Its time for that college football preview. But first, some business as usual.
Name of the Game by The Crystal Method:
This should get you hyped.
I’ve been debating how to do this preview for the masses. Do I produce a top-25 list? Do I just list who I think will win their conferences or whose going to bowl games? You can get that type of stuff from a lot of places so I’ll give you the general predictions with other things thrown in there:
-Who wins the championship?
Florida beats Texas in the BCS Championship. I know that’s going with the majority of predictions but those are the facts. Both teams will lose one game this season though.
-Who will get the shaft from a BCS prospective?
Either Boise State or BYU goes undefeated but won’t make the championship game. Want some more drama? Penn State goes undefeated but doesn’t make the title game. Want some more? Texas beats Oklahoma, Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State, Oklahoma State beats Texas but the Longhorns wins some funky tiebreaker.
-Who wins the Heisman?
Tim Tebow will win his second Heisman. You would think that there would be backlash or even the new term, “Tebow fatigue,” but he’s going to be the leader of the best team in the country and that will be enough for lazy voters. Last year, people were hesitant to make Tebow the repeat winner but that’s not an issue now. Furthermore, the entire Southeast will vote for Tebow, and Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy will split votes everywhere else.
-What’s Tebow’s legacy?
I’ve written about him in the past here: http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-dont-want-to-enjoy-tim-tebow.html. Therefore, I won’t give you a complete breakdown of it.
But I will say this. He’s an average quarterback who has benefitied from a top-five defense two out of his three years and more than enough playmakers to compensate for his lack of skills. Shoot, over the past two years, I would take McCoy, Bradford, Mark Sanchez, Nate Davis, Pat White and a few others over Tebow. If you want to go from my generation, which we will say is from 1990-now, give me Charlie Ward AND Tommie Frazier, the most underrated quarterback maybe ever and the best player to NEVER win a Heisman over Tebow.
Does this mean that Tebow isn’t a good player? He’s solid but let’s ease up on the hyperbole.
Who wins the BCS conference championships?
Big East: West Virginia (no confidence in that pick)
ACC: Georgia Tech over Florida State
SEC: Florida over Alabama again
Big Ten: Ohio State
Big 12: Texas over Nebraska
Pac-10: Southern California
At-Large: Oklahoma and BYU
-Who are going to be the positive surprise teams in each BCS?
Big East: I wish I could say Syracuse because I still root for that team but it’s a long way from even gaining a winning record. I think that West Virginia will find a way to replace Pat White, maybe their best player ever, and win the conference. They have a lot of experience coming back.
ACC: I think you’re going to see improved play overall among the top four or five teams. This conference has been weak over the past few years but you will see improved play from teams like Florida State. The surprise team that no one is talking about is Wake Forest. They may not win the conference title but it wouldn’t shock me to see them get another 8-win season.
Big Ten: I’ll take a flyer on Iowa.
Pac-10: Not only does Stanford have a winning season, they will finish third in the conference behind USC and Cal. You read it here first.
SEC: Since this is my residential conference, I have a big interest in it. Some are saying Tennessee because of their new coaching staff. Some are picking Arkansas because of Ryan Mallett. However, let’s take a chance and say Auburn will have a seven-win season behind an improved offence of offensive coordinator Gus Malazahn. The defense has always been there for the Tigers.
-Who will be the negative disappointment?
Big East: Rutgers. Their schedule is a joke but I say that they still find a way to lose to West Virginia and South Florida, which would be a major disappointment for them.
ACC: Virginia Tech loses four games this year, at least. Also, North Carolina will take a step back.
Big 10: The entire conference can be a disappointment but I’m going to say from a national picture that the crown goes to Penn State.
Pac-10: Oregon State can score some but can they stop anyone. I see a 7-5 type season for these guys when double-digit wins are being discussed.
SEC: I really, really want to say Tennessee because Lane Kiffin has no clue what he’s stepping into. Tennessee at their peak will now be an 8-win team. This year, they win five. I’m going to go with Ole Miss. Hopes are way too high for a team that will lose at least three SEC games this year, Alabama, LSU and Vandy (not really but I can dream, right?).
Big 12: Oklahoma State. I see a win over Georgia but a major letdown against weaker foes, meaning they will win over Oklahoma but lose to Baylor, something like that.
-Who gets fired first, Charlie Weis or Rich Rodriguez?
Have you seen two storied programs go from the top to bottom so quickly. Three years ago, Michigan was in the top-five contending for a national title until they lost to Ohio State and got laid the smackdown by Vince Young and Michigan. Since then, they’ve underachieved. Last year was Michigan’s worst season EVER.
Notre Dame has always been overrated but they would at least win nine or ten games with their crappy schedule. Last year was one of their worst seasons ever and don’t tell me that beating a below-average Hawaii team in a third-tier bowl means that the Irish is “back.”
Michigan is in major trouble because when you have CURRENT players going to the media about rules violations, that’s not good. Notre Dame is in major trouble because the big money people could care less about top-five recruiting classes when you lose by 30 points to USC and drop home games to Navy and Syracuse in the past two seasons.
On the surface, you would say that its Weis because he’s been under more pressure, criticized more, has more embarrassing losses, is not the nicest guy to people at Notre Dame, hence the sympathy factor is less and finally, they have Urban Meyer, Brian Kelley, John Gruden and a cast of other characters to fill the position.
However, I’m going to say it’s Rodriguez, which is nearly impossible since its only his second year. I don’t have a problem with him but for some reason, the Michigan people haven’t accepted him. Furthermore, despite Weis’ troubles, there has been minimal dissection within the team. Michigan has a 3-8 potential this year and that will definitely be curtains for Rodriguez.
OK, those are my predictions. What are your thoughts?
Name of the Game by The Crystal Method:
This should get you hyped.
I’ve been debating how to do this preview for the masses. Do I produce a top-25 list? Do I just list who I think will win their conferences or whose going to bowl games? You can get that type of stuff from a lot of places so I’ll give you the general predictions with other things thrown in there:
-Who wins the championship?
Florida beats Texas in the BCS Championship. I know that’s going with the majority of predictions but those are the facts. Both teams will lose one game this season though.
-Who will get the shaft from a BCS prospective?
Either Boise State or BYU goes undefeated but won’t make the championship game. Want some more drama? Penn State goes undefeated but doesn’t make the title game. Want some more? Texas beats Oklahoma, Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State, Oklahoma State beats Texas but the Longhorns wins some funky tiebreaker.
-Who wins the Heisman?
Tim Tebow will win his second Heisman. You would think that there would be backlash or even the new term, “Tebow fatigue,” but he’s going to be the leader of the best team in the country and that will be enough for lazy voters. Last year, people were hesitant to make Tebow the repeat winner but that’s not an issue now. Furthermore, the entire Southeast will vote for Tebow, and Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy will split votes everywhere else.
-What’s Tebow’s legacy?
I’ve written about him in the past here: http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-dont-want-to-enjoy-tim-tebow.html. Therefore, I won’t give you a complete breakdown of it.
But I will say this. He’s an average quarterback who has benefitied from a top-five defense two out of his three years and more than enough playmakers to compensate for his lack of skills. Shoot, over the past two years, I would take McCoy, Bradford, Mark Sanchez, Nate Davis, Pat White and a few others over Tebow. If you want to go from my generation, which we will say is from 1990-now, give me Charlie Ward AND Tommie Frazier, the most underrated quarterback maybe ever and the best player to NEVER win a Heisman over Tebow.
Does this mean that Tebow isn’t a good player? He’s solid but let’s ease up on the hyperbole.
Who wins the BCS conference championships?
Big East: West Virginia (no confidence in that pick)
ACC: Georgia Tech over Florida State
SEC: Florida over Alabama again
Big Ten: Ohio State
Big 12: Texas over Nebraska
Pac-10: Southern California
At-Large: Oklahoma and BYU
-Who are going to be the positive surprise teams in each BCS?
Big East: I wish I could say Syracuse because I still root for that team but it’s a long way from even gaining a winning record. I think that West Virginia will find a way to replace Pat White, maybe their best player ever, and win the conference. They have a lot of experience coming back.
ACC: I think you’re going to see improved play overall among the top four or five teams. This conference has been weak over the past few years but you will see improved play from teams like Florida State. The surprise team that no one is talking about is Wake Forest. They may not win the conference title but it wouldn’t shock me to see them get another 8-win season.
Big Ten: I’ll take a flyer on Iowa.
Pac-10: Not only does Stanford have a winning season, they will finish third in the conference behind USC and Cal. You read it here first.
SEC: Since this is my residential conference, I have a big interest in it. Some are saying Tennessee because of their new coaching staff. Some are picking Arkansas because of Ryan Mallett. However, let’s take a chance and say Auburn will have a seven-win season behind an improved offence of offensive coordinator Gus Malazahn. The defense has always been there for the Tigers.
-Who will be the negative disappointment?
Big East: Rutgers. Their schedule is a joke but I say that they still find a way to lose to West Virginia and South Florida, which would be a major disappointment for them.
ACC: Virginia Tech loses four games this year, at least. Also, North Carolina will take a step back.
Big 10: The entire conference can be a disappointment but I’m going to say from a national picture that the crown goes to Penn State.
Pac-10: Oregon State can score some but can they stop anyone. I see a 7-5 type season for these guys when double-digit wins are being discussed.
SEC: I really, really want to say Tennessee because Lane Kiffin has no clue what he’s stepping into. Tennessee at their peak will now be an 8-win team. This year, they win five. I’m going to go with Ole Miss. Hopes are way too high for a team that will lose at least three SEC games this year, Alabama, LSU and Vandy (not really but I can dream, right?).
Big 12: Oklahoma State. I see a win over Georgia but a major letdown against weaker foes, meaning they will win over Oklahoma but lose to Baylor, something like that.
-Who gets fired first, Charlie Weis or Rich Rodriguez?
Have you seen two storied programs go from the top to bottom so quickly. Three years ago, Michigan was in the top-five contending for a national title until they lost to Ohio State and got laid the smackdown by Vince Young and Michigan. Since then, they’ve underachieved. Last year was Michigan’s worst season EVER.
Notre Dame has always been overrated but they would at least win nine or ten games with their crappy schedule. Last year was one of their worst seasons ever and don’t tell me that beating a below-average Hawaii team in a third-tier bowl means that the Irish is “back.”
Michigan is in major trouble because when you have CURRENT players going to the media about rules violations, that’s not good. Notre Dame is in major trouble because the big money people could care less about top-five recruiting classes when you lose by 30 points to USC and drop home games to Navy and Syracuse in the past two seasons.
On the surface, you would say that its Weis because he’s been under more pressure, criticized more, has more embarrassing losses, is not the nicest guy to people at Notre Dame, hence the sympathy factor is less and finally, they have Urban Meyer, Brian Kelley, John Gruden and a cast of other characters to fill the position.
However, I’m going to say it’s Rodriguez, which is nearly impossible since its only his second year. I don’t have a problem with him but for some reason, the Michigan people haven’t accepted him. Furthermore, despite Weis’ troubles, there has been minimal dissection within the team. Michigan has a 3-8 potential this year and that will definitely be curtains for Rodriguez.
OK, those are my predictions. What are your thoughts?
2 comments:
How does Penn State go undefeated but not win the Big Ten? And how are they a disappointment then? I'm confused. Playing tOSU at home is a huge benefit for them as well.
That was confusing...
But the thing I saw that I disagree with on so many levels is your comment on Tim Tebow.
I'm not going to go into a rant about it...Just simply say I disagree. I think he is one of the best COLLEGE football players ever to play the game.
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