FanHouse ChrisFowler

Public service announcement. Plus the promise of Thursday night college football should stir the insides of any red-blooded American. We're only what, six months away now?

August 28: North Carolina State @ South Carolina & Oregon State @ Stanford
September 4: South Carolina @ Vanderbilt
September 11: North Carolina @ Rutgers
September 18: West Virginia @ Colorado
September 25: USC @ Oregon State
October 2: Pittsburgh @ USF
October 9: Clemson @ Wake Forest
October 16: Florida State @ North Carolina State
October 23: Auburn @ West Virginia
October 30: USF @ Cincinnati
November 6: Maryland @ Virginia Tech
November 13: Virginia Tech @ Miami (FL)
November 20: Miami (FL) @ Georgia Tech
November 27 (Thanksgiving): Texas A&M @ Texas
December 4: Louisville @ Rutgers

For years Thursday nights have been dominated by SEC, Big East and ACC teams, so its nice to see appearances from the Pac-10 and Big 12. Diversity is a good thing here.

Previously at FanHouse:
Fourth Quarter Live Blog: Boston College @ Virginia Tech

There's quite a lovefest going on in the world of college football surrounding Ron Zook and the Fighting Illini. The Illini are ranked for the first time in six years, and are tied atop the Big Ten standings with Ohio State. There's legitimate talk of a conference title and trip to the Rose Bowl going on in Champaign. Even running back Rashard Mendenhall is having his name mentioned when it comes to talk of the Heisman.

It seems that Illinois is on the verge of becoming an actual football program. The only thing that could make it official would be if the Gameday crew came to town. Wait a second, what's that you said? Oh, no way!

While Zook, his staff and his players try to stay focused on this week's opponent, some university officials have no choice but to look ahead to the following game, Oct. 20 at home against Michigan.

ESPN already has contacted Illinois about the possibility of bringing its popular GameDay show to Champaign. And while nothing is certain, a visit from hosts Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard would bring a rock-show atmosphere to Memorial Stadium.

First Erin Andrews comes to town for the Wisconsin game, and now Lee Corso could be coming!? Oh what a joyous time to be alive and living in Champaign, Illinois!

This would be huge for Illinois as a program. Ron Zook and his staff are already fantastic recruiters, but now the school is going to start getting national exposure, which will only make Zook's job easier. If he can convince players like Arrelious Benn to pass up big time programs to come to a school that only won two games the previous season, just imagine what he can do with a winning program.

LSU @ Miss. St. | 1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr

Rejoice! Well, sort of. The SEC nuts will enjoy this matchup, the rest of us will have to squint at Mississippi State and hope there's maaaaaybe a bowl team in that roster. Whatever, at least college football's back and we're here to merrily observe. Today is our Christmas and no matter the gifts we're darn well going to enjoy it.

Fear not, CSI ("Loco Motives") and The Office ("Women's Appreciation") fanatics: tonight's episodes are re-runs and you can catch up on Season III of The Office on the soon-to-be released DVD (September 4th). So stick with college football as it's OPENING NIGHT. You gotta be here with us, just set your recorder.

Vitals, storylines and pregame notes below. LIVE BLOG commences at 8 Eastern (after the jump). Bring on the cowbells!

Vitals
- (No. 2 AP) LSU at (Unranked) Mississippi State (8 Eastern) ESPN

- LSU is favored by ~ 20 points

- Announcers: Chris Fowler, Doug Flutie, Craig James and Erin "Poopsie" Andrews

- Harmon Forecast: LSU 32, Mississippi State 11

- Phil Steele Facts LSU: LSU has won 7 straight, 14 of L/15 vs MSU, outscoring them 250-43 in the last 6. MSU gained 153 of their 226 total yds in 2H LY vs LSU's 2nd & 3rd string defense.

- Phil Steele Facts Mississippi State: Mississippi State is just 1-14 vs LSU since 1992. The average score of the last 6 games has been LSU 42-7. The Bulldogs have lost 7 straight SEC openers.

Pregame Notes (continuously updated)

ESPN has reshuffled its Thursday night crew, shelving Herbstreit and adding Flutie and James ... Tonight's nationally televised undercard is Tulsa at Louisiana-Monroe (ESPN2) ... notable teams playing tonight: Rutgers (vs. Buffalo), Louisville (vs. Murray State), Boise State (vs. Weber State) and Oregon State (vs. Utah) ... LSU won this game last year 48-17 ... Mississippi State rushed for just 14 yards while LSU quarterbacks completed 19 of 23 passes for 338 yards ... I think LSU coaches are still shocked that Joe McKnight isn't part of this Tiger team as they walk into the stadium ... ESPN's calling this "Thirsty Thursday" ... Definitely an SEC game as it's LOUD already in pregame ... First Erin Andrews sighting ... Ok kickoff, continued after the jump!

Score one for the FanHouse: we saw this coming more than a month ago. ESPN has hired former Miami coach Larry Coker to call games. Unfortunately, they buried him at ESPNU.

Personally, I'd rather have him in the studio given the glowing praise sent his way by the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel's Omar Kelly:

Television networks are making a HUGE mistake by not hiring Larry Coker to be a college football analyst. Coker's the funniest person in sports I know, and boy does he have some stories to tell. He's such an honest man I'm sure he'd share all his dirty laundry to the nation. The funniest thing about Coker is the fact that he couldn't tell a lie to save his life, or at least a good one. We in the media often found it comedic the way he'd always confess in the middle of his attempts to deceive. That characteristic is way out of the norm of today's head coaches.

Aaaargh! ESPN got this half right.

A mixed bag from the same AP story:

[Doug] Flutie will join Craig James and Chris Fowler in the booth for ESPN's Thursday night matchups.

Flutie's good in the booth, worse in studio so that's alright. James is better left out of the studio as well, but I'll miss last year's harmonious Thursday night crew of Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Chris Fowler and Erin Andrews. Things just won't be the same without Kirk Herbstreit around to call Erin Andrews his little poopsie.

People have suspected it for a long time. Now it has been printed in black and white. The talking heads that host ESPN's College GameDay Show do indeed have agendas. And apparently, they don't mind you knowing.

When the final Associated Press poll was released last week, Auburn finished ninth in the poll with an 11-2 record. However, GameDay's Kirk Herbstreit voted Auburn 18th in his final poll. Chris Fowler didn't do much better, putting the Tigers 14th. How can you justify that ranking?

That's nothing more than a blatant dislike of Auburn and its program. How do you put an 11-win team with victories over the number one and number three teams in the country at the bottom of your poll? In comparison, Herbstreit ranked Notre Dame 16th in his poll, two spots ahead of Auburn. You will recall that the Irish lost to LSU 41-14 in the Sugar Bowl, a team Auburn beat in the regular season.

ESPN officials should do the right thing and fire Herbstreit and replace him with former GameDay analyst Craig James, who's now back working at the network. The Associated Press should ask Herbstreit to resign from voting in the poll. Yes, public trust is that important. He gives everyone who votes a bad name.

Anytime a live national television broadcast comes to a college campus there's the opportunity for stupidity to raise its ugly head. This weekend is no exception. When ESPN's GameDay College Football Show comes live from the Plains of Auburn Saturday morning, there will be a temptation, probably by some students, to make fools of themselves and thus make Auburn look like a bunch of idiots.

Take it from somebody that acted like a fool at times in college, you'll only make yourself and your school look stupid. Making an obscene sign, sneaking it in passed security and then throwing it up at the last minute before anyone catches you is not funny anymore. You've already been beat to the punchline. The same goes for your language. There's nothing cool about using profanity during the broadcast. It makes you look low rent and reflects on all of us.

If you hold an unnatural grudge against GameDay then stay at home. Auburn only gets this opportunity every few years. Let's make the most of it. Regardless of what anyone says, Chris, Lee and Kirk do not hold a grudge against Auburn. If you haven't figured it out, GameDay is entertainment. They do have an agenda. Everyone does. Were they working to keep Auburn out of the BCS Championship? No.

Their job is to invoke emotion in all college football fans. One week they are with you, the next they're not. It's no different than a Paul Finebaum column. They are there to put on good theater and we're the supporting cast. All Auburn alumni and fans are proud of the tradition that we have on the Plains. We talk about the Auburn spirit frequently. It's a way of life and it's something that we want to share with the country. If you're planning on acting a fool, think twice about it. You're representing more than just yourself.

Link: Football Saturday In The South