2007 Schedule Planner - Week 9

July 19, 2007

By Adam Caparell

CSTV.com

	ADAM CAPARELL Adam is CSTV.com's football editor and national football writer. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 01/23: Feeling It 01/18: Post-Bowl, Pre-Spring 2008 Preseason Top 25 01/11: Late Season Run Priming Dawgs For '08 01/07: Ring A Bell? 01/04: Tressel's Hopefully Prepared For Anything 12/21: Hokies Have Something To Play For 12/14: Name Game 12/8: Little Surprise Tebow Takes Heisman 12/8: Back For More 12/7: Class Act 12/6: Flutie's Legacy Still The 'Miracle' 12/4: Dixon Can Still Smile 12/2: Wishful Thinking 11/30: Daniel Driving Missouri On BCS Run 11/28: 'Game' Still Largely Defines Beban 11/23: Long Time Coming 11/21: Bandstanding Brown 11/16: Georgia In The Know 11/14: Only Eddie Held Eddie Back 11/9: Soft Schedule Could Have Hawai'i BCS Bound 11/7: The 'Bear' And Crow 11/2: No Secret To Oregon's Success 10/31: Age Only A Number 10/26: Nittany Lions Know It's Got To Be Close 10/24: In Long Line, White Continued Tradition 10/19: Trojans In Unfamiliar Territory 10/17: Rogers Larger Than Life 10/12: Missouri The Machine 10/10: The Jet Likes To Run 10/5: Meyer's Seen This Before 10/4: Polled Over 10/3: Long On Memories 9/28: Season Begins For Dixon And Ducks Saturday 9/26: Desmond The Poser 9/21: Spurrier's Being Honest 9/19: All In The Family With Rozier 9/14: USC Ready For Another Early Road Test 9/12: Detmer's Magic Won Him Heisman 9/7: 'Show' Time For Virginia Tech 9/5: Drive Drove Dorsett 8/31: Family Affair 8/29: Count On The Gamecocks To Hatch 8/28: Youth Gone Wild On Gator Defense 8/28: Talent Comes Naturally To Tigers 8/27: SEC Preview 8/27: All Hail Saban 8/25: No More Lazy Sundays 8/24: Illinois D Brimming With New Confidence 8/23: Big Ten Preview 8/23: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 14 8/22: Tee'd Off 8/16: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 13 8/15: Brohm's Back, And All Is Well 8/15: Coaches Split On Early Signing Period 8/14: Schiano's Success Starting to Show 8/13: Big East Preview 8/13: It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF 8/11: Production Time for Seminole Signal Callers 8/10: Shannon Looking To Return Swagger 8/10: Wake Up? 8/9: Atlantic Coast Conference Preview 8/9: Tough Turkeys, Once Again 8/9: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 12 8/8: Preseason Top 25 8/2: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 11 8/1: Big Ten Expansion Doesn't Make Sense 7/26: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 10 7/25: Beamer's Burden 7/19: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 9 7/18: Good Vibrations 7/12: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 6 7/11: Three and Up 7/4: And The Winner Is... 7/2: Where In The World Is Ed Smith? 6/28: SEC East's Big Weekend 6/27: Summer Bowl Forecast 6/21: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 5 6/20: Big 12 Loses Its Big Man 6/14: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 4 6/13: Trick Up His Sleeve 6/7: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 3 6/6: For the Record 5/31: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 2 5/30: Like Clockwork 5/24: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 1 5/23: Florida Freshmen Get Defensive 5/16: Maroon Affected 5/10: Brennan's A Numbers Guy 5/9: More Than Just One Play 5/2: Post-Spring, Pre-Preseason Top 25 4/27: Quinn's Fallen, But He'll Still Be Up There 4/26: Size Does Matter 4/25: Troy Smith Now Middle of Pack QB 4/24: Peterson Can't Wait For The Moment 4/21: QB Biggest Question Facing Buckeyes 4/21: Don't Forget About The D 4/20: Bowl Game A Boon For Bluegrass Boys 4/19: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall 4/18: New Coordinator, New Scheme, New Results? 4/18: Earlier The Better 4/17: It's Your Turn Offense 4/16: Spartans Hope Big Changes Go Long Way 4/14: Defense The Question Mark For Michigan 4/12: Height's Nothing But A Number 4/5: Two Much To Handle 3/28: More To Hill Than Just TDs 3/21: Down Could Mean Up For Delaware's Patrick 3/14: Changes In Store For Gill and Buffalo 3/7: Lurking In the Backgroung 2/28: What A Mock-ery 2/25: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same 2/24: Piscataway Proud 2/23: 40, For Better or Worse 2/22: The Ultimate Q and A 2/21: Combine's A Coming 2/14: Rights For Recruiting Wrongs 2/8: Recruiting No Joke For Coaches 2/6: Lemming Retrospect: Class of 2006 1/31: Coker In No Rush To Move On 1/30: Ross Bows Out, But Leaves His Mark At Army 1/26: Seniors With Something To Prove 1/25: Coaching For The League 1/24: Welcome To The Pros 1/17: Pre-Spring, Post-Bowl 2007 Preseason Top 25 1/10: Irish Have A Ways To Go 1/8: Siler and Gators After Something More 1/4: Russell Sweeter Than Sugar 1/3: Irish Out For Respect

Over the summer, CSTV.com will be taking a look at the college football schedule, highlighting the top matchups, the can't-miss games and the storylines that make certain contests so intriguing. Check in every Thursday for the heads-up on what games are shaping up to be the best each week, the top offensive matchups, Heisman showcases and a few others that have piqued our interest.

Championship weekend is still well over a month away once we hit Week 9 of the college football season, but it's a great chance to watch some potential previews of conference title games in the ACC and Big 12 while the SEC East picture should be much clearer thanks to the division's top four teams all facing each other.

Game of the Week

Thurs., Oct. 25 - Boston College at Virginia Tech

Could this be a preview of the ACC title game? Quite possibly as you have the clear-cut best team in the conference in Virginia Tech welcoming in Matt Ryan and Boston College to what will be a raucous Lane Stadium on a school night. Tech was taken to the woodshed last season in Chestnut Hill last fall when the Eagles came away with a 22-3 victory in what turned out to be by far the Hokies lowest-scoring output of the season and second-most points allowed.

BCS Busters of the Week

Fri., Oct. 26 - Boise State at Fresno State

Just a few years ago this matchup pretty much determined who the WAC champ would be every season. Fresno hasn't been its usual self as of late, but this could easily be one of the toughest road tests for Boise on the season other than the Broncos' venture to Hawai'i's Thanksgiving weekend. The Bulldogs' defense doesn't figure to offer much of a challenge for the Broncos' offense, not with a few questions remaining on their defensive line and backfield. But there isn't going to be a bigger home game all season in Fresno, so that ratchets up the upset potential a few notches.

Sat., Oct. 27 - Nebraska at Texas

Your early look at the Big 12 championship game to be played only a little over a month later. The Cornhuskers enter this contest still in search of that one signature win in the Bill Callahan era, and one against a team they're not expected to beat. While picking off the Longhorns in Austin might be asking a bit much of Nebraska, if they're going to be the Big 12 North champs, how about at least giving Texas a run for its money in this one? 

Sat., Oct. 27 - South Carolina at Tennessee

Steve Spurrier practically owns Phil Fulmer and the Vols. During his coaching career, Spurrier is 9-5 against Tennessee, dating back to his days at Duke and Florida. The two verbal sparring partners meet in Knoxville this season where Spurrier got one of his biggest wins during his first season as Gamecocks coach, handing Fulmer his first-ever SEC loss to South Carolina. If Spurrier's going to win this time around, he's going to need to exploit that Tennessee front four.

Sat., Oct. 27 - Ohio State at Penn State

Penn State gets two of its toughest Big Ten games at home, one of those coming against the Buckeyes. The biggest question surrounding the Buckeyes is their offense. They lost six starters, none more important than Troy Smith. But they're not without talent. With the two Wells in the backfield and Brian Robiskie out wide, whoever is eventually tabbed as the quarterback won't be without options. But they'll have to contend with a Nittany Lions defense that, while only returning five starters, will be just as formidable in 2007 as it was in 2006.

Heisman Showcase of the Week

Sat., Oct. 27 - West Virginia at Rutgers

Here's a treat. You have three potential Heisman winners in this game in West Virginia's dynamic duo of Pat White and Steve Slaton facing off against Rutgers Ray Rice. May the best offense win. Both the Mountaineers and Scarlet Knights will be focused on shutting down the other's rushing attack. That means this game could come down to White's passing prowess, something he doesn't get enough credit for. Or Mike Teel's ability to not turn the ball over.

Rivalry of the Week

Sat., Oct. 27 - Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville)

The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party as it will always affectionately be referred to could very well determine who has the inside track to the SEC East title. These two rivals have been playing each other for almost 100 years now, and while the Bulldogs have the overall edge in the series, it's the Gators who have won every meeting this decade except for 2004. Florida was a seven-point winner last fall, thanks mostly to its defense, which forced two fumbles and two interceptions. You'd figure Matthew Stafford will be a little more poised this time around.