BATON ROUGE, La., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The 2007 college football season kicks off Thursday night with three game featuring teams in the preseason Top 20 ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
Second-ranked LSU opens with a SEC battle at Mississippi State, while 16th-ranked Rutgers is home to Ball State and Weber State travels to No. 24 Boise State.
A busy Labor Day holiday weekend continues Saturday with 18 games involving Top 25 teams, including top-ranked Southern California at home against Idaho, defending champion and No. 6 Florida at home against Western Kentucky, ninth-ranked Virginia Tech at home against East Carolina in its first game since last spring's deadly shooting spree, and one contest featuring two ranked schools -- No. 15 Tennessee and No. 12 California.
Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., is sold out.
The weekend concludes Monday with the annual "Bowden Bowl" between ACC foes Clemson at No. 19 Florida State. The Seminoles are coached by Bobby Bowden, while the Tigers are guided by his son, Tommy.
