THE CHEAT SHEET- Week 1

Editors note.. The Cheat Sheet is our weekly look at the upcoming college football weekend.

THANK YOU (insert whomever you pray to here), THE SEASON IS FINALLY UPON US! There have been multiple polls, writeup's, blogs, tweets and blerg's about the season. Conferences have gotten stronger, weaker, stayed the same... and yet, it takes PLAYIN THE FREAKIN GAMES to finally make everyone happy. So, without further delay, here is the first Cheat Sheet for 2010.

VIEWERS GUIDE:

Five Stars: You aren't leaving the house for this one.Outside of your wife/kids bleeding to death, you're watching this game. Even then, if you can put duck tape on it for a while, even better.

Four Stars: It isn't life or death to watch this game, but it's a good reason to activate your Slingbox on your dish/cable box and your phone if you do get out of the house.

Three Stars: You could and should be mowing or cleaning the garage, but this game is on and it gives you a good reason to act like your back is hurting for a while till it's not close anymore.

Two Stars: You're out shopping with the wife, planning the wedding with the GF, or actually mowing the yard and cleaning the garage, and this is the game that makes you think "Oh yea, that's on. I should check my phone for the score."

One Star: Go reshingle your doghouse, clean your toilet with your tongue, tar your roof with your bare feet. That would hurt less than watching this trainwreck.

#15 Pittsburgh at Utah, Thursday at 8:30 Eastern, Versus
  
This is a very tough game for Dave Wannestet and a team that has a suspect offensive line. Kyle Whittingham has a young defense, but playing in Salt Lake City is not a very good starter for anyone, let alone a Big East team that doesn't seem to travel west of the Mississippi very well. Pitt loses this one, and all of a sudden they could be staring a trainwreck start in the face with Miami coming up very soon. This one is a 4-star game because it will tell us a lot about how each team will be standing in the middle of the season. You can't fake it against Utah.

Illinois vs. Missouri, 11:30 Central, FSN

The reason I'm putting this game on is because the loser of this game head coach wise will be COOKING on his chair Monday Morning. Ron Zook has maybe a fifth of the talent he inherited recruited at Florida. How he has made it through to 2010 in Champagne, I really don't know. However, Gary Pinkel is close behind with three DWI's and a Sexual Assult charge against starting Running Back and Captain Derrick Washington, all since the beginning of August. You take that and add the fact that Pinkel didn't really tear it up in 2009, and you have a game that will basically start the death knoll of either head coach if they lose. Zook because he can't beat anyone, Pinkel for not being able to control his team on or off the field. Three and a half stars on this one, it will be good but I think Mizzou should be able to handle it.

Conneticut vs. Michigan, 2:30 Central, ABC

Have you seen the new Michigan Stadium? It looks great. New suites, bigger than ever before... and Fielding Yost will be the only person in the house if RichRod loses this game not to light it on fire as they leave. UConn is not a bad team at all. Randy Edsall's team has won their last 3 road openers by an average of almost 2 touchdowns. Plus, Greg Robinson has pictures of someone's wife and is STILL running this defense. Four star game here. If Tate Forcier can't score, and Michigan gets behind... what kind of mood will overcome The Big House? Plus, with a date in South Bend in week 2... ooh, it could get ugly fast kids.

Washington vs BYU, 6:00 Central

This is the game Jake Locker needs to shine in to be really considered a Heisman candidate. And Steve Sarkasian and Washington will be catching BYU in a pretty busy week. Earlier Wednesday, the school announced they will go Independant in football, while joining the West Coast Conference in every other sport. Opening at LaVell Edwards Stadium isn't normally a good place. However, Sarkasian has improved Locker and Washington so well, it shoudn't matter. Three star game, because this game should kick start the campaign for a West Coast player not playing in LA to win the award.

#24 Oregon State vs #6 TCU (@ Cowboys Stadium, Arlington), 6:00 Central, ESPN

This game is actually disappointing to me through the eyes of TCU. Cowboys Stadium is expecting only 40,000 tickets to be sold. That's a very sad story to me considering that the game is only 20 minutes from Fort Worth. With the expansion of Amon-Carter Stadium, one would think that Gary Patterson and TCU could use this game to kickstart the hype for this season. Oregon State is going to be looking to be the show stealer, and Jacquizz Rodgers is the playmaker that could do it. 2.5 stars on this one. Only diehards will be watching intently, however this is a good game to know how good TCU will be. Expect Andy Dalton to be rock solid as normal.

#21 North Carolina vs. #18 LSU (@ Georgia Dome, Atlanta) 8:00 Eastern, ABC

Two potential good teams here, and two trainwrecks trying to not self-combust all over the field. Les Miles need Gary Crowton and Jordan Jefferson to step up and make the Tigers a good offensive team. Good luck against the Tar Heels. Butch Davis, on the other hand, has had the NCAA investingating a lot of things ending in "gate". Ask Richard Nixon how that ends up. Take the unders on this one. Jefferson will have issues, as well as T.J. Yates. However, the NC Defense will end up winning this one. LSU will play well, but Carolina will be just that much better. Four star game here, one to see how teams that have been touted as being relevant in their divisions/conference should do here.

#3 Boise State vs. #10 Virginia Tech (@ FedEx Field, Landover MD) Monday 8:00 Eastern, ESPN

Two very good teams that should and will win their conferences. This game is Five star as they get early in the year. Tyrod Taylor the playmaker vs. Kellen Moore the winner. Frank Beamer and special teams vs Chris Peterson's never lose gameplan. This is more the game that Boise has to win rather than Virgina Tech can't lose. VaTech can still lose this game and be very relevant in the title hunt. Boise, on the other hand, has to jump on Tech early, hard, and often to win and make an impression to get ranked high enough to be a BCS contender. I do think Boise can win, but it won't be enough to keep the SEC homers from crying how overrated they are make the national writers anywhere but on the West Coast notice.


Coaches who should keep the movers and realtors on speed dial:

Ralph Friedgen: Maryland opens at home against Navy. Better be convincing in your win, and don't ask Charlie Weis how to gameplan that one.
Mike Stoops:  Ask Dan Hawkins what it's like to play at Toledo with a underacheiving bunch. Speaking of..
Dan Hawkins: Do they give intramural coaches extentions? Not ones that can't beat Colorado State.
Steve Spurrier: Yes, a SEC team should beat Southern Miss. Thats why you should be worried about Wesley Saunders' issues. This team can barely beat the scout team some weeks, and they need all the help they can get.

Food and Drink option for the weekend:

It's the first weekend of the season. You've been working out and prepping your liver and colon for this one. Therefore, you should take it easy on both of them for now. You need em the first week of November. So for food, we keep it simple with some sliders...

Texas Hold-Ums Mini Chipotle Beef Burgers with Warm Fire Roasted Garlic Ketchup

Ingredients
2 pounds ground sirloin
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in 1/2
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
2 chipotles in adobo and 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce
2 tablespoons grill seasoning, a couple of palm fulls, (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 (15-ounce) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes, about 2 cups
Salt and pepper
12 slices, 1/2-inch thick, brick-cut smoked Cheddar or sharp Cheddar, optional
12 small round rolls, split

Directions
Preheat grill pan to high.

Place the meat in a bowl. Cut the onion in half. Grate half the onion into the meat using the small grate on a
box grater. Chop and reserve the other half onion. Add Worcestershire, chipotles and sauce and grill seasoning
to burgers. Drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the bowl and mix meat. Score the meat into 4
sections. Make 3 mini-burgers, each 3 inches wide, 1-inch thick, from each half-pound of meat.

Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and garlic. Cook garlic 2 to 3 minutes
then add sugar and vinegar, cook 2 minutes more and stir in tomatoes. Season sauce with salt and pepper and
allow it to reduce 5 to 6 minutes more.

Grill meat 2 to 3 minutes on each side and top with cheese, if you like.

Place burgers on buns and top with raw chopped onions and warm fire roasted ketchup and serve.

MMMMMM... burgers. Keep it simple for the beverage this week. Your favorite American ale (Bud Light, Miller Lite) or even soda pop.

The mascot you love to hate:

Pac 10 version this week. Stanford, you get first dibs!

If you looked like that, you'd have to be drunk too. Wait.. that's encouraged?

AND FINALLY..

I'm not really going to tell you that I feel bad for Jeremiah Masoli, Houston Nutt, and Ole Miss for the NCAA not clearing Masoli for this season because, well, he's not very bright and couldn't keep the gig at Oregon. However, I am going to take an issue with the timing of the announcement and decision by the NCAA. I get that they have been busy in the Carolina's this late summer, however there is no reason this decision should have taken till Tuesday of game week. Remember, this is the same body that decided to keep their hands off of confrerence realignment, even though they are the ones who legislate, govern, and oversee all schools, BCS be damned or not. Personally, I don't think Masoli will make it to next year (although, that's 60-40 depending on his draft stock in January). However, if the NCAA can jump like a little kid scared cause Nick Saban is pissed off because agents hang around Tuscaloosa all day hoping to "run into" Mark Ingram or someone else, then there is no reason that someone at the clearinghouse can get off their asses and make this decision earlier in the process, not 3 days before Mississippi kicks off their season.

GO ENJOY THE WEEK, AND WE WILL BE BACK TUESDAY WITH OUR REVIEW.