Jay GreesonWelcome back, old friends. Tennessee and UT-Chattanooga started Thursday – and if each did not win comfortably, well, someone has some ‘splainin’ to do – and the rest of college football follows suit in a glorious five-day Labor Day weekend that has become one of the best season-opening celebrations in any sport.
Yes, the first four days of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament put the madness in March, but the first five days of this holiday week put the Grrrrr in great. Seriously, this is going to be awesome.
Football is back. Oh, blessed day. Here are four things we are watching for:
1. Millionaires in the making. Around the Southeastern Conference there are several high-profile games against nonconference foes that deservedly are drawing a ton of national attention. Within those games there are multiple amazing man-to-man matchups. (How about that alliteration?) Watching USC corner Adoree’ Jackson against Alabama wideout Calvin Ridley one on one will be a treat. Watching potential No. 1 overall picks in UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and Clemson QB Deshaun Watson get pressure from future NFL pass rushers Myles Garrett and Carl Lawson will be entertaining. How Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly does against an NFL-littered FSU secondary also will be awesome Monday night. Good times.
2. Lane Kiffin’s present against his past. Some have called Alabama-USC the Lane Kiffin Bowl, and it’s easy to see why. But amid all the flash and the controversy and the hollow words and sullied reputation that comes with the Joey Freshwater rumors, Kiffin really is an excellent offensive coordinator who has had had great success bringing along new quarterbacks the past two years. Will the Crimson Tide, who have yet to name a starter at QB, pick up right where they left off? That seems unlikely, but Kiffin has a way of maximizing his strengths, which likely will mean a lot of Ridley and tight end O.J. Howard early this season. Still, with a defense as skilled and athletic as the unit Alabama is tossing out this year, as long as Kiffin’s troops get to 20 points, everything else is grace.