Getting ready...

Well, I'm going to admit it. I'm as excited as little girl on Christmas morning about football season. I've tried many things to get my football fix, most recently including arena football, the now defunct NFL Europa and meaningless NFL preseason football. Don't get me wrong I enjoy a good preseason game no matter who's playing, but it's just not the same. Thursday night marks the start of real football with 11 college games on the slate. The game I'm looking forward to the most is LSU @ Mississippi State. I'm anxious to see how Matt Flynn plays as the starting QB. If he plays like he did in the 2005 Peach Bowl, Tiger fans will need to start looking for hotels in New Orleans for early January. The other game I'll be watching closely is Murray State @ Louisville. Bobby Petrino left Louisville for a job as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Former Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe was hired to take his place. I want to see how Kragthorpe manages the high powered offense Petrino left him and if QB Brian Brohm can continue to perform at Heisman level and stay injury free.

Here are a few games to check out Saturday:

East Carolina @ Virginia Tech 11:00am - The first game since the shooting. Should be emotional.

Western Kentucky @ Florida 11:30am - Tim Tebow's debut as the starting QB. It will be interesting to see how the Gators bounce back after losing a lot of last year's 22 starters.

Georgia Tech @ Notre Dame 2:30pm - Who will be the Irish's starting QB? GT no longer has Reggie Ball (Thank you betting Gods).

Western Michigan @ West Virginia 2:30pm - Pat White. Steve Slaton. Enough said.

Baylor @ TCU 5:00pm - TCU is a BCS sleeper yet again. See if they can win their fifth game in a row against the Big 12 behind new starting QB Andy Dalton. Can Baylor overcome the loss of Daniel Sepulveda?

North Texas @ Oklahoma 6:00pm - The debut of Todd Dodge as a D-1 head coach. Dodge brings his spread offense to the college level. Look for a breakout year for RB Jamario Thomas. OU debuts a new QB.

Montana State @ Texas A&M 6:00pm - Upset special?

Arkansas State @ Texas 6:00pm - Colt McCoy's second season as a starter. Should be interesting. Hook 'em.

Tennessee @ Cal 7:00pm - Cal looks to avenge the 35-18 loss they suffered to the Volunteers last season.

Idaho @ USC 9:15pm - USC will probably run the table this season. New Orleans bound.

There's a few interesting games to check out Saturday. I don't know about you, but pretty darn excited! Check back Friday for some free picks for Saturday's games.

Peace out,

3rd and Long