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College football’s best Saturdays to set aside

By WTOP Staff

RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer

Everybody’s talking about them. Yet no coach dares mention them for fear of “looking ahead.”

They’re the biggest games of the fast-approaching season.

Alabama’s Nick Saban, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer — among many others — have been prodded about their team’s earth-shaking showdowns, against the likes of Auburn, Notre Dame and Michigan State. And each time they’ve batted aside the question like Anthony Davis flicking a fly from his unibrow.

Not constrained by looking past opponents, here’s a gander at a college fan’s best days of the year:

August 30_Yeah, that’s right, the very first Saturday of the season is a banquet. Tucked in among Youngstown State-Illinois and UC Davis-Stanford are four games which might just impact the playoffs four months later.

Pick of the litter: Oklahoma State vs. defending national champion Florida State, at AT&T Stadium in the heart of Texas. Cowboys fans will flood the place in a deluge of orange, all wanting their Pokes to give 2013 Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston his comeuppance.

Best of the rest: LSU vs. Wisconsin in Houston; Clemson at Georgia; Alabama vs. West Virginia in Atlanta.

Sept. 6_The Playoff Era means very few more wasted days of Top-5 teams drilling weather-vane schools. Welcome to the new world of major-college scheduling.

Pick of the litter: Michigan State at Oregon. If you don’t like the color green, you might want to tune to a True Detective repeat.

Best of the rest: Michigan at Notre Dame, Virginia Tech at Ohio State, Southern California at Stanford.

Sept. 13/14_That’s right, the season’s only three weeks old and we’ve already locked up half the sport’s best weekends.

Pick of the litter: The Head Ballcoach might just have his best team ever at South Carolina. Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks get an early test at home against Georgia, which also has visions of bigger things. The game will revolve around which running back is the most productive: the Bulldogs’ Todd Gurley or South Carolina’s Mike Davis.

Best of the rest: UCLA travels to a supposed neutral site in the Lone Star State to take on Texas in Charlie Strong’s first bigtime matchup as Longhorns head coach. Also: Tennessee at Oklahoma.

Oct. 11_The best games feature teams fighting for early superiority in the Pac-12 and Big 12.

Pick of the litter: Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Cotton Bowl, with Sooners coach Bob Stoops itching to shove aside a few bad memories in the Red River Rivalry. Also, Oregon at UCLA, a battle between Heisman-contending QBs Marcus Mariota of the Ducks and Brett Hundley for the Bruins.

Best of the rest: Georgia at Missouri, Louisville at Clemson, LSU at Florida.

Nov. 8_The math might not sound right, but the best of the Big Ten’s 14 teams battle in this marquee game.

Pick of the litter: Michigan State beat No. 2-ranked Ohio State to squelch the Buckeyes’ school-record 24-game winning streak last year in the conference title game. Quarterback Braxton Miller has been waiting for redemption ever since. Keep an eye on Spartans’ do-everything back, Jeremy Langford.

Best of the rest: Baylor, which won behind QB Bryce Petty in Waco last year, takes its hurry-up style to Norman, Okla., to battle the Sooners. The third-best game of the day, Alabama at LSU, could end up being the most memorable of the season. There’s also Iowa at Minnesota, not so much because it’s a great matchup but because to the winner goes the spoils: a bronze pig named Floyd of Rosedale. Honest.

Nov. 29_Rivalry week isn’t just a clever marketing slogan.

Pick of the litter: They call it the Iron Bowl because the teams feel as if they’ve been hit with a bag of hammers after these old acquaintances get together. Auburn QB Nick Marshall and Alabama TB T.J. Yeldon figure to get all the attention, but it’ll be the rock-hard defenses which will likely decide this one, as always.

Best of the rest: Notre Dame at Southern Cal, Michigan at Ohio State, South Carolina at Clemson, North Carolina State at North Carolina, Baylor at Texas Tech, Washington at Washington State and Oregon at Oregon State. The night before there’s Arizona State at Arizona.

Of course, the new four-team playoffs trump all of the above as we enjoy the first college football tournament atmosphere.

___

Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RustyMillerAP

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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