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Back in the sport as a works team for the first time since selling a majority stake in the Enstone squad to Genii Capital at the end of 2009, Renault have to deliver on track to justify the huge investment the French manufacturer have made. With the Renault name on the chassis and the engine there can be no hiding place, and while the team are already downplaying expectations, they certainly dont want to be embarrassed on their return.We need to be humble in our expectations for next year, explained Renault Sport boss Cyril Abiteboul. It is at least a team the firm know well. Not only did Renault previously own the team between 2000 and 2009 but they were also engine suppliers between 1995 and 2014 for the team during its various guises as Benetton, Renault and Lotus. That familiarity should accelerate the process of transition in 2016.This integration is not just measured in track performance, its measured by how you optimise the resources available. Its not an exercise in winning at all costs ; its an exercise in winning in a controlled manner, said chief technical officer Bob Bell. Renault felt they didnt get enough recognition for their contribution to Red Bulls dominance of F1 at the turn of the decade. Having had their reputation dragged through the mud over the past two seasons in a public war of words with Red Bull over power unit performance, they could have been forgiven for walking away from the sport.However, the board should be commended for wanting to prove they can compete at the highest level. Asked what the goals were for the season ahead Bell said: Merging the two operations towards becoming one entity, more than they have ever been before.There will undoubtedly be troubles in this year, though, given the lateness of the deal. Lotus ran Mercedes engines in 2015 and were contracted to the German marque for 2016. The car design is likely to be compromised by the late switch of engine to accommodate the Renault unit.But that will be the least of the teams worries if the power unit continues to lag a long way behind Ferrari and Mercedes. The team at the engine base in Viry-Chatillon must make giant strides for Renaults investment to make sense. Quite what impact Mario Illien has - and the deal for Red Bull to run TAG-Heuer branded Renault unit have - remains to be seen.The power unit guys have done a fairly decent job over the winter, Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports during testing. I think what we are hopeful of is further down the line into the season when hopefully that power unit develops what it is saying it should do. Then we should be able to start competing with some of the teams ahead of us.In an ideal world for Red Bull they wouldnt have had Renault engines in 2016 due to the units performance and that can only be regarded as an embarrassment for a firm which pushed hard for the new regulations. Big steps are needed this year or there is the very real possibility of the works team receiving a sole supply by default rather than choice.Renaults own form in testing was mixed. While the opening two days of testing were blighted by unreliability, the team finished the eight days of running with over 2200 miles completed. But the RS16 was a regular cause of red flags throughout testing. The loss of Romain Grosjean is a major blow, and the team will head into 2016 with one of the least experienced line-ups on the grid in Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer.Palmer at least knows the team after a season as reserve driver, but as a rookie he cannot be expected to lead the team. That responsibility is likely to fall on the shoulders of Magnussen who has just one season of F1 under his belt and spent 2016 on the sidelines after being dropped by McLaren.And its McLaren who Renault could be battling in 2016 based on pre-season testing. The French firm seem to be quicker than Haas, Sauber and Manor at the rear of the field, but adrift of the Williams, Red Bull, Force India, Toro Rosso fight behind Ferrari and Mercedes.That could leave the team fighting for minor points places on occasion this year with McLaren - hardly ideal for one of only three works teams on the grid.This very much will be transitional year for Renault and expect focus to quickly shift towards their 2017 car as the French firm look to rebuild the Enstone team and return to the glory years of 2005 and 2006.Even if the results are not seen on track, the ground work laid this season could dictate how successful Renaults return to F1 is. 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Now this is the way to start the college football season.The usual steady stream of games from Thursday through Monday night this year includes four matchups of ranked teams and six more ranked teams facing Power Five opposition, four of those away from home.In some cases, regardless of the quality of the competition, the names alone scream big-time college football game. Alabama vs. USC. Texas vs. Notre Dame.Since the NFL moved the start of its season to the week following Labor Day in 2001, college football has turned summers last hurrah weekend into a delightful opening act. But it tended to be quantity -- lots of games on TV spread out over five games -- over high quality. Most top teams were playing cupcakes.The College Football Playoff has encouraged teams to play step-up nonconference scheduling since one loss early wont kill a teams national championship hopes. The demands of television networks and fans -- who are paying the bills in college football -- also pushed schools to accept more challenging games.This opening weekend is not quite the greatest in college football history. In 1998, eight games matched Top 25 teams. But it is better than most.The last time four games paired ranked teams in the first week of the season was 2009. The opening slate that year included a top-10 matchup in Atlanta between No. 5 Alabama and No. 7 Virginia Tech, won by the Crimson Tide, and No. 20 BYU upsetting No. 3 Oklahoma at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas.A third-ranked Sooners team losing in an NFL stadium to a school from outside the power conferences? Houston fans would like to see a repeat of that Saturday.The picks:SATURDAY MAIN EVENTSNo. 1 Alabama (minus 11 1/2) vs. No. 20 Southern California at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TexasThe thought of losing to the defending national champions might not be so bad for USC fans. The thought of losing to former Trojans coach Lane Kiffin, now the Tides offensive coordinator, probably wont be as easy to take ... ALABAMA 27-14.No. 3 Oklahoma (minus 11) vs. No. 15 Houston at NRG Stadium in HoustonThe last time the Cougars went into a huge early season game this highly ranked was 1991 against Miami, and it did not turn out well for Houston. Can another much-hyped bunch of Coogs be heading for a similar fate? ... OKLAHOMA 38-24.No. 18 Georgia (minus 2 1/2) vs. No. 22 North Carolina at the Georgia Dome in AtlantaThe Kirby Smart era begins for the Bulldogs. More importantly, the Nick Chubb era continues after last years knee injury put it on hold ... GEORGIA 28-23.UNDERCARDNo. 2 Clemson (minus 7 1/2) at AuburnQB DeShaun Watson was last seen putting up 478 total yards against Alabamas defense. Auburn does not have Alabamas defense. ... CLEMSON 35-21, BEST BET.No. 5 LSU (minus 10) vs. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WisconsinBadgers best bet to stop RB Leonard Fournette was defensive coordinator DDave Aranda, but he is with the Tigers now .dddddddddddd.. LSU 28-10.No. 16 UCLA (plus 3) at Texas A&MPac-12-SEC matchup could feature the No. 1 pick in this years NFL draft, Aggies DE Myles Garrett, and next years, Bruins QB Josh Rosen ... UCLA 27-24, UPSET SPECIALEASY OPENERSBowling Green (plus 28) at No. 6 Ohio StateUrban Meyer gets to ease in a bunch of new Buckeyes ... OHIO STATE 45-14.Hawaii (plus 40) at No. 7 MichiganBack-to-back road trips to Australia and Ann Arbor. The Rainbow Warriors might need a new travel agent ... MICHIGAN 48-7.Rutgers (plus 26 1/2) at No. 14 WashingtonThe Huskies hype machine is not likely to be interrupted by a visit from the rebuilding Scarlet Knights ... WASHINGTON 31-7.Miami of Ohio (plus 27) at No. 17 IowaKirk Ferentz begins his 18th season at Iowa, tied with Bob Stoops of Oklahoma as the longest tenured coach in major college football ... IOWA 45-10.UMass (plus 35) at No. 25 FloridaThe first of three SEC opponents for the Minutemen. Only SEC teams play more ... FLORIDA 56-13.SUNDAY SHOWDOWNNo. 10 Notre Dame (minus 3) at TexasThe first of many referendum games for Longhorns coach Charlie Strong ... NOTRE DAME 24-20.MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALLNo. 4 Florida State (minus 4) vs. No. 11 Mississippi at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FloridaAmong running backs with at least 100 carries, the Seminoles Dalvin Cook had the highest average per carry against Power Five opponents at 7.69 ... FLORIDA STATE 27-17.TWITTER REQUESTSBYU (plus 1) vs. Arizona at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona -- (at)RustyHinkQB Taysom Hill, who was in the same recruiting class as former USC quarterback Matt Barkley, is starting again for the Cougars after two seasons lost to injuries ... ARIZONA 28-24.Missouri (plus 10) at West Virginia -- (at)watt11Its been a few years since realignment, but this still qualifies as an odd SEC-Big 12 matchup ... WEST VIRGINIA 23-17.Colorado (minus 7 1/2) vs. Colorado State at Sports Authority Field in Denver, Colorado -- (at)MackinnonisGodAn often entertaining rivalry game ... COLORADO 30-24.South Carolina (plus 4 1/2) at Vanderbilt -- (at)BCrawford247Will Muschamps first season as Gamecocks coach is going to be a long one if it starts with a loss to Vandy ... SOUTH CAROLINA 15-12.Western Michigan (plus 5) at Northwestern -- (at)MatthewHLeachBroncos were second in the nation in time of possession per game last season at 34:33 ... NORTHWESTERN 24-21.Georgia Tech (minus 3) vs. Boston College at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland -- (at)RustyHinkTwo teams coming off awful seasons, open in Ireland hoping to change their (wait for it) luck ... GEORGIA TECH 24-17.---Last years record: 227-88 straight; 149-152-5 vs. spread.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '