With the opening week of the college football season behind us, and the BCS in danger of being busted, it’s once again time to take a look at the three biggest games to watch this week.
Note: Since the USA Today coaches poll factors into the BCS, all team rankings will be based on that.
No. 14 Penn State at No. 1 Alabama. The Tide will likely be without injured Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram in the backfield, but it’s not likely to matter. The Nittany Lions will have a freshman as quarterback and star running back Evan Royster didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard against Youngstown State. While a PSU win would be huge for the Big-10, it’s going to be a tall order to beat Nick Saban in Alabama.
No. 12 Miami (Fla.) at No. 2 Ohio State. If the ‘Canes want to prove they’re truly back, winning at the Horseshoe would be a great place to start. The Buckeyes shed some of their big-game jitters in the Rose Bowl last season, but that was also the year they lost at home in Week 2 to an underwhelming USC squad led by a freshman quarterback. Miami QB Jacory Harris isn’t going to be intimidated either. On the other side, Terrelle Pryor seems to have finally tapped into all his potential, so the Buckeyes figure to score more than the 15 points they put up against the Trojans last season.
No. 19 Georgia at No. 25 South Carolina. Navigating the minefield that is the SEC is never easy. Doing so without your top wide receiver? Good luck with that. The Bulldogs will be without the services of A.J Green for the next three weeks, but if they can somehow survive the loss of Green against the Gamecocks (and next week against Arkansas), they still have a shot at the SEC East title.