South Carolina looked good in its dismantling of North Carolina on Thursday Night. South Carolina won the game, 27-10. Couple of thoughts on it: Connor Shaw is a good player, but at some point he’s going to get hurt. He plays recklessly at times and he’s going to get pounded by somebody and hurt a shoulder or something else. But I do like the guy behind him, Dylan Thompson. Looks like Spurrier is going with Shaw for the most part, or he did in the first game. You never know with Spurrier, he could pull him if he doesn’t get it going against Georgia. I thought that hurt Spurrier at times when he was at Florida and was constantly switching quarterbacks. The only year he won it all was when he stuck with Danny Wuerffel at quarterback at Florida (1995). But he looks like he’s going with Shaw for the most part, at least until he gets hurt. Thompson is a better passer, but Shaw is the better runner. South Carolina does have a couple of excellent running backs in Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds, so they don’t need Shaw to run as much.

It comes to my point about this read option attack that a lot of offenses are employing which has become popular in the NFL. Guys like Robert Griffin, Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers, Cam and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks are running it. At some point, those guys are going to get hurt. That’s the belief of coaches like Sean Payton of the Saints and Tom Coughlin of the Giants, and I agree with them. Cam may be the one who can get away with it because of his size and durability. Kaepernick’s bigger, but he could be prone to injury. Wilson seems to be elusive and can get away from people. I think RG IIi is going to get hurt. He just plays so recklessly that somebody is going to level him and hurt him like what happened last year.

It’s the same type offensive style that Shaw employs with the run being a big part of his game. He’s not big. He’s tough but not big. So Spurrier is fortunate he has a capable backup in Thompson. He’s probably going to need him.

As for Jadeveon Clowney and what some people felt was his lack of conditioning Thursday Night when he was dragging during the game, Clowney had a stomach virus the night before, he was playing in 95 degree heat,  he just wore him out. I think Clowney is going to be fine. Some have said he takes plays off. I don’t think so. I’ve never seen that. Clowney will be have an excellent year once again.

The Ole Miss-Vandy game was a classic with the Rebels prevailing, 39-35, in an excellent college football game. I think there is some blame for the Vanderbilt coaching staff  for the loss. Their defensive coordinator, Bob Shoop, had no answers for Rebel quarterback Bo Wallace and his read zone option. Wallace is like Cam in that he can run and get away with it. The guy is 6’4″, 220. He’s listed at 209, but he’s a good 10 pounds heavier  that that. He can take the licks, though there is no guarantee he won’t get hurt either. But Vanderbilt never adjusted to the quick out passes to the wide outs of Ole Miss or Wallace’s read option run plays or handoffs up the middle. There were no linebackers to be found keying on Wallace. No adjustments were made during the game by the Vanderbilt defense to stop Wallace. The Ole Miss coaches just outcoached Shoop and the defensive coaches for Vanderbilt. I lay a little bit of blame on James Franklin as well. His over the top reaction to his tight end, Steven Scheu, catching the go-ahead touchdown pass with 1:30 left to put Vanderbilt ahead 35-32 lead gave his team a false sense of overconfidence and led them to believe they already had the game won. The defense seemed to let their guard down allowing Ole Miss running back Jeff Scott to take off on his 75 yard game winning touchdown with 1:07 left in the game. Excellent game though. Two very solid SEC teams. Think Vandy can win seven and Ole Miss could win nine, maybe even more if things go their way.

And how about the Bison from North Dakota State knocking off last year’s Big 12 champion and Fiesta Bowl participant (albeit loser) Kansas State. K-State is a little down this year after losing a lot of players off last year’s team, but it had more to do with the Bison than it did with the Wildcats. The Bison won the FCS national championship last year (formerly Division 1 AA), and returned a ton of players from that team. It was an amazing performance and exciting football game. Really awesome. I’m not so sure that the Bison couldn’t do that to some other big names in college football. They’re for real. I changed my pick yesterday from Oklahoma State to Mississippi State before that North Dakota upset. I watched some more film on State and liked what I saw. Feeling better about that pick after K-State went down last night.

Finally, A. J. McCarron was wearing a protective boot yesterday for what was reported by ESPN to be an ingrown toenail. Seems a little strange that a player would be walking in a boot for a toenail issue, but whatever. Update: Looks like McCarron had a toenail removed for an infection Thursday Night according to Kirk Herbstreit. Had a slight surgical procedure. The walking boot makes a lot more sense. Without A.J. all bets are off on Alabama. Blake Sims would not be the answer. Maybe Alec Morris or Luke Del Rio, but not Sims. I guess they could still win running the ball possibly with Sims in there, but it would be a lot harder for them.

There are some classics to open the season this weekend. ‘Bama goes for four out of  five this year as they open in the Georgia Dome in the Chick-fil-A Classic against Virginia Tech. A.J. McCarron is 26-2 as a starter for the Crimson Tide with two straight national championships under his belt. He has had and will have this year a Mac truck load of talent around him, but 30 TDs and three ints last year is some pretty elite stuff. You have got to give him his due. He’s been phenomenal. AU opens in a very interesting contest at home against Washington State. What will Nick Marshall do under center? Can he create big play capability and not make mistakes allowing his running backs to capitalize behind an offensive line that should be younger, pretty good this year. Will the AU defense be good enough to slow down the aerial assault that Mike Leach and his Cougar team will deploy?  Other key games include Ole Miss at Vandy tonight, Mississippi State vs Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon, LSU-TCU in Arlington Texas Saturday Night, and a gigantic tilt in Death Valley in Clemson as the Clemson Tigers host the Dawgs in what could be an offensive showcase. Here’s a look at this weeks’ contests:

Last year: 152-44 (78%)

No.1 Alabama vs. Virginia Tech

Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta (Chick-fil-A Classic)

Time: 4:30 PM CT

Network: ESPN

Line: Alabama by 20

The Tide has two areas of concern: the offensive line is breaking in three new staters. Arie Kuondijo will start at left guard alongside All-American Cyrus, his brother, who will guard A.J. blind side at left tackle. Ryan Kelly will start at center and Austin Shepherd will start at right tackle alongside steady veteran Anthony Steen, who will man the right guard spot. The Va. Tech defense is pretty good, but the Alabama line will be good; how soon they will be is a key storyline. All five guys have great size; it’s just a matter of getting the chemistry right. A.J. and Kelly’s chemistry will be something to watch. A.J. was used to the elite play and leadership of Barrett Jones, so we’ll see how A.J. and Kelly  work together. Also Shepherd and Arie must replace NFL first round draft picks Chance Warmack and D.J. Fluker. The other thing to look for is who will be the second back behind Heisman candidate T.J. Yeldon. There is a stable full. Jalston Fowler is listed second on the depth chart, but I’m thinking that Derrick Henry is going to assume the second back role at some point; maybe not this game, but eventually. Then you have Altee Tenpenny and Dee Hart. There’s Alvin Kamara and Tyren Jones as well and Kenyon Drake, who looks like he’s really dropped down on the depth chart. It just shows how good this team is at running back. There are six backs who could start for about anybody in the country and Yeldon looks like a high first round pick in 2015 if he can stay healthy. Wide receiver is loaded led by Amari Cooper. Tight end will be Brian Vogler and O.j. Howard or Brandon Greene. O.J is a five-star freshman who came in as an early enrollee and is probably the elite tight end of the future. Defense is stacked on the line. Linebacker C.J. Mosley and safeties Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Vinnie Sunseri are the leaders, but you also have beasts like Jeoffrey Pagan, Adrian Hubbard, Brandon Ivory and Ed Stinson manning the front wall along with a dominating, talented second and even third string. Deion Belue and John Fulton will be the corners; both can really play. Expect good things out of the them. Va. Tech has the NFL potential quarterback Logan Thomas, as far  as physicality goes. Thomas is 6’6″, 254. But he’s prone to throw interceptions and Clinton-Dix, Sunseri, Belue and Fulton can get some picks off Thomas. The Hokie defense is solid, but their offensive line is banged up and is not great. I expect the Tide to dominate with their defense, running game and well-timed play action passes that will lead to big plays. Alabama gets through game one in good shape as A.J. and T.J. and even Amari shoot for their third (A.J.) and second national titles (T.J. and Amari) respectively, and make an early case for each one of their Heisman candidacies.

Bama 41, Va. Tech 14

Washington State @Auburn

Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Pat Dye Field, the Plains

Time: 6 PM CT

Network: ESPNU

Line: AU by 15 1/2

Nick Marshall takes over at signal caller in the Gus Malzahn debut. Marshall threw 18 touchdowns and 20 interceptions last year at Garden City Community College in Kansas. He ran for over 1,100 yards and led his team to a 7-5 record. I questioned this decision to start Marshall due to his accuracy issues. So it’ll be interesting to see how Marshall handles playing in front of 87,000 fans, who will be pulling for him, but will bring some added pressure. But AU can certainly run it behind stellar center Reese Dismukes and a talented albeit young offensive line. Tailbacks Tre Mason and Cameron Artis-Payne should have good nights against the Cougars’ defense. The AU secondary will be tested by the Cougar passing attack led by quarterback Connor Halliday who threw for 15 touchdowns but 13 interceptions in nine games as a starter last year on a team that finished 3-9. But the Cougars have some playmakers. They can cause the AU defense some problems. But like Auburn to grind it out on the ground and Marshall to make some plays with his feet and maybe a big play or two in the air. The Auburn receiving corps is not deep, but Quan Bray, Jaylen Denson and Sammy Coates are good players. I like a pretty close ball game due to the fact that Marshall is in his initial start. Going with the Tigers, but I like the Cougars to make it close.

Auburn 34, Washington State 27

Tonight:

North Carolina @ No.6 South Carolina

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC

Time: 5 PM CT

Network: ESPN

Line: SC 12 1/2

Like Ball Coach to have his best offense he’s had at South Carolina. North Carolina is improving and will be a good program soon under Larry Fedora, but the Gamecocks have solid quarterback play with Connor Shaw as the runner and playmaker, and Dylan Thompson as the passer. Mike Davis will be a heckuva running back this year and there is a talented wide receiver and tight end group. Of course, you’ve got the game- changer on the other side of the ball in Jadeveon Clowney. It’s a defense much like Georiga’s and LSU’s which will develop with some young players, but the key for the Gamecocks and the edge they have over those other two teams is their potential Heisman Trophy winner in Clowney. Clowney will be dominant. Teams will key on him, so he may not put up the massive numbers he put up last year, but his impact will be felt throughout the game when North Carolina is on offense and against offenses in the future this season. I like SC and Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Love this offense. Love Clowney. Who doesn’t?

Ball Coach 34, UNC 21

Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt

Where: Dudley Field, Nashville, Tennessee

Time: 8:15 PM CT

Network: ESPN

Line: Rebels by 3 1/2 

The Rebs are the favorite and they have 19 of 22 starters returning, but I like this Vanderbilt team. Austyn Carta-Samuels takes over at quarterback this year and he’s a confident leader with a cannon and a good running ability. Ole Miss qb Bo Wallace had a pretty good year last year and he’s got some good targets to throw to led by wide out Donte Moncrief. Jeff Scott returns at running back. They’ve got a good offense. But I really like this Vandy defense. Think they can be pretty good. Two guys to watch for in the VU secondary are cornerback Andre Hal and safety Kenny Ladler. Their d line is talented this year and  the VU o line is pretty loaded up as well; unusual for Vanderbilt. But it’s a new era for Vanderbilt football. Vandy will be missing wide receiver Chris Boyd, which is a loss. Boyd has been suspended from the team for his involvement in the coverup of the sexual assault this summer. But potential All-American Jordan Matthews will be out wide and VU needs another receiver or two to step up. Jonathan Krause could be that guy. They’ll have to run the ball well They lost Zac Stacy to graduation and the NFL. They’ll use three guys. Ole Miss will start the top player in the country coming out of high school last year, defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, so it’ll be interesting to see how he performs. He’s 6’5″, 294, so he has the college physicality for sure. His brother, Denzel, an outside  linebacker, is an exceptional player. I’m expecting a stellar game. Vandy has beaten Ole Miss five out of the last six times they’ve played since 2007. I think they do it again.

Vandy 28, Ole Miss 27

Mississippi State vs. No.13 Oklahoma State

Where: Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas (Buy Advocare Texas Kickoff)

Time: 2:30 PM

Network: ABC or ESPN2

Line: Ok. State by 12 1/2

State has a good team with a lot of size on both line and this’ll be a good game. The Cowboys have a lot of speed though, and as much as I want to pick State, I can’t do it. I like Tyler Russell, but he’s not consistent enough yet. Maybe that’ll come this season. Expect a good game though.

Addendum:I’ve looked at some State film in the past couple of days and really like what I’m seeing. Really like their offense Going with the upset.There are going to be a lot of points scored in this one.

 State 42, Ok.State 41

No.12 LSU vs. No.20 TCU

Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (Cowboys Kickoff Classic)

Time: 8 PM CT

Network: ESPN

Line: LSU by 4 1/2

Like this matchup here. Pretty marquee game. Will Zach Mettenberger be the quarterback LSU expected him to be when he came in two years ago? Their running game is still excellent with Kenny Hilliard, Alfred Blue and Jeremy Hill, who is back on the team after beating somebody up earlier this summer. This was after a sexual assault case a year and a half ago. Les left it up to the team and amazingly they voted him back on. Right. Guess they want to win. The receivers are good led by Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry. Defense lost a ton of players, but it’s probably reloaded pretty well. But this is a good team they’re playing. Casey Pachall is back on the team at quarterback after coming back from personal problems of his own that were drug related. He’s a good quarterback. And Gary Patterson always has a good defense and returns nine of 11 starters. Should be a very tightly contested, hard fought game. I like the Bengal Tigers to prevail, but not by much.

LSU 24, TCU 21

No.5 Georgia @ No.8 Clemson

Where: Clemson Stadium (Death Valley), Clemson, South Carolina

Time: 8 PM CT

Network: ABC

Line: Dawgs by 1 1/2

A lot of people are liking Clemson here and there is a lot to like about this Clemson team. Tajh Boyd threw for almost 4,,000 yards last year and 36 TDs. Sammy Watkins is superb at wide receiver. They did lose running back Andre Ellington to graduation, so they’ll have a new tailback Rod McDowell. Clemson has a lot of weapons on offense, but this Georgia team is also loaded on offense. Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley start their Heisman campaigns this season. Murray threw for almost 4,00o yards and 36 TDs as well last year and Gurley ran for 1,385 yards and 17 TDs. The o line is back in tact, Malcolm Mitchell is a playmaker on the perimeter and Chris Conley and Michael Bennett give the Dawgs more options on the outside. Both are excellent receivers. Aaron Lynch is terrific at tight end and his backup Jay Rome is a playmaker too. The defenses will be highly tested in this game. Both are unproven, but athletic. It’ll be a classic. Like Murray, Gurley and the Dawgs to survive Clemson barely and move on to an epic clash with the Gamecocks in Athens next week.

Dawgs 34, Clemson 31

Other games:

Florida 42, Toledo 10

A&M (Manziel-less for a half) 48, Rice 21

UT (Knoxville) 42, Austin Peay 7

Kentucky 35, Western Ky. 28

Arkansas 31, Louisiana Lafayette 30

Missouri 45, Murray State 20

Troy 38, UAB 28

Boise State 34, Washington 30

Northwestern 38, Cal 35

Florida State 31, Pitt 10

Mike Leach coached some prolific offenses as Texas Tech and he is trying to build the same kind of attack at Washington State, AU’s first opponent on Saturday, Aug. 31, @ Jordan-Hare at 6 PM CT on ESPNU. AU will face a pretty formidable opponent in Washington State.

The Cougars’ offense will be a high octane, aerial attack. Connor Halliday returns at quarterback for his redshirt junior year. He was 151-of-290 (52.1%) for 1,874 yards and 15 touchdowns last year. But he also threw 13 interceptions in 2012. He threw it around a lot in the nine games he started and played. He threw it over 60 times against Colorado and Oregon–the Cougars lost both games, 35-34 to Colorado, and 51-26 to the Quack Attack. The Cougars finished 3-9 overall in Leach’s first year and 1-8 in the Pac-12. But I watched their spring game and Halliday really came on in the second half in that game. The Huskies throw a lot of short, quick, slant stuff and let their receivers make plays in the open field. Halliday threw a pair of TD’s in the Cougars most recent scrimmage last Saturday, and he’s had some playmakers emerge. Expect corners Chris Davis and Joshua Holsey to be tested frequently. An interesting stat is even though the offense returns eight starters, including most of their offensive line, they led the nation in sacks allowed last year, giving up 57. They were a smallish group last year averaging 270 across the front, but looking at the roster, there is more size there, some 300 pounders, so it’ll be interesting to see how Dee Ford ( DE, 6’2″, 240, but not likely to play), Jeffrey Whitaker (DT, 6’4″, 310), freshman standout Carl Lawson (DE, 6’2″, 258), Gabe Wright (DT, 6″3″, 296) and company handle them. That could be a big determinant in the outcome of the game.

Washington State has some good playmakers on the perimeter. Freshman River Cracraft (6’0″, 198 WR) caught six passes for 144 yards and two TDs in last Saturday’s scrimmage. He looks like a go-to guy for them this fall, so Davis and Holsey will have to be ready for him. Some returners who are also good players on the flanks are Gabe Marks (49-560, 2 TDs), Isiah Myers (42-238, 4 TDs), Bobby Ratliff (30-399) and Kristoff Williams (22-192, 4 TDs). The Cougars also use running back Ricky Galvin out of the backfield on swing passes and he’s pretty effective in the passing game. That is pretty much the extent of their  running game as well. That’s just how Leach plays offense, though Galvin looks like a capable runner. With an offensive line that is developing and the way Leach likes to throw it around, I’m looking at the Cougars throwing it 40 to 50 times this game.

Defense is better than most might think. Safety Deone Bucannon (6’1″, 215, Sr.) is the heart and soul of the group. He didn’t play in the spring game, but the commentators were calling him “the quarterback” of the unit. He registered 106 tackles last year (led the team), and picked off 4 passes. Will be a guy NIck Marshall has to account for in the passing game. Linebacker Darryl Monroe (6’1″, 235, RS Soph) recorded 80 tackles last year with 8.5 for loss and three sacks. He will be a key player for the o line and Jay Prosch to handle. A big time player up front is defensive tackle Xavier Cooper  (6’4″, 303, RS Soph). Copper had 8.5 tackles for loss and three sacks last year, and in last Saturday’s scrimmage, he recorded two sacks. Looks like a real dominant type player. The Cougars’ defensive front is one of their strengths, so it’ll be a good test for Reese Dismukes and his offensive line teammates, whom I expect to be a pretty solid unit this fall and have a very bright future with some young hosses developing.

The key to me in this game is the play of Marshall. The quarterback is always the most critical player on the field and this is Marshall’s first opportunity against a pretty good opponent, so he needs to perform well. Marshall threw 20 ints last year in junior college in Kansas which I’ve already talked about, but he is fast as a locomotive and can make a lot  happen on the ground and in the air. He’s got a strong arm and he can be a really dynamic player. Gus must really believe in him and obviously believes that Nick gives Auburn the best chance to win as many football games as possible this year. I’m looking at six, seven and eight wins if things go pretty well. Nine is optimistic, but not out of the question.

Washington State is a huge game in setting the tone for the season. If Marshall can play well, and Cameron Artis-Payne, Tre Mason and Corey Grant can have big games on the ground behind a building, talented line, and guys like Sammy Coates step up on the perimeter, that would be a huge lift  for this football team if they can get this first  game.

The toughest games this season are @LSU (9-21), @ A&M (10-19), home vs. Georgia (11-16) and home vs Alabama (11-30). Those games will be difficult, but who knows what A&M is going to be like? Will Johnny Manziel make it on the field this year? If he’s not eligible, AU can win that game. LSU is totally unknown on defense. They lost eight starters off their defense, and I’m not convinced Zach Mettenberger is that great at quarterback. So those aren’t out of the question particularly if Manziel doesn’t play. Georgia and Alabama will be tough, but you never know. Key tossup games are vs. Ms. State (9-14, home), vs. Ole Miss (10-5, home), @ Arkansas (11-2) and @ Tennessee (11-9). If AU can win those, it could be a pretty nice season. If the running game and line can take the pressure off Marshall that will really help. If Marshall can’t get the job done there are two other capable guys behind him. Jeremy Johnson looks like he’ll be stellar in the future. He’s 6″5′, 219. Also, Chase White, a highly talented qb commit, is coming in next year. Still like Jonathan Wallace.

Washington State is first up and is a critical game. Can’t wait.

Wow, what a first weekend. On Saturday, 8-31,  it’s No.1 Alabama vs. Va Tech (4:30 PM CT, ESPN, Georgia Dome, Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic), No.5 Georgia @ No.8 Clemson in Death Valley (blockbuster there, 7 PM CT, ABC), No.12 LSU vs. No.20 TCU (8 PM CT, ESPN, Cowboys Classic, Arlington, Texas, Jerry World), Mississippi State vs. No.13 Oklahoma State (Texas Kickoff Classic, Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX, 2:30 PM CT, ABC). The season opens Thursday Night, 8-29, with Ole Miss @ Vandy  ( 8:15 PM CT, ESPN), and is preceded by South Carolina hosting North Carolina at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC, Thursday Night (8-29, 5 PM CT, ESPN). Jadeveon Clowney kicks things off.

The season is here. Gotta love it. Previews and predictions begin a week from Thursday, Aug. 29th, @ Noon CT. Meantime, I will have a lot more this week and next leading up to opening kickoff.

Frank Beamer has done a tremendous job with the Virginia Tech program in his 27 years at the helm. He has taken his Hokies’ teams to 20 straight bowl games and six BCS games. He took his ’99 team with Michael Vick under center to the BCS National Championship game against Florida State, which they lost. 46-29, in the 2000 championship game played at the Sugar Bowl in N’awlins. Beamer’s team fell off last year finishing 7-6. But he’s solid coach,  good man and he runs a very good  football program. Beamer is 66.He is 216-104-2 in his career at Va Tech (67%)

Logan Thomas returns for his senior year as signal caller. The Hokies face the Crimson Tide in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Saturday, Aug. 31, @ 5:30 PM ET/4:30 CT on ESPN.

Talk about a prototype quarterback, Thomas is 6’6″, 254. He’s got a cannon and pretty good wheels. He’s not incredibly fast, but moves pretty well and throws pretty well on the run. Last year, he was not great, throwing for 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He did throw for almost 3,000 yards, but completed only 51.3% of his passes. The talent is there, but the consistency needs improvement. In the spring game he threw two pick sixes to the second team defense. One was for 98 yards and the other was for over 50. He threw a third interception too. I don’t know if you can teach better accuracy, but maybe new OC Scott Loefler (Auburn OC in 2012)  can get Thomas to make better decisions. Alabama’s defense is going to be tough, and the corners and safeties will be chomping at the bit to step in front of a Thomas pass and take it to the house. The line is big, but they have a lot of work to do the rest of this preseason to become a solid unit. They have some size; most of them are300+. They’re pretty high on their freshman left tackle Jonathan McLaughlin, who is 6’5″, 313. He’ll be facing the likes of Adrian Hubbard, Ed Stinson and Jeoffrey Pagan among the loaded Tide defensive front, so he’ll have his hands full. The Hokies do have good size though up front.

Beamer said after the spring game that his defense should be very good  and they’re going to have to carry them for the first part of the season. There are a couple of playmakers on offense. D.J. Coles is back from a knee injury and he looks pretty good at wide out. On the other side, Demitri Knowles looks like a pretty good player at flanker. Ryan Malleck is a very solid tight end whom they will use a lot in the passing game. Tailback didn’t look great in the spring game, but it didn’t look like the line was doing much run blocking. Trey Edmunds is the starter. He’s 6’1″, 216.

The defense looks pretty good though. I don’t know if it was Thomas or the offensive line, but their second unit on defense really played well. Their starting secondary is very good. Antone Exum hurt his knee pretty badly in a pickup basketball game in the winter. They hope to have the senior cornerback back for the first game. He’s questionable. He had five ints last season. The guys back there now who are listed as ones on the depth chart are corners Kyle and Kendall Fuller (brothers, Kyle a senior, Kendall a frosh in place of Exum), free safety Detrick Bonner and rover Keyshoen Jarrett. They are very good players. Tariq Edwards (6’2″, 234) is the leader of the front seven at inside linebacker. The Hokies run a four-three under heralded defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who at some point should get a head coaching job,  maybe when Beamer retires. Foster is 54. They have some pretty good size up front, so they’ll test the somewhat new Alabama offensive line besides returning starters left tackle Cyrus Kuondijo and right guard Anthony Steen

The Hokies special teams are always good. Looks like they have a good kicker and punter and their return game looks pretty good.

Should be an interesting first game for both teams. It’ll be hard on the Va Tech defense unless their offense can get some drives and scores. A.J., T.J., Derrick Henry or Kenyon Drake and the wideouts might wear them down by the fourth quarter. But this is a competitive team. Should make some noise in the ACC. Will be a good watch.

PGA

Not going to delve too much into the specifics of the Wyndham Championship at Greensbore, N.C. (Sedgefield CC), but I’ll pick a winner:

Zach Johnson