I believe this year's Oklahoma game is equivalent to last year's Miami game. I firmly believe that the Miami game on labor day last year set the tone for the rest of the season. If we would have won that game, an 8, 9 or 10 win season would have been quite possible and maybe Bobby would still be head coach (whether you think that's good or bad). One huge victory at the beginning of the season goes a long way. Not just in the rankings, but also with team/fan morale.

That's why I believe the Oklahoma game is the most important of the season. I know it's an OOC game, so it doesn't affect our ACC standings. And I also know they aren't considered a rivalry with us either. However, this game still means more than an ACC game against MIami, Clemson, or Boston College. And it means more than a win over rival Florida. If we win this game, our ranking will sky-rocket to the top 15 or top 10. On top of that, it'll put Jimbo Fisher on top of the college football world to start the season and all talks about Bobby Bowden being "forced out' will no longer exist. It'll also lead to a sell-out croud vs BYU and many of the rest of our home games this season.

A victory at Oklahoma would build the team's confidence way up and it can easily lead to a dominence over BYU. Then the following two weeks we easily defeat Wake Forest and Virginia. That puts FSUat 5-0, ranked in the top 7 probably. There's no doubt that'll create discussions about FSU completely being back to an elite ranking. We'd obviously still have big games remaining, but I believe a start like that and a top 10 ranking will do HUGE things for this program. It'll bring back the excitement to Doak that once existed during the national championship years.

(BY THE WAY.... UF plays at Alabama the same week we play at Virginia) So not only would we be ranked top 10, but we'd also be ranked better than UF after that week assuming they loose to Alabama) Just take a second to think about how epic that would be.

On the negative side, a loss at Oklahoma wouldn't create that same excitement. (Especially after seeing Oklahoma play in week 1). FSU wouldn't be considered back to elite yet and the best FSU would be able to hope for is a possible ACC championship game appearance. I realize a loss at Oklahoma won't neccessarily ruin the season, because I still think we'll win our division reguardless. I'm just saying that a win at Oklahoma will get us to "elite" status as quickly as possible.