College Football Thursday

Finally!!

A new season of college football will kick off tonight. Predictions and talk will now turn into reality as is is time to make the statements on the field. It all begins tonight as we have 16 games on the schedule. Here are three things to watch for, along with predictions for each of tonight's games.

1.) Tennessee Starts the Season with High Expectations

This is by far the most hyped team that Rocky Top has fielded in the last 15 years. Butch Jones might have finally turned the train wreck he inherited into a title contender. Most polls have the Volunteers in their Top 10, and consider them to be the odds on favorite to win the SEC East. Now all they have to do is produce. Too many times has this team been talked up only to under perform. You want me to take you seriously? Show me. Don't overlook Appalachian State though. The Mountaineers like to run and put up a lot of points. If Tennessee does take them seriously, they should win convincingly. If not, State will keep this one close and put a scare into the Tennessee fans. 

Tennessee 38, Appalachian State 24

2.) Vanderbilt/South Carolina will Control the SEC East after Tonight

Scary, isn't it? One of these two teams will be leading the nation's strongest conference, and control their own destiny. Last season, the two combined for a 3-13 record in the SEC. Expectations this year seem to point toward a similar scenario. Take nothing away from either though. THEY WILL BE LEADING THE SEC AFTER TONIGHT! Let the victor have their moment of glory seeing as it will only last for a week as multiple teams open up conference play in Week 2.

Vanderbilt 17, South Carolina 9

3.) Western Kentucky Begins it's Quest for the Top 25

You read that right. The Hilltoppers are a legitimate threat as a mid-major program. Tonight will be the first of their many runovers as I firmly believe they will be ranked this season. WKU is going to win the Conference-USA, and they could very easily only have one loss on the year going into the conference championship game. A year ago, the Hilltoppers averaged 44.3 ppg and 526.4 ypg, both stats good enough to have them in the Top 10 nationally. Their opponent tonight, Rice, ranked near the bottom of the nation in all major defensive categories. Kickoff is at 8 PM, but this one will be over by 8:30.

Western Kentucky 63, Rice 17

Other Games Tonight:

Central Michigan over Presbyterian

Louisville over Charlotte

Wake Forest over Tulane

Cincinnati over UT-Martin

UConn over Maine

North Carolina State over William & Mary

Florida International over Indiana

Utah over Southern Utah

Utah State over Weber State

Minnesota over Oregon State

New Mexico over South Dakota

Idaho over Montana State

UNLV over Jackson State

Check back later for quick reactions to the games. Tomorrow morning, we'll look at where I was wrong. 

-Dug

@chansm1th