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I just heard a funny joke (kind of) at work.

The strongest conference in football is the AFC, then the SEC, then the NFC.

Well folks, it's that time of year again!

Fall is in the air and so are the rabid cheers of college football fans everywhere. In keeping with Legion World tradition, it's time to dust off the depth charts and start making predictions on the outcome of this weekends games.

Usually KP does this but it looks like he's been busy so I will gladly stand in for him this first week and post the list of "LegionWorld GameWeek Games of the Week - Week 1"

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As usual the first week brings us a number of easy games for top tier teams. Rarely do the big name colleges open the season with anyone expected to challenge them. These are normally tune up games at best, but here are the ten games this week that I found to be the most intriguing...

VA Tech @ East Carolina
USC @ Virginia
Michigan State @ Cal
Akron @ Wisconsin
Alabama @ Clemson
Washington @ Oregon
Utah @ Michigan
Illinois @ Missouri
Kentucky @ Louisville (Sunday)
Tennessee @ UCLA (Monday)

So post your predictions, strike up the band, grab a beer, and let the College Football season begin!

VA Tech @ East Carolina ~ The Pirates have been improving the last few years and may well be ready to surprise the Hokies in the season opener. Vee's pick - E. Carolina comes close but VA Tech squeaks by and wins!

USC @ Virginia ~ Don't think The Cavaliers have enough to stop USC - Vee's pick Virginia

Michigan State @ Cal~ California proved last year that they can compete at the top level. This will be an interesting test to see if that carries over to this year. Vee's pick - Cal

Akron @ Wisconsin ~ The Zips finally get their win against a Big 10 team! Vee's pick for the upset of the weekend - Akron wins

Alabama @ Clemson ~ Two evenly matched teams but Alabama will be worrying about Gustav. Vee's pick - Clemson in a close one.

Washington @ Oregon ~ The Ducks are without their starting QB but they're at home and I don't see the Huskies having what it takes to beat them there. Vee's pick - Oregon

Utah @ Michigan ~ The Rodriguez era debuts in Ann Arbor. Will it be a better start than last year for the Wolverines? The Utes best hope lies in their tough defense. Vee's pick - Michigan prevails in a tough game at Ann Arbor.

Illinois @ Missouri ~ This game will be under the radar for most people but could well be the best game of the weekend. Both these teams have gotten extremely good and promise to perform again this year. Vee's pick - Mizzou

Kentucky @ Louisville (Sunday) ~ Kentucky was one of the surprise teams last year but they have a lot of rebuilding to do this year. On the flip side, Louisville was one of the most disappointing teams last year and are chomping at the bit to regain respect. Vee's pick - Louisville

Tennessee @ UCLA (Monday) ~ Good game to wrap up the long weekend. UCLA has lots of injuries, including their top two QBs but their defense is still tops. Tennessee is always powerful and ready to compete. Vee's pick - Tennessee outlast the Bruins for the win.

VA Tech
USC
Cal
Wisconsin
Clemson
Oregon
Utah
Missouri
Louisville
Tennessee

WooooooHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

College Football is here! At last, at last, a real American sport now that baseball basically sucks these days! I'm thrilled beyond belief!

Unfortunately, my life these next few weeks dictates I'll hardly have a chance to post predictions for the first month+ of the season, but that doesn't mean a loudmouth like me won't weigh in

First, I'll say it: Notre Dame and Charlie, these season is a MUST. Make or break time. C'mon boys.

Second: Uconn, looking peeeeer-itty damn good on Thursday. I expect even better things than last year as the program continues to grow each year. Of course, they did play Hofstra (who?).

Now, College Gameday in Georgia! Woooh, I wonder if Kippers or Lardy is there? They should be! High five Fowler for me!

So that brings us to perhaps the biggest game of the week (well, no perhaps, it is the biggest): Alabama vs. Clemson. Alabama looks solid, very strong this season, and Clemson does too. Clemson came out ranked quite a bit higher but I don't think they're that much more deserving of a higher position--of course, that all remains to be seen. So...Kipper's team vs. Lardy's team...what's tough is that no matter what a very good team begins immediately with a loss. Ballsy, but not a good start.

Also, I saw Kirk Herbstreit mention Wake Forest as being a team that no one expects to be good but likely will be. I was one of those people he was talking about, since I only really think of them as a basketball school. I found it interesting...something I want to keep an eye on this season.

I also got to go to the Heisman Trophy Dinner last year in NYC, so I'm a bit jaded towards liking Tim Tebow. They should have an easy rout over Hawaii today anyway (who I thought was totally overrated last year).

Sooo, I will give my picks this week. I will also take a long look at Vee's picks and use all of his knowledge of college football (which I bow to) when I see my friends later tonight and continue to look like the most savvy college football fan in Southern Connecticut Sometimes I may make comments but not always:

• Virginia Tech
• USC - I don't really think they deserve to be ranked 3 yet, but I do think they'll win here.
• California, though I always like the Spartans in these sort of close games. Having it at Cal will give them the slight advantage.
• Wisconsin
• Do or die time on the first game of the season: Alabama
• Washington, but it will be close
• Michigan - I kind of like the 'new' Michigan right now. I do think there will be some serious bumps in the road this season, just not here.
• Missouri - I agree with Vee, this will be one hell of a game. Missouri had a good season last year and they basically have most of their great players back. I expect them to be a solid team all year long.
• Louisville - too much to prove after last year's dissapointment
• Tenessee

Well, this season has already provided some surprises! I certainly had an abysmal start to the season. I should have gone with my gut on at least two of these games (VA Tech v ECU & Utah v Michigan) which I really thought could go the other way and I don't know what possessed me to type "Virginia" instead USC since that was my intent. Guess I have to start posting my predictions at a more reasonable hour than 6 am!

Here are the results:

Lard Lad 60% (6-4)
Cobie 50% (5-5)
Vee 30% (3-7)

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The less said about it the better where I'm concerned so let's take a look at what we have on the burner for Week 2! Be sure to place your bets by Friday night!

Arizona State v Stanford (at ASU)
Auburn v Southern Miss (at Auburn)
Boston College v Georgia Tech (at BC)
BYU v Washington (at WU)
Connecticut v Temple (at Temple)
Miami (FL) v Florida (at Florida)
Northwestern v Duke (at Duke)
Wake Forest v Mississippi (at Wake Forest)
West Virginia v East Carolina (at WCU)
Univ of South Florida v Univ of Central Florida (at UCF)

Arizona State
Auburn
Boston College
Washington
Temple
Florida
Northwestern
Mississippi
East Carolina
Univ of South Florida

Don't know much about Football,I'm a Basketball fan myself,but I think Kentucky is on the way up,while Louisville is on the way down,Louisville had a kentucky highschool player as their guest at the game and when it was over he did commit only to the University of Kentucky,Kentucky has got 19 commits for next year, two of them being 4 star Quarterbacks,and Louisville has only got 6 commits total for next year.
Maybe the Wildcats will get some love next year in Football,but I rather their Basketball team return to glory.

Welcome aboard LWL! Always fun to have more people take part in the LW Gridiron Guessing Game!

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Stanford v Arizona State ~ Were the game at Stanford as I had originally seen it listed I think this would have been a close game. With it at ASU, I think ASU is an easy winner. Vee's pick ~ ASU

Auburn v Southern Miss (at Auburn) ~ Southern Miss has been down the past few years and I don't see them rising to this occasion. Vee's pick ~ Auburn

Boston College v Georgia Tech (at BC) ~ BC's defense was tremendous this year and on paper appears to be even better this year but they had some troubles against Kent State's option offense. GT's new coach has brought the option to the Yellowjackets this year and it should prove more of a challenge to BC. Even so, I think the Eagles prevail at home. Vee's pick ~ BC

BYU v Washington (at WU) ~ BYU bring the nation's longest winning streak (11) to battle against Washington and embattled coach Tyrone Willingham. If the Huskies don't pull off a win, I suspect Coach Willingham 's days are numbered. Vee's pick ~ BYU

Connecticut v Temple (at Temple) ~ While I think the west coast Huskies are in for a tough weekend against BYU, Cobie's Huskies should be able to handle Temple although the odds for the game only show a 7 point spread. Vee's pick ~ UConn

Miami (FL) v Florida (at Florida) ~ MIami is my team. Always has been, always will be. But the Canes' QB situation is a bit unsettled and no one ever has an easy time of it in the Swamp at Gainesville even though the Canes have a 6 game winning streak against the Gators. I wish this game were later in the season, but in week 2 I'm afraid we won't be ready to pull this one off. Vee's (very grudging) pick ~ Florida.

Northwestern v Duke (at Duke) ~ Duke ended their nation's longest 22 game losing streak against Northwestern last year and they face them this year at home. Can they pull off the upset 2 years in a row? I don't think so Northwestern will be chomping at the bit for revenge. Vee's pick ~ Northwestern.

Wake Forest v Mississippi (at Wake Forest) ~ Wake Forest has quietly turned into a very powerful team though they remain under the radar for most. Riley Skinner remains one of the top Qbs in college ball in my opinion. He could lead just about any team to success. And the Demon Deacons are starting to look like a very good team. Can the Rebels under first year coach Houston Nutt hold them off and maintain the SEC dominance over the ACC? I don't believe so. Vee's pick ~ Wake Forest.

West Virginia v East Carolina (at ECU) ~ ECU stunned the college football world last week when they beat VA Tech with their special teams play, a hallmark of Frank Beamer's Hokie teams. This week, the Pirates look to earn even more respect by taking down the Mountaineers. This will be one of the must watch games of the weekend in my opinion. Vee's pick ~ WVU in a squeaker.

Univ of South Florida v Univ of Central Florida (at UCF) ~ Both of these teams exploded onto the national scene last year (as I predicted ) and this was developing into a pretty good rivalry, though the series ends this year and apparently it will not be resumed. USF & UCF have parallel histories in their football programs and both are on the threshold of well deserved national prominence. Vee's pick ~ USF

(I'm surprised you didn't include Carolina at Vandy, Vee!)

Arizona State
Auburn
Boston College
BYU
Connecticut
Florida
Northwestern
Wake Forest
West Virginia
Univ of South Florida

Turns out my picks mirror yours, Vee. Not intentional--just going with the gut.

I would have but it was the Thursday night game and I wanted to give everyone more time to post their predictions. BTW, Vandy beat SC 24-17 so I would have gotten that one wrong!

Me too. Man, are Clemson and Carolina BOTH gonna suck this year?!?!?

There were some great games this past weekend! East Carolina has now defeated two top 20 teams in a row (VA Tech and West Virginia) Good call on that one LWL! Here are this weeks results and the season averages.

Lard Lad 8-2 80% this week
LWL 7-3 70% this week
Vee 8-2 80% this week

Season averages:

Lard Lad 14 of 20 = 70% overall
LWL 7 of 10 = 70% overall
Vee 11 of 20 = 55%
Cobie 5 of 10 = 50% overall

I'll try to post this week's games tonight so keep your eyes open!

Here are the ten games for this week. Please note that there is a Thursday night game as well as a Friday night game so your picks must be posted no later than 7 pm eastern time on Thursday for them to be counted.

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Bowling Green v Boise State (at Boise State)
Clemson v NC State (at Clemson)
Georgia v South Carolina (at South Carolina)
Houston v Air Force (at Houston)
Notre Dame v Michigan (at Notre Dame)
Oregon v Purdue (at Purdue)
Rutgers v North Carolina (at Rutgers Thursday Night)
South Florida v Kansas (at USF Friday Night)
USC v Ohio State (at USC)
VA Tech v Georgia Tech (at VA Tech)

Good luck to everyone!

PS: Cobie I know you're heading out on Thursday so make sure you get your picks in this week before you go!

Vee, can you notate which team is the home team in each game?

Done, see above

kk, my picks are below with some comments in some cases...

Bowling Green v Boise State (at Boise State) ~ The Boise State Broncos have been slowly making a name for themselves on the college football scene over the past few years and they've developed into a solid program. At home they are almost unstoppable. The Falcons on the other hand have really been a regional program for many years, always overshadowed by the teams at Ohio State and Cincinnati. However they started this year by upsetting the Pitt Panthers in the opener and played tough against Minnesota last week for the first three quarters before letting the game get away from them. This should be a great game but the home field will claim another victim. Vee's pick ~ Boise State

Clemson v NC State (at Clemson) ~ The Clemson Tigers were predicted by many to challenge for the ACC championship again this year but they got clobbered in their opener against Alabama. NC State also took a beating in their opener against South Carolina but they didn't rebound nearly as well against 1AA William & Mary. With the game at Clemson and too many injuries already populating the Wolfpack sidelines this should be an easy pick. Vee's pick ~ Clemson

Georgia v South Carolina (at South Carolina) ~ Georgia comes into the game as the number 2 team in the country but so far they've faced only token opposition from the likes of Central Michigan & Georgia Southern. The gamecocks on the other hand have split their first two games but those were against NC State and Vanderbilt. Georgia needs to be focused and not let the rankings go to their heads because you can never look past a Spurrier coached team. Vee's pick ~ this one concerns me a little but I think Georgia will triumph.

Houston v Air Force (at Houston) ~ If Air Force hopes to challenge for the Mountain West championship against the likes of BYU and Utah, they need to put away a team like the Houston Cougars easily. Houston has good players at all the skill positions but they can't seem to pull it together. Last week they were error prone while Air Force's defense was dominant and forced a few turnovers. Vee's pick ~ Air Force in a close one at Houston

Notre Dame v Michigan (at Notre Dame) ~ Things could get ugly for Rich Rodriguez' Wolverines this Saturday. After a stunning loss to Utah in the opener, they barely managed to beat Miami of Ohio last Saturday in game that left many questions unanswered. Notre Dame on the other hand has only played one game and that was a very ugly win against San Diego State. This going to be one of those games that will either be spectacular or dreadful ( and could be a little of both!) The pors say that Michigan will win this one by 1 point...Vee's pick ~ Notre Dame prevails at home.

Oregon v Purdue (at Purdue) ~ This could easily be the blow out of the week. Purdue has played on one game ... against 1AA Northern Colorado and it was only a mediocre effort even though it was a 42-10 victory. Oregon continues to be one of the best teams from out west and should have an easy time of it against the Boilermakers. Vee's pick ~ Oregon.

Rutgers v North Carolina (at Rutgers Thursday Night) ~ After last years amazing season, Rutgers seems to have lost all it's luster. Maybe they were just a flash in pan. True, they no longer have Ray Rice but they seem to have lost a great deal more than one gifted running back. North Carolina has also looked a bit week even though their only game was an opening weekend victory agaisnt McNeese State. This one could get ugly. Vee's pick ~ Rutgers because of home field

South Florida v Kansas (at USF Friday Night) ~ Thsi could easily be one of the best games of the weekend. South Florida and Kansas are both coming off of terrific seasons. The Bulls earned a hard fought OT victory against cross state rival Central Florida last Saturday while Kansas was beating up on Louisiana Tech. Kansas is currently ranked 13th and South Florida is at 17 so make sure to be on the couch Friday for what promises to be a fun contest! Vee's pick ~ South Florida prevails in the heat and humidity of Tampa.

USC v Ohio State (at USC) ~ As usual I find myself wondering whether these two teams deserve their ranking (USC is #1 and OSU is #3) or had it handed to them because of their rep. While USC easily defeated Virginia, the Cavaliers had lost most of their defense from last year and are not really expected to compete in the ACC. OSU easily handled Youngstown but had a nightmarish three quarters against The University of Ohio and squeaked out an embarrassing 26-14 win last Saturday. However, the Buckeyes get star tailback Beanie Wells back (hopefully) for this game and I think they'll really need him to stay in it. Vee's pick ~ USC

VA Tech v Georgia Tech (at VA Tech) ~ After losing to East Carolina in the opener and struggling against Furman last week, VA Tech must be wondering what's happening. They better get it figured out fast because a pretty tough Georgia Tech team is coming to town after beating Boston College last Saturday. With the unsettled situation at QB, the Hokies could be in for trouble but the game is at home for the Hokies. Vee's pick ~ Virginia over Georgia in the War of the Techies (but just barely)

Boise State
Clemson
South Carolina
Air Force
Michigan
Oregon
Rutgers
South Florida
USC
VA Tech

[Vee, I just got home and haven't seen any scores for the Rutgers/NC game yet. So I have no idea who won as I post. It's up to you whether you want to count it in my record either way]

Boise State (Is BG supposed to be any good or something?!?!)

Clemson (we need this one if there's ANY hope!!!)

Georgia ('less SC gets it's act together, gonna be a looong year for them in the rugged SEC)

Air Force (they had the Cinderella year last year, right?)

Notre Dame (both are probably pretty bad, but I'll give ND the home edge)

Oregon (assuming they're still good this year)

Rutgers (NC looking to build their program another notch; Rutgers in rebuilding mode--I'll give Rutgers and their great coach the edge at home)

South Florida (2 of last season's darlings--I think USF's simply more physical; that and home field get the edge)

USC (I personally don't think it'll be close)

Georgia Tech (GT's got some mojo going, while VT seems to be losing theirs)


So--toughest week of picks so far, IMO. Honestly, I feel there's a chance I could go 0-10!

Damn, Vee! I intentionally avoided reading your post after having duplicated your picks last week, and we're STILL identical--with the exception of the battle of the Techs!

Great minds...?

Whoaaaa! NC creams Rutgers! (guess y'all KNOW I didn't cheat, now! )

Guess we're all 0-1 to start off the week!

I did say this one could get ugly...it did!

Boise State - have I mentioned enough over the years that I love this program? I probably will for life now because of 2 years ago.

Clemson - for Lardy

Georgia

Air Force

Notre Dame - of course! C'mon Irish! Long overdue for kicking Michigan's ass!

Oregon - surprised me thus far, won't let that happen again

Er, North Carolina?? Go ahead and don't count me for this one. I probably would have picked Rutgers because I'm biased and can't help myself when it comes to being logical.

Kansas - even though its in Florida, and everything tells me I'm being stupid, I can't help but feel Kansas has a better team here. This may be one that comes back to bite me on the ass, but either way, it should be a hell of a game, probably even better than OSU/USC.

USC - This should be one hell of a game, but I really think USC will hand it to them. Not really a fan of either program.

Virginia Tech

I feel bad for UCLA... Mormowned!

As for OSU, all I can say is... exposed!

I'll get the results from last week posted later today but here are the games for next week so you can start contemplating your picks.

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West Virginia v Colorado (at Boulder) THURS NIGHT
Arizona v UCLA (at UCLA)
Alabama v Arkansas (at Arkansas)
Florida v Tennessee (at Tenn)
Florida St v Wake Forest (at FSU)
LSU v Auburn (at Auburn)
Miami v Texas A&M (at A&M)
Michigan St v Notre Dame (at Mich St)
North Carolina v Virginia Tech (at NC)
Georgia v Arizona St (at ASU)

Grats to everyone for the great percentages this week. I thought they were tough picks all around.

Lard Lad went 8 & 2 again this week 80%
LWL went 7-3 this week 70%
Cobie went 8 & 1 this week 88%
Vee went 9 & 1 this week 90%

Season averages:
Lard Lad 22 of 30 73%
LWL 14 of 20 70%
Cobie 13 of 19 68%
Vee 20 of 30 66%

Make sure you get your pick in before the start of the Thursday night game (8:30 pm eastern time)

Good luck every one!