2007 Schedule Planner - Week 5

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. 

There are some great matchups as we head into the final weekend of September, but some of the best action could very well come during the week as Thursday and Friday nights feature two intriguing contests, one of them being a great non-conference tilt between two non-BCS conferences and one from the Big East. But this weekend could ultimately belong to the Pac-10 which features two can't-miss games. 

BCS Buster of the Week

Thurs., Sept. 27 - Southern Miss at Boise State

Here's the great non-conference matchup between two of the perennial best non-BCS schools. Southern Miss did have a propensity to give up yards via the run last year which would play right into the hands of the Broncos, who will boast one of the best offensive lines in the country this year. But the Golden Eagles are bringing back three starters from that defensive line so improvement should be expected up front. You can't underline the battle between Damion Fletcher and Ian Johnson enough.  

Games of the Week

Fri., Sept. 28 - West Virginia at South Florida

The first high-profile Big East matchup of the season pits two of the top four teams in the conference. Remember back to last season and how USF pulled off the upset over West Virginia late last year.The Bulls were five-point winners that afternoon in Morgantown because USF did the unthinkable - they held Steve Slaton and Pat White in check. West Virginia ran for only 132 yards that afternoon, roughly half its average. A good majority of that defensive unit is back for the Bulls, including what could be the Big East's best secondary, meaning don't put it past USF to hold White and Slaton down again, and win another big game.

Sat., Sept. 29 - Alabama at Florida State (Jacksonville)

The Seminoles welcome Nick Saban back to the state of Florida for a meeting in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium - formerly Alltel. The two schools haven't played since 1974 so a neutral site is only fitting for two of the South's most popular - and successful - programs to get together again. And here are two teams who will feature vastly different coaching staffs this fall. Saban obviously came aboard the Crimson Tide and brought in Major Applewhite to be his offensive coordinator while Bobby Bowden hired almost an entirely new group of offensive assistants as well as former N.C. State coach Chuck Amato on defense.

Sat., Sept. 29 - UCLA at Oregon State

Two programs who are middle-of-the-row teams in the Pac-10 meet in Corvallis, but they're two very good teams nonetheless - both teams have Top 25 talent on their rosters. Can Oregon State get to recently crowned UCLA starting quarterback Ben Olson? You'd figure so if the Beavers want to win. They led the nation in sacks last season but in their matchup against the Bruins then, the tables were turned as UCLA sacked Oregon State five times in a 25-7 win in Pasadena. 

Heisman Showcase of the Week

Sat., Sept. 29 - California at Oregon

The man who needs to get more pub heading into this year's Heisman campaign is DeSean Jackson. The insanely talented Bears wide receiver who can run right by a defender in the blink of an eye is arguably the nation's best punt returner to boot. The junior torched the Ducks for two touchdowns in last year's 45-24 Cal victory that saw him score on a 36-yard pass from Nate Longshore and a 65-yard punt return.  No receiver has won the Heisman since 1991 and the winner that year was, of course, Desmond Howard, who also just happened to have a knack for returning kicks.  

Rivalry of the Week

Sat., Sept. 29 - Auburn at Florida

The only team to hand the Gators a loss last season? It was Auburn and the Tigers did it with defense at home thanks to a blocked punt, a fumble and an interception. The inspired defensive play in the second half propelled the Tigers to the upset win over the then No. 2 Gators. Auburn's going to have another stacked defense this season, especially with Quentin Groves back for his senior season and never under estimate Tommy Tuberville. The Tigers coach has more SEC wins the past six seasons than any other coach in the conference.