Week 1 for football is just days away. I couldn't be more pumped to watch the Brohm squad lay the smackdown on some candy ass. While deleting Miller Lights in the stadiums parking lot is priority number one, I'll never turn down an opportunity to get the hoops juices flowing.

As a fan, you couldn't ask for much more. Matchups against some prime time competition as your team looks to cement itself as a top contender in the sport.

I know some might balk at the idea of scheduling a gauntlet like Louisville will see before conference play really gets under way. I couldn't disagree more. Thou shall duck no smoke. I think Pat Kelsey has constructed a roster that's more than ready to handle the heat.

I love the emphasis on scheduling some old school regional rivalries. In this age of college athletics predicated on the almighty dollar, regional supremacy has been kicked to the curb. That feeling of walking out of your home and knowing your school is the best in that 100 mile radius that surrounds you, has been lost on us.

Personally, I know many Kentucky, Indiana, and Cincinnati fans. I'm sure we all do. Louisville and Memphis go way back as well. I remember that smug prick Josh Pastner walking off the floor of the Yum! Center with a shit eating grin on his face after Memphis beat Louisville when I was in high school. I start to see red every time I see his face on television.

I remember how amped the fan base was for the Tennessee game last year. The white out was glorious. It was the first time after the dark ages that there was even an ounce of optimism. And then they bashed our teeth in. While deflating in the moment, it definitely made our squad better as the season progressed. Hopefully the script will be flipped when the cards travel to Knoxville.

An exhibition against Kansas is a fun added wrinkle. A trip down to Fort Worth to play Baylor in mid February? Sure, sign me up.

And then there's December 3rd.

May we rain hellfire down on Kenny Payne. He is West Dickens. A conman, selling snake oil and rat poison to the college basketball world. May he pay for his transgressions.

-WhataMark