Presto's Picks: serving cupcakes by the dozen...

College football’s first weekend gives fans one matchup involving ranked teams (take #15 Cal over 12th ranked Tennesee Saturday night) and a plethora of mismatches and legalized muggings. Michigan-Appalachian State? Bring it on. Oklahoma-North Texas? Hold on, isn’t Oklahoma technically “North Texas”? Washington-Syracuse? (HEY—that’s my alma mater--- and despite a downward spiral since Donovan McNabb’s departure, they can’t much worse… or can they?) These early season tests are a necessary evil of college football; with no “preseason” like the NFL, the college game has these matchups providing seasoning for the major powers—and cash guarantees for the small-conference schools. I’m fine with a school scheduling one sacrificial lamb, but with 12 games now the norm there seems to be quite a bit of schedulepadding: one year Penn State played 3 MAC schools (was JoePa trying to qualify for the Motor City Bowl?). Well, even 73-10 beats an extra round of “Who’s Now” on Sportscenter-- MARYLAND vs Villanova-- the Wildcats play a similar style as West Virginia--on both sides of the ball—making this a nice “pop-quiz” in preparation for their September 15th matchup with the Mountaineers. These two schools haven't met since the 1980 season; unless you count the 1985 Southeast Regional Semifinals (Rollie Massimino's Wildcats upset Len Bias and company 46-43 en route to their National Title)... thank goodness there's a play-clock at Byrd Stadium. TERPS play the four-corners, 29-13. VIRGINIA TECH vs East Carolina--have you ever eaten a Turkey Leg at Lane Stadium? First, the thing could feed a family of four--it's roughly the size of your head, making the "dining experience" somewhat of a logistical nightmare. Second, it actually takes longer than the actual game to consume--like weeding a garden, the more you do, the more you realize you need to do. Anyways, the only time ECU should be favored in football is on Halloween--it is crazy down there. HOKIES roast the Pirates…Arrr 46-6. VIRGINIA at Wyoming-- Laramee, Wyoming stands 7,200 feet above sea level. Ouch. This would be a potential trap game if the Cowboys nearly upset the Cavaliers in Charlottesville last year (a lackluster 13-12 overtime victory thanks to a missed extra point)—coach Al Groh’s club has a perfect on-ramp schedule that doesn’t get rough until mid-October. CAVALIERS outlast the Cowboys 18-17, kicking six field goals from 50+ yards out thanks to the thin Rocky mountain air.

Elsewhere: NAVY torches Temple, GEORGETOWN stops Stonybrook, HOWARD humbles Hampton, JAMES MADISON falls to North Carolina.