College Football Arrives

Given a weekend to itself, college football wants to party.

The NFL’s final preseason games are played on Thursday night and the league’s weekend intrigue is roster cuts and player movement. That’s something to read, not to watch. So college football decided to grab center stage and even a glutton will be pleased.

My first pick for Thursday night is South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET. This will be Will Muschamp’s debut as SC’s coach and it’s an SEC game. That’s a great way to start the season, instead of playing Teeny Weeny College, which is only it for a payday (and a 40-point beating that will be described as a character builder).

When Muschamp coached at Florida, offense and specifically quarterbacks were a problem. He hasn’t publicly named his starting quarterback but the pressure to score will be there from the opening kickoff. Muschamp’s strength is defense and Vanderbilt likes to run the football, so there’s the other key matchup.

There are several other games to choose from, though none have this appeal.

Indiana is playing Florida International (ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.) Oregon State and Minnesota square off at 9 p.m. on The Big Ten Network. Minnesota had a difficult 2015 season, with coach Jerry Kill retiring midway through due to illness. His replacement, Tracy Claeys, was 2-4 filling in but now has the job on a full-time basis. Gary Andersen’s first season with the Beavers yielded a 2-10 mark.

Rice and Western Kentucky play at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Rice’s three-year streak of bowl appearances ended last season and WKU must replace quarterback Brandon Doughty, who led the FBS in passing yards and touchdowns.

College football and the NFL are very different, but especially so on this night. The Thursday night NFL games don’t count in the standings, but they certainly do for the college teams.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman