View From Bennett Avenue

As any red-blooded college football fan I am excited about the upcoming opening weekend. Unfortunately the slate of games leaves a lot to be desired and the number of must-watch games are few. I'll watch Syracuse versus Wake on my computer Thursday night, tune into TCU-Baylor on Friday and then make sure I watch Notre Dame play South Florida on Saturday before the LSU-Oregon game that night. The night game, which is the premier game of the weekend, has lost a lot of juice with both teams accused of cheating and some Tigers suspended--including their QB--for fighting. Boise State plays Georgia that night too and hopefully Boise won't do to Georgia what Georgia did to them a few years ago (not that I am rooting for Georgia but I want a good game). Meanwhile it is interesting that the big, bad SEC is a dog in both of those contests.
I like it when the college game has center stage Labor Day weekend but am disappointed with the offerings. Still, it is college football and there will always be an interesting game when none expected. I'll be watching.

View From Bennett Avenue

If LSU coach Les Miles needs any pointers on keeping his team focused this week before its big game with Oregon, all he has to do is call the coach of his first opponent from the 2010 season, Butch Davis. Now while he does not want the same fate as Davis--fired 10 months after the game--he can learn how Davis got a depleted UNC squad ready to go toe-to-toe with the heavily-favored Tigers. Many of the best players on that Carolina team were suspended because of dealings with an agent and so their is a similarity to a Bengals team that perhaps has not become that depleted, but has to play Oregon without key players such as QB Jordan Jefferson and dynamic play-maker Russell Shepard and amid a cloud of controversy. Like Davis, Miles needs to both believe in the depth of is talent, and get the remaining players to play like underdogs. Talented players with something to prove is a recipe for success and Miles was very good in getting his Oklahoma State squads to play like champions when they squared off against OU.