Flint Township View

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Fat Guy Corner



Jeff Day — Sports Columnist

Jeff Day — Sports Columnist

The college football season kicked off last Friday night and the California Golden Bears whipped the Hawaii Rainbows 51-31. The boys from Hawaii will head to Ann Arbor for, what will more than likely, be another whipping on the football field. The Wolverines should have no problem defeating the Hawaii football squad. I watched the first half of the game and the Hawaii defense is absolutely terrible. The only thing positive for Hawaii is that they will have played a game and have a little game experience. I see a Michigan Wolverine 45-10 victory at the Big House. The game will be at noon on Saturday on ESPN.

The Michigan State Spartans will have to barely break a sweat on Friday night in East Lansing. The Furman Paladins will, more than likely, not offer too much in competition to Sparty on the football field. I see a Spartan victory, 45-7, over Furman. The game can be seen at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network Friday night.

The rest of opening weekend has some interesting college football matchups. I think one game of interest is the Houston Cougars and Oklahoma Sooners at noon on Saturday. The Houston team is coming off a spectacular 2015 season and are ranked No. 15 in the country. The Boomer Sooners are No. 3 and numerous experts have the Big Game Bob Stoops football team in the college football playoffs. I would not be shocked if Houston springs the first college upset of 2016. How about that for a storyline on the opening Saturday of college football?

There are a couple of late Saturday night tilts that interest me, too. The USC and Alabama game comes on at 8 p.m. on ABC. The Alabama team, last year’s National Champions, better be ready for the Trojans of USC. The fact both teams are replacing their quarterbacks will be of great concern for both schools. The USC team is ranked No. 20 and of course Bama is No. 1, a spot in the polls that they are very comfortable at. The fact is, whether you hate Nick Saban like many fans do, he is a fabulous college football coach. The Alabama Crimson Tide will win this game but USC will keep it close. The runners-up of 2015, the Clemson Tigers, head to Auburn for a 9p.m. kickoff on ESPN. I think another upset could happen here, as the Auburn

Tigers will be fired up for this home opener. I believe the Clemson Tigers could have a hangover from last year’s title loss to Alabama. Will this be an upset late Saturday night? I say, maybe, just maybe, it will be. The Sunday night Notre Dame at Texas game will be a good watch at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. This is a huge game for both teams.

The Charlie Strongcoached Texas Longhorns need to show improvement, as this is Strong’s third year as head coach at Texas. The alumni of Texas want to see results on the football field. The honeymoon period for Coach Strong is over, in my opinion. A win over Notre Dame would be a good start for the Longhorns. However, I don’t see it, personally. I say Notre Dame 23 and Texas 20.

The Labor Day Monday nighter has Ole Miss at Florida State on ESPN at 8 p.m. The Florida State Seminoles return almost every player from 2015. The expectations are high at FSU. The boys from Ole Miss are ranked No. 11 and would love to take down the No. 4-ranked Seminoles. I like FSU in a close contest 28-24 on Monday night. Thank you, football, for returning and the opening week should be a good one.

Jam packed race

The Detroit Tigers are hanging around in the American League Central sitting 4.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians. The wildcard race is jam packed and will be a wild and crazy September race for October baseball. I think Detroit will be on the outside looking in. That’s just my gut feeling come October.

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