Game of the Week

Maryland at West Virginia  September 18, 2010 12:00pm EDT  ESPNU

Why should you care....

Besides the fact that both Maryland and West Virginia have burst out of the gate to start the season 2-0?  Well when this game finishes, we will undoubtedly have the answer many questions which have bothered us so.  Is Maryland really going to run through the ACC and have a turn around season which will have save Ralph Friedgen's job?  Is West Virginia really a contender for the Big East crown, or does the OT win over Marshall actually speak to their abilities?  What is the status of the Mountaineer offensive line?  Can WVU QB Geno Smith put together 4 solid quarters of play?  Will Noel Devine return to his electrifying ground performances of past seasons?  Can Maryland continue with their "quarterback by committee" concept and win against a high quality opponent?  With so many questions bound to be answered... how could you not be excited about this early season Big East-ACC matchup?

I haven't even started reading the analysis from around the internet about the startling comeback by West Virginia last night against Marshall.  I'm sure it's going to read something like, "West Virginia has some major question marks. Marshall is obviously better than we thought.  And how about those Buckeyes who crushed this Marshall team and racked up over 520 yards of total offense?!" Sickening!  

I have a few quick thoughts, and I'll throw them down in about the time it takes to make instant grits.  I don't expect you to like them though.  After all, "no self respecting Southern uses instant grits."

Back at last.  Why now? Why not a week ago?  Well, I've never liked writing previews for Week 1 of the college football season, and I guess this year I just decided to just skip the process all together.  The problem with writing a preview before the first kickoff of the season, is you undoubtedly will fall victim to the hype.  Now, you always try to show that you're above the rhetoric, but sometimes the rhetoric has it right.  So we're left trying to ignore the hype and sometimes we go so far as to pick upsets that really are unreasonable.  Then where does that leave you?

Of course, if you skip your research completely, as I did, you're guaranteed to fall victim to the hype as that is all you have to rely upon.  I don't know which is better. Call it a Catch-22 or whatever you want.  I generally lose 10 games in my picks in week one every season, and it seems to have happened again this year.  I guess I'm just looking for an excuse as to why I didn't crank out an article.  Well to my 2 readers out there... all I can say is sorry, but somehow I think it went unnoticed.  

Now as the Governator would say, "Enough, whining!" Let's get back to the task at hand...

Where does the Big East sit after the losses by Wannstedt's Clowns in Pittsburgh and the short-lived BCS darkhorse UCONN?  Most important of all, what can we expect of the redheaded stepchild conference of the BCS?