, Arizona State.

Sizing all this up, it would be hard to bet on Georgia. Their schedule is tough and everyone is gunning for them. Ohio State has been knocking on the door for three years now, could this be it? USC could easily grab the big honors in January. The sleeper in the Championship race could easily be Florida; however, LSU should not be counted out. Oklahoma and Missouri are the least likely of the big shots. Long shots, really long shots, as in wishful thinking run wild, Auburn and Texas. Stranger things have happened.

Featured Games Week One:

(Vegas line where available)

Thursday, 8/28

Northeastern at Ball State Kudos to Ball State. The former Assistant Secretary of Education for Post Secondary gave their commencement address in May. RMF is a big fan of hers. Smart school - picks someone who's truly brilliant not the usual left wingnuts, big stars, and folks trying to sell their latest book. Does that have anything to do with football, WHO CARES?

North Carolina State at South Carolina (-14 1/2): Would love to see NC State upset Spurier!

Oregon State (-3) at Stanford: Results will be big for each teams' hopes.

Saturday 8/30

Towson at Navy: RMF loves Navy, but will root for his Alma Mater.

Delaware at Maryland: Maryland will have its hands full to avoid the upset.

Alabama at Clemson (-5): #24 plays #9. Don't kid yourself, Clemson can be beaten.

Illinois at Missouri (-9): #20 visits #6 in a test to see how good both teams might be.

Appalachian State at LSU: Nah, it won't happen.

Hawaii at Florida (-35 YEOW!!): Jet lag alone should dome the upset. It's still fun to hope!!!