First Saturday of Football: Part 1

A look at our setup.

Good morning! It is finally Saturday and college football is officially back! Today, we here at Smith Bros will be celebrating with an "all day meet, greet, and eating on the ground"; an all day tailgate if you will. As you can see from the setup, we are ready! We have a lot of action today, so we hope to break it up into two parts with posts throughout the day. Let's get started with three things that you should keep your eye on today.

1. Oklahoma Plays at Houston...Sorta

While it may not be a true home game for the Cougars, they will face off at noon against the Sooners at NRG Stadium in Houston. Most polls have Houston ranked very high while Oklahoma is considered a strong contender or the National Championship. Both teams realize that they have to win the first game if they hope to go undefeated; a goal that could easily be attained by either team. For Houston, they will need all they can get out of last year's AAC MVP Greg Ward Jr. The senior quarterback joined Deshaun Watson as the only quarterbacks to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for another 1,000. For Oklahoma, senior Baker Mayfield must step up and lead his team. Houston has an experienced defensive front that will give Oklahoma fits all afternoon. The team who has the ball last in this high scoring affair will likely be the victor.

Oklahoma 41, Houston 35

2. Can LSU Hit the Ground Running?

LSU returns 18 starters from a team that went 9-3 a year ago. The key piece is Leonard Fournette. Fournette is one of two players who stand out when mentioning Heisman candidates. Last season, he accumulated 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns. Even more impressive, the Tigers saw their season opener get cancelled. With all these starters returning, expectations in Baton Rouge are through the roof, like always. Their opponent in the Wisconsin Badgers, only return nine starters from a team that went 10-3. With only one senior expected to start in their front seven (Linebacker Vince Biegel), the young Badgers might get more than they have bargained for. 

LSU 31, Wisconsin 10

3. How Well Will Kirby Smart Replace Mark Richt?

The Kirby Smart Era at Georgia will begin with a tough task as his Bulldogs take on North Carolina today in Atlanta. Georgia will welcome back running back Nick Chubb who returns from missing the most of last season with a knee injury. Lining up with him in the backfield will be his replacement from last year, junior Sony Michel. Smart named senior Greyson Lambert his starter this week just ahead of incoming freshman Jacob Eason. The Bulldogs ranked near the bottom of the nation in passing offense last year. That is a category they must improve on this year.

Last year, North Carolina seemingly came out of nowhere. After dropping their opener to South Carolina, they would end up winning their next eleven games before falling to Clemson in the ACC Championship. The Heels return the bulk of their offensive production, and expect a lot out of this team in the upcoming season. Don't be surprised if they challenge Clemson and Florida State for the conference crown.

North Carolina 24, Georgia 20

Other Games:

Navy over Fordham

Purdue over Eastern Kentucky

Ohio State over Bowling Green

Western Michigan over Northwestern

Michigan over Hawaii

Boise over Louisiana-Lafayette

Mississippi State over South Alabama

West Virginia over Missouri

Maryland over Howard

Virginia Tech over Liberty

Pittsburgh over Villanova

Air Force over Abilene Christian

Washington over Rutgers

Texas A&M over UCLA

LSU over Wisconsin

Virginia over Richmond

Penn State over Kent State

Iowa overMiami (OH)

Ohio over Texas State

Illinois over Murray State

Oklahoma State over SE Louisiana

Arkansas over Louisiana Tech

Oregon over UC Davis

-Dug

@chansm1th

Sun Belt: Georgia State

Georgia State Panthers

2015 Results: 6-7 (5-3. 4th in Sun Belt)

Lost to San Jose State in Cure Bowl

Returning Starters: 6 OFF, 9 DEF

2016 Schedule

September

2nd BALL STATE

10th at Air Force

17th at Wisconsin

October

1st at Appalachian State

8th Texas State

15th at Troy

22nd TENNESSEE-MARTIN

29th at South Alabama

November

 3rd ARKANSAS STATE

12th LOUISIANA-MONROE

19th GEORGIA SOUTHERN

December

3rd at Idaho

Like teams in the Sun Belt before them, Georgia State is adjusting well to the jump in the level of division. The Panthers went to their first bowl game after closing out the season with four straight wins. They return enough personnel that it is not far fetched to believe they won't improve on last year and secure the program's first winning season since moving to the Bowl Subdivision.

The Panthers lose starting quarterback Nick Arbuckle who accumulated 7,600 yards over the past two seasons. Coaches have kept the replacement decision close to the vest as they have stated repeatedly that a starter will not be named before the first game. However, it will likely be former Utah transfer Conner Manning lining up behind center when the Panthers open up with Ball State. Three of the four top receivers return for the Panthers meaning that the eventual quarterback will have plenty of experienced targets. Wide receiver Robert Davis was first team Sun Belt last year, and tight end Keith Rucker was second. The rushing attack was one of the worst in the nation last year after averaging only 96.9 yards per game, but the Panthers are hoping that junior Glenn Smith will turn that statistic around. Three linemen return with a combined 50 starts between them.

The Panthers lost two all-conference players on defense from a year ago, but return the other nine starters. Former UAB linebacker Alonzo McGee returns after leading the team in tackles for loss with 12.5 last season. The secondary returns three led by senior safety Bobby Baker who had three INTs. They key for this defense will be just how much they pressure opposing quarterbacks.

Player to Watch: Penny Hart

The shifty receiver might not be big in size (5-8, 170), but he is the key to the offense. As a freshman, Hart had 71 receptions and was named Sun Belt Freshman of the year. Being the best receiver on the team, Hart is bound to dazzle fans all season long.

If you only watch them once, watch:

9/17 at Wisconsin

Not that we're going to put the Badgers on upset alert, but it is worth noting that they have a conference clash with rival Michigan State the following week. Don't put words in our mouth.

What to Expect

The starting quarterback will be the main question that hangs around this team, but it doesn't mean their sunk. The season will come down to how the Panthers close out the final four games of the season.

Prediction

7-5 (5-3, Sun Belt)

-Dug

@chansm1th