The first week of the football season is here. Check out our latest standings, and remember to get your first week’s entry in for our fantasy football contest. It is free… with prizes. Here are this week’s games:
Thursday, August 28, 2014:
Wake Forest @ Louisiana-Monroe, 7pm. Wake Forest opens their season at Louisiana-Monroe. That makes it tougher, but Wake Forest needs to win this game if it wants to get to bowl eligibility.
Friday, August 29, 2014:
Villanova @ Syracuse, 7pm. The Orange have gone to two straight bowl games. To get to a third, they need to win the winnable games. And no game is MORE winnable than a game against FCS-foe and basketball rival, Villanova.
Saturday, August 30, 2014:
Delaware @ Pittsburgh, Noon. Some are picking Pitt to win the Coastal, others are not nearly as confident. When is the last time you thought Pitt over-achieved???
#7 UCLA @ Virginia, Noon. This is likely a make-or-break year for Mike London. An opener hosting UCLA is time-zone friendly, but not talent friendly. But you never know.
Wofford @ Georgia Tech, 12:30 pm. Some think that there is a hot seat in Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets need to take care of Wofford handily and get off to a good start.
Georgia Southern @ North Carolina State, 12:30 pm. North Carolina State does not challenge itself OOC, but it does not have a ton of talent either. A win over Georgia Southern is key for bowl eligibility.
Boston College @ UMass, 3:00 pm. Like Wake Forest, Boston College opens on the road against a foe that rarely hosts major programs. If BC is to make another bowl this year, they need to beat their in-state opponent in Game 1.
William & Mary @ Virginia Tech, 3:30 pm. With the Braxton Miller injury, the Hokies might be looking ahead to Ohio State with a bit more eagerness. But they cannot look past Bill and Mary. Remember James Madison?
Rice @ #17 Notre Dame, 3:30 pm. The Fighting Irish have had off-field distractions of late, but they do get their QB back. Rice and Notre Dame match-up a lot better academically than they do on the gridiron.
#16 Clemson @ #12 Georgia, 5:30 pm. Clemson, like Florida State, does not shy away from playing the big boys out-of-conference. It works when you win, it can be a setback with a loss. The Tigers are an unknown this year. We will know a lot more Saturday evening.
Elon @ Duke, 6:00 pm. Duke has high expectations after last year’s double-digit wins, but they did not plan for this success and are not tested much OOC. Elon should be dispatched easily.
Liberty @ #23 North Carolina, 6:00 pm. While Duke had the big year last year, most figure UNC to be primed for a breakout under Larry Fedora. Makes you wonder… why did both schools schedule their games for the same, exact time?
#1 Florida State @ Oklahoma State (Dallas, technically), 8:00 pm. If Clemson-Georgia is not the biggest game of the weekend for the ACC, then FSU-OSU is. The Seminoles are defending their championship by taking on a solid Oklahoma State team in Texas–an away game masquerading as a neutral game. How can you not be looking forward to this one???
Monday, September 1, 2014:
Miami @ Louisville, 8:00 pm. The only ACC conference game on the slate is a good one–the Schnellenberger Bowl. Indeed, the Coach is in the Mount Rushmore for both schools (Louisville, Miami). Meanwhile, both of these schools could easily be top 4 schools in the ACC, along with Clemson and Florida State. One will start the season 0-1.
The football season will kick-off one week from today for the Syracuse Orange. And that means that for beat writers and bloggers around the country, it’s PREDICTION TIME! While there is reason for optimism in Syracuse (perhaps too much optimism among Syracuse fans/bloggers), the Confidential already analyzed Syracuse’s schedule, pointing out the likely wins, likely losses, and toss-ups and 
The Confidential 