The week ahead in college football

Five things to watch this week in college football:

1: Labor Day weekend used to end with a captivating Monday night conclusion. Florida State and Miami once occupied this spot and, last year, Boise State defeated Virginia Tech in a thriller. This year we get Miami at Maryland lacking eight suspended Hurricane players?

2: California at Colorado features two schools from the Pacific 12 Conference but is technically a non-conference game because it was scheduled before expansion. Arizona at Oklahoma State on Thursday is also a non-league affair but could be a preview of the Pac-16 East Division.

3: Joe Paterno was forced to watch Penn State’s opening victory over Indiana State from the press box because of injuries sustained in a training camp collision. You can bet JoePa will want to be on the field this week when Alabama comes to Happy Valley.

4: Mark Richt has averaged 9.6 per wins in 10 years at Georgia but faces the game of his career next week at home against South Carolina. There was no shame in losing Saturday’s opener to Boise State, a top-five opponent, but dropping to 0-2 might initiate calls for a job transfer.

5: Big things were expected from Notre Dame this year under second-year Coach Brian Kelly, but Saturday’s lightning-delayed home loss to South Florida makes this week’s game at Michigan an almost must-win if the Irish expects to reach 10 wins.