Time for another majestic year of college football. The Blog is locked/loaded and armed for action.

The Crimson Tide is still trying to figure out QB1. The candidates, Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner all have strengths. Four star freshman Dylan Lonergan has impressed and high four star Eli Holstein is another talent. So it’s a good problem for the Crimson Tide and Coach Saban. I like the Tide to go with Milroe first and try the other two upperclassmen depending on how things are working out against Middle Tennessee. Next Saturday, September 2nd the Tide will kickoff at 6:30 PM CT versus MTSU. The game will be televised by the SEC Network. Texas will be next on Saturday, Sept. 9th, a 6 PM CT kickoff that will be broadcast by ESPN. The good news for Milroe and company is there is plenty of talent around them. The wide receiver and running back rooms are stacked. The O line is big and physical led by 6’6” 335 pound right tackle JC Latham. Freshman Jadyn Proctor is a 6’7”, 354 five star mountain of a man from Iowa. He’ll be a backup at left tackle for now behind redshirt frosh Elijah Pritchett, who is 6’6”, 312. It’ll be interesting to see how Proctor develops this season. Pritchett must be a formidable player as well.

The defense will be commandeered by outside backers Dallas Turner and Christ Braswell along with safeties Kool-Aid McKinstry and Malachi Moore.

There are some guys getting experience for the first time, but this Nick Saban coached group is once again a powerhouse. Georgia has been hyped as the best team in the country and Ohio State is close to them. LSU is a talented outfit. But you never count out Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide.

The Auburn Tigers open their season under heralded yet controversial coach Hugh Freeze next Saturday with a 2:30 PM CT kickoff versus UMass at Jorden-Hare. Auburn will go with redshirt senior Payton Thorne under center. The Michigan State transfer put up some pretty good numbers in East Lansing, but it’s the SEC now, a whole different level, so his playmaking ability against some of the best defenses in the country will be tested severely. Interestingly, the Tigers are on the road the following Saturday, Sept. 9th @ Cal for a 9:30 PM CT kickoff on ESPN. That’ll be a test for a Tiger program under Freeze that is trying to work it’s way back to upper echelon SEC status, something that hasn’t happened in a while. Another interesting piece in this Auburn puzzle is junior running back Jarquez Hunter. He’s an elite running back, but had some behavioral issues in the offseason. His ability to step up this season will be critical to the Tigers’ success. The Tigers brought in a lot of talented transfers as Freeze promised the team would be highly competitive sooner rather than later. Freeze is an excellent coach, there is no question about that. His reputation is highly questionable, but he says he has it together, so we’ll see how that translates into wins and losses and his own character development this season when the pressure is on.

Week 0 has some marquee names playing. Not superb competition, but there are games with teams expected to do well nationally this year, so should be an entertaining Saturday.

Here’s a look at the Week 0 matchups along with predictions.

Navy @ No.13 Notre Dame

Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland. Not Ohio or Alabama. There is an un-incorporated Dublin in this state.

1:30 PM CT

NBC

Fighting Irish by 20 1/2

I like the Midshipmen under first year coach Brian Newberry to give second year Irish coach Marcus Freeman and his team a better than expected game. Freeman finished 9-4 in his first season and defeated South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. He now has ACC record setting quarterback Sam Hartman under center. Hartman transferred from Wake Forest where he put together a decorated career. But it’s his first game at Notre Dame so there may be some nerves. I like the Fighting Irish to win here in a Catholic mecca, but I like Navy to make it tougher than expected. By the way, Dublin, Alabama is 23 miles Southeast of Montgomery.

Notre Dame 30, Navy 17

UTEP @Jax State

Burgess-Snow Field, Jacksonville, AL.

4:30 PM CT

CBS Sports Network

UTEP by 1 1/2

Rich Rodriguez heads into his second season as Jax State coach after going 9-2 in 2022. Jax State is now in FBS and a member of Conference USA. The UAB Blazers have moved on to the American Conference. More on that next week. I still don’t trust Rich Rod totally. Give me the Miners.

UTEP 21, Jax State 17

Ohio @San Diego State

Snapdragon? Stadium, El Diego

6 PM CT

Fox Sports 1

SDSU by 3

Give me the Bobcats in an upset.

Ohio 21, San Diego State 18

Hawaii @Vanderbilt

FirstBank Stadium, Nashvegas

6:30 PM CT

SEC Network

VU by 17 1/2

There’s a lot of excitement for the Commodores in Clark Lea’s third season. He doesn’t need to keep saying at SEC Media Days that “we’re going to be the best program in the country.” I get it. It’s a recruiting tool. And that’s a great ambition. But keep it in the locker room, Coach Lea. Still, he has a highly talented former 4 star quarterback in sophomore AJ Swann, and talent on both sides of the ball. Hawaii has been through a tough time with the wildfires. A football game is a good distraction. But Tommy Chang’s program has some developing to do. Give me my brothers from Nashville to get the job done in a promising season ahead. I’ll Anchor Down.

Vanderbilt 38, Hawaii 10

San Jose State @ No.6 USC

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

7 PM CT

PAC-12 Network

SC by 30 1/2

The PAC-12 has been decimated by defections, so this is their swan song as a conference unless they can make a lot of new additions. The Trojans look like the top team in that conference going in and have aspirations of going deep this season. Junior quarterback Caleb Williams returns after his Heisman Trophy campaign in 2022. It’ll be interesting to see how locked in he is this season. With high goals for his team, he might not worry as much about the 2024 NFL draft and focus on winning championships in SoCal. Defense is the key to the Trojans’ success as the offense will produce.

USC 34, San Jose State 14

Morgan Wallen Vid

I went out to see my daughter, Fairbanks, in Fort Worth in early June and we had a blast. She and her boyfriend Hayden and I did a lot of great stuff. One of the things we did was go to a Rangers-Mariners game at Globe Life Field in Arlington. It was near the Eighth Wonder of the World, AT&T Stadium. What a magnificent stadium that is. Jerry did well there. And Globe Life is quite a venue as well.

We got in a lounge area and the kids got some spirits. I used to be a Jack and water drinker a while back, and mostly Jack the way Beth made my drinks. But had to quit the hard stuff as it didn’t work for me. But always happy to celebrate with others.

The lounge area was exceptional. We could see through some windows out on the field and got some superb food and spirits. Our seats were third base side. Globe Life is indoors and is plush. The Rangers were hot and they’re still good. It was like sitting in your living room and watching a game. During the game I was checking my phone for the Vanderbilt score as we were in the regional playing somebody. We won big in that one, but fell to Oregon in the regional, unfortunately. But the Rangers won 2-1. The game was 2 hours and 10 minutes. It was beautiful. The rules this year with the pitch clock have made the game so good. Anyway, while we were watching and Fairbanks was loading some Instagram photos for me, I was listening to some Wallen on my phone. Had this song on. Fairbanks and I were talking about Wallen songs, and she hadn’t heard this one. It’s a little derelict as far as the lyrics go, but it’s an awesome tune. Here it is.