Top 2 Games to Watch: Week 1 2016

Top 2 Games to Watch: Week 1 2016

1.  #3 Oklahoma Sooners vs. #15 Houston Cougars: 9/3 at Noon on ABC

We'll be kicking off the first Saturday of the regular season with a premier contest between great teams played at the home stadium of the Houston Texans.  Both teams have very high hopes for 2016.  The Sooners are eyeing a run at a National Championship while the Cougars are wanting to use this game as a springboard toward becoming the first team from outside the power 5 conferences to snag a coveted College Football Playoff spot.  If the Cougars find a way to win with their talented dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr. and a stingy defense, they will score major points with the Playoff Selection Committee like how David Boudia and Steele Johnson scored points with the judges on their way to a Silver Medal for the U.S. in Men's Synchronized Diving.  If Houston gets a case of early-season sloppiness, expect a performance akin to a painful belly flop.

My pick: Oklahoma  

2. #18 Georgia Bulldogs vs. #22 North Carolina Tar Heels: 9/3 at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN

The focus leading up to this opening weekend SEC vs. ACC matchup was on the quarterback situation for each team.  Georgia has struggled to find a reliable and consistent quarterback the last few years, but the Bulldogs have a couple promising candidates in senior Greyson Lambert and freshman Jacob Eason.  North Carolina is in a weaker position at quarterback having to replace the record setting talents of departed graduate Marquis Williams.  As a result, the outcome of the game could very well be determined by which running back outdistances the other: Georgia's Nick Chubb or North Carolina's Elijah Hood.

My pick: Georgia