Monday, June 30, 2008

Countdown: 60 Days!

60 Days



The Rebels were horrible under Ed Orgeron. Fortunately for new coach Houston Nutt, Orgeron was an excellent recruiter. There is ample talent in Oxford(and for once I'm not talking about the ladies.) Nutt is a great coach, and he will get this thing turned around quicker than most people think. Texas transfer Jevan Snead is the new QB and he will have some talented receivers to throw to, including Mike Wallace and Marshay Green.





Sunday, June 29, 2008

10 Things that won't change in '08

Every preseason magazine of website focuses on what to expect in 2008. Usually these pages are filled with predictions of changes for the upcoming year. Everyone seems to have an opinion on how the '08 season will unfold.

I thought I should take a look at some things that will stay the same boring course with no changes at all.



1. Notre Dame will still suck. I don't see why so many people thing the Irish will do any better. They still have the most overrated coach in the history of sports, their offense is horrible, and their defense has too many holes for new DC John Tenuta to fix. Plus, Notre Dame's schedule is not to their advantage. Here is their schedule for 2008:

1.San Diego St.- Win
2.Michigan- Win
3.at Michigan St.- Loss
4.Purdue- Loss
5.Stanford- Win
6.at North Carolina- Loss
7.at Washington- Loss
8.Pittsburgh-Loss
9.at Boston College- Loss
10.at Navy- Loss
11.Syracuse- Win
12.at USC- Loss

That's a 4-8 record. I might be giving the Irish too much credit.




2. Ohio St. will win the Big Eleven. Again. No one in the Big Eleven has the tools necessary to unseat the defending champs. Now I'm not ready to put the Buckeyes back in the BCS title game, but I think they should be able to win yet another conference crown. The only conference games that should worry the Buckeyes are at Wisconsin and at Illinois, which defeated Ohio St. at home last season. Also, the Buckeyes should keep an eye out for Purdue. I'm sure the Boilermakers would like nothing more than to send out Joe Tiller with a stunning upset.













3. The SEC will be the best conference. This argument will be closer than recent years. The Big XII has closed the gap some on the boys down South for the right to call themselves the best conference. Sometimes, it seems like the SEC should just break off from the rest of college football. Last year 10 of the 12 teams were bowl eligible. Vanderbilt and Ole Miss were the only two to not make the 6-6 mark. This year, Ole Miss should be much improved with Houston Nutt at head coach and Jevan Snead stepping into QB. Vanderbilt probably still has no shot at a bowl, although they should be more competitive.












4.There will be a non-BCS school in a BCS game. The previous two years has seen two teams from the WAC crash the BCS party. Two years ago the Boise St. Broncos defeated heavily favored Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in what was one of the greatest college football games ever. Last year, the Hawaii Warriors were demolished by the superior Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. This year there are a few teams that have a shot to crack the BCS. In the WAC, Boise St. and Fresno St. are dark horses to make it in, while in the Mountain West BYU is the overwhelming favorite to get a berth. I like the Cougars of BYU to go undefeated and make a BCS bowl.






5. The national champion will come from the SEC. I've already touched on the SEC being the greatest thing to hit college football since female cheerleaders. What I didn't mention is that the SEC has produced the previous two national champions. I look for that to remain the same this season. The favorites to win it all are Georgia and Florida. Of course I like Florida to win it all. I would keep an eye on Auburn as a sleeper NC contender from the SEC West.










6. The Miami Hurricanes will not make a bowl game. Last year marked the first time in ages that the Miami Hurricanes did not get a bowl berth. I do expect the Hurricanes to be better this season, especially on defense. However, I just don't see Miami getting 6 wins from their schedule. One thing working against the Hurricanes is that they will be starting a freshman QB in Robert Marve.









7. Tim Tebow will win the Heisman. This might be my most controversial prediction for this season. Only one player has ever won the Heisman Trophy twice, and that was of course Archie Griffin of Ohio St. I expect Tebow to have better passing numbers than last season, and I expect his rushing numbers to be about the same. So if a Heisman winner improves upon his Heisman winning season, then he should be a lock to win the trophy once again. Also, the Gators will be in national title contention all season, further boosting Tebow's chances.













8. Oklahoma will lose their bowl game. This has become a yearly tradition. When you think of Oklahoma football, you think of Boomer Sooner, the Red River Shootout, Bedlam, and now bowl game losses. It's a staple of the Bob Stoops era lately in Norman. I have Oklahoma making the BCS title game. Since that means the Sooners will be facing an almighty SEC team, of course they're going to lose.















9.Graham Harrell will get no respect despite gaudy numbers. Texas Tech quarterbacks are always overlooked on the national level. Harrell continues the trend of Kliff Kingsbury, B.J. Symons, Sonny Cumbie and others before him. Harrell will lead the NCAA in passing , partly because of Mike Leech's system, partly because of receiver Michael Crabtree, and party because he is that good.














10. West Virginia will lose a national title shot on the last game of the season. Last year, the Mountaineers had a national championship game bid all locked up heading into the final game of the season. All they had to do was beat the lowly Pittsburgh Panthers. Of course, Pittsburgh came out and pull off a shocking upset of West Virginia. I look for West Virginia to navigate a tough schedule this season and continue to fight for a NC bid all season long. The Mountaineers are talented enough to do just that. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if West Virginia made it to the last week of the season undefeated. However, I can easily see the Mountaineers losing to the visiting South Florida Bulls and once again falling one game short of the NC.

Countdown: 61 Days!

61 Days


Arkansas will be going through a transition year this season. I hesitate to call it a rebuilding year because there is a ton of talent in Fayetteville. Still, with the spawn of Satan taking the helm of the Razorbacks, they will be completely revamping their offense. Gone are the monster running stats that Arkansas experienced under old coach Houston Nutt. The Devil's urinal cake, aka Bobby Petrino will look to spread out the offense and give QB Casey Dick more opportunities to make plays. Uh oh.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Countdown: 62 Days!

62 Days


The Oregon St. Beavers have quietly been one of the more consistent programs in the nation recently. This year, Mike Riley's bunch welcomes back All-PAC 10 WR Sammie Stroughter from injury. I expect the Beavers to surprise the prognosticators and compete for a top tier bowl in the PAC-10.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Countdown: 63 Days!

63 Days

Wisconsin is one of a few teams in the Big Ten that are capable of dethroning Ohio St. The one thing the Badgers need to do is find a consistent QB. It is still undecided who will be taking snaps under center in Madison this Fall. Right now the favorite is Kansas St. transfer Allan Everidge. Wisconsin should continue it's trend of being a very steady and powerful football team.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Florida Gators: 'Dem so smart!

The official University of Florida athletics website, Gator Zone, is taking notice of the fine job the football team is doing in the classroom. I think it's good that the athletes are actually taking part in class and making the grades to remain in one of the top public institutions to grace this planet since Socrates' Academy.

Here is their story:


More than 45 percent of the University of Florida football student athletes earned above a 3.0 grade point average in the 2008 Spring semester, head coach Urban Meyer announced Thursday.

“I’m proud of the continued improvement of our football team in the classroom, said Urban Meyer. “There are some tremendous success stories our student-athletes have to tell and it is a tribute to their academic commitment.”

Overall, 58 players posted above a 3.0 GPA, including 32 scholarship players and the team posted an overall GPA of 2.86. Those numbers were higher than UF's record-setting numbers from the fall when the team GPA was 2.81.

The number of players above a 3.0 GPA and the cumulative team average are the highest for the football team since records have been kept.

The Florida football team also posted a 72 percent graduation success rate according to data released by the NCAA last fall and the NCAA announced this week the team’s Academic Progress Rate was 962, which ranks in the 80-90th percentile among all football programs in college football.

Team Grade Point Averages Under Urban Meyer
Spring 2005 2.58
Fall 2005 2.65
Spring 2006 2.70
Fall 2006 2.72
Spring 2007 2.77
Fall 2007 2.81
Spring 2008 2.86


As you can see, Urban has the boys headed in the right direction. Still, if I ever came home from school while I was in college and showed my dad a 2.8 GPA, I would be disowned.

What if? SEC/Big Ten challenge.

Over the past few years there has been constant bickering among the SEC and Big Eleven fans over whose conference is better. Personally, I don't see how in the hell Big Eleven fans can even compare their J.V. Douche league to the almighty SEC.



Many of you know that college basketball has a competition between conferences at the beginning of every year. Most notably are the Big Ten/ACC challenge and the Big East/SEC challenge. Well I decided to take a look at what a SEC/Big Ten challenge might look like in football.



Since the Big Eleven is too pussy to add a 12th team, the SEC will have to remove one of theirs. Obviously this would be the bottom feeder team of the league, Vanderbilt. Now that gives both conferences 11 teams. I use the word "teams" loosely because there are certain "teams" in the Big Eleven that are rather dubious.

Here is my rank of the eleven teams from each conference. (This rank is sort of like an average, not how the teams are now.)

SEC

1. LSU
2.Georgia
3.Florida
4.Auburn
5.Tennessee
6.Arkansas
7.South Carolina
8.Alabama
9.Kentucky
10. Mississippi St.
11. Ole Miss

Big Eleven

1.Ohio St.
2.Wisconsin
3.Michigan
4.Penn St.
5.Purdue
6.Iowa
7.Illinois
8.Michigan St.
9.Indiana
10.Northwestern
11.Minnesota

Now it wouldn't be fair to play at one teams home sight. I don't see any Big Eleven team beating Florida, Georgia, LSU or Tennessee at home. Likewise for Ohio St. at home.

So we'll make them all neutral site games.

Here's the matchups we would get.

LSU vs Ohio St.
Winner- LSU. I think this already happened in real life.

Georgia vs Wisconsin
Winner- Wisconsin. The Badgers just have a knack for beating SEC teams.

Florida vs Michigan
Winner- Florida. RR just doesn't have the athletes to run his system yet.

Auburn vs. Penn St.
Winner- Auburn. The Tigers D is just too much for the Lions.

Tennessee vs. Purdue
Winner-Purdue. Tennessee never shows up for big games.

Arkansas vs. Iowa
Winner- Arkansas. Talk to me when Iowa can beat Iowa St.

South Carolina vs. Illinois
Winner-South Carolina. The Zooker will shit his pants when he has to stare down the 'Ol Ball Coach on the opposite sideline.

Alabama vs. Michigan St.
Winner- Alabama. The Spartans will turn the ball over 12 times. By halftime.

Kentucky vs. Indiana
Winner- Kentucky. The Wildcats have too much on Offense for the Hoosiers to handle.

Mississippi St. vs Northwestern
Winner- Northwestern. I'll take an upset here. NU would be able to spread the ball and confuse Sylvester Croom's squad.

Ole Miss vs. Minnesota
Winner- Ole Miss. The Golden Gophers are the worse BCS conference school. FACT!

SO here's the final tally.

SEC- 8 Big Eleven- 3

Just for fun here are all 23 teams in the way I feel they should be ranked coming into THIS season.

  1. Georgia
  2. Florida
  3. Ohio St.
  4. Illinois
  5. Wisconsin
  6. Auburn
  7. LSU
  8. Michigan St.
  9. Alabama
  10. South Carolina
  11. Tennessee
  12. Purdue
  13. Penn St.
  14. Mississippi St.
  15. Michigan
  16. Kentucky
  17. Indiana
  18. Ole Miss
  19. Arkansas
  20. Vanderbilt
  21. Iowa
  22. Northwestern
  23. Minnesota
I think the best conference by far is the SEC. The Big Eleven is the 4th best behind the SEC, Big XII and PAC-10.

Gator superlatives


I feel like I have been neglecting my Gators lately. I've been going on and on about every other program in the nation and it seems I almost forgot the best one of all, the University of Florida.
So I decided to do an entire blog about the Mighty Gators. This one is for those fans that may not be as familiar with the program as my awesome self is.
Here are a few superlative categories among the Florida football team. Enjoy and tell me what you think or how great I am in the comment section.
MVP- Tim Tebow QB. There are a lot of choices on the team for this one, but there is no way you can go against a returning Heisman winning QB. At times last season, Tebow was THE Gator football team. Florida needs him to stay healthy if they want to make a title run.
Best Newcomer- Omar Hunter DT. I don't remember more excitement around an incoming freshmen since......well since Timmy. Hunter should get playing time right away on the D-line. If the defense performs as bad as it did last season, look for Hunter to make a few starts.
Fastest player- Deonte Thompson WR. There are so many choices on the squad for this. There have been all kinds of 40 times thrown all over the place. But I've seen the entire team in person and Deonte is FAAAAAAAAAST! He edges out Chris Rainey, Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin.
Best Runner- Percy Harvin WR. Now there is a difference between being a good runner and a fast runner. Harvin happens to be both. That makes him the best runner.
Breakout star- Major Wright S. I wanted to go with Chris Rainey on this but everyone is expecting him to takeoff. I think a lot of people are sleeping on Wright in the secondary. I look for Wright to have a Reggie Nelson type season. He is already known as the Eraser 2.0.
Most likely to succeed at next level- Percy Harvin WR. This is Harvin again. Percy is in the Reggie Bush/ Darren McFadden type level. That pretty much assures that he will be a VERY high draft selection.
Defensive leader- Brandon Spikes LB. Tebow has this wrapped up on the offensive end, but when it comes to defense it's all about Mr. Spikes. Spikes speaks volumes with his play as well as his vocal leadership. Brandon is the best of a great group of linebackers.
Most likely to be famous outside of football- Joe Haden CB. Haden is a character. If you talk to anyone on the team they all use the same word to describe Haden: Rock Star.
Top Heisman candidate- Tim Tebow QB. This was a close call between Tebow and Harvin. Whenever it's too close to call it's usually a good idea to go with the safer bet. That would be the incumbent in this case, Mr. Tim Tebow.
Player I'd like to hang out with- Wondy Pierre-Louis CB. He's Creole. I'm Creole. There would be some good food and a lot of hot sauce.
There's my short list. I may make another one in the future. If you have any more categories to add, just let me know. If not, screw you.

Countdown: 64 Days!

64 Days


Georgia Tech has their work cut out for them. Paul Johnson will be bringing an entirely new scheme on offense with him from Navy. DC John Tenuta left town after he was passed up for the head coaching position. Last year's starting QB Taylor Bennett transferred after the arrival of Johnson, and the Jackets will have to replace Tashard Choice. Having said all that, Tech may still be able to win a few games in the weak ACC and sneak their way into a Bowl game.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Baby Gators: Recruiting

The Gators have received another commitment for the 2009 class.

Naples High guard Nick Alajajian has pledged to the University of Florida.

Alajajian is 6 foot 4 and weighs 280 pounds. He is the No. 3 ranked guard in the class.

Here is an updated list of the Gator recruits for 2009:

DL Gary Brown West Gadsden high - Quincy, FL
OL Jon Halapio St. Petersburg Catholic - St. Petersburg, FL
RB Greg Reid Lowndes County High - Valdosta, GA
RB Mike Gillislee DeLand High - DeLand, FL
Ath Nu' Keese Richardson Pahokee High - Pahokee, FL
G Nick Alajajian Naples High- Naples, FL

Countdown: 65 Days!

65 Days


Idaho has been one of the worse teams in the history of the universe over the last few seasons. I expect that trend to continue this year. Last year, their only victory was over a 1-AA team. They do have a 1-AA opponent on their schedule this season, so we'll see if they can match last year's win total.

ESPN gets owned by yours truly

Mark Schlabach of ESPN released his early bowl predictions today. Too bad that was done over a month ago.

I'll list Mr. D-bag, Mark Schlabach's picks here. His choices will be in blue. I'll put my pics (the correct ones) in orange next to his. If Schlabach copied me and picked the same school, it will be in green. Each bowl pick will be followed by a quick assessment of Schlabach's dumb-assedness.


  1. BCS Title Game- Georgia/ Florida vs. Ohio St./ Oklahoma - Owned.
  2. Fiesta Bowl- Oklahoma/ Texas vs. BYU- He almost got it right.
  3. Sugar Bowl- Auburn/Georgia vs. Texas Tech/ Illinois- Ass handed to him.
  4. Rose Bowl- Wisconsin/ Ohio St. vs USC- Everybody and their mom agrees w/ USC.
  5. Orange Bowl- Clemson vs. West Virginia- Blatant plagiarism on the part of Mark.
  6. Capital One Bowl- Illinois/Wisconsin vs. Florida/LSU- Wrong.
  7. Outback Bowl- Penn St./Michigan vs. Tennessee/Auburn-He might have got PSU right.
  8. Cotton Bowl- Texas/ Missouri vs. LSU/ Alabama-Ownage.
  9. Gator Bowl- Wake Forest vs. Notre Dame/ Cincinnati- Notre Dame???????
  10. Sun Bowl- Oregon St. vs Texas A&M- He's trying real hard to be like me.
  11. Holiday Bowl- Arizona St. vs. Missouri/ Texas Tech- So close.
  12. Chick-Fil-A Bowl- Virginia Tech vs. Alabama/ South Carolina- Beamer vs. Spurrier is a much better match-up.
  13. Liberty Bowl- Houston/ UCF vs. Ole Miss/ Tennessee- I hope Mark likes apples.
  14. Alamo Bowl- Kansas vs. Michigan St./ Purdue- Halfway there.
  15. Insight Bowl- Nebraska/ Colorado vs. Purdue/ Indiana- I almost feel sorry for him.
  16. Music City Bowl- Miami(FL) vs. South Carolina/ Miss. St.-Come on, Randy Shannon v. Sylvester Croom....
  17. Independence Bowl- Oklahoma St. vs. Miss St./ Arkansas- I admit, Arkansas might be a stretch.
  18. Champs Sports Bowl- Florida St./ North Carolina St. vs. Michigan/ Penn St.- Ugghhh.....
  19. Meineke Car Care Bowl- North Carolina vs. Pitt/ South Florida- How bad does he think USF will be???
  20. Papajohns.com Bowl- Rutgers vs. Kentucky- Even Schlabach can pull one out of his ass.
  21. Texas Bowl- Colorado/ Nebraska vs. UCF/ Tulsa- Mark Schlabach= Shit ruined.
  22. Humanitarian Bowl- Maryland/ Virginia vs. Boise St.- Of course he would get Boise right.
  23. Emerald Bowl- Boston College/ Maryland vs. California/ UCLA- Fuckin' wrong.
  24. Las Vegas Bowl- Utah vs. Oregon/ California- Utah might surprise both of us and get a better bowl bid.
  25. Hawaii Bowl- Nevada/ Fresno St. vs. UCLA/ Arizona-Doesn't Mark get paid to do this?
  26. GMAC Bowl- Tulsa/ East Carolina vs. Central Michigan/ Nevada- His match up looks better, too bad it's horribly wrong.
  27. St. Petersburg Bowl- South Florida/ Pitt vs. Memphis/ Houston- Pathetic.
  28. Armed Forces Bowl- Southern Miss/ Memphis vs. TCU/ Air Force- This is getting ugly.
  29. Congressional Bowl- Navy vs. Kent St./ Georgia Tech- It's kinda easy to get Navy right since they already accepted the damn bid.
  30. International Bowl- Louisville vs. Miami(OH)/ Ball St.- There's no way Miami gets this bid over Ball St.
  31. Motor City Bowl- Iowa/ Michigan vs. Ball St./ Central Michigan- Iowa???
  32. New Orleans Bowl- Florida Atlantic/ UL-Monroe vs. ECU/ Southern Miss- I think he got me on this one. I'm still more awesome.
  33. Poinsettia Bowl- Arizona/ Washington vs. Air Force/ Buffalo- He's sleeping on Buffalo.....
  34. New Mexico Bowl- Fresno St./ Louisiana Tech vs. New Mexico/ FAU- Who cares?

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Ray Ray says Bye Bye to Clemson

One of the all-time feel good stories in college football just added another twist. Clemson RB Ray Ray McElrathbey has announced that he is transferring to Howard University.

Ray Ray became the media darling of CFB when a story appeared on how McElrathbey cared for his younger brother. You may recall, Ray Ray lived in family housing at Clemson and cared for his younger brother like a father. All the while putting in work necessary to play football at the D-1 level.

Last March, Clemson announced that McElrathbey would not play for the football team this season. The athletic department did offer Ray Ray a position as a graduate assistant with the team.

McElrathbey chose Howard for it's academics, according to his mother. And of course, Ray Ray will be bringing along his 13 year old brother with him. Moving to D.C. from Clemson will take a major adjustment for the two.

I say good luck to McElrathbey and his little brother. I hope they are both successful in whatever they chose to pursue in life. If you have a child in need of a role model, perhaps you should point him in McElrathbey's direction.

Countdown: 66 Days!

66 Days

This season figures to be a make or break year for Tyrone Willingham and the Washington Huskies. This situation is rather sad to me because Ty is one of my favorite coaches in the game. It seems that only a bowl season will save Willingham's job. Perhaps if QB Jake Locker can pull off a Tebow-like season, a bowl game birth for Washington is possible.

Monday, June 23, 2008

QB's feeling the heat

No other position on a football team receives the accolades that the QB position does. Conversely, if things don't work out, it is often blamed on the QB. Playing QB is a very high risk/reward job.

There are a few quarterbacks out there this season that are feeling the heat from coaches, fans and fellow students. These QB's could be feeling the pressure for several reasons; they're coming off a sub-par season, they're replacing a legend or they are trying to live up to expectations they themselves have built up.

I have made a list of the top 20 QB's that are feeling all kinds of pressure heading into the 2008 season.

These are in no particular order.

  • Jonathan Crompton- Tennessee- Crompton will be replacing Erik Ainge at the QB position. Volunteer fans have grown weary of the underachieving football team. If Crompton doesn't get off to a fast start, this could be a bad season for Tennessee.
  • Mark Sanchez- USC- Sanchez will be replacing John David Booty at SC. It seems that the QB position has consistently gotten worse over the past few years for the Trojans. If Sanchez wants to break that trend, he will need to erase the memory of his last start, the upset loss to Stanford at home.
  • Todd Reesing- Kansas- Reesing and the Jayhawks have built the expectations in Lawrence very high. In fact, it may be too high for the diminutive QB. Reesing is out to prove to everyone that last season was not a fluke.
  • Jimmy Clausen- Notre Dame- The best way to describe last season for Clausen: horrible. As bad as Clausen's season was, it's hard to feel sorry for a guy that showed up to Spring practice in a limo. Clausen needs to prove that he is over last season's ass-pounding to silence the critics.
  • Drew Waetherford- Florida St.- Can you remember a worse QB to start all 4 years for a BCS school? I sure can't. Weatherford is on par to become the 'Noles' all time leading passer by seasons end. Still, Weatherford's career can only be viewed as mediocre.
  • Willie Tuitama- Arizona- At times, Tuitama has looked like a bonafide superstar. At other times, he has looked like a 3rd string JV QB. It will be up to Tuitama to get the Cats into a bowl game for the first time in the Mike Stoops era.
  • Tom Brandstater- Fresno St.- Expectations surrounding the Bulldog program are high. Personally, I don't see what all the hype is about. Brandstater is a solid starting QB, but he will have to play out of his mind for the Bulldogs to live up to the preseason predictions.
  • Adam Weber- Minnesota- Weber had a decent freshmen season for an awful Minnesota team. He will have to step up his game and improve in the win column to fight off incoming freshmen phenom MarQueis Gray.
  • Matthew Stafford- Georgia- The Bulldogs are seemingly a consensus pick to go all the way this season. It all starts and ends with Stafford at the QB position. We all know Georgia's run game will be exceptional and their defense will be solid. It will be UGA's passing game that will have to become more consistent for the Dawg's to make it to a title game.
  • Jarrett Lee-LSU- The Tigers seemed to have all the cards in place to make another run at the NC. That is until QB Ryan Perrilloux was dismissed from the team. Jarrett Lee is now expected to step in and lead the title defense for the Bayou Bengals.
  • Hunter Cantwell- Louisville- Cantwell will be replacing Brian Brohm for the Cardinals this season. It will be Cantwell's job to lead Louisville to a bounce back year after a disappointing 2007 campaign.
  • Colt McCoy- Texas- McCoy faced some pretty high expectations last season, and the consensus thought is that he failed to meet them. The pressure will be on McCoy once again to lead Texas to the Big XII title.
  • Casey Dick-Arkansas- Much maligned Casey Dick finally has a pass happy coach in Bobby Petrino. If Dick can't do dick with Petrino tutoring him than there's no hope for him.
  • Sean Canfield-Oregon St.- All the pieces are in play for Oregon St. to have a surprising year under Mike Riley. All the pieces except consistent play from the QB. That means it all comes down to how well Sean Canfield can perform.
  • Tim Tebow- Florida- Tebow will have the biggest target of any other player in America on his back this season. That's what winning a Heisman can do for you. Also, the Gators are expected to contend for the national title once again.
  • Max Hall- BYU- A lot of people are picking BYU to be this year's non-BCS Cinderella. That's a lot of pressure to put on a team coming into the season. Jared Zabransky of Boise St. and Colt Brennan of Hawaii were able to live up to the hype. Will Hall be able to?
  • Chase Holbrook-New Mexico St.- Holbrook has put up record-breaking numbers under Hal Mumme at New Mexico St. Unfortunately, these numbers have not transferred to wins. The Aggies are in trouble of being demoted to 1-AA if they fail to generate more attendance. That means NMSU will HAVE to win more games.
  • T.J. Yates- North Carolina- Butch Davis has the Tar Heels ready to make a bowl game appearance. All he needs is consistent play from the QB. With Mike Paulus waiting in the wings, Yates will have to really step his game up.
  • Giovanni Vizza- North Texas- Vizza will have to fend off highly touted freshman and coach's son Riley Dodge to remain the Mean Green's starting QB. I know no one cares since it's North Texas, but this could be a very interesting QB battle.
  • Martevious Young- Southern Miss- Last year, Southern Miss played musical chairs with their QB's. New head coach Larry Fedora would like to find a permanent solution at the position. Young right now is the favorite to win the spot, but he will have to cut down on the bad plays to remain the starter.

2008 Impact Freshmen

There is a popular and overused saying that describes freshmen. You know it, "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." This is a cliche that is used almost every year by coaches throughout the country. For the most part, this saying is true. However, every year there are a handful of freshmen that make a difference on their teams.

The following are the 10 freshmen that I think will have the biggest impact on their respective teams in 2008.

Note: These are not the top 10 freshmen this year overall, these are the players that will make the biggest impact on their teams right away.

1.Darrell Scott- RB Colorado- Scott could start right away for the Buffaloes. The incumbent starter at tailback is Demetrius Sumler. I believe Scott is an overall better back than Sumler and he should eventually overcome Sumler for the starting role.

2.Julio Jones- WR Alabama- Jones was the top prospect overall this season. With the departure of D.J. Hall, Alabama could use all the help it can get from the receiver position. Jones will start the season as the third option, but look for him to quickly become John Parker Wilson's favorite target.

3.DeAndre Brown- WR Southern Miss- The Golden Eagles have not seen a talent like Brown in quite a long time (if ever). DeAndre will immediately start for Southern Miss, and with Larry Fedora's wide-open offense, he could have a monster year.

4.Arthur Brown- LB Miami- Bill Young is not the only Kansas import to provide the Hurricanes with a huge upgrade on defense this season. Brown was the top LB recruit in a Miami class that featured some of the best LB's in the nation. Young will bring a new tenacity to the defense that would allow Brown to become the nasty LB that Miami has sorely needed in recent years.

5.Jonathan Baldwin- WR Pittsburgh- Baldwin could either be the starting TE or the 3rd receiver for the Panthers this season. Whichever position he plays Baldwin will be a big, physical target for QB Bill Stull. The Panthers could have a passing game on par with LeSean McCoy and the running game this season.

6.Riley Dodge- QB North Texas- Dodge is hoping to pull off what Cody Hawkins did last year at Colorado. That is start for his father as a true freshman. Dodge will have to overcome incumbent starter Giovanni Vizza to accomplish the feat.

7.Baker Steinkuhler- OL Nebraska- Steinkuhler should start right away for Nebraska on the O-line.Steinkuhler has the skills and mean streak needed to be a typical Nebraska linemen. Wherever he plays on the line, TB Marlon Lucky should find him and run right behind him.

8.Omar Hunter- DT Florida- Florida's defense was shaky at best last season. Hunter has been touted all Spring by Urban Meyer. Omar will definitely be in the rotation once the season starts and if the D-line struggles again, he should become a starter sooner rather than later.

9.Jermie Calhoun- RB Oklahoma- Calhoun has the talent to start anywhere in America. Unfortunately for him, so does returning starter DeMarco Murray. The Sooners will still use a lot of Calhoun this season. He would be like Noel Devine of West Virginia last year, providing the home-run play when needed.

10.A.J. Green- WR Georgia- Green will get plenty of playing time this season for Mark Richt. He is simply too talented not to. I look for Georgia to use Green on a lot of deep routes to compliment Mohammed Massaquoi at the other WR spot.

Countdown: 67 Days!

67 Days

Hawaii is in a world of trouble this season. They lost their head coach when June Jones left to take the same position at SMU. They lost Heisman Trophy candidate QB Colt Brennan to graduation. They also lost their 2 leading receivers. The new coach is former defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, which is somewhat fitting as the Warriors defense could be their strong point this season. To make matters worse, Hawaii opens up at Florida in an early afternoon game.







Dee Finley's future is not so bright

It has been reported that Florida standout DB recruit Dee Finley failed to qualify academically for the 2008 season.

Here is the story from the Orlando Sentinel.


Florida Gator signee Dee Finley did not academically qualify to play football for the gators this season and will spend the fall at Milford Academy in Connecticut, according to several Internet media reports.

Finley, a highly touted safety out of Auburn High in Alabama, becomes the second signee in Coach Urban Meyer's four recruiting classes to fall short grade-wise. Mainland High tight end Brian Ellis, inked in 2005, was the other to not make grades.

Overall, of the 93 recruits signed by Meyer who wanted to play college football, 91 have qualified and started their careers at Florida, according to data on rivals.com. (2006 signee Derrick Robinson was selected in the baseball draft and elected to pursue a pro career in that sport.)

The UF coaches have worried about Finley's progress, or lack thereof, all spring. Meyer even spoke about Finley's struggles at the Southeastern Conference Spring Meetings last month.
"He's in limbo," Meyer said of Finley. "I still keep hearing there's a chance."


By late last week, though, Florida's coaches knew that chance had expired, and Finley's college football career would be delayed until at least 2009.

Finley probably wouldn't have seen all that much action in the Gator's secondary this season, but this will put him a year behind in terms of his progression. Having a player not qualify is never good news. As you can tell from the article, this is a rare occurrence under Meyer's watch.

I'm sure the Gator bashers will have a field day with this one.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Most Improved Players

Every year, the college football season produces some unlikely stars. During the Spring players are continually working on their game in hopes of improving upon last year's effort.

I am going to list the players that I feel will show the greatest improvement from last season to this one. Some of these players missed some of last year due to injuries or suspensions, and some of the players just didn't play to their potential.

Here are the players that will get their shit straight this year and show out:


1.Sammie Stroughter- WR Oregon St.- Stroughter played at an All-American level two seasons ago. Last year, Sammie battled a knee injury and depression. Stroughter should once again be among the PAC-10's better receivers and return men.

2.Justin Willis- QB SMU- Two years ago Willis flashed some signs of brilliance that finally produced some excitement around the SMU program. Last year, Willis stunk it up and head coach Phil Bennett was fired. I expect Willis to have a HUGE season under new HC June Jones. Justin is easily more talented than any QB Jones worked with at Hawaii.

3.Jasper Brinkley- LB South Carolina- Brinkley missed last season due to a knee injury. If Jasper can stay healthy, he will be an ALL-SEC performer.

4.Lance Smith- RB Wisconsin- Smith was relegated to only playing home games for the Badgers last season due to academic issues. This year, Wisconsin will have full use of Smith's services. He is the lightning to P.J. Hill's thunder.

5.Derrick Williams- WR Penn St.- I am always expecting so much from this guy. He just hasn't lived up to most expectation at Penn St. Once again, I believe Derrick Williams will be a top-tier receiver for the Nittany Lions.

6.Jonathan Dwyer- RB Georgia Tech- Dwyer should see a lot more carries this year under new head coach Paul Johnson. Johnson's old Navy teams were a fixture on top of the rushing leader board year after year. Dwyer is more talented than any back Johnson coach at the Naval academy.

7.Thaddeus Lewis- QB Duke- Lewis is a very talented QB that is surrounded by an awful Duke football team. New head coach David Cutcliffe has coached both Peyton and Eli Manning. He now gets to work his magic with Lewis.

8.Ricky Jean-Francois- DT LSU- Francois was suspended for most of last season due to academic problems. He was re-instated in time for LSU' NC win vs. Ohio St. Buckeye fans will tell you that Ricky Jean-Francois is a BEAST.

9.Dexter McCluster- WR Ole Miss- McCluster will be running the same position that Darren McFadden ran for Houston Nutt at Arkansas. We all know how that turned out.

10. Duke Calhoun- WR Memphis- Calhoun may be one of the most talented WR's in the nation. With an improved Will Hudgens at QB, Calhoun should have a breakout year.

11.Derek Kinder- WR Pittsburgh- Kinder missed most of last season due to injury. He should help the Panthers get back to a bowl game this season.

12. Quentin Chaney- WR Oklahoma- Chaney had a breakout game last year against West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. His numbers should increase this season as he moves into the starting lineup.

13. Marvin Austin- DT North Carolina- The Tar Heels may have the best defense in the ACC this season. Austin has NFL potential and should lead the D-line all year long.

14.Casey Dick- QB Arkansas- There is not a QB in the land that has had a tougher college career than Dick. Fortunately for Casey, Bobby Petrino is in town and his teams know how to throw the ball.

15.Allen Bailey- DE Miami- Miami had an uncharacteristically horrible defense last season. The Hurricanes brought in a new DC to go along with a new attitude. Allen Bailey looks to revive the tradition of great Miami defensive linemen.

16.Daniel Dufrene- RB Illinois- Last year's leading rusher, Rashard Mendenhall is gone to the NFL. Fortunately for the Fighting Ron Zook's, Dufrene is a great RB himself. He filled in admirably last season for Mendenhall with the latter needed a breather.

17.Artrell Woods- WR Oklahoma St.- Woods missed last season due to injury. He should be back in full force to join QB Zac Robinson and this record-breaking OSU offense.

18.Darrell Jalloh- WR West Virginia- Darrius Reynaud left a gaping hole in the Mountaineer's receiving corps. Jalloh and Tito Gonzalez will look to replace Reynaud's numbers.

19.Joe Haden- CB Florida- The entire Gator defense should be much improved this season. Haden showed signs of greatness early last season, but like the rest of Florida's secondary he faded down the stretch.

20. Sergio Kindle- LB Texas- Kindle has not lived up to his expectations at Austin. He will look to finally earn the admiration of Longhorn nation this season. New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will have Kindle in rare form this year.

21.Matt Panfil- DE TCU- Panfil filled in for Tommy Blake last season while he dealt with family issues. Panfil will be the full time started for the Horned Frogs this year as they look to bounce back from a disappointing campaign.

22. Patrick Robinson- CB Florida St.- Robinson will be aided by playing alongside stalwart CB Tony Carter. If Robinson can play up to his potential it will be pretty tough to pass the ball on this Seminole defense.

23.Michale Greco- QB Central Florida- Greco will finally be the full time starter for the Knight this season. Last year, many fans were calling fro Greco to get the start over Kyle Israel. Israel is gone and it is now Greco's turn to run George O'Leary's offense.

24.B.J. Raji- DT Boston College- Raji missed most of last season for a variety of reasons. BC Will rely on it's defense more this season and they will look to Raji to lead the way up front.

25. Armando Murillo- CB Nebraska- Nebraska is in the same situation as Florida. Their secondary started out strong only to fade down the stretch. Bo Pelini will not let that happen again.

Countdown: 68 Days!

68 Days


Stanford shocked the college football world last season by upsetting the mighty USC Trojans at the Coliseum. The Cardinal return the QB that engineered the game winning drive that game in Tavita Pritchard, as well as underrated receiver Richard Sherman. Coach Jim Harbaugh is trying to get Stanford back on track for the first time since the Tyrone Willingham days.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Preseason Heisman List

I really don't like making Heisman lists until December. I feel someone should earn their way onto a Heisman list by that season's performance alone.

Lately I have been getting bombarded by my friends asking me to do a Heisman watch list. So I finally gave in. I will do an updated Heisman watch list starting with this preseason list.

Here are my top-5 Heisman contenders along with the next 5 favorites. Enjoy.





1. Tim Tebow- Florida QB


Last year's stats:
Passing- 234-350 1,334 yards 32 td 6 int
Rushing- 210 895 yards 23 td

Tebow is the incumbent in this bunch. Last year, Timmy became the first Sophomore to ever win the coveted award. Tebow has said that he plans to run as much as he did last year, but the Gator coaching staff have already stated that Tebow's role in the running game will be limited. Tebow is the favorite to become only the second player ever to win the Heisman award twice.




2. Knowshon Moreno- Georgia RB

Last year's stats:
248 1,334 yards 14 td

Moreno exploded onto the scene last year thanks in part to his monster game against Tebow's Gators. Moreno became only the second Georgia player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 1992. That's a surprising stat for a Georgia team that prides itself on physical play. With a full season as the feature back, Moreno could be the Heisman favorite the whole season.





3.LeSean McCoy- Pittsburgh RB

Last year's stats:
276 1,328 yards 14 td

McCoy ran for over a 1,000 yards last season as a true freshman. McCoy WAS Pittsburgh's offense last season. With a developed passing game and a lot of momentum carried over from last season, McCoy could become the second Sophomore to win the Heisman in as many seasons.







4.Chris Wells- Ohio St. RB


Last year's stats:
274 1,609 yards 15 td

Beanie has a few things working in his favor in this Heisman race. He is the leading rusher among the favorites on this list; He has a popular nickname; he will play for a national title contender; and he plays for ESPN media darling Ohio St. All these could lead to Wells capturing the Heisman at the end of the season.








5.Sam Bradford- Oklahoma QB

Last year's stats:
237-341 3,121 yards 36 td 8 int

I listened to a lot of arguments last year from fans of players that they felt were jobbed by the Heisman committee. Of all the players that were mentioned, I felt that Bradford had the best case. No one expected Bradford to step in his Freshman season and lead the Sooners to a Big XII title. Bradford and Oklahoma are favorites to win the Big XII once again, and we all know Oklahoma has a recent history of producing Heisman winning QB's.





The Next 5:
  1. Chase Daniel Missouri QB
  2. Michael Crabtree Texas Tech WR
  3. Pat White West Virginia QB
  4. Noel Devine West Virginia RB
  5. Percy Harvin Florida WR

Countdown: 69 Days!

69 Days


Memphis surprised people last year by making it to a bowl game. Unfortunately the Tigers fell to Sun Belt champs Florida Atlantic in the New Orleans Bowl. This year, Memphis is expected to build upon last year's successes. WR Duke Calhoun may be the most talented player in Conference USA.

Friday, June 20, 2008

NBC's Fall lineup secures a boring future

It has been announced that the NBC network and Notre Dame have reached a 5 year contract extension. This ensures that the Irish will continue to undeservedly have their own network.

I actually like watching Notre Dame games because I hate them. I hate Notre Dame, I hate Charlie Weis, and I hate Irish people. So to be able to watch the Irish lose 8 or 9 times a year will be sweet.

Also, every game has me in suspense because I never know when Charlie Weis will finally give in to the cholesterol demon and die on the sideline. Weis has taking over the top spot of most likely to die on the football field, replacing Buccaneer fullback Mike Alstott.

NBC has been raping American retinas since 1991 by broadcasting Notre Dame games. Chairman Dick Ebeersol said that the network did not look at on the field performance when deciding to renew the Irish's contract.

That's just great! Who care that Notre Dame will be garbage for the next decade, let's just throw them on TV. What else would you expect from the network that actually televised the XFL.

So Irish fans, enjoy watching your team get their ass handed to them up til 2015.

Ohio St. loses back-up QB



Ohio St. back-up QB Antonio Henton announced that he is transferring from the school. Henton will seek playing time at 1-AA power Georgia Southern. The fact that Todd Boeckman is a solid starter and incoming freshman Terrelle Pryor is the face of the Buckeyes future made the decision for Henton to transfer easy.

Despite the reports and rumors, OSU coach Jim Tressel and the Georgia Southern AD have not confirmed the move. Henton is originally form Georgia and he would have 3 years of eligibility if he were to transfer.

I think this is a very good move for Henton. He might actually WIN a title game at Georgia Southern. I usually don't like it when a player transfers to just get more playing time. I always felt that if you want more playing time, you better practice harder and earn your playing time. However, I do believe Henton is making the right choice.

Besides, if you're a Buckeye fan, are you REALLY going to miss this guy? I'm sure most OSU fans didn't even give this story a second thought. This seems to be a good move for all parties involved.

Countdown: 70 Days!

70 Days



Nebraska is bringing in a new era under Bo Pelini this season. The former Nebraska and LSU defensive coordinator is looking to add some much needed toughness to a team that played with no heart last season. Bill Callahan left behind quite a mess for Pelini to clean up. The biggest thing Pelini was able to do this off season was convince HB Marlon Lucky to return for his senior season. Pelini also has a very solid QB in Joe Ganz, who took over the starting job from Sam Keller last season.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

SEC non-conference S.O.S.

Sporting News has been breaking down the BCS teams non-conference schedule. They are ranking each team's non-conference opponents. I found their breakdown of the SEC's teams quite interesting.

Here's how they have them ranked:

1. Florida: Hawaii, Miami, Citadel, at Florida State
2. Tennessee: at UCLA, UAB, Northern Illinois, Wyoming
3. Georgia: Georgia Southern, Central Michigan, at Arizona State, Georgia Tech
4. South Carolina: North Carolina State, Wofford, UAB, at Clemson
5. Auburn: Louisiana-Monroe, Southern Miss, at West Virginia, Tennessee-Martin
6. Ole Miss: Memphis, at Wake Forest, Samford, Louisiana-Monroe
7. Arkansas: Western Illinois, Louisiana-Monroe, at Texas, Tulsa
8. Alabama: vs. Clemson, Tulane, Western Kentucky, Arkansas State
9. Mississippi State: at Louisiana Tech, Southeastern Louisiana, at Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee.
10. Vanderbilt: at Miami (OH), Rice, Duke, at Wake Forest
11. LSU: Appalachian State, Troy, North Texas, Tulane
12. Kentucky: at Louisville, Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky

Some of my thoughts:

  • Florida finally plays two non-conference BCS teams. I think Miami should be an annual game for the Gators. Let's bring back the Seminole War Canoe!
  • I don't know how they can rank Tennessee ahead of Georgia. Tennessee's top game is against UCLA, which is an underachieving team with a new coach. Georgia plays Arizona St., Central Michigan and Georgia Tech. All of which are just as good if not better than UCLA.
  • South Carolina plays a NC State team that is on the upswing and a top 10 power n Clemson.
  • Auburn plays possibly the toughest non-conference game at West Virginia.
  • Arkansas at Texas is a great old-time match up. Unless Arkansas can get things together the Longhorns should roll.
  • If Louisville is as bad as last year, Kentucky may have the easiest non-conference schedule in the nation.

Countdown: 71 Days!

71 Days


The defending champs will have a much tougher road to the BCS this year. LSU might have one of the more talented teams in the country. Unfortunately for the Tigers, none of that talent is in one of the more important positions on a football team: The QB. After Ryan Perrilloux' early dismissal from the team in the Spring, LSU is left with Freshman Jarrett Lee and Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch to battle for the starting job. Whoever wins the position battle will have perhaps the best receiving corps in the nation to throw to. Brandon LaFell, Demetrius Byrd and Terrance Tolliver will help ease the new QB into the game.







Wednesday, June 18, 2008

National Championship odds

I'm not a gambler at all. I like money too much to gamble it away, so I don't really follow the odds or lines on games. However, there are a lot of people out there that take a lot of stock in the odds given by Vegas on certain things happening.

These are the odds of a few notable teams to win the NC this year:

USC - 3:1
Florida, Georgia, Ohio St. and Oklahoma- 6:1
LSU- 12:1
Auburn 20:1
Clemson-22:1
West Virginia- 25:1
Michigan, Tennessee, Texas- 30:1
Miami, UCLA- 35:1
Alabama, Virginia Tech- 40:1
Florida St., Illinois, Penn St., Rutgers- 50:1
Notre Dame- 55:1
Arkansas- 150:1


I don't really care about any of this, but some people put in a lot of work to get these numbers.

Unitas Watch '08

The preseason watch list was released for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. This award has been given to the top PASSING QB since 1987. I emphasize passing because as you will see Mr. Tim Tebow (aka John Rambo's mentor) is not on the watch list.

Here are the players that are listed:

C.J. Bacher, Northwestern
Todd Boeckman, Ohio State
Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State
Tom Brandstater, Fresno State
Hunter Cantwell, Louisville
Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State
Chase Clement, Rice
Chase Daniel, Missouri
Joe Ganz, Nebraska
Sean Glennon, Virginia Tech
Cullen Harper, Clemson
Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
Chase Holbrook, New Mexico State
Brian Hoyer, Michigan State
Will Hudgens, Memphis
Brian Johnson, Utah
Nate Longshore, California
Tyler Lorenzen, Connecticut
Stephen McGee, Texas A&M
Ben Olson, UCLA
Curtis Painter, Purdue
John Parker Wilson, Alabama
Mike Teel, Rutgers
Willie Tuitama, Arizona
Pat White, West Virginia
Drew Willy, University of Buffalo


My favorites to win are Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, Cullen Harper of Clemson, Chase Daniel of Missouri and Curtis Painter of Purdue.

Big Ten sinks even lower

I know this is going to sound like some more Big Ten bashing from an SEC fan, well actually it is some Big Ten bashing from an SEC fan!

The Big Ten is horrible. There's Ohio St., Illinois, Wisconsin and 8 JV football teams.

Things just got a lot uglier for one of these JV teams. Minnesota redshirt freshman QB Clint Brewster has announced he is transferring. This normally wouldn't be too big of a deal except for the fact that Brewster's dad, Tim is the head coach at Minnesota.

How much farther can a program fall than Minnesota? Last year the Gophers went 1-11 and were considered to be the worst school in a BCS conference. Now the coach's son is leaving the program.

Brewster originally committed to Illinois coming out of high school, but then he decided to follow his father to Minnesota. Brewster was probably going to be the third string QB behind incumbent starter Adam Weber and incoming freshman MarQueis Gray.

I would love to be a fly on the wall at the Brewster house during the holidays. I bet their will be some spirited discussions a the dinner table.

Countdown: 72 Days!

72 Days

Georgia is nearly a consensus favorite to make it three straight SEC national champions. I really hope the Bulldogs and the Gators both are undefeated when it's time for the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville. Hopefully, Florida will be able to exact some revenge on the Dawgs.








Phil Steele's Preview


So I finally bought my second college football preview magazine. As you can see I purchased Phil Steele's self proclaimed "Most accurate preseason magazine."
I have already previewed Lindy's preseason annual.
If you're a huge college football fan, I recommend Lindy's annual. If you live, breathe and eat college football, then I recommend Phil Steele's. When he says his previews are "jampacked with information," that mofo aint lying!
There is 350 pages of stats and figures to give you you're college football fix during the Summer.
Here are some interesting tidbits from Phil Steele's preview:
  • As I mentioned, Steele professes that his magazine is consistently the most accurate in all the land. (He makes this declaration on nearly every page.) If he keeps up the tradition than the Gators will be in for a good year because he has them as his number one.
  • South Florida is ranked 8th in the land. I think that's kind of high myself.
  • His championship game will be a rematch of Florida and Ohio St. I see Buckeye fans everywhere pissing the bed...
  • Tim Tebow, Chris Wells and Michael Crabtree are the top rated QB, RB and WR, respectively.
  • His most improved team is Notre Dame. He has the Irish ranked 18th in the country. I'm sorry but I just don't see the Irish being that good, especially not 18th in the land.
  • Unlike Lindy's, Phil Steele does preview the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. However, he has WKU in the Sun Belt even though they don't begin conference play until next year.

All in all, I like Phil Steele's preview. But I warn you, don't spend the 9 bucks if you are not an intense follower of cfb.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

It's all in the name

The college football landscape is littered with some crazy team nicknames. I wanted to take some time out and break down a few of these names for you.

You're welcome.

  1. Akron Zips - I don't know what a Zip has to do with a donkey. It's sort of like the Alabama Crimson Tide with an elephant mascot.
  2. TCU Horned Frogs- The powers that be at TCU tried really hard to come up with a way to make a frog sound really intimidating.
  3. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers- Chanticleer is the name of a rooster in a Canterbury fable. It is also a male chorus. Either way it's pretty gay.
  4. Presbyterian Blue Hose- Man this nation really used to be obsessed with colored leggings.
  5. South Dakota St. Jackrabbits- Whenever I hear the nickname for South Dakota St.'s football team, I immediately think of this porno I saw one time when...... Never mind.
  6. Furman Paladins- A Paladin was an imperial guard in ancient Rome. They were like the rent-a-cops of the old days.
  7. Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils- A Boll Weevil is a tiny beetle that feeds on cotton. Their main rivals are the Arkansas-Russelsville Silk Worms. They play for the annual Totally not dangerous but annoying as hell insect cup. The Boll Weevils dominate.
  8. Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys- I love this nickname. Wonder Boy was my nickname from the age of 4 months to 2 years.
  9. Southern Arkansas Mule Riders- What is up with Arkansas? I'm going to bypass that state form now on whenever I am driving. They suck.
  10. Central Oklahoma Bronchos- COU student, "Forget your damn English and proper way of spelling things. Go Bronchs Beeeeyotch!"
  11. Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas- A Javelina is basically a dirty pig. In other words, Kingsville have the same mascot as the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Charlie Weis family.
  12. Washburn Ichabods- It's better than being the Jekylls, I guess....
  13. Colorado St.-Pueblo Thunderwolves- How awesome is this nickname? They should have stopped allowing teams to come up with nicknames after this one. Kudos Pueblo, kudos.
  14. Alfred Saxons- I've always admired teams that are named after a people from a certain region that have nothing to do with the area that the team is now in.
  15. Massachusetts-Dartmouth Corsairs- Gay!
  16. Amherst Lord Jeffs- Lord Jeff was a stone cold playa. That makes this name awesome.
  17. Colby White Mules- Why do the mules gotta be white?
  18. Tufts Jumbos- Rosie O'Donnell recently tried to sue Tufts for trademark infringement.
  19. Williams Ephs- Ephraim Williams wishes he could be as cool as Lord Jeff.
  20. Trinity Bantams- A bantam is a small chicken. Need I say more?
  21. Rowan Profs- Awesome Owl mascot to go along with the baddest-Assed nickname in all the land.
  22. Oberlin Yeomen-Basically a poor ass farmer.
  23. Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops- Isn't this name sacrilegious or something?
  24. Heidelberg Student Princes- Pleeeeaase change the name!
  25. John Carroll Blue Streaks- Better than brown streaks.
  26. Carnegie Mellon Tartans- A football team named after a skirt that Scottish people wear. There are sooo many thing wrong with that.
  27. Chicago Maroons- One of my favorites.
  28. Gettysburg Bullets- Why not the Gettysburg Suicide Charges, or Gettysburg Adresses?
  29. Gustavus Adolphus Gusties- Sounds extremely gay.
  30. Whittier Poets- See above.
  31. Wisconsin-Eau Clarie Bluegolds- The compromise to end all compromises. John Taylor and Jesse Thomas would be proud
  32. Jamestown Jimmies- I know what jimmy is slang for....
  33. South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers- "Motoring!!!!! What's your price for flight!!!!"
  34. Southwestern Moundbuilders- This is just dumb.

Countdown: 73 Days!

73 Days

Temple showed some great signs of improvement last season in their first full year in the MAC. If the Owls can once again improve upon last year's record, look for head coach Al Golden to become a hot commodity on the coaching market next off-season. Perhaps Syracuse???







Monday, June 16, 2008

Expansion? It's the PAC-10's turn.

I recently did a blog referring to the possible expansion of the Big East and how awesome that would be. Now it's time for me to show you how smart I am by discussing the possible expansion of the PAC-10.

PAC-10 expansion is a bit more unlikely than Big East expansion. Most PAC-10 fans will argue that bringing in two more teams will go against the tradition that the conference has built up. I agree there is a certain air about PAC-10 schools that doesn't exist anywhere else in the West. Bringing in two more teams would somewhat dilute that.

Also, the main reason for expanding would be the implementation of a conference title game to generate more revenue for the conference itself. This argument might not hold up in the PAC-10 because a title game might not be all that more profitable. Unlike the SEC and Big XII, the PAC-10 fan base is not exactly obsessed about it's football. I compare the PAC-10 more to the ACC, and we have seen how much of a struggle that conference is having with it's title game.

Despite these drawbacks, expanding the PAC-10 to allow a conference title game could be beneficial to all of college football.
Here are six possible candidates that I believe would get some consideration if the PAC-10 were ever to expand.


1. Boise St.- The Broncos have been the class of the non-BCS schools of recent years. From 2002-2006, Boise St. won 5 straight WAC titles. Of course, Boise St. is remembered most for knocking off the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl after a perfect 2006 season.

Boise St. would bring with them a fan base that would rival top PAC-10 programs. Other than USC, California and UCLA, Boise St. might have one of the better fan bases in the PAC-10.

The downside to Boise St. is that they play in a small market. Idaho doesn't exactly scream PAC-10. Also, the blue turf that the Broncos play on would have to go as it is seen as nothing more than a gimmick by the PAC-10 powers.



2.Colorado- A few years back it was reported that the Buffs would welcome a move to the PAC-10 from the Big 12. Colorado might not fit in with the rest of the PAC-10 geographically, but that's been done before (i.e. Penn State in the Big Ten, Arkansas in the SEC, Iowa St. in the Big XII.) Since the Big XII started playing title games back in 1996, Colorado has participated in 4 of them. Also, Colorado would bring a national championship to the PAC-10 with their title in 1990 (shared with Georgia Tech.) Colorado would be able to match the other PAC-10 schools in terms of tradition and name recognition, which would be a big seller.

A drawback for Colorado to join the PAC-10 would be the fact that the Buffaloes will undoubtedly have to pay some sort of fine to the Big XII. The move to the PAC-10 would have to be overwhelmingly positive for Colorado to even consider throwing away money like that.

As a side note, this would allow Colorado, Washington and UCLA to compete for the Neuheisel cup every year. Good stuff.



3.Utah- Utah is a respected state university that would fit the mold of a PAC-10 institution. Also, bringing in Utah would allow the PAC-10 to capture the Salt Lake City market. Since the Mountain West conference came into existence in 1999, the Utes have won 3 conference titles. Also, Utah defeated Pittsburgh after their perfect 2004 season to become the first non-BCS school to win a BCS bowl game.


Utah is always one of the more respected non-BCS schools in the country. However, the Utes have lost some of their luster after the departure of head coach Urban Meyer to Florida.



4.Fresno St.- The Bulldogs already play in a PAC-10 market in Fresno, CA. The ability to keep the geographical boundaries that currently exist would be a big draw for the PAC-10 in regards to Fresno St. The Bulldogs have won three WAC titles under Pat Hill and have always taken the role of fearless underdog when playing against BCS competition.

One thing the Bulldogs lack is a defining win. Fresno St. has had their share of upsets but they have never really captured the college football world like Boise St. and Utah have. Also, lately Fresno St. has been labeled an underachiever and last time I checked the PAC-10 already has a UCLA.



5. BYU- The Cougars have gradually become one of the better non-BCS teams in college football recently. This year BYU is expected to make a run at a BCS bid. If that were to happen, it would greatly improve their stock in this discussion. BYU has won 4 Mountain West conference titles including back to back championships the past two seasons.

The Cougars definitely have the goods on the field, but BYU is not a research institution, which is almost a mandatory requirement for the PAC-10. BYU's religious affiliation may be too much to overcome for them to be seriously considered for the PAC-10.


6. UNLV- The Rebels are easily the least credentialed football team on this list. One thing that UNLV does have that the other schools don't is a very solid basketball program. The b-ball program would help UNLV in the expansion discussion.

Also, UNLV would give the PAC-10 the Las Vegas market. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you want to look at it.

UNLV might have the smoothest transition of the 6 schools listed into the PAC-10 because the Rebels roster is loaded with USC transfers.

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