Here is the first in my weekly effort to guide fellow fanatics toward the best way to spend our time from noon to midnight (all times Eastern) or later each Saturday. Or you can look at it as my prediction of where Erin Andrews will be avoiding hotels with peepholes (or asking for empty rooms on either side).

Thursday, September 3^rd

ESPN gives us a doubleheader this Thursday with the best game being the one that over half the country will not be able to stay up for. They do bring Miss Andrews out of hiding and send her to Raleigh for the Gamecocks at the Wolfpack:

South Carolina @ North Carolina State (ESPN, 7pm) – Sean McDonough, Jesse Palmer, Craig James, Erin Andrews

If the Pack win this game it’s a big shot at the greatness of the SEC. ESPN also will give you more Jesse Palmer as he will be working the Thursday night games as well as the ABC Studio Show with America’s #1 BCS fan John Saunders.

In the nightcap (and I will have to do my best to stay up late) Oregon heads to the Smurf Turf to meet the Boise State Broncos. For Oregon, it’s a revenge game and would be huge for the Pac-10 to knock Boise State off, but America will be rooting for Boise State as another mid-major BcS Buster. The Mark Jones/Bob Davie team will probably make the mute button needed for this game:

Oregon @ Boise State (ESPN, 10:15pm) – Mark Jones, Bob Davie

If you are a fan of these teams they are also on TV (if you get these stations):

Troy @ Bowling Green (BCSN, 7pm) – Greg Franke, Tom Cole
North Texas @ Ball State (ESPNU, 7:30pm) – Charlie Neal, Jay Walker
Eastern Kentucky @ Indiana (BTN, 8pm) – Ari Wolfe, Charles Davis, Larra Overton
Utah State @ 18 Utah (MTN, 9pm) – James Bates, Todd Christensen, Sammy Linebaugh

Friday, September 4th

Another night, another game on ESPN, as Tulsa travels to New Orleans to take on Tulane. Tulsa should roll the Green Wave, but again it’s a college football game and this weekend I will just be thankful it’s back on:

Tulsa @ Tulane (ESPN, 8pm) – Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore

Saturday, September 5th

Here we go folks, the first Saturday of the season. Your weekend should start at 10am with ESPN and College Gameday. (I do not like Lee Corso and wish that ESPN would send him off to Orlando and never bring him back, but his coming off the stroke will get lots of attention and he will get a pass for not knowing what is going on anymore). Gameday will be in Atlanta for the Virginia Tech/Alabama game:

Alabama v. Virginia Tech (ABC, 8pm) – Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Lisa Salters.

After Gameday you have a choice from these 11 games:

Navy @ Ohio State (ESPN, Noon) – Dave Pasch, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman
Minnesota @ Syracuse (ESPN2, Noon) – Pam Ward, Ray Bentley
Kentucky v. Miami-OH (ESPNU, Noon) – Clay Matvick, David Diaz-Infante
Akron @ 8 Penn State (BTN, Noon) – Matt Devlin, Glen Mason, Kenny Jackson
Northern Iowa @ Iowa (BTN, Noon) – Tom Werme, Anthony Herron, Elizabeth Moreau
Montana State @ Michigan State (BTN, Noon) – Dan Gutowsky, Ron Johnson, Lisa Byington
Towson @ Northwestern (BTN, Noon) – Matt Rosen, Mark Campbell, Tony McGee
Toledo @ Purdue (BTN, Noon) – Craig Coshun, Rod Woodson, Larra Overton
Western Kentucky @ Tennessee (SEC Network, Noon) – Dave Neal, Andre Ware, Cara Capuano
Appalachian State @ East Carolina (ISP Sports, Noon) – Patrick Kinas, Billy Weaver, Brian Meador (Will Air on MASN)
Liberty @ West Virginia (Big East Network, Noon) – John Sanders, Rene Nadeau (Will Air on Altitude, CSS, CST, SNY)

I hate all 11 of these games but will most likely flip between the ESPN/ESPN2 and watch USC’s next opponent Ohio State and to see Greg Paulus hopefully fail at Syracuse:

Navy @ Ohio State (ESPN, Noon) – Dave Pasch, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman
Minnesota @ Syracuse (ESPN2, Noon) – Pam Ward, Ray Bentley.

(You also get the joy of Pam Ward and Ray Bentley on ESPN2.)

Then we come to the ABC Regional window (that will be joined next week with the SEC on CBS (CBS is showing US Open Tennis this weekend). The ABC regional game drives me crazy. I honestly don’t care about giving local fans the local game; I just want the best game showed to everyone. So, I am lucky that I will get Georgia at Oklahoma State on ABC here in Texas. I can see what happened in the other games on College Football Final (I just wish they would send Lou Holtz to Orlando with Corso). Also in the 3:30 window you get Notre Dame hosting Nevada on the NotreDame Broadcasting Company (NBC) and San Jose State at USC on the FSN (national game, just find your FSN for the channel in your area).

Georgia @ Oklahoma State (ABC, 3:30pm) – Sean McDonough, Matt Millen, Holly Rowe
Baylor @ Wake Forest (ABC, 3:30pm) – Dave Lamont, Shaun King
Western Michigan @ Michigan (ABC, 3:30pm) – Mike Patrick, Craig James, Quint Kessenich
Nevada @ Notre Dame (NBC, 3:30pm) – Tom Hammond, Pat Haden, Alex Flanagan
San Jose State @ USC (FSN, 3:30pm) – Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis, Michael Eaves
Jackson State @ Mississippi State (ESPNU, 3:30pm) – Todd Harris, Charles Arbuckle
Missouri v. Illinois (ESPN, 3:40pm) – Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham
Rice @ Alabama-Birmingham (CSS,4pm) – Matt Stewart, Chuck Oliver, Melissa Lee
Stanford @ Washington State (FS Northwest, 6pm) – TBD (Will Air on FCS Pacific)

The third set of games start at 7pm eastern with OU and BYU at JerryWorld (Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX). Let us hope a few punts hit the scoreboard on ESPN. For fans of other teams there are another 10 games starting at 7 or 7:30 Eastern, but I will watch BYU/OU until 8pm before heading over to ABC to see if Virginia Tech or Alabama are for real because I think that OU might be up by 21 by the middle of the 2nd quarter.

Brigham Young @ Oklahoma (ESPN, 7pm) – Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Heather Cox
Louisiana Tech @ Auburn (ESPNU, 7pm) – Eric Collins, Brock Huard
Northern Illinois @ Wisconsin (BTN, 7pm) – Wayne Larrivee, Chris Martin, Charissa Thompson
Charleston Southern @ Florida (FS Regional, 7pm) – Bob Rathbun, Dave Archer, Jenn Hildreth (Will Air on SUN; FS South, Southwest)
Northern Colorado @ Kansas (FCS Central, 7pm) – Dan McLaughlin, Yogi Roth, Samantha Steele
Florida Atlantic @ Nebraska (FSN PPV, 7pm) – Ron Thulin, Kelly Stouffer, Kent Pavelka
Louisiana-Monroe @ 2 Texas (FSN PPV, 7pm) – Bill Land, Gary Reasons, Emily Jones
Missouri State @ Arkansas (ARSN PPV, 7pm) – Scott Inman, Jimmy Dykes, Clint Stoerner
San Diego State @ UCLA (FS West, 7:30pm) – Bill MacDonald, James Washington, Brooke Olzendam (Will Air on FCS Atlantic)
Western Carolina @ Vanderbilt (CSS, 7:30pm) – Doug Bell, Chris Doering (Will Air on CSN Chicago, New England, Philadelphia)
Indiana State @ Louisville (WHAS, 7:30pm) – Drew Deener, Doug James
Alabama v. Virginia Tech (ABC, 8pm) – Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Lisa Salters
Buffalo @ Texas-El Paso (CBS College Sports, 9pm) – Dave Ryan, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila

The fourth set of games this weekend starts late in the East as Cal hopes to get revenge for the meltdown in College Park last season and LSU is actually leaving Louisiana to play a non-conference game but they are going up to Seattle to beat the crap out of Steve Sarkisian and the Washington Huskies:

Maryland @ California (ESPN2, 10pm) – Terry Gannon, David Norrie
Idaho State @ Arizona State (FS Arizona, 10pm) – Tom Leander, Juan Roque (Will Air on FCS Pacific)
Central Michigan @ Arizona (Wildcats Sports, 10pm) – Dave Sitton, John Fina, Glenn Howell
Louisiana State @ Washington (ESPN, 10:30pm) – Mark Jones, Bob Davie

Sunday, September 6th

With no NFL you get a couple of Sunday games. Ole Miss plays the traditional opener against Memphis and we can see if Houston Nutt and the Rebels can live up to expectations. Then in the nightcap on FSN National the battle of Colorado from Denver as Colorado and Colorado State go at it in a game that usually is down to the wire:

Mississippi @ Memphis (ESPN, 3:30pm) – Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore
Colorado State @ Colorado (FSN, 7pm) – Joel Meyers, Dave Lapham, Jim Knox

Monday, September 7th

Now as we make to Labor Day and the last Monday without NFL games, ESPN gives us 2 more games. The Big East opener for Cincinnati and Rutgers followed by a game that used to matter: Miami and Florida State. FSU should win this one but in this game you never know.

Cincinnati @ Rutgers (ESPN, 4pm) – Bob Wischusen, Bob Griese
Miami @ Florida State (ESPN, 8pm) – Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge

With universal No. 1 Southern California seemingly certain to reach the national championship game — those Arizona State and Oregon obstacles look smaller and smaller all the time — the real drama lies with the unfolding derby between the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences. Which of these leagues, each stocked with multiple top-10 teams, will supply the Trojans’ competition?

With no offense to the great offenses of Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, here’s hoping it’s the SEC.

Although we generally agree with the sentiment—in other words, we’d love to play in the title game against an SEC opponent—we always get a little nervous when the Trojans’ appearance in said title game becomes a foregone conclusion. Especially when that happens in September.

In addition to six straight seasons of 11 wins and a BCS bowl, this is a nice little stat that sidesteps controversies over AP championships and whatnot.

Discuss.

1. Pete Carroll, Southern California

Yep. It’s Pete. If OSU dominates the Big-10, I don’t think they’ve invented a name for what Carroll and USC does to their conference. Obliterate, maybe? The way he’s going, by the time he’s retired, they’ll have to fit his toes for Rose Bowl Rings / Pac-10 Champion Rings, because he won’t have any fingers left!

While the fact that he ran a loose ship for many years that appears to have led to some player-agent contact kind of makes me nervous about Carroll, it looks as if he’s made the sidelines and locker room off-limits to those slime balls and they have to get to the players to give them money the way agents do at every other school: through the boosters!

Seriously though, it’s hard not to respect what Carroll has accomplished at USC. The program was absolutely dormant before he came along, and now he’s the coach with the definition of a reloading roster. His team recruits itself. He wouldn’t have to work too hard if he didn’t want to, but he does. I know the departing Pac-10 Commish didn’t mind the dominance of USC. It provided him with a lot of security and a lot of money for the conference.

All the man does is win football games, and he just happens to win more of them, more often, than any other coach in college football. He owns the best winning percentage of any coach in college football, and he’s done it in what has been the second or third toughest conference in college football year in and year out. His teams always play a decent out of conference schedule (well, accept Notre Lame), and his bowl record is outstanding (5-2 … hey, just as good as Mark Richt’s!), but what is more outstanding is that he’s been to 6 straight BCS Bowl Games, yes, SIX STRAIGHT BCS Bowls in his seven year career.

Unlike Bobby Bowden, Carroll survived the departure of his offensive coordinator whom many thought was mainly responsible for his success and proved that no, Carroll is responsible for Carroll’s success. Without Norm Chow, USC has kept rolling along, obliterating the Pac-10 and destroying Rose Bowl opponents.

Any list of coaches without Carroll at the top is an illegitimate list, and that’s a fact. It’s science. It can’t be argued with.

We’d also like to point out, as we have before, that in addition to the six consecutive BCS appearances, Carroll and the Trojans also have six consecutive seasons of 11 wins or more. That’s never been done before.

10. Mark Mangino begins a rigorous pre-season fitness regimen.
9. OU cheerleaders scramble to memorize the words to Boomer Sooner.
8. Nerds across the country prepare for twelve weeks out of the shadows as they don Micheal Jackson-esque pseudo-military uniforms to march in the band.
7. A Northwest Florida cryogenics lab begins de-icing Bobby Bowden.
6. Joe Paterno starts sundowning.
5. BYU embraces its African-American population (may also be an indicator of the start of college basketball, or track, or baseball, or hockey).
4. Los Angeles County Superior Court places priority on the probation hearings of the USC backfield.
3. Schools like Boise State escape safety school obscurity and begin to matter.
2. Perennial powerhouse Notre Dame prepares for a daunting schedule against such formidable opponents as San Diego State, Stanford (err, wait a minute), and Navy.
1. Louisiana increases to the 49th most desirable state as LSU makes a run at another championship.

Speaking of nonconference games … the winner of USC-Ohio State on Sept. 13 will play for the BCS title. It’ll be a Trojan conquest. That difference-in-speed thing again.

Haven’t we dealt with the speed myth before? Anyway, despite their team speed, Bradley thinks the Trojans will fall to the Dawgs in said title game.

Have I forgotten anybody? Oh, yeah — that team from Athens. The Bulldogs will go 11-1 — the loss will be at Auburn, not at Arizona State or at LSU — and will win the SEC East. Then they’ll beat the Tigers in the Dome for the conference title. Then they’ll beat USC in Miami for the national championship. Then Michael Adams will say, “You know what? This BCS deal really isn’t so bad.”

In years past, I would obviously have quibbled with Bradley’s prediction of the winner of the title game. But given the apparent lack of killer instinct lately, and the general pall that hangs over the program nowadays, I’m not so sure.

If you gave the fans playoffs in any format—4 teams, 8, 64, whatever—they would forget the Rose Bowl ever existed. It would be bigger and better than even the 2005 Rose Bowl. So I could see why the Rose Bowl folks cling to it, but not the network. It’s truly astonishing.

That said, there’s a way to have the plus-one and still keep all that garbage for them. Why they won’t budge is mind-boggling to me.

• Plus-one: 22%
• Playoff (8 or 16 team): 71%
• Current BCS system 7%

My math isn’t so hot, but I think that means 93% of voters want to see some kind of playoff and don’t like the current system. But otherwise it’s going great.