Every year, the NFL carries out a charade called “preseason.” Don’t call them “exhibition games,” either. The NFL frowns on the term much like your neighbor insists on calling it an “estate sale,” not a “garage sale.” Junk is junk, pal.

Meanwhile, in the wonderful world of college football, every game counts, even if it means booking every school in New Mexico and Louisiana first.

Yes, dear readers, we’ll start getting answers to questions that have plagued mankind since college football preview sections hit newsstands in July.

Can Colt McCoy outdo Vince Young by winning a Heisman and a national title in the same season?

Can “Big Game” Bob Stoops win back his nickname?

Can Mack Brown cover a 41-point spread against Louisiana-Monroe?

These are the questions you want answered. This is what college football offers from the jump.

Unlike the NFL preseason, there’s no wondering what it means if your team wins or loses.

When Michigan loses to Appalachian State, it means early retirement for Lloyd Carr.

Can USC really contend for a national title with a true freshman at quarterback? And is that what Pete Carroll was thinking when he turned on Mark Sanchez for going pro?

Will Sam Bradford still be Heisman-worthy without the nation’s best offensive line?

Can Tim Tebow will Florida to another national title?

Will the Big 12 ever get the better of the SEC?

Has a Texas quarterback ever made a better decision than Jevan Snead when he left Austin for Ole Miss?

And did Houston Nutt walk into a great situation in Oxford, Miss., or what?

Will TCU’s Jerry Hughes lead the nation in sacks again? Can TCU be this year’s Utah?

And if the Horned Frogs are treated as rudely as the Utes were, will Gary Patterson turn Hughes loose on the BCS?

Does Texas Tech’s Mike Leach finally have a quarterback that the NFL might like? And will Taylor Potts still be the fifth-best quarterback in the Big 12 South this season?

Can the nation’s fastest quarterback, Robert Griffin, put Baylor on his back? Could hulking defensive tackle Phil Taylor put Griffin and Baylor on his back, along with most of Central Texas?

If Oklahoma State doesn’t make a move on OU and Texas this year, of all years, will Boone Pickens buy a new school?

Will the Cowboys’ fabulous receiver, Dez Bryant, attract well-deserved attention now that Michael Crabtree no longer dominates the conversation?

Will a punter for Oklahoma, BYU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Tech or Baylor hit the Godzillatron at JerryWorld? And if so, does Roger Goodell’s do-over rule apply to colleges, too?

Can Mike Sherman win enough games at A&M to qualify for next year’s schedule, much less 2015-16, when the Aggies draw USC?

Will Texas-OU at the Cotton Bowl be the most anticipated game of the regular season?

And the last question for now, anyway, will the Big 12 North finally rise up and beat the South, proving that, as in all things, nature runs in cycles and it was only a matter of time before it turned in favor of Nebraska or Missouri or Kansas?

Uh, no.