College Gameday Handicap - Week 1

One of college football’s most recent phenomena is College Gameday, and few shows receive such attention when they are out on the road. So, with that in mind, CGB would like to handicap the race for week 1’s College Gameday visit.

When looking at the schedule, it is clear that three games in particular will be in the running. These are Illinois-Missouri, Alabama-Clemson, and LSU-Appalachian State. Each has their pros and cons, but in the end you can make a guess as to who will be hosting the crew.

A year ago, the Illinois-Missouri matchup would not garner much attention outside of the Midwest. However, both teams had excellent seasons a year ago, and come into 2008 with their eyes on a BCS bid. In addition, it is very likely that the game will be an exciting one. Last year Missouri took a large lead in the third quarter, but nearly saw it slip away as the Illini threw an interception deep in Missouri territory as time expired. Both Chase Daniel and Juice Williams are electric quarterbacks, though they approach the game in different ways. In particular, the matchup between Daniel and a hungry Illinois defense should be worth the price of admission.

On the downside, the game is at the dreaded “neutral site,” in this case, St. Louis. While St. Louis seems like a natural choice to host the game, a budding rivalry like this should be rotated between Columbia and Champaign. If this game doubled as the coming out party for the renovated Memorial Stadium in Champaign, it could have been a real showcase event.

Alabama-Clemson is the second game in the College Gameday running, and it has a couple of advantages. First, it has the most “name” recognition of the three games, with Nick Saban and Alabama taking on Tommy Bowden and Clemson. There is also the influence of a southern ACC/SEC crowd, which could make it a wild atmosphere. Finally, both Alabama and Clemson are adding great recruiting classes, so in this day and age that is a draw.

However, it is another neutral site game, this time at the Georgia Dome. This factor may also negatively influence the atmosphere. In addition, this game lacks the rivalry aspect of Illinois-Missouri, as the game was put together as an ACC/SEC showcase by the Chick-fil-a Bowl committee.

The third game I am going to highlight today is an interesting choice at first glance – LSU-Appalachian State. However, when you look more closely you can see reasons why College Gameday would travel to the game. Its main attraction is the fact that it features two national champions. Normally the FCS champion would not attract as much attention, but following Appalachian State’s upset of Michigan in 2007, they have become somewhat of a household name. This game will also feature the full atmosphere of an SEC football game, which cannot be said for either of the previous two matchups.

Unfortunately, it is tough to look past the projected competitiveness of the game. While Appalachian State did beat Michigan, you will not find anyone picking them to win this game against the defending champion. In fact, if they kept it close it would be considered an upset. Also, this game lacks any natural rivalry, as many FBS/FCS matchups do.

So, who is the College Gameday favorite. For the answer, it may help to look at a new point of emphasis at ESPN – recruiting coverage. The network spent a great deal of time analyzing classes both during and after the season, and two teams that were mentioned frequently were Alabama and Clemson. In the end, CGB thinks that this will be the deciding factor, and Chris, Lee, and Kirk will be traveling to Atlanta on Labor Day weekend.