So I was on the elliptical earlier today when a story out of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. caught my attention.

The Associated Press is reporting that reserve running back Luke Caparelli has been dismissed from the Wake Forest football team after posting threats to his Facebook.

The threats reportedly included Caparelli saying that he would blow up campus and would be carrying a loaded Uzi in his backpack. A search of the running back’s dorm room produced no weapons.

At first blush, I was outraged at this story. Upon reading a few more details, I am less incensed but still bothered. For starters, Caparelli has to be smarter than this. Post-Virginia Tech university officials and law enforcement will handle any threat, no matter how vague or taken in what context, as a serious one and justifiably so. You can’t post these kinds of remarks anywhere and not expect a visit from the police in short order, particularly on a university campus. Our generation has got to become smarter about what is and isn’t appropriate when utilizing all of this new technology.

But I have an issue, at least for now, with how this issue was handled by the football team. I doubt, very seriously, that if this were not a reserve running back and was instead a starter that he would have been dismissed from the team. However, injustices like this are hardly common in big-time collegiate athletics. But where is the support for this young man in the event that his comments were not made in jest utilizing stupendously poor judgment? So by removing him from the football team, you risk alienating him even further and additionally depriving him of the help that he may potentially need. This appears to be a really classless, spineless action taken by Jim Grobe and the Wake Forest football team and the athletic department.

All of this may be premature when and if additional details become available. The AP says that Caparelli has not returned phone calls and has not provided a comment on the matter. There is a suspicious lack of coverage on this story locally, far as I can tell. The Winston-Salem Journal has nothing, the Wake Forest student newspaper has nothing and there is no statement that I’ve seen on the Wake Forest athletic department website.

This situation stinks.

Friday, Dec. 28 - Texas Bowl

TCU vs. Houston 

All things being equal, Houston didn’t have a bad year, finishing 8-4 with losses to East Carolina, Alabama, Oregon and Tulsa. Still, playing under interim coach Chris Thurmond, after head coach Art Briles left for Baylor, you have to wonder how smooth the transition will be for the Cougars. Offensively, this Houston team is pretty talented. They have tailback Anthony Aldrige, a Conference USA all-teamer who finished the year with 1,500 yards rushing and wide receiver Donnie Avery who led the conference in receptions and receiving yards. The offense’s ability and effectiveness against a TCU defense who finished fifth in the Mountain West in pass defense could hinge largely on the play of freshman quarterback Case Keenum averaging just 160 yards a game through the air. Houston’s bread and butter all year has been Aldridge and a consistent run game. The offensive strategy may have to change if TCU’s front five stuff the ran as they have all year, leading the way in the Mountain West allowing just 95 yards a game on the ground. I don’t think the All-MWC first team defensive end Chase Ortiz and this Horned Frog defense will give Aldridge a chance to get going. I’ll take TCU beating Houston at Reliant Stadium in Houston in a close one.

Friday, Dec. 28 - Emerald Bowl 

Oregon State vs. Maryland 

For Oregon State, the strategy to beating Maryland in the Emerald Bowl is pretty simple: GET YVENSON BERNARD ON THE FIELD. The second-leading rusher in Oregon State football history, everything the Beavers do offensively centers around Yvenson Bernard. Bernard’s health is certainly a question going into the bowl game. After injuring his right knee against Washington State in the middle of November, Bernard had his right knee scoped and missed the Beavers’ double overtime win against archrival Oregon in Eugene. With Bernard in the lineup, Oregon State becomes an exponentially better team. Going up against a Maryland rush defense that is giving up more than 136 yards a game on the ground, Bernard’s health will be huge for Oregon State. To be successful, Oregon State will have to put a helmet on Terrapin linebacker Erin Henderson. A First-Team All-ACC selection, Henderson is a game changer; leading the ACC in both tackles and fumble recoveries. Terps coach Ralph Friedgen will rely heavily on his defense to make plays, create turnovers and even put some points on the board since his offense has struggled to find their rhythm all year. I’ll take Oregon State in this one, betting that Yvenson Bernard will be healthy enough to go.

Saturday, Dec. 29 - Meineke Car Car Bowl

UConn vs. Wake Forest 

Better than anybody else in America, UConn has found ways to win all year round. Still, I would think this is a game of disappointment for both squads in this game. UConn was playing for a Big East title before being beaten at Cincinnati on Nov. 10 and then blown out by West Virginia on Nov. 24. Coming off a Cinderella season, an ACC Title and a trip to the Orange Bowl, Jim Grobe’s team has struggled offensively and battled injuries to key starters for most of the season. This game will ultimately comes down to which of these defenses can make plays. UConn’s defense, which finished second in the Big East in scoring this season, has found ways to create turnovers and score points all year long — largely out of necessity. UConn’s offense, led by Tyler Lorenzen, who finished third to last among Big East quarterbacks in yards passing a game and tailback Andre Dixon, who had more than 20 yards less rushing yards on the season than USF quarterback Matt Grothe. For Wake Forest, who found out today they will be keeping coach Jim Grobe, who had entertained the notion of becoming Arkansas’ next head coach, offensive consistency have been tough to come by this season. The Demon Deacons ranked in the lower half of ACC teams in total offense and have been unspectacular on defense; finishing ninth in the conference. If Wake Forest is to win this game, that offense will have to find some playmakers and quick. I’ll take UConn in this low-scoring affair.

After reports that Tommy Tuberville, Tommy Bowden and Jim Grobe were both going to take the Arkansas job at various points this offseason, both of them have decided to stay with their schools when today Jim Grobe reportedly turned down the Razorback head coaching job to stay at Wake Forest.

I think it’s time for Razorback fans to step up and take some responsibility for what this program has become. After the way Houston Nutt was treated in the wake of the Mitch Mustain fiasco, coaches are hesitant to take a job where they will be subjected to that level of scrutiny, held to absurdly high expectations and have their phone records FOIA’d by an overzealous fan base. What coach wants that for themselves or his family? I’m not sure who they think they’re going to be able to get know after three coaches have entertained the notion before turning it down.

As we cruise into week two of college football, we have already learned some valuable lessons that will help dictate our football viewing strategies for the rest of the season. First and foremost, that no game involving Notre Dame is worth watching, even if Jimmy Clausen is starting, as Charlie Weis announced yesterday.

Let me just go on record as saying that Rutgers and Louisville have officially gotten on my nerves. I get it, guys. You schedule your games for Thursday and Friday night to get some national airtime but I am not at all interested in seeing Louisville beat up on the mighty Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University. Ditto for Rutgers thumping Navy on Friday night. It’s not good football or good television, it’s just annoying. Given how weak the Big East is, you would think one of these schools (lump in West Virginia for kicks) would schedule someone of some import to gain some credibility for those teams, the conference and the Heisman candidacies of the league’s top players. But who wants to play USC, Texas, Oklahoma or LSU when you can line up against Middle Tennessee State, Marshall and Navy? They can play those games but I’m not watching them.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Virginia Tech at LSU - 9:15 ET - ESPN

What was billed at the beginning of the year as the best non-conference matchup of the season, which it still very well may be, has turned into a game of reluctant excitement for most college football fans after less than spectacular week one performances by both teams.

For LSU, they managed to turn on the afterburners and leave Mississippi State in the dust after an average-to-poor performance in the first half in Starkville. For Virginia Tech, they couldn’t seem to close the door in Blacksburg on Saturday against ECU, beating the Pirates by just 10 points, seven of which came on an interception return for a touchdown toward the end of the first half.

The matchup is intriguing but if you’re LSU, you have to feel better about this game than the Hokies do. Given the monsters that the Tigers have up front, you have to figure Bo Pelini is going to throw a number of blitz packages at Sean Glennon, who looked like a deer in headlights at certain moments against ECU, and force him to make bad decisions, leaving Jonathan Zenon, Chevis Jackson and Craig Steltz to do what they do best: intercept the football.

On offense, new offensive coordinator Gary Crowton will have to prove that this offense has some depth, dimension and creativity after a stagnant performance against Mississippi State Thursday night. Running the ball could be difficult given who the Hokies have playing linebacker and the cornerback/receiver matchups in this one are intriguing.

O.G.I. - OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST

Oregon State at Cincinnati - Thursday - 7:30 ET - ESPN

Oregon State running back Yvenson Bernard may be the nation’s best kept secret at tailback and he will get a chance to show out Thursday night when the Beavers take on the Bearcats in Cincy. Last week, Bernard hung 165 yards and 2 TDs on a pretty good Utah team and will look to do the same on national TV Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Bearcats come into the game from a week where they scored 59 against Southeast Missouri State, including more than 300 yards on the ground. On the other side of the ball, Oregon State held the Utes to 20 yards rushing. I’d expect the Beavers to roll big in those and for Bernard to have a huge game.

Miami at#8 Oklahoma - 12:00 ET - ABC

Two or three years ago, this would have been the game of the week, nay of the season, but with Randy Shannon rebuilding Miami football, the game manages a small blip on the radar on this week. I’m expecting Oklahoma to hang a big number on The U but the game could be worth a watch if you didn’t buy third season of The Office, which came out this week.

#20 Nebraska at Wake Forest - 12:00 ET - ESPN

Hats off to teams like Oklahoma and Miami, Wake and Nebraska for scheduling early season games that are worth checking out. Wake quarterback Riley Skinner is not likely to play in this game after separating his shoulder against BC last week and that could make a difference. If you haven’t gotten a chance to see Sam Keller and Nebraska, this game presents a good opportunity to do so and it’s certainly a better game than Oklahoma/Miami.

Oregon at Michigan - 3:30 PM - ABC

This game is interesting for a couple different reasons. The most obvious being that many people, myself included, want to see how Michigan will respond after suffering the greatest upset in the history of the sport last week at home. My guess is that the Michigan faithful will yell and cheer and get rowdy and show that they are still behind their team, that is unless they lose again at home to a team they should be. It will also give people a chance to see Oregon, a team not many people are familiar with. The Oregon offense against the Michigan defense is a matchup worth watching regardless of the game’s backdrop

South Carolina at #13 Georgia - 5:45 ET - ESPN2

Certainly the most intriguing SEC matchup of the week (sorry Vandy/Alabama). The game will serve as a test to see just how much the new and interception-free Matthew Stafford has matured. I expect Georgia, based on how they played last week against Oklahoma State, to win big but it’s a regional and SEC rivalry and anything could happen. One thing that will happen in this content, win or lose, we will find out just how far Matthew Stafford has come.

#22 TCU at #4 Texas - 7:00 PM ET - Fox Sports Net

Only the second game this week between ranked teams, TCU and Texas’ matchup will be watchable… at least until LSU/VT comes on. I’m not really sure what to make of TCU but Texas is ranked that high for a reason and they’re awfully good. TCU defensive end Tommy Blake will need to get in Colt McCoy’s face early and often if the Horned Frogs are to have a chance in Austin.

UNDER THE RADAR GAME OF THE WEEK

South Florida at #18 Auburn - 8:00 ET - ESPN2

The Tigers, fresh off a solid if unconvincing win, over Kansas State play host to South Florida and the Bulls are certainly upset-minded. For most of America, it will be one of their first exposure to USF quarterback Matt Grothe, who has Big East coaches singing his praises. The multi-talented Grothe is as dangerous with his legs as he is with his arm. I’m not sure we’ll see an upset in this one but USF could give Auburn a game that is worth checking out while the VT/LSU game is at commercial.

Thankfully, week one is college football is devoid of the time conflicts that make the middle of the college football season so wonderfully excrutiating for the avid college football fan. No having to choose between a battle of the Big Ten’s best and a showdown between the SEC elite inexplicably both scheduled at 3:30 in the afternoon. But that is not the first week in college football. For all the hype and the 25-hours of pre-game madness ESPN will be spewing all day, week one consists mainly of powerhouse schools paying for their Division 1-AA brethren to come on down to Columbus, Ann Arbor, Gainesville and Tuscaloosa for a proper, if not agonizing to watch, butt-kicking.

That being said, there are some games worth watching and TiVo’ing, some early season conference showdowns and even a couple non-conference games worth keeping an eye on.

Game of the week: #15 Tennessee at #12 Cal -8:00 p.m. ET - ABC

In what was one of the most unconvincing performances by a fashionable preseason national championship pick, Cal and head coach Jeff Tedford went to Knoxville and got it handed to them last year. The defense made then-junior quarterback Erik Ainge look like the greatest Tennesee quarterback since… Tee Martin? Tedford put the game in the hands of sophomore Nate Longshore, hands which were apparently lubed with mayonnaise before kick-off. Longshore stunk on ice.  This year, the Vols travel west to play the Golden Bears in Berkeley in what is, without a doubt, one of the best non-conference match-ups of the season. If you can’t watch it, I’d suggest taping it or erasing some episodes of Boy Meets World to find some space on your TiVo for this one.

GAMES FOR MEN WHO AREN’T AFRAID TO CRY 

Week One also begins on a somber note for two schools. First Virginia Tech opens its season at home against East Carolina in the first football game for the Hokies since a gunman killed 33 people this April. While I think people, myself included,  intend to overestimate the importance of sports in our culture, I do understand its undeniable power to help those struggling with grief and tragedy to find some sense of normalcy. What happened at Virginia Tech can never be undone, let alone by a silly football game, but maybe the game will grant that campus and that community a much-welcomed respite from the unspeakable horror of lives shattered and changed forever by a random act of violence on a blustery April morning in Blacksburg. East Carolina at Virginia Tech - 12:00 p.m. ET - ESPN

Saturday night will also be the first game back for my alma mater Indiana following the offseason death of head coach Terry Hoeppener. The Hoosiers open the season with Indiana State and my guess is that there won’t be a dry eye in the house. The game will begin with a gut-wrenching video tribute to Coach Hep that will have the toughest of tough guys biting their lower lip with clenched, quivering jaws with a ceremony with Hoeppner’s family to follow. As I wrote this, the Indiana media guide landed on my desk. The first five pages of the guide are dedicated to the memory of Coach Hep. In just three years, Hep came to symbolize hope for the Hoosier faithful who put off thinking about basketball season in late October to see if this would be the year that their beloved Hoosiers would play in Nashville, San Antonio, Orlando, Detroit or Tampa over Christmas break. Unfortunately, we will never have that year under Coach Hep but his memory and his legacy lives on in the hearts of the Indiana University family. Indiana State at Indiana - 8:00 p.m. ET - The Big Ten Network. 

O.G.I. - OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame - 3:30 p.m.  ET - NBC 

Charlie Weis is keeping his starting quarterback a secret and I must say that it’s nice of sportswriters to humor him and act like they give a crap or don’t believe it’s going to be freshman Jimmy Clausen. None the less, this will be a watchable, if not, unspectacular game but you can’t deny the power of South Bend on a Saturday. I hate Notre Dame and I’ve been on that campus on gameday and it’s unlike any other place on Earth. In two words, goosebump-inducing.

Wake Forest at Boston College - 3:30 p.m. - ABC 

An early season showdown between two potential ACC powers in ‘07. Last year’s Cinderella, Wake Forest, heads to Chestnut Hill to face quarterback Matt Ryan and Boston College. Ryan is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league and the game could be the perfect opportunity for him and the Eagles to make a statement and start the season off on a good note.

Oklahoma State at #13 Georgia - 6:45 p.m. ET - ESPN2 

I’ve got to hand it to Georgia, Tennesee and Auburn and applaud all of them for going out and not scheduling tomato cans (*ahem* Florida) in the first week. Most people, myself included, think that there’s no conceivable way that Georgia is the 13th best team in the country and the Cowboys and wide out Adarious Bowman, who some believe to be the best receiver in the country, pose a very interesting matchup to the Bulldogs in week one. The game will also serve as a pretty good indicator of how true sophomore Matthew Stafford will play this year. Will he be the gun-slinging, interception-prone quarterback of his youth or will he emerge matured and ready to be crowned the SEC’s best quarterback? We’ll see at 6:45 p.m. Between the Hedges.

#19 Florida State at Clemson - 8:00 p.m. ET - ESPN

Who’s ready for the Labor Day installment of the Bowden Bowl?!!? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? For Florida State fans, the week one clash at Death Valley will be an early test of how frustrating it will be to watch Drew Weatherford all-season. For Clemson, the strategy should be simple. HAND THE STUPID BALL OFF TO JAMES DAVIS AND C.J. SPILLER! None the less, it’s the best game on Labor Day so it’s worth watching, unless you got Heroes Season 1 on DVD.

UNDER THE RADAR GAME OF THE WEEK 

Arizona at BYU - 5:30 p.m. - VERSUS 

Of all the games that I picked this week, it was this game that  was the most difficult to pick. If I were able to pick “push,” I would have. This game poses some very interesting questions. Will this be the year that Bob Stoops turns Arizona around and makes them relevant in the Pac-10? Can BYU’s offense be effective without quarterback John Beck? Unfortunately, this is probably the fourth best game on in its time slot but it could be a heck of a game when it’s all said and done.

Yes, I know it’s more than two weeks from the official start of the 2007 college football season but I’ve already printed out the schedule for week 1 and will soon set my TiVo. When we get closer to the start of week one, I’ll pick a game of the week and a list of winners of every game over the weekend to track how I’m doing throughout the season.

______________

UCLA at STANFORD - 3:30 p.m. 

It’s the official beginning of the Jim Harbaugh/Captain Comeback era at Stanford and this game will prove a very interesting test for the Cardinal, and the Bruins in week one. This is sort of a baptism by fire for Harbaugh, who will be forced to show if he can actually coach or if he’s just good at spreading rumors about Pete Carroll leaving USC and lobbing grenades at this alma mater.

WHO YA GOT? The Ben Olson/Chris Markey combination on offense will be too much for Stanford’s porous defense.. even at home. I’m taking the Bruins.

GEORGIA TECH at NOTRE DAME - 3:30 P.M. 

Charlie Weis is still posturing that he’s not going to start Jimmy Clausen in week 1 against Georgia Tech but my guess is that this game will be the beginning of the Clausen era in South Bend. The Irish defense will need to stop Tashard Choice and the GT running game. On the other side of the ball, with senior quarterback Reggie Ball gone, this will be the first real road test for first year starter Taylor Bennett,

WHO YA GOT? Gotta go with the Irish at home. Even though Notre Dame lost Brady Quinn, Darius Walker, Rhema McKnight and Jeff Samardjiza, none of those losses offset the impact Calvin Johnson leaving GT early will have on that Georgia Tech offense. With CJ, this is probably a Georgia Tech win but without him, I got the Irish by at least 7.

WAKE FOREST at BOSTON COLLEGE - 3:30 p.m. 

Jim Grobe and last year’s Wake Forest team was college football’s best Cinderella story last year and this early season Atlantic division matchup at Chesnut Hill will show if the stage coach turned back into a pumpkin. Both squads return competent signal callers in Riley Skinner and Matt Ryan. This is a huge game for Jim Grobe’s team as far as confidence building is concerned and a win on the road at BC, who is favored to win the Atlantic, would be huge for the Demon Deacons. but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

WHO YA GOT? The BC defense is very tough and very seasoned and I don’t anticipate them having a tough time throwing blitz packages at Riley Skinner and confusing him into throwing a bad interception or two. I’ll take the Eagles by at least 7.

MISSOURI AT ILLINOIS - 3:30 P.M. 

Ron Zook surprised the college football universe last year when he snagged some of the nation’s top recruits, specifically wide receiver Arrelious Benn. I don’t see this game even being close. Missouri is a far better team than is Illinois and I expect Mizzou QB Chase Daniel to have a big game against a weak Illinois secondary. I will be very interested to see if Zook opens up the offense and lets QB Juice Williams air it out to Benn a couple times and give the Illini faithful something to look forward to.

WHO YA GOT? A no-brainer. Mizzou by at least 10.

TENNESSEE at CAL - 8:00 P.M. 

I don’t think I saw a worse performance by a quarterback in a big game last year than Nate Longshore’s tank job at Rocky Top. Defensive coordinator John Chavis called one of the best defensive games of the year last year confused and frustrated Longshore and stopped future first-rounder Marshawn Lynch essentially snubbing the running back’s Heisman hopes in week one. Back for the Golden Bears are Longshore, running back Justin Forsett and wide receiver DeSean Jackson. This year’s game could make for one of the year’s best.

WHO YA GOT? This is one of those games that you hate to prognosticate because you know whoever you pick, you have a substantial chance of being wrong. I’m still going with Cal at home. I think what happened last year was a total embarrassment to Tedford and to the program and they’ll be hungry to exact some revenge. It will be a very tight game could be decided by 3 points or less.

FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON - 8:00 P.M.

When I interviewed Bobby Bowden a couple months ago, he cited the week 1 game at his son Tommy and the Clemson Tigers at Death Valley as the most important game of the year for his ‘Noles. And it is. Forget that FSU opens the season against a conference foe on the road, the game will be a crucial game for Drew Weatherford/Xavier Lee/Jimbo Fisher and the Florida State offense. Equally as important is the FSU defense who will be handed the dubious task of stopping James Davis and C.J. Spiller, one of the nation’s best running tandems.

WHO YA GOT? Feeling pretty good about Florida State in this one. Clemson starts its third quarterback in as many years and lost a good portion of its defense and won’t be able to match the firepower that Florida State will bring with them from Tallahassee.