Adam - This season I’ll be joining Nate in choosing the Games of the Week. In addition to the five most compelling matchups, each week we’ll be picking a winner in the game featuring our respective favorite team. For Nate, it will be the Fighting Irish, who luckily for him, should have a much improved season. For myself, it’s the Purdue Boilermakers, who are potentially looking ahead to one of their most tumultuous seasons in over a decade. The kick off to the college football season sees several matchups between top 25 teams, and with National Title hopes high for many of these teams, we are in for a great first weekend of football.

Nate - That’s right, it’s finally week one. Breathe that long sigh of relief as months of nothing but golf and tennis fade into that place where you put all of your bad memories and we dive right back in to wall-to-wall college football. Tiger Woods is fine and all, but he has nothing to JoePa, the Horseshoe and Touchdown Jesus.

Each week, Adam and I will be taking our best guesses on five games of interest and every Notre Dame and Purdue game (he’s an actual alumnus of Purdue, I’m just a subway alumni for the Irish).

This week holds more interesting matchups than most opening weekends I can remember, which is great, because this summer has seemed exceptionally long. Let’s pick some games!

No. 16 Oregon at No. 14 Boise State

Nate - Considering that I picked Oregon to win the Pac-10 and have them in my Preseason Top 5, I don’t think that I can pick against them here. But I’m tempted to. Boise State has shown in the past (hey there, Oklahoma!) that they are not afraid when they go up against the big boys. There’s also some bad blood in this game, as the Broncos knocked Ducks QB Jeremiah Masoli out on a questionable hit in last years game, which Boise State won. Don’t think that Oregon doesn’t remember that.
But I think that the Duck ground game will wear down the Bronco defense, just like it wears down just about every defense it faces. After three quarters of tight back-and-forth, I think that Oregon pulls away.

Ducks win, 35-24.

Adam - I look for another close game between these teams. This year, the Ducks come to Broncos Stadium with a healthy Jeremiah Masoli and a bruising running back in LeGarrette Blount, that is being overlooked in all the hype surrounding Jahvid Best. Blount put up great numbers in shared time last season and should see the majority of the work load this year. Boise State is going to have a tough time stopping the run, and Oregon should put up a lot of points. On the other side, I think Kellen Moore will keep the Broncos in the game with his arm, but in the end, the Ducks’ offense will be too much.

Ducks Win 38-31.

No. 13 Georgia at No. 9 Oklahoma State

Nate - Their defense aside, I personally don’t understand how Georgia is in the Top 15. They lost Stafford and Moreno in the draft, and while the new starters have potential, aside from A.J. Green, they have a lot to prove. Only their defense held them together and most of that unit returns.
Oklahoma State, on the other hand, deserves their ranking. They have a potent offense and their defense has made strides in the offseason. To beat these Cowboys, you have to hope to outscore them. Georgia is not likely to pull that off.

Oklahoma State wins, 27-14.

Adam - Georgia lost some hugely talented players to the NFL draft, but they are an SEC team—they’re friggin’ loaded. They have a great offensive line and some solid guys coming in to replace Stafford and Moreno.
On defense, they will probably blitz the hell out of Zac Robinson and put all other available hands on Dez Bryant. The other receivers for State have to get open and make plays for them to be successful in this, or any game. Oklahoma State should get used to rushing the passer as the season goes on, but not before a fairly balance attack of Georgia takes it to them.

Georgia Wins 34-24

No. 20 Brigham Young vs. No. 3 Oklahoma

Nate - Sure, BYU has the offensive firepower. Max Hall will have the luxury of handing the ball to Harvey Unga and passing to Austin Collie and Dennis Pitta. Whether their o-line will be able to handle the Sooners will make or break this game.
On Oklahoma’s side, the same thing is true. Sam Bradford will definitely be getting his jersey a little more soiled this year, with the loss of four starters on the offensive line. I highly doubt that BYU will be all over him, though. He’ll still have too much time to find whoever he wants through the air. It would be nice if this game was close, but I very much doubt it.

Boomer Sooner, 41-23.

Adam - BYU always tends to play extremely well, and usually posts one shocking win every year or so, but I think the stage of Cowboys Stadium, with thousands of Sooners Fans rattling Jerry Jones’ new baby, is just too much for them. Word on the street is that some guy named Sam Bradford is really freakin’ good, plus the Sooners have nine guys returning on defense. BYU can’t slow Bradford.

Oklahoma Wins 52-21.

Missouri vs. Illinois

Nate - The Big Ten isn’t what it used to be. Hasn’t been for quite some time, actually. Aside from Penn State (no one to catch the ball) and Ohio State (darkhorse BCS Champ), there isn’t much to write home about. Probably the closest to the discussion would be Illinois. After shocking the world two years ago, they dropped off in 2008. This game will be the indicator for their season. Will Juice Williams finally live up to the hype? Will Rejus Benn score an offensive touchdown? I honestly have no idea. But then again, Missouri is a similar question mark. Both of these teams could go 10-2 and I wouldn’t be shocked. Of course, they could both go 2-10 and I wouldn’t be shocked.
That said, I’ll give this one to the Illini. If they can find a running game this year, they’ll be dangerous, because everywhere else is locked down. Missouri has the passing game, the o-line and the defense to worry about. Too many questions for me.

Illinois wins, 27-16.

Adam - Missouri is coming into the 2009 season without Jeremy Maclin and Chase Daniel, but are looking to plug the next guys in the depth chart into their Spread Offense. They should have a much improved run game, but I think it’s going to take the new QB and wide receivers a couple weeks to get a rhythm going.
For Illinois, it is all about Juice Williams, who is coming into his senior season. Juice will be on top of his game to start the season and he needs to get a win, as the Zookers play only Illinois State before facing Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State in consecutive weeks.

Illinois Wins 34-28.

No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech

Nate - I almost never bet against Frank Beamer and I hate Nick Saban. I’m just going to lay that out there at the start. It’s not that I don’t think that Alabama is talented. It’s not that I don’t think that new QB Greg McElroy won’t fill in perfectly. It’s not even that I think Mount Kody isn’t the scariest thing ever to strap on a helmet.
It’s just that I don’t bet against Beamer. As long as he has his special teams, his defense and a few warm bodies to hand the ball to, he’ll be fine. Losing Darren Evans for the season just means that another running back will make him look like a hobo.
Va Tech wins, 13-9.

Adam - A lot of people are predicting the Hokies to make some noise this season, and playing in the Georgia Dome to start the season against Alabama is certainly preferable to playing in Tuscaloosa, but the Crimson Tide should take this one. The Tide are getting overlooked by most people who prefer to talk about Florida and the potential rise of Ole Miss. John Parker Wilson is out, but I hear Greg McElroy is pretty decent. The fact is, most SEC defenses are really good, and Alabama is no exception.

Alabama Wins 31-24.

Now, for the totally unbiased, levelheaded predictions for Purdue and Notre Dame:

Toledo at Purdue

Adam - I promise not to reference the “Hope” I have for the Boilers this season, but new head coach Danny Hope surely does have a lot of weight on his shoulders. One of the many beloved Purdue QBs, Curtis Painter is off to Indianapolis to backup Peyton Manning and Jim Sorgi, and so too is all-time Purdue touchdown leader, RB Kory Sheets.
The offense will struggle with a starting RB that missed all of last season, a QB that has barely touched the ball, but Purdue has always played well against the MAC. The Boilers will be at home and let’s face it, Toledo appears to be pretty shitty.
The Boilermakers’ defense should be okay throughout the year with the secondary returning intact from last season. This game should be a nice confidence boost for them just before they head to Eugene, OR. to be dismantled at the hands of the Ducks.

Purdue Wins 44-23.

Nevada at No. 23 Notre Dame

Nate - “Notre Dame always peaks a year ahead of schedule.” - Lou Holtz.
Uncle Lou also said that he expects the Irish to make it to the BCS title game. Not sure I’m ready to go that far. Nevada could make this a classic trap game for the ND defense, a talented but, for the most part, untested group. The Wolfpack are one of the best running teams in the nation and with Colin Kapernick pulling the trigger in the pistol, they are always dangerous. 
On the other hand, Nevada finished dead last in pass defense in 2008 and the Irish are returning the most talented receivers in the nation this year, with Golden Tate and Michael Floyd at WR and Kyle Rudolph at TE. If third-year starter and one-time wunderkind Jimmy Clausen can cut down on the INTs, this will be the first game in a darkhorse campaign to the Heisman Ceremony. No, I have not been taking drugs. Jimmy Clausen has a shot at the Heisman. Tell your friends.

Irish win a shootout, 45-27.