I’m assuming you’re excited today.

I know I am. As nice as Thursday was for college football lovers, there’s nothing quite like the first full Saturday of college football. I could barely sleep last night, as thoughts of TCU’s defense, Brian Kelly’s debut in South Bend and Erin Andrews — on the set of Gameday … pervs — danced through my head.

Before I get into the five things you should look out for today, a brief introduction: My name is Paul Costanzo and I’ll be guiding you through your college football Saturdays this season. I’m not a college football expert, by any means. I’m just a huge fan who happens to have a journalism degree. I’m also a good friend of Anthony’s, so if I suck at this, you can direct all your hate mail to him. You can read me daily in the Times Herald newspaper out of Port Huron, Mich.

But enough about me, let’s get to the games.

It’s the first weekend, so I’d advise you to take all that you can in. But here are five things to focus on:

1. Brian Kelly’s debut at Notre Dame: Whether you love or hate the Irish, this is one to watch. Kelly has had nothing but success in his previous stops, and Notre Dame fans are hopeful that he’s the next Lou/Ara/Devine/Rockne. Because if he isn’t, well, let’s just say that’s not good for Notre Dame. His fast-break offense, led this year by first-year starter Dayne Crist, should have an opportunity to show itself off today against Purdue. But with the Irish, the question is defense, and it will be tested by Miami transfer Robert Marve and the Boilermakers’ own wide-open style.

2. Can Rich-Rod avoid the super hot seat?: Some would argue that Rich Rodriguez is already squarely on the super hot seat, but I don’t think there would be any argument if Michigan loses at home today to Connecticut. Don’t get me wrong, UConn is a good team. A very good team, in fact. But Michigan fans don’t want to hear excuses about losing to basketball schools, especially after going 8-16 over the past two seasons. If Michigan wins today, the pitch forks will go away for at least another week. If it loses, however, (which is a definite possibility) Rodriguez might want to pack at least one bag, just to be prepared.

3. Can Jacquizz Rodgers and Oregon State solve TCU’s defense?: The Horned Frogs lost some significant pieces on defense — defensive end Jerry Hughes foremost among them — but I imagine that Gary Patterson is going to be sending another strong unit out onto the field this year. That unit will get a strong test today with Oregon State, led by the Rodgers brothers, Jacquizz and James. This game is also interesting for the fact that we have a Pac-10 team going on the road and trying to pull off an upset against a Mountain West team.

4. Can North Carolina field a full team?: If you’re headed to Atlanta today, make sure to bring your spikes, because the Tar Heels are running a special “First 50 in the door get a jersey … and a scholarship” promotion. North Carolina has been decimated by suspensions, and will be without most of its defense, including stud defensive tackle Marvin Austin, and its biggest playmakers on offense. That was enough for Vegas to move the betting line by a touchdown, and all the action is still moving toward LSU. If this were in North Carolina, I’d almost go with the “team rallies around adversity” angle. But deep in the heart of SEC country, I have a tough team seeing the Heels rallying for anything today.

5. Can Boise State capitalize on its best chance to make the title game?: You’ll have to wait for Monday to watch for this, but you should definitely be watching. Boise State travels to Fed Ex Field to take on Virginia Tech in the weekend’s showcase game. The Hokies have high hopes coming into the season, as they’re the favorite in the ACC and a dark horse in national title talks. But don’t be fooled, this one is all about the Broncos. With a preseason top-five ranking attached to them this year, this is the Broncos’ best shot at truly busting the BCS and playing for the national title. A win against Virginia Tech puts them on course to do just that. And with nearly the entire team returning from a year ago — including stud quarterback Kellen Moore — Boise State is a legitimate national title contender.

As spring practices wrap up across the country, Andy Staples of SI.com ranked the top 25 college football teams entering the 2009 season. You can see Staples’ rankings by clicking the link above.

I’m intrigued by a couple of teams on his top 25, most notably Ole’ Miss (No. 7), Ohio State (No. 9) and TCU (No. 11).

Ole’ Miss is going to give a lot of SEC teams trouble this year with 16 total starters (8 on offense, 8 on defense) returning from last year, including quarterback Jevan Snead, who enters his second full season as a starter after throwing 26 touchdowns last season. They lost key components in offensive tackle Michael Oher and defensive tackle Peria Jerry, but they essentially return the same team that beat Florida, LSU and stomped Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl last year. (Not to mention also gave Alabama a game in Tuscaloosa.)

Out of the teams Staples ranks in his top 10, Ohio State has the fewest returning starters at nine. But quarterback Terrelle Pryor will only continue to improve with more playing time and running back Dan “Boom” Herron will ease the loss of Beanie Wells to the NFL. The Buckeyes should also have one of the best defensive fronts in the Big Ten, with end Lawrence Wilson and tackle Cameron Heyward set to return.

TCU turned a lot of heads last year after compiling an 11-2 record, including impressive wins over BYU and Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl. They had one of the fastest defenses in the nation last year and they held opponents to a staggering 11.3 points per game. But they lost seven starters on the defensive side of the ball, which was obviously their strength, so it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll stack up with Utah again in the Mountain West.

Another team to keep an eye on is Oregon State, who returns two explosive playmakers in running back Jacquizz Rodgers and wide receiver James Rodgers. But as Staples writes in his top 25 rankings, quarterback Lyle Moevano is coming off offseason shoulder surgery and will battle senior Sean Canfield in preseason practice.

On Thursday night, the Beavers shocked the world once again, beating top ranked USC 27-21 on the strength of freshman running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who finished with 186 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries.

At 5’6” and180 pounds, Rodgers proved to be quite a handful for USC’s defense, a unit highly recognized as one of the best in the nation. The Trojans simply couldn’t get good leverage on the smallish Rodgers, who constantly broke tackles all night long. USC defenders often came in too high while trying to bring Rodgers down and the frosh back made them pay.

Offensively for USC, quarterback Mark Sanchez finished with solid numbers (18/29, 227 yards, 3 TDs), but was highly inaccurate on a drive when the Trojans were backed up late in the fourth quarter and needed one score to tie the game at 21. Then on a 1st and 10-play from USC’s 14-yard line, Sanchez overthrew one of his receivers and was picked off by Greg Laybourn, who took the gift back to the Trojans’ 2-yard line. On the first play after the turnover, Rodgers scored his second touchdown of the game, pushing the Beavers’ lead to 27-14 with less than three minutes remaining.

After a 50-yard kickoff return by Ronald Johnson set the Trojans up with a 1st and 10 from the Oregon State 40-yard line, Sanchez drove USC the rest of the field and connected with Patrick Turner to cut the Beavers’ lead to 27-21. But the ensuing onsides kick failed and Oregon State was able to run out the clock.

It was an amazing upset. The Beavers were more aggressive, made bigger plays and kept the high-powered Trojans’ offense off the field. USC also shot itself in the foot with stupid penalties, including one that cost them a touchdown at the end of the first half. The Trojans’ defense just couldn’t get off the field all night and the loss will cost them big in the polls.

Given how they had a full two weeks to prepare for this game after their big win over Ohio State, a loss like this is inexcusable, really. I know that sounds harsh, but I don’t mean it to be. It’s just rather staggering when a talented team like USC has an entire off week to rest and game plan for Oregon State and they lose. But this is college football and upsets are part of the game. And part of the fun.