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Thursday Happy Hour is FOOTBALL STARTS TONIGHT, OUR LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS OVER!!!!

By Zach Travis

2012 College Football TV Schedule, Week 1: We Did It, America - SB Nation outlines the games you'll be watching.

You know who else is excited for football?

Floyd Mayweather, apparently.

Fee Fi Foe Film: Alabama - Ace does his usual film breakdown of Alabama, this time leaning heavily on the stellar work of Smart Football's Chris Brown.

Heisman Power Rankings 2012: Preseason Predictions - The Big Lead slots Robinson third.

Denard Robinson [QB - Michigan] Upside: He's at a major program and could put up some huge numbers on the ground and in the passing game, presuming he takes a step forward in his second year under Al Borges. Downside: this could all come crashing down if he gets shut down by Alabama in week one.

2012 Alabama Football Preview: Acceptance - Bill Connelly's final 2012 season preview looks at the Saban dynasty. Spoiler alert: it isn't going anywhere.

Alabama isn't going to win the national title every year, and they certainly have just enough potential holes to bite them. If they are occasionally vulnerable to vertical passing attacks like they were in 2010, then trips to Arkansas and/or Missouri could be problematic. If youth is most evident early in the year, then the Week 1 meeting with Michigan in Dallas could present problems. And, of course, the trip to Baton Rouge on Nov. 3 looms large even now.

But Saban is going to continue crafting a remarkable product, even if he isn't worried too much about aesthetics. Be it 10 or 13, his Tide will win a lot of games this year, then sign another top recruiting class, then win a lot more games next year.

Michigan Football: Denard Robinson's Passing Key to Alabama Game - Lost Lettermen on what Robinson needs to do to help Michigan beat Alabama.

But if "Shoelace" performs like he did against Virginia Tech in last season's Sugar Bowl, none of those other plotlines will matter much and things will get ugly in a hurry in Dallas.

I get why everyone goes to this first, but it is a bit reductive. Simply looking at the passing stats and saying "Denard throw bad then. Throw better Denard" doesn't take into account how he fits in the offense. The problems against Virginia Tech didn't start with Robinson's arm, they ended there.

If Michigan wants to win games against tough defenses, the Wolverines need to find success of the ground first. Even the authors comparison to LSU is flawed for similar reasons. LSU was successful much of last season because the run game was a monster, and when that dried up against Alabama it put too much of a burden on Jordan Jefferson, and opened up the Tide to start bringing more pressure.

Michigan in the age of Denard Robinson lives and dies by the run, its just the pass that has the theatrical death sequence.

Burgeoning Wolverine Star: What to expect: Secondary 2012 - BWS looks at Michigan's secondary and proclaims it the strongest unit on the defense. It doesn't matter how many times I hear it, I still can't get over how weird it sounds. I'm like a 'Nam vet returning to the jungle.

Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor: "Ohio State suspension screwed me" - Because your development as a quarterback was moving along swimmingly beforehand, right Terrelle?

Brady Hoke walks into a bar - Did I mention I was glad to have SMQ back?

The man stared ahead from his stool as the notes descended on him like the sheets of rain he'd just stepped out of, only softer, and sweeter smelling, like some happy scent he vaguely recalled from many years in the past, but could not quite place. He rhythmically clenched and unclenched the muscles in his jaw until he could hold it in no longer. The sob came at once, emerging as a sudden whimper that he attempted to force back into his throat with his fist, then swallow whole. He sat for several minutes like that, his eyes clenched shut, his hand covering his mouth, his breaths coming in short, irregular spasms. His mind wandering back. Much, much too far back.