Commentary: Week 4 didn't produce any massive upsets near the top. We are left with 22 undefeated teams going into week 5 and October. We are guaranteed that 5 of these will leave the week with one loss.
Cheering for:
-The first part of the Commander-in-Chief's trophy is played for this week. Air Force travels to Navy in a game that should be quite fun!
Feeling sorry for:
-Well we have our first coaching change in the season. I hate it for the players who are in disarray and the coaches who are unemployed. Well, the one coach has a buyout and is getting part of it so he won't be hurting much.
Laughing at:
-Mike Locksley: We have a candidate for "Dumbass of the Year" award. He was hired for the 2009 season at New Mexico. Before he even coached a game he had a Sexual Harassment charge. He received an assault charge against a co-ordinator. I think both were dropped, but it earned him a one game suspension. So what happens now? Well a recruit was arrested for aggravated DWI, failure to show a driver's license, and probably a host of other charges. Normally this would merely be reasons to just stop recruiting the kid. In this case though, the recruit was driving Mike Locksley's vehicle. Yeah there is only a few dozen NCAA rules broken there. Sometimes you make the decision easy for your boss, in this the athletic director. Locksley is now without a job.
-Maryland: Congratulations for letting West Virginia beat you twice. Not showing up against Temple was a bad thing.
-New Mexico: You don't quite get a pass from me just because your coach is a dumbass. You still lost to Sam Houston State in week four of the season.
-Minnesota: Ya know, I don't think Glenn Mason ever lost to a FCS school. Jerry Kill, do you realize what you signed up for yet? You've got a looooong way to go for just "respectable."
-UNLV: not only did you lose to a FCS school... you got blown out by a FCS school. Wow you really have to be bad for that.
Top 25: I know what you're thinking. "Iowa State at #1? Are you crazy?" Well, yeah I am. I didn't think I would do this before week 5 or 6, but I went ahead and put my formula in place for this week. That formula is sorta simple. I rank the undefeated teams first with respect to Strength of Schedule. Iowa State's three opponents have one loss between them that isn't Iowa State. LSU and Nebraska are technically tied at #2 with their opponents have two losses that aren't the two teams. One loss teams are ranked by who they lost two. There are 19 teams with one loss where the one loss is an undefeated team. Iowa gets put at the top since they lost to #1 Iowa State. West Virginia and Oregon are next as they lost to LSU. Washington and Wyoming can complain as they lost to Co-#2 Nebraska. This is where the opinion comes in.
1) Iowa State
2) LSU
2) Nebraska
4) Clemson
4) South Carolina
6) South Florida
6) Michigan
8) Alabama
8) Georgia Tech
8) Illinois
11) Oklahoma State
11) Virginia Tech
13) Texas
13) Baylor
15) Oklahoma
16) Wisconsin
17) Florida
17) Boise State
17) Stanford
20) Houston
21) Texas Tech
21) Kansas State
23) Iowa
24) Oregon
25) West Virginia
Others Receiving "votes": Washington, Wyoming
Weekly picks:
-South Florida at Pitt: South Florida is 4-0, Pitt is 2-2. Usually USF starts out strong and then melts down toward the end of the year. To be fair, they usually get to 5-0 or 6-0 before that occurs. Why mess with a streak? USF by 7.
-Southwest Classic; Texas A&M vs Arkansas in Arlington, TX: Starting next year this will actually be a conference game! Texas A&M has not fared well against Arkansas and other SEC schools lately, and I don't see a change here. A&M is good, Arkansas is too. Arkansas by 10.
-Mississippi State at Georgia: Bet your mortgage on the Bulldogs winning this game. Oh wait that won't work. Last year UGA's season went downhill badly after losing at Mississippi State. This year could be the same. You would think that UGA wouldn't let it happen two years in a row, but it very well might. MSU looked fortunate to win against Louisiana Tech last week, but that can be excused as a "LSU hangover." UGA's defense will have to play well to contain this offense, and I believe it will. UGA by 3.
-The Little Brown Jug; Minnesota at Michigan: This game couldn't be at a worse time for Minnesota. That team is falling apart quickly, the coach is having medical issues, and Minnesota has beaten Michigan exactly once out of the past twenty tries. I'm not messing with a streak here either. Michigan by 20.
-Commander-in-Chief's Trophy; The United States Air Force Academy at The United States Naval Academy: Last year Air Force broke Navy's stranglehold on the trophy. Both teams are playing well this year, so I'm going with home-field advantage for Navy. Navy by 6.
-Baylor at Kansas State: So why is this game here? Because in week five, both teams are undefeated. Both have even had a test of their skill and passed it. I believe the difference here is that Kansas State went on the road to win their test, Baylor hasn't left home yet. Kansas State wins at home by 7.
-Auburn at South Carolina: South Carolina appears to be struggling on offense quite a bit. I think a good part of that has been the competition, and the other part may just be bad offense. However the team has managed to win every game so far. The defense has been decent, or maybe just good enough. Auburn had that last year, but not this year. USC-east by 3.
-Clemson at Virginia Tech: Clemson has been one of the bigger surprises so far this season. A win against Auburn and Florida State in back-to-back weeks has thrust them up in the ACC and national spotlight. Lets be fair here, both of those teams had plenty of baggage going into the games and both games were in Clemson. Clemson had two ugly showings against patsies early. Clemson hasn't been on the road yet with all of those freshmen and other first year starters making plays. Clemson hasn't beaten Virginia Tech since 1989 (0-5 since then). Clemson is in for a rude awakening in Blacksburg. VT by 20.
-Texas at Iowa State: Last year Iowa State managed to get a big monkey off its back by winning at Texas. I see revenge here. Lots of revenge. Texas won't let that happen again. Texas by 10.
-Alabama at Florida: Florida has been a nice surprise so far, they've been tougher on the field than most expected them to be. The team has played well under the new head coach and coordinators. That being said Alabama is just too strong here. I see Florida keeping it close, but not close enough to win. Alabama by 4.
-Nebraska at Wisconsin: Welcome to the Big Ten Nebraska! Your first conference game will be against mighty Wisconsin in Camp Randall Stadium. Both teams are playing well, both are run-first offenses, both could be near the tops of the polls towards the end of the season. I see Russell Wilson being the difference here at home. Wisconsin by 7.
-The Shillelagh Trophy; Notre Dame at Purdue: Notre Dame has turned it around nicely since the 0-2 start beating Michigan State and Pitt. Purdue hasn't been pretty on the field at all. Notre Dame should win this game easily after Purdue has a fast start. Notre Dame by 14.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
2011 College Football Week 4 predictions!
Commentary: We didn't see any real surprising upsets last week, only a few ranked teams lost and while they were to unranked opponents the upsets weren't that surprising really. It was still a good week of college football for us all though! Auburn's seventeen game winning streak came to an end in Clemson, SC last week. Notre Dame bounced back to upset Michigan State. Arizona State lost at Illinois. Miami bounced back from an opening week loss to beat Ohio State at home.
Cheering for: Conference play! While there are some good non-conference games in store for this week, conference play starts for a lot of schools in week 4.
Laughing at:
-Boston College: wow, what a face plant. A field-goal attempt hits the upright in the final minute and a loss to Duke ensues. Ouch.
-Oregon State: still winless, despite opening against an FCS opponent. To be fair, week 2 was against Wisconsin and week 3 was a bye-week.
Feeling sorry for:
-No one really, not yet.
Top 25: We are down to 33 undefeated teams, maybe I can do a real poll next week if we drop to 25 or less.
1) Oklahoma
2) LSU
3) Alabama
4) Boise State
5) Stanford
6) South Carolina
7) Oklahoma State
8) Texas A&M
9) Virginia Tech
10) Wisconsin
11) Nebraska
12) Arkansas
13) Michigan
14) South Florida
15) Florida
16) Texas
17) Georgia Tech
18) North Carolina
19) West Virginia
20) Clemson
21) Houston
22) Illinois
23) Texas Tech
24) Baylor
25) Vanderbilt
Others receiving votes: Iowa State, Kansas State, Ohio, San Diego State, Wyoming, Cal, USC, FIU
Predictions:
-NC State at Cincinnati: Both teams are fighting for respect in their conferences, NCSU has struggled a bit out of the gate, Cincinnati has lost to a good team and beaten up two bad ones. I give the nod here to Cincinnati since it is at home. Cincy by 10.
-North Carolina at Georgia Tech: UNC is in the "others receiving votes" categories of the polls while GT hit both the AP and Coaches poll this week. GT's offense has been on fire lately, UNC has a pretty good defense to counter it. I don't see GT scoring a point a minute like they have been, but still walking away with the victory here. GT by 14.
-San Diego State at Michigan: A good game here between student and master. Brady Hoke left SDSU at the end of last season to coach Michigan. While Michigan's defense has been rather porous this year so far, I don't see SDSU pulling the upset like some predict. Michigan by 10.
-Notre Dame at Pittsburgh: Notre Dame pulled itself off the mat last week by beating ranked Michigan State at home, while Pitt blew a big lead in a game at Iowa. I see more of the same here. ND by 10.
-Georgia at Ole Miss: The seats here will be warm, maybe scorching under each coaches' butt. Really UGA shouldn't lose this game, but it all depends on the psyche of both teams. Ole Miss is wounded beyond belief after getting blown out by Vanderbilt last week. UGA at least blew up on an overmatched opponent. I'll predict UGA by 3.
-Florida State at Clemson: FSU comes into this game reeling a bit after the home loss to Oklahoma. Also they'll be playing the backup quarterback. This may not matter though. Clemson has almost always followed a big win with a loss, and I'm not one to pick against a trend. FSU by 10.
-Oklahoma State at Texas A&M: Both are top ten teams, both undefeated, etc. This would be fun without the backstory. A&M is trying to leave the Big 12 as fast as it can, the rest of the conference members are trying to prevent it. I've doubted A&M before and looked bad because of it, but I'm going with Mike "I'm a man! I'm 40!" Gundy here. OSU by 7.
-Arkansas at Alabama: Welcome to reality Arkansas. Reality says wins over Troy and New Mexico mean nothing to Alabama. Alabama by 14.
-Vanderbilt at South Carolina: Vanderbilt has been a thorn in South Carolina's side for quite a while. There has even been a couple of wins for Vandy thrown in the mix. South Carolina has had to work for all three wins it has, and this week won't be any different. South Carolina by 3.
-Missouri at Oklahoma: All the Sooners need to do is remember last year. #1 in the nation, flying high at 6-0, and oops! A loss at Missouri derailed any national title hopes. OU gets revenge big time. OU by 20.
-LSU at West Virginia: Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships. LSU's defense has been absolutely stifling so far, and I don't see West Virginia changing that. LSU by 10.
-USC at Arizona State: This could be a huge step-up game for Arizona State. The only problem is they've played USC every year for a long time and not won since 1999. I don't pick against streaks. USC by 14.
Cheering for: Conference play! While there are some good non-conference games in store for this week, conference play starts for a lot of schools in week 4.
Laughing at:
-Boston College: wow, what a face plant. A field-goal attempt hits the upright in the final minute and a loss to Duke ensues. Ouch.
-Oregon State: still winless, despite opening against an FCS opponent. To be fair, week 2 was against Wisconsin and week 3 was a bye-week.
Feeling sorry for:
-No one really, not yet.
Top 25: We are down to 33 undefeated teams, maybe I can do a real poll next week if we drop to 25 or less.
1) Oklahoma
2) LSU
3) Alabama
4) Boise State
5) Stanford
6) South Carolina
7) Oklahoma State
8) Texas A&M
9) Virginia Tech
10) Wisconsin
11) Nebraska
12) Arkansas
13) Michigan
14) South Florida
15) Florida
16) Texas
17) Georgia Tech
18) North Carolina
19) West Virginia
20) Clemson
21) Houston
22) Illinois
23) Texas Tech
24) Baylor
25) Vanderbilt
Others receiving votes: Iowa State, Kansas State, Ohio, San Diego State, Wyoming, Cal, USC, FIU
Predictions:
-NC State at Cincinnati: Both teams are fighting for respect in their conferences, NCSU has struggled a bit out of the gate, Cincinnati has lost to a good team and beaten up two bad ones. I give the nod here to Cincinnati since it is at home. Cincy by 10.
-North Carolina at Georgia Tech: UNC is in the "others receiving votes" categories of the polls while GT hit both the AP and Coaches poll this week. GT's offense has been on fire lately, UNC has a pretty good defense to counter it. I don't see GT scoring a point a minute like they have been, but still walking away with the victory here. GT by 14.
-San Diego State at Michigan: A good game here between student and master. Brady Hoke left SDSU at the end of last season to coach Michigan. While Michigan's defense has been rather porous this year so far, I don't see SDSU pulling the upset like some predict. Michigan by 10.
-Notre Dame at Pittsburgh: Notre Dame pulled itself off the mat last week by beating ranked Michigan State at home, while Pitt blew a big lead in a game at Iowa. I see more of the same here. ND by 10.
-Georgia at Ole Miss: The seats here will be warm, maybe scorching under each coaches' butt. Really UGA shouldn't lose this game, but it all depends on the psyche of both teams. Ole Miss is wounded beyond belief after getting blown out by Vanderbilt last week. UGA at least blew up on an overmatched opponent. I'll predict UGA by 3.
-Florida State at Clemson: FSU comes into this game reeling a bit after the home loss to Oklahoma. Also they'll be playing the backup quarterback. This may not matter though. Clemson has almost always followed a big win with a loss, and I'm not one to pick against a trend. FSU by 10.
-Oklahoma State at Texas A&M: Both are top ten teams, both undefeated, etc. This would be fun without the backstory. A&M is trying to leave the Big 12 as fast as it can, the rest of the conference members are trying to prevent it. I've doubted A&M before and looked bad because of it, but I'm going with Mike "I'm a man! I'm 40!" Gundy here. OSU by 7.
-Arkansas at Alabama: Welcome to reality Arkansas. Reality says wins over Troy and New Mexico mean nothing to Alabama. Alabama by 14.
-Vanderbilt at South Carolina: Vanderbilt has been a thorn in South Carolina's side for quite a while. There has even been a couple of wins for Vandy thrown in the mix. South Carolina has had to work for all three wins it has, and this week won't be any different. South Carolina by 3.
-Missouri at Oklahoma: All the Sooners need to do is remember last year. #1 in the nation, flying high at 6-0, and oops! A loss at Missouri derailed any national title hopes. OU gets revenge big time. OU by 20.
-LSU at West Virginia: Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships. LSU's defense has been absolutely stifling so far, and I don't see West Virginia changing that. LSU by 10.
-USC at Arizona State: This could be a huge step-up game for Arizona State. The only problem is they've played USC every year for a long time and not won since 1999. I don't pick against streaks. USC by 14.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
2011 College Football Week 3 predictions!
Commentary: Last week we saw that Michigan and Notre Dame both don't know what a prevent defense is supposed to do (it is supposed to give up yards in return for eating the clock up), UGA's defense give up 17 points to South Carolina and lose since the offense and special teams gave up 28, and Mississippi State doesn't quite know what to do with 30 seconds on the clock. It was a good weekend. This week looks to have a lot of good games coming up too.
Cheering For: Revenge. Its time for revenge.
Laughing at: There were no upsets between FCS and FBS members last week, though there were numerous close calls. So no real teams to laugh at yet.
Feeling sorry for: Minnesota. Sucks to hire a coach, a good up and coming coach, only to have him have a stroke during game two. That and losing to New Mexico State is a bitch.
Top 25: Okay, so Oregon was overrated.
1) Oklahoma
2) LSU
3) Boise State
4) Arkansas
5) Alabama
6) Stanford
7) Nebraska
8) Wisconsin
9) Texas A&M
10) Oklahoma State
11) Florida State
12) Virginia Tech
13) Michigan State
14) Michigan
15) Arizona State
16) Southern Cal
17) South Carolina
18) Florida
19) West Virginia
20) Clemson
21) Maryland
22) Penn State
23) Auburn
24) Ohio State
25) Tennessee
Week 3 Predictions:
-LSU at Mississippi State: The Thursday night opening game should actually be quite interesting! Mississippi State is coming off a last second loss to Auburn. LSU is just LSU and keeps on winning. The trend should keep going here: LSU by 7.
-West Virginia at Maryland: West Virginia got a little bit of a scare last week before turning it on in the second half against Norfolk State. Maryland is good, not great, but good. I see a good game here with WVU winning late.
-Auburn at Clemson: Last year this game turned into a damn good one. Clemson blew it late against Auburn in overtime and all. Clemson was merely mediocre, Auburn was national champs when all was said and done. Auburn seems to just win, no matter what. Auburn by 10.
-Kansas at Georgia Tech: Last year GT waltzed into Lawrence and left with the tail between the legs. It was a bad day all around for the program. I see revenge coming this time around. KU is better than they were last year, but it won't matter. GT is flying high and wins by 10 here.
-Rocky Mountain Showdown; Colorado State at Colorado: Colorado has looked bad in two losses so far, lets see how bad they are in loss #3. CSU by 3.
-The Third Saturday in September; Tennessee at Florida: Both teams are climbing up after tough seasons last year. Both have played well so far. My only thought is to give a slight advantage to the home team. Florida by 3.
-The Megaphone Trophy; Michigan State at Notre Dame: Notre Dame has looked sloppy in two losses. Sloppiness can be fixed, but this is a bad time in which to fix things. Michigan State has looked dominant on defense lately, and that spells trouble for the Irish. Michigan State by 10.
-Navy at South Carolina: The last time South Carolina was ranked and played Navy the Gamecocks lost. To be fair that was in the 1980s. South Carolina looked a little lost on offense last week, but did enough to win in Athens. This week shouldn't be an issue. South Carolina by 17.
-The Governor's Cup; Louisville at Kentucky: Louisville looked wretched last week losing to FIU of the Sun Belt conference. Charlie Strong's program took a major hit there. Kentucky might be 2-0, but the team has not looked good either. This game might set a record for futility. UK wins by 3. It may be a 3-0 final score.
-Ohio State at Miami: I don't have a link for this game, though maybe I should go create one. "The battle of two teams who barely have 22 players to suit up" or "The battle of teams going to get drilled by the NCAA" or maybe just "The battle of who's had the two worst offseasons." Miami looked decent in the opening night loss to Maryland, but hasn't played since. Interception-Machine Jacory Harris will start. Ohio State has beaten two lesser teams so far but it doesn't say much. Since this has an ACC team in it, I'll pick against it. Ohio State by 3.
-Oklahoma at Florida State: Oh my, a battle of two top-five teams? Well, I'm of the personal opinion that Florida State is overrated at #5. I am not saying that FSU is a bad team, just overrated at that position. I personally think that ESPN did this just for this game. They're the ones that started the "FSU is really good!" chant early in the pre-season. Ah well, screw the conspiracy theory. Oklahoma is more talented, has more experience and the ambiance of Doak Campbell Stadium just isn't enough. OU by 10.
-The Holy War; Utah at BYU: Its good to see the continuation of this series. Both teams were in the Mountain West conference last year, both have since left that conference. BYU has looked better so far (much better win that Utah's), so I'll go with the home team here. BYU by 7.
Cheering For: Revenge. Its time for revenge.
Laughing at: There were no upsets between FCS and FBS members last week, though there were numerous close calls. So no real teams to laugh at yet.
Feeling sorry for: Minnesota. Sucks to hire a coach, a good up and coming coach, only to have him have a stroke during game two. That and losing to New Mexico State is a bitch.
Top 25: Okay, so Oregon was overrated.
1) Oklahoma
2) LSU
3) Boise State
4) Arkansas
5) Alabama
6) Stanford
7) Nebraska
8) Wisconsin
9) Texas A&M
10) Oklahoma State
11) Florida State
12) Virginia Tech
13) Michigan State
14) Michigan
15) Arizona State
16) Southern Cal
17) South Carolina
18) Florida
19) West Virginia
20) Clemson
21) Maryland
22) Penn State
23) Auburn
24) Ohio State
25) Tennessee
Week 3 Predictions:
-LSU at Mississippi State: The Thursday night opening game should actually be quite interesting! Mississippi State is coming off a last second loss to Auburn. LSU is just LSU and keeps on winning. The trend should keep going here: LSU by 7.
-West Virginia at Maryland: West Virginia got a little bit of a scare last week before turning it on in the second half against Norfolk State. Maryland is good, not great, but good. I see a good game here with WVU winning late.
-Auburn at Clemson: Last year this game turned into a damn good one. Clemson blew it late against Auburn in overtime and all. Clemson was merely mediocre, Auburn was national champs when all was said and done. Auburn seems to just win, no matter what. Auburn by 10.
-Kansas at Georgia Tech: Last year GT waltzed into Lawrence and left with the tail between the legs. It was a bad day all around for the program. I see revenge coming this time around. KU is better than they were last year, but it won't matter. GT is flying high and wins by 10 here.
-Rocky Mountain Showdown; Colorado State at Colorado: Colorado has looked bad in two losses so far, lets see how bad they are in loss #3. CSU by 3.
-The Third Saturday in September; Tennessee at Florida: Both teams are climbing up after tough seasons last year. Both have played well so far. My only thought is to give a slight advantage to the home team. Florida by 3.
-The Megaphone Trophy; Michigan State at Notre Dame: Notre Dame has looked sloppy in two losses. Sloppiness can be fixed, but this is a bad time in which to fix things. Michigan State has looked dominant on defense lately, and that spells trouble for the Irish. Michigan State by 10.
-Navy at South Carolina: The last time South Carolina was ranked and played Navy the Gamecocks lost. To be fair that was in the 1980s. South Carolina looked a little lost on offense last week, but did enough to win in Athens. This week shouldn't be an issue. South Carolina by 17.
-The Governor's Cup; Louisville at Kentucky: Louisville looked wretched last week losing to FIU of the Sun Belt conference. Charlie Strong's program took a major hit there. Kentucky might be 2-0, but the team has not looked good either. This game might set a record for futility. UK wins by 3. It may be a 3-0 final score.
-Ohio State at Miami: I don't have a link for this game, though maybe I should go create one. "The battle of two teams who barely have 22 players to suit up" or "The battle of teams going to get drilled by the NCAA" or maybe just "The battle of who's had the two worst offseasons." Miami looked decent in the opening night loss to Maryland, but hasn't played since. Interception-Machine Jacory Harris will start. Ohio State has beaten two lesser teams so far but it doesn't say much. Since this has an ACC team in it, I'll pick against it. Ohio State by 3.
-Oklahoma at Florida State: Oh my, a battle of two top-five teams? Well, I'm of the personal opinion that Florida State is overrated at #5. I am not saying that FSU is a bad team, just overrated at that position. I personally think that ESPN did this just for this game. They're the ones that started the "FSU is really good!" chant early in the pre-season. Ah well, screw the conspiracy theory. Oklahoma is more talented, has more experience and the ambiance of Doak Campbell Stadium just isn't enough. OU by 10.
-The Holy War; Utah at BYU: Its good to see the continuation of this series. Both teams were in the Mountain West conference last year, both have since left that conference. BYU has looked better so far (much better win that Utah's), so I'll go with the home team here. BYU by 7.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
2011 College Football Week 2 predictions!
Commentary: Week one had some interesting matchups, some weird results, and a lot of bad games. Its expected though. I can't blame teams for scheduling a cupcake right off the starting line. College football teams don't get preseason games like the NFL does.
Cheering For: Teams that aren't afraid to go on the road to face a non-conference opponent, and one that isn't a pushover. Alabama, Arizona, Missouri, Oregon State, etc.
Laughing at: Unfortunately for the Beavers of Oregon State you get to be laughed at as well. Losing to a FCS opponent lands you here. That means the same for the Duke Blue Devils.
Feeling sorry for: Noone this week. Its too early for that.
Top 25: Okay, so Oregon was overrated.
1) Oklahoma
2) LSU
3) Boise State
4) Arkansas
5) Alabama
6) Stanford
7) Nebraska
8) Wisconsin
9) Texas A&M
10) Oklahoma State
11) Florida State
12) Virginia Tech
13) Michigan State
14) Michigan
15) Missouri
16) Iowa
17) Arizona State
18) Southern Cal
19) Penn State
20) South Carolina
21) Mississippi State
22) Florida
23) West Virginia
24) Clemson
25) Maryland
Completely Random. It'll all sort itself out in a few weeks.
Week 1 Predictions: I'm writing this a little late, Arizona at Oklahoma State should have kicked off by now, but I'm not watching or looking at a scoreboard, so there.
-Arizona at Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State has a lot going for it right now, and they need to keep it up and not let a game like this get out of hand. OSU by 20.
-Missouri at Arizona State: An interesting Friday night matchup here (and I still hate Friday night games). Arizona State has more to prove here, wins at home in a fun game. ASU by 3.
-The Cy-Hawk_Trophy; Iowa at Iowa State: Alright Iowa State. I called out Baylor last week saying they needed to prove their relevance in a possible dying conference, and they did! Its your turn. Iowa isn't invincible but State has a long way to go. Iowa wins by 10.
-Alabama at Penn State: Last week Penn State looked a little soft against the run versus an overmatched opponent. Alabama loves to run and isn't overmatched. Alabama wins by 14.
-Virginia Tech at East Carolina: Don't laugh too much, the last time VT played ECU on the road the Hokies lost. I don't see that happening this time though, VT has too much on the line to play down. VT by 10.
-South Carolina at Georgia: I said UGA starts out 0-2, and I'm not backing down on that now! Spurrier at USC-east loves nothing more than beating UGA, and doing it in Athens is even sweeter for him. His Florida team in 1995 set the record for most points scored on UGA in Athens (52), and while I don't think this team scores quite that much, it'll try, and win easily. South Carolina by 20.
-Mississippi State at Auburn: With all the talent Auburn had last year, they beat Mississippi State by 3 on the road. It's time for revenge. The Bulldogs by 14.
-Georgia Tech at Middle Tennessee State: An interesting road game for the Yellow Jackets. Last season's early non-conference road trip was a disaster for the Ramblin' Wreck. This year's will be much better. GT by 10.
-BYU at Texas: Depending on the rumors you hear, this is either a battle of two future independents, or two future Big 12 members. BYU is good, but not Texas good. Texas wins this one easily.
-TCU at Air Force: Was it an off week, a bad week, or are there a lot of issues on TCU this year? Giving up 50 to Baylor had to hurt! We will find out if that was a fluke, Baylor's offense just that good, or is TCU's defense mysteriously dissappearing? Air Force can win this game, but I think TCU shuts the down proving last week was a fluke. TCU by 14.
-Utah at USC: Welcome to the PAC12 Utah! Your first conference opponent is the one that pretty much has ruled it for decades! Good luck! USC is coming off an ugly win against Minnesota, but look for it to be much cleaner here. USC wins by 10.
-The Michigan-Notre Dame Rivalry; Notre Dame at Michigan: A night game in Ann Arbor! While Notre Dame is coming off of an ugly loss, its problems can be fixed. Michigan looked good in a tune-up game against Western Michigan in week one, but don't let it fool you. This game will be tough, fought hard, and well into the fourth quarter. That said, Michigan wins at home.
Cheering For: Teams that aren't afraid to go on the road to face a non-conference opponent, and one that isn't a pushover. Alabama, Arizona, Missouri, Oregon State, etc.
Laughing at: Unfortunately for the Beavers of Oregon State you get to be laughed at as well. Losing to a FCS opponent lands you here. That means the same for the Duke Blue Devils.
Feeling sorry for: Noone this week. Its too early for that.
Top 25: Okay, so Oregon was overrated.
1) Oklahoma
2) LSU
3) Boise State
4) Arkansas
5) Alabama
6) Stanford
7) Nebraska
8) Wisconsin
9) Texas A&M
10) Oklahoma State
11) Florida State
12) Virginia Tech
13) Michigan State
14) Michigan
15) Missouri
16) Iowa
17) Arizona State
18) Southern Cal
19) Penn State
20) South Carolina
21) Mississippi State
22) Florida
23) West Virginia
24) Clemson
25) Maryland
Completely Random. It'll all sort itself out in a few weeks.
Week 1 Predictions: I'm writing this a little late, Arizona at Oklahoma State should have kicked off by now, but I'm not watching or looking at a scoreboard, so there.
-Arizona at Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State has a lot going for it right now, and they need to keep it up and not let a game like this get out of hand. OSU by 20.
-Missouri at Arizona State: An interesting Friday night matchup here (and I still hate Friday night games). Arizona State has more to prove here, wins at home in a fun game. ASU by 3.
-The Cy-Hawk_Trophy; Iowa at Iowa State: Alright Iowa State. I called out Baylor last week saying they needed to prove their relevance in a possible dying conference, and they did! Its your turn. Iowa isn't invincible but State has a long way to go. Iowa wins by 10.
-Alabama at Penn State: Last week Penn State looked a little soft against the run versus an overmatched opponent. Alabama loves to run and isn't overmatched. Alabama wins by 14.
-Virginia Tech at East Carolina: Don't laugh too much, the last time VT played ECU on the road the Hokies lost. I don't see that happening this time though, VT has too much on the line to play down. VT by 10.
-South Carolina at Georgia: I said UGA starts out 0-2, and I'm not backing down on that now! Spurrier at USC-east loves nothing more than beating UGA, and doing it in Athens is even sweeter for him. His Florida team in 1995 set the record for most points scored on UGA in Athens (52), and while I don't think this team scores quite that much, it'll try, and win easily. South Carolina by 20.
-Mississippi State at Auburn: With all the talent Auburn had last year, they beat Mississippi State by 3 on the road. It's time for revenge. The Bulldogs by 14.
-Georgia Tech at Middle Tennessee State: An interesting road game for the Yellow Jackets. Last season's early non-conference road trip was a disaster for the Ramblin' Wreck. This year's will be much better. GT by 10.
-BYU at Texas: Depending on the rumors you hear, this is either a battle of two future independents, or two future Big 12 members. BYU is good, but not Texas good. Texas wins this one easily.
-TCU at Air Force: Was it an off week, a bad week, or are there a lot of issues on TCU this year? Giving up 50 to Baylor had to hurt! We will find out if that was a fluke, Baylor's offense just that good, or is TCU's defense mysteriously dissappearing? Air Force can win this game, but I think TCU shuts the down proving last week was a fluke. TCU by 14.
-Utah at USC: Welcome to the PAC12 Utah! Your first conference opponent is the one that pretty much has ruled it for decades! Good luck! USC is coming off an ugly win against Minnesota, but look for it to be much cleaner here. USC wins by 10.
-The Michigan-Notre Dame Rivalry; Notre Dame at Michigan: A night game in Ann Arbor! While Notre Dame is coming off of an ugly loss, its problems can be fixed. Michigan looked good in a tune-up game against Western Michigan in week one, but don't let it fool you. This game will be tough, fought hard, and well into the fourth quarter. That said, Michigan wins at home.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
2011 College Football: Week 1 predictions
Its that time! We start the season with a bunch of warm-up type games, a few rivalries and a few really good games to watch. I can't blame the schools for scheduling a patsy to start the season, this isn't the NFL where you get four pre-season games to tune up and test out stuff.
Cheering for: The perceived underdogs. A lot of teams are predicted to do poorly and rise up every year to surprise a lot of people. I cheer for those guys this week.
Laughing at: Texas. Yes, The University of Texas. Last I heard that great Longhorn Network you expect to make a fortune just for you... has one cable provider showing it, regionally only.
Feeling sorry for: The rest of the Big 12. Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State and maybe Texas Tech will have good homes to go to when the Big 12 collapses. Kansas and Kansas State may be attractive enough to the Big East if they want it, but Baylor and Iowa State are screwed.
Top 25: I had to think for awhile on this, and I'm not really sure about it. This is really just a gut feeling. My method that I used last year and will use again this year doesn't really work until about week five or six. This will change, quite often for the next few weeks. For example, the loser of Oregon vs LSU may drop out completely depending on how the game goes.
1) Oklahoma
2) Oregon
3) Boise State
4) Arkansas
5) Alabama
6) LSU
7) Stanford
8) Nebraska
9) Wisconsin
10) Texas A&M
11) Oklahoma State
12) TCU
13) Florida State
14) Virginia Tech
15) Notre Dame
16) Michigan State
17) Missouri
18) Southern Cal
19) Iowa
20) Arizona State
21) Penn State
22) Mississippi State
23) Florida
24) West Virginia
25) Auburn
Week 1 Predictions:
-UNLV at Wisconsin: You wouldn't think this is a rivalry in any way but these two teams have played each other five times over the past decade. UNLV did win one of them too, the other four have been played well. Wisconsin is just that good this year and will not overlook UNLV. Wisconsin by a lot.
-TCU at Baylor: If Baylor wants to make itself look attractive to another conference, it needs to win this game and prove that it belongs in the upper echelon of college football. TCU has to replace a lot of parts from last year's Rose Bowl winning undefeated team. Still, the defense will do just enough to win, TCU by 3.
-Minnesota at USC: Minnesota has hired a winner of a coach in Jerry Kill from Northern Illinois. Unfortunately this is not a good way to start your career at a school like Minnesota that is rebuilding in a lot of ways. Still, this could be an upset alert if USC isn't prepared. I don't see that happening though. USC by 10.
-South Florida at Notre Dame: Two teams that should be on their way up meet in an opening game that's actually rather interesting. Notre Dame should win this one just on the fact that the talent level is better and it's at Notre Dame. I think it will be close though! Notre Dame by 1.
-Troy at Clemson: Troy is a team that's ruled the Sun Belt for a bit and has surprised a few teams over the past few years. Clemson has a new quarterback and several new starters. While I think Clemson is not going to have a good year this game should go their way. Tigers by 7.
-BYU at Ole Miss: Oddly enough this game came about due to the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta. Boise State was supposed to play BYU to open the season. Ole Miss stepped in and picked up the game as a preview to the 2014 Kickoff Classic. Anyway, BYU has gone independent of any conference, and Ole Miss wants to start off this season much better than the last one. Ole Miss wins at home by 3.
-Fresno State at Cal: Cal sure has disappeared from any national attention lately. Fresno State just keeps winning games like this. Fresno by 3.
-East Carolina vs South Carolina in Charlotte: While this is the lesser of the three neutral site games to open the season, it might very well be the best to watch! East Carolina loves these games and South Carolina has a lot to play for this year. South Carolina should win this one, Gamecocks by 3.
-Boise State vs Georgia in Atlanta: In 2005 Boise State traveled to Athens to open the season... and got shelled by UGA. This time around it should be Boise doing the shelling. I see Boise winning this one by 7.
-Oregon vs LSU in Arlington: LSU has way too many off the field issues right now. Sure, both teams are talented beyond belief, but I think Oregon takes this one. Oregon by 7.
-Marshall at West Virginia: These two teams despise each other. WVU has a new head coach after quite a bit of offseason drama involving the coaches and not the players! Look for a statement here, WVU by 14.
-Miami at Maryland: All eyes will be on this game, mostly due to the fact its on Monday night and there will be no other games on at the time. Miami has quite a few suspensions being served here, a new coach, and a new QB (at least for this game). Maryland has a good QB but a new coach too. I see Maryland pulling off the win here, by 3.
Cheering for: The perceived underdogs. A lot of teams are predicted to do poorly and rise up every year to surprise a lot of people. I cheer for those guys this week.
Laughing at: Texas. Yes, The University of Texas. Last I heard that great Longhorn Network you expect to make a fortune just for you... has one cable provider showing it, regionally only.
Feeling sorry for: The rest of the Big 12. Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State and maybe Texas Tech will have good homes to go to when the Big 12 collapses. Kansas and Kansas State may be attractive enough to the Big East if they want it, but Baylor and Iowa State are screwed.
Top 25: I had to think for awhile on this, and I'm not really sure about it. This is really just a gut feeling. My method that I used last year and will use again this year doesn't really work until about week five or six. This will change, quite often for the next few weeks. For example, the loser of Oregon vs LSU may drop out completely depending on how the game goes.
1) Oklahoma
2) Oregon
3) Boise State
4) Arkansas
5) Alabama
6) LSU
7) Stanford
8) Nebraska
9) Wisconsin
10) Texas A&M
11) Oklahoma State
12) TCU
13) Florida State
14) Virginia Tech
15) Notre Dame
16) Michigan State
17) Missouri
18) Southern Cal
19) Iowa
20) Arizona State
21) Penn State
22) Mississippi State
23) Florida
24) West Virginia
25) Auburn
Week 1 Predictions:
-UNLV at Wisconsin: You wouldn't think this is a rivalry in any way but these two teams have played each other five times over the past decade. UNLV did win one of them too, the other four have been played well. Wisconsin is just that good this year and will not overlook UNLV. Wisconsin by a lot.
-TCU at Baylor: If Baylor wants to make itself look attractive to another conference, it needs to win this game and prove that it belongs in the upper echelon of college football. TCU has to replace a lot of parts from last year's Rose Bowl winning undefeated team. Still, the defense will do just enough to win, TCU by 3.
-Minnesota at USC: Minnesota has hired a winner of a coach in Jerry Kill from Northern Illinois. Unfortunately this is not a good way to start your career at a school like Minnesota that is rebuilding in a lot of ways. Still, this could be an upset alert if USC isn't prepared. I don't see that happening though. USC by 10.
-South Florida at Notre Dame: Two teams that should be on their way up meet in an opening game that's actually rather interesting. Notre Dame should win this one just on the fact that the talent level is better and it's at Notre Dame. I think it will be close though! Notre Dame by 1.
-Troy at Clemson: Troy is a team that's ruled the Sun Belt for a bit and has surprised a few teams over the past few years. Clemson has a new quarterback and several new starters. While I think Clemson is not going to have a good year this game should go their way. Tigers by 7.
-BYU at Ole Miss: Oddly enough this game came about due to the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta. Boise State was supposed to play BYU to open the season. Ole Miss stepped in and picked up the game as a preview to the 2014 Kickoff Classic. Anyway, BYU has gone independent of any conference, and Ole Miss wants to start off this season much better than the last one. Ole Miss wins at home by 3.
-Fresno State at Cal: Cal sure has disappeared from any national attention lately. Fresno State just keeps winning games like this. Fresno by 3.
-East Carolina vs South Carolina in Charlotte: While this is the lesser of the three neutral site games to open the season, it might very well be the best to watch! East Carolina loves these games and South Carolina has a lot to play for this year. South Carolina should win this one, Gamecocks by 3.
-Boise State vs Georgia in Atlanta: In 2005 Boise State traveled to Athens to open the season... and got shelled by UGA. This time around it should be Boise doing the shelling. I see Boise winning this one by 7.
-Oregon vs LSU in Arlington: LSU has way too many off the field issues right now. Sure, both teams are talented beyond belief, but I think Oregon takes this one. Oregon by 7.
-Marshall at West Virginia: These two teams despise each other. WVU has a new head coach after quite a bit of offseason drama involving the coaches and not the players! Look for a statement here, WVU by 14.
-Miami at Maryland: All eyes will be on this game, mostly due to the fact its on Monday night and there will be no other games on at the time. Miami has quite a few suspensions being served here, a new coach, and a new QB (at least for this game). Maryland has a good QB but a new coach too. I see Maryland pulling off the win here, by 3.
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