2002 Non-Conference Landmines from the Collegefootballnews:
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Raise your hands all of you at the beginning of last year who had South Florida beating Pittsburgh, Troy State beating Mississippi State and Fresno State upsetting Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin. Every year there are upsets in non-conference games that you wouldn't see coming in a million years and you can be absolutely sure there will be more this season. Below are the most dangerous looking non-conference games in 2002 that could produce mighty upsets. These games obviously won't all be upsets and these aren't predictions, but you can be sure that the big teams could easily be caught napping, looking ahead to bigger games or just might not be jelled yet.
1. Utah at Michigan, Sept. 21st
This has all the makings of an epic upset. First, no one at Michigan from the players to the fans will take this game all that seriously, but you can bet the coaches will. After all, Michigan will have had to deal with Washington and Notre Dame before the Utes come to town. Second, this is a sandwich game for the Wolverines fitting between the battle with the Fighting Irish on the 14th and the Big Ten opener on the road at Illinois on the 28th. Finally, and Wolverine fans really aren't going to like this one, Utah might be more talented with more top pro prospects than Michigan has and no real weaknesses. The Ute defense isn't as good as Michigan's, but the Utah offense should be stronger and in a tight defensive battle, anything can happen. The main question is whether or not a notoriously underacheiving Utah team will be able to handle the intimidation of playing in the Big House.
2. New Mexico at NC State, Aug. 24
When is it best to pull off an upset? The earlier the better as there aren't any preseason games for the big teams to use to tune up. New Mexico isn't better than NC State, but the defense is solid and the offense could do just enough to give the usually slow starting Wolfpack a huge test. The Lobos could also pull off an upset on September 27th when Texas Tech travels to UNM.
3. Marshall at Virginia Tech, Sept. 12
Hokie players and fans are going to hear all the warnings about Byron Leftwich and the Marshall offense, but there's no way the Herd can burn the always tough Va Tech D, can it? The Virginia Tech running game should tear holes through the sad Marshall run defense, right? If Tech is licking its wounds/coming off a high after the LSU game and is looking ahead to the road game at Texas A&M, the Herd will hang a big number on the board and will make this very interesting. Oh yeah, this is Marshall's only real shot at making a national statement and will be ultra-motivated.
4. UCF at Penn State, August 31st
When we last saw a really good MAC team come into Happy Valley, Toledo was pulling off a program changing upset. While Penn State has the better team, UCF has the better pro prospects at the skill positions. QB Ryan Schneider and WR Doug Gabriel should have a field day against a mediocre Nittany Lion secondary and a Penn State team that might be looking ahead to Nebraska. Again, UCF is catching Penn State early and since this is its first game, the men in blue won't be as sharp as it will be in the middle of the season. UCF could also surprise when Syracuse comes to Orlando on November 2nd and will give Arizona State all it can handle on September 7th.
5. Ohio State at Cincinnati, Sept. 14
It never seems to work out when a mid-range program has one of those "Biggest Game Ever" contests, but this could be different. The Bearcats aren't some pushover this year with a nasty team on both sides of the ball and should give the Buckeyes as much as they can handle. Many of the Cincinnati players weren't considered by the monster State school and will have a horseshoe sized chip on their shoulders. The main reason though that UC won't win is cause this will be so hyped that there's no way OSU will look past the Bearcats to the Big Ten season. Cincy also hosts West Virginia on September 14th in a scare game for the Big East program.
6. Boise State at Arkansas, Sept. 7
The Broncos are loaded with returning talent on both sides of the ball and a passing game that should give the amazing Hog secondary fits. This isn't a great matchup for the Broncos as the run defense might be too soft to handle the Razorback ground attack, but with all the WAC powers coming to Boise you can be sure everyone in the program knows this could be a very, very big year if it can pull off an upset against a team that'll be rusty in its first game of the year. Also, watch out for the South Florida game at Arkansas on the 14th. QB Marquel Blackwell is a premier playmaker and the Hogs could be looking ahead to Bama.
7. UNLV at Oregon State, Sept. 14
Oregon State will be looking to reestablish itself as a top national program. There's one major problem though: This isn't the same UNLV team that had so many problems last year. Jason Thomas's should is back to normal and the dizzying array of Rebel athletes can hang with the great Beaver playmakers. If OSU QB Derek Anderson is struggling early, this might not be an upset if UNLV wins. The Rebels should also give Wisconsin a great ball game when the Badgers hit The Strip August 31st.
8. Louisiana Tech at Clemson, Sept. 7
When we last saw these two hook up, the Tigers were running wild in the snow on the Bulldogs in the Humanitarian Bowl. That easy win combined with the sandwich effect (the Tigers play Tech the week after Georgia and the week before Georgia Tech) means the Clemson players won't take this revenge-minded Tech team seriously and makes this a very dangerous game.
9. Illinois at Southern Miss, Sept. 7
Oh great. Not only does the high powered Illini offense have to face one of the nation's nastiest defenses, it has to do it on the road. USM is tough enough as an angry houseguest much less a surly host. Just a hunch though, Illinois won't be looking ahead to Arkansas State.
10. Arizona State at Nebraska, August 24th
Husker fans scoff at the suggestion that the Sun Devils will be anything more than a speed bump, but for a Nebraska team that's breaking in a new quarterback, and a relatively shaky one at that, and has to find a way to handle the outstanding ASU athletes on offense, this has all the makings of a possible upset. Once again, that early August 24th start date should be a concern to a Nebraska team that might be in need of a tune up.
11. Miami University at LSU, Sept. 14
This might seem like a cupcake win to most Tiger fans, but this is a very dangerous game before the start of the SEC season. While the RedHawks don't have the athletes on D to handle the LSU offense, Ben Roethlisberger and the Miami passing attack should shred the Tiger secondary if its anything like last year's version. Miami will also have a chance at an upset on September 7th when Iowa visits.
12. Memphis at Ole Miss, Sept. 7
The Tiger defense is just good enough to bother Eli Manning and the Rebels if they're not razor sharp. If Ole Miss is caught thinking about the showdown at Texas Tech on the 14th, then Memphis RB Dante Brown will do a ton of damage and Rebel fans could be shocked at the outcome.
13. Florida State at Louisville, Sept. 26
FSU has made a living off of breaking hearts and dreams on the road, but the Cardinal defense is as strong as any the Noles will face all season.
14. UCLA at Oklahoma State, Sept. 14
As strange as this may sound, this might not be an upset if the Cowboys win. This would be just the victory over a name team that a young team like OSU needs to keep its confidence up after the epic upset over Oklahoma last year.
15. Wake Forest at Northern Illinois, August 29th
Without RB Fred Stanton and if Tarence Williams's foot hasn't recovered, the MAC could have a nice win against a power conference to hang its hat on.
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Raise your hands all of you at the beginning of last year who had South Florida beating Pittsburgh, Troy State beating Mississippi State and Fresno State upsetting Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin. Every year there are upsets in non-conference games that you wouldn't see coming in a million years and you can be absolutely sure there will be more this season. Below are the most dangerous looking non-conference games in 2002 that could produce mighty upsets. These games obviously won't all be upsets and these aren't predictions, but you can be sure that the big teams could easily be caught napping, looking ahead to bigger games or just might not be jelled yet.
1. Utah at Michigan, Sept. 21st
This has all the makings of an epic upset. First, no one at Michigan from the players to the fans will take this game all that seriously, but you can bet the coaches will. After all, Michigan will have had to deal with Washington and Notre Dame before the Utes come to town. Second, this is a sandwich game for the Wolverines fitting between the battle with the Fighting Irish on the 14th and the Big Ten opener on the road at Illinois on the 28th. Finally, and Wolverine fans really aren't going to like this one, Utah might be more talented with more top pro prospects than Michigan has and no real weaknesses. The Ute defense isn't as good as Michigan's, but the Utah offense should be stronger and in a tight defensive battle, anything can happen. The main question is whether or not a notoriously underacheiving Utah team will be able to handle the intimidation of playing in the Big House.
2. New Mexico at NC State, Aug. 24
When is it best to pull off an upset? The earlier the better as there aren't any preseason games for the big teams to use to tune up. New Mexico isn't better than NC State, but the defense is solid and the offense could do just enough to give the usually slow starting Wolfpack a huge test. The Lobos could also pull off an upset on September 27th when Texas Tech travels to UNM.
3. Marshall at Virginia Tech, Sept. 12
Hokie players and fans are going to hear all the warnings about Byron Leftwich and the Marshall offense, but there's no way the Herd can burn the always tough Va Tech D, can it? The Virginia Tech running game should tear holes through the sad Marshall run defense, right? If Tech is licking its wounds/coming off a high after the LSU game and is looking ahead to the road game at Texas A&M, the Herd will hang a big number on the board and will make this very interesting. Oh yeah, this is Marshall's only real shot at making a national statement and will be ultra-motivated.
4. UCF at Penn State, August 31st
When we last saw a really good MAC team come into Happy Valley, Toledo was pulling off a program changing upset. While Penn State has the better team, UCF has the better pro prospects at the skill positions. QB Ryan Schneider and WR Doug Gabriel should have a field day against a mediocre Nittany Lion secondary and a Penn State team that might be looking ahead to Nebraska. Again, UCF is catching Penn State early and since this is its first game, the men in blue won't be as sharp as it will be in the middle of the season. UCF could also surprise when Syracuse comes to Orlando on November 2nd and will give Arizona State all it can handle on September 7th.
5. Ohio State at Cincinnati, Sept. 14
It never seems to work out when a mid-range program has one of those "Biggest Game Ever" contests, but this could be different. The Bearcats aren't some pushover this year with a nasty team on both sides of the ball and should give the Buckeyes as much as they can handle. Many of the Cincinnati players weren't considered by the monster State school and will have a horseshoe sized chip on their shoulders. The main reason though that UC won't win is cause this will be so hyped that there's no way OSU will look past the Bearcats to the Big Ten season. Cincy also hosts West Virginia on September 14th in a scare game for the Big East program.
6. Boise State at Arkansas, Sept. 7
The Broncos are loaded with returning talent on both sides of the ball and a passing game that should give the amazing Hog secondary fits. This isn't a great matchup for the Broncos as the run defense might be too soft to handle the Razorback ground attack, but with all the WAC powers coming to Boise you can be sure everyone in the program knows this could be a very, very big year if it can pull off an upset against a team that'll be rusty in its first game of the year. Also, watch out for the South Florida game at Arkansas on the 14th. QB Marquel Blackwell is a premier playmaker and the Hogs could be looking ahead to Bama.
7. UNLV at Oregon State, Sept. 14
Oregon State will be looking to reestablish itself as a top national program. There's one major problem though: This isn't the same UNLV team that had so many problems last year. Jason Thomas's should is back to normal and the dizzying array of Rebel athletes can hang with the great Beaver playmakers. If OSU QB Derek Anderson is struggling early, this might not be an upset if UNLV wins. The Rebels should also give Wisconsin a great ball game when the Badgers hit The Strip August 31st.
8. Louisiana Tech at Clemson, Sept. 7
When we last saw these two hook up, the Tigers were running wild in the snow on the Bulldogs in the Humanitarian Bowl. That easy win combined with the sandwich effect (the Tigers play Tech the week after Georgia and the week before Georgia Tech) means the Clemson players won't take this revenge-minded Tech team seriously and makes this a very dangerous game.
9. Illinois at Southern Miss, Sept. 7
Oh great. Not only does the high powered Illini offense have to face one of the nation's nastiest defenses, it has to do it on the road. USM is tough enough as an angry houseguest much less a surly host. Just a hunch though, Illinois won't be looking ahead to Arkansas State.
10. Arizona State at Nebraska, August 24th
Husker fans scoff at the suggestion that the Sun Devils will be anything more than a speed bump, but for a Nebraska team that's breaking in a new quarterback, and a relatively shaky one at that, and has to find a way to handle the outstanding ASU athletes on offense, this has all the makings of a possible upset. Once again, that early August 24th start date should be a concern to a Nebraska team that might be in need of a tune up.
11. Miami University at LSU, Sept. 14
This might seem like a cupcake win to most Tiger fans, but this is a very dangerous game before the start of the SEC season. While the RedHawks don't have the athletes on D to handle the LSU offense, Ben Roethlisberger and the Miami passing attack should shred the Tiger secondary if its anything like last year's version. Miami will also have a chance at an upset on September 7th when Iowa visits.
12. Memphis at Ole Miss, Sept. 7
The Tiger defense is just good enough to bother Eli Manning and the Rebels if they're not razor sharp. If Ole Miss is caught thinking about the showdown at Texas Tech on the 14th, then Memphis RB Dante Brown will do a ton of damage and Rebel fans could be shocked at the outcome.
13. Florida State at Louisville, Sept. 26
FSU has made a living off of breaking hearts and dreams on the road, but the Cardinal defense is as strong as any the Noles will face all season.
14. UCLA at Oklahoma State, Sept. 14
As strange as this may sound, this might not be an upset if the Cowboys win. This would be just the victory over a name team that a young team like OSU needs to keep its confidence up after the epic upset over Oklahoma last year.
15. Wake Forest at Northern Illinois, August 29th
Without RB Fred Stanton and if Tarence Williams's foot hasn't recovered, the MAC could have a nice win against a power conference to hang its hat on.
