So last week, ESPN released their updated Top 25 after Spring practice and getting a better idea of how teams first, second and third strings are shaping up. The usual suspects are at the top, but a few surprises are to be found, including Virginia Tech at #5 and Ole Miss at #7, ahead of Alabama. Well, I've reviewed team updates following Spring practices and as usual a bit of actual thought into my Top 25 and here it is:
1. Florida
Who else can you place here right now? I personally think OU or USC could be at #1 but questions on the O-line for OU and at QB, let alone at LB, for USC will keep them down in the rankings until a few games in. Problem is, Tebow is highly over-rated as a QB...don't get me wrong, he is a awesome "college player" but I'll be surprised if he amounts to anything in the NFL.
2. Texas
Colt McCoy returns, just as Tebow does. When do these guys graduate? Texas has a lot of returners at the key positions, but they did lose a few guys too to the draft. Their schedule shapes up nicely for an easy run to a Big 12 Championship game and possibly a National Title game berth. We all know Texas Tech won't be the same without Harrell and Crabtree...the only team in the way of the Longhorns is OU.
3. Oklahoma
Bradford made the right decision to come back after such a poor performance in the National Title game. I mean, how many chances does OU need in BCS games? Can't seem to win any...except in the Holiday Bowl!!! "Big Game" Bob is become "Big Flop" Bob! It's great to win your conference year and year as OU has, but if you can't finish with a BCS win, then just don't play damn it!
4. USC
Huge questions at the QB position with Arron Corp seemingly to take the job away from Mitch Mustain, who just hasn't seemed to develop under the USC system. The good thing about Mustain's transfer has to be wideout Damien Williams who is just a stud at the receiver position. The linebacking corps is another place to watch with fall practices before the season starts in August. If USC can get by Ohio State in Week 2 they just have to deal with the Pac-10, which wil have Oregon and Cal vying for the Pac-10 title this year.
5. Ohio State
Come the second week of the season, Ohio State could be talking National Title berth if they beat up on USC. With Pryor as the seasoned signal caller and his ability to make plays with his feet, USC's new inexperienced linebacking corps will have fun trying to contain him. Ohio State has lost Beanie Wells in the backfield, but with a ton of guys to choose from at the RB position, Ohio State will once again compete in the Big 10 and possibly a NC Title too.
6. Alabama
Nothing to say right now really - Alabama was a year or two off from really competing in the SEC last year and they came on strong. Look for the same...still want to see their first string come this fall though.
7. Penn State
It's JoePa...period! Once again, the Nitty Lions are competing for another Big 10 title and their schedule sets up pretty nicely to make a serious run.
8. Virgina Tech
Beamer Ball always seems to be the hot topic come the summer and into the first few weeks of the summer. Question is, can Tech finally make a serious run for a title? More to come as fall ball rolls around.
9. Oregon
You could really swap Cal with the Ducks here and you wouldn't be far off. For the first time in a few years, the Pac-10 actually has some title contenders to USC. The Ducks have a lot of starters back from last year and it will be interest to see if they can actually parlay those starters into a Pac-10 title.
10. Cal
As noted above, both Oregon and Cal could be 9 and 10 respectively. Cal is the only other team in the Pac-10 with enough talent and returning starters to actually make the Pac-10 competative this year. As usual, they pre-season hype of Cal and Oregon is generally over-rated, but this year could actually be different. Also, USC has a tough road schedule so its really up to Cal or Oregon to but the stop to USC dominance in the conference.
Rounding out my Top 25 for now is:
11. LSU
12. Georgia
13. TCU
14. Boise State
15. Georiga Tech
16. Tennessee
17. Maryland
18. Ole Miss
19. Utah
20. Iowa
21. Kansas
22. BYU
23. Oklahoma State
24. Nebraska
25. Florida State
Tennessee and Maryland are on my list because I actually think both teams have a shot at being competative this year and have schedules that could make it possible to have 9+ wins. We'll have to wait and see if I'm right though.
Not making my list, as they did in ESPN:
Notre Dame
I'm so tired of ND always being ranked in the pre-season polls. You know, when they actually beat someone of note and do it in top fashion and not losing to loser teams in the college football ranks, then I just might stand up and listen. Just show me some wins and I might jump on the ND bandwagon of ranking them.
North Carolina
The Tarheels have no business being ranked in a college football poll, just the basketball polls, okay! First off, they play in the ACC, where Florida State, Maryland, Virgina Tech, Miami, Boston College and UConn and you're going to rank them ahead of Florida State? I think not! These random BS teams that seem to creep into the rankings from time to time generally fall when the pressure gets to them (i.e. East Carolina, Vandy, Hawaii - just to name a few).
Coming over the weekend is a look at ESPN's Top 25 scheduling and just how lame some teams schedules are - no wonder the SEC looks so good in the W coloumn -- then again, when the five ranked teams in ESPN's Top 25 from the SEC play D-IAA teams, the exception is LSU, who actually plays D-IA teams in its non-conference schedule - wow, just amazing!!!!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Spring Ball Is Here
So its been a long, long time since I've posted anything here! With school, work and the holidays...I can't believe its been 5 months!
I'll be posting over the next several weeks, links to various stories covering Spring Ball and also add a few posts discussing my thoughts of the 2009 college football season.
Signing Day - check
Spring Ball - check
Summer drills - not too far off now
Fall Camp - Come on August!
2009 College Football Season - late August 2009
So check back throughout the weeks ahead for some updates and entertaining thoughts on the landscape of college football.
I'll be posting over the next several weeks, links to various stories covering Spring Ball and also add a few posts discussing my thoughts of the 2009 college football season.
Signing Day - check
Spring Ball - check
Summer drills - not too far off now
Fall Camp - Come on August!
2009 College Football Season - late August 2009
So check back throughout the weeks ahead for some updates and entertaining thoughts on the landscape of college football.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Ivy League - Week 6
The big game for this week is Brown at Penn. Both teams are the only un-beatens in the Ivy League and the winner will be in sole lead of the Ivy Title.
Saturday, November 1
Brown (4-2, 3-0) at Penn (4-2, 3-0) - 12 pm ET on Versus
Brown over Penn - 24-17
Columbia (1-5, 1-2) at Yale (3-3, 1-2) - 12:30 pm ET on YES
Yale over Columbia - 21-6
Harvard (5-1, 2-1) at Dartmouth (0-6, 0-3) - 12:30 pm ET on NESN
Harvard over Dartmouth - 28-10
Princeton (2-4, 1-2) at Cornell (3-3, 1-2)
Cornell over Princeton - 24-13
Saturday, November 1
Brown (4-2, 3-0) at Penn (4-2, 3-0) - 12 pm ET on Versus
Brown over Penn - 24-17
Columbia (1-5, 1-2) at Yale (3-3, 1-2) - 12:30 pm ET on YES
Yale over Columbia - 21-6
Harvard (5-1, 2-1) at Dartmouth (0-6, 0-3) - 12:30 pm ET on NESN
Harvard over Dartmouth - 28-10
Princeton (2-4, 1-2) at Cornell (3-3, 1-2)
Cornell over Princeton - 24-13
Overtime - Week 10
First, Happy Halloween everyone! Hope everyone enjoys a great evening of ghosts, goblins and ghouls.Since I'm outta town this week on business, I'm going to make this a quick post.
Saturday, November 1
No. 1 Texas at No. 7 Texas Tech - 8 pm ET on ABC
UPSET - Texas Tech over Texas
No. 2 Alabama vs. Arkansas St. - 3 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
Alabama over Arkansas St.
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Nebraska - 8 pm on ESPN/ESPN360.com
OU over Nebraska
No. 5 USC vs. Washington - 6:30 pm ET on FSN
USC big over Washington
No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 8 Florida - 3:30 pm ET on CBS
Georgia close over Florida
No. 9 Oklahoma St. vs. Iowa St. - 3:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN360.com
OSU over Iowa St.
No. 10 Utah at New Mexico - 9:30 pm ET on The Mtn.
Utah over New Mexico
No. 11 Boise St. at New Mexico St. - 7 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
Boise St. over New Mexico St.
No. 13 TCU at UNLV
TCU over UNLV
No. 14 Missouri at Baylor
Missouri over Baylor
No. 15 Florida St. at Georgia Tech - 3:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN360.com
Florida St. over GT
No. 17 Minnesota vs. Northwestern - 12 pm ET on ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Minnesota over Northwestern
No. 18 Tulsa at Arkansas - 2 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
Tulsa over Arkansas
No. 19 LSU vs. Tulane - 8 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
LSU over Tulane
No. 20 BYU at Colorado St. - 6 pm ET on The Mtn.
BYU over Colorado St.
No. 21 Michigan St. vs. Wisconsin - 12 pm ET on ESPN/ESPN360.com
Michigan St. over Wisconsin
No. 24 Oregon at California - 3:30 pm ET ABC/ESPN360.com
Oregon over California
No. 25 Connecticut vs. West Virginia - 12 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
Connecticut over West Virginia
Friday, October 24, 2008
Ivy League Weekly - Week 6
All Ivy League play this weekend as teams finally get together to shake out who will win the Ivy League Title come November. Harvard earned a No. 25 ranking in The Sports Network poll this week with Penn receiving votes as well. Brown and Penn are both 2-0 in Ivy plan with Harvard, Yale, Cornell and Princeton at 1-1...what does this mean? There is still a lot of football to be played and we get started with four weeks of wonderful Ivy League play!
Saturday, October 25
Cornell (3-2, 1-1) at Brown (3-2, 2-0)
Cornell over Brown - 28-27
Dartmouth (0-5, 0-2) at Columbia (0-5, 0-2)
Dartmouth over Columbia - 17-7
Harvard (4-1, 1-1) at Princeton (2-3, 1-1)
Harvard over Princeton - 24-17
Penn (3-2, 2-0) at Yale (3-2, 1-1)
Yale over Penn - 28-24
Saturday, October 25
Cornell (3-2, 1-1) at Brown (3-2, 2-0)
Cornell over Brown - 28-27
Dartmouth (0-5, 0-2) at Columbia (0-5, 0-2)
Dartmouth over Columbia - 17-7
Harvard (4-1, 1-1) at Princeton (2-3, 1-1)
Harvard over Princeton - 24-17
Penn (3-2, 2-0) at Yale (3-2, 1-1)
Yale over Penn - 28-24
Overtime - Week 9
Okay, its Friday and I'm outta here pretty soon, so I'm just going to list the games and my quick picks for the weekend. A couple of big games this week, with Penn St. heading to the Horseshoe to take on the Buckeyes and Oklahoma St. visiting Austin for a matchup with the Longhorns.
Friday, October 24
No. 12 Boise St. at San Jose St. - 9 pm ET on ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Boise St. over San Jose St. - 33-17
Saturday, October 25
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 6 Oklahoma St. - 3:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN360.com
UPSET - Oklahoma St. over Texas - 30-24
No. 2 Alabama at Tennessee - 7:45 pm ET on ESPN/ESPN360.com
Alabama over Tennessee - 28-10
No. 3 Penn St. at No. 9 Ohio St. - 8 pm ET on ABC
Penn St. over Ohio St. - 24-21
No. 4 Oklahoma at Kansas St. - 12:30 pm ET on FSN
OU over Kansas - 49-13
No. 5 USC at Arizona - 10:15 pm ET on FSN
USC over Arizona - 28-24
No. 7 Georgia at No. 13 LSU - 3:30 pm ET on CBS
UPSET - LSU over Georgia - 24-17
No. 8 Texas Tech at No. 23 Kansas - 12 pm ET on ESPN/ESPN360.com
Texas Tech over Kansas - 35-21
No. 10 Florida vs. Kentucky - 12:30 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
Florida over Kentucky - 21-17
No. 14 TCU vs. Wyoming - 6 pm ET on The Mtn.
TCU big over Wyoming - 48-7
No. 15 Missouri vs. Colorado
Missouri over Colorado - 30-13
No. 16 South Florida at Louisville - 3:30 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
South Florida over Louisville - 42-19
No. 17 Pittsburgh vs. Rutgers - 3:30 pm ET on ESPN360.com
Pittsburgh over Rutgers - 27-10
No. 18 Georgia Tech vs. Virginia - 3:30 pm ET on ESPNU
Georgia Tech over Virginia - 28-10
No. 20 Ball St. vs. Eastern Michigan
Ball St. over E. Michigan - 50-3
No. 21 BYU vs. UNLV - 2 pm ET on The Mtn.
BYU over UNLV - 44-6
No. 22 Northwestern at Indiana - 12 pm ET on Big Ten Network
Northwestern over Indiana - 17-10
No. 24 Minnesota at Purdue - 12 pm on ESPNClassic/ESPN360.com
Minnesota over Purdue - 17-7
No. 25 Florida St. vs. Virginia Tech - 3:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN360.com
Florida St. over Virginia Tech - 23-13
Sunday, October 26
No. 19 Tulsa vs. UCF - 8 pm on ESPN/ESPN360.com
Tulsa over UCF - 51-7
Friday, October 24
No. 12 Boise St. at San Jose St. - 9 pm ET on ESPN2/ESPN360.com
Boise St. over San Jose St. - 33-17
Saturday, October 25
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 6 Oklahoma St. - 3:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN360.com
UPSET - Oklahoma St. over Texas - 30-24
No. 2 Alabama at Tennessee - 7:45 pm ET on ESPN/ESPN360.com
Alabama over Tennessee - 28-10
No. 3 Penn St. at No. 9 Ohio St. - 8 pm ET on ABC
Penn St. over Ohio St. - 24-21
No. 4 Oklahoma at Kansas St. - 12:30 pm ET on FSN
OU over Kansas - 49-13
No. 5 USC at Arizona - 10:15 pm ET on FSN
USC over Arizona - 28-24
No. 7 Georgia at No. 13 LSU - 3:30 pm ET on CBS
UPSET - LSU over Georgia - 24-17
No. 8 Texas Tech at No. 23 Kansas - 12 pm ET on ESPN/ESPN360.com
Texas Tech over Kansas - 35-21
No. 10 Florida vs. Kentucky - 12:30 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
Florida over Kentucky - 21-17
No. 14 TCU vs. Wyoming - 6 pm ET on The Mtn.
TCU big over Wyoming - 48-7
No. 15 Missouri vs. Colorado
Missouri over Colorado - 30-13
No. 16 South Florida at Louisville - 3:30 pm ET on GamePlan/ESPN360.com
South Florida over Louisville - 42-19
No. 17 Pittsburgh vs. Rutgers - 3:30 pm ET on ESPN360.com
Pittsburgh over Rutgers - 27-10
No. 18 Georgia Tech vs. Virginia - 3:30 pm ET on ESPNU
Georgia Tech over Virginia - 28-10
No. 20 Ball St. vs. Eastern Michigan
Ball St. over E. Michigan - 50-3
No. 21 BYU vs. UNLV - 2 pm ET on The Mtn.
BYU over UNLV - 44-6
No. 22 Northwestern at Indiana - 12 pm ET on Big Ten Network
Northwestern over Indiana - 17-10
No. 24 Minnesota at Purdue - 12 pm on ESPNClassic/ESPN360.com
Minnesota over Purdue - 17-7
No. 25 Florida St. vs. Virginia Tech - 3:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN360.com
Florida St. over Virginia Tech - 23-13
Sunday, October 26
No. 19 Tulsa vs. UCF - 8 pm on ESPN/ESPN360.com
Tulsa over UCF - 51-7
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Ivy League Review - Week 4
With the fourth weekend of Ivy football in the books, I was 5-of-6 (83.3%), Overall, I'm now 22-of-26, or 78.6%, which is up 1.3% from the last weekend's picks. My picks for the games are in parenthesis.
Correct Picks
Harvard over Cornell - 38-17 (24-21)
Yale over Dartmouth - 34-7 (36-10)
Lafayette over Columbia - 13-3 (31-13)
Colgate over Princeton - 27-24 (28-21)
Penn over Georgetown - 27-7 (27-6)
Incorrect Pick
Holy Cross over Brown - 41-34 (30-26)
Correct Picks
Harvard over Cornell - 38-17 (24-21)
Yale over Dartmouth - 34-7 (36-10)
Lafayette over Columbia - 13-3 (31-13)
Colgate over Princeton - 27-24 (28-21)
Penn over Georgetown - 27-7 (27-6)
Incorrect Pick
Holy Cross over Brown - 41-34 (30-26)
Overtime - Week 6 Review
A few upsets, a great Red River Shootout and my call of Oklahoma St. beating Missouri. I was surprised to see Vandy lose to Miss. State and Arkansas beating Auburn.
I was 14-of-18 this weekend (77.8%). Overall, I'm 107-of-133, or 80.5%, which is down .4% from last week's overall record. My scores for the game in parenthesis.
Correct Picks
Wake Forest over Clemson - 12-7 (21-17)
Oklahoma St. over Missouri - 28-23 (48-44)
Penn St. over Wisconsin - 48-7 (31-16)
Texas Tech over Nebraska - 37-31 (35-21)
USC over Arizona St. - 28-0 (41-14)
BYU over New Mexico - 21-3 (44-10)
Georgia over Tennessee - 26-14 (31-10)
Ohio St. over Purdue - 16-3 (28-12)
Utah over Wyoming - 40-7 (38-7)
Boise St. over Southern Miss. - 24-7 (44-13)
Kansas over Colorado - 30-14 (24-17)
North Carolina over Notre Dame - 29-24 (28-21)
Michigan St. over Northwestern - 37-20 (33-17)
Ball St. over Western Kentucky - 24-7 (31-10)
Incorrect Picks
Texas over OU - 45-35 (OU over Texas - 44-24)
Florida over LSU - 51-21 (LSU over FL - 24-17)
Miss. St. over Vandy - 17-14 (Vandy over Miss. St. - 27-7)
Arkansas over Auburn - 25-22 (Auburn over Arkansas - 23-14)
I was 14-of-18 this weekend (77.8%). Overall, I'm 107-of-133, or 80.5%, which is down .4% from last week's overall record. My scores for the game in parenthesis.
Correct Picks
Wake Forest over Clemson - 12-7 (21-17)
Oklahoma St. over Missouri - 28-23 (48-44)
Penn St. over Wisconsin - 48-7 (31-16)
Texas Tech over Nebraska - 37-31 (35-21)
USC over Arizona St. - 28-0 (41-14)
BYU over New Mexico - 21-3 (44-10)
Georgia over Tennessee - 26-14 (31-10)
Ohio St. over Purdue - 16-3 (28-12)
Utah over Wyoming - 40-7 (38-7)
Boise St. over Southern Miss. - 24-7 (44-13)
Kansas over Colorado - 30-14 (24-17)
North Carolina over Notre Dame - 29-24 (28-21)
Michigan St. over Northwestern - 37-20 (33-17)
Ball St. over Western Kentucky - 24-7 (31-10)
Incorrect Picks
Texas over OU - 45-35 (OU over Texas - 44-24)
Florida over LSU - 51-21 (LSU over FL - 24-17)
Miss. St. over Vandy - 17-14 (Vandy over Miss. St. - 27-7)
Arkansas over Auburn - 25-22 (Auburn over Arkansas - 23-14)
My Top 10 - Week 6
This week's rankings have Texas #1 and OU only dropping down to #2 after their loss to Texas. Oklahoma St. makes its way into the rankings and Missouri drops out.
Texas was #2 last week and moves up to #1 after dropping OU last weekend in the Red River Shootout, and boy was it a shootout! Texas shouldn't be #1 after this weekend against Missouri, but each week is fluid as Top-5 teams are dropping like flies.
OU only fell one spot to #2 based on their performance against Texas and I still believe that on a neutral field, they could still beat everyone else in the rankings.
Alabama remains at #3 with me because they didn't "WOW" me with a 3 point win over Kentucky. The Clemson win is over-rated because Clemson should have never been ranked in the first place, as I mentioned at the beginning of the year. Alabama has Ole Miss this weekend and LSU in a few weeks...if they keep winning I'll move them up.
USC jumps up to #4 after a sloppy win against Arizona St. This team, when working on all cyclinders is unbeatable, problem is, they never seem to show up for those little games...just the big ones. In order to be the best, you have to win against Oregon St., Stanford, and UCLA, and win big. USC will probably be regulated to the Rose Bowl if they win out and once agian, it will be considered a disappointment by many.
Penn St. is #5 and could be #4, but I want to see them against Michigan and Ohio St. before proclaiming a spot for the Nitty Lions in the NC Title game.
Florida is #6 after destroying LSU last weekend. They are still in the BCS picture, but where?
Texas Tech jumps up to #7, but with games against Texas and OU coming up, can they find ways to win?
LSU falls to #8, even though they lost bad to Florida, they are still better then most teams in the top 25 of both polls and if they beat Georgia next weekend they could still be in the BCS discussion if Florida was to lose another game.
Georgia is at #9 and their next three games are against ranked opponents. If they can beat Vandy, LSU and Florida, the loss to Alabama might be forgotten...just a bit.
Oklahoma State shows up after staying with the over-hyped Chase Daniels. Finally a team exposes Daniels for what he is and the Tigers as a poor defensive team as well. The problem with OSU is their defense too...they give up way too many points to high-power teams and are able to pull the win out on a lucky turnover or scoring last.
| This Week | Last Week | Name of School |
| 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | 3 | |
| 4 | 6 | USC |
| 5 | 7 | Penn St. |
| 6 | 10 | |
| 7 | 8 | |
| 8 | 4 | LSU |
| 9 | 9 | |
| 10 | NR | |
Texas was #2 last week and moves up to #1 after dropping OU last weekend in the Red River Shootout, and boy was it a shootout! Texas shouldn't be #1 after this weekend against Missouri, but each week is fluid as Top-5 teams are dropping like flies.
OU only fell one spot to #2 based on their performance against Texas and I still believe that on a neutral field, they could still beat everyone else in the rankings.
Alabama remains at #3 with me because they didn't "WOW" me with a 3 point win over Kentucky. The Clemson win is over-rated because Clemson should have never been ranked in the first place, as I mentioned at the beginning of the year. Alabama has Ole Miss this weekend and LSU in a few weeks...if they keep winning I'll move them up.
USC jumps up to #4 after a sloppy win against Arizona St. This team, when working on all cyclinders is unbeatable, problem is, they never seem to show up for those little games...just the big ones. In order to be the best, you have to win against Oregon St., Stanford, and UCLA, and win big. USC will probably be regulated to the Rose Bowl if they win out and once agian, it will be considered a disappointment by many.
Penn St. is #5 and could be #4, but I want to see them against Michigan and Ohio St. before proclaiming a spot for the Nitty Lions in the NC Title game.
Florida is #6 after destroying LSU last weekend. They are still in the BCS picture, but where?
Texas Tech jumps up to #7, but with games against Texas and OU coming up, can they find ways to win?
LSU falls to #8, even though they lost bad to Florida, they are still better then most teams in the top 25 of both polls and if they beat Georgia next weekend they could still be in the BCS discussion if Florida was to lose another game.
Georgia is at #9 and their next three games are against ranked opponents. If they can beat Vandy, LSU and Florida, the loss to Alabama might be forgotten...just a bit.
Oklahoma State shows up after staying with the over-hyped Chase Daniels. Finally a team exposes Daniels for what he is and the Tigers as a poor defensive team as well. The problem with OSU is their defense too...they give up way too many points to high-power teams and are able to pull the win out on a lucky turnover or scoring last.
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