North Carolina at #7 South Carolina – Thursday, 8/29 6:00 pm EST, ESPN
Jadaveon Clowney and the South Carolina Gamecocks welcome the North Carolina Tar Heels to Columbia, SC to kick off the College Football season. Clowney will need to get pressure early and often on the Tar Heels experienced and talented quarterback, Bryn Renner, as he leads an up tempo offense.
#1 Alabama vs Virginia Tech – Saturday, 8/31 5:30 pm EST, ESPN
Alabama opens as a huge favorite in the Georgia Dome against Virginia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic. The Crimson Tide returns a host of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball including leading passer AJ McCarron, thousand yard rusher TJ Yeldon, and thousand yard receiver Amari Cooper. They do have to replace a good bit of the offensive line, but that hasn’t been a problem for them in the past. The same is true for the defense as they are replacing lost starters with talented players. Virginia Tech must have Logan Thomas have a bounce back year and play well for the Hokies to have even the slightest chance.
#5 Georgia at #8 Clemson – Saturday, 8/31 8:00 pm EST, ABC
The Georgia Bulldogs travel to Clemson, SC to take on the Tigers in a very compelling Top 10 matchup. This game will be determined by which defense steps up early. Both of these offenses should be outstanding this year led by talented, experienced senior quarterbacks. The Georgia defense, after being one of the top defenses in the nation last year, must replace a lot of their two deep. The Clemson defense must step up after a disappointing showing last season. This could be a high scoring affair if one or both of these defenses don’t make some early strides.
#13 LSU vs #20 TCU – Saturday, 8/31 9:00 pm EST, ESPN
Two traditionally powerful defensive teams face off in the Cowboys Classic in Arlington, TX. LSU has leaned heavily on their defense the last several years, but this season will have to replace a school record eight NFL-draftees off of the 2012 defense, including the entire defensive line. Luckily for the Tigers, they have recruited extremely well and will be replacing them with highly regarded players. Offensively, Cam Cameron was brought in as offensive coordinator to help breathe life into LSU’s offense. He has an experienced group to work with led by quarterback Zach Mettenberger and a talented group of running backs. TCU returns half it’s defensive starters from a good group, but will be without Big12 Defensive Player of the Year, Devonte Fields.
#19 Boise State at Washington – Saturday 8/31 10:00 pm EST, FoxSports 1
Boise State travels to Seattle to face the Washington Huskies and christen Husky Stadium’s $250 million remodel. Boise should again be a solid team in 2013 as they are consistently among the most well coached teams in the country. They Broncos return quarterback Joe Southwick, who turned in a solid season last year and finished extremely hot in 2012. Washington returns 20 starters from last year’s bowl team. They will again feature the high tempo offense from coach Steve Sarkisian. These two teams met in their last game of 2012, a 28-26 victory for Boise State in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl