College football story lines: Five games that matter most

This is the second in a series of five story lines advancing the 2010 college football season.

Five games that could determine this year’s national championship:

—Sept. 6: Boise State vs. Virginia Tech in Landover, Md. The plot line is pretty simple: Boise State’s dream of knocking through the glass ceiling and becoming the first team from a BCS “mid-major” conference to win the national title begins or ends Labor Day night. Both schools will enter the game in the preseason top 10, but Boise State, because it plays in the lowly regarded Western Athletic Conference, is the team that can least afford to lose and be able to recover to make the Bowl Championship Series championship game in January.

Boise State, which is moving to the tougher Mountain West Conference in 2011, might never again get an opportunity like this. The Broncos are coming off a 14-0 season, return 21 starters and will start the year ranked high enough to stay in legitimate title-game contention.

--Oct. 16: Texas at Nebraska. The tension in this rivalry, already high after years of rancor and last year’s controversial finish in the Big 12 title game, is officially off the charts in the aftermath of Nebraska’s impending move to the Big Ten Conference next season. You could safely say there are bad feelings between the parties, and the fact the national stakes also are huge only adds to the intrigue.

--Oct. 30: Oregon at USC. USC isn’t eligible for the BCS title (or a bowl game) this year because of NCAA sanctions, but the Trojans are in the mix for their third Associated Press title since 2002. Oregon starts the year with questions at quarterback following Coach Chip Kelly’s dismissal of star QB Jeremiah Masoli for disciplinary reasons. The Ducks still return enough skill to defend their Pac-10 championship and even make a run at the big BCS prize. USC, safe to say, will be highly motivated to avenge last year’s embarrassing defeat in Eugene.

--Nov. 20. Ohio State at Iowa. This has the chance to be the game of the year in the Big Ten, pairing the defending Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl champions in a game that could determine a spot in the BCS title game. After a few years of wandering in the corn fields, Iowa appears to be back on championship track. This game will have to go some to match the excitement and intensity of Ohio State’s overtime victory in Columbus last season.

--Dec. 4 Southeastern Conference championship game (in Atlanta). It doesn’t really matter what teams you put in there: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana State. Just know the winner of the last four SEC title games — Florida, LSU, Florida and Alabama — has advanced to win the BCS national title.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com