The Sunday Rundown: The 7 Things You Need To Watch For This Week (8/26-9/1)

The most consistent thing this blog has going for it these days.

Sunday: San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos (4:00 PM ET, FOX): In th e offseason as we remember, Peyton Manning nearly signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Instead though, he decided to go to the Mile High city and become a member of the Denver Broncos. It’s quite intriguing that these two teams will be meeting this afternoon in Denver, preseason or not. Frankly this could prove to be a pretty big test for Peyton. The 49ers defense is nasty, especially their front seven. Peyton will probably get hit more than he would in any other preseason game this year and perhaps any game this upcoming season. Even though it’s preseason, you might want to find yourself tuning into at least the first half of this contest.

Monday: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers (8:00 PM ET, ESPN, ESPN3, FS Southwest, Sun SPORT): This will be a rematch of the 2010 and 2011 American League Division Series. The Texas Rangers, who have course have gone to the past two World Series, won both those series. They have come up empty-handed, but they look primed to once again make a deep run in the postseason with their potent offense. Meanwhile, Tampa has been surging as of late, and finds themselves 2.5 games back of the New York Yankees in the American League East Division. This series is crucial for Tampa Bay to win or at least take two out of three if they want to stay in the thick of things in not only the division race, but in the Wild Card race as well. You can catch this one on the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

Tuesday: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (7:05 PM ET, FS Midwest, ROOT Sports): Last weekend the Pirates and Cardinals were involved in a thrilling three-game series that culminated in a 19-inning affair. Unlike the last notable 19-inning battle that the Pirates were involved in, they came out on top in this one. Since then though they have hit a bit of a slide, losing four of their last five. They’ll need to right the ship (see what I did there?) and this will be a pivotal game in this quick three-game early-week series. They’ll be sending James McDonald who has arguably been their best pitcher all season out onto the mound and certainly MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen will be playing up to par. Meanwhile the Cardinals are still in the thick of things in the NL Wild Card race, with the Cincinnati Reds taking a stranglehold of the National League Central Division. Jake Westbrook will be on the mound for them, and he will have to do well in this outing, unlike his outing a few days ago against the lowly Houston Astros.

Wednesday: New England Patriots vs. New York Giants (7:00 PM, NFL Network): In their first meeting since Super Bowl XLIV, the Giants and Patriots will cap off the preseason with a matchup at MetLife Stadium. Last season the Patriots and Giants faced each other two times, and the Giants prevailed in both encounters. There’s no telling if starters or reserves will be playing in this one, what with Brady & Co. sitting out last week’s game against the Eagles, but should they start, it will be interesting to see how they play against the Giants, preseason or not, given what occurred last year. Obviously this will just be a precursor for things to come, and at this point in time, we’ll only be one short week away from the NFL season beginning.

Thursday: #9 South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (7:00 PM ET, ESPN, ESPN3): It’s baaaaaaaaack. After waiting nearly eight long months, college football has returned! There are several, several games to choose from on Thursday evening that for the most part will be on ESPN3, but no bigger stands out than this SEC East clash between the Gamecocks and the Commodores. Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks are coming off a pretty solid 2011 campaign but there was a lot left to be desired with the departure of Stephen Garcia and the ACL injury to top-flight running back Marcus Lattimore. All indications are that Lattimore is healthy and raring to go in this contest and the Gamecocks are one of the top threats to make it to the SEC Championship, representing the East. Meanwhile the Vanderbilt Commodores are simply just trying to gain traction and they seem to be headed in the right direction. Head Coach James Franklin looks to be the right man for the job and quarterback Jordan Rodgers, little brother of Aaron, looks to be ready to once again take the reigns. Hey, stranger things have happened on Thursday nights.

Friday: #24 Boise State vs. #13 Michigan State (8:00 PM ET, ESPN, ESPN3): Once again Boise State will find themselves in the spotlight coming into the college football season. Unlike years prior though, they may actually have their hands full going into an early season contest against a notable team. In years past they’ve played games against Virginia Tech at FedEx Field, and last year against Georgia at the Georgia Dome. This year though, they’re not going to be playing at a neutral site. Spartan Stadium is the destination, and the Michigan State Spartans are the team that they will be taking on. Sparty is certainly coming off of a very good season in which they fell to the Wisconsin Badgers in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game, but still managed to win a triple-overtime thriller against Georgia in the Outback Bowl. William Gholston and that dominating defense of last year will certainly want to feast on the Broncos, and it may very well happen. This might be a year where Boise doesn’t conjure up magic, but certainly there is a chance that they turn heads once again.

Saturday: #8 Michigan Wolverines vs. #2 Alabama Crimson Tide (8:00 PM ET, ABC): The first Saturday in college football ends with one heck of a main event. A top-10 matchup will take center stage in one of the biggest venues in North America. Cowboys Stadium will hold the Cowboys Classic once again and they selected two pretty great teams to play against each other. The Michigan Wolverines, historically one of the best college football teams of all-time, are coming off their first BCS bowl victory in over a decade, and certainly want to roll off of that momentum and they are one of the favorites to win the Big Ten this year. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide of Alabama are coming off of their second National Championship in the last three seasons, and Nick Saban & Co. are reloaded and look primed to be a huge favorite to go back to the National Championship Game, this year in Miami. You could not find a better viewing option for your Saturday night than this one. You certainly will not want to miss this.