College Football Preview
Football season is fast approaching and this college football season should be one to remember. So, who will play UC for the National Title? Well, I don't know about that, but they did come :01 from playing in the BCS Title game if Texas misses their last second field goal in the Big 12 Championship. UC did however, lose only one game last year and have won back-to-back Big East Championships. As much as I would like to see my Bearcats play in the big game, I don't see it happening, but I do see them winning a third straight Big East Championship and playing in a BCS Bowl Game. As for who will be playing for it all, there a lot of very good teams to choose from.
In the USA Today Coach's Poll, Alabama received 55 of the 59 first place votes and is ranked number one overall. Ohio State received the other 4 votes and is second. Florida, Texas, Boise State, Virginia Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa round out the Top 10. Let's take a more in depth look into each of the Top 10 teams starting with...
#3 Florida Gators and #4 Texas Longhorns
Florida and Texas are ranked a little to high in my opinion, they are always loaded with talent, but have lost some key players to the NFL. The Gators only have 9 returning starters and no Tim Tebow, oh no. I wonder who ESPN will cover 24/7 this college football season? The Longhorns have no Colt McCoy and no Jordan Shipley and return 11 starters. Still good teams, but not the third and fourth best teams in the country. Sports Illustrated (SI) has Texas ranked 4th and Florida 7th, a little better, but don't except to see a Gators-Longhorns title game. A BCS Bowl Game is still a strong possibility for both, however.
Continuing with the other teams in the Top 10, the attention turns to the Broncos and the Horned Frogs. Up until the past few years no cared about how Boise State and TCU finished, it's a safe bet that half the country didn't even know Boise State even had a team, let along a blue field. Yes, the turf is indeed blue. But these BCS busters both have a legitimate shot of playing for the title.
#5 Boise State and #7 TCU
Boise State and TCU both return talented and experienced teams. The Broncos return 20 starters, not bad out of 22, and if the can beat #6 Virginia Tech in Landover, Md, to open the season they should go undefeated. They also played #22 Oregon State, but that's at home on the blue turf, so shouldn't be a problem. TCU starts the season with Oregon State (talk about a tough non-conference schedule, add in their Pac-10 schedule and it could be a long season for the Beavers) and has tough games against BYU and at #24 Utah. Probably need to go undefeated, but may still get into the title game with one loss. Both of these teams need to take care of business on the field before they even think about the BCS title games, but a lot also depends on how the rest of the country fairs. Bottomline, Boise and TCU need some help if they have any hopes of winning it all.
#6 Virginia Tech
The Hokies return 10 starters and you know that their defense will be solid like it has been for the past 24 years under head coach Frank Beamer, but the offense is the key. Virginia Tech has a date with Boise State to kickoff the season and has to go through the tough ACC including a trips to "The U" #13 Miami (Fla.), #18 North Carolina and Boston College. And a possible date with #20 Florida State in the ACC Championship. Tough schedule for a tough team, but don't be surprised if the Hokies manage to pull out yet another, ACC title.
#7 Oklahoma and #8 Nebraska
The Sooners and Cornhuskers make three Big 12 teams in the Top 10, most of any conference. Oklahoma returns 10 starters including offensive stars RB DeMarco Murray, WR Ryan Broyles and QB Landry Jones. Bob Stoops' Sooners always have a tough defense and experienced weapons on offense make them a threat. A Big 12 schedule is never easy and non-conference games against #20 Florida State and at UC will not be easy. The game against UC will be played at Paul Brown and last time a high profile team played the Bearcats at Paul Brown, the Ohio State Buckeyes, they almost got upset. The Sooners should be on upset alert when they role into the Queen City September 25th. As for the Huskers, Larry the Cable Guy's favorite team, they look to "Git-R-Done" and rebound from their last second defeat in last year's Big 12 Championship game against Texas. Nebraska returns 15 starters, but Defensive Player of the Year Ndamukong Suh is gone and like the Sooners, the Cornhuskers have to endure a Big 12 schedule. SI likes the Cornhuskers to, yet again take on the Longhorns in the Big 12 title game and I would have to agree.
#10 Iowa Hawkeyes
I had no idea that Iowa was even suppose to be any good, but ranked #10 in USA Today Coach's Poll and SI has them ranked #6. So, someone must like the Hawkeye's chances. Iowa returns 14 starters and like most Big Ten teams has a big offensive line, can run the ball and play defense. When you can do those things, you have a chance to win and so do the Hawkeyes. But games against Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin might be too much for them to handle. However, Iowa plays all three games at home.
Now for the top two teams and the teams that I see playing for the BCS National Title, The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
#2 Ohio State
Coming off an impressive Rose Bowl win against Oregon, the Buckeye return 14 starters and look ready for a title run. Heisman hopeful Terrelle Pryor leads a loaded offensive unit that includes a dynamic running back duo in Brandon Saine and Dan "Boone" Herron and receivers Dane Sanzenbacher and LaSalle grad DeVier Posey. One of the most talented offenses in the country, with a solid offensive line they should score plenty of points to go along with an excellent defense. The Buckeyes defense is led by linebackers Brian Rolle, Ross Homan and defensive end Cameron Heyward, who all made the one of four Sports Illustrated College Football Preview regional covers. A week 2 home game against Miami (Fla.) will be the only non-conference test for the Buckeyes. Trips to Iowa and Wisconsin will be tough roads tests and home games against Penn State and that team up North, as Woody Hayes use to say, in the Michigan Wolverines, are sure to be typical Big Ten games. The Buckeyes will be tested, but should go undefeated.
#1 Alabama
As for the defending champs, the Crimson Tide might be even better than they were last year. Now that's a scary thought. Alabama returns only 10 starters, but 9 of those are on offense. Returning are QB Greg McElroy, All-American WR Julio Jones, RB Trent Richardson, and last year's Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram. Plus, a solid offense line should add up to a boat load of points. As Lee Corso would say, "Roll Tide, Roll." Only one returning starter on defense might mean an inexperienced group, but they can back that inexperience with pure talent. After buying EA Sports NCAA Football 11 and playing with Alabama, let's just say they are pretty damn good. I know it's just a video game, but today's games are about as realistic as one could possibly imagine. On the game Alabama has 8 first team All-Americans on defense alone. Just about every starter has a overall rating of about 87 or higher with an offense and defense receiving an A+ grade. If Alabama is as good in real life as they are on the game, they will Roll into the National Title game.
Last but not least the Cincinnati Bearcats. Somehow they were left out of the USA Today Coach's Poll, they did receive 135 points, which was good enough for 26th. Still it's a crime them not being in the Top 25, but SI did rank UC at #18. If not being ranked wasn't bad enough, UC wasn't even picked to win the Big East. As they say on ESPN Monday Night Countdown, C'mon Man. UC is the two time defending Big East Champs and they can't even get picked to win the conference for the third year in a row. The rest of country still doesn't respect UC and this year they are out to prove the country and their former head coach, and current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, wrong.
Under new head coach Butch Jones, UC looks to continue where they left off last year. Departed QB Tony Pike, WR Mardy Gilyard and Brian Kelly are going to be hard to replace, but the UC offense might even be better than they were last year. UC returns 11 starters including RB Isaiah Pead, WR's D.J. Woods and Armon Binns and QB Zach Collaros. In addition to those weapons highly talented USC transfer WR Vidal Hazelton should take the place of Mardy Gilyard in the offense. The defense returns 5 starters, but should be an improvement from last year's defense that struggled against good teams and in big games. UC does have some tough non-conference games at Fresno State to start the year and at N.C. State. Playing # 7 Oklahoma down at Paul Brown will be the ultimate test for the Bearcats and if they can get by the Sooners, look for the nation to take notice. A tough road game at West Virginia and a date with Pitt in the final weekend are the biggest obstacles that UC faces on their way to another Big East Championship. I see UC winning the Big East for the third straight year and that has nothing to do with the fact that I go there...Okay maybe a little.
As for how they'll finish, my conference winners. First the BCS Conferences.
ACC: Virginia Tech
Big East: Cincinnati
Big Ten: Ohio State
Big 12: Texas
Pac-10: Since USC is on probation and ineligible for the polls and postseason, I like the Oregon Ducks.
SEC: Alabama
The winners of the non-BCS Conferences
WAC: Boise State; will go undefeated, but I see Ohio State and Alabama also having a spotless record so no title game for the Broncos. Just another reason why there needs to be a college football playoff.
Conference USA: Houston; QB Case Keenum is one of the best in the country and is a dark horse for the Heisman.
MAC: Miami (OH); as much as I would like to pick the Redhawks, they have not been good since Big Ben left and this year will be no different. SI picked Temple, so I will go with them.
Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee, once again I will side SI.
Mountain West: TCU
As for Notre Dame, they have a new coach in Brian Kelly and he has to break in a new quarterback. Expectations are high for the Irish, when are they not, and they might be good in the future, but Irish fans might have to settle for a .500 season. It sucks Kelly left UC and some people still have some hard feelings towards him, but the Notre Dame fans need to give the guy some time to turn the Fighting Irish around. He will probably get a ton of criticism if the Irish don't perform well, but the guy is a hell of a coach. Just look what he did with UC, pretty impressive. Notre Dame will be good in a year or two and you can take that to the bank.
Finally, my prediction for who will win it all.
#1 Alabama vs. #2 Ohio State
The Tide and Buckeyes should both have undefeated regular seasons and it should be a great title game. Both teams are well coached, have great defenses (probably the top two in the country) and Heisman caliber players on offense. As Keith Jackson would say, "Whoa, Nellie." As for who will win, I like the Buckeyes to upset the defending champs. Last time Ohio State came into a season with high expectations and a talented duel threat quarterback, they went to the title game against an SEC team and QB Troy Smith won the Heisman. History will repeat itself this year for the Buckeyes, but with different results. I like Pryor to win the Heisman, but do something that Smith didn't do, help the Buckeyes win a National Title.
Can't wait for college football to start and it should be a great season. And there's always a few surprises, you never know where the next major upset will happen or who might be the next Appalachian State. Are you ready for some football?
In the USA Today Coach's Poll, Alabama received 55 of the 59 first place votes and is ranked number one overall. Ohio State received the other 4 votes and is second. Florida, Texas, Boise State, Virginia Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa round out the Top 10. Let's take a more in depth look into each of the Top 10 teams starting with...
#3 Florida Gators and #4 Texas Longhorns
Florida and Texas are ranked a little to high in my opinion, they are always loaded with talent, but have lost some key players to the NFL. The Gators only have 9 returning starters and no Tim Tebow, oh no. I wonder who ESPN will cover 24/7 this college football season? The Longhorns have no Colt McCoy and no Jordan Shipley and return 11 starters. Still good teams, but not the third and fourth best teams in the country. Sports Illustrated (SI) has Texas ranked 4th and Florida 7th, a little better, but don't except to see a Gators-Longhorns title game. A BCS Bowl Game is still a strong possibility for both, however.
Continuing with the other teams in the Top 10, the attention turns to the Broncos and the Horned Frogs. Up until the past few years no cared about how Boise State and TCU finished, it's a safe bet that half the country didn't even know Boise State even had a team, let along a blue field. Yes, the turf is indeed blue. But these BCS busters both have a legitimate shot of playing for the title.
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| Boise State's Blue Turf |
Boise State and TCU both return talented and experienced teams. The Broncos return 20 starters, not bad out of 22, and if the can beat #6 Virginia Tech in Landover, Md, to open the season they should go undefeated. They also played #22 Oregon State, but that's at home on the blue turf, so shouldn't be a problem. TCU starts the season with Oregon State (talk about a tough non-conference schedule, add in their Pac-10 schedule and it could be a long season for the Beavers) and has tough games against BYU and at #24 Utah. Probably need to go undefeated, but may still get into the title game with one loss. Both of these teams need to take care of business on the field before they even think about the BCS title games, but a lot also depends on how the rest of the country fairs. Bottomline, Boise and TCU need some help if they have any hopes of winning it all.
#6 Virginia Tech
The Hokies return 10 starters and you know that their defense will be solid like it has been for the past 24 years under head coach Frank Beamer, but the offense is the key. Virginia Tech has a date with Boise State to kickoff the season and has to go through the tough ACC including a trips to "The U" #13 Miami (Fla.), #18 North Carolina and Boston College. And a possible date with #20 Florida State in the ACC Championship. Tough schedule for a tough team, but don't be surprised if the Hokies manage to pull out yet another, ACC title.
#7 Oklahoma and #8 Nebraska
The Sooners and Cornhuskers make three Big 12 teams in the Top 10, most of any conference. Oklahoma returns 10 starters including offensive stars RB DeMarco Murray, WR Ryan Broyles and QB Landry Jones. Bob Stoops' Sooners always have a tough defense and experienced weapons on offense make them a threat. A Big 12 schedule is never easy and non-conference games against #20 Florida State and at UC will not be easy. The game against UC will be played at Paul Brown and last time a high profile team played the Bearcats at Paul Brown, the Ohio State Buckeyes, they almost got upset. The Sooners should be on upset alert when they role into the Queen City September 25th. As for the Huskers, Larry the Cable Guy's favorite team, they look to "Git-R-Done" and rebound from their last second defeat in last year's Big 12 Championship game against Texas. Nebraska returns 15 starters, but Defensive Player of the Year Ndamukong Suh is gone and like the Sooners, the Cornhuskers have to endure a Big 12 schedule. SI likes the Cornhuskers to, yet again take on the Longhorns in the Big 12 title game and I would have to agree.
#10 Iowa Hawkeyes
I had no idea that Iowa was even suppose to be any good, but ranked #10 in USA Today Coach's Poll and SI has them ranked #6. So, someone must like the Hawkeye's chances. Iowa returns 14 starters and like most Big Ten teams has a big offensive line, can run the ball and play defense. When you can do those things, you have a chance to win and so do the Hawkeyes. But games against Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin might be too much for them to handle. However, Iowa plays all three games at home.
Now for the top two teams and the teams that I see playing for the BCS National Title, The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
#2 Ohio State
Coming off an impressive Rose Bowl win against Oregon, the Buckeye return 14 starters and look ready for a title run. Heisman hopeful Terrelle Pryor leads a loaded offensive unit that includes a dynamic running back duo in Brandon Saine and Dan "Boone" Herron and receivers Dane Sanzenbacher and LaSalle grad DeVier Posey. One of the most talented offenses in the country, with a solid offensive line they should score plenty of points to go along with an excellent defense. The Buckeyes defense is led by linebackers Brian Rolle, Ross Homan and defensive end Cameron Heyward, who all made the one of four Sports Illustrated College Football Preview regional covers. A week 2 home game against Miami (Fla.) will be the only non-conference test for the Buckeyes. Trips to Iowa and Wisconsin will be tough roads tests and home games against Penn State and that team up North, as Woody Hayes use to say, in the Michigan Wolverines, are sure to be typical Big Ten games. The Buckeyes will be tested, but should go undefeated.
#1 Alabama
As for the defending champs, the Crimson Tide might be even better than they were last year. Now that's a scary thought. Alabama returns only 10 starters, but 9 of those are on offense. Returning are QB Greg McElroy, All-American WR Julio Jones, RB Trent Richardson, and last year's Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram. Plus, a solid offense line should add up to a boat load of points. As Lee Corso would say, "Roll Tide, Roll." Only one returning starter on defense might mean an inexperienced group, but they can back that inexperience with pure talent. After buying EA Sports NCAA Football 11 and playing with Alabama, let's just say they are pretty damn good. I know it's just a video game, but today's games are about as realistic as one could possibly imagine. On the game Alabama has 8 first team All-Americans on defense alone. Just about every starter has a overall rating of about 87 or higher with an offense and defense receiving an A+ grade. If Alabama is as good in real life as they are on the game, they will Roll into the National Title game.
Last but not least the Cincinnati Bearcats. Somehow they were left out of the USA Today Coach's Poll, they did receive 135 points, which was good enough for 26th. Still it's a crime them not being in the Top 25, but SI did rank UC at #18. If not being ranked wasn't bad enough, UC wasn't even picked to win the Big East. As they say on ESPN Monday Night Countdown, C'mon Man. UC is the two time defending Big East Champs and they can't even get picked to win the conference for the third year in a row. The rest of country still doesn't respect UC and this year they are out to prove the country and their former head coach, and current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, wrong.
Under new head coach Butch Jones, UC looks to continue where they left off last year. Departed QB Tony Pike, WR Mardy Gilyard and Brian Kelly are going to be hard to replace, but the UC offense might even be better than they were last year. UC returns 11 starters including RB Isaiah Pead, WR's D.J. Woods and Armon Binns and QB Zach Collaros. In addition to those weapons highly talented USC transfer WR Vidal Hazelton should take the place of Mardy Gilyard in the offense. The defense returns 5 starters, but should be an improvement from last year's defense that struggled against good teams and in big games. UC does have some tough non-conference games at Fresno State to start the year and at N.C. State. Playing # 7 Oklahoma down at Paul Brown will be the ultimate test for the Bearcats and if they can get by the Sooners, look for the nation to take notice. A tough road game at West Virginia and a date with Pitt in the final weekend are the biggest obstacles that UC faces on their way to another Big East Championship. I see UC winning the Big East for the third straight year and that has nothing to do with the fact that I go there...Okay maybe a little.
As for how they'll finish, my conference winners. First the BCS Conferences.
ACC: Virginia Tech
Big East: Cincinnati
Big Ten: Ohio State
Big 12: Texas
Pac-10: Since USC is on probation and ineligible for the polls and postseason, I like the Oregon Ducks.
SEC: Alabama
The winners of the non-BCS Conferences
WAC: Boise State; will go undefeated, but I see Ohio State and Alabama also having a spotless record so no title game for the Broncos. Just another reason why there needs to be a college football playoff.
Conference USA: Houston; QB Case Keenum is one of the best in the country and is a dark horse for the Heisman.
MAC: Miami (OH); as much as I would like to pick the Redhawks, they have not been good since Big Ben left and this year will be no different. SI picked Temple, so I will go with them.
Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee, once again I will side SI.
Mountain West: TCU
As for Notre Dame, they have a new coach in Brian Kelly and he has to break in a new quarterback. Expectations are high for the Irish, when are they not, and they might be good in the future, but Irish fans might have to settle for a .500 season. It sucks Kelly left UC and some people still have some hard feelings towards him, but the Notre Dame fans need to give the guy some time to turn the Fighting Irish around. He will probably get a ton of criticism if the Irish don't perform well, but the guy is a hell of a coach. Just look what he did with UC, pretty impressive. Notre Dame will be good in a year or two and you can take that to the bank.
Finally, my prediction for who will win it all.
#1 Alabama vs. #2 Ohio State
The Tide and Buckeyes should both have undefeated regular seasons and it should be a great title game. Both teams are well coached, have great defenses (probably the top two in the country) and Heisman caliber players on offense. As Keith Jackson would say, "Whoa, Nellie." As for who will win, I like the Buckeyes to upset the defending champs. Last time Ohio State came into a season with high expectations and a talented duel threat quarterback, they went to the title game against an SEC team and QB Troy Smith won the Heisman. History will repeat itself this year for the Buckeyes, but with different results. I like Pryor to win the Heisman, but do something that Smith didn't do, help the Buckeyes win a National Title.
Can't wait for college football to start and it should be a great season. And there's always a few surprises, you never know where the next major upset will happen or who might be the next Appalachian State. Are you ready for some football?
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