Alright, folks. Let's see whether this thing can fly. Remember, the Spectacle of the Week isn't necessarily the biggest game, but the game that has the best atmosphere -- pregame buzz, bands, big crowds, that sort of thing.
Right now, I have three nominees:
-- For obvious reasons: East Carolina at Virginia Tech (Saturday, 12 p.m., ESPN2)
-- The prime-time showcase: Tennessee at California (Saturday, 8 p.m., ABC)
-- The Bowden Bowl: Florida State at Clemson (Monday, 8 p.m., ESPN)
I'll take nominees the rest of the day and tomorrow morning, then put up the poll tomorrow afternoon.
What do you think?
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In order to keep the Spectacle of the Week poll at the top of the page, I'm amending the post with today's stories to read.
Start with Mike Jensen's College Football Preview. It ran only in the print edition of this morning's Inquirer, but I managed to get a graphical version of it up on to the site this afternoon. Check it out (it's a .pdf) by clicking here.
Ray Parrillo of the Inquirer profiles Rutgers star Ray Rice, while Kevin Tatum tries to figure out what position Temple freshman stud Daryl Robinson will play. Plus Shannon Ryan reports that both tight end Andrew Quarless and defensive end Willie Harriott will miss "the next three to four weeks" after being hit with underage drinking citations.
In the Daily News, Dana Pennett O'Neil also reports on the suspensions, while Bernard Fernandez's Penn State season preview focuses on wide receiver Derrick Williams. Plus there's the ever-present info box on the Nittany Lions, and a Fernandez profile of Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.
And two stories on the national front, one with a local connection. First an ESPN.com investigative piece about football point shaving at Toledo that includes this link to Temple:
• at Temple, Sept. 17, 2005. Final score: Toledo 42, Temple 17. The Skinny: A late touchdown by a woeful Temple team resulted in the game's final score landing exactly on the betting line number, meaning both sides won their bets. Gaming sources said there was unusually substantial wagering and movement in the betting lines on both this game and the Fresno State game 10 days later, which is a warning signal for some gaming experts. Gradkowski missed part of the second half against Temple after suffering a hit late in the first half.
And I couldn't leave out the season's first Forde Yard Dash. It is what it is.
Comments (1)
While Tenn@Cal is by far the best game this weekend, under tannenwald's description ECU@VT has to be the spectacle game of the week. For one College Gameday Live has decided to air from Blacksburg, and that only makes it the most anticipated game of the week. Also as someone people are calling them, the Hokies are "America's Team." How "America's Team"'s first gamme can't be the spectacle of the week is beyond me.
Posted by college football fan | August 30, 2007 4:18 PM
Posted on August 30, 2007 16:18