1 Week Away

We are one week away. Only 7 days. Next Thursday evening. Its college football time again.

The lineup may not be laden with heavy hitters, but there are some pretty good matchups, I think. The marquee game will be the Gamecocks of South Carolina versus the Wolfpack of North Carolina State. This game will carried by ESPN, with a kickoff time of 7:00 p.m. eastern.

As the Ol’ Ball Coach prepares for his 5th season as the top cock-of-the-walk, he does so with the expectations of being “middle of the pack” in the SEC east. Visiting Raleigh to play the Wolfpack will not be the easiest feat, but the Gamecocks need this win. Without that momentum, it could be a very difficult following week with a trip to Athens, Georgia waiting on them.

Other games on Thursday night see North Dakota State visiting Gene Chizic’s former troops at Iowa State, and North Texas at up-and-coming Ball State (David Letterman gives a cheer from the Ed Sullivan Theater!)

And finally, for those who can’t sleep on Thursday night, don’t take a Tylenol PM. Just keep your television on ESPN, and at 10:15 pm EST you will see Oregon at Boise State. And before you snooze in your recliner, this may actually be the best game of the night. Oregon enters the game at #16, and Boise State enters at #14. There is a lot on the line for these two programs.

And just in case your double espresso of college football on Thursday night doesn’t get you through to Saturday’s big kickoff day, you can tune in to ESPN on Friday night and catch Gus Mulzahn’s former Tulsa team square off in the Big Easy against the Green Wave of Tulane. Friday night on Bourbon Street. Could it get any sweeter?

Saturday’s lineup looks like this:

For all you early-morning Bloody-Mary types:

12:00 Noon Eastern
Kentucky at Miami (Ohio) ESPNU
WKU at Tennessee SEC Network
Navy at Ohio State ESPN
Minn. at Syracuse ESPN2

1:00 PM Eastern
Jax State at Ga. Tech ESPN360

For the Tailgating crowd:

3:30 PM Eastern
Georgia at Okla. State ABC
Jackson St. at Miss. St ESPNU
Missouri at Illinois ESPN
Baylor at Wake Forest ESPN2

And finally, for the Dinner-Time night games:

7:00 PM Eastern
La. Tech at Auburn ESPNU
Mo. State at Arkansas ESPN360

8:00 PM Eastern
Alabama vs. Va. Tech ABC

10:00 PM Eastern
Maryland at California ESPN2

10:30 PM Eastern
LSU at Washington ESPN

So…hope you get enough college football next week…it’s the first full week. Don’t be like the little boy at the church dinner-on-the grounds, though. He ate so much that it made him sick. He never wanted to see another spread of food like that again. At least, until the next time.

WJLaneSR.