Sorry to sneak up on you, but I'm bringing the heat early this year for week one as a little treat to you, the loyal readers of Beaver Tales. I'm guessing the majority of you have not scouted this week's lines yet, and since its still August you may still be stuck in summer mode. Not to worry my friends, I'm here to bail you out. The research has been done for you, so just sit back and get ready for your dose of water cooler ammo.
Games start this Thursday- with a couple of intriguing match ups right from the start. First FBS game to kick off the 2009 season will be a Sun Belt/MAC scrap between the Troy Trojans and Bowling Green Falcons. You'd better not blink because just 5 minutes later a more high profile game featuring SEC & ACC teams kicks off with South Carolina visiting NC State. Then, just when you thought you could ease your way into the season with a few 7:00 (Eastern) games and maybe coast through the rest of the night, two top-25 teams in Boise State and Oregon come at you with the night cap from Idaho. Hey, nobody said this was going to be an easy season. If you're struggling with how you're going to navigate such an intense start to the very first weekend of football this year, my advice is to keep it simple. Utilize Monday through Wednesday to do some light stretching, maintaining your focus on being limber for a long weekend of football. If you try to do too much too early you may burn out. Maybe tonight's a good night to catch up on the On Demand programs you've been neglecting. Tomorrow night maybe you've got some odd jobs around the house to keep you busy. By Wednesday, you should try to be cleaning up all of your loose ends so that you're fresh for Thursday night.
Anyway, let's get to the picks. I'll be here all season if you need help dealing with the rigors of a long season as a fan.
Thursday September 3
Troy @ Bowling Green (+7): Play the home 'dogs on opening night.
S.Carolina (+5)@NCST: Spurrier vs O'Brien screams chess match. But a hostile match.
N.Texas @ Ball St (-16.5): 2 programs headed in opposite directions. Play the hot hand.
Utah St @Utah(-20.5): Utes reload after impressive 08 campaign, Sugar Bowl win.
Oregon @ Boise St (-4): Broncs Offense lights up Ducks D in Thursday night "Must See TV"
Friday September 4
Tulsa(-13.5) @ Tulane: Hurricane win "Battle of Mascots Not Ending in 'S'."
Saturday September 5
Akron@ Penn St (-27): JoePa's Lions will be tough to stop this year, period.
Toledo (+10.5)@ Purdue: I'm not sure how you can put much faith into the Boilermakers at this point in the season.
Minnesota(-7) @ Syracuse: It pains me to pick against the Orange to start the season, but before the lines were announced I was thinking Gophers by 10. I hope I am wrong.
Navy (+21.5) @Ohio St: This one's close at the half, Ohio St by 17 for the win.
Kentucky @ Miami OH (+15): Tough schedule may catch 'Cats looking ahead.
WKentucky (29.5)@ Tenn: Tough to pass up nearly 30pts; Talented UT squad may pull it off though.
WMichigan (+12.5) @ Michigan: RichRod using this as a warm-up game testing 3 QBs but Broncs have other thoughts.
Nevada(+14)@ Notre Dame: Beware the Wolfpack in sheep's clothing Irish fans.
Georgia (+5.5)@ Okla St: Keep an eye on this one- has the makings of an instant classic.
Mizzou(+7)vs Illinois: This has become an opening weekend rivalry. Love the neutral locale aspect.
Baylor@ Wake Forest (-2.5): '09 is now-or-never for the Bears; Wake too sound all-around.
San Jose St(+34.5) @ USC: I'm a sucker for the points on opening weekend; new QB @ USC could lead to 'only' a 4 TD win.
Rice @ UAB(-5.5): CUSA opener should be a close game. Look for offense. Lots of it.
Stanford(-16.5) @ Wash St: Cougs need to prove they're more than a Pac 10 bottom feeder
MTenn St(+19.5) @ Clemson: Blue Raiders can hang in, but not win this game.
UConn (-3.5) @ Ohio: Huskies rely on rushing and defense while new offense develops.
Army @ EMich (-5): Hey, if I didn't pick this game I couldn't handicap the entire season. So here you go.
NIllinois @ Wisc (-16.5): Camp Randall intimidates Huskies, leads Badgers to victory.
New Mexico (+14) @ Texas A&M: Aggies bit me in the ass last year vs Ark St... F TAMU.
Florida Atl@ Nebraska (-22): We'll find out if the Owls are for real this year.
La Monroe @ Texas (-41): Horns are legit. And worthy of a 40+ point favorite in this one.
BYU (+22)vs Okla: Sooners will win, but Cougars' performance will surprise.
La Tech @ Auburn (-13): Tigers have talent and home field- too much for Bulldogs to overcome.
San Diego St @ UCLA (-20): Bruins are on the rise. Good experience for Aztecs.
Idaho @ New Mexico St (-3): Vandals suck, and suck even worse on the road.
Va Tech (+7) vs Alabama: ESPN has already had 2 wet dreams about this game. Hopefully it lives up to the billing.
Buffalo (+8)@ UTEP: Bulls reloading, not rebuilding in Post-Willy Era.
CMich (+13.5)@ Arizona: Chips fall short but cover thanks to "Da Fever."
Maryland (+21.5)@ Cal: Terps getting no respect vs an under-achieving Bears outfit.
LSU (-17)@ Washington: Tigers rip Huskies apart on their home turf. Not even close.
Sunday September 6
Mississippi (-16)@ Memphis: Rebs take it to the Tigers, keep the hype coming.
Colorado St @ Colorado (-10.5): Its time to put up or shut up for Hawkins' gang.
Monday September 7
Cincinnati (+5.5)@ Rutgers: Big East title impact on opening weekend as Bearcats look to make it 4 in a row against RU.
Miami Fl (+6)@ Florida St: Annual rivalry game once again matters on a 'national' scene.
As an early bird special, I'm also going to throw in 3 totals bets for you.
Minnesota @ Syracuse OVER 47.5: Neither school has been known for their defense as of late. SU's offense should be improved from last year, however the middle of the defense will yield pts to the Gophers.
Baylor @ Wake UNDER 53.5: This one stays in the high 40s due to 1st weekend wrinkles needing to be ironed out, and the WF offense chewing up clock.
Cincinnati @ Rutgers OVER 48.5: Both teams will come out aggressively, going for the jugular. Look for a high scoring affair between these Big East heavy weights.
Switching Gears
Now that we have dissected the FBS weekend that lies ahead, let's take a look at some of the more promising match ups in the Championship Subdivision. Here are some games to watch the ticker for:
Thursday
Villanova @ Temple: Since neither of the respective school's fan bases care about this game, maybe we can stir up some interest in this intracity matchup. It looks better on the hardwood, but looks only get you so far...
Saturday
Appalachian State @ ECU: Pirates get an early season test in one of the best teams FCS has to offer.
Northern Iowa @ Iowa: Could we see another FCS school upset a top 25 program on opening weekend a la App St/Michigan 2007? The Panthers have at least a fighting chance in this one.
Weber St @ Wyoming: Watch out Cowboy fans- Weber State is looking to ride out of Laramie with a win.
Wofford @ South Florida: This won't be a cakewalk for the Bulls.
Charleston Southern @ Florida: Meyer just looking to keep his starters injury-free.
Richmond @ Duke: Honestly, would it still be considered an upset if defending champs Richmond defeat Duke?
Angelo State @ Texas State: This game intrigues me because I have no idea where either school is located. Except Texas State. I'm guessing they are in the state of Texas. Though I suppose that makes me susceptible to some smartass town in Kentucky that decides to call itself Texas, and then name their state funded university after the town.
Portland St @ Oregon St: Probably more appealing for Vikings fans, though I find it is always entertaining when OSU hits the field.
UMass @ Kansas St: Local interest only for the most part, though if the Minutemen upset it will make headlines.
Sunday
Grambling St @ South Carolina St: ESPN2 is picking up the game (2pm), so it will be a nice way to work off Saturday's misfortunes and help keep your football buzz alive through the long weekend.
There you have it. Your first weekend of the 2009 season in a nutshell. Speaking of nuts, I'm going to start off this season by predicting the Nut Kick Game in advance, rather than recap it next week. As I look down the slate of games, I see plenty that stand out. If you're a gambler you'll probably have a few Nut Kick Games after the weekend. However, if you're just into the game for a good time I'd say the Va Tech/Bama game in Atlanta will be the biggest kick in the nuts this weekend. Regardless of which highly hateable team comes out on top, you can count on endless references to Nick Saban's "genius," Beamer Ball, and sideline shots of Bud Foster with hands on knees at crucial moments for the Hokie D. The only salvation will be if Brent Musberger calls the game so that we can hear him kiss someone else's ass besides the players, coaches and parents from the Little League World Series.
Live from New York...
We're not messing around this year in terms of live games. We're kicking off the 2009 campaign with a visit to the Carrier Dome to watch the Gophers and Orange go at it live. As usual, you can bank on some in-person takes from the Beav next week, right here in this space as we soak in the local atmosphere and attempt to relay it in words.
That's a wrap for today. Enjoy the rest of your August.
-Beav
