2007 Schedule Planner: Week 1

Tennessee-Cal featured game of college football's first week of season

May 24, 2007

By Adam Caparell

CSTV.com

	ADAM CAPARELL Adam is CSTV.com's football editor and national football writer. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 01/23: Feeling It 01/18: Post-Bowl, Pre-Spring 2008 Preseason Top 25 01/11: Late Season Run Priming Dawgs For '08 01/07: Ring A Bell? 01/04: Tressel's Hopefully Prepared For Anything 12/21: Hokies Have Something To Play For 12/14: Name Game 12/8: Little Surprise Tebow Takes Heisman 12/8: Back For More 12/7: Class Act 12/6: Flutie's Legacy Still The 'Miracle' 12/4: Dixon Can Still Smile 12/2: Wishful Thinking 11/30: Daniel Driving Missouri On BCS Run 11/28: 'Game' Still Largely Defines Beban 11/23: Long Time Coming 11/21: Bandstanding Brown 11/16: Georgia In The Know 11/14: Only Eddie Held Eddie Back 11/9: Soft Schedule Could Have Hawai'i BCS Bound 11/7: The 'Bear' And Crow 11/2: No Secret To Oregon's Success 10/31: Age Only A Number 10/26: Nittany Lions Know It's Got To Be Close 10/24: In Long Line, White Continued Tradition 10/19: Trojans In Unfamiliar Territory 10/17: Rogers Larger Than Life 10/12: Missouri The Machine 10/10: The Jet Likes To Run 10/5: Meyer's Seen This Before 10/4: Polled Over 10/3: Long On Memories 9/28: Season Begins For Dixon And Ducks Saturday 9/26: Desmond The Poser 9/21: Spurrier's Being Honest 9/19: All In The Family With Rozier 9/14: USC Ready For Another Early Road Test 9/12: Detmer's Magic Won Him Heisman 9/7: 'Show' Time For Virginia Tech 9/5: Drive Drove Dorsett 8/31: Family Affair 8/29: Count On The Gamecocks To Hatch 8/28: Youth Gone Wild On Gator Defense 8/28: Talent Comes Naturally To Tigers 8/27: SEC Preview 8/27: All Hail Saban 8/25: No More Lazy Sundays 8/24: Illinois D Brimming With New Confidence 8/23: Big Ten Preview 8/23: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 14 8/22: Tee'd Off 8/16: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 13 8/15: Brohm's Back, And All Is Well 8/15: Coaches Split On Early Signing Period 8/14: Schiano's Success Starting to Show 8/13: Big East Preview 8/13: It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF 8/11: Production Time for Seminole Signal Callers 8/10: Shannon Looking To Return Swagger 8/10: Wake Up? 8/9: Atlantic Coast Conference Preview 8/9: Tough Turkeys, Once Again 8/9: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 12 8/8: Preseason Top 25 8/2: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 11 8/1: Big Ten Expansion Doesn't Make Sense 7/26: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 10 7/25: Beamer's Burden 7/19: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 9 7/18: Good Vibrations 7/12: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 6 7/11: Three and Up 7/4: And The Winner Is... 7/2: Where In The World Is Ed Smith? 6/28: SEC East's Big Weekend 6/27: Summer Bowl Forecast 6/21: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 5 6/20: Big 12 Loses Its Big Man 6/14: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 4 6/13: Trick Up His Sleeve 6/7: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 3 6/6: For the Record 5/31: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 2 5/30: Like Clockwork 5/24: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 1 5/23: Florida Freshmen Get Defensive 5/16: Maroon Affected 5/10: Brennan's A Numbers Guy 5/9: More Than Just One Play 5/2: Post-Spring, Pre-Preseason Top 25 4/27: Quinn's Fallen, But He'll Still Be Up There 4/26: Size Does Matter 4/25: Troy Smith Now Middle of Pack QB 4/24: Peterson Can't Wait For The Moment 4/21: QB Biggest Question Facing Buckeyes 4/21: Don't Forget About The D 4/20: Bowl Game A Boon For Bluegrass Boys 4/19: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall 4/18: New Coordinator, New Scheme, New Results? 4/18: Earlier The Better 4/17: It's Your Turn Offense 4/16: Spartans Hope Big Changes Go Long Way 4/14: Defense The Question Mark For Michigan 4/12: Height's Nothing But A Number 4/5: Two Much To Handle 3/28: More To Hill Than Just TDs 3/21: Down Could Mean Up For Delaware's Patrick 3/14: Changes In Store For Gill and Buffalo 3/7: Lurking In the Backgroung 2/28: What A Mock-ery 2/25: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same 2/24: Piscataway Proud 2/23: 40, For Better or Worse 2/22: The Ultimate Q and A 2/21: Combine's A Coming 2/14: Rights For Recruiting Wrongs 2/8: Recruiting No Joke For Coaches 2/6: Lemming Retrospect: Class of 2006 1/31: Coker In No Rush To Move On 1/30: Ross Bows Out, But Leaves His Mark At Army 1/26: Seniors With Something To Prove 1/25: Coaching For The League 1/24: Welcome To The Pros 1/17: Pre-Spring, Post-Bowl 2007 Preseason Top 25 1/10: Irish Have A Ways To Go 1/8: Siler and Gators After Something More 1/4: Russell Sweeter Than Sugar 1/3: Irish Out For Respect

Over the summer, CSTV.com will be taking a look at the college football schedule, highlighting the top matchups, the can't-miss games and the storylines that make certain contests so intriguing. Check in every Thursday for the heads-up on what games are shaping up to be the best each week, the top offensive matchups, Heisman showcases and a few others that have piqued our interest. 

After a long hibernation, college football officially returns on the first weekend of September - well, technically the last Thursday in August, but anyway you look at it, it's one long, long weekend of football. So you can expect the usual fanfare, anticipation and excitement as game time approaches, just don't expect a whole lot of fireworks. The scintillating matchups are still a week or two away as the majority of teams warm-up with an FCS sacrificial lamb. But while the weekend might lack quantity, it's not without quality.

Games of the Week

Thursday, Aug. 30 - LSU at Mississippi State

The season once again kicks off on a weeknight and the best game on the schedule comes from the nation's best conference: the SEC. The Bulldogs are clearly out-classed in this matchup, but it's still an intra-division meeting and early on in the season, you never know. LSU, will probably be No. 2 in the polls for this one. The Tigers haven't lost to the Bulldogs since 1999 - and they historically own them - but if you're going to lose, lose early.

Saturday, Sept. 1 - Wake Forest at Boston College

Can Wake repeat the success it had in 2006? Why not, as the Demon Deacons return a bevy of difference makers who Jim Grobe hopes can stay healthy this time around. If they are, then look out because Wake will compete for a second straight Atlantic Division title with Boston College, the cream of the division. These two teams faced off late last season with Wake winning it take first place in the division. This year, the game's just as important, only a whole lot earlier.

Saturday, Sept. 1 - Kansas State at Auburn

Stern test for the Wildcats in their opener as they start year two of the Ron Prince era at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It's going to be a difficult spot for K-State, with the Wildcats up against that Tigers defense and the Tigers faithful, but there's no better place for Josh Freeman to put that awful spring game performance behind him.

Monday, Sept. 3 - Florida State at Clemson

The Bowdon Bowl gets an early date this year as the traditional meeting - at least over the past few years - between FSU and Miami has been pushed back to late in the season after some complaining from both sides. Clemson's dynamic duo of C.J. Spiller and James Davis will be featured prominently on national television. We'll see if the Seminoles rushing defense, one of the nation's better units last year, is up to the early challenge. Let's hope for more offense in this Labor Day contest than last year's (182 yards combined).

BCS Buster Special of the Week

Saturday, Sept. 1 - Arizona at BYU

Aside from TCU, the Cougars are probably the only team in the MWC with legitimate BCS potential entering the season. They plan on being right there with the Horned Frogs for the conference title, but that's going to depend heavily on John Beck's successor. If Max Hall steps up, then the Cougars chances of earning an invite to a more prestigious bowl than the Poinsettia will be greatly improved and beating an improved Arizona team at home is an obvious must.

Heisman Showcase Game of the Week

Saturday, Sept. 1 - Tennessee at Cal

Think revenge is going to be on the mind of the Bears in this one? Cal was undressed in last year's season opener in Knoxville and Jeff Tedford and company would love nothing more than to return the favor. Both teams should be ranked in the Top 25 entering the game. Can Nate Longshore and the Bears offense exploit a Volunteers secondary that many consider to be rebuilding? This game has all the makings for a Tennessee undressing. Let's hope the Vols don't forget how to tackle like the Bears did in last year's game. The two other names to look out for in this one are the Bears' DeSean Jackson and the Vols' Erik Ainge.

Rivalry of the Week

Saturday, Sept. 1 - Colorado vs. Colorado State - Denver