14 Days & Counting

Kickoff of College Football is in 14 days (on September 1).

The Highlights for that first night of football are:
UNLV @ Wisconsin
Miss St @ Memphis
Murray State @ Louisville
Wake Forest @ Syracuse

Thing to watch for:
1. Russell Wilson (NC State transfer) will likely be the starter for Wisconsin. Many people had the Badgers as a simply a #15 or #16 ranked team because of their lack of experience at QB, but with the addition of Wilson, they are most people's (including the CFB Kings) pick to win the Big Ten and go to the Rose Bowl. Wilson was an All-ACC performer prior to transferring. Will Wisky dominate the way they should?

2. Mississippi State is in what a lot of people are calling the toughest division in the history of CFB (the 2011 SEC West). 5 out of 6 teams are ranked in the pre-season polls from that division. Miss State has a chance (led by former Florida Gator O-coordinator Dan Mullen) to have a big season and compete in that division. Having a dominant start would show America that they are for real. Keep an eye on 2 players that you'll hear A LOT more about as the season wears on. QB Chris Relf and RB Vic Ballard. Dan Mullen has called some of Relf's attributes very similar to Tim Tebow. And Ballard was quietly one of the leading rushers in the SEC last year.

3. In year 2 under coach Charlie Strong, the Cardinals look to make a run at a Big East Title. In his first year, Strong led the Cardinals to a Bowl win and they look to build on that success. It will be interesting to see how stifling the defense can be, as they struggled at times last year adapting to Strong's Free-Wielding schemes.

4. These programs are possibly going in opposite directions. In 2010, Syracuse went to its first Bowl game in 6 years and Wake Forest is on a 2-year Bowl hiatus after going to Bowls for 3 straight years before that. This game will be a definite tone-setter for both teams and also show a bit about the 2 conferences (ACC & Big East).