College Football: Week 1 Rankings and Schedule

Opening day of the 2013 college football season is upon us so I hope you’ve got a comfortable seat, plenty of snacks and a desire to watch some amazing football. I do. I have. I’m ready!

 Teams ranked in the top 25 are slated to play Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In addition, many of the other FBS schools will start their seasons this week. (My alma mater, Rutgers, plays Fresno State on Thursday night at 10:30 PM EDT. RU is something like 77^th and Fresno State 26^th in the CBSSports Preseason 126 Poll.) Only a few will be idle this week.

Alabama comes in as the reigning national champs and are picked to go the distance again this season, the final year of the BCS Championship. (Yeah, next year there be playoffs!) However, first they have to win a few games and nobody gives you anything…especially in the SEC.  

The numbers on the left are the rankings in the Associated Press Poll, Coaches’ Poll and CBSSports Poll. NR means the team is “Not Ranked” in that particular poll.

1/1/1 Alabama The Crimson Tide hosts the Virginia Tech Hokies Saturday, August 31^st . Look for the Tide to roll.

2/2/2 Ohio State After spending last year in limbo while wracking up an impressive won-loss record, the Buckeyes are again eligible for a championship. They start by playing host to the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday, August 31^st. Could, no, WILL be a long day for the Bulls.

3/3/4 Oregon has the weekend off. The Ducks open their season Saturday September 7^th at Virginia.

4/4/3 Stanford has the weekend off. The Cardinal begin play at home against San Jose State on Saturday September 7^th.

5/5/5 Georgia The Bulldogs play at the home of the #8 Clemson Tigers on Saturday August 31^st. This could be an interesting game, but the home field advantage goes to Georgia and the Bulldogs win a shootout.

6/7/7t South Carolina The Gamecocks host the University of North Carolina Tar Heels Thursday night August 29^th. The South will rise again!

7/6/7t Texas A&M The Aggies host the Rice Owls on Saturday August 31^st. Aggies, regardless of who is the QB, will win this but there will be lots of scoring by both sides.

8/8/6 Clemson The Tigers play host to the #5 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday August 31^st. Sorry Tigers. If it were at Clemson it might be a different story.

9/9/9 Louisville The Cardinals host Ohio University Bobcats on Sunday September 1^st. Teddy Bridgewater will have a Big Day to start the year…and the Heisman talk gets louder.

10/10/10 Florida The Gators host the Toledo Rockets on Saturday August 31^st. Gators chomp.

11/12/11 Florida State The Seminoles go on the road to play the Pittsburgh Panthers on Monday September 2^nd. It’s on the road. The first official ACC game for Pitt. Savage is the quarterback. Anything could happen but the Panthers need a ground game. If they find it….

12/13/12 LSU The Tigers play at the home of the #20 TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday August 31^st. The Tigers are always tough but they better come ready to play some defense. LSU in a shootout.

13/14/13 Oklahoma State The Cowboys host the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday August 31^st. OSU will tame the Bulldogs.

14/11/16 Notre Dame The Irish host the Temple Owls on Saturday August 31^st. It wasn’t wise of the Owls to book this game. Especially in South Bend.

15/15/14 Texas The Longhorns host the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday August 31^st. The Aggies are no match for the Longhorns. There will be lots of scoring. All by Texas.

16/16/15 Oklahoma The Sooners host the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Saturday August 31^st. The Sooners should have an easy time in this one.

17/17/17 Michigan The Wolverines host the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday August 31^st. Wolverines! By at least 21.

18/18/18 Nebraska The Cornhuskers host the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday August 31^st. Another mismatch that will see Nebraska score big and get their supporters talking Big 10 Championship. (Sorry folks. That won’t happen.)

19/19/21 Boise State The Broncos head west to play at the home of the Washington Huskies on Saturday August 31^st. Broncos win this one in entertaining fashion…if you’re a Boise fan.

20/20/20 TCU The Horned Frogs host the #12 LSU Tigers on Saturday August 31^st. It will be high scoring but the Frogs will come up short.

21/21/22 UCLA The Bruins host the Nevada Wolfpack on Saturday August 31^st. Nevada will run, run, run but the Bruins will score, score, score.

22/22/NR Northwestern The Wildcats play on the coast against the California Golden Bears on Saturday August 31^st. The Wildcats will be the visitors, but they will also be the victors.

23/23/NR Wisconsin The Badgers host the Minutemen of Massachusetts on Saturday August 31^st. Well, UMass wanted to move up and play with the big boys. Be careful what you wish for. Badgers by a lot.

24/24/24 USC The Trojans head over the Pacific to play the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii on Thursday August 29^th. Who will play QB for the Trojans? Does it matter? Hawaii has lost its luster the last couple of years. They will also lose this game. USC by at least 21.

25/25/NR Oregon State Beavers have the weekend off. They begin play at Hawaii on Saturday September 7^th.

NR/NR/19 Baylor. The Bears open the season against Wofford on Saturday August 31^st. Bears win big.

NR/NR/23 Miami The Hurricane host the FAU Owls on Friday night. Intra-state games can be interesting. The Hurricane, however, will blow away FAU.

NR/NR/25 Ole Miss The Rebels play on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thursday night. The Rebels should pull out the victory even on the road, but the Commodores will make it a fight.