Of course, you plan to watch every game. But if you had to pick 10, might we suggest...

1. Ohio State at USC, Sept. 13: It's the game of the year, period. The winner is an immediate national title contender and the loser won't be eliminated. No game this season will even approach the defensive talent on the field. Mistakes will be critical in what figures to be a defensive struggle, so whichever QB handles the pressure better figures to be the deciding factor.

2. Oregon at USC, Oct. 4: Can the Ducks win two in a row vs. the Trojans and jump to the top of the Pac-10? It won't be easy on the road. But Oregon figures to offer USC a legitimate challenge. And, as we've mentioned before, it's sort of fun how Pete Carroll and Mike Bellotti appear to have a prickly relationship.

3. Oregon at Arizona State, Oct. 25: This one could be for the Holiday Bowl berth. Or perhaps, if USC plays for the national title, a Rose Bowl. Basically, the Ducks visit to Tempe likely decides who plays second fiddle to USC. The Sun Devils will be looking for revenge after last year's 12-point loss in Eugene, their first defeat in 2007 after an 8-0 start.

4. Georgia at Arizona State, Sept. 20: This is more a test for Georgia, which is the preseason No. 1 in both polls. The Bulldogs haven't traveled outside the Southeast in decades for a non-conference game, but it's worth noting they have been an outstanding road team in the SEC under coach Mark Richt. If the Sun Devils win, it would be a landmark victory announcing the program as a team headed for the elite.

5. Oregon at California, Nov. 1: These two played one of the best games of the 2007 season, and it again figures to have significant conference implications. When Cal won 31-24 at Oregon a year ago -- having already overwhelmed Tennessee -- the Bears looked like national title contenders. Then they lost six of their next seven. This time, the game is much later in the season.

6. UCLA at Washington, Nov. 15: It's unlikely this game will have any relevance in terms of who wins the Pac-10, but when Rick Neuheisel makes his first trip to Washington as UCLA's coach, it will be national news. Neuheisel was fired at Washington before the 2003 season and later settled for a $4.5 million payout from a lawsuit he filed against the school and NCAA. Many Huskies fans still blame Neuheisel for the tailspin the program has been in ever since.

7. Arizona State at California, Oct. 4: Arizona State's biggest win of 2007 in terms of perception was over California, and that shows the lack of big wins among the Sun Devils 10 victories because the Bears were at the time riding a two-game losing streak (it turned out the biggest win was a stunning comeback victory over Oregon State in the Pac-10 opener, but that's not the point here). It's possible that the loser here will fall out of the race for second place.

8. Notre Dame at Washington, Oct. 25: This game will register more away from the West Coast and with national Notre Dame fans. Still, the symbolism is clear. Willingham was controversially fired at Notre Dame. His replacement, Charlie Weis, was hailed early as a genius, given a huge contract and then led the Fighting Irish into their worst season in ages. Both coaches are on the hot seat, and Willingham probably needs to win this game in order to return in 2009 just because it's one of the weakest team the Huskies face.

9. USC at UCLA, Dec. 6: The first meeting between new UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel and the man he wants to challenge for LA supremacy, Pete Carroll. It looks like a mismatch on paper, but then again it also did in 2006 when the Bruins knocked the Trojans out of the national title hunt with a shocking 13-9 win.

10. Oregon State at Penn State, Sept. 6: The Beavers, who've won the third most games among Pac-10 teams over the past six years, don't think they get enough respect. Penn State and their fans probably aren't going to give them much, either. But if the Beavers go into Happy Valley and win, well, it will be hard not to immediately register them as a Pac-10 contender.

A few highlights....

Champs Sports Bowl ... Virginia vs. Illinois
Meineke Car Care Bowl ... Florida State vs. Pitt
Texas Bowl ... Colorado vs. Rutgers
PetroSun Independence Bowl ... Nebraska vs. Arkansas
Alamo Bowl ... Michigan State vs. Kansas
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl ... Texas vs. Oregon
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl ... Wake Forest vs. Alabama
Chick-fil-A Bowl ... Boston College vs. South Carolina
Outback Bowl ... Michigan vs. LSU
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl ... Miami vs. Notre Dame
Capital One Bowl ... Penn State vs. Auburn
AT&T Cotton Bowl ... Oklahoma vs. Tennessee

Rose Bowl presented by Citi ... Wisconsin vs. USC
CFN is basically rubber stamping the winner of USC - Ohio State into the National Championship game. From the outcome of this prediction, I guess CFN is throwing in with the Buckeyes. This one looks dead on to me, unless USC ends up in the championship game, then this one becomes tOSU against the Sun Devils.

Allstate Sugar Bowl ... Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
By putting the Bulldogs into the Sugar, CFN is calling the WLOCP the defacto SEC championship. Take that as you will, Georgia fans. Va Tech looks like the class of the ACC, but CFN pulls them into the Sugar as an at-large. If there's one conference that has proven itself to be way to whacked out to predict, it's the ACC. I think Georgia/Arkansas are safe SEC picks, but give me Clemson from the ACC side.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl ... Missouri vs. West Virginia
The Fiesta gets its traditional first pick of the at-large teams and takes the 'Eers. I'm not sure that Missouri will be the Big XII champs. CFN is hedging, with Texas Tech as their second choice, but... I wouldn't count out the Sooners... ever. I think Oklahoma - West Virginia makes more sense.

FedEx Orange Bowl ... Clemson vs. Texas Tech
If there is one prediction that I think is off the mark, it's CFN's prognostication for the Orange. I would be willing to take the field here at any odds, because I don't see a Tigers - Red Raiders matchup in Miami. I think the Hokies are the most likely candidate here for the ACC, versus an at-large team. For my prediction, give me VaTech (ACC Champs) versus Arizona State (at-large) or maybe even Utah (at-large).

FedEx BCS National Championship ... Ohio State vs. Florida
The Buckeyes and Gators in the National Championship game... where have we seen that before? This one is just as likely to be USC-Florida, which would probably be the highest rated college football game ever. If Florida gets to the BCS title game and wins, I think you will have seen the last of #15 in orange and blue. Just sayin'.

Comment on CFN posts its 2008 Bowl Game Predictions...

From The Wages of Wins Blog:

Gordon played 29 games before facing Penn State on Sunday.  When we look at Gordon across these games, we do see that his woeful shooting on Sunday was an anomaly.  Gordon’s adjusted field goal percentage is 54.2%, which is quite good.

Let me put Gordon’s shooting in perspective. The other top shooting guard who is expected to be available in the NBA draft is O.J. Mayo of USC.  Mayo’s adjusted field goal percentage is 53.0%, and again, that’s quite good.  Despite this performance, though, here is how Chad Ford describes Mayo at ESPN.com.

It’s clear Mayo’s going to be a great NBA scorer … but will he give a team anything else? 

When we compare Gordon and Mayo we see that the latter produces more - on a per-minute basis - rebounds, assists, and steals.  Mayo also commits fewer turnovers.  In sum, if we are concerned that Mayo isn’t going to give anything beyond scoring, shouldn’t we have the same concern about Gordon? And yet, in the mock drafts I have seen, Gordon is consistently rated as the better prospect (and Ford describes Gordon as a “do-it-all combo guard that is already lighting up the box score”)

The author goes on to use the "Win Score" to evaluate both prospects and concludes that both are surprisingly "below average".  I'm not sure what to make of the "Win Score" so I'm not going to try and comment on it, but going off of the quoted paragraph, isn't it surprising to see Chad Ford's comments running in near contrast to what actually transpired on the court?

I've already ranted about Chad Ford's analysis of O.J. once, but I'm starting to think it would be more effective to just document where these "experts" were ranking O.J. at the end of the season and just reveal it all on draft day.  Chad Ford currently has O.J. at #10 on his big board; anyone with a basketball IQ above 80 will tell you that is way too low.  I'd be willing to admit that there is a possibility my previous prediction of O.J. being a top 6 pick could be wrong, but there is no way I'd concede that O.J. will not be a top 9 pick - that is just bonkers!  Yes, every expert should be given a margin of error, but this isn't misevaluating a player, this is flat out IGNORANCE.

So why am I so confident that O.J. will be a top 9 pick guaranteed?  Because, as I've been saying for months, his game is far more suited for NBA ball.  O.J. thrives in isolation because he can get his shot off 99% of the time, has an excellent floater off the dribble (very hard to defend), NBA range, strong handles, and just an overall polished game from 17 feet and in.  The college game actually works against his style of play, because teams are able to run zone defenses leaning towards his side of the court or have one player front him.  NBA is much more wide open because the level of play from fellow teammates is higher; you never see those gimmicky defenses run in the NBA for more than a handful of sequences, if that.  When you add the fact that O.J. has carried himself well on-and-off the court shaking off the "me-first" tag and is underrated defensively, it's simple math.

Daniel Rees, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado Denver, reports his findings:

Our results suggest that the host community registers sharp increases in assaults, vandalism, arrests for disorderly conduct, and arrests for alcohol-related offenses on game days. Upsets are associated with the largest increases in the number of expected offenses. These estimates are discussed in the context of psychological theories of fan aggression.

In other words, the arson arrests in Columbus after the BCS game were expected (yet again).

...assaults increase by about 9% when a community hosts a college football game, vandalism increases by about 18%, and DUIs increase by about 13%.

Yikes! Somebody call Fanblogs commenter 40 Acres of Burnt Orange!

The report does uncover that the outcome of the game greatly impacts the level of violence - which helps to counter the argument that the troublemakers are just some angry out-of-towners. The closeness of the game also has a factor on the level of violence:

"...expected assaults increase by 12 percent with a close home game win, but increase by only 5 percent when the win was not close."

And it's not just the Penn State players - it's a trend all over the country. The study looked at 26 FBS college hometowns, most with populations over 100,000 people.

The entire report is actually pretty fascinating stuff... especially if statistics ring your bell.

The study is available in pdf format from the UCD economics website (which I'm sure all of you have bookmarked, but just in case... the pdf version is available here)

Hat Tip: Rob @ Orangejack

Comment on Got Crime? Blame college football...

But naming Oregon's Dennis Dixon as the No. 7 quarterback in the nation and running back Jonathan Stewart the No. 6 running back? Please. Don't be that dumb.

USC fans may want to take note. CFN.com has Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall second-team, four spots ahead of Stewart.

Nice hit for Rialto grad Ryan Grice-Mullen, one of Hawaii's wide receivers, who was named second team. Another Rialto guy, Boise State's Ryan Clady, was named second team offensive line along with USC tackle Sam Baker and tight end Fred Davis.

USC DE Lawrence Jackson made third team while LBs Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga were honorable mention, as was Oregon's Patrick Chung of Raqncho Cucamonga.

Here's the team, listed by position.

Quarterbacks
First Team
1. Tim Tebow, Soph. Florida

Second Team
2. Colt Brennan, Sr. Hawaii

Third Team
3. Sam Bradford, RFr. Oklahoma

Honorable Mention
4. Chase Daniel, Jr. Missouri
5. Pat White, Jr. West Virginia
6. Matt Ryan, Sr. Boston College
7. Dennis Dixon, Jr. Oregon
8. Todd Reesing, Soph. Kansas
9. Dan LeFevour, Soph. Central Michigan
10. Graham Harrell, Jr. Texas Tech
11. Cullen Harper, Jr. Clemson
12. Paul Smith, Sr. Tulsa
13. Brian Brohm, Sr. Louisville
14. Erik Ainge, Sr. Tennessee
15. Chase Clement, Jr. Rice
16. Andre Woodson, Sr. Kentucky

Running Backs
First Team
1. Darren McFadden, Jr. Arkansas
2. Kevin Smith, Jr. UCF

Second Team
3. Rashard Mendenhall, Jr. Illinois
4. Ray Rice, Jr. Rutgers

Third Team
5. Jamaal Charles, Jr. Texas
6. Matt Forte, Sr. Tulane

Honorable Mention
7. Jonathan Stewart, Jr. Oregon
8. Knowshon Moreno, Fr. Georgia
9. Tashard Choice, Sr. Georgia Tech
10. Justin Forsett, Sr. California
11. Eugene Jarvis, Soph. Kent State
12. Chris Wells, Soph. Ohio State
13. Anthony Alridge, Sr. Houston
14. Chad Hall, Sr. Air Force
15. Chris Johnson, Sr. East Carolina

Wide Receivers
First Team
1. Michael Crabtree, RFr. Texas Tech
2. Jordy Nelson, Sr. Kansas State

Second Team
3. Ryan Grice-Mullen, Jr. Hawaii
4. Davone Bess, Jr. Hawaii

Third Team
5. James Hardy, Jr. Indiana
6. Mike Thomas, Jr. Arizona

Honorable Mention
7. Aaron Kelly, Jr. Clemson
8. Harry Douglas, Sr. Louisville
9. Jeremy Maclin, Fr. Missouri
10. Mario Manningham, Jr. Michigan
11. Brandon Gibson, Jr. Washington State
12. Kenny McKinley, Jr. South Carolina
13. Donnie Avery, Sr. Houston
14. Dante Love, Jr. Ball State
15. Jabari Arthur, Sr. Akron

Tight Ends
First Team
1. Travis Beckum, Jr. Wisconsin
Second Team
2. Fred Davis, Sr. USC
Third Team
3. Martin Rucker, Sr. Missouri

Honorable Mention
4. Cody Slate, Soph. Marshall
5. Bear Pascoe, Jr. Fresno State
6. Darius Hill, Sr. Ball State
7. Gary Barnridge, Sr. Louisville
8. Ryan Purvis, Jr. Boston College
9. Dennis Pitta, Soph. BYU
10. Dustin Keller, Sr. Purdue

Offensive Line
First Team
1. OT Jake Long, Sr. Michigan
2. OT Anthony Collins, Jr. Kansas
3. OG George Robinson, Jr. Oklahoma
4. OT Barry Richardson, Sr. Clemson
5. C Jonathan Luigs, Jr. Arkansas

Second Team
6. OT Kirk Barton, Sr. Ohio State
7. OT Sam Baker, Sr. USC
8. OG Branden Albert, Jr. Virginia
9. OT Ryan Clady, Jr. Boise State
10. OG Hercules Satele, Sr. Hawaii

Third Team
11. C Alex Mack, Jr. California
12. C Steve Justice, Sr. Wake Forest
13. C Adam Spieker, Sr. Missouri
14. OT Jeremy Zuttah, Sr. Rutgers
15. OT Michael Oher, Jr. Ole Miss
16. OT John Greco, Sr. Toledo

Defensive Line
First Team
1. DT Glenn Dorsey, Sr. LSU
2. DT Sedrick Ellis, Sr. USC
3. DE Greg Middleton, Soph. Indiana
4. DE George Selvie, Soph. South Florida

Second Team
5. DE Chris Long, Sr. Virginia
6. DE Wallace Gilberry, Sr. Alabama
7. DE Greg Hardy, Soph. Ole Miss
8. DE Vernon Gholston, Soph. Ohio State

Third Team
9. DE Chris Ellis, Sr. Virginia Tech
10. DE Nick Reed, Jr. Oregon
11. DE Maurice Evans, Soph. Penn State
12. DE Lawrence Jackson, Sr. USC

Honorable Mention
13. DT Lorenzo Williams, Sr. Missouri
14. DE Chase Ortiz, Sr. TCU
15. DE Jan Jorgensen, Soph. BYU
16. DT James Jones, Sr. Eastern Michigan

Linebackers
First Team
1. Dan Connor, Sr. Penn State
2. Curtis Lofton, Jr. Oklahoma
3. Jordon Dizon, Sr. Colorado

Second Team
4. Scott McKillop, Jr. Pitt
5. James Laurinaitis, Jr. Ohio State
6. J Leman, Sr. Illinois

Third Team
7. Spencer Larsen, Sr. Arizona
8. Sean Lee, Jr. Penn State
9. Shawn Crable, Sr. Michigan

Honorable Mention
10. Beau Bell, Sr. UNLV
11. Jerod Mayo, Jr. Tennessee
12. Keith Rivers, Sr. USC
13. Rey Maualuga, Jr. USC
14. Erin Henderson, Jr. Maryland
15. Brandon Spikes, Soph. Florida
16. Wesley Woodyard, Sr. Kentucky

Defensive Backs
First Team
1. S Craig Steltz, Sr. LSU
2. FS Jamie Silva, Sr. Boston College
3. CB Antoine Cason, Sr. Arizona
4. CB Aqib Talib, Jr. Kansas

Second Team
5. CB Alphonso Smith, Jr. Wake Forest
6. CB Mike Mickens, Jr. Cincinnati
7. FS Rashad Johnson, Jr. Alabama
8. CB Mike Jenkins, Sr. South Florida

Third Team
9. SS Kenny Phillips, Jr. Miami
10. CB Reggie Smith, Jr. Oklahoma
11. SS Chris Horton, Sr. UCLA
12. FS Jonathan Hefney, Sr. Tennessee

Honorable Mention
13. SS Patrick Chung, Jr. Oregon
14. CB Terrence Wheatley, Sr. Colorado
15. SS Tyrell Johnson, Sr. Arkansas State
16. FS William Moore, Jr. Missouri

Placekickers
First Team
1. Thomas Weber, Fr. Arizona State
Second Team
2. John Sullivan, Sr. New Mexico
Third Team
3. Gary Cismesia, Sr. Florida State

Honorable Mention
4. Travis Bell, Georgia Tech
5. Kai Forbath, Fr. UCLA
6. Austin Starr, Jr. Indiana
7. Jeff Wolfert, Jr. Missouri
8. Michael Torres, Sr. UCF
9. Leigh Tiffin, Soph. Alabama
10. Louie Sakoda, Jr. Utah

Punters
First Team
1. Durant Brooks, Sr. Georgia Tech
Second Team
2. Kevin Huber, Jr. Cincinnati
Third Team
3. Chris Miller, Sr. Ball State

Honorable Mention
4. Brett Kern, Sr. Toledo
5. Owen Tolson, Sr. Army
6. Jacob Richardson, Jr. Miami Univ.
7. Ryan Weigand, Sr. Virginia
8. Louie Sakoda, Jr. Utah
9. Michael Hughes, Sr. San Diego State
10. Tim Reyer, Sr. Kansas State

Kickoff Returners
First Team
1. A.J. Jefferson, Soph. Fresno State
Second Team
2. Matt Slater, Sr. UCLA
Third Team
3. Kevin Robinson, Sr. Utah State

Honorable Mention
4. Bryan Williams, Jr. Akron
5. Felix Jones, Jr. Arkansas
6. Kevin Marion, Sr. Wake Forest
7. Chris Johnson, Sr. East Carolina
8. Malcolm Lane, Soph. Hawaii
9. Marcus Herford, Jr. Kansas
10. Dorien Bryant, Sr. Purdue

Punt Returners
First Team
1. Kevin Robinson, Sr. Utah State
Second Team
2. Leodis McKelvin, Sr. Troy
Third Team
3. Deon Murphy, Jr. Kansas State

Honorable Mention
4. Eddie Royal, Sr. Virginia Tech
5. Jeremy Maclin, Fr. Missouri
6. Derrick Richards, Sr. Utah
7. Marty Tadman, Sr. Boise State
8. Philip Beck, Jr. Louisiana Tech
9. Brian Bonner, Sr. TCU
10. Brandon James, Soph. Florida

There was a lot to talk about after Survival Satur ... scratch that. Schadenfreude Saturday.

Don't deny it, Trojan faithful. You spent most of the day reveling in football's Top 25 implosion. LSU? Those trash-talking cajuns struggled against a nobody! Texas? The loss couldn't have been more wonderlic wonderful. Oklahoma? Exposed again! Florida? Yeah, USC would have beat Ohio State, too.

You loved it. In fact, you loved it a little too much. Karma reared its ugly head. That Myspace bulletin seems a little out of line now, doesn't it?

Here's look back at the pundits, bloggers, and news that caught my attention:

USC vs. Washington

• John Walters from NBC Sports predicted a 33-31 upset. He was probably alone, but he certainly wasn't far off.
• USCFootball.com Publisher Ryan Abraham crafted my favorite slug: Sloppy in Seattle. Unfortunately I can't link to Jonathan Kay's article because it's part of their subscription service.
• SI's Stewart Mandel caught WeAreSC.com forum posters having a John David Booty revolt (look at item #3) during and after the game. Speaking of WeAreSC, one poster saw JDB and Matt Leinart chatting on campus on Monday.
• AP's Ralph Russo raised his own questions about Booty. Hey, at least his mom doesn't feed him chicken.
• AP's Gregg Bell dared to invoke a scarier thought: last year's Oregon State.
• Tyrone Willingham talked tough on a tough hit (see video above).
• Apparently the Dawg House was missing a DB who spent time in the big house.

Triage Report

• Sure, USC is loaded with injuries. But at least that staph infection is clearing up.
• The Conquest Chronicles is never just skin deep. In fact, they got pretty detailed about Kris O'Dowd's injury.
• O'Dowd, Rachal, Johnson, Paterson, Wright, it just goes on. Hello, Mozique McCurtis!
  

Polls, Rankings, Lists

• I honestly didn't think LSU would jump USC in the AP poll. Neither did CBS's Dennis Dodd. Neither did LSU's coach, saying USC "should be first, probably." It's been a long time since they've been #1.
• LSU topped another list: Bruce Feldman's 10 scariest places to play. ESPN's College Gameday will be there when Florida visits on Saturday. USC's Coliseum was fourth scariest.
• Speaking of scary places, Oregon and Arizona State fared pretty well in the polls. I didn't think the Ducks would crack the top 5, but somebody besides Kirk Herbstreit thinks they deserve it. The Sun Devils, now 5-0, climbed five spots. Before the season, I thought these were the two road games that could be the biggest traps for USC. Now they may not be overlooked.
• Another Bristol Boy, Brett Edgerton, noticed that seven of the AP preseason top ten have lost at least one game in the first month. It's at the bottom of Gameday Final.
• If polls are getting just too serious for you, enjoy Steve Harvey's Bottom 10 in the LA Times.

Elsewhere

• This may be old, but the forums were buzzing this weekend about a USC rap song. You can listen here or here. If anybody has a link to the classic "I Love USC (and I Hate UCLA)" that parodied Biz Markie's "Just A Friend," please share it in the comments. It was popular in the Nine-Oh a few years ago.
• The Big 10 isn't messy enough, so why doesn't Michigan forfeit that Penn State win just to clear things up?
• Unlike Sam Keller and his uni-sleeve, Vince Young doesn't need special clothes to cover his absurd tattoo. It reminds me of like the Bourne Identity crossed with a bad wonderlic score.

The first domino fell on Friday night when run-heavy #5 West Virginia went down against a more balanced #18 South Florida. This started the chain reaction that would tear through college football's top-teams. #3 Oklahoma blew a 24-7 lead, succumbing to Colorado in a last minute field goal. The national champion Florida Gators #4 followed suit, upset by a last minute field goal by Auburn, the same team that upset the one-loss Gators last season.

There were fumbles, turnovers, penalties, missed calls and a lot of slop. Still, each game was wrought with intensity; each game was down to the wire. And despite the two typically strong-arm, throw-happy, laser-accurate quarterbacks, the excitement on Monday night came not from the offense but from a battle of the defenses.

UCLA (1-0) improved from No. 17 to No. 14 this week with USC's next opponent Nebraska (1-0) improving two spots from No. 19 to No. 17.

1. Southern California (49) 1-0 1,486 1
2. LSU (4) 1-0 1,417 2
3. Florida (7) 1-0 1,341 3
4. West Virginia 1-0 1,275 6
5. Wisconsin 1-0 1,183 7
6. Oklahoma 1-0 1,146 8
7. Texas 1-0 1,136 4
8. Louisville 1-0 995 11
9. Virginia Tech 1-0 988 9
10. California 1-0 985 12
11. Ohio State 1-0 977 10
12. Georgia 1-0 796 13
13. Auburn 1-0 644 14
14. UCLA 1-0 607 17
15. Penn State 1-0 585 18
16. Rutgers 1-0 576 16
17. Nebraska 1-0 512 19
18. Arkansas 1-0 455 20
19. TCU 1-0 351 22
20. Boise State 1-0 315 23
21. Georgia Tech 1-0 311 NR
22. Hawaii 1-0 269 24
23. Texas A&M 1-0 214 25
24. Tennessee 0-1 162 15
25. Boston College 1-0 153 NR

Dropped out: No. 5 Michigan (0-1, lost to Applachian State 34-32), No. 21 Florida State (0-1, lost to Clemson 24-18).

Others receiving votes Others receiving votes: Clemson 145; Michigan 132; Miami (Fla.) 61; Brigham Young 49; Oregon 41; South Carolina 34; Missouri 29; Texas Tech 25; Oregon State 24; Alabama 21; South Florida 20; Southern Mississippi 16; Florida State 14; Kentucky 4; Arizona State 3; Iowa 1; Wake Forest 1; Washington 1.

When first checking the Trojans 2007 football schedule, the same thing popped into my mind that probably crossed many of yours'. Ummm…there’s some sort of mistake here. It says USC is opening against Idaho. Not Arkansas or Auburn or Virginia Tech or Penn State but…Idaho? What conference are they in? Are they even a division I-A team? Did Pete Carroll get drunk before deciding the schedule? Wait…am I drunk now?

We're now two days before kick-off and the schedule still stands and I am still drunk. The USC Trojans are set to host the Idaho Vandals at the coliseum in front of a national television audience. On paper it appears to be one of the most miss-matched games of the college football season: USC is a 45 point favorite. And man to man, USC's got to have an average of some four inches and 40 pounds above Idaho. But somehow despite the thrashing that will be delivered come Saturday, despite the bruises and aches and icings that await the Vandal players on Saturday night, Idaho coach Akey knows the Vandals will come out on top. This single game, no matter what the outcome, will be the best thing to happen to the Vandals since…well…ever.

But first up, the penis jokes:

I hope that the Badgers kick the excrement out of WSU in 7 days, and that Matt Shaughnessy gets 2 sacks with his penis alone. -- Spectacular Sam

I hope to see Erin Andrews naked in HD. Penis. -- icehocey77

My wish (penis) for the upcoming year is the Drew Tate (PENIS) will not be allowed anywhere near Kinnick Stadium. Penis. -- scumdog0331

(in a very large font) PENIS -- twoeightnine

See? Always funny.

I'd like to see Pete Carroll cry. In pain. -- swing4

We are looking forward to seeing what Mike Hart and Chad Henne will find to choke on this season -- Suck at Sports

even as a ND fan I wanna see Charlie Weis limping down the sideline with a giant napkin stuffed in his shirt, eating off a plate of buffalo wings carried by one of the ball boys while he swears at an official. -- Steve

I want to see someone use the banner from www.godhatesireland.com as an anti-Notre Dame sign. -- Kit, Denton TX

College Foobaw! Wishlist: Gator Repeat, more Corso Baby Arm signs, and far, far fewer Pam Ward dick shots. -- TattooedMess(iah)

This year, I hope to see Penn State put a Port-o-John on the sidelines so JoePa doesn't have to run all the way to the locker room. -- Upshaws Leash

I would actually like to see if Pete Carroll can assemble the USC Tailback Voltron when every one of the nine running backs we have left gets a nagging injury. -- Signal to Noise

Personally, I look forward to the continuing rehabilitation of Colt Brennan's image as his football skills become more valuable. Did you see that shitstain in the NYTimes today? He's learned so much! He's the designated driver now! He buys his O-line pizzas with Daddy's credit card! He's so popular with youth groups that he has to schedule his time! -- Tuffy

the one thing I would like to see is an announcer make it through an entire Michigan game without mentioning Michigan's three straight losses to Ohio State/three straight bowl losses. It's not going to happen, but I'd like to see it. -- Yostal

Wait, they're still having college football season? I thought ESPN was just going to run a national championship trophy presentation for USC for 8 hours every Saturday. -- ENK

FORT WORTH, Texas (August 21, 2007) – The 2007 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award® (The O’Brien) Watch List features 35 of college football’s most talked about quarterbacks. The O’Brien is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and inspires student-athletes to triumph both on and off the field.

Erik Ainge, Tennessee, SR

John David Booty, USC, SR

Colt Brennan, Hawai'i', SR

Brian Brohm, Louisville, SR

Shaun Carney, Air Force, SR

Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State, JR

Chase Clement, Rice, JR

Chase Daniel, Missouri, JR

Nate Davis, Ball State, SO

Dennis Dixon, Oregon, SR

Julian Edelman, Kent State, JR

Caleb Hanie, Colorado State, SR

Martin Hankins, Memphis, SR

Graham Harrell, Texas Tech, JR

Omar Haugabook, Troy, SR

Chad Henne, Michigan, SR

Rocky Hinds, UNLV, JR

Chase Holbrook, New Mexico State, JR

Brian Johnson, Utah, JR

Kinsmon Lancaster, UL-Monroe, JR

Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan, SO

Corey Leonard, Arkansas State, SO

Nate Longshore, California, JR

Colt McCoy, Texas, SO

Anthony Morelli, Penn State, SR

Curtis Painter, Purdue, JR

Matt Ryan, Boston College, SR

Jameel Sewell, Virginia, SO

Riley Skinner, Wake Forest, SO

Paul Smith, Tulsa, SR

Matthew Stafford, Georgia, SO

Karsten Sweet, Wyoming, SO

Pat White, West Virginia, JR

Justin Willis, SMU, SO

Andre Woodson, Kentucky, SR

The Watch List is based on All-America teams and Honorable Mentions published at least six different preseason college football magazines. A candidate must be listed as an All-America quarterback or as a 1st or 2nd team All-American within his conference in at least one publication, or as Honorable Mention in at least three publications.

The O’Brien requires Selection Committee members to consider the character and leadership qualities of each candidate, in addition to athletic prowess when voting.

“Along with athletic ability, The O’Brien winner must exhibit the same character and moral fiber that Davey O’Brien displayed throughout his life,” Davey O’Brien Foundation executive director Danielle Moorman said. “We challenge Watch List candidates to live up to this fundamental aspect of our award while leading their teams into competition.”

The winner will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN Dec. 6, 2007. The recipient will be honored Feb. 18, 2008, at the annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

About The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award®

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award® (The O’Brien) honors the nation’s best college quarterback of the year and inspires student-athletes to triumph both on and off the field. By recognizing and honoring athletes who excel in both sports and academics while exhibiting strong character and leadership, The O’Brien helps to instill a lifelong moral fiber in each candidate. The O’Brien is overseen by the Davey O’Brien Foundation, which was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. The Foundation provides scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.com.

"We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp and recognize the
best college football players in the nation,'' Foundation president John
Barbarotta said. "This watch list is a great start to what is shaping up
to be another exciting year of college football.''

> The watch list will be narrowed to ten semi-finalists in early November.
The 2007 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by
the 119 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information
directors, will be announced on the ESPN/Home Depot College Football
Awards Show in December. The winner will then receive his trophy at the
Foundation's annual national awards banquet on January 12, 2008 at the
Yale University Commons in New Haven.

Last year's recipient was Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an
All-America team in 1889. Camp ­ a formeer Yale University athlete and
football coach ­ is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set
plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of
play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation ( www.waltercamp.org) ­ a New Haven-based all-volunteer group ­ wa was founded
in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of
selecting annually an All-America team.
2007 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List
Anthony Alridge, RB, Senior, Houston
Travis Beckum, TE, Junior, Wisconsin #
Earl Bennett, WR, Junior, Vanderbilt
Yvenson Bernard, RB, Senior, Oregon State
Tommy Blake, DL, Senior, TCU
John David Booty, QB, USC
Colt Brennan, QB, Senior, Hawaii #
Jasper Brinkley, LB, Senior, South Carolina
Brian Brohm, QB, Senior, Louisville
Dan Connor, LB, Senior, Penn State
Chase Daniel,QB, Junior, Missouri
James Davis, RB, Junior, Clemson
Jarett Dillard, WR, Senior, Rice #
Glenn Dorsey, DL, Senior, LSU
Michael Hart, RB, Senior, Michigan #
Omar Haugabook, QB, Senior, Troy
Jonathan Hefney, DB/KR, Senior, Tennessee
P.J. Hill, RB, Sophomore, Wisconsin
Chad Henne, QB, Senior, Michigan
DeSean Jackson, WR/KR, Junior, California *
Lawrence Jackson, DE, Junior, USC
Tyson Jackson, DL, Junior, LSU
Ian Johnson, RB, Junior, Boise State
James Laurinaitis, LB, Junior, Ohio State *
Nate Longshore, QB, Junior, California
Mario Manningham, WR, Senior, Michigan
Colt McCoy, QB, Sophomore, Texas
Darren McFadden, RB, Junior, Arkansas *
Kalvin McRae, RB, Senior, Ohio
Matt Ryan, QB, Senior, Boston College
Ray Rice, RB, Junior, Rutgers #
Steve Slaton, RB, Junior, West Virginia *
C.J. Spiller, RB, Sophomore, Clemson
Tyrell Sutton, RB, Junior, Northwestern
Limas Sweed, WR, Senior, Texas
Aquib Talib, DB, Junior, Kansas
Pat White, QB, Junior, West Virginia

* - 2006 Walter Camp First Team All-American
# - 2006 Walter Camp Second Team All-America