Thursday, September 30, 2010

Weekly Picks

Here we go, ten picks for the upcoming weekend, starting with tonight's underrated Big-XII South showdown. 

Last Week: 7-4

Oklahoma State 43, Texas A&M 39 - Two undefeated, high-powered offenses coming in off bye weeks; take the over if you can! The Aggies haven't hit the road yet this year, so look for that to be the difference in the shootout.

Clemson 24, Miami 23 - I think this is another underrated showdown. Miami's ranked and climbing after the whipping they laid down in Steel Town, but I think Clemson is a tough team. The Canes are flying high, but the Tigers are creeping through the grass. JaCory makes a mistake late and the Clemson D capitalizes.

Oklahoma 19, Texas 13 - This one feels overrated. Look at lowly Texas coming off a loss to UCLA and Oklahoma unable to find its groove, scraping by Air Force and Cincinnati. A wounded Longhorn is a dangerous thing, but I'm still taking the Sooners in a boring, boring affair in Dallas.

Wisconsin 24,  Michigan State 16 - The Magic ends with Dantonio in the booth.

LSU 27, Tennessee 17 - This will be U-G-L-Y on offense, mark it down. The Hatter pulls away int he second half with bug defense and special teams play.


VA Tech 28, NC State 24 - I'd love to see the Wolfpack roll, but I fell like the Hokies are going to run through the ACC now, because life is cruel and unpredictable. So, hug your mom while you can.

Alabama 23, Florida 20 - Look, I'm an SEC guy, but the other big one in this time slot is going to be a lot more fun. Look for a soulless, grinding effort from the Spartan-like Tide, closing the Gators out in the 4th with a red zone stand before adding a late FG. The scoreboard will say its close, but the look in the eyes of the Gators will speak the truth. You know, this reminds me, for pure Mascot-Coach matching, Saban should have never left Michigan State.

Stanford 37, Oregon 34 - I'm taking Harbaugh and his defense. But, yes, there will be points.

Iowa 27, Penn State 13 - The Hawkeyes expose the truth about the Nittany Lions.

Georgia 24, Colorado 20 - Don't watch this if you don't have to. Instead, take an hour nap around 7 to prepare for the 8:00 showdowns. Bobo, please, first play, deep to A.J., do it.

TCU to the Big East?

Maybe so. I guess it beats waiting around for your league to become an AQ conference.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tuesday Top-25

  1. Ohio State
  2. Alabama
  3. Oregon
  4. Florida
  5. TCU
  6. Utah
  7. Boise State
  8. Nebraska
  9. Stanford
  10. Auburn
  11. Oklahoma
  12. Arizona
  13. South Carolina
  14. Arkansas
  15. Iowa
  16. Wisconsin
  17. Miami
  18. Clemson
  19. Penn State
  20. USC
  21. Texas
  22. NC State
  23. Michigan
  24. Michigan State
  25. Nevada

Dynasty Update: Rose Bowl Bound

The dream has been deferred. Journeyman's second-ranked Wolfpack did defeat Washington to complete a perfect 9-0 conference run, but Boise State derailed the national championship dreams with a season-ending defeat. With the loss, Nevada missed out on a match-up with Alabama in the BCS Title game, but no one could take away the Rose Bowl. Despite the disappointment from the loss, the Wolfpack were excited to be in the Granddaddy of Them All, getting a close, exciting win over #15 Penn State. Rumors have been swirling about programs from Michigan to Oklahoma being interested in Journeyman, so we'll have to wait and see what happens in the off-season.

 2017 Schedule (12-1) :

UNLV - W 35-7
at New Mexico - W 45-0
at UCLA - W 28-21
Arizona - W 35-14
at Oregon State - W 31-13
Cal - W42-14
#15 Oregon - W 33-14
#3 USC - W 42-14
at #24 Stanford - W 35-23
at Arizona State - W 37-31
Washington - W 41-14
at #7 Boise State- L 17-27

Rose Bowl
#15 Penn State - W 31-27

Monday, September 27, 2010

Monday Evening QB

Well, thanks in part to Aroo's nuptial weekend and my almost record-braking chemical intake performance Friday/Saturday, I missed most of the college football action this weekend. Maybe miss is the wrong word. More like I saw it in flashes and glimpses; phone updates, text crawls, casual rehearsal dinner conversations, etc. and just wasn't in the state of mind to process it all into any thing coherent.

Here's what does standout:

Denard Robinson is still good at football...but like we all knew, he wouldn't stay healthy. He did throw up over 200 yards and 2 TD's in just a quarter of playtime. That's just gross.

This year's NC State is going to be fun to watch. 

I have NO IDEA what's wrong at Georgia. That loss was a big reason for my own reckless, Robinson-like run through Saturday night's festivities. Of all the disappointments so far in 2010, the O-line has got to be the biggest.Over 150 combined starts and a position coach pushing half a mil. and we get output like this? Yikes. Yes, I know its a freshman QB and a new defense, and I know the play-calling is questionable, and I know everything starts at the top, but the O-line play is toughest for me to digest right now.

Some places don't quite know their way around traditional bar-serving sizes. I ordered "Jim Beam, neat" from a waitress at Aroo's rehearsal and was presented with a martini glass full of chilled Bourbon. It was glorious and I had two of them...here in ATH they would cost me $50.

What's going on in Austin?

How's LSU still 4-0? I keep waiting for the implosion, but the defense and special teams keeps bailing the offense and the Mad Hatter out of tight spots. In exchange, the Tigers keep climbing the polls. And it's hard to argue with the logic of rewarding a team who's played all FBS, mostly BCS AQ teams. But it's coming. Soon.

Tressell finally had a little fun with the play calling...with his Buckeyes up by almost 30 points. That's like loosening your tie on the walk back to your car after wearing it through the entire reception.

Sometimes it's better to dabble with illegal substances and just go ahead and knock yourself out for the night than to continue drinking, flirt with alcohol poison, and emerge on the other side with the worst hangover ever. However, none of this should still be happening when you're pushing three decades.

Here comes Nevada. Welcome to the top-25, Wolfpack.

Lastly, congratulations to Aroo and his new wife. It was a fun time, a beautiful ceremony, and a great reception. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

This Jump is Amazing...

...that is all.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Weekly Picks

Here are the finalized picks for this week, starting with tonight's big non-conference match-up:

Miami 26, Pittsburgh 20 - Outside of Dion Lewis, Pitt doesn't seem to have much going for them. Don't look for Jacory Harris to repeat his 4-pick performance from Ohio State, do look for him to lead the 'Canes as they pull away from the Panthers in the second half.

Alabama 34, Arkansas 24 -I've backed up off it, put down my defeat-infused Ryan Mallet Kool-aid down and thought this one a out a bit more.

Boston College 24, VA Tech 21 - Switcheroo. In Chestnut Hill on the heels of some shitty performances, I see the Hokies coming up short again.

Stanford 31, Notre Dame 20 - Kelley's lost two close ones, but he'll get better...just not against The Cardinal.

Texas 41, UCLA 17 - Not quite the "Route 66" beating that kicked Mack Brown's era off in earnest, but still a solid beating.

Florida 34, Kentucky 21 - The Gators offense slowly gets better and a closer than expected game gets broken open in the 3rd quarter.

Oklahoma 37, Cincinnati 10 - Boomer Sooner.

Georgia 22, Mississippi State 20 - Ugh.

Auburn 23, South Carolina 16 - When Lattimore fails to gain 6 ypc on the first drive, Spurrier goes to the air and Garcia throws 2 picks. OBC-style hi-jinks ensue, with 2-QB's not quite being enough to overcome the steady progress of Cam Newton backed by an underrated D.

Oregon State 30, Boise State 23 - UPSET ALERT. The pressure's building in Boise and if they let the Beavers hang around, the Broncos will have a hard time closing this one out.

LSU 23, West Virgina 19- Ugly, ugly win.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Final "Why Not?" Rankings

Well, this is it, the final issuing of the "We haven't seen much, but Fuck it, let's rank 'em anyway" rankings. After this week, the top-25 becomes official - or, as official as anything here at FTS actually is - and has to be a bit better thought out than "I don't feel like changing that" or "I like their mascot better." Enjoy the haphazardy while you can,and as a reward for being such a loyal reader, you get extra-bonus teams in the poll.

In honor of the last Why-Not's of 2010, here's a picture of Blaze the Trailcat reading Dr. Suess to a housecat.

Because, fuck it, why not?

  1. Ohio State
  2. Alabama
  3. Oregon
  4. TCU
  5. Nebraska
  6. Utah
  7. Boise State
  8. Oklahoma
  9. Florida
  10. Texas
  11. South Carolina
  12. Arkansas
  13. Stanford
  14. Arizona
  15. LSU
  16. Miami
  17. Penn State
  18. Auburn and Clemson, still too close to call
  19. Iowa
  20. Nevada
  21. Wisconsin
  22. Pitt
  23. Michigan
  24. Michigan State
  25. Southern Cal
  26. Fresno State
  27. Air Force
  28. NC State
  29. West Virginia
  30. Oregon State
  31. Oklahoma State

Weekly Picks - Early Lean

I haven't made any blog-picks yet this season - and judging by my performance in my Pick 'Em League, I probably shouldn't - but that all changes today. Here's eleven games catching my attention for this weekend and my early lean on their outcomes. Picks will be final before Thursday night's kickoff.

Miami 26, Pittsburgh 20

Alabama 31, Arkansas 30

Virginia Tech 24, Boston College 20

Stanford 31, Notre Dame 20

Texas 41, UCLA 17

Florida 34, Kentucky 21

Oklahoma 37, Cincinnati 10

Georgia 22, Mississippi State 20

Auburn 23, South Carolina 16

Boise State 30, Oregon State 23

LSU 25, West Virgina 19

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sunday Afternoon QB

First off, Dantonio has balls; that was a risky call - too say the least - with a risk/reward ratio that most men would avoid like the plague. Why not keep playing for the tie and go to the next overtime? Because fuck all that noise, bitch, that's why. Now help me get my balls out of the stadium...and put on a tie, this is Michigan STATE for chrissakes. You wanna dress like that, move to Ann Arbor.



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UPDATE: HOLY SHIT. It was such a ballsy cal, he apparently gave himself a heart attack. I hope he's OK.
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Staying in America's high five, how bad is Michigan's defense? TERRIBLE. Side note: How dulled are we by Robinson's first two games, that his 395 yard, 3-TD day is "workman-like." He's not gonna put up 503 every week, guys.

Now for the home team: Rev up the hot-seat talk. Richt's Bulldogs are 0-2 in the SEC and all the half-wits, know-nothings, knee-jerkers, and dirt-road alum will have their sound machine in full force now. Hell, they barely shut up in the off season. What if UGA finished 10-2 while SoCar and Arkansas play for the SEC title? What then? I mean, it's not going to happen, but what if ti did? All the bitching that's already starting would seem foolish with two-months reflection. So why don't we just wait a bit and see what happens, OK? Unless we're 0-3 in the SEC leaving Stark-Vegas. Then it's on. Just kidding. Kind of. Seriously, please beat Mississippi State.

I HATE losing to Ryan Mallet. He seems like a giant white-trash douche. Maybe I'm not a good enough Georgia fan, but losing to Peyton back in the day, or Tebow the last few years, never bothered me as much as losing to this moron. Also, FUCK PETRINO. I hate him, too. But now I'm torn. Do I cheer for Arkansas to upset 'Bama so our loss doesn't look so bad? Or do I pray for a vicious, Rome vs. Gaul style smack down of comeuppance in the Ozarks?

Hey, look at that, Virginia Tech won a game. Now watch them rip-off nine straight wins and win the ACC.

Case Keenum's out - so's Houston chances of doing anything impressive this year.

Martinez is going to make Nebraska for real this year. Texas has looked disappointing and Oklahoma's Jekyll and Hyde act is unsettling, so maybe it's time for the Big-XII North champ. to make the BCS Title game. The Husker rushing offense has been straight nasty and could be enough to push Pelini and Co. over the edge.

Speaking of the Big-XII and rushing offense, maybe we shouldn't be so hard on Oklahoma. Air Force leads the nation in rushing and that temp can make it hard to pull away and ice a game. So the close game might have been more a testament to the Falcons' skill than the Sooners' shortcomings.

Who's the number 2 rushing team in the nation? Oregon. Who is now, with their 69-0 win, slightly better than a point a minute through 3 games.

Black Unis can look cool. Georgia's blackouts looked awesome*, Tennessee's Halloween special last year was tough, Mississippi State looked good giving a win to LSU, and Stanford's special color-combo was awesome last night. You might not always win when you do it, but it can look good.

While we're on special unis, I thought Auburn might break out blue pants/helmets for the True Blue game against their cousins from Clemson. Instead, the Auburn defense decided to accent their jerseys with flecks of Kyle Parker's blood and vomit.

Friday Night Lights: Look at Nevada knocking off Cal. Colin Kaepernick is fun to watch and with his performance, will be added to my Heisman watch list, which right now is all scrappy and mobile QB's.

Temple is the new Iowa.

Mark Ingram has not forgotten how to play. And wasn't it nice of Duke to give him all that room to stretch his legs?

Rumor has it Ann Richards worked some magic and pulled some political strings to get Baylor in the Big-XII over TCU. Well done. That worked out so well this weekend.

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* Home blackouts only. That high-school looking shit we did in Jax. last year was HIDEOUS. But I guess the helmets matched out athletic output.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Week 2 Why Not Rankings

These are still the "Why Not?" rankings because nothing means anything until you get a few weeks in. I could rank LSU or Michigan number one and it not mean a thing - hell, they both beat two FBS BCS AQ foes, not too many teams can say that - but I'm not getting that crazy in the early season polls. There's a little crazy, though...and man, did I ever dismiss Boise State to the remedial class.

1. Ohio State
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Oklahoma
5. Utah
6. TCU
7. Iowa
8. Florida
9. Texas
10. Boise State
11. Nebraska
12. South Carolina
13. Wisconsin
14. Stanford
15. Michigan
16. Arkansas
17. Arizona
18. Auburn
19. Houston
20. LSU
21. Miami
22. Pitt
23. Cal
24. Penn State
25. Fresno State

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Dynasty Update: Dream Season

2017 has been an amazing season for Ace Journeyman. His Nevada Wolfpack are undefeated and ranked #2 in the nation, using a 42-14 thrashing of then-#3 USC to get there. Journeyman's squad is 10-0 and two wins away from a BCS Title Game...but this might seem familiar to many fans watching around the country. Nevada rose as high as #6 last season, winning their first 9 games, and many pundits had them penciled into the Rose Bowl. But they had nothing but close games all season long, and eventually that came back to bite them, as they dropped their last 2 Pac-10 games and finished 10-2, settling for the Alamo Bowl. 2017, however, is a different animal altogether. Journeyman has led the 'Pack to their ten wins in dominant fashion, with only two games decided by a touchdown or less. The blowout against USC was a statement, proving that this coach has beaten the expectations and has his upstart, former-WAC, rags-to-riches program poised to make the final leap to the highest echelon of college football. The conference title is locked up - even a loss at Washington cannot take the Rose Bowl away from Nevada - but another former-WAC darling might have something to say about Journeyman's BCS expectations. Boise State, undefeated and ranked #7 in the nation, is looking to derail the Wolfpack's dream season with their season-ending showdown in two weeks. But for now, Nevada's focused on their dogfight in Seattle, and that's how Journeyman likes it: taking the season one game at a time.

2017 Schedule:

UNLV - W 35-7
at New Mexico - W 45-0
at UCLA - W 28-21
Arizona - W 35-14
at Oregon State - W 31-13
Cal - W42-14
#15 Oregon - W 33-14
#3 USC - W 42-14
at #24 Stanford - W 35-23
at Arizona State - W 37-31

Remaining Games:

Washington
at #7 Boise State

Monday, September 13, 2010

More Armchair QB-ing

First off, Denard Robinson again. If he keeps this up - which I'm positive there's absolutely no way he can; it's impossible - and stays healthy - unlikely with that kind of reckless abandon - he wins the Heisman. What's more likely: Sub-par games in opening Big-Ten play, a 2-3 game injury, then a fiery homestretch of statistical superiority where Michigan finishes 7-5. But, I am pulling for him.

Next:


New Mexico and Tennessee are very familiar with this image now. If you remember your Nintendo knowledge, it's what happens when the ducks get away. And get away they did.

Now, the SEC. It will not be fun defending Marcus Lattimore for at least 2 more years. Georgia did not tackle well on Saturday, but freight trains are hard to bring down regardless. I'm not ready to throw Grantham and the 3-4 under the bus like some other, more-vocal (but always less informed) fans are. Five sacks is a major improvement over anything Martinez did. Offensively, maybe we need to let Murray off the leash a bit more; even in a loss, he impressed me in his first road start in a hostile environment. I just don't think losing to SoCar is a season-ender...especially if this new look power running game they're using holds up all season.

Penn State's 2nd-and-91 was something else. Of course, Alabama's more responsible for it than the Nits. Alabama's also responsible for leaving me with a soul-crushing feeling of how good they are. Good's not the right word...Imperial, maybe? They reload their rosters, force the ball down field through anything your defense does, and then smother any attempt at offense you can come up with. They are a dark force spreading across the map of cfb with the brutal efficiency of the Roman Empire...we need to see some urban excess and border-barbarians, stat!

Oklahoma State almost lost a game from victory formation. That takes a dedication to chaos unseen in more stodgy and boring programs. Staying in the Big-XII South, Oklahoma destroyed Florida State (insert white settler-indian jokes here) while Texas has looked less than dominant in their opening contests. What does that mean? Nothing.

What if Virginia Tech lost to James Madison on purpose? You know, like just one big, last-laugh type of 'Fuck You' to Boise State. Even though it's not true, it's what I'd be telling everyone else back here in the FBS-division. I'm assuming - especially now after seeing the polls - that it'll be enough to screw the Broncos over, barring some ridiculous '07 style shenanigans in the big-6.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed Saturday. Now I'm ready for the weather to turn and all the assumptions we've made so far to be smashed and dashed.

Dynasty Update: Forgetting the Alamo

As the bowl pecking order settled out, Nevada found itself on the outside of the BCS. Hoping for an at-large bid to the Fiesta Bowl, the Wolfpack had to settle instead for an invite to the Alamo Bowl. The disappointment was evident on the field, as Journeyman's unfocused and apathetic charges fell behind 13-0 at the half. An impassioned halftime pep-talk and some serious adjustments turned the tide in the third quarter, and Nevada rallied to win, 21-13. It was an ugly game and one Journeyman would like to put behind him; his goal for next season is nothing less than the Rose Bowl. Many think these expectation are unrealistic, with the 'Pack being so new to a BCS league and the wear and tear of the adjustment being so evident late in the season, but Journeyman knows that many doubted he'd ever get this team to the Pac-10, much less league runner-up.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Dynasty Update: Reality Check

The undefeated run is over, the dream is dead, and Cinderella's lost her slipper. But, it seems Ace Journeyman is happier now after the loss to Oregon than he was in the weeks before. He knows that now his Wolfpack can just go play football, with no cloud of expectations hanging over them and no pressure for perfection. Oddly enough, though, if Nevada beats Washington, they cold still win the PAC-10 and play in the Rose Bowl. And, if Oregon does end up winning the conference, there's even a small chance that the 'Pack could end up with an at-large bid to another BCS Bowl. But, for right now, they're just playing one game at a time.

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UPDATE: The reality check continued: Washington 24, Nevada 21. But the Pack finally got a blowout, beating New Mexico 35-7. Two losses puts a BCS Bowl out of Nevada's reach and Coach Journeyman is dreading trying to focus his players attention for what is being seen as a let-down post-season.
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2016 Season


UNLV - W 27-21
at #5 USC - W 29-28
Arizona St. - W 31-24 OT
at Arizona - W 38-26
UCLA - W 21-16
#25 Stanford - W 20-17
#7 Notre Dame - W 36-28 3OT
Oregon St. - W 23-21
at Cal - 34-26
at #23 Oregon - L 17-30
at Washington - L 24-21
New Mexico - W, 35-7

Sunday Morning QB

Here's what I noticed over the course of the best college football day I can remember:


Denard Robinson is good at football. More on that later.

Marcus Lattimore is also good at football. He gouged the Georgia D all day for a total of 182 yards and 2 TD's, making everyone - lineman, too - look like rag dolls in the process. I hope for his sake, and the comforting transitive-ness that exists in cfb - that the Gamecocks do not hit a late year slide into mediocrity. They'll need to especially be on the lookout for that now that Florida's awake.

Seriously, though, fuck whoever plays QB. I f I was Spurrier, I'd give it to Lattimore 40 times a game.

Iowa looked better than I thought they would - Wisconsin looks worse.

Georgia Tech lost to Kansas, who lost to an FCS team last week. It was a long day for the ACC, but it was nice of them to go ahead and collapse so early, before we put any real stock in them as a conference.

Speaking of, what happened in Norman? I feel MUCH better about my Sooners in the title game pick now, but damn that was ugly. I guess that's it for Ponder's Heisman campaign, huh?

And, speaking of Heisman campaigns, Denard Robinson is the TRUTH. Over 500 yards of offense, no turnovers, and an awesome last-minute game-winning drive...the braids and cool nickname are just icing, man. His individual day was so monster it overshadowed Ohio State's rolling of Miami. The Buckeyes' victory came off a very good day by Terrelle Pryor and a mistake-filled frenzy of play by JaCory Harris. State's my other team for the title game, so they did good by me, but Harris's play leads to me believe he's overrated and the U is further away from a return to glory than we thought.

BTW, Robinson did it all in the ankle-high grass.

James Madison? I guess so. Like I said after the Boise-VA Tech game, from here on out, any evaluation of the Broncos will have to be a transitive one, and those are sketchy at best. All we know is they beat VA Tech. Then they took the week off while the Hokies got embarrassed by an FCS team. So, to be on the safe side, they'll be kept out of the top spot. Ah, I love college football.

Alabama doesn't even need Mark Ingram back. They did more than fine tonight with just Richardson...and that D doesn't seem too rebuilt. Oregon? Apparently, yes. A little lightning delay and they're running like the wind in there own time zone. The Ducks are the new point-a-minute gang: 120 points in 120 minutes so far.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Dynasty Update: Skin of the Teeth

Ace Journeyman is building a dream season in Reno. The Wolfpack are undefeated and ranked #2 in the nation after seven games, including wins over two top-ten teams. The win at USC put Nevada made voters pay attention, and with every subsequent win, the 'Pack have climbed higher and higher. If the season ended today, Journeyman's squad would play Alabama for the national title. But, the Ace isn't thinking that way, and hopefully neither are his players, because Nevada hasn't exactly been dominant in their wins. It took overtime to survive a trip to Tempe and late TD's to beat both UCLA and Stanford. All eyes were on Mackay Stadium when #7 Notre Dame came to town last week, many fans hoping the Irish would put the upstart Wolfpack in their proper place. But after a back-and-forth defensive game, the score was tied up at 14-all. After two overtimes, it was 28-28 and the Wolfpack had the ball. They scored on 4 plays and capped the TD with a 2-pt pass. A penalty forced Notre Dame back 10 yards and a sack two plays later left them in an even bigger hole. Facing 4th and 21, they went for it all, with the ball being picked in the end zone. The Stadium erupted and jubilant fans rushed the field, but Journeyman looked less ecstatic. He knows there's still 5 games ahead, against tough competition, and that this high of a ranking might be a little inflated...and he knows the seven wins he has have been less than dominant and to make it worse there's now a target on his team's back. But for now, he fakes a smile and coaches on...

2016 Season

UNLV - W 27-21
at #5 USC - W 29-28
Arizona St. - W 31-24 OT
at Arizona - W 38-26
UCLA - W 21-16
#25 Stanford - W 20-17
#7 Notre Dame - W 36-28 3OT

Remaining Games:

Oregon St.
at Cal
at #23 Oregon
at #15 Washington
New Mexico

Fantasy Football

Well, 2010 will be (surprisingly) my first season to ever do Fantasy Football. And, true to noob form, I made some less than solid picks. In honor of my looming first defeat, I'm posting something I found on Reddit today:

And, no, I didn't pick Tebow. And that means he'll have a breakout year.

The Week 1 Why-Not Rankings

It seems foolish to do a top-25 considering how little we've seen and how much of that limited play was mismatched, sloppy, or both. But, I love it, so here goes, based on what we've seen, with no consideration for the preseason rankings, a top-25.

  1. Boise State
  2. Ohio State
  3. Alabama
  4. Oregon
  5. Virginia Tech
  6. TCU
  7. Utah
  8. Texas
  9. Iowa
  10. Wisconsin
  11. Miami
  12. South Carolina
  13. Georgia
  14. Florida
  15. BYU
  16. Oklahoma
  17. Penn State
  18. Auburn
  19. Georgia Tech
  20. Florida State
  21. Michigan
  22. USC
  23. Houston
  24. Pitt
  25. LSU
Why?

Once they woke up, VA Tech looked good, especially Tyrod Taylor. In the end, Boise was 3 points better, so I'm keeping them both near the top. Boise's got the most impressive win so far, so they get the top spot. It was close, though, so the Hokies get to hang around another week.

Utah, with its win over Pitt, rises into the middle of the pack of one-win teams. Because they played the toughest opponent of all these teams, they get the head spot of the pack.

LSU looked good...and the terrible. Pitt stays, but barely...and maybe they should still be higher because no matter what the know-nothing BCS supremacist says, it's hard to win at Utah. BYU gets a "hey you beat a BCS team" nod as well...bonus for beating a Heisman contender.

I ranked the three SEC East teams by degree of impressiveness in their wins. I added Michigan for beating UConn and Robinson looking good doing it. Houston dropped 68 like it was no thing, but they were play no body, so 20's it is for them. USC gave up 36 to Hawaii and Penn State hangs around the bottom of the one-winners because I don't feel like moving them.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Green's Green

UPDATE 2: Last thing I'm saying about it. Well, I'm not saying it, but I'm recommending what someone else said. Clay Travis' piece on the matter has drawn some Facebook criticisms, but I'm with it for most of the way. On a personal level, I like this quote:
Put yourself in the student-athlete's shoes. He's sitting in a dorm room without extra money to hit the movie theater or McDonald's. Meanwhile, he's got an old jersey in his place -- a jersey, mind you, that he sees countless people on campus walking around in all day -- and someone is willing to give him $1,000 for that old jersey. Might you be tempted to sell that jersey? Hell, I would. And if you say you wouldn't, it's probably because you've never been in a position where you needed any money for anything.
And for far-reaching reasons, I like this one:
That's because players like Green are bound by NFL rules to sit on college campuses until they've completed at least three years since finishing high school. So what if Green would have been a first-round pick last year after his sophomore season -- which he would have -- you're contractually obligated to risk everything for another year on campus. This entire situation must seem like a bad dream. You are the only person on the planet who can't make money off your talents.
True. In the end, I know the rule's the rule, but it sounds like the NCAA is doing some "interpretation" here. They did that with Masoli, too, and had to go back on their decision, so maybe UGA can win their appeal. At least Green was honest about what happened; remember Dez Bryant? He lied in his inquiry and got tossed for the whole season.

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UPDATE
: It's looking like a FOUR game suspension for A.J.Green. So, selling a jersey garners more punishment than a hit-and-run. Apparently the jersey was sold to someone who had connections to an agent, though, so there's that. I hope there's more to this - A LOT more - since Marcell Dareus only got two games for a similar situation, Ealey got one game for a worse offense, and Masoli plays on in Oxford.

Doc Saturday has some insight.
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It broke yesterday that the reason A.J. Green couldn't play on Saturday was because he sold a game jersey. Wow. I though it stemmed from some illegal agent contact...and apparently, it still might in a lingering investigation. Anyway, here's TSK's write-up of A.J. Jersey-gate as well as a few other SEC oddities. I hope Green can play Saturday. But more than anything I hope the decision comes from the NCAA soon, so if it is a 'no,' then we can get our game plan together. Also, if it is just the jersey thing, then we need to rethink our punishment paradigm. By all accounts, Green is a good kid who sold his own property. He broke no law...but he did commit an NCAA infraction. And in their eyes, that's worse. The rules committee can still force him to sit another game, and worse, they refuse to reach a conclusion, which hampers a team's ability to move on. All this while players who were convicted of drug possession and robbery play freely after being kicked out of one school and transferring. Cool, NCAA, cool.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Tuesday Evening QB: Give it Time

Well, the first weekend of college football is over and it was one of the better opening stretches that I can remember. From Utah's OT win over Pitt on Thursday to last night's showdown at FedEx field, I enjoyed the whole shebang...I even got to sneak a few minutes of TV at the family cabin on Sunday and see ECU's miracle Hail Mary win over Tulsa. As great as it was, though, we need to take a breath and settle down for a moment. Despite what we saw, we don't know anything yet; it was the first weekend and the jitters are still being worked out. Keeping that in mind, let's see what questions are still lingering.

What did I learn from last night's showdown? Mainly that Boise State is a slightly better team than Virginia Tech...and right now, I'm not sure what that means. Like almost every team across the nation - except maybe Oregon - both teams made mistakes, had sloppy plays, blew coverages, and did all the other little things that go into opening weekend. That means it's hard to define what the Broncos' win truly means. And, with their weak schedule down the line, we'll have to rely on Virginia Tech's performance to actually figure out what Boise's win means. And once things get transitive, they're unreliable at best.

The entire system is flawed and there's no fair way to fix it. If they go 12-0, will Boise State have done everything they had to do to earn the chance at a BCS title? Yes. Is it fair that they still could get left out? No. But, is it fair to allow them in the game over a team from a powerhouse conference with one loss? No. So what do we do? No clue.

Are Oklahoma and Florida really doomed this season? I doubt it. Brantley and the Gator offense will sync-up and settle in and woe to those who play the Gators in the late weeks of the season. Oklahoma looked sloppy, but they also looked explosive, which I'll take every time when it comes to week one. I'm still keeping the Sooners in the top-3 and the Gators in the top-10 until I see true weaknesses. Why am I willing to cut so much slack? Because there's no pre-season in cfb.

Michigan looked good on Saturday in their win over UConn and Denard Robinson looks like a perfect fit to run RichRod's offense. His speed was on display and he made good decisions all through the day. What does this mean? Nothing...yet. The Big Ten is top heavy with experienced teams with senior QB's, stocked O-lines, and top-tacklers returning. And, while Michigan could play spoiler for a team or two, they won't make real noise until 2011. Next week, they play Notre Dame. The Irish looked solid enough on Saturday, but I still see a mediocre season in 2010. No one on that team looks fast enough to contain Robinson and when the Irish tried to downgrade their schedule difficulty a few years ago, they most certainly did not expect Utah to end up so talented, as they have a date with the Utes in a few weeks.

And how good is Utah? Well, to answer that question, you have to have an idea how good Pitt is. The Utes do play TCU, who beat Oregon State, and that game could go a long way to decide who's going to be a non-AQ BCS buster.

So, what am I saying here? Nothing truly important or specific; just that weekend one was tons of fun, even if there's not much we can really tell about 2010 as a whole, yet. But give it time, my friends. Next week, we won't be grading on a curve or allowing re-dos; the competition will be stiffer and the standards higher, and then we'll know a little more about who's who and where they're headed.

Oh, Ole Miss...

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Life. Death. Football.

Please read this. It is one of the greatest life and football pieces I've read, and I think it kicks the season off better than machismo coach quotes, pep-talks, hard-rock, hip-hop, or pop-country anthems, or any thing else anyone can say. When you've used Hunter S. Thompson and Camus on a football blog, you've accomplished something special, and only a Hemingway line and Dylan lyric could have made it perfection. Spencer Hall is the poet-laureate of college football.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

"Fight 'em till Hell freezes over...

...then fight 'em on the ice!"

College Football returns tomorrow!

Manifest Destiny

They did it. BYU did it - they left the Mountain West. The football Cougars will play as independents starting in 2011, while the rest of the BYU sports will play in the I-know-you've-never-heard-of-of-either West Coast Conference. I know they wanted to keep pace with in-state rival Utah who jumped to the PAC-10, but I think their best bet would have been to stay in the recently expanded MWC and hope for a solid 12th-team addition, setting up a championship game and probable BCS AQ status. Instead, they chanced the unknown and set of on their own, the Notre Dame of the West, an independent, religious, AAU-member, with good academics and a modern football record that's spotty at best. Good luck, guys.

So, what will happen now? I think the MWC should still go ahead and expand to 12. Add Houston or continue raiding the WAC, but either way, get a championship game. Then your champion can get an auto-bid...but the WAC will be screwed. Which is why they're stretching out desperately to get some FCS team to step up (like Montana) and waiting to see if Hawaii follows BYU into independence. Either way, that league is done as a serious league, even among mid-majors.