It's been a long summer of anxious waiting, but rejoice, for the college football season is finally and blessfully upon us.
And, as has been the custom the past few years, the USC Gamecocks get the honor of inaugurating the new season, and in primetime.
The Gamecocks will take the national stage tonight as they kick off the 2012 college football season against SEC East foe, the Vanderbilt Commodores, at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Coming off an historic 11-2 season last year, the Gamecocks (ranked 9th nationally to start the season) will seek to get a leg up on their division competition with a win over the Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium.
Gamecock fans across the state and nation will undoubtedly be glued to their television sets, including this band of die-hard expatriates who now call the Music City home.
For a comprehensive preview of tonight's USC-Vanderbilt game, click here.
"Our guys realize that this is a big game for us, about the same as the Georgia or Tennessee game. Eastern Division conference rivals. Hopefully we're ready to play well. I think we are. Only time will tell," USC coach Steve Spurrier said this week. "The word out of Vanderbilt is they're ready to play very well. We know that. We have absolutely no excuses if we don't play well. We've had a lot of practices and we're pretty much injury-free."
Meantime, for the third year in a row, the ACC Champion Clemson Tigers (ranked 14th nationally) are set to start their season on Saturday night against Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome. The primetime contest, set for 7 p.m., also will be televised on ESPN.
For a preview of that game, click here. And for keys to the game, click here.
Will you be watching? Who's going to win? What are your predictions for the season? Give us your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
↧
Game On! USC vs. Vanderbilt
↧