FanHouse CraigJames

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

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.

Adam James, son of ABC analyst Craig James, is currently a 6-3, 220-pound freshman at Texas Tech. While college football fans remember his dad as - one-half of the "Pony Express" backfield, turned CFB talking head - Adam takes his father's fame in stride:

I don't even think about it," James said. "I mean, when you get to know him, he's really a normal guy. So to me, it doesn't even feel like he is."

Adam James was a greyshirt in the fall, meaning the spring practices have given Texas Tech coaches the first glimpse of what he is capable of.

"We don't entirely know what we have with him," [Texas Tech coach Mike] Leach said after Monday's practice. "We're looking forward to seeing. I think he's got real soft natural hands and catches the ball real well."

Those receiving skills might mean that Adam winds up as a tight end in the Red Raiders pass-happy offense. Lining up at TE could be just what Adam needs to help escape the shadow of his father's three-time all-SWC career as a running back at SMU. However, if Craig James is anything like I imagine, "Old Pony" will gleefully remind Adam of his 96-yard TD reception against North Texas in 1982 that set a new record as the longest scoring play in Southwest Conference history.

As far as broadcasting debuts go, Doug Flutie's effort in tonight's Boston College/Central Michigan game was a good one. The former Boston College, Canadian Football League and NFL signal-caller was a little tongue-tied early, but flashed an unmistakeable modesty and a touch of wit.

ESPN gifted him a first game try with his alma mater Eagles, a team he is understandably familiar with. But he handled it with grace by avoiding the obvious pull to be a homer, distributing his analytical efforts to both squads. Even more impressive, after Central Michigan's late comeback fell apart, Flutie sounded genuinely disappointed they couldn't pull of the upset. A homer he is not, providing balance and consideration to his listeners.

Flutie even offered a bit of levity.

After broadcast partner Craig James said "these BC QB's still have your shadow all over them," Flutie wryly answered back "I don't know about that, they cast their own shadows, they're all 6'-5". That moment generated a few laughs and eased up the first-game tension in the broadcast booth.

Later, during a close-call third down play where the broadcasters were questioning the officials' positioning of the football, Flutie quipped, "what's the matter with these refs, can't they see the orange [first down] marker?".

ESPN has greatly expanded its broadcast coverage of college football this year, creating job opportunities for new faces. ESPN took a flier on Flutie and so far, it's generously paid off.