CFB 365's Top 25

Not too much change in the top 25 after week 1. Sam Bradford's injury caused the Sooner's to slide pretty far, while the team that took them down, the BYU Cougars have climbed into the top 10. Here's this week's poll.


1. Florida Gators - The Gators somehow managed to put up 62 points on the vaunted Charleston Southern defense. Hopefully they saved enough energy to take on Troy this coming week. Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey and Emmanuel Moody all look really good. Now the receivers need to get their act together.




2. Texas Longhorns - No one took more joy in the Sooners' loss this weekend than the Longhorns. Not because Oklahoma is Texas' sworn enemy, but because the loss helps the Longhorns move up a spot in my rankings. McCoy and company get another tune up next week against Wyoming.




3. LSU Tigers - LSU gets major kudos for traveling across the nation and defeating Washington this past weekend. Granted LSU didn't overwhelm the Huskies, but it was an impressive win nonetheless.





4. USC Trojans - Matt Barkley didn't disappoint in his first start for the Trojans. USC overcame a bunch of early turnovers to dominate San Jose St. The Trojans get another warm up against some team from Ohio before they really get into their schedule in two weeks.




5. Alabama Crimson Tide - The Tide made a significant jump in my poll this week. The Tide thoroughly dominated Virginia Tech, even if the score didn't indicate the domination. Bama's running game and defense looked very solid. That's a calling card of a Nick Saban coached team.




6. Oklahoma St. Cowboys - Oklahoma St. defeated a very good Georgia Bulldog team over the weekend. It took awhile for their offense to get on track, but when it did Dez Bryant was brilliant. The Cowboys' defense looked solid, but that could be a product of an average Georgia O.




7. Ohio St. Buckeyes - The Buckeyes drop down in this week's rankings. That's what happens when you need to intercept a two point conversion to defeat Navy at your house.





8. Boise St. Broncos - Boise St. is still the class of the non-BCS programs in my opinion. What seems to be lost in all the LeGarrette Blount hoopla, is the fact that the Broncos' D made a very good Oregon offense look absolutely terrible.




9. BYU Cougars - The Cougars make the biggest jump in this week's polls. Their upset of Oklahoma was the biggest story of the weekend. Max Hall might have played his way into Heisman contention.





10. Ole Miss Rebels - The Rebels overcame a slow start to throttle rival Memphis on Sunday. Jevan Snead looked a little shake at first, but he managed to pull his head out of his ass long enough to put together a decent game.




11. Penn St. Nittany Lions - Penn St.'s defense looked pretty good on Saturday. Then again, it was against Akron. Ohio St. looks a little shaky, so Paterno's bunch may be in for another Big Eleven title.





12. California Golden bears - Cal was one of the more impressive teams of week 1. Jahvid Best and Kevin Riley both looked very impressive against Maryland. With Oregon's falling off, the Bears may be the team to threat USC's PAC-10 dominance.




13. Virginia Tech Hokies - The Hokies remain in the top 25 even after their loss. This is mainly due to the fact that Va Tech managed to keep the game close against a top 5 ball club.





14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - The Jackets are competing with Virginia Tech as the class of the ACC. Georgia Tech looked good against Jacksonville St., take that for what it is.





15. Oklahoma Sooners - Sam Bradford's injury knocks the Sooners even lower than a single loss would have. Time to see if Landry Jones can play better than he did against BYU.





16. Kansas Jayhawks - Todd Reesing and company got things off to a good start against Northern Colorado. The Big XII North actually looks half decent.





17. North Carolina Tar Heels - Nothing really new to add to the Tar Heels' situation. They beat up on The Citadel over the weekend.






18. TCU Horned Frogs - TCU had a bye week in week 1. What a cop out.






19. Utah Utes - The Utes didn't look all that impressive in their victory over in-state rival Utah St. Utah can now claim to be the third best team in the Mountain West. That would make them the fourth best team of the Big Eleven.




20. Nebraska Cornhuskers - Nebraska is another Big XII North team that is trying to make their division somewhat respectable. It's a shame they have to share their division with Colorado...






21. Georgia Bulldogs - It's hard to knock the Bulldogs out of the top 25 for losing to a top 10 team on the road. So they get to hang on for at least another week.





22. Michigan St. Spartans - The Spartans are pushing hard to be the "other" team in the Big Eleven. If they keep playing the way they did against Montana St., they could give Penn St. and Ohio St. a run for the title.





23. Cincinnati Bearcats - Cincy was dominant in their victory over Rutgers on Monday. The Bearcats replace West Virginia as the Big East representative in my top 25 rankings.





24. Missouri Tigers - Mizzou dismantled rival Illinois in week 1. The Fighting Zookers looked dreadful against Missouri. Blaine Gabbert looks to be a solid replacement for Chase Daniel.





25. Texas Tech Red Raiders - Texas Tech hangs on to the 25th spot this week. I want to see Tech play someone of a higher caliber than North Dakota before I decide to move them up.

Questions Stll Unanswered

There's really not too many questions that could have been answered against the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern. But last night ended pretty much how it started.

The receiving corps still seems to be shaky. Outside of Riley Cooper, there really wasn't much to speak of in terms of receiver production. On consecutive plays, Deonte Thompson was called for a false start and then dropped a sure touchdown pass. Brandon James also dropped a touchdown pass as he played the slot. At least Aaron Hernandez didn't disappoint. Hernandez showed why he is considered one of the nation's best tight ends.

I don't know if it's Scott Loeffler's doing, but Tim Tebow looked extremely sharp last night. Tebow could have easily ended the night with 3 touchdowns if Thomson and James could have made their respective catches. The only throw that was off target was Tebow's first deep pass to Riley Cooper. Cooper had to adjust to the under thrown ball. Otherwise, Coop could have had himself a touchdown.

The running game was on point. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey dazzled once again. Manny Moody made some spectacular runs as well. Even Mike Gillislee showed what he is capable of.

I would ;ole to say that we should learn more against Troy next week, but the Trojans were embarrassed by Bowling Green this week. We may have to wait until the Tennessee game to know what these Gators are all about.

Here's the stats:

Passing

Tim Tebow 10-15 188 yards 1 td
John Brantley 8-12 67 yards 2 tds

Rushing

Jeff Demps 5 rushes 89 yards 2 tds
Emmanuel Moody 9 rushes 86 yards
Chris Rainey 1 rush 76 yards 1 td
Mike Gillislee 6 rushes 41 yards 1td
John Brantley 6 rushes 44 yards
Tim Tebow 2 rushes 1 yard 1 td

Receiving

Riley Cooper 5 recs. 105 yards
Aaron Hernandez 4 recs 79 yards 1td
Omarius Hines 3 recs 31 yards
Justin Williams 2 recs 11 yards 1 td
Cade Holliday 1 rec 9 yards 1 td

Kickoff Returns

Brandon James 85 yards 1 td

Defense

Interceptions

Major Wright 1

Tackles

Jon Bostic 7
Joe Haden 6
Lorenzo Edwards 5

Player of the Game

Riley Cooper - White Receiver

Cooper showed up in a big way last night. Coop maneged to amass 105 yards receiving on just 5 catches. There was a stretch when Tebow connected with Riley on 3 straight plays. This was vomit inducing to the Charleston Southern secondary as well as to Cooper, who was seen throwing up while coming off the field. Hopefully next week, Mr. Cooper with have some help.

Thursday Recap

A lot happened in the college football world last night. The only thing that seemed to be missing was actual good football. Every game was marred by turnovers and miscues. I guess you can't really ask for too much more on the first night of the season.

Here are my thoughts on what transpired.


Everyone is talking about the LaGarrette Blount punch today. People are forgetting that an actual game transpired before than incident. I can't really blame them. The game was boring. Either Chip Kelly is in for a long season at Oregon, or Boise St.'s defense is pretty damn good. For someone who is supposedly an offensive genius, it seemed Kelly couldn't pull his head out of his ass long enough to call a decent play. Is this really the team that everyone was expecting to challenge USC for the PAC-10 crown? I'm ashamed the Ducks cracked my top 25 poll.

As for the Blount incident, my take is simple. The Boise St. douche deserved to be punched square in the jaw. You don't run up on someone who you just beat and pound on his shoulder pads. Even if you were to be dumb enough to do that, you don't compound your mistake by yapping at the guy. I don't blame Blount at all for hitting him in the mouth. I would've done the same. Where Blount went wrong is how he acted after he went all Kermit Washington. Blount tried to fight his own teammates and run into the stands a la Ron Artest. Both of those are no nos. I don't think the guy should be kicked off the team but he definitely deserves a strong suspension. Maybe even suspend him for the season. Oregon can't do any worse without him than they did last night.

Speaking of shit fests, what the hell was that pile of crap that ESPN aired before the Blount Brawl? NC State and South Carolina put on a snooze fest that would make Sylvester Croom jealous. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised with the Wolfpack's performance. They seem to forget to play football until around November. One thing I did learn from this game: Eric Norwood is even better than I thought. I think he might have moved up my positional rankings with that performance.

Not too much else happened Thursday. Utah didn't look overly impressive against in-state "rival" Utah St.

Ball St. looks like it misses Nate Davis and Brady Hoke a lot more than they miss Muncie. Stan Parrish still can't coach.

Iowa St. and Indiana are slightly better than I thought they would be. But not by much.

ESPN continues to exploit Lou Holtz's willingness to do whatever corny ass segment they ask him too. Mark May is still horrible...

I took a hurting in my weekly picks last night. I mean, I was awful......

Highlight of the night:

CFB365 Positional Rankings

Last season, I intricately broke down the top 20 players from each position in college football. Since I decided to wait until the day before the season started to do it this year, I'm going to combine every position into one post. This, of course, will call for more brevity than in the past. It does not, however, affect how right I am. Which is 100%.

I may update these rankings as the season progresses and players either make a name for themselves or stumble all over their own vaginas.

QB

1. Tim Tebow - Florida
2. Colt McCoy - Texas
   
3. Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
4. Zac Robinson - Oklahoma St.
5. Jevan Snead - Ole Miss
6. Todd Reesing - Kansas
7. Terrelle Pryor - Ohio St.
8. Juice Williams - Illinois
9. Max Hall - BYU
10. Darryl Clark - Penn St.

RB

1. Jahvid Best - California
2. Kendall Hunter - Oklahoma St.
3. Jonathan Dwyer - Georgia Tech
4. DeMarco Murray - Oklahoma
5. Noel Devine - West Virginia
6. Andre Anderson - Tulane
7. Joe McKnight - USC
8. Anthony Dixon - Mississippi St.
9. Eugene Jarvis - Kent St.
10. C.J. Spiller - Clemson

WR

1. Dez Bryant - Oklahoma St.
2. Arrelious Benn - Illinois
3. Julio Jones - Alabama
4. A.J. Green - Georgia
5. Damian Williams - USC
6. Mardy Gilyard - Cincinnati
7. Brandon LaFell - LSU
8. Dezmon Briscoe - Kansas
9. Jonathan Baldwin - Pittsburgh
10. Kevin Jurovich - San Jose St.

TE

1. Jermaine Gresham - Oklahoma
2. Aaron Hernandez - Florida
3. D.J. Williams - Arkansas
4. Rob Gronkowski - Arizona
5. Dennis Pitta - BYU
6. Ed Dickson - Oregon
7. Cody Slate - Marshall
8. Kyle Rudolph - Notre Dame
9. Jeron Mastrud - Kansas St.
10. Richard Dickson - LSU

OL

1. Sergio Render - Virginia Tech
2. Trent Williams - Oklahoma
3. Jeff Byers - USC
4. Ciron Black - LSU
5. Anthony Davis - Rutgers
6. Kristoffer O'Dowd - USC
7. Maurkice Pouncey - Florida
8. Mike Pouncey - Florida
9. Russell Okung - Oklahoma St.
10. Adam Ulatoski - Texas

DL

1. Gerald McCoy - Oklahoma
2. Greg Hardy - Ole Miss
3. Carlos Dunlap - Florida
4. Ndamukong Suh - Nebraska
5. Sergio Kindle - Texas
6. Geno Atkins - Georgia
7. Jerry Hughes - TCU
8. George Selvie - South Florida
9. Terrence Cody - Alabama
10. Rahim Alem - LSU

LB

1. Brandon Spikes - Florida
2. Rolando McClain - Alabama
3. Eric Norwood - South Carolina
4. Sean Weatherspoon - Missouri
5. Sean Lee - Penn St.
6. Rennie Curran - Georgia
7. Navarro Bowman - Penn St.
8. Sean Spence - Miami(FL)
9. Travis Lewis - Oklahoma
10. Reggie Carter - UCLA

DB

1. Eric Berry - Tennessee
2. Taylor Mays - USC
3. Joe Haden - Florida
4. Trevard Lindley - Kentucky
5. Patrick Peterson - LSU
6. Morgan Burnett - Georgia Tech
7. Janoris Jenkins - Florida
8. Alterraun Verner - UCLA
9. Chad Jones - LSU
10. Syd'Quan Thompson - California
    

Florida - Charleston Southern Preview

Yes. This is a preview of a football game that features a 73 point underdog. The CSU Buccaneers come into Gainesville as the largest underdog since..... well ever.

It's gonna be hard for the Gators to get incredibly jacked up for a game that Urban Meyer has already called ridiculous. The fact that they haven't hit someone in a different color in nearly 8 months should help a little. But you get the feeling this will be the Orange and Blue Debut Part Deux.

The fact that this game doesn't matter to anyone outside of Gator Nation doesn't matter to me. I've been dying for some college football, and especially some Gator football. Saturday can't get here soon enough.

Here are my thoughts on this monumental clash between two titans for the collegiate gridiron.


5 Keys to the Game

1. Show Up - No real strategy needed. the Gators just need to make sure they get off the buses, make the Gator Walk, get dressed and be on the field by the 7 o'clock kickoff. If they do that, they win.

2. Avoid Injuries - The last thing the Gators need is to have a major contributor get injured during this horrible excuse for a game. I might boycott the season if someone major were to go down in a heap against the Bucs. In fact, I hope Meyer treats this game like the string of 4th NFL preseason games coming up this weekend. Let the starters play for a series or two at the most. Then, hopefully up 14-0, put the reserves in and don't look back.

3. Protect the Ball - I know. I know. There's no way the Gators lose to Charleston Southern even if they turn the ball over 37 times. Still, you don't want to develop bad habits. A couple of fumbles in this game could lose to a lack of discipline in some games that might actually matter later in the season. Of course, this wasn't the case after the Ole Miss loss last season, but you never know...

4. Give Brantley Plenty of Reps - I want to see John Brantley in the game for at LEAST 3 full quarters. Give him a chance to run the offense for an extended period of time. Let him throw for 6 or 7 touchdowns to build his confidence up. This could help when Meyer decides to throw Brantley in the fire in Baton Rouge later in the year.

5. Give Moody the Damn Ball! - I told you I was gonna keep screaming this until the coaching staff actually listened. Besides, Moody does his best work against FCS teams. Just look at last year's Citadel game. He looked like an All-American!





5 Players That Need To Step Up

1. Emmanuel Moody - I already mentioned Manny's superstar like status when facing FCS opponents. The introduction of the I-Formation should only help his ability to dominate lesser opponents. Time for Manny to go for 250+ with 4 tds.

2. John Brantley - Brantley should be the star of the game Saturday. He will see the bulk of the action at QB, if all goes well. If all goes too well, he may even be spelled by Jordan Reed late in the game. Still, Brantley should have the best game of his career. Something that he can build on throughout the season.

3. Mike Gillislee - I'm real anxious to see what this guy can do. I've heard so much about him leading up to the season. I'm ready to see what he's all about. Granted, whatever he does against Charleston Southern can't be taken too seriously. But at least it will give us more to go on than just practice.


4. Jonathan Phillips - Phillips' leg should see plenty of action this Saturday. He might even be able to mix in some field goals with the 20 or so PATs he'll be attempting. This will be a good chance for Johnny to get a head start on the comp for the Lou Groza award.

5. Jon Bostic - Bostic is another freshman that I can't wait to see in action on Florida Field. He should get plenty of playing time once the starters take to the bench early in the game. From what I hear, Bostic may even be mixed in some with the starting unit. Either way, this will be his first chance to shine.




No Florida v. Charleston Southern highlights exist for obvious reasons. Instead, here' a nice highlight reel re-capping Florida's 2008 season.



Here's what they're saying about this historic contest.

My Prediction

Florida - 76

Charleston Southern - 9

Week 1 Preview

The college football season is so close. And it's not a moment too soon. If I have to watch another replay on CBS Sports or ESPNU or ESPN Classic or any other channel that has been running college football replays for the past 2 months, I might just go crazy. I can close my eyes and give you the play by play of the Air Force v. Wyoming game from last season. That's never a good thing.

Here's a little preview of week 1 to satisfy your college football craving until Thursday.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5 Games to Watch

Here are 5 games that everyone must see this week. I don't care if you have to order these on pay per view or head to your local watering hole. Just make sure you're either in front of the TV or in the stands at one of these games.

1. Georgia @ Oklahoma St. - The two power conferences will be represented in this game. Georgia returns a ton of players from last year's 10 win squad. Unfortunately for the Dawgs, none of those players are named Knowshon Moreno or Matthew Stafford. This game will go a long way in telling how much Oklahoma St. has improved defensively. We all know they can play offense in Stillwater. Zac Robinson, Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter get to show their deadly trio for the first time this season.

2. Alabama @ Virginia Tech - For the second straight season, Bama opens up it's season against a top ten ACC team. Hopefully, for the Hokies, the outcome will be a little bit different. Last year the Crimson Tide routed Clemson en route to an almost perfect season. The loss sent Clemson on a downward spiral that would them their head coach. Va Tech comes into the game without tailback Darren Evans. Speedster Ryan Williams should fill in just fine, but he was face a tough test against Bama's stout defense. The Tide will be breaking in Greg McElroy at QB. It would be a good sign for their offense if he starts off fast against a very good Hokie secondary.

3. Oregon @ Boise St. - Last season's win at Oregon propelled Boise St. to another tremendously overlooked great season. This year, the Broncos get Oregon at home. Both teams look better now than they did last season. For my money, this may be the most entertaining game of week 1. Kellen Moore of Boise St. will look to solidify his spot among the game's top quarterbacks. On the other side, LaGarrette Blount will be looking to add his name to the ranks of top running backs in the country.

4. BYU @ Oklahoma - Another big time BCS v. Non-BCS match-up in week 1. Oklahoma semi-struggled vs. TCU last season. The Horned Frog's D may be a bit better than BYU's. However, BYU's offense is leap year's better than TCU's. That's not good news for OU's defense. This is the premiere QB match-up of week 1 as the defending Heisman winner, Sam Bradford will face off against the savvy Max Hall of BYU.

5. Miami(FL) @ Florida St. - I don't care how far these teams have fallen in recent years. There's nothing like Miami v. FSU to start the season. Both teams will be sporting improved defenses and re-vamped offenses, so it's hard to know what to expect from this game.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5 Players to Watch

Fantasy football is starting to catch on pretty heavily in college football. The fact that you can actually play with real player names makes the game a little bit better. Here are five players that I would play this week if they were on your roster.


1. Andre Anderson Tulane RB - Anderson quietly became one of the nation's top running backs last season. The Green Wave face Tulsa this week.

2. Evan Royster Penn St. RB - The Nittany Lions face Akron this week. The Zips are bad enough to give up a ton of yards to Royster, but they're decent enough to keep the game quasi close. That would keep Royster in the game long enough to rack up some stats.

3. Damien Williams USC WR - Williams was already going to have a big season for the Trojans this season. Richard Johnson's recent injury has made Williams' role all the more important. The only question is how well will Matt Barkley play in his first game as SC's starting QB.

4. Juice Williams Illinois QB - Just look up Williams' stats against Mizzou last season. You'll see why he should be started this week.

5. Colt McCoy Texas QB - McCoy will have the best opportunity to put up dual threat numbers this week. The Longhorns take on Louisiana-Monroe in week 1.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heisman Watch

I will no longer feature an entire post to the Heisman watch this season. That became a bit too tedious. Instead, I will put my two cents into the Heisman discussion into my weekly previews. Here's the first edition.

1. Tim Tebow Florida QB
2. Colt McCoy Texas QB
3. Sam Bradford Oklahoma QB
4. Dez Bryant Oklahoma St. WR
5. Jahvid Best California RB

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My TV Schedule

I hope yours is similar....

Thursday

7:00 pm ESPN South Carolina @ North Carolina St.

7:30 pm ESPNU North Texas @ Ball St.

8:00 pm CBS Sports Central Washington @ Minnesota-Duluth

10:00 pm ESPN Oregon @ Boise St.

Friday

8:00 pm ESPN Tulsa @ Tulane

Saturday

12:00 pm WTTA Western Kentucky @ Tennessee

12:00 pm ESPN Navy @ Ohio St.

12:00 pm ESPN2 Minnesota @ Syracuse

12:00 pm BHSN Liberty @ West Virginia

12:00 pm ESPNU Kentucky @ Miami(OH)

3:30 pm NBC Nevada @ Notre Dame

3:30 pm ABC Georgia @ Oklahoma St.

3:30 pm ESPN Missouri @ Illinois

3:30 pm ESPN2 Western Michigan @ Michigan

3:30 pm SUN San Jose St. @ USC

3:30 pm ESPNU Jackson St. @ Mississippi St.

7:00 pm ESPN BYU vs. Oklahoma

7:00 pm SUN Charleston Southern @ Florida

7:00 pm BHSN Wofford @ South Florida

7:00 pm ESPNU Louisiana Tech @ Auburn

8:00 pm ABC Alabama vs. Virginia Tech

9:00 pm CBS Sports Buffalo @ UTEP

10:00 pm ESPN2 Maryland @ California

10:30 pm ESPN LSU @ Washington

10:30 pm ESPNU Texas Southern @ Prairie View A&M

Sunday

3:30 pm ESPN Ole Miss @ Memphis

7:00 pm FSN Colorado St. @ Colorado

Monday

4:00 pm ESPN Cincinnati @ Rutgers

8:00 pm ESPN Miami(FL) @ Florida St.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ultimate Fantasy League Week 1

With the coming of the new college football season comes the all important first ever week of CFB 365's ultimate fantasy league. I've already outlined the details of this league in a previous post. Here is week 1's schedule.

Florida v. Auburn
Georgia @ West Virginia
Tennessee @ Alabama
South Carolina @ Washington St.
Clemson @ Wake Forest
Georgia Tech v. Ole Miss
Mississippi St. v. Kentucky
LSU @ Texas
Colorado v. Colorado St.
Kansas @ TCU
Kansas St. @ Wisconsin
Nebraska v. Arkansas
Missouri v. Illinois
Oklahoma @ California
Oklahoma St. @ Oregon
Texas A&M v. Texas Tech
Washington @ BYU
Oregon St. @ Arizona St.
Stanford v. Duke
Boise St. v. UCLA
USC v. San Diego St.
Arizona @ Virginia
Ohio St. v. Michigan St.
Northwestern @ Minnesota
Purdue v. Notre Dame
Iowa @ Iowa St.
Michigan v. Indiana
Maryland v. NC State
South Florida @ UCF
East Carolina @ Virginia Tech
Miami @ Florida St.
North Carolina v. Louisville
Connecticut v. Houston
Syracuse @ Penn St.
Rutgers @ Pitt
Boston College v. Vanderbilt
Army v. Cincinnati
Navy @ Troy
Air Force v. Wyoming
Southern Miss @ UNLV
Baylor v. Louisiana Tech
Utah v. Tulsa

Weekly Picks

I wanted to get my week 1 picks out of the way early since I have a busy week ahead of me. Not too much can happen between now and next weekend, so these are my final picks.

For those of you new to this magnificent site, my picks are in bold and orange. Also, if you think you can do better than me, feel free to e-mail me your picks. If you do better than me, I'll post your results during next week's installment. My e-mail can be found on my profile page.

Here we go...

South Carolina @ North Carolina St.
Troy @ Bowling Green
Villanova @ Temple
Coastal Carolina @ Kent St.
North Texas @ Ball St.
North Dakota St. @ Iowa St.
Eastern Kentucky @ Indiana
Utah St. @ Utah
Oregon @ Boise St.
Tulsa @ Tulane
Central Arkansas @ Hawaii
Navy @ Ohio St.
Akron @ Penn St.
Towson @ Northwestern
Montana St. @ Michigan St.
Appalachian St. @ East Carolina
Minnesota @ Syracuse
Kentucky @ Miami (OH)
Liberty @ West Virginia
Toledo @ Purdue
Northern Iowa @ Iowa
Western Kentucky @ Tennessee
Jacksonville St. @ Georgia Tech
Youngstown St. @ Pittsburgh
Northeastern @ Boston College
Nicholls St. @ Air Force
Portland St. @ Oregon St.
Weber St. @ Wyoming
San Jose St. @ USC
Georgia @ Oklahoma St.
Nevada @ Notre Dame
Western Michigan @ Michigan
Baylor @ Wake Forest
Jackson St. @ Mississippi St.
Missouri vs. Illinois
Rice @ UAB
Southern Illinois @ Marshall
Citadel @ North Carolina
Middle Tennessee St. @ Clemson
William & Mary @ Virginia
Samford @ UCF
Charleston Southern @ Florida
Louisiana-Monroe @ Texas
BYU vs. Oklahoma
Florida Atlantic @ Nebraska
Northern Colorado @ Kansas
Louisiana Tech @ Auburn
Missouri St. @ Arkansas
Wofford @ South Florida
Richmond @ Duke
Connecticut @ Ohio
New Mexico @ Texas A&M
Northwestern St. @ Houston
Northern Illinois @ Wisconsin
Southern @ Louisiana-Lafayette
Army @ Eastern Michigan
Alcorn St. @ Southern Miss
North Dakota @ Texas Tech
Mississippi Valley St. @ Arkansas St.
UMASS @ Kansas St.
San Diego St. @ UCLA
Indiana St. @ Louisville
Western Carolina @ Vanderbilt
Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
Idaho @ New Mexico St.
Stanford @ Washington St.
Stephen F. Austin @ SMU
Central Michigan @ Arizona
Buffalo @ UTEP
Maryland @ California
Idaho St. @ Arizona St.
UC Davis @ Fresno St.
Sacramento St. @ UNLV
LSU @ Washington
Ole Miss @ Memphis
Colorado St. @ Colorado
Cincinnati @ Rutgers
Miami(FL) @ Florida St.

Upset Picks

North Dakota St. over Iowa St.- The Bison are one of the top teams in the FCS. The Cyclones might be the worst BCS team. Recipe for an upset.

Boise St. over Oregon- This isn't really an upset based on the teams. But anytime you can pick a WAC team to beat a PAC-10 team, it's gotta count for at least a mild upset.

Louisiana Tech over Auburn- I've already made this prediction in a previous post. The Bulldogs are a dark horse WAC title contender. I can see them walking off the plains with a W.

UTEP over Buffalo- This is another not so big upset, but it's week 1.

Gator Close-Up: Jordan Reed

This will be the first of many Gator profiles throughout the season. Since everyone else focuses on the stars of the team, there's no need for me to recount their tales here. Instead I will be profiling the lesser known players of the greatest team on Earth.

Jordan Reed. Half man. Half Cadillac.

The only question is; Which model of Cadillac? Reed has the capability of being an Escalade. He can own the lane a la the current Gator QB. It's easy to picture Reed straight running over defenders and pushing them aside like they were Jamie Robinson. Reed could also end up like a Cimarron. A granny driven piece of trash that was once billed as a can't miss hit. In other words, he could end up like this guy.

Reed was ranked the number 10 QB in the nation coming out of the recruiting hotbed of New London, CT. Many recruiting "experts" billed this kid as the next Jamarcus Russell. That is if Russell were to give up the drive to Krispy Kreme at 4 in the morning. The comparisons to Russell mainly resulted from the physical stature of Reed. He is a biggun. And he has a gun. Jordan was the second freshman to lose his stripe this season after taking on a defensive linemen in the circle of life after practice.

It is rumored Reed called the doomed d-linemen out. He then gave the linemen the first hit. Reed just stood there and allowed the so called football player to charge at him full on. The rest of the story is blurry, but depending on which account you want to believe, the defender either ran straight into Reed and fell straight to the ground in a bloody, crying pile of waste; or he was so fear stricken by the deathly stare of Reed that he stopped dead in his tracks and ran straight off the playing field.

I tend to believe the latter. Especially when you hear the linemen quite possible could have been Torrey Davis. The same Torrey Davis that is no longer on the team. Coincidence? Or willed by Mr. Reed?

Jordan Reed preparing to trounce on the spine of an unsuspecting kid.

At 6'3" 230, Reed certainly could step in if both Tebow and back-up John Brantley were to be injured in some cataclysmic scooter accident along Gale Lemerand Drive. With the talent on the offensive side of the ball, the Gators might not miss too many beats with Reed in the pocket.

Reed ruining Connecticut high school football's shit.

All this good stuff aside, the season would be a horrible, fiery disaster if Jordan Reed were to see the green of Florida Field at any point this season. The good news is, Florida's back-up QB slot will be in good hands for the next few years.

10 Things That Won't Change In '09

This year more than ever there seem to be many certainties heading into the college football season. I can't remember the last time the pre-season poll looked so similar to the previous' season's final poll. Also, there has never been an instance when every single Heisman finalist invited to NYC has returned to play another year of football.

Here are my thoughts on the things that I expect to see remain the same this season.


1. Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy will be invited back to NYC.

I don't know if Tebow, Bradford and McCoy will be the only Heisman finalists invited to New York, but I do know they will each get an invite once again. It would be Tebow's third trip to New York and the second for both Bradford and McCoy. Tebow should improve his passing numbers tremendously this season thanks to the implementation of a more traditional scheme and the arrival of QB coach Scott Loeffler. Bradford will more than likely put up some ridiculous numbers for the third straight season. Alone with Timmy, Bradford is trying to become only the second player in college football history to win two Heismans. For what it's worth, I thought McCoy should have won the Heisman last season. If he puts up the same numbers this year, and beat Sam Bradford head to head once again, I don't see how the voters can deny him this time around.



2. Michigan will miss a bowl.

It was tough at times watching Michigan struggle the way they did last year. That is until I remembered Rich Rodriguez was their head coach. This season RichRod has proclaimed that Michigan will go with a new 3 QB look to start the season. There is no way that this is anywhere near to good news for the Wolverines. Also, defense in Ann Arbor these days is almost non-existent. Michigan should improve on their 3 wins from a season ago, but not by much.






3. Three Big XII South teams will be ranked in the top 5 by season's end.

Last year, Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech all were ranked in the top 5 at one point. Proving that the Big XII South was the best division in all of college football. This season Oklahoma and Texas will both start out ranked in the top 5. I expect Oklahoma St. to join them at some point as well. The Cowboys have a chance to prove themselves early with a home game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Luckily for fans, all three teams will play each other this season, and since the Big XII has a very judicial way of deciding who gets to represent the South in the title game, there will be no controversy or arguments in the case of a three way tie.



4. Randy Shannon will cry.

Last year it was a late field goal by Urban Meyer's Gators that send Shannon off. The guy cried and cried and cried..... In fact, I bumped into Shannon over the Summer and he still seemed a little teary eyed. What will set him off this year? A hard tackle by an FSU player? A late game touchdown by a South Florida player? Maybe he'll stub his toe while running from the tunnel....



5. A Non-BCS team will go undefeated.

Last year Utah pulled off this tremendous feat by knocking off Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to cap off an undefeated season. This season there are several teams who are contenders to pull of this feat. TCU, Utah, BYU and Boise St. are all ranked by most publications in the top 25. TCU, Utah and BYU all face each other, so their road will be a bit tougher than Boise St.'s. My money is on the Broncos to go undefeated. Chris Petersen is one of the best coaches in the nation and Kellen Moore is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Plus, if Boise St. can take care of Oregon early in the season, they pretty much have smooth sailing the rest of the way through.



6. An SEC West team will lose to a irrelevant Non-BCS team.

This ugly trend started two years ago when Alabama inexplicably lost to Louisiana-Monroe late in the season. Last year, in a not so big of an upset, Louisiana Tech knocked off Mississippi St. Some say that loss is what gave Sylvester Croom the final push to leave Starkville. This season, I like LA Tech's chances of pulling off another mild upset. Auburn opens up it's season at home against the Bulldogs in Gene Chizik's first game as head coach. Imagine the uproar in Auburn when the Bulldogs leave the field with a 16-10 victory over the Tigers. Chizik did lose to Kent St. last season while coaching Iowa St....



7. The ACC race will come down to the final week.

The ACC was average at best last season. No one could pull itself away from the crop. That led to an above average race to reach the title game. Virginia Tech, Boston College, Maryland, Florida St., North Carolina and Georgia Tech all had a chance to reach the conference championship at season's end. In the end, Virginia Tech and Boston College would emerge as the two teams. I expect more of the same this season. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech seem to be the cream of the crop heading into the season. Florida St. looks to be much improved. Butch Davis has things rolling in Chapel Hill, and I think NC State may be ready to turn the corner. It will be a fun race.



8. Mark May will continue to blow his load over USC.

I just don't get it. Mark May has never been able to complete one sentence without mentioning USC in his life. I imagine he yells out VICTORY when pleasuring himself to Pete Carroll's latest book. I have to admit, I am rather impressed with Mark May's ability to spew nonsense at the top of his lungs while continuing to hold SC's manpiece firmly in his mouth. I can't imagine what the May household would look like if USC were to make it back to a title game this season. I hate to even think about it....





9. Oklahoma will lose a BCS bowl game.

It's gonna happen. You know it, and I know it. Oklahoma will ride a spectacular, awe-inspiring offense and a slightly better than average defense to yet another BCS bowl game. It was become an annual tradition, the Sooners will drag their entire fanbase to whatever unlucky city hosts them. The fans will continually and relentlessly rape the ear canals of the general population with unforgiven cries of "BOOMER! SOONER!" all throughout the week. Of course, the fans will turn to blabbering Randy Shannons as soon as they realize their team is going to lose yet another BCS game. The only question is which team will have the luxury of facing the Sooners this season. It could be a repeat of last year's championship game against the Gators. Or they could face Boise St. in the Fiesta bowl once again. Or maybe Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Either way, they're losing.



10. The Florida Gators will win the National Championship.

Bookmark this page and reference it. Come back after the Gators go back to back and revel in my genius.