A Feast of Games

We are only 29 days away from the start of the 2016 college football season. Just like every season, there will be big wins, upsets, hot seats, and games that we will never forget. Unlike previous seasons, 2016 offers what could be the greatest opening weekend in college football history.

Now I’m a big guy, and I like food, so I think the best way to describe the feast that we are in store for on opening weekend is by breaking it down as a delicious four-course meal.

So, here is what you can look forward to enjoying starting on September 1^st.

The Appetizer Course: Thursday September 1^st

7:30pm  Appalachian State @ Tennessee (SEC Network)

8:00pm South Carolina @ Vanderbilt (ESPN)

Ok, so maybe this is pretty thin, but after having no football for so long, trust me you will be starving by the time these games come around. Look at it this way, at least it will be fun to watch crazy Wil Muschamp pick up his first of what will be many loses as Carolina’s head coach.

The Salad Course: Friday September 2^nd

7:30pm Northwestern State @ Baylor (FSN)

8:00pm Colorado State @ Colorado (ESPN)

9:00pm Kansas State @ Stanford (FS1)

I’ll admit, no one typically likes the salad course, but there are at least some interesting story lines here. Baylor lost the offseason as the biggest dumpster fire in college football, so it will be very interesting to see how their team and fans react to returning to the field after all of the disgraceful things that have happened in Waco over the past few months. Mike Bobo starts year two at Colorado State by taking on their in-state rivals, Colorado. If you can stay up to watch Stanford you will see one of the favorites for the Heisman, Christian McCaffrey, the Stanford running back who is one of the most exciting players in the country.

The Main Course: Saturday September 3^rd

7:30am Boston College v. Tech (ESPN 2, in Dublin, Ireland)

Noon Oklahoma v. Houston (ABC, in Houston Texans Stadium)

3:30pm UCLA @ Texas A&M (CBS)

3:30pm LSU v. Wisconsin (ABC, Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin)

5:30pm North Carolina v. Georgia (ESPN, Georgia Dome)

8:00pm USC v. Alabama (ABC, in Dallas, Texas)

9:00pm Clemson @ Auburn (ESPN)

The official rankings haven’t come out yet, but there is no doubt that the top three teams in college football, Clemson, Alabama, and Oklahoma are all playing a legitimate opponent in the first week of the season. Throw in a breakfast date in Dublin, Les Miles at Lambeau, the Kirby Smart era kicking off in the Georgia Dome, and a very interesting matchup between Jim Mora and Kevin Sumlin, and you have a fantastic, full day of college football. It is doubtful that all of these games will end up being classics, but one thing is for sure, we are going to find out a lot about the 2016 season on the first full day of the 2016 season.

Finishing off someone else’s plate: Sunday September 4^th

7:30pm Notre Dame @ Texas (ABC)

With the NFL not starting until the following weekend, two of the most storied programs in college football history will take the stage on Sunday night to kick off their seasons. Notre Dame has aspirations of returning to a New Year’s Six Bowl, while Texas’ coach Charlie Strong is probably on his last leg in Austin unless the Longhorns can turn things around in 2016.

Dessert: Monday September 5^th (Labor Day Night)

8:00pm Ole Miss v. Florida State (ESPN, in Orlando, Florida)

Hugh Freeze and the Rebels are grateful to Baylor for all of their trouble, or it would be Ole Miss with the title of biggest dumpster fire in college football. The clean cut coach has been accused by former players of overseeing a program with a system in place of pay players money. Freeze and his team have lost some of their biggest names from the past few seasons, but quarterback Chad Kelly returns to power Ole Miss again in 2016. Meanwhile, FSU hopes to knock off Clemson as kings of the ACC and return to the college football playoff.

Now, I will have to work for a lot of the weekend, but if you have the chance, at least spend all of Saturday with your feet propped up watching football. As always, the season will go by quicker than you think. For all those lonely Saturdays we have endured throughout the summer, take one day to celebrate the majesty that is college football.

Besides, week 2 sucks.