Tulsa should have a much more potent offense this season, returning four starters on the offensive line, but more importantly their starting quarterback G.J. Kinne. Overall the Golden Hurricane return nine out of eleven starters on offense as well. Homefield hasn’t really mattered in this series either, with the road team covering the last three times these teams have played. This game should be a big statement game for the Tulsa program overall. They had a very disappointing season last year, going 5-7, including a six game losing streak, before ending the year with an overtime win over Memphis. However, that stretch included games against the best conference teams one after another when they weren’t’ playing well. However, the defense returns three out of four starters on the defensive line, so both the offense and defense looks more stable than last year. Meanwhile, this season looks to be a down year for East Carolina. They hired Ruffin McNeil to replace Skip Holtz as the head coach, but McNeil has no head coaching experience and his defense wasn’t particularly dominant at Texas Tech. He only returns six starters overall and is also trying to install a Texas Tech style spread offense. The Golden Hurricane were embarrassed by the Pirates last year at home, losing 44-17, so there is added motivation for them in this game to avenge the blowout loss. East Carolina’s team has hardly any returning starters, a new coach with a new offensive and defensive scheme, and facing a team returning several starters with a big revenge factor. The Pirates don’t have a dominant home field advantage, so I think Tulsa won’t be affected by playing on the road in this game, especially with it being the first game of the year. Look for Tulsa to avenge last year’s disappointing season with a big road win here. 4 UNIT SELECTION

This selection is mainly based on the success that Oklahoma will have on offense, but Utah State should be able to put points on the board as well. The Sooners return much more continuity on the offensive line then they had last season. Three starters return, and the line is set heading into this game, something that didn’t happen last season. The Sooners offensive problems were almost solely because of the horrible problems on the offensive line. Oklahoma also returns quarterback Landry Jones, who played extensively last year, as well as running back DeMarco Murray and two wide receivers. Oklahoma had a great defense last year, ranked 8th overall in the country, but they lost one of the best defensive players in the country in defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. Utah State has a great talent at quarterback in Diondre Borel. Their offense was fairly decent last season, ranking 12th in the country with 439 yards per game. This season they return most of their offense in line as well as the bulk of the offense overall. The Aggies were able to put up at least 17 points per game in every contest last season as well, even against good defensive teams such as BYU and Utah. However, Utah State was horrible on defense last season, and the bad thing is that most of those players return this season. The difference in skill level talent between these two teams is just too much for Utah State to defend. Boise State, Idaho, and Hawaii all put up 49 points or more last season against the Aggies. Oklahoma will come into this game ready to score points. The Sooners are notorious for putting up high offensive numbers against weak competition. They do have Florida State looming next week, but that’s why I expect the defense to give up points in the 2nd half. The Aggies should be able to put up points through the air when the inexperienced Sooners secondary relaxes with a big lead. Look for this game to be high scoring and go well over the total. 3 UNIT SELECTION

New head coach Brian Kelly will be anxious to have a good showing in his first game as Notre Dame head coach. Kelly is one of the best coaches in the country and puts his team in position to win. The Irish return enough weapons on offense for him to effectively run his offense, especially since Dayne Crist got playing experience last year when Jimmy Clausen got hurt. They have good talents in Armando Allen, Kyle Rudolph, and Michael Floyd, so I expect them to easily move the ball against a Purdue defense with a very inexperienced secondary. Notre Dame’s defense struggled last year but they do return almost every starter and should do better with a new system. Purdue is starting a new quarterback in Robert Marve, who does have experience but not with these players and this offense. Purdue has question marks all over the field and has to travel to play a Notre Dame team that will be very fired up for this game. The Irish were able to win at Purdue last season despite not playing very well. I expect Brian Kelly to have his team very prepared for this game and dominate a Purdue team with a lot of inexperience and question marks all over the field. 3 UNIT SELECTION

Texas has completely dominated this match-up over the last 10 years, covering the spread in five out of the last six games between these two teams. The Longhorns have also scored 50 points or more in the last 4 games in this series. These two teams last played two years ago, the year that Rice had a great season and went to a bowl game. The final score of this game that season was 52-10. The Longhorns will want to come out strong in this game because of last season’s BCS title game loss, as well as starting a new quarterback. Mack Brown will want to see what Garrett Gilbert can do in this game and won’t be afraid to run up the score. Texas does have some good experience on the offensive line but does lose a few great starters. However, there are plenty of weapons on offense, and the defense looks to be very strong once again. There is such a big talent gap between these two teams that Rice won’t be able to keep this game close, especially since Texas will want to erase last season’s title game loss with a dominant win here. Look for Texas to cover this point spread by at least 10 points. 3 UNIT SELECTION

Washington’s program is going to make a big leap forward this season with a great coach in Steve Sarkisian and several starters returning, including one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Jake Locker. Meanwhile, BYU has several pieces missing from last year’s team. Starting quarterback Max Hall is gone, along with several key players on the defense. Washington was able to play BYU very tough two seasons ago during their 0-12 season, losing by only one point when the Cougars had a strong team. BYU is arguably going to have a slightly down season from what they are used to. However, this game means everything to Washington because they have some tough games to start the season, including Nebraska and at USC. Because of those tough early games, I expect Washington to really put an emphasis on this game in order to open with a win. The weakest parts of the Huskies are on the defense, but with BYU breaking in a new quarterback, they won’t be able to exploit them. Also, Washington’s defensive coordinator Nick Holt has done a great job with that side of the ball, so I expect them to hold up enough in this game to allow the offense to get the win. 4 UNIT SELECTION

Army is poised to have it’s best season in several years this year. They return their starting quarterback, four out of five starters on the offensive line, and five out of seven players on their front seven on defense. The Black Knights were easily able to win last season against Eastern Michigan, beating them 27-14 on the road to open the season. This year they open up against them on the road once again. Eastern Michigan was one of the worst teams in college football last year, finishing 0-12. This game is a bad match-up for them because Army is a primarily rushing based offense with their triple option, but the Eagles ranked 120th against the run last year. Eastern Michigan doesn’t have any kind of home field advantage whatsoever, and this game last year just had 15,000 attend. Look for Army to get a blowout road win. 3 UNIT SELECTION

Ohio State has been a notoriously slow starter in these opening season games against weak opponents. Part of the problem is that the Buckeyes seem to usually have a premiere game in the following week or the week after. That forces head coach Jim Tressel to have even more of a boring game plan than he usually does. This season is no different, as he has one of the biggest games of the year next week against Miami. The players and coaches have been pounded with questions about that game, and it is likely that they are looking toward that game a lot more than lowly Marshall. The Buckeyes aren’t a particularly high scoring team usually anyway, so a very basic game plan allows opponents to keep the game closer. Usually Ohio State is known for a dominating defense, but this year’s team has inexperience across all three levels of the defense. Marshall’s offense should be able to put up enough points to keep within this spread, as they return three starters on the offensive line, as well as their quarterback and some good weapons on offense. The Thundering Herd were fairly decent against the run last year and return four out of seven starters on their front seven. Marshall also has a new coach in Doc Holliday, who is likely to open up the offense more and has added new excitement to the program. The Thundering Herd are likely to be very fired up for this game because of the new coach, while Ohio State will be resting some of their banged up players on defense and looking toward the game against Miami next week. Marshall should be able to cover this spread by just scoring about 10 points. Look for them to get the point spread cover. 3 UNIT SELECTION

Reports from the Pittsburgh camp have said that head coach Dave Wannstedt is focused on playing an even more physical style of play this season. The defense has progressed nicely and is ready, but the offensive line is still having problems in practice. Pittsburgh returns star running back Dion Lewis and star receiver Jonathan Baldwin, but they only return two starters on the offensive line and a new quarterback. Tino Sunseri has looked shaky at times as the new quarterback during practices and scrimmages for the Panthers. He has a great deal of talent but is still raw and inexperienced. It doesn’t help that he only has two returning offensive linemen as well. This game is a tough task for him, having to travel across the country and play in a hostile environment at a high altitude. Utah’s only two bad defensive performances last season came to Oregon and TCU. They don’t return many starters, but most of their starters this season will be juniors with ample playing experience. The key to shutting down Pittsburgh’s offense is stopping the running game, and the Utes have the size in their front seven to do that. They will put Sunseri in a position to have to beat them without having a strong running game to rely on. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s strength will always be defense while Dave Wannstedt is the coach. It also helps that they have one of the best defensive players in the country in Greg Romeus. They ranked 23rd in the nation last year in total defense and return seven starters to their defensive front seven and seven starters overall. The Panthers have the athletes on defense to limit Utah’s offense, despite them returning several starters. The Utes offense wasn’t particularly explosive on offense last season, being held in the 20’s in seven games, despite playing a rather easy schedule. They only put up 28 points against TCU because the Horned Frogs were blowing them out by so much. This game is also the first for both teams, so I expect the offenses to be a little sluggish anyway. Look for this game to be physical and dominated by the defenses. 3 UNIT SELECTION

South Carolina will once again have a strong defense this season. They return seven starters on a defense that was ranked 15th in the country, as well as one of the best cornerbacks in the country in Stephon Gilmore. The Gamecocks were ranked 8th in the country against the pass last season, which is great for them against Southern Mississippi. The Gamecocks have too much size upfront for a smaller school like Southern Miss to run the ball against. The Golden Eagles strength this season will be with their quarterback Austin Davis, but he won’t have much help as they only return one starting offensive lineman. Southern Miss is going to have a very difficult time moving the football against the speed and size of South Carolina. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles did not have a very good year on defense last season, but they do return nine out eleven starters from last season, including all front seven starters. Until South Carolina proves that they are improved on offense this season, the Gamecocks will still struggle to point up points in my opinion. To make matters worse, their starting tight end, Weslye Saunders, is suspended for this game. Last season, they were only able to put 38 points for their highest point total, and that game was against South Carolina State. In addition, the Gamecocks have Georgia looming on the schedule next week, so they will likely be happy getting a low scoring win here and not showing too much on offense. Look for this game to be low scoring and ugly. 3 UNIT SELECTION

USC’s offense struggled at times last season with a freshman quarterback and some inexperience at other positions. Also, their defense was nowhere near as dominant as in previous seasons. However, that unit returns five starters on their front seven so they should be a little better this season. The main reason for this selection though is that Lane Kiffin will be anxious to get a blowout win tonight. Last season his Tennessee team had a blowout win over Western Kentucky in his first game as head coach, winning 63-7. I expect him to keep the offense going tonight, regardless of what the lead is. USC won’t be phased too much be traveling to Hawaii because it’s the first game of the year, and the team is on the West Coast to begin with, making the travel and jet lag less of a factor. I also expect USC to want to make a statement after all the off-field controversies and sanctions. I expect them to absolutely destroy Hawaii and be motivated to get a blowout win on national television. 4 UNIT SELECTION