High Stakes

Kickoff Classics

Like the Michigan-UConn matchup, these season openers also have much on the line. Boise State--Virginia Tech in Landover, Md. Boise's first real shot at the BCS title game will be busted early if the Broncos can't stop running back Ryan Williams (below) and the Hokies in this Labor Day matchup. Oregon State--TCU in Arlington, Texas. Call it the Resourcefulness Bowl: Beavers coach Mike Riley and Frogs coach Gary Patterson are two of the best at maximizing talent. LSU--North Carolina in Atlanta. Les Miles and his underachieving Tigers need this game, but perhaps not as desperately as the Heels, now being investigated for NCAA rules violations, stemming from possible agent and academic improprieties.