Yes, this is being posted late. I was out until the early morn Fri. night and didn't have a chance to get this posted before now.
Early Games:
*** Temple (1-2) at Penn State (3-0) - The Nittany Lions are in the Big T(el)e(ve)n and the Owls are in the MAC, but I kinda feel like this game should count in the Big East standings, since both schools have Big East roots.
***Iowa (3-0) at Pittsburgh (1-1) - The Hawkeyes make their first trip to "the Pitts" since 1952. They may get some inadvertent support from the home fans, since their uniforms look so much like those of the Pittsburgh's beloved Steelers (pro football team).
This game is significant, schedule-wise, because it's a rare Iowa vs Big East matchup. Iowa's schedulers seem to have historically looked west to Arizona and south to Texas when they booked nonconference games against non-Midwestern teams. The Hawkeyes played a home-and-home with Syracuse over the 2006-2007 seasons, but prior to that, their last Big East foe was Miami-Florida in 1992. Indeed, Syracuse (last vs. in 2007), Cincinnati (1990) and Pittsburgh (1952) are the ONLY schools in the current Big East football roster that Iowa has EVER played against.
***Ohio (0-3) at Northwestern (3-0) - Normally, an 0-3 team wouldn't be expected to pose much threat playing on the road at a 3-0 team, but Frank Solich's Bobcats have played three quality teams, been in every game to the end, and very nearly stole a victory at the Horseshoe in Columbus, OH! They may be the best 0-3 team in the country. Meanwhile, NU has played three cupcakes and struggled with every one. This could get interesting.
***Mississippi State (1-2) at Georgia Tech (2-1) - The Bulldogs try to rebound from their embarassing 3-2 home loss to Auburn last week as they face coach Paul Johnson's triple-option Yellowjacket offense in Atlanta. Though GaTech routinely includes SEC teams on their schedule (indeed, they were in the SEC until 1963), this is the Ramblin' Wreck's first matchup w/ MSU since 1929! That's especially remarkable since MissSt & GaTech were in the same conference for 31 years (1933-63)!
***Troy (2-0) at Ohio State (2-1) - The Buckeyes might find these Trojans only slightly easier to beat then last week's squad; Troy is unbeaten w/ a win over the same Middle Tennessee State crew that gave Kentucky a tough game last week and beat Maryland the week before that.
***SC State (2-1) at Clemson (2-1) - Hard to believe this is the first-ever meeting between these two. Considering that the Tigers have already whipped the Citadel & close the season with South Carolina, a win here could put them on the path to the undisputed state championship!
Mid-Day Games:
***Northeastern (0-2) at Syracuse (0-3) - The Orangemen, having already been crushed 30-10 by Northwestern, now try their hand against a school from the other direction.
***Boise State (2-0) at Oregon (3-0) - The Broncos get their first test of the season in their first-ever matchup against the Mighty Ducks of Oregon.
Evening Games:
***Wake Forest (2-0) at Florida State (2-0) - For any fan who has followed college football for a number of years, it has to boggle the mind that undefeated Florida State would be an unpopular pick at home against Wake Forest, but that is where we find ourselves. Against the backdrop of history, it is also remarkable to consider that none of the true underclassmen (freshman, sophomores and juniors) on the Florida State team has ever beaten Wake Forest. Still, the as-yet untested Seminoles will indeed be trying to erase today the memory of the 30-0 loss that the Demon Deacons inflicted upon them in their last trip to Tallahasee in 2006.
***Vanderbilt (3-0) at Ole Miss (2-1) - Given the toughness of the SEC schedule, both teams need this win to have a decent shot at getting the 6 victories necessary to qualify for a post-season bowl game.
***LSU (2-0) at Auburn (3-0) - The annual king-maker game for the SEC West. Though LSU has won two BCS championships in the last 5 years, they have struggled each year with Auburn in this Tiger vs Tiger battle. Since 2000, the series is tied at 4-4 with the combined scoring also tied, at 144-144. For its part, Auburn has to feel overlooked nationally; they went 33-5 overall from 2004-2006, but are not typically included in the national championship conversation and are often overshadowed by the bigger name SEC programs at LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee & Florida.
***Georgia (3-0) at Arizona State (2-1) - In addition to being an early matchup of quality teams, a big challenge for each participant, and an important strength-of-schedule measuring stick for all Pac-10 & SEC teams, this game is remarkable because Georgia is playing a game in Arizona!! Folks, the Bulldogs do not travel. Typically all their non-conference games are either at home or against in-state rival Georgia Tech! The last time Georgia played a regular season game in the Western Time Zone since losing at USC in 1960! But forget about the West, Georgia hasn't scheduled a game outside of the SEC area (AR, LA, MS, AL, KY, TN, GA, SC) since a trip to Miami in 1966!!! And if you count Miami as Southeast, then it goes back to 1965 when the Bulldogs played games at North Carolina and Michigan!
***Fresno State (1-1) at Toledo (1-1) - Battle for bragging rights in this WAC-MAC matchup. The Bulldogs first trip to the Eastern Time Zone since opening the 2003 season at Tennessee in Knoxville.
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