RedState Sports Report: College Football Roars Into Action

Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below the main deck of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken are, as always, working their fins and tentacles to the cartilage to bring you the latest in sports news …

Or opinions on the latest flavors of fish crackers.

Anyway, college football starts for real this Labor Day weekend, with all of the AP Top 25 teams in action. And who comprises the Top 25, you ask? While my California Golden Bears are, alas, not mentioned, these teams are:

The first full week of the college football season seldom possesses key matchups. Or matchups of interest. For example, #1 Ohio State is opening at home against Ball State. The Buckeyes are currently favored by 50 1/2 points, which almost makes it tempting to put a wager on the Cardinals to beat the spread by keeping the final score down to a respectable 49-7 defeat.

There is one clash of ranked teams, with #9 Ole Miss and #24 Louisville meeting in Nashville on Sunday, September 6. Ole Miss features quarterback and occasional member of the Heisman conversation Trinidad Chambliss alongside running back Kewan Lacy. Louisville has a trio of talented running backs and questions everywhere else on the offense. Neither team’s defense is considered stout. This one could burn out the scoreboard.

Speaking of the Heisman, the early favorites are, as usual, quarterbacks, albeit this time through ones with familiar last names. Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr is the grandson of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. Carr is not much of a runner, but makes up for it with accurate throws. He is not at his best under pressure, so whether he can take the next step remains up for debate. Slotted directly behind Carr is Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Yes, that Manning family; Arch is Archie’s grandson and Peyton and Eli’s nephew. No pressure, right? After a rough start to his college career, Manning has settled down into a body of work that is living up to the hype when he came out of high school. Although he’s better known for his passing, Manning can hurt you with his running. He sometimes botches the seemingly easy plays, but overall is a legitimate threat.

Back to this weekend’s action.The other matchup of interest both on and off the field takes place in Baton Rouge on Saturday, September 5. It’s Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright time as Clemson visits LSU. For this game, the action is taking place as much in different courtrooms as anything planned for the football field, with LSU doing its best to bring in ringers … er, players wishing to use their available fifth year of eligibility despite having signed pro contracts and in some cases playing in NFL preseason games this year versus the SEC’s desire to pretend all the players on the assorted teams in the conference are actual students. As things presently stand, LSU has the upper hand, although the SEC is also staking its legal claim. Stay tuned for further developments.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone.

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