College Football Gameday: Davids & Goliaths

Today is the opening weekend of college football, and it has been a battle of the Davids vs. the Goliaths. Every year in the first week of NCAA football, the power-conference teams square off against puny-conference teams so that the power-conference teams can have a warm-up game before their season really begins. And every year, one or more power-conference teams learn that puny-conference teams are not coming out to play a warm-up game. They are playing for keeps.

Earlier tonight, my Louisiana Tech Bulldogs pulled off an upset at Joe Aillet stadium in Ruston, Louisiana. They beat Mississippi State 22-14. As the Associated Press has reported, the win by Tech was the first over a BCS opponent in five years (since Michigan State in 2003) and the first against an SEC team since an upset of No. 18 Alabama at Tuscaloosa in 1999. This was a big game for my alma mater, and I’m glad they made a good showing for ESPN2.

My take on the 2008 Bulldogs: The defense looks great, but the offense is going to have to do a lot better if Tech is to finish the season above 50%. They’ve got their work cut out for them.

——————————————

In other news, you may remember that little Appalachian State stunned Michigan in last year’s opener. There was none of that this year. LSU rolled over Appalachian State, 41-13.

Tiger stadium looked almost empty. The reason is that many people in south Louisiana have already evacuated because of Hurricane Gustav. Whether or not LSU will be able to play next week is still unknown.