This weeks viewing schedule for a Georgia football fan
Thursday
7:00 (NFL) Jacksonville at Atlanta.
The Bulldog Nation will can start the football weekend with the Atlanta Falcons. This will be the Falcons last preseason game and the second game played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Last preseason games always tend to be the most interesting because you get to see a very different lineup than usual. A lot of players are vying for spots on the roster, meaning fans may get to chance to see the Falcons next hidden gem of a player.
7:30 Tulsa at no. 10 Oklahoma State. FOX Sports 1
The first interesting college game of the week is a match-up between Oklahoma State of the Big 12 and Tulsa of the American Conference.
Oklahoma State is looking for not only a Big 12 Championship, but also a spot in this years playoff. They’re a program that is tired of being the little brother in the state of Oklahoma. But a loss to Tulsa would be devastating to those goals. An early loss may be easier to overcome, but it also means that the Cowboys can’t lose any of their last 11 games.
For Tulsa however, a win over the Cowboys would put them as the no. 2 team in Oklahoma for 2017. That’s a big deal because the Big 12 has to expand and they know it. For whatever reason, they did not extend an invite to Houston last year. Probably because they didn’t want to bring in only one team.
But if Tulsa defeats Oklahoma State a year after Houston upset Oklahoma, the Hurricanes may receive an invite into the Big 12 after this season concludes.
8:00 no. 2 Ohio State at Indiana. ESPN
Who likes Ohio State? That’s right, no one outside of Ohio. And while a loss for the Buckeyes isn’t likely, it still might happen, who knows? But what better way to start the season than with an upset loss by Ohio State?
Friday
8:00 Navy at Florida Atlantic. ESPN U
In America, we love and appreciate our military. We might not always support the military actions, but we should respect the sacrifice that our service men intend on making to ensure that we live a free and safe life here at home.
Because of this, most college football fans have a soft spot in their hearts for the service academies. And right now, the best of that bunch is Navy. A member of the American Conference since 2015, the Midshipmen lost in the second AAC Championship Game last season to Temple.
They will again be looking for the first conference championship in school history (Navy was an independent for their entire existence until 2015).
But Florida Atlantic is an intriguing team as well. Now led by Lane Kiffen, former head coach of Tennessee and USC, as well as the Oakland Raiders of the NFL. Most recently however, he was offensive coordinator at Alabama where the whole nation saw him get chewed out on the sidelines by Nick Saban.
This may be Kiffen’s last chance at being a head coach. He’s never sustained any success anywhere he’s been. He once fired his own father. And in 2009 he abruptly left Tennessee which many in the south saw as disrespectful to that programs rich history.
9:00 Utah State at no. 9 Wisconsin. ESPN
This one might end up surprising some people. It also might be a blowout. Wisconsin for about a decade now has seemed doomed to occupy the shadow of Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State. However they always seem to be ranked highly in every preseason poll.
Last year they opened the season with a win over LSU, this year the Badgers hope they can finish the way they began 2016. With Wisconsin being in the west, their biggest obstacles in their division are Nebraska and Iowa. The only great team out of the east they play is Michigan.
Friday night may be the beginning of the season those fans and that program has been waiting for. It might also be the beginning of another year of missing out on college football’s biggest prizes.