Sunday Football Double Dip

Unless you live in the area, most people wouldn’t make the connection that both Sunday college football games are intense local meetings. Ole Miss and Memphis are separated by just 85 miles, while fans from Boulder and Fort Collins get their dander up when these Colorado universities collide. There is a clear morganatic relationship in these heated get-togethers, with the non-BCS schools always feeling they have something to prove. This should be good entertaining football action on Sunday of a long holiday weekend.

Ole Miss at Memphis

This will be the sixth straight time these teams will start a new campaign matched against one another. Ole Miss is sexy SEC West pick, led by QB Jevan Snead, who is legit Heisman candidate, with large groups of NFL scouts hanging around the Oxford campus.

Going from trendy underdog to flashy front-runner has sidetracked more than one team in the past and the Rebels know it according coach Houston Nutt, who is trying to downplay public expectations. “It’s the same attitude we had last year when nobody had us ranked,” Nutt said of his approach to Mississippi being ranked No.8.

Bookmaker.com has Ole Miss as 17.5-point favorites with total of 55. The Rebels are 46-10-2 SU against Memphis but just 3-8-1 ATS as road chalk since 2000. Mississippi is 29-11 ATS in non-SEC action.

Coach Tommy West has found success in Memphis, but wants to play in C-USA title game this season. That might be easier said than done with only 12 returning starters. Quarterback Arkelon Hall has targets to throw to in Carlos Singleton and Duke Calhoun, who matchup well with Rebels secondary. Memphis doesn’t have the strength or power to go toe-to-toe with the offensive or defensive lines with their neighbor to the South, however the underdog is 4-2 ATS and the home team is 6-2-1 ATS.

Pulling a massive upset would get people talking about a Memphis team that is 17-9 ATS as a home dog and 18-12-1 ATS vs. the SEC. ESPN will telecast this contest at 3:30 Eastern.

Colorado State at Colorado

Even if you include last year’s 38-17 drubbing by Colorado, the last seven meetings in this in-state rivalry have been decided by 6.5 points per game. It just turns out to be fun to watch these teams get after one another.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins believes his team could compete for Big 12 North, if injured players return and offense gels. This is meaningful year for coach Hawkins, who is 13-24 (14-21 ATS) at Boulder and has talked about his team achieving 10 wins this campaign. The coach knows this is swing season for him and his club is 10.5-point favorite, with his son Cody needing big season to ease the pressure. If big time sophomore running Darrell Scott hits his stride, the Buffalos move to 15-7 ATS as double digit favorites.

Colorado State had surprising 7-6 campaign with a bowl victory and looks to build on solid season. That could be easier said than done without established quarterback and only five starters back on defense. If senior QB Grant Stucker can gain early confidence, he’ll be able to throw to some of the best wide receivers in the Mountain West Conference. Dating back to 1986, The Rams are 5-14 SU in this Rocky Mountain confrontation with a 12-7 ATS mark

This rivalry returns back to campus just for a year with Buffs 17-4 in home openers (0-7 ATS run). FSN will broadcast starting at 7 Eastern.