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The college football season kicks off this week and no game is bigger than No. 3 Oregon against No. 4 LSU (Saturday, KITV, 2 p.m.) at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Ducks are expected to get 6-foot-3, 300-pound sophomore Wade Keliikipi (Waianae ’09) into the rotation on the defensive line. Keliikipi played in all 13 games as a freshman, making 18 tackles. Mana Greig (Saint Louis ’09), a 5-11, 291-pound offensive lineman, is listed as the backup left guard on the Ducks’ two-deep.
» Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o (Punahou ’09) begins his third season for the Irish, who open at home against South Florida (Saturday, KHNL, 9:30 a.m.). Te’o, named to the 2011 Loft Trophy Watch List, is eligible to turn pro after the season and was a first-round pick in a recent 2012 NFL mock draft on ESPN.com. He was named a second-team All-American as a sophomore by SI.com after leading Notre Dame with 133 total tackles.
Junior Robby Toma (Punahou ’09) is listed as a second-string wide receiver, and Kona Schwenke (Kahuku ’10) is one of two possible backups at defensive end for the Irish.
» UCLA opens a critical fourth-year under coach Rick Neuheisel at Houston (Saturday, FSW, 9:30 a.m.) with two local boys as projected starters. Senior Kai Maiava (Baldwin ’07) returns from an ankle injury as the starting center, and junior Dalton Hilliard (Punahou ’09) is listed as the starting strong safety. Maiava, 6-1, 318, is on the Rimington Award Watch List.
All 12 teams in the Pac-12 have at least one player from Hawaii listed on their roster.
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