Day 5: What to watch for in week one

As a student at N.C. State it is my job to continuously hype the N.C. State game against South Carolina, by the way it is this Thursday night at 7pm on ESPN. But in this column I will tell you about a few other games to watch for during the first week of the college football season.

The obvious one? Another ACC/SEC battle. Alabama and Virginia Tech will play at 8pm Saturday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Alabama comes in ranked fifth and Virginia Tech starts the season at seventh.

What a Hokie win would mean: The ACC has been starving for respect in the BCS after last season's ACC/SEC showed Alabama beat Clemson to start the season. Virginia Tech can help the ACC earn that respect by beating a national power on a neutral field.

What a Crimson Tide win would mean: Alabama could mark their spot among the nation's elite by beating the Hokies. This game would start Alabama off on their way to a national title run.

How about an SEC/Big 12 showdown? When 13th ranked Georgia travels to Stillwater to take on the ninth ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, more conference pride is on the line.

What a Georgia win would mean: A win for Georgia would show that they can continue to succeed without Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. It would be quite impressive if they could show that.

What a Cowboy win would mean: A win would show that the Big 12 is ready to play again this year, and its not just Texas and Oklahoma in the race.

I've talked a lot about games important to conference pride. Oregon, ranked 16th, will visit 14th ranked Boise State Saturday at 10:15pm.

What an Oregon win would mean: The Pac-10 is often noted as USC's conference, and it still is. Oregon can make a splash on the national outlook with a win on the road against a nationally ranked team.

What a Bronco win would mean: The WAC is alive yet again. And Boise State is back for more BCS crashing. This may be Boise's toughest test all season, a win might mean an undefeated season.

Thanks for reading day 5 of First and Short's week long college football tailgate party, check back tomorrow for day six.