Election Day – The single most polarizing day that defines the underlying disparity between democracies, industrialized nations, and progressive countries populated with innovative minded citizens from their adversaries. A day in which individuals are stripped down of anything and everything deemed to have individual worth and the playing field is leveled with a simple single vote per person.
Religion is most often the scapegoat for brewing hatred and the infliction of terror, but in the modern times it is not the driving force, just the convenient patsy. Freedom which is expressed through public elections is what most strikes fear in the minds and hearts of those who prefer to oppress.
Certainly elections are held the world over, but the truth is that most are held under the real fear that the simple act of showing up to vote could cost one their life and almost equally as terrifying is that regardless of their vote or the number of votes cast, an outcome was well determined prior election day. To some it’s just a purple dye stained thumb, visible proof of a vote cast, but to those with the purple thumb it might possibly be the most cherished empowering act of their life.
Every recognized nation on the planet bares a flag that carries deep symbolic meaning and equally as deep is the pride for that flag and the, at all costs, protection and defense of said flag. But at the end of the day, people can burn and desecrate a flag, which is no doubt troubling because of the symbolism, but the real hope of these would be flag burners is to disrupt free, democratically based elections. All people from every religion in every social class representing every gender being able to cast a free and equal vote is what fuels the hatred.
The Fourth of July, Easter, Christmas, New Years Eve, Memorial Day, Veterans Day etc all would seem like ideal days for hopeful terrorists to unleash some concocted plan and really attack the morale of a nations people during times of celebration, while also trying to prop up some sort of mite and credibility they want others to fear they posses. But Election Day is the day Democracies cherish, the one day that defines a nation comprised of every conceivable background, Election Day allows real mite, importance, credibility, tolerance and freedom to be the virtue by which everyone stands.
Go Vote, or don’t bitch!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sooner born.... sooner dead.
Is all publicity good publicity? University of Oklahoma officials are meeting at this moment to determine if there is any way to spin Jeffrey Landrigan’s ill timed usage of the famed “Boomer Sooner” chant to their competitive advantage. Good luck with this, remember how the land stealing thing turned out? Can’t imagine the brass in Norman using Jeffrey Landrigan in their newest installment off “We Have it All.”
Reports say that Jeffrey was only denied two of his pre-execution requests:
An 8 ball with his final meal and a conjugal visit with his first cousin Tammy.
He was a Sooner born a Sooner bred and by the power of the State of Arizona now he’s Sooner dead.
Reports say that Jeffrey was only denied two of his pre-execution requests:
An 8 ball with his final meal and a conjugal visit with his first cousin Tammy.
He was a Sooner born a Sooner bred and by the power of the State of Arizona now he’s Sooner dead.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The joys of Autumn: The hoeing of Halloween, the hoeing of politics and of course college football.
So it’s late October, and the truth is, it’s to late to think about Halloween costumes now and let’s be honest unless you’re an 18-28 year old female that needs an excuse to defile a nurses outfit a police women’s uniform or your local Prep school’s plaid skirt, no one will care or remember what you go as this year. So push ‘em up and get your hoe on!
However it is time to start thinking about all of the excitement that is the dawning of autumn. Such time honored traditions like taking your wife’s colorful, lively and fun spring/summer clothes to the attic replacing them with the largest collection of brown, black and navy sweaters ever assembled or deciding how to tell one side of the family that they didn’t make the cut for a Thanksgiving visit this year and of course there’s figuring out which new years resolution is still attainable and finally deciding which social leach deserves to be voted in or out of public office. But when it’s 89 degrees outside, the only waft of cool air you can find is when you climb a step stool and stand under an AC vent and the only colorful signs of the season strewn about your front lawn are for voting yes on Prop #25 and re-electing a do nothing Lt. Governor, it’s hard to think of anything Fall related. But if you take a blender add 8 parts fall, 6 parts college football and 2 parts slutty nurse, there can be a little fun to be had.
Let us see how the political season and the college football season can be meshed together, let’s create a government for the people, by the people and of the coaches.
President – Nick Saban: Reigning National Champs and came into 2010 highly favored; he did let one slip to a wily old salt in Steve Spurrier, but Nick is still the bell of the ball and top draw everywhere he goes. Plus he has a statue in his likeness being crafted and has already not approved 3 attempts, very presidential.
Vice President – Urban Meyer: Sat at the top in his circle for a while, turns out it was 1 really valuable asset that got him there, when said asset decided to strike out on his own things got ugly fast. The health issues have nothing to do with this appointment.
Speaker of the House – Mike Leach: Although he holds a law degree as do many politicos, not sure much would get done between never ending happy hours and commuting snafus between Key West and DC, but that’s about par for politics. One absolute, it would certainly make C-Span must see TV.
Secretary of State – Mack Brown: Accrues the best talent, can dabble in all the other Sec. business, spin’s the most negative situations, glad hands anyone that might have something he doesn’t yet but wants and can place all the blame on others when the façade begins to crumble.
Secretary of the Treasury – Lane Kiffin: In true Kiffin style this came down to a run-off, but the chosen one, with millions in the bank, 3 premier coaching jobs by 35 years of age and a career loosing record did in fact run-off with this post. He has also managed to keep getting Ed Orgeron paid and paid handsomely, so give credit where credit is due; just don’t get too attached to the baby faced charlatan.
Secretary of Defense – Mike Gundy: It is believed that by appointing The 41 year old Man to the highest position of Defense in the land, his teams might learn how to play some.
Attorney General(s) – Chris Peterson and Gary Patterson: These two stalwarts of the oft forgotten would like nothing more than a favorable court ruling forcing the BCS and every other rankings poll to take them seriously.
Secretary of the Interior – Houston Nutt: He has hired an entire high school coaching staff from his then home state to ensure the commitments of 3 highly touted prospects; this didn’t work out so well. He took a new job not only within his previous conference but within the same division. He took an exiled player from Oregon that was as familiar with Mississippi as Nutt is with ethics and named him starting QB at Ole Miss. The man knows nothing but the inside, the interior, and he has never had to look further than his current environs for his next opportunity….. I would hate to be his neighbor!
Secretary of Agriculture – Gen Chizik: Gene has hitched his team and his career on a professed black mule, just quoting what the kid’s dad said, and it’s succeeding beyond all expectations. No need to go underground his Auburn railroad is steaming across the Plains.
Secretary of Labor – Rich Rodriguez: This man knows nothing but Labor. Rich Rod has been repeatedly accused of going over the allotted 20 hrs/week permitted by the NCAA for practice time. Yet he could be looking for labor real soon if things don’t turn around quickly in Ann Arbor.
Secretary of Commerce – Butch Davis: This guy knows how to get it for his players or how to turn a blind eye while they are getting phat off agents. This term will be short, too much unauthorized commerce and shame for the pride of Tobacco Road.
Secretary of Health and Human Services – Mark Mangino: This is more of a figure head roll, at some point soon he will be donated to science and many HHS questions will be answered and myths debunked.
Secretary of House and Urban Development – Pete Carroll: The man truly had a finger on the pulse of his USC championship teams, he saw to it that everyone including Reggie Bush and his parents didn’t go without shelter along with other developments (cash money b!tches) for his players. And like the good Sheppard when his work was done and his flock tended too (hood rich) he got out of college football and into the “can’t touch me now” NFL.
Secretary of Transportation – Bob Stoops: The guy flat out knows transportation, from Escaldes for Adrian Peterson to the “tire”less work of Rhett Bomar at Big Red Motors. They say the guy can break down any motor put in front of him, unfortunately the same can’t be said for offenses in BCS bowl games.
Secretary of Energy – Chip Kelley: His team runs 110 plays a game, they average 54 points per game and Autzen Stadium never stops rocking. He replaces Mike Sherman, who clearly left it all on the field.
Secretary of Education – Jim Harbough: The guy wins, a lot, with a collection of athletic programmers, economist and guys that summer camped at Goldman Sachs. USC’s defensive line combined had the same SAT as his QB, audibles and checks at the line of scrimmage are made in Latin, they receive or defer based on rising and falling tides.
Head of the Senate Page Program – Les Miles: Too old to be a Page himself and having never cracked the required 3.0 GPA, Les shared some of his infamous luck with the 3 Kennedy boys over the years in return he asked to be the Head Page. Seems his luck was good for a while, but as history will tell it eventually ran out for two of them. And now we are stuck with Les.
However it is time to start thinking about all of the excitement that is the dawning of autumn. Such time honored traditions like taking your wife’s colorful, lively and fun spring/summer clothes to the attic replacing them with the largest collection of brown, black and navy sweaters ever assembled or deciding how to tell one side of the family that they didn’t make the cut for a Thanksgiving visit this year and of course there’s figuring out which new years resolution is still attainable and finally deciding which social leach deserves to be voted in or out of public office. But when it’s 89 degrees outside, the only waft of cool air you can find is when you climb a step stool and stand under an AC vent and the only colorful signs of the season strewn about your front lawn are for voting yes on Prop #25 and re-electing a do nothing Lt. Governor, it’s hard to think of anything Fall related. But if you take a blender add 8 parts fall, 6 parts college football and 2 parts slutty nurse, there can be a little fun to be had.
Let us see how the political season and the college football season can be meshed together, let’s create a government for the people, by the people and of the coaches.
President – Nick Saban: Reigning National Champs and came into 2010 highly favored; he did let one slip to a wily old salt in Steve Spurrier, but Nick is still the bell of the ball and top draw everywhere he goes. Plus he has a statue in his likeness being crafted and has already not approved 3 attempts, very presidential.
Vice President – Urban Meyer: Sat at the top in his circle for a while, turns out it was 1 really valuable asset that got him there, when said asset decided to strike out on his own things got ugly fast. The health issues have nothing to do with this appointment.
Speaker of the House – Mike Leach: Although he holds a law degree as do many politicos, not sure much would get done between never ending happy hours and commuting snafus between Key West and DC, but that’s about par for politics. One absolute, it would certainly make C-Span must see TV.
Secretary of State – Mack Brown: Accrues the best talent, can dabble in all the other Sec. business, spin’s the most negative situations, glad hands anyone that might have something he doesn’t yet but wants and can place all the blame on others when the façade begins to crumble.
Secretary of the Treasury – Lane Kiffin: In true Kiffin style this came down to a run-off, but the chosen one, with millions in the bank, 3 premier coaching jobs by 35 years of age and a career loosing record did in fact run-off with this post. He has also managed to keep getting Ed Orgeron paid and paid handsomely, so give credit where credit is due; just don’t get too attached to the baby faced charlatan.
Secretary of Defense – Mike Gundy: It is believed that by appointing The 41 year old Man to the highest position of Defense in the land, his teams might learn how to play some.
Attorney General(s) – Chris Peterson and Gary Patterson: These two stalwarts of the oft forgotten would like nothing more than a favorable court ruling forcing the BCS and every other rankings poll to take them seriously.
Secretary of the Interior – Houston Nutt: He has hired an entire high school coaching staff from his then home state to ensure the commitments of 3 highly touted prospects; this didn’t work out so well. He took a new job not only within his previous conference but within the same division. He took an exiled player from Oregon that was as familiar with Mississippi as Nutt is with ethics and named him starting QB at Ole Miss. The man knows nothing but the inside, the interior, and he has never had to look further than his current environs for his next opportunity….. I would hate to be his neighbor!
Secretary of Agriculture – Gen Chizik: Gene has hitched his team and his career on a professed black mule, just quoting what the kid’s dad said, and it’s succeeding beyond all expectations. No need to go underground his Auburn railroad is steaming across the Plains.
Secretary of Labor – Rich Rodriguez: This man knows nothing but Labor. Rich Rod has been repeatedly accused of going over the allotted 20 hrs/week permitted by the NCAA for practice time. Yet he could be looking for labor real soon if things don’t turn around quickly in Ann Arbor.
Secretary of Commerce – Butch Davis: This guy knows how to get it for his players or how to turn a blind eye while they are getting phat off agents. This term will be short, too much unauthorized commerce and shame for the pride of Tobacco Road.
Secretary of Health and Human Services – Mark Mangino: This is more of a figure head roll, at some point soon he will be donated to science and many HHS questions will be answered and myths debunked.
Secretary of House and Urban Development – Pete Carroll: The man truly had a finger on the pulse of his USC championship teams, he saw to it that everyone including Reggie Bush and his parents didn’t go without shelter along with other developments (cash money b!tches) for his players. And like the good Sheppard when his work was done and his flock tended too (hood rich) he got out of college football and into the “can’t touch me now” NFL.
Secretary of Transportation – Bob Stoops: The guy flat out knows transportation, from Escaldes for Adrian Peterson to the “tire”less work of Rhett Bomar at Big Red Motors. They say the guy can break down any motor put in front of him, unfortunately the same can’t be said for offenses in BCS bowl games.
Secretary of Energy – Chip Kelley: His team runs 110 plays a game, they average 54 points per game and Autzen Stadium never stops rocking. He replaces Mike Sherman, who clearly left it all on the field.
Secretary of Education – Jim Harbough: The guy wins, a lot, with a collection of athletic programmers, economist and guys that summer camped at Goldman Sachs. USC’s defensive line combined had the same SAT as his QB, audibles and checks at the line of scrimmage are made in Latin, they receive or defer based on rising and falling tides.
Head of the Senate Page Program – Les Miles: Too old to be a Page himself and having never cracked the required 3.0 GPA, Les shared some of his infamous luck with the 3 Kennedy boys over the years in return he asked to be the Head Page. Seems his luck was good for a while, but as history will tell it eventually ran out for two of them. And now we are stuck with Les.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Happiness is non-conference games in the rear view mirror.
Hard to believe but here we sit three weeks into what has already been an entertaining college football season that has produced more than enough story lines worthy of intrigue and interest. In the time it takes Lindsay Lohan to go to jail, get released, got to rehab, get released, fail a drug test and presumably go back to jail, our favorite teams have played 2-3 games and created some highly exhilarating drama between the white stripes. So what have we learned other than, Hollywood and rehab go together like USC and institutional control? A lot actually, some lessons of note:
* Scheduling and paying FCS/Division II, or whatever they go by this season, teams to appease the alumni and make your blue chip players feel good about themselves doesn’t always work out – Ask Ole Miss about Jacksonville State and Virginia Tech about James Madison.
* Notre Dame getting bested by a gutsy fake field goal to lose to the other Michigan team (Sparty), aftering falling to Big Blue the week prior, has made it officially 11 years since ND was relevant.
* Tim Tebow will be more missed than many (The Levee included) outsiders thought in Gainesville. Wonder if he could come back and play center?
* The sate of Florida produces speed and more speed. Miami, UF and FSU can only sign so many guys, meaning SFU, CFU, FIU. Fla Atlantic etc end up with some great athletes. Ask Texas A&M about the speed and athleticism at FIU.
* Regardless of where he’s coaching Lane Kiffin is a first class A-hole. Going for 2 all game against Hawaii. Really Lane? We know you’re not better than that, but surely your legend of a father has to be.
* Alabama’s two deep could beat 85 % of the FBS/Division 1 teams in the country.
* Boise State might be for real, they were for a week in everyone’s mind, until Virginia Tech got beat at home by James Madison University. That took a little wind out of the Boise State sails. Should know a little more about the Broncos this week when they get their last, and only the second, test of the season against Oregon State.
* The BIG 12 screwed up (this refers to screw up #1 by the conference, not the subsequent thousands) by taking Baylor over TCU in 1996. This was proven again last weekend when the Frogs out classed the Bears for 60 minutes and close to some 40 points.
* Oklahoma is going to bring their A game every other week this season.
* Tommy Tubberville is NOT going to run the same and/or a possibly improved version of the offense that Mike Leach utilized at Texas Tech. 144 total yards against Texas this year, Tech had over 400 yards passing in this game last year.
* Mark Richt has done Les Miles the biggest favor one coach can do for another besides of course losing to him; he has made his own seat 10 times hotter than Miles seat was a mere three weeks ago.
* If Texas wants to be a part of the conversation when the elite programs are being discussed, a running back must emerge from somewhere. 3 have tried 3 have failed.
* The SEC is clearly the dominant conference; when one power is down a new one rises up. Tennessee down – South Carolina up, Georgia down – Arkansas up. With that said, their internal cannibalism might “bite” them at the end this year.
* Nebraska is heads and shoulders above the next closest challenger in the BIG 12 North. Oklahoma is probably the clear cut leader in the South, but this division is much more wide open. Or as wide open as a 5 team division can be, Baylor doesn’t exist to the BIG 12 anymore.
* Ohio State is the bell of the BIG 10 ball.
* Oregon has put up gaudy numbers and appears to be the team to beat in the PAC 10, but Stanford and Arizona will have something to say about this.
* The NCAA and its committee that determines player’s eligibility has intervened and presumably affected the outcomes of a handful of games already this year. LSU/North Carolina (14 UNC players out) , all of Georgia’s games (AJ Green 4 game suspension) and in ironic fashion 2 of 3 Ole Miss games (reinstating Jeremiah Masoli for better or worse, apparently for worse).
The beauty of College Football is that in a week or two this list will be antiquated and a list of equal length, boasting equal intrigue yet comprised of completely different story lines will have emerged.
* Scheduling and paying FCS/Division II, or whatever they go by this season, teams to appease the alumni and make your blue chip players feel good about themselves doesn’t always work out – Ask Ole Miss about Jacksonville State and Virginia Tech about James Madison.
* Notre Dame getting bested by a gutsy fake field goal to lose to the other Michigan team (Sparty), aftering falling to Big Blue the week prior, has made it officially 11 years since ND was relevant.
* Tim Tebow will be more missed than many (The Levee included) outsiders thought in Gainesville. Wonder if he could come back and play center?
* The sate of Florida produces speed and more speed. Miami, UF and FSU can only sign so many guys, meaning SFU, CFU, FIU. Fla Atlantic etc end up with some great athletes. Ask Texas A&M about the speed and athleticism at FIU.
* Regardless of where he’s coaching Lane Kiffin is a first class A-hole. Going for 2 all game against Hawaii. Really Lane? We know you’re not better than that, but surely your legend of a father has to be.
* Alabama’s two deep could beat 85 % of the FBS/Division 1 teams in the country.
* Boise State might be for real, they were for a week in everyone’s mind, until Virginia Tech got beat at home by James Madison University. That took a little wind out of the Boise State sails. Should know a little more about the Broncos this week when they get their last, and only the second, test of the season against Oregon State.
* The BIG 12 screwed up (this refers to screw up #1 by the conference, not the subsequent thousands) by taking Baylor over TCU in 1996. This was proven again last weekend when the Frogs out classed the Bears for 60 minutes and close to some 40 points.
* Oklahoma is going to bring their A game every other week this season.
* Tommy Tubberville is NOT going to run the same and/or a possibly improved version of the offense that Mike Leach utilized at Texas Tech. 144 total yards against Texas this year, Tech had over 400 yards passing in this game last year.
* Mark Richt has done Les Miles the biggest favor one coach can do for another besides of course losing to him; he has made his own seat 10 times hotter than Miles seat was a mere three weeks ago.
* If Texas wants to be a part of the conversation when the elite programs are being discussed, a running back must emerge from somewhere. 3 have tried 3 have failed.
* The SEC is clearly the dominant conference; when one power is down a new one rises up. Tennessee down – South Carolina up, Georgia down – Arkansas up. With that said, their internal cannibalism might “bite” them at the end this year.
* Nebraska is heads and shoulders above the next closest challenger in the BIG 12 North. Oklahoma is probably the clear cut leader in the South, but this division is much more wide open. Or as wide open as a 5 team division can be, Baylor doesn’t exist to the BIG 12 anymore.
* Ohio State is the bell of the BIG 10 ball.
* Oregon has put up gaudy numbers and appears to be the team to beat in the PAC 10, but Stanford and Arizona will have something to say about this.
* The NCAA and its committee that determines player’s eligibility has intervened and presumably affected the outcomes of a handful of games already this year. LSU/North Carolina (14 UNC players out) , all of Georgia’s games (AJ Green 4 game suspension) and in ironic fashion 2 of 3 Ole Miss games (reinstating Jeremiah Masoli for better or worse, apparently for worse).
The beauty of College Football is that in a week or two this list will be antiquated and a list of equal length, boasting equal intrigue yet comprised of completely different story lines will have emerged.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Agents, jerseys, $1000 payments, midgets and South Beach…not a Kardashian show but week 2 of college football.
Georgia All-everything WR AJ “gots to get that “Green has been suspended for 4 games because, you’ll never believe this, but for selling his Independence Bowl jersey to a person that the NCAA has deemed to “meet the definition of a sports agent”. There must have been some Aggie maroon smeared on that penny somewhere, otherwise this just makes no sense. Oh it went for $1,000.00 FYI. So AJ sells his jersey, once, for a grand and gets 1/3 of his season taken away, while the University of Georgia currently offers eight different versions of his #8 UGA jersey and only gets 60% of the royalties, which must reach heavy 7 figures. To add more confusion, Marcel Darius at Alabama goes to South Beach not once, but twice on an agent’s dime and gets 2 games to sit and think about it, last time we looked 2 trips to A1A cost a bit more than $1000. More than anything this is just face palming unbelievable. In fact right this second somewhere Jesse Ventura and Mickey Rourke are tossing midgets into oncoming traffic screaming “ONLY IN AMERICA!!”
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The un-official top 25, with 25 - 6 being laid out while 5 - 1 is a complete lay up on our end. Sorry, deal with it, or make your own.
#25 – Auburn – The Tigers are hell bent on reminding the nation that there is football in Alabama not played in Tuscaloosa. With Clemson as the only non-conference game of significance War Eagle will have to run the usual SEC gauntlet but will enjoy a 2 week break before trying to finish what they started last year; that being a beat down of the Crimson Tide. Watch out for Arky State in week one, rumor has it they play a little above their heads opening weekend at large Land Grant D-1 schools.
#24 – Texas A&M – Speaking of Arky State and land grant universities, that all sounds real familiar here. The Aggies should have ended with a better than 6-7 record last year. Loses at Colorado and a gift wrapping to Oklahoma State were inexcusable, but the country a$$ whipping in Manhattan was the peak of the bad. A&M either won handedly or bent over and took it quickly and often. Outside of the Thanksgiving night Jerrod Johnson coming out party, where he was clearly the best QB on the field, Texas A&M was either on the giving side or receiving side of very lopsided affairs. This is good and bad, good because when giving your offense can put up gaudy numbers, bad because when receiving your defense can give up gaudy numbers. Aggie fan knows this well. A switch to the 3-4 defensive scheme hopes to stir the echoes of the great Wrecking Crew Defenses of old. But something tells me John Roper, Aaron Wallace, Quentin Coryatt, Patrick Bates, Sam Adams, Kevin Smith, Aaron Glenn, William Thomas, Marcus Buckley, Keith Mitchell, Brandon Mitchell, Dat Nguyen etc aren’t walking through those doors anytime soon. Christine Michael is one of the best 4 RB’s in the conference, Jeff Fuller is one of the top 5 WR's in the country and will compliment the Aggies deepest and most talented wide receivering corp they've ever had in College Station, scoring wont be an issue, keeping the others from doing so might be.
#23 – West Virginia – Rich Rod who? One can think that Mountaineer fans are okay with losing this loser all the sudden. Although they are still having to deal with some of his past shenanigans, West Virginia will field the most experienced team in the Big East. Notables like speedster Noel Devine and a tough stingy defense that returns 9 starters will help ease the pressure on Sophomore QB Geno Smith. Smith played sparingly last year but missed the spring with a broken foot. Sources say he has the talent, but didn’t we all at one point? A huge late September trip to Baton Rouge could tell us a lot about this team all while providing third class entertainment, swamp trash v. hillbillies. Ultimate question, can they challenge Pitt for Big East supremacy? Don’t overlook back to back games at UConn and two weeks later Cincy at home.
#22 – Utah – The Utes have seemed to surpass their in-state missionary bound brethren to the tune of a PAC-10 invite, only to have BYU responsd by declaring their football independence. Regardless Utah has their eyes focused on the Horned Frogs of TCU and will get a crack at them in Nov. The Utah offense, especially the RB tandem will be leaned on heavily to carry the team due to the need of replenishment on the defense which was picked apart in the last NFL draft. First game against Pitt will tell a lot, but won’t break their season either way. Enjoy the BCS buster title while you got it, because when you start heading west for every game in the PAC-10, the Poinsettia Bowl might become more of a regular reality.
#21 – South Carolina – It’s hard to believe that quarterback guru Steve Spurrier hasn’t had a good one in 5 years at South Carolina. That’s what will need to change for the Gamecocks to rise up and challenge in the SEC East. Stephen Garcia, QB, can look like Ryan Mallet at times and just as quickly turn into Ryan Leaf (NFL Ryan Leaf). Consistency is a must and Spurrier will demand it out of the multi-year starter. An early Labor Day test against Southern Mississippi should be a good litmus test for what Cock fans can expect as they prepare for the rigors of the SEC schedule. The defense should be salty again, even with having to replace NFL bound Eric Norwood and prized recruit Marcus Lattimore should provide a good shot in the arm at the RB position. Here’s hoping they shake up the SEC hierarchy, it’s always fun having a Cock(y) ole ball coach pacing the sidelines. Plus it’s good on the visors to not meet the turf so often.
#20 – Georgia – It’s hard to imagine a guy with a 77% winning percentage over 9 years could be even remotely close to the hot seat. But it’s also hard to think while Mark Richt was accumulating wins his conference foes would have 5 combined BCS National Championships. It is what it is. UGA is replacing the quarterback, but has two quality options, including highly touted incoming freshmen Aaron Murray in the mix. They will also trot out AJ Green, WR, arguably one of the top 5 WR’s in the country, even in the run first minded SEC. One game to keep an eye on is a non-conference trip to Colorado in early October. Georgia is a superior team, but they would be neither the first nor the last team with more talent to go up in the altitude at Boulder and come away with a head scratching loss. Some off the field issues are going to cloud the next few weeks, regardless Coach Richt needs to continue to win and get the best of Florida at that cocktail get together this year. At least the AD at the beginning of the summer took some of the heat off, to the tune that here at the end of the summer he is no longer AD. Cross-hairs back on Richt.
# 19 – Georgia Tech – The smarter more urban cousin of the #20 ranked Georgia team lands at the 19 spot. The rambling wreck from Georgia Tech will continue to run the double-slot option and with an experienced and savvy guy like QB Josh Nesbitt at the helm, the immediate future looks bright. The defending ACC champions and BCS Orange bowl runner-ups (nice way of saying loser) will have to find a way to replace RB Jonathan Dwyer who was drafted last year. For the option to work efficiently it is imperative to have no fewer than two threats, Nesbitt has already been proven as one, so finding a second to compliment him is a must. Now the other side of the ball is a toss-up. In is former NFL and most recently UVA head man, Al Groh as the defensive coordinator. Groh will implement the 3-4 defensive scheme and with some crafty work could have the Jackets contending for the ACC and BCS bowl game again this season.
# 18 – LSU – The bayou Bengals are a real question mark this year. Yes they have the talent, yes they have the conference, yes they have the out of conference schedule, yes they have the home field advantage, yes they have the tradition, but unfortunately for them yes they still have Les Miles. There might not be a warmer seat in the country than the one that Lil Les finds himself perched on and it’s only getting warmer. The tiger faithful are split, half love him and half hate him. Both for good reason, he did bring home a national championship, don’t mind the constant second guessing; from who’s players they were to a 2 loss team playing for the BCS championship. He also has repeatedly puts his players in bad situations, see Ole Miss last year, and has had some odd if not completely confusing things to say over the past 4-5 years. The play of QB Jordan Jefferson was great at times, but down right Jarrett Lee like at times as well. They will field a very talented group of WR’s and defensive secondary, but is that enough to overcome the dreaded Les-factor? An early season date with North Carolina and then a home affair with West Virginia could give the tigers the confidence they need to face and challenge for the talented SEC West.
# 17 – North Carolina – Butch Davis was supposed to turn a basketball crazed school into a semi-interested football school. He was having some success, recruiting well and winning more games, then what seems to be half of the team decided rules didn’t apply to them and we all await word from the NCAA as to what the punishment is going to be. Things along tobacco road are very much up in the air as of print time. A tough but momentum building first game against LSU could or could not have done wonders, depending on who plays, for this team. Red-shirt freshmen QB, Ryan Renner should take the reins either from day one or at some point early in the year and could provide that spark to get over the hump. The defense is stout, but depending on what the NCAA has to say, this unit could be decimated for some huge games (LSU, Georgia Tech and Rutgers). All things being the same the Tar Heels are a top 20 team, so that’s were they will stay.
# 16 – Pittsburgh - They have seen the promise land, just haven’t been able to physically get there. The Panthers had the Big East title in their paws the past few years late into the season only to have it ripped away from lesser, on paper, opponents. Can Wannstedt get this fixed? They have recruited well and field an experienced group starting with record book re-writing RB Dion Lewis, he had close to 1,800 yards last season. Expect Big East foes to pay a bit more attention to him this year. If other teams do in fact commit too much to stop the run, the Panthers can make them pay with their deep and talented WR’s. Starting with All-Conference wide-out Jonathan Baldwin, he along with a fellow 6’5” wide receiver Mike Shanahan should be a formidable duo. The defense should not miss a step even with the departure of both DE’s. The unit led the nation in sacks last year and looks to build on experience.
# 15 – Arkansas – It has been a long time since the Hogs have entered a fall sport season with so much hype, hope and wooo piiiiigg soooiiiee hysteria. It could all be for good reason or it could all be for not. A lot of this lies squarely on the cannon that sits in place of a right arm on QB Ryan Mallett. The super sized signal caller can and will whip the ball all over the field and the scary thing for opponents is that his WR’s are the best they’ve been in his tenure. Couple this with Bobby “packed and out of town” Petrino’s offensive wizardry and even Arky fans can do this math. Pig fans and players will know soon enough with early season conference tests against Georgia and Alabama, followed up with an old Southwest Conference showdown against Texas A&M at Jerry’s little do-hicky over in Arlington whether the hype and hysteria was worth crawling out of the trailer for. All the offense in the world though can’t win them all in the SEC; the Hogs D will need to step-up and try to pull their weight for the title hoping hogs to have a chance.
# 14 – Miami – The U is working their way towards to the side of the rankings that had become commonplace in South Beach for some time. Miami’s season won’t solely hinge on QB Jacory Harris, but his play will dictate the way of the season more than any other individual player on the team. The junior to be who threw for more than 3,000 yards last year but will need to study his teams uniforms and color combos better this year and draw down from 17 interceptions last year. The RB position is stacked as is to be expected at Miami, however the one time tight end churning out machine that is the U, is in need of an impact TE this season. The Canes D is being built up pretty high but those that have seen them, which will be imperative as they go to Ohio State, to Pittsburgh and to Clemson in their first 4 games. The reigning Big East Co-champs look to continue the climb in the right direction, Randy Shannon surely could use it.
#13 – Oregon – There hasn’t been an opportunity like this for the Ducks in a long time and that is after winning the league last year to then have the NCAA help out a little and take the air out of the USC balloon, thus giving Oregon a chance to put a little bit of a run together here. The offense is loaded with playmakers, only problem is the guy that sparked that offensive engine decided stealing from frat houses and possessing bad things was more important, thus Jeremiah Masoli the key cog in the Oregon O, is in Oxford Mississippi (not playing football FYI). RB LaMichael James is very good, posting over 1,500 yards as a sophomore. Add to that an impressive haul of freshmen to be RB’s including Lache Seastrunk, one of the best Texas high school RB recruits, and the Oregon O should be okay. The Defense will be fast, that coupled with the return of 8 starters should help the Ducks keep their heads above water, while the offense finds a groove. An early road trip to Tennessee looks so good on paper but should turn into a very one sided affair. The trip to USC in October should be good; will the Trojans look to play spoiler or just another stop along the Ducks title trail?
# 12 – Nebraska – Big Red was debatably 1 additional second away from stunning the nation and winning the Big 12 championship last year, but that’s all in past, unless you ask any single Cornhusker on the planet. Regardless, Neb could be good to great and will do everything they can to win the last Big 12 championship they will ever care about. Dr. Tom Osborne gets his wish to move to the Big 10 and the Pelini boys/Nebraska players/Husker-nation get their collective wish to play Texas in Lincoln in October. It’s safe to say that the vaunted Black Shirt defense is alive and well in Lincoln and will be depended on to carry Neb as far as they will go this season. The departure of Ndamukong Suh has opened the door for DT Jared Crick to shine or show that any able bodied person could look good while Suh commanded double and triple teams. The QB position is wide open, last years starter Zac Lee, up and coming Cody Green or redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez all have a shot at the position. The RB spot will be a semi-group effort as well, with two smaller scat back types, Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead getting totes. If Big Red hopes to leave the remaining Big 12 wanting more and head north with the league title, because they will win the North, they will have to rely on a heavy does of Pelini D.
# 11 – Penn State – Funny Joe Pa comment here, after 75 years all the snark has been played and is beyond tired, much like Joe Pa! Bam, snuck one in. QB is up in the air, 3 guys vying for the spot but only one has completed a collegiate pass. Conversely the RB position is the most solid spot on the field, All-American candidate Evan Royster has put together back to back 1,000 yard seasons and could potentially leave State College as the schools all time leading rusher. That is saying a lot. The Defense will have the task of replacing not only the Big 10 Defensive player of the year, but also 5 other vacated positions. The truest test will come and come quick with a trip south to Tuscaloosa to tango with the defending national champions. They might have gotten a recent break with Mark Ingram RB-Alabama, having a knee scoped 13 days prior to this match-up. Then of course the Big 10 usuals, @ Iowa and @ Ohio State. A Big 10 title will take some over achieving, but they don’t have to look further than their own coach for that inspiration.
# 10 – Wisconsin – Carry bowl victory momentum into the next season, that is the hope and need for Badger fans and team alike. A good win over Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl should provide that encouragement and confidence that they will need to challenge for the Big10 title. Knowing that you faced down the speed of The U, surely makes you feel good about the cement shoed Big 10. The offense that led the Big 10 in scoring, rushing and total offense is pretty much still intact and returning. The defense must replace two keystones from a unit that held 10 opponents to under 100 yards rushing last year, but expects J.J. Watt and Louis Nzegwu to solidify the group. The end of October will tell the tale for Whiskey, with Ohio State in Madison followed with a road trip to Iowa City, Iowa, run that little gauntlet and the skies the limit. A split here is a must for any hope of a conference championship.
# 9 – Virginia Tech – This could be a moot point after the first full weekend of football as Va. Tech squares off against Boise State in a match-up of two pre-season top 10 programs creating by far the best game for the opening weekend. As has become the norm Coach Beamer will roll out an explosive offense with elite playmakers at key positions. Tyrod Taylor, QB has been there done that and will only get better with age. The RB duo of Ryan Williams and Darren Evens will ensure a fresh set of legs through the 4th quarter and both could start just about anywhere in the country. The defense is fast, in fact as fast as defensive coordinator Bud Foster can remember, but they are also highly inexperienced, can the speed and athleticism make up for what lacks between the ears? Again they will be tested and a lot more will be known before the 7th day of September. The ACC is tougher, but the Hokies expect to be in the mix until the very end.
# 8 – Texas – Contrary to what many thought would happen when legend Vince Young left and little aw shucks Colt McCoy took over, there was no huge drop off, in fact outside of a MNC many would say they got better as a whole. Well can the Horns get that lucky again? Blue chip QB Garrett Gilbert will take over the reins for Mack Browns offense, shockingly enough; he is not the biggest question mark coming into 2010. The RB situation at Texas has many down right fearful. Whether it was misses on the recruiting trail, which is not a Mack Brown trait, or a lack of development, the Horns are left with a running game by committee. They will compensate for that with a big arm QB and a stable of highly able WR’s. On Defense, coach in purgatory Will Muschamp lost some fire power, but with what has become the norm in Austin will simply plug in another 4-5 star recruit who has patiently been waiting. Sam Acho will be the king pin for the front 7 while the secondary is where Texas can really flex its muscle. The Texas secondary will display 2-3 DB’s that posses NFL type lock down coverage ability, Chykie Brown, Curtis Brown and Aaron Williams. While blue collar/lunch pail work ethic, coach on the field, first to arrive last to leave, son of a coach, gym rat and gutty Blake Gideon will start his 3rd year at FS. All eyes, not just the eyes of Texas, will be on the Cotton Bowl that first week of October, the winner there could very well be playing for the National Championship.
# 7 – Oklahoma – Life is good in Norman, sans the constant tornado threat and bitterly cold winters, the Sooners will once again field a team of the who’s who of college football talent. Imagine having 3 guys drafted in the top 10 of the NFL draft and feeling like you might unleash a better team next year. This is the reality that Bob Stoops has created and gets to enjoy. Landry Jones, QB, who took over after Sam Bradford went down early last year has plenty of game and big game experience and he will be above adequate if not quite good. The supporting cast is what could take OU to the highest level, RB Demarco Murray, who when healthy and motivated can take a game over, will look to solidify his draft status with a huge senior campaign. On the outside Ryan Broyles WR, will hope to build on his single-season reception record of 89 catches and that was with missing two games, he can also beat you in the kicking game. On defense Oklahoma will be imposing as usual, replacing Gerald McCoy should be tough, but Jeremy Beal is up for the task. Linebacker Travis Lewis is the sole returning starter at LB, but is flanked by hard hitting Ronnell Lewis and much hyped Tow Wort. A second week tussle with Florida State will give a good idea as to where this team stands along with that county fair game in Dallas.
# 6 – TCU – This ranking is due more in part to the schedule and the Frogs ability to navigate it with ease versus the dominance of the team and its athletes. Servicable Andy Dalton goes into his senior year with hopes of joing the likes of Sammy Baugh and becoming a legend in Ft. Worth. A return trip to a BCS bowl could do just that, but to make a title run which is in the minds of many TCU fans minds, they will need another perfect season and then a little help. The Frogs will have their toughest test right out of the box, in a “neutral” site home game at Jerry Jones’s Cowboys Stadium against the always willing and able party spoilers Oregon State. After that game it’s pretty smooth sailing until an early November date with Utah, this could determine the Mountain West champion as well as the at large BCS bid. The stats are somewhat skewed based on quality of opponents, but it’s hard to argue with the #1 ranking at defense from last year. Head coach Gary Patterson is truly the mind behind this and looks to have another stout group to shut down MWC foes. Many feel even an undefeated TCU will get jumped by a one loss BCS automatic qualifier team, either way there is one certainty, a 1 loss TCU team won’t even be in the conversation, so that means one thing, don’t lose.
# 5 – Iowa – See Wisconsin and replace with Iowa
# 4 – Boise State – See TCU and replace with Boise State
# 3 – Ohio State – See Iowa/Wisconsin and replace with Ohio State
# 2 – Alabama – Will be real good, but will sit back on their laurels just enough to let Florida sneak past them.
# 1 – Florida – They are just that good and truthfully, Tebow might have actually hurt them at the end last year.
#24 – Texas A&M – Speaking of Arky State and land grant universities, that all sounds real familiar here. The Aggies should have ended with a better than 6-7 record last year. Loses at Colorado and a gift wrapping to Oklahoma State were inexcusable, but the country a$$ whipping in Manhattan was the peak of the bad. A&M either won handedly or bent over and took it quickly and often. Outside of the Thanksgiving night Jerrod Johnson coming out party, where he was clearly the best QB on the field, Texas A&M was either on the giving side or receiving side of very lopsided affairs. This is good and bad, good because when giving your offense can put up gaudy numbers, bad because when receiving your defense can give up gaudy numbers. Aggie fan knows this well. A switch to the 3-4 defensive scheme hopes to stir the echoes of the great Wrecking Crew Defenses of old. But something tells me John Roper, Aaron Wallace, Quentin Coryatt, Patrick Bates, Sam Adams, Kevin Smith, Aaron Glenn, William Thomas, Marcus Buckley, Keith Mitchell, Brandon Mitchell, Dat Nguyen etc aren’t walking through those doors anytime soon. Christine Michael is one of the best 4 RB’s in the conference, Jeff Fuller is one of the top 5 WR's in the country and will compliment the Aggies deepest and most talented wide receivering corp they've ever had in College Station, scoring wont be an issue, keeping the others from doing so might be.
#23 – West Virginia – Rich Rod who? One can think that Mountaineer fans are okay with losing this loser all the sudden. Although they are still having to deal with some of his past shenanigans, West Virginia will field the most experienced team in the Big East. Notables like speedster Noel Devine and a tough stingy defense that returns 9 starters will help ease the pressure on Sophomore QB Geno Smith. Smith played sparingly last year but missed the spring with a broken foot. Sources say he has the talent, but didn’t we all at one point? A huge late September trip to Baton Rouge could tell us a lot about this team all while providing third class entertainment, swamp trash v. hillbillies. Ultimate question, can they challenge Pitt for Big East supremacy? Don’t overlook back to back games at UConn and two weeks later Cincy at home.
#22 – Utah – The Utes have seemed to surpass their in-state missionary bound brethren to the tune of a PAC-10 invite, only to have BYU responsd by declaring their football independence. Regardless Utah has their eyes focused on the Horned Frogs of TCU and will get a crack at them in Nov. The Utah offense, especially the RB tandem will be leaned on heavily to carry the team due to the need of replenishment on the defense which was picked apart in the last NFL draft. First game against Pitt will tell a lot, but won’t break their season either way. Enjoy the BCS buster title while you got it, because when you start heading west for every game in the PAC-10, the Poinsettia Bowl might become more of a regular reality.
#21 – South Carolina – It’s hard to believe that quarterback guru Steve Spurrier hasn’t had a good one in 5 years at South Carolina. That’s what will need to change for the Gamecocks to rise up and challenge in the SEC East. Stephen Garcia, QB, can look like Ryan Mallet at times and just as quickly turn into Ryan Leaf (NFL Ryan Leaf). Consistency is a must and Spurrier will demand it out of the multi-year starter. An early Labor Day test against Southern Mississippi should be a good litmus test for what Cock fans can expect as they prepare for the rigors of the SEC schedule. The defense should be salty again, even with having to replace NFL bound Eric Norwood and prized recruit Marcus Lattimore should provide a good shot in the arm at the RB position. Here’s hoping they shake up the SEC hierarchy, it’s always fun having a Cock(y) ole ball coach pacing the sidelines. Plus it’s good on the visors to not meet the turf so often.
#20 – Georgia – It’s hard to imagine a guy with a 77% winning percentage over 9 years could be even remotely close to the hot seat. But it’s also hard to think while Mark Richt was accumulating wins his conference foes would have 5 combined BCS National Championships. It is what it is. UGA is replacing the quarterback, but has two quality options, including highly touted incoming freshmen Aaron Murray in the mix. They will also trot out AJ Green, WR, arguably one of the top 5 WR’s in the country, even in the run first minded SEC. One game to keep an eye on is a non-conference trip to Colorado in early October. Georgia is a superior team, but they would be neither the first nor the last team with more talent to go up in the altitude at Boulder and come away with a head scratching loss. Some off the field issues are going to cloud the next few weeks, regardless Coach Richt needs to continue to win and get the best of Florida at that cocktail get together this year. At least the AD at the beginning of the summer took some of the heat off, to the tune that here at the end of the summer he is no longer AD. Cross-hairs back on Richt.
# 19 – Georgia Tech – The smarter more urban cousin of the #20 ranked Georgia team lands at the 19 spot. The rambling wreck from Georgia Tech will continue to run the double-slot option and with an experienced and savvy guy like QB Josh Nesbitt at the helm, the immediate future looks bright. The defending ACC champions and BCS Orange bowl runner-ups (nice way of saying loser) will have to find a way to replace RB Jonathan Dwyer who was drafted last year. For the option to work efficiently it is imperative to have no fewer than two threats, Nesbitt has already been proven as one, so finding a second to compliment him is a must. Now the other side of the ball is a toss-up. In is former NFL and most recently UVA head man, Al Groh as the defensive coordinator. Groh will implement the 3-4 defensive scheme and with some crafty work could have the Jackets contending for the ACC and BCS bowl game again this season.
# 18 – LSU – The bayou Bengals are a real question mark this year. Yes they have the talent, yes they have the conference, yes they have the out of conference schedule, yes they have the home field advantage, yes they have the tradition, but unfortunately for them yes they still have Les Miles. There might not be a warmer seat in the country than the one that Lil Les finds himself perched on and it’s only getting warmer. The tiger faithful are split, half love him and half hate him. Both for good reason, he did bring home a national championship, don’t mind the constant second guessing; from who’s players they were to a 2 loss team playing for the BCS championship. He also has repeatedly puts his players in bad situations, see Ole Miss last year, and has had some odd if not completely confusing things to say over the past 4-5 years. The play of QB Jordan Jefferson was great at times, but down right Jarrett Lee like at times as well. They will field a very talented group of WR’s and defensive secondary, but is that enough to overcome the dreaded Les-factor? An early season date with North Carolina and then a home affair with West Virginia could give the tigers the confidence they need to face and challenge for the talented SEC West.
# 17 – North Carolina – Butch Davis was supposed to turn a basketball crazed school into a semi-interested football school. He was having some success, recruiting well and winning more games, then what seems to be half of the team decided rules didn’t apply to them and we all await word from the NCAA as to what the punishment is going to be. Things along tobacco road are very much up in the air as of print time. A tough but momentum building first game against LSU could or could not have done wonders, depending on who plays, for this team. Red-shirt freshmen QB, Ryan Renner should take the reins either from day one or at some point early in the year and could provide that spark to get over the hump. The defense is stout, but depending on what the NCAA has to say, this unit could be decimated for some huge games (LSU, Georgia Tech and Rutgers). All things being the same the Tar Heels are a top 20 team, so that’s were they will stay.
# 16 – Pittsburgh - They have seen the promise land, just haven’t been able to physically get there. The Panthers had the Big East title in their paws the past few years late into the season only to have it ripped away from lesser, on paper, opponents. Can Wannstedt get this fixed? They have recruited well and field an experienced group starting with record book re-writing RB Dion Lewis, he had close to 1,800 yards last season. Expect Big East foes to pay a bit more attention to him this year. If other teams do in fact commit too much to stop the run, the Panthers can make them pay with their deep and talented WR’s. Starting with All-Conference wide-out Jonathan Baldwin, he along with a fellow 6’5” wide receiver Mike Shanahan should be a formidable duo. The defense should not miss a step even with the departure of both DE’s. The unit led the nation in sacks last year and looks to build on experience.
# 15 – Arkansas – It has been a long time since the Hogs have entered a fall sport season with so much hype, hope and wooo piiiiigg soooiiiee hysteria. It could all be for good reason or it could all be for not. A lot of this lies squarely on the cannon that sits in place of a right arm on QB Ryan Mallett. The super sized signal caller can and will whip the ball all over the field and the scary thing for opponents is that his WR’s are the best they’ve been in his tenure. Couple this with Bobby “packed and out of town” Petrino’s offensive wizardry and even Arky fans can do this math. Pig fans and players will know soon enough with early season conference tests against Georgia and Alabama, followed up with an old Southwest Conference showdown against Texas A&M at Jerry’s little do-hicky over in Arlington whether the hype and hysteria was worth crawling out of the trailer for. All the offense in the world though can’t win them all in the SEC; the Hogs D will need to step-up and try to pull their weight for the title hoping hogs to have a chance.
# 14 – Miami – The U is working their way towards to the side of the rankings that had become commonplace in South Beach for some time. Miami’s season won’t solely hinge on QB Jacory Harris, but his play will dictate the way of the season more than any other individual player on the team. The junior to be who threw for more than 3,000 yards last year but will need to study his teams uniforms and color combos better this year and draw down from 17 interceptions last year. The RB position is stacked as is to be expected at Miami, however the one time tight end churning out machine that is the U, is in need of an impact TE this season. The Canes D is being built up pretty high but those that have seen them, which will be imperative as they go to Ohio State, to Pittsburgh and to Clemson in their first 4 games. The reigning Big East Co-champs look to continue the climb in the right direction, Randy Shannon surely could use it.
#13 – Oregon – There hasn’t been an opportunity like this for the Ducks in a long time and that is after winning the league last year to then have the NCAA help out a little and take the air out of the USC balloon, thus giving Oregon a chance to put a little bit of a run together here. The offense is loaded with playmakers, only problem is the guy that sparked that offensive engine decided stealing from frat houses and possessing bad things was more important, thus Jeremiah Masoli the key cog in the Oregon O, is in Oxford Mississippi (not playing football FYI). RB LaMichael James is very good, posting over 1,500 yards as a sophomore. Add to that an impressive haul of freshmen to be RB’s including Lache Seastrunk, one of the best Texas high school RB recruits, and the Oregon O should be okay. The Defense will be fast, that coupled with the return of 8 starters should help the Ducks keep their heads above water, while the offense finds a groove. An early road trip to Tennessee looks so good on paper but should turn into a very one sided affair. The trip to USC in October should be good; will the Trojans look to play spoiler or just another stop along the Ducks title trail?
# 12 – Nebraska – Big Red was debatably 1 additional second away from stunning the nation and winning the Big 12 championship last year, but that’s all in past, unless you ask any single Cornhusker on the planet. Regardless, Neb could be good to great and will do everything they can to win the last Big 12 championship they will ever care about. Dr. Tom Osborne gets his wish to move to the Big 10 and the Pelini boys/Nebraska players/Husker-nation get their collective wish to play Texas in Lincoln in October. It’s safe to say that the vaunted Black Shirt defense is alive and well in Lincoln and will be depended on to carry Neb as far as they will go this season. The departure of Ndamukong Suh has opened the door for DT Jared Crick to shine or show that any able bodied person could look good while Suh commanded double and triple teams. The QB position is wide open, last years starter Zac Lee, up and coming Cody Green or redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez all have a shot at the position. The RB spot will be a semi-group effort as well, with two smaller scat back types, Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead getting totes. If Big Red hopes to leave the remaining Big 12 wanting more and head north with the league title, because they will win the North, they will have to rely on a heavy does of Pelini D.
# 11 – Penn State – Funny Joe Pa comment here, after 75 years all the snark has been played and is beyond tired, much like Joe Pa! Bam, snuck one in. QB is up in the air, 3 guys vying for the spot but only one has completed a collegiate pass. Conversely the RB position is the most solid spot on the field, All-American candidate Evan Royster has put together back to back 1,000 yard seasons and could potentially leave State College as the schools all time leading rusher. That is saying a lot. The Defense will have the task of replacing not only the Big 10 Defensive player of the year, but also 5 other vacated positions. The truest test will come and come quick with a trip south to Tuscaloosa to tango with the defending national champions. They might have gotten a recent break with Mark Ingram RB-Alabama, having a knee scoped 13 days prior to this match-up. Then of course the Big 10 usuals, @ Iowa and @ Ohio State. A Big 10 title will take some over achieving, but they don’t have to look further than their own coach for that inspiration.
# 10 – Wisconsin – Carry bowl victory momentum into the next season, that is the hope and need for Badger fans and team alike. A good win over Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl should provide that encouragement and confidence that they will need to challenge for the Big10 title. Knowing that you faced down the speed of The U, surely makes you feel good about the cement shoed Big 10. The offense that led the Big 10 in scoring, rushing and total offense is pretty much still intact and returning. The defense must replace two keystones from a unit that held 10 opponents to under 100 yards rushing last year, but expects J.J. Watt and Louis Nzegwu to solidify the group. The end of October will tell the tale for Whiskey, with Ohio State in Madison followed with a road trip to Iowa City, Iowa, run that little gauntlet and the skies the limit. A split here is a must for any hope of a conference championship.
# 9 – Virginia Tech – This could be a moot point after the first full weekend of football as Va. Tech squares off against Boise State in a match-up of two pre-season top 10 programs creating by far the best game for the opening weekend. As has become the norm Coach Beamer will roll out an explosive offense with elite playmakers at key positions. Tyrod Taylor, QB has been there done that and will only get better with age. The RB duo of Ryan Williams and Darren Evens will ensure a fresh set of legs through the 4th quarter and both could start just about anywhere in the country. The defense is fast, in fact as fast as defensive coordinator Bud Foster can remember, but they are also highly inexperienced, can the speed and athleticism make up for what lacks between the ears? Again they will be tested and a lot more will be known before the 7th day of September. The ACC is tougher, but the Hokies expect to be in the mix until the very end.
# 8 – Texas – Contrary to what many thought would happen when legend Vince Young left and little aw shucks Colt McCoy took over, there was no huge drop off, in fact outside of a MNC many would say they got better as a whole. Well can the Horns get that lucky again? Blue chip QB Garrett Gilbert will take over the reins for Mack Browns offense, shockingly enough; he is not the biggest question mark coming into 2010. The RB situation at Texas has many down right fearful. Whether it was misses on the recruiting trail, which is not a Mack Brown trait, or a lack of development, the Horns are left with a running game by committee. They will compensate for that with a big arm QB and a stable of highly able WR’s. On Defense, coach in purgatory Will Muschamp lost some fire power, but with what has become the norm in Austin will simply plug in another 4-5 star recruit who has patiently been waiting. Sam Acho will be the king pin for the front 7 while the secondary is where Texas can really flex its muscle. The Texas secondary will display 2-3 DB’s that posses NFL type lock down coverage ability, Chykie Brown, Curtis Brown and Aaron Williams. While blue collar/lunch pail work ethic, coach on the field, first to arrive last to leave, son of a coach, gym rat and gutty Blake Gideon will start his 3rd year at FS. All eyes, not just the eyes of Texas, will be on the Cotton Bowl that first week of October, the winner there could very well be playing for the National Championship.
# 7 – Oklahoma – Life is good in Norman, sans the constant tornado threat and bitterly cold winters, the Sooners will once again field a team of the who’s who of college football talent. Imagine having 3 guys drafted in the top 10 of the NFL draft and feeling like you might unleash a better team next year. This is the reality that Bob Stoops has created and gets to enjoy. Landry Jones, QB, who took over after Sam Bradford went down early last year has plenty of game and big game experience and he will be above adequate if not quite good. The supporting cast is what could take OU to the highest level, RB Demarco Murray, who when healthy and motivated can take a game over, will look to solidify his draft status with a huge senior campaign. On the outside Ryan Broyles WR, will hope to build on his single-season reception record of 89 catches and that was with missing two games, he can also beat you in the kicking game. On defense Oklahoma will be imposing as usual, replacing Gerald McCoy should be tough, but Jeremy Beal is up for the task. Linebacker Travis Lewis is the sole returning starter at LB, but is flanked by hard hitting Ronnell Lewis and much hyped Tow Wort. A second week tussle with Florida State will give a good idea as to where this team stands along with that county fair game in Dallas.
# 6 – TCU – This ranking is due more in part to the schedule and the Frogs ability to navigate it with ease versus the dominance of the team and its athletes. Servicable Andy Dalton goes into his senior year with hopes of joing the likes of Sammy Baugh and becoming a legend in Ft. Worth. A return trip to a BCS bowl could do just that, but to make a title run which is in the minds of many TCU fans minds, they will need another perfect season and then a little help. The Frogs will have their toughest test right out of the box, in a “neutral” site home game at Jerry Jones’s Cowboys Stadium against the always willing and able party spoilers Oregon State. After that game it’s pretty smooth sailing until an early November date with Utah, this could determine the Mountain West champion as well as the at large BCS bid. The stats are somewhat skewed based on quality of opponents, but it’s hard to argue with the #1 ranking at defense from last year. Head coach Gary Patterson is truly the mind behind this and looks to have another stout group to shut down MWC foes. Many feel even an undefeated TCU will get jumped by a one loss BCS automatic qualifier team, either way there is one certainty, a 1 loss TCU team won’t even be in the conversation, so that means one thing, don’t lose.
# 5 – Iowa – See Wisconsin and replace with Iowa
# 4 – Boise State – See TCU and replace with Boise State
# 3 – Ohio State – See Iowa/Wisconsin and replace with Ohio State
# 2 – Alabama – Will be real good, but will sit back on their laurels just enough to let Florida sneak past them.
# 1 – Florida – They are just that good and truthfully, Tebow might have actually hurt them at the end last year.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Ole Miss and Jeremiah Masoli denied by the NCAA
NCAA denies former Oregon QB and presumed current Ole Miss QB Jeremiah Masoli a waver to play immediately for the Rebels. Jeremiah was hoping to not have to sit out due to a semi-loop hole in the NCAA transfer rules. The NCAA will allow a student-athlete who has graduated undergrad to transfer and play immediately at a new school, if the new school offers a post grad degree program that was not offered by the school where the undergrad course work was done. Sense Jeremiah was kicked out of Oregon, he had to find a school that offered such a situation so that he could avoid the mandatory 1 year transfer sit-out rule, which explains how the American Samoan found his way to very land locked Oxford Mississippi. Either way, the NCAA has allegedly denied this waiver and has Nutt and company scrambling, very much like they were hoping to have Masoli do for them this year.
Monday, August 30, 2010
The based off of last year, derived from history, made to sell magazines, PRE-season top 25 list
As has become custom and surely soon to be emulated the country over, this list will be slowly released 5 -6 teams at a time until the #1 team is revealed. If you don't like any part of it, feel free to use your Google function and read one of the other 1200 top 25 lists out there.
#25 – Auburn – The Tigers are hell bent on reminding the nation that there is football in Alabama not played in Tuscaloosa. With Clemson as the only non-conference game of significance War Eagle will have to run the usual SEC gauntlet but will enjoy a 2 week break before trying to finish what they started last year; that being a beat down of the Crimson Tide. Watch out for Arky State in week one, rumor has it they play a little above their heads opening weekend at large Land Grant D-1 schools.
#24 – Texas A&M – Speaking of Arky State and land grant universities, that all sounds real familiar here. The Aggies should have ended with a better than 6-7 record last year. Loses at Colorado and a gift wrapping to Oklahoma State were inexcusable, but the country a$$ whipping in Manhattan was the peak of the bad. A&M either won handedly or bent over and took it quickly and often. Outside of the Thanksgiving night Jerrod Johnson coming out party, where he was clearly the best QB on the field, Texas A&M was either on the giving side or receiving side of very lopsided affairs. This is good and bad, good because when giving your offense can put up gaudy numbers, bad because when receiving your defense can give up gaudy numbers. Aggie fan knows this well. A switch to the 3-4 defensive scheme hopes to stir the echoes of the great Wrecking Crew Defenses of old. But something tells me John Roper, Aaron Wallace, Quentin Coryatt, Patrick Bates, Sam Adams, Kevin Smith, Aaron Glenn, William Thomas, Marcus Buckley, Keith Mitchell, Brandon Mitchell, Dat Nguyen etc aren’t walking through those doors anytime soon. Christine Michael is one of the best 4 RB’s in the conference, Jeff Fuller is one of the top 5 WR's in the country and will compliment the Aggies deepest and most talented wide receivering corp they've ever had in College Station, scoring wont be an issue, keeping the others from doing so might be.
#23 – West Virginia – Rich Rod who? One can think that Mountaineer fans are okay with losing this loser all the sudden. Although they are still having to deal with some of his past shenanigans, West Virginia will field the most experienced team in the Big East. Notables like speedster Noel Devine and a tough stingy defense that returns 9 starters will help ease the pressure on Sophomore QB Geno Smith. Smith played sparingly last year but missed the spring with a broken foot. Sources say he has the talent, but didn’t we all at one point? A huge late September trip to Baton Rouge could tell us a lot about this team all while providing third class entertainment, swamp trash v. hillbillies. Ultimate question, can they challenge Pitt for Big East supremacy? Don’t overlook back to back games at UConn and two weeks later Cincy at home.
#22 – Utah – The Utes have seemed to surpass their in-state missionary bound brethren to the tune of a PAC-10 invite, only to have BYU responsd by declaring their football independence. Regardless Utah has their eyes focused on the Horned Frogs of TCU and will get a crack at them in Nov. The Utah offense, especially the RB tandem will be leaned on heavily to carry the team due to the need of replenishment on the defense which was picked apart in the last NFL draft. First game against Pitt will tell a lot, but won’t break their season either way. Enjoy the BCS buster title while you got it, because when you start heading west for every game in the PAC-10, the Poinsettia Bowl might become more of a regular reality.
#21 – South Carolina – It’s hard to believe that quarterback guru Steve Spurrier hasn’t had a good one in 5 years at South Carolina. That’s what will need to change for the Gamecocks to rise up and challenge in the SEC East. Stephen Garcia, QB, can look like Ryan Mallet at times and just as quickly turn into Ryan Leaf (NFL Ryan Leaf). Consistency is a must and Spurrier will demand it out of the multi-year starter. An early Labor Day test against Southern Mississippi should be a good litmus test for what Cock fans can expect as they prepare for the rigors of the SEC schedule. The defense should be salty again, even with having to replace NFL bound Eric Norwood and prized recruit Marcus Lattimore should provide a good shot in the arm at the RB position. Here’s hoping they shake up the SEC hierarchy, it’s always fun having a Cock(y) ole ball coach pacing the sidelines. Plus it’s good on the visors to not meet the turf so often.
#20 – Georgia – It’s hard to imagine a guy with a 77% winning percentage over 9 years could be even remotely close to the hot seat. But it’s also hard to think while Mark Richt was accumulating wins his conference foes would have 5 combined BCS National Championships. It is what it is. UGA is replacing the quarterback, but has two quality options, including highly touted incoming freshmen Aaron Murray in the mix. They will also trot out AJ Green, WR, arguably one of the top 5 WR’s in the country, even in the run first minded SEC. One game to keep an eye on is a non-conference trip to Colorado in early October. Georgia is a superior team, but they would be neither the first nor the last team with more talent to go up in the altitude at Boulder and come away with a head scratching loss. Some off the field issues are going to cloud the next few weeks, regardless Coach Richt needs to continue to win and get the best of Florida at that cocktail get together this year. At least the AD at the beginning of the summer took some of the heat off, to the tune that here at the end of the summer he is no longer AD. Cross-hairs back on Richt.
#19 – Georgia Tech – The smarter more urban cousin of the #20 ranked Georgia team lands at the 19 spot. The rambling wreck from Georgia Tech will continue to run the double-slot option and with an experienced and savvy guy like QB Josh Nesbitt at the helm, the immediate future looks bright. The defending ACC champions and BCS Orange bowl runner-ups (nice way of saying loser) will have to find a way to replace RB Jonathan Dwyer who was drafted last year. For the option to work efficiently it is imperative to have no fewer than two threats, Nesbitt has already been proven as one, so finding a second to compliment him is a must. Now the other side of the ball is a toss-up. In is former NFL and most recently UVA head man, Al Groh as the defensive coordinator. Groh will implement the 3-4 defensive scheme and with some crafty work could have the Jackets contending for the ACC and BCS bowl game again this season.
#18 – LSU – The bayou Bengals are a real question mark this year. Yes they have the talent, yes they have the conference, yes they have the out of conference schedule, yes they have the home field advantage, yes they have the tradition, but unfortunately for them yes they still have Les Miles. There might not be a warmer seat in the country than the one that Lil Les finds himself perched on and it’s only getting warmer. The tiger faithful are split, half love him and half hate him. Both for good reason, he did bring home a national championship, don’t mind the constant second guessing; from who’s players they were to a 2 loss team playing for the BCS championship. He also has repeatedly puts his players in bad situations, see Ole Miss last year, and has had some odd if not completely confusing things to say over the past 4-5 years. The play of QB Jordan Jefferson was great at times, but down right Jarrett Lee like at times as well. They will field a very talented group of WR’s and defensive secondary, but is that enough to overcome the dreaded Les-factor? An early season date with North Carolina and then a home affair with West Virginia could give the tigers the confidence they need to face and challenge for the talented SEC West.
#17 – North Carolina – Butch Davis was supposed to turn a basketball crazed school into a semi-interested football school. He was having some success, recruiting well and winning more games, then what seems to be half of the team decided rules didn’t apply to them and we all await word from the NCAA as to what the punishment is going to be. Things along tobacco road are very much up in the air as of print time. A tough but momentum building first game against LSU could or could not have done wonders, depending on who plays, for this team. Red-shirt freshmen QB, Ryan Renner should take the reins either from day one or at some point early in the year and could provide that spark to get over the hump. The defense is stout, but depending on what the NCAA has to say, this unit could be decimated for some huge games (LSU, Georgia Tech and Rutgers). All things being the same the Tar Heels are a top 20 team, so that’s were they will stay.
#16 – Pittsburgh - They have seen the promise land, just haven’t been able to physically get there. The Panthers had the Big East title in their paws the past few years late into the season only to have it ripped away from lesser, on paper, opponents. Can Wannstedt get this fixed? They have recruited well and field an experienced group starting with record book re-writing RB Dion Lewis, he had close to 1,800 yards last season. Expect Big East foes to pay a bit more attention to him this year. If other teams do in fact commit too much to stop the run, the Panthers can make them pay with their deep and talented WR’s. Starting with All-Conference wide-out Jonathan Baldwin, he along with a fellow 6’5” wide receiver Mike Shanahan should be a formidable duo. The defense should not miss a step even with the departure of both DE’s. The unit led the nation in sacks last year and looks to build on experience.
#15 – Arkansas – It has been a long time since the Hogs have entered a fall sport season with so much hype, hope and wooo piiiiigg soooiiiee hysteria. It could all be for good reason or it could all be for not. A lot of this lies squarely on the cannon that sits in place of a right arm on QB Ryan Mallett. The super sized signal caller can and will whip the ball all over the field and the scary thing for opponents is that his WR’s are the best they’ve been in his tenure. Couple this with Bobby “packed and out of town” Petrino’s offensive wizardry and even Arky fans can do this math. Pig fans and players will know soon enough with early season conference tests against Georgia and Alabama, followed up with an old Southwest Conference showdown against Texas A&M at Jerry’s little do-hicky over in Arlington whether the hype and hysteria was worth crawling out of the trailer for. All the offense in the world though can’t win them all in the SEC; the Hogs D will need to step-up and try to pull their weight for the title hoping hogs to have a chance.
#25 – Auburn – The Tigers are hell bent on reminding the nation that there is football in Alabama not played in Tuscaloosa. With Clemson as the only non-conference game of significance War Eagle will have to run the usual SEC gauntlet but will enjoy a 2 week break before trying to finish what they started last year; that being a beat down of the Crimson Tide. Watch out for Arky State in week one, rumor has it they play a little above their heads opening weekend at large Land Grant D-1 schools.
#24 – Texas A&M – Speaking of Arky State and land grant universities, that all sounds real familiar here. The Aggies should have ended with a better than 6-7 record last year. Loses at Colorado and a gift wrapping to Oklahoma State were inexcusable, but the country a$$ whipping in Manhattan was the peak of the bad. A&M either won handedly or bent over and took it quickly and often. Outside of the Thanksgiving night Jerrod Johnson coming out party, where he was clearly the best QB on the field, Texas A&M was either on the giving side or receiving side of very lopsided affairs. This is good and bad, good because when giving your offense can put up gaudy numbers, bad because when receiving your defense can give up gaudy numbers. Aggie fan knows this well. A switch to the 3-4 defensive scheme hopes to stir the echoes of the great Wrecking Crew Defenses of old. But something tells me John Roper, Aaron Wallace, Quentin Coryatt, Patrick Bates, Sam Adams, Kevin Smith, Aaron Glenn, William Thomas, Marcus Buckley, Keith Mitchell, Brandon Mitchell, Dat Nguyen etc aren’t walking through those doors anytime soon. Christine Michael is one of the best 4 RB’s in the conference, Jeff Fuller is one of the top 5 WR's in the country and will compliment the Aggies deepest and most talented wide receivering corp they've ever had in College Station, scoring wont be an issue, keeping the others from doing so might be.
#23 – West Virginia – Rich Rod who? One can think that Mountaineer fans are okay with losing this loser all the sudden. Although they are still having to deal with some of his past shenanigans, West Virginia will field the most experienced team in the Big East. Notables like speedster Noel Devine and a tough stingy defense that returns 9 starters will help ease the pressure on Sophomore QB Geno Smith. Smith played sparingly last year but missed the spring with a broken foot. Sources say he has the talent, but didn’t we all at one point? A huge late September trip to Baton Rouge could tell us a lot about this team all while providing third class entertainment, swamp trash v. hillbillies. Ultimate question, can they challenge Pitt for Big East supremacy? Don’t overlook back to back games at UConn and two weeks later Cincy at home.
#22 – Utah – The Utes have seemed to surpass their in-state missionary bound brethren to the tune of a PAC-10 invite, only to have BYU responsd by declaring their football independence. Regardless Utah has their eyes focused on the Horned Frogs of TCU and will get a crack at them in Nov. The Utah offense, especially the RB tandem will be leaned on heavily to carry the team due to the need of replenishment on the defense which was picked apart in the last NFL draft. First game against Pitt will tell a lot, but won’t break their season either way. Enjoy the BCS buster title while you got it, because when you start heading west for every game in the PAC-10, the Poinsettia Bowl might become more of a regular reality.
#21 – South Carolina – It’s hard to believe that quarterback guru Steve Spurrier hasn’t had a good one in 5 years at South Carolina. That’s what will need to change for the Gamecocks to rise up and challenge in the SEC East. Stephen Garcia, QB, can look like Ryan Mallet at times and just as quickly turn into Ryan Leaf (NFL Ryan Leaf). Consistency is a must and Spurrier will demand it out of the multi-year starter. An early Labor Day test against Southern Mississippi should be a good litmus test for what Cock fans can expect as they prepare for the rigors of the SEC schedule. The defense should be salty again, even with having to replace NFL bound Eric Norwood and prized recruit Marcus Lattimore should provide a good shot in the arm at the RB position. Here’s hoping they shake up the SEC hierarchy, it’s always fun having a Cock(y) ole ball coach pacing the sidelines. Plus it’s good on the visors to not meet the turf so often.
#20 – Georgia – It’s hard to imagine a guy with a 77% winning percentage over 9 years could be even remotely close to the hot seat. But it’s also hard to think while Mark Richt was accumulating wins his conference foes would have 5 combined BCS National Championships. It is what it is. UGA is replacing the quarterback, but has two quality options, including highly touted incoming freshmen Aaron Murray in the mix. They will also trot out AJ Green, WR, arguably one of the top 5 WR’s in the country, even in the run first minded SEC. One game to keep an eye on is a non-conference trip to Colorado in early October. Georgia is a superior team, but they would be neither the first nor the last team with more talent to go up in the altitude at Boulder and come away with a head scratching loss. Some off the field issues are going to cloud the next few weeks, regardless Coach Richt needs to continue to win and get the best of Florida at that cocktail get together this year. At least the AD at the beginning of the summer took some of the heat off, to the tune that here at the end of the summer he is no longer AD. Cross-hairs back on Richt.
#19 – Georgia Tech – The smarter more urban cousin of the #20 ranked Georgia team lands at the 19 spot. The rambling wreck from Georgia Tech will continue to run the double-slot option and with an experienced and savvy guy like QB Josh Nesbitt at the helm, the immediate future looks bright. The defending ACC champions and BCS Orange bowl runner-ups (nice way of saying loser) will have to find a way to replace RB Jonathan Dwyer who was drafted last year. For the option to work efficiently it is imperative to have no fewer than two threats, Nesbitt has already been proven as one, so finding a second to compliment him is a must. Now the other side of the ball is a toss-up. In is former NFL and most recently UVA head man, Al Groh as the defensive coordinator. Groh will implement the 3-4 defensive scheme and with some crafty work could have the Jackets contending for the ACC and BCS bowl game again this season.
#18 – LSU – The bayou Bengals are a real question mark this year. Yes they have the talent, yes they have the conference, yes they have the out of conference schedule, yes they have the home field advantage, yes they have the tradition, but unfortunately for them yes they still have Les Miles. There might not be a warmer seat in the country than the one that Lil Les finds himself perched on and it’s only getting warmer. The tiger faithful are split, half love him and half hate him. Both for good reason, he did bring home a national championship, don’t mind the constant second guessing; from who’s players they were to a 2 loss team playing for the BCS championship. He also has repeatedly puts his players in bad situations, see Ole Miss last year, and has had some odd if not completely confusing things to say over the past 4-5 years. The play of QB Jordan Jefferson was great at times, but down right Jarrett Lee like at times as well. They will field a very talented group of WR’s and defensive secondary, but is that enough to overcome the dreaded Les-factor? An early season date with North Carolina and then a home affair with West Virginia could give the tigers the confidence they need to face and challenge for the talented SEC West.
#17 – North Carolina – Butch Davis was supposed to turn a basketball crazed school into a semi-interested football school. He was having some success, recruiting well and winning more games, then what seems to be half of the team decided rules didn’t apply to them and we all await word from the NCAA as to what the punishment is going to be. Things along tobacco road are very much up in the air as of print time. A tough but momentum building first game against LSU could or could not have done wonders, depending on who plays, for this team. Red-shirt freshmen QB, Ryan Renner should take the reins either from day one or at some point early in the year and could provide that spark to get over the hump. The defense is stout, but depending on what the NCAA has to say, this unit could be decimated for some huge games (LSU, Georgia Tech and Rutgers). All things being the same the Tar Heels are a top 20 team, so that’s were they will stay.
#16 – Pittsburgh - They have seen the promise land, just haven’t been able to physically get there. The Panthers had the Big East title in their paws the past few years late into the season only to have it ripped away from lesser, on paper, opponents. Can Wannstedt get this fixed? They have recruited well and field an experienced group starting with record book re-writing RB Dion Lewis, he had close to 1,800 yards last season. Expect Big East foes to pay a bit more attention to him this year. If other teams do in fact commit too much to stop the run, the Panthers can make them pay with their deep and talented WR’s. Starting with All-Conference wide-out Jonathan Baldwin, he along with a fellow 6’5” wide receiver Mike Shanahan should be a formidable duo. The defense should not miss a step even with the departure of both DE’s. The unit led the nation in sacks last year and looks to build on experience.
#15 – Arkansas – It has been a long time since the Hogs have entered a fall sport season with so much hype, hope and wooo piiiiigg soooiiiee hysteria. It could all be for good reason or it could all be for not. A lot of this lies squarely on the cannon that sits in place of a right arm on QB Ryan Mallett. The super sized signal caller can and will whip the ball all over the field and the scary thing for opponents is that his WR’s are the best they’ve been in his tenure. Couple this with Bobby “packed and out of town” Petrino’s offensive wizardry and even Arky fans can do this math. Pig fans and players will know soon enough with early season conference tests against Georgia and Alabama, followed up with an old Southwest Conference showdown against Texas A&M at Jerry’s little do-hicky over in Arlington whether the hype and hysteria was worth crawling out of the trailer for. All the offense in the world though can’t win them all in the SEC; the Hogs D will need to step-up and try to pull their weight for the title hoping hogs to have a chance.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Big 12 South Preview - The last surviving caste system.
Finally Tommy Tuberville announced that Taylor Potts would be the Red Raiders starting QB, so we can finally release the highly anticipated BIG 12 South Division preview. Seriously, without knowing which Texas Tech QB is going to put up gaudy numbers, get booed by his own fans and never sniff the NFL, how could one expect a “preview” to be even remotely accurate or considered reputable. With all the conference re-alignment talk shelved for the very brief mean-time, the far superior division in the BIG 12 has been creating intrigue with the possibility of surprise teams to the dreaded same old status quo. With the departure of a handful of prominent fixtures to the NFL to the high expectations of young phenoms, the proverbial rubber is just about to meet the road.
The Big 12 South Division – The group that makes the Jackson family look loving.
Oklahoma – The Quick – Sam Bradford gets hurt twice still gets drafted #1 overall, and Landry Jones gets more than adequate work in games, big games at that. He should come in and have no issues at the helm. The Sooners also lost some playmakers on the defensive side, but have studs like Jeremy Beal (DL) and Travis Lewis (LB) to fill the gaps. On offense Ryan Broyles and Demarco Murray will be expected to do the glory work for OU, Demarco in his 8th year will hopefully finally live up to the billing. Broyles will beat teams as a WR and as a kick return extraordinaire. The Skinny – Can Big Game Bob Stoops start winning big games? Early non-conference tests against Florida State and Cincinnati will be very telling. And as long as the NCAA keeps turning the blind eye and issuing brutal wrist slaps, the Sooners will contend for a long time.
Texas – The Quick – “if only Colt hadn’t…..” Not yet Longhorn fans, not yet. As has become the norm in Austin, the Horns are as stacked across the board as any coach/fan/media outlet (ESPN/ABC) could possibly hope for. Two biggest questions, replacing the games winning and whiniest QB and establishing even a semblance of a running game. Garret Gilbert (QB) was forced into action during the biggest game of the year, the BCS National Championship, after Colt McCoy sat on his throwing hand too long in pre-game looking for one last casual encounter with “the stranger” prior to his last college football game. And Gilbert looked much better than expected, sans the 18 interceptions; he actually had the Longhorns in a position to win. The Defense will do more reloading and to the hopeful delight of their fans finally shake the “soft” title, with coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp pacing the sidelines; it’s shocking that they haven’t lost this moniker yet. Maybe when he’s head coach? Too bad that will be at LSU and soon, but we digress. The Skinny – A running game is a most; Mack Brown could talk the Pope into Judaism, but hasn’t been able to recruit a game changing RB in a few too many years. It will most likely be running back by committee again this year, with Fozy Whitaker and Tre Newton doing the bulk of the work.
Texas A&M – The Quick – Any defense will be an improvement and a first in years. The Aggie offense can score and did a lot, finishing the year 5th in the country in total offense. Signal caller Jerrod Johnson is surrounded by top flight playmakers; unfortunately he has to rely on a spotty offensive line for time and protection. Look for the O-line to be improved with some stud freshmen that will be expected to play and to impact. Jeff Fuller (WR) is one of the top 5 in the country, a full season will prove this to all. Christine Michael (RB) is on another level and the list goes on. The Defense should be vastly improved with a new 3-4 scheme, hoping to harness some of the old Wrecking Crew glory days. New D-coordinator Tim DeRuyter has come in with a new plan and with an emphasis on speed, confusion and take-aways. The Skinny – All the above my happen, but if the special teams, which has been abysmal since Clinton’s second term doesn’t vastly improve, the Aggies can expect to be on the wrong end of more games this year.
Texas Tech – The Quick – Leach out Tubbs in. This is like taking a job transfer from Nome to Nassau. Or more realistically like transitioning from an offensive and intellectual genius, to a defensive minded back porch rocking, straw chewing, fiddle picking share cropper type. It could go either way, the new coach rut is to be expected but Tubbs ain’t no spring chicken, he made a career out of whipping Alabama and has some tools to work with in Lubbock. Expect the offense to be more balanced with a running game for purpose and strategy versus for cross your fingers and try to catch them off-guard. Where Tommy will have the most impact is on the defensive side of the ball. You know, that bastard-child half of the team that Leach never acknowledged. As mentioned above, Taylor Potts will get the nod over Steven “Sticks” Sheffield at QB, but if any of Leach’s existence remains, outside of multiple unpaid bar tabs in Lubbock, the leash will be short with two proven quarterbacks ready and able. The Skinny – besides the back-up quarterback. If the offense can keep the new coach regression to a minimum and Tuberville is able to do what he does best and build a respectable defense; the high plains of Texas might forget about the Pirate sooner rather than later. Until he comes back and beats them down in civil court and rightfully claims his booty.
Oklahoma State – The Quick – Only 8 meaningful returning starters on both sides of the ball combined, kickers and punters aren’t meaningful. With huge losses like Dez Bryant, although he didn’t exactly pull his weight last year, in fact he probably left Stillwater in Oct. of ’09 and hasn’t been back since. And Zak Robinson (QB) along with 4 offensive linemen, Coach Gundy has his work cut out. Luckily talented RB Kendall Hunter returns and hopes to put last years injury shortened season behind him as 26 year old Brandon Weeden (QB) will try and make the transition from minor league baseball player to old and creepy looking college quarterback. A tough non-conference schedule dueling with the likes of Tulsa, Troy, Washington State and Louisiana Lafayette should have the cowboys finely tuned for the Big 12 gauntlet. The Skinny – T Boone Pickens is running out of time, he hasn’t seen very good returns on his investments of late, see non-existent wind farm in Pampa TX, so a good team in his mini-jewel of a stadium would really do wonders for the would be wind wrangler.
Baylor – The Quick – Outside of Robert Griffin III, they aren’t. Baylor is just thankful the Big 12 still exists and that they didn’t have to exhume Ann Richards body and do some serious Weekend at Bernie’s to get to stay with the big boys. The Bears will put the weight of their Baptist congregation on the shoulders of highly talented QB Robert Griffin III, someone might need to send some weight watchers to Waco because last year his ACL couldn’t support such weight. RG III is that good; where he can win games on his own, but some big loses on defense (Baylor standards here) might be more than the cubbies can bear. ßSee what we did there! The Skinny – not the Baylor Line. Art Briles is a good coach, who is probably looking at the University of Houston and wondering “what was I thinking?” for leaving there to come to Baylor. Oh well the Big 12 will implode soon enough and Bear fans can get excited about renewing their old SWC rivalry with Rice and creating fun new rivalries with UTEP and UTSA and UTA.
The Big 12 South Division – The group that makes the Jackson family look loving.
Oklahoma – The Quick – Sam Bradford gets hurt twice still gets drafted #1 overall, and Landry Jones gets more than adequate work in games, big games at that. He should come in and have no issues at the helm. The Sooners also lost some playmakers on the defensive side, but have studs like Jeremy Beal (DL) and Travis Lewis (LB) to fill the gaps. On offense Ryan Broyles and Demarco Murray will be expected to do the glory work for OU, Demarco in his 8th year will hopefully finally live up to the billing. Broyles will beat teams as a WR and as a kick return extraordinaire. The Skinny – Can Big Game Bob Stoops start winning big games? Early non-conference tests against Florida State and Cincinnati will be very telling. And as long as the NCAA keeps turning the blind eye and issuing brutal wrist slaps, the Sooners will contend for a long time.
Texas – The Quick – “if only Colt hadn’t…..” Not yet Longhorn fans, not yet. As has become the norm in Austin, the Horns are as stacked across the board as any coach/fan/media outlet (ESPN/ABC) could possibly hope for. Two biggest questions, replacing the games winning and whiniest QB and establishing even a semblance of a running game. Garret Gilbert (QB) was forced into action during the biggest game of the year, the BCS National Championship, after Colt McCoy sat on his throwing hand too long in pre-game looking for one last casual encounter with “the stranger” prior to his last college football game. And Gilbert looked much better than expected, sans the 18 interceptions; he actually had the Longhorns in a position to win. The Defense will do more reloading and to the hopeful delight of their fans finally shake the “soft” title, with coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp pacing the sidelines; it’s shocking that they haven’t lost this moniker yet. Maybe when he’s head coach? Too bad that will be at LSU and soon, but we digress. The Skinny – A running game is a most; Mack Brown could talk the Pope into Judaism, but hasn’t been able to recruit a game changing RB in a few too many years. It will most likely be running back by committee again this year, with Fozy Whitaker and Tre Newton doing the bulk of the work.
Texas A&M – The Quick – Any defense will be an improvement and a first in years. The Aggie offense can score and did a lot, finishing the year 5th in the country in total offense. Signal caller Jerrod Johnson is surrounded by top flight playmakers; unfortunately he has to rely on a spotty offensive line for time and protection. Look for the O-line to be improved with some stud freshmen that will be expected to play and to impact. Jeff Fuller (WR) is one of the top 5 in the country, a full season will prove this to all. Christine Michael (RB) is on another level and the list goes on. The Defense should be vastly improved with a new 3-4 scheme, hoping to harness some of the old Wrecking Crew glory days. New D-coordinator Tim DeRuyter has come in with a new plan and with an emphasis on speed, confusion and take-aways. The Skinny – All the above my happen, but if the special teams, which has been abysmal since Clinton’s second term doesn’t vastly improve, the Aggies can expect to be on the wrong end of more games this year.
Texas Tech – The Quick – Leach out Tubbs in. This is like taking a job transfer from Nome to Nassau. Or more realistically like transitioning from an offensive and intellectual genius, to a defensive minded back porch rocking, straw chewing, fiddle picking share cropper type. It could go either way, the new coach rut is to be expected but Tubbs ain’t no spring chicken, he made a career out of whipping Alabama and has some tools to work with in Lubbock. Expect the offense to be more balanced with a running game for purpose and strategy versus for cross your fingers and try to catch them off-guard. Where Tommy will have the most impact is on the defensive side of the ball. You know, that bastard-child half of the team that Leach never acknowledged. As mentioned above, Taylor Potts will get the nod over Steven “Sticks” Sheffield at QB, but if any of Leach’s existence remains, outside of multiple unpaid bar tabs in Lubbock, the leash will be short with two proven quarterbacks ready and able. The Skinny – besides the back-up quarterback. If the offense can keep the new coach regression to a minimum and Tuberville is able to do what he does best and build a respectable defense; the high plains of Texas might forget about the Pirate sooner rather than later. Until he comes back and beats them down in civil court and rightfully claims his booty.
Oklahoma State – The Quick – Only 8 meaningful returning starters on both sides of the ball combined, kickers and punters aren’t meaningful. With huge losses like Dez Bryant, although he didn’t exactly pull his weight last year, in fact he probably left Stillwater in Oct. of ’09 and hasn’t been back since. And Zak Robinson (QB) along with 4 offensive linemen, Coach Gundy has his work cut out. Luckily talented RB Kendall Hunter returns and hopes to put last years injury shortened season behind him as 26 year old Brandon Weeden (QB) will try and make the transition from minor league baseball player to old and creepy looking college quarterback. A tough non-conference schedule dueling with the likes of Tulsa, Troy, Washington State and Louisiana Lafayette should have the cowboys finely tuned for the Big 12 gauntlet. The Skinny – T Boone Pickens is running out of time, he hasn’t seen very good returns on his investments of late, see non-existent wind farm in Pampa TX, so a good team in his mini-jewel of a stadium would really do wonders for the would be wind wrangler.
Baylor – The Quick – Outside of Robert Griffin III, they aren’t. Baylor is just thankful the Big 12 still exists and that they didn’t have to exhume Ann Richards body and do some serious Weekend at Bernie’s to get to stay with the big boys. The Bears will put the weight of their Baptist congregation on the shoulders of highly talented QB Robert Griffin III, someone might need to send some weight watchers to Waco because last year his ACL couldn’t support such weight. RG III is that good; where he can win games on his own, but some big loses on defense (Baylor standards here) might be more than the cubbies can bear. ßSee what we did there! The Skinny – not the Baylor Line. Art Briles is a good coach, who is probably looking at the University of Houston and wondering “what was I thinking?” for leaving there to come to Baylor. Oh well the Big 12 will implode soon enough and Bear fans can get excited about renewing their old SWC rivalry with Rice and creating fun new rivalries with UTEP and UTSA and UTA.
Monday, August 9, 2010
BIG 12 Preview – The North, quit laughing!
Can you feel that? That blast of cell mutating heat that envelops your whole being the second you emerge from your conditioned space to meet that ravenous wench Mother Nature every day. Well that can only mean one thing, time to get 105 over-sized 18-22 year olds suited up in 20 extra pounds of heat inducing, non-breathing, plastic suits of armor and run ‘em until they puke. Yep it’s two-a-days time; a right of passage for many, a ride to the hospital for some and the end of the line for an unfortunate few. While the air conditioners suckle from the electric grid teat for just enough juice to keep the temp from only raising 2 degrees an hour, the unhealthiest demographic in America (college aged students) will be gathering, running, jumping, tackling and hallucinating on broiler-esque turf radiators the country over. All for our pleasure! And since everyone’s alma mater is undefeated right now, soak it up, enjoy this moment for soon enough the Buffalos, Cyclones, Bears and Red Raiders of the world will be called to task for that chalice of delusion they have been sipping on and the contenders will separate themselves from the pretenders. It was with much hope and excitement that this was going to be the first of many SEC themed installments, however 12 out of touch self serving ambASSadors derailed that plan, so here in all it’s cowardice is your 2010 Big “unhappy, unequal, untrusting and hopefully unlasting” 12 football preview.
Let us go the way of the Carpetbagger and start in the North for now only to end up in the fertile South another day. Today we give you the Corn Belt division of the Big 12 conference.
The North Division, otherwise none as the bow of the Titanic, the first to succumb.
Nebraska – The Quick – Neb finally is getting what Dr. Tom Osborne has wanted since 1996, the hell away from Texas. The Huskers are Big 10 bound soon enough, but will compete for the conference championship in the mean time. A controversial 1 second away from dehorning Texas last year in a game where any offense at all from Big Red would have complimented a true Bo Pelini type of defensive street brawl. The Skinny – The conference championship game was followed by on offensive explosion (Nebraska standards here) of 33 unanswered points in a bowl shut-out of Arizona. A consistent O with a Pelini lead D and the children of the corn are in Jerry World for a shot at the “don’t let the door hit your over-all covered tractor cushion on the way out” Big 12 Championship.
Missouri – The Quick – Oh how Mizzou wanted to be with Nebraska heading to the Big 10, they even said as much only to be reminded that, well they are still just Mizzou. Missouri will want to show any potential suitors from other conferences that they are much more than a Journalism school when this dilapidated conference does implode. The Skinny – Blaine Gabbert is one of the best QB’s in the conference, but will have to establish some go-to WR’s for the first time in his career. Defense has some big holes to fill but does boast one of the nations best pass rushers in DE Aldon Smith, but can he do it alone? Gary Pinkel is starting year 10 after 9 painfully benign years in Columbia, go crazy on a reporter or something Gary to remind the nation that you exist.
Kansas State – The Quick – Go from the college football abyss to the college football zenith with a hand picked bunch of Rhodes Scholars, Mike Bishop and fellow JUCO Einsteins, try to go straight and build a team instead of piece milling one with drifters, name the stadium after the neighborly looking grandpa responsible for all of this, bring in an ethnically pleasing coach to appeal to the “good athletes” and look like the golden child to the NCAA and the NAACP and quickly submarine right back to the college football abyss. The Skinny – Go re-hire the aforementioned neighborly grandpa and start over. Will history repeat itself?
Colorado – The Quick – If CU had any money, pride or overall interest in football Coach Dan Hawkins would have been canned before boarding the plane leaving Toledo last year after getting spanked 54-38. Or perhaps after losing to lowly Iowa State or even better after going 0 for their last 3 and finishing 3-9. Boulder is in the mountains but unlike at Boise, a tougher conference awaits every Saturday. The Skinny – Quit starting your son at QB, this ain’t intramurals remember! Your wife will love you if you act like a coach and play the best player but might not if you are unemployed, can you see where we are going with this?
Kansas – The Quick – Coach Mangino is gone and shockingly not due to how many assumed he would be leaving the program. The guy that made Jayhawk football respectable and wearing blue and red crushed velvet table cloths fashionable was apparently also very guilty of being a grade A jerk. Who would have ever thought that this meteor of a man would have the ability and audacity to publically humiliate others for their short comings? You talk about a classic example of “if I can just make others feel bad about them selves, I won’t have to think about how miserable I am.” If what he said to players is true, he deserves the shortness of breath he will no doubt suffer the rest of his numbered days. The Skinny – Turner Gill was arguably one of the best hires in the country this off-season and he will get KU playing good football again, unfortunately it might be in the Mountain West when they make the turn, but it will happen.
Iowa State – The Quick – Should have never been in the Big 12 to begin with, the end is near. If they take the “Iowa State” of off the front of their jersey’s people might watch for 30 more seconds thinking they are watching USC, wait you won’t ever be on TV, never mind. The Skinny- Skinny and Iowa State is an oxymoron. Oh and if you can hold off for two years to win the conference championship it will be an even 100 years since your last conference championship, and even that was a co-championship, we know it will be tough but good luck!
Let us go the way of the Carpetbagger and start in the North for now only to end up in the fertile South another day. Today we give you the Corn Belt division of the Big 12 conference.
The North Division, otherwise none as the bow of the Titanic, the first to succumb.
Nebraska – The Quick – Neb finally is getting what Dr. Tom Osborne has wanted since 1996, the hell away from Texas. The Huskers are Big 10 bound soon enough, but will compete for the conference championship in the mean time. A controversial 1 second away from dehorning Texas last year in a game where any offense at all from Big Red would have complimented a true Bo Pelini type of defensive street brawl. The Skinny – The conference championship game was followed by on offensive explosion (Nebraska standards here) of 33 unanswered points in a bowl shut-out of Arizona. A consistent O with a Pelini lead D and the children of the corn are in Jerry World for a shot at the “don’t let the door hit your over-all covered tractor cushion on the way out” Big 12 Championship.
Missouri – The Quick – Oh how Mizzou wanted to be with Nebraska heading to the Big 10, they even said as much only to be reminded that, well they are still just Mizzou. Missouri will want to show any potential suitors from other conferences that they are much more than a Journalism school when this dilapidated conference does implode. The Skinny – Blaine Gabbert is one of the best QB’s in the conference, but will have to establish some go-to WR’s for the first time in his career. Defense has some big holes to fill but does boast one of the nations best pass rushers in DE Aldon Smith, but can he do it alone? Gary Pinkel is starting year 10 after 9 painfully benign years in Columbia, go crazy on a reporter or something Gary to remind the nation that you exist.
Kansas State – The Quick – Go from the college football abyss to the college football zenith with a hand picked bunch of Rhodes Scholars, Mike Bishop and fellow JUCO Einsteins, try to go straight and build a team instead of piece milling one with drifters, name the stadium after the neighborly looking grandpa responsible for all of this, bring in an ethnically pleasing coach to appeal to the “good athletes” and look like the golden child to the NCAA and the NAACP and quickly submarine right back to the college football abyss. The Skinny – Go re-hire the aforementioned neighborly grandpa and start over. Will history repeat itself?
Colorado – The Quick – If CU had any money, pride or overall interest in football Coach Dan Hawkins would have been canned before boarding the plane leaving Toledo last year after getting spanked 54-38. Or perhaps after losing to lowly Iowa State or even better after going 0 for their last 3 and finishing 3-9. Boulder is in the mountains but unlike at Boise, a tougher conference awaits every Saturday. The Skinny – Quit starting your son at QB, this ain’t intramurals remember! Your wife will love you if you act like a coach and play the best player but might not if you are unemployed, can you see where we are going with this?
Kansas – The Quick – Coach Mangino is gone and shockingly not due to how many assumed he would be leaving the program. The guy that made Jayhawk football respectable and wearing blue and red crushed velvet table cloths fashionable was apparently also very guilty of being a grade A jerk. Who would have ever thought that this meteor of a man would have the ability and audacity to publically humiliate others for their short comings? You talk about a classic example of “if I can just make others feel bad about them selves, I won’t have to think about how miserable I am.” If what he said to players is true, he deserves the shortness of breath he will no doubt suffer the rest of his numbered days. The Skinny – Turner Gill was arguably one of the best hires in the country this off-season and he will get KU playing good football again, unfortunately it might be in the Mountain West when they make the turn, but it will happen.
Iowa State – The Quick – Should have never been in the Big 12 to begin with, the end is near. If they take the “Iowa State” of off the front of their jersey’s people might watch for 30 more seconds thinking they are watching USC, wait you won’t ever be on TV, never mind. The Skinny- Skinny and Iowa State is an oxymoron. Oh and if you can hold off for two years to win the conference championship it will be an even 100 years since your last conference championship, and even that was a co-championship, we know it will be tough but good luck!
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