The Week 2 Saturday Six-Pack

Can Week 2 top opening week of college football? You bet! The second week’s slate features plenty of tasty pairings. September is, in general, too early to gauge a team’s mettle. This juncture of the month still technically in summer is especially so. However, the tone squads set now goes a long way for shaping them by Thanksgiving.

The importance of performing at peak level now is on a sliding scale, of course. One of the teams lined up for this week’s Saturday Six-Pack plays arguably its most important game of the season in this second week when Georgia hosts South Carolina in what some believe will ultimately be the SEC East’s deciding contest. Playing top 15 opponents in the first two weeks while sitting on a hot seat? A man less composed than Richt might devolve into a live action Tweak of “South Park” fame.

This week’s Six-Pack introduces a new feature: the Brew Scale. The better the game, the more brews to its credit out of a possible six.

Mississippi State at Auburn

The Auburn-Mississippi State game of 2010 was a Week 2, Thursday night clash decided in the final moments. Cam Newton jumped out at me during that one, but not as the likely Heisman Trophy winner for that year. He showed flashes of what was to come, and I wrongly assumed those flashes would be sustained a year later. Could a second superstar have his breakout in this SEC showdown?

The Bulldogs gave AU one of its toughest contests of the 2010 campaign in Starkville. Were this one back on the MSU campus, I would be ready to crown the ‘Dogs. But after a heart-stopping survival test last week vs. Utah State, the Tigers should come out more prepared, less sluggish and simply better than they did to open 2011.

MSU quarterback Chris Relf just might have that breakout star potential though and will pose a significant challenge to the AU defense. Relf finished 2010 strong with an outstanding showing in the Gator Bowl, then led the Bulldogs’ pasting of Memphis. USU quarterback Chuckie Keeton gave AU fits last week, and Relf does the dual action thing better.

Rating: 3 Brews. Auburn’s lack of identity could make for a long afternoon for the home team, but Mississippi State is a program often vexed by an inability to win marquee games.

Alabama at Penn State

Penn State has successfully defended Beaver Stadium from non-conference foes for nearly a decade, but no one quite the stature of this Alabama team has come through Happy Valley. Last season’s beatdown in Tuscaloosa ignited a tumultuous run for the Nittany Lions. Rectifying the embarrassment of that 24-3 shellacking more lopsided than the score is extra motivation for this team.

Motivation won’t be an issue for the Nitanny Lions, but will talent? Nick Saban brings with him one of the deepest defensive corps in college football, if not the deepest. There is NFL caliber up and down the roster sure to smother a Penn State offense that still doesn’t have a clear identity. It may be on the Lions’ own powerful defense to stifle a suspect quarterback situation even further. A low scoring game certainly benefits PSU, because a high scoring one isn’t likely to be Penn State’s points going on the board.

Rating: 5 Brews. Perhaps I have too much faith in Penn State’s ability to rise up before its home crowd. Maybe I believe either AJ McCarron or Phillip Sims, knowing they are on short leashes, will lock up against a good Nittany Lion defense. Maybe I’m a sucker for traditional programs squaring off in the non-conference season. No matter the reason, I predict a close game and a potential season-maker for the winner.

TCU at Air Force

The last time TCU lost consecutive games was in Weeks 1 and 2 of the 2007 season. The Frogs’ first defeat was against a Big 12 opponent. The second was at Air Force. Surely it’s coincidence that TCU’s loss to Big 12 Baylor is followed with a trip to the always treacherous Air Force Academy where all visitors are promised a fight. But it won’t be a coincidence if TCU loses, because this Falcon team is damn good.

The Horned Frogs’ vicious rush defense snuffed out the triple option attack last year, but after giving up 50 points to BU some of the shine may be off that unit. The linebackers corps is critical to stopping the run game, but will be without one of its starters, Tanner Brock.

Shake-ups in the Frog defense give Tim Jefferson a prime chance to lead the Falcons to an upset victory. Jefferson is that rare option quarterback with the ability to fire off some tactical passing strikes. When he’s too close for missiles, Jefferson will indeed go to guns. And yes, I realize Top Gun is Naval Air, not Air Force.

Rating: 4 Brews. Air Force has a golden opportunity to snatch a critical win and put itself in the driver’s seat…or captain’s chair, as it were, in the Mountain West. San Diego State must also come to Colorado, so a win here gives AFA a tremendous advantage.

Gary Patterson is a brilliant head coach, and will have his defense performing at a much higher level than it did in Week 1.

South Carolina at Georgia

These will likely prove to be the SEC East’s two best teams, making this early September match-up a potential, de facto division title game. Marcus Lattimore punched the Dawg defense in the mouth last year, and that same defense comes in smarting after Boise’s DJ Harper and Doug Martin gave it a one-two combination to the chin. The Gamecock offense starts with Lattimore.

Aaron Murray played decently on the opposite side last week, but needs support from his own running game. Isaiah Crowell is going to be leaned upon heavily in the home opener, where the UGa faithful will be buzzing with nervous energy.

Rating: 5 Brews. This is an outstanding SEC showdown with two of the conference’s premiere skill player talents. Both teams know what is ultimately on the line, and will come out firing accordingly.

BYU at Texas

The coup de grace of BYU’s first independent schedule was securing a home-and-home with Texas. The Longhorns may be coming off a five-win season, but it’s still Texas. UT might be forced to follow in the Cougars’ footsteps and pursue football without a conference. Turning this into a yearly tradition would give each a nice building block for its annual schedule a la Notre Dame’s playing Michigan or USC. The Cougar offense didn’t appear to be any more up to snuff than how it ended 2010, and the lack of a run game is a definite bonus for Texas. BYU has shown a markedly improved defense though. If Garrett Gilbert is forced into bad decisions, the Cougars will have a shot at leaving DKR with a W.

Rating: 2 Brews. BYU’s play in SEC country last week suggests Cougar football is back, but the offensive sputtering leaves me wary. Texas didn’t look particularly sharp against Rice, so one is left to ask if these are two just decent teams representing programs with great lineages. A truly great match-up in this new series may not happen until next year’s tilt in Provo.

Notre Dame at Michigan

The first-ever night game at the Big House. The throwback uniforms. The pageantry of this great rivalry gets center stage as the prime time offering, and it should live up to its billing.

The Wolverines’ modest win streak against ND is put to the test. Another outing like it had against visiting USF a Saturday ago, and Brian Kelly’s heart might get put to the test. The Irish’s 23-20 loss took a back seat to Kelly’s eruption on the sidelines, a common occurrence for most head coaches. Then again, most head coaches aren’t at Notre Dame.

The Golden Domers could spare their coach a lot of heart ache with a sound defensive showing against the still mysterious Michigan offense, which ran all over Western Michigan. Denard Robinson could be the Freddy Krueger of Bob Diaco’s dreams, a monster slicing and dicing all of the UND defensive coordinator’s thoughts. Yet Diaco better have his troops prepared for a new nightmare, tailbacks Fitzgerald Toussaint and Michael Shaw. They give the Wolverines a much more dangerous look than the Rich Rodriguez versions.

Rating: Five Brews. Notre Dame is better than it played against USF, but Michigan has given the Irish problems the last two years. Last season’s UND defense was its best in nearly two decades, and last weekend was still stout against the Bulls. Denard Robinson’s acclimation to the Al Borges offense will need to be even more fine-tuned, and in a hurry. If he can lead another UM victory though, that Heisman talk he was generating last fall could return louder and more serious than before.

Saturday’s Six-Pac: Newcastle Werewolf Ale

Labor Day has past, so you should no longer be wearing white nor should you drink a summer beer. Autumn seasonal brews are my favorite, and Newcastle’s new offering has an excellent bite worthy its name. This is a new concoction from a brewer that does its staple very well, and this red ale lives up to its brown counterpart nicely.

Werewolf has a nice malty flavor and a slight, yet snappy spice. Barbecued wings would make for a great game day pairing with this Fall-only beer.