Week 2 Preview: South Carolina vs. Georgia, Miami vs. Florida
On paper, this week’s schedule looks lame. Of the 75 games, a record 35 involve an FCS team. There are only two matchups between ranked teams. This isn’t much different from last week or from the opening weeks in recent years. College football is plenty popular as is, but it’s missing an opportunity to captivate casual fans before the NFL starts. That being said, there’s still plenty to get excited about in Week 2. Here are three things, not counting the Notre Dame-Michigan night game.
In Athens, Georgia Bulldogs fans are asking a higher power how to avoid an 0-2 start in advance of Saturday’s showdown with No. 6 South Carolina:
Or are they? I called the church and asked about the sign (that’s the kind of reporting I do for you, dear reader). It turns out it was a promotional stunt engineered by ESPN’s College GameDay. Expect to see it on Saturday’s show, but know that it was not organic, which makes it less funny/cool.
Losing to Clowney and the Gamecocks would put 11th-ranked Georgia in a familiar position. The past two years, Georgia has lost to South Carolina but not again the rest of the regular season, claiming the SEC East both years as South Carolina eventually dropped two conference games.
Miami hosts the No. 12 Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon in what some are calling Canes vs. Convicts. While Miami is just outside the AP top 25, they are deservedly No. 22 in the FanSided rankings. Much like Notre Dame-Michigan, this rivalry has had a hiatus in the past and may have another long one after this year’s game. Only a neutral site game could potentially save the rivalry, according to the Florida AD.
Tulsa’s home opener is Saturday, which means the debut of Goldie, the school’s golden retriever puppy ambassador. She will lead the team on to the field at home games and, by next season, retrieve the tee after kickoffs, enough to make me want to buy Tulsa season tickets. When you’re the Golden Hurricane, I guess you can come up with any sort of mascot you want, so why not choose a golden retriever, the greatest dog/thing there is? Count on coverage of this in my Sunday column. Here are more pictures of her because you really can’t get enough.
Bonus Item: Since I know you were watching the roast of James Franco on Comedy Central instead of the second half of Florida State-Pitt on Monday, you may have missed redshirt freshman Jameis Winston’s performance. He completed 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-13 FSU victory. In case you’re not familiar with Winston, he’s also an outfielder and pitcher for the FSU baseball team. Here’s a throw he made last season:
The 10th-ranked Seminoles are off this week, which means the hype can only build.
