20) South Florida @ Florida (Sep. 11): Potential upset alert for the Gators and their young Quarterback against a feisty in-state opponent.
19) Iowa @ Arizona (Sep. 18): Interesting Big 10/Pac 10 matchup with experienced teams.
18) BYU @ Florida State (Sep. 18): A 54-28 defeated to the Seminoles last season proved to the game that knocked the Cougars out of BCS contention.
17) Arizona State @ Wisconsin (Sep. 18): A pass-happy, finesse team versus a run-minded squad. Good road test for the Pac 10.
16) Oklahoma @ Cincinnati (Sep. 25): This game will prove one of two things. Can Sooner Quarterback Landry Jones handles his first big start against a non-conference opponent? Or can the Bearcats start back where they left off with a crop of young talent?
15) Oregon @ Oregon State (Dec. 2): This is late in the year, but with USC out of the BCS picture, these two rivals could decide who gets into the Rose Bowl.
14) Pittsburgh @ Utah (Sep. 2): Utah needs this game to earn some BCS credibility with a win, but could lose it all with a loss at home.
13) Miami @ Pittsburgh (Sep. 23): Former Big East opponents will meet in what could be a Top 10 matchup with formidable offenses.
12) Oregon State @ Boise State (Sep. 25): The Broncos beat Oregon early last year and will look to do the same to their fellow state rivals. The Beavers will rely on Runningback Jacquizz Rodgers.
11) Texas vs. Oklahoma (Oct. 2 in Dallas): This Red River Shootout could be an early testing ground for two teams looking to rebuild under center.
10) Florida State @ Miami (Oct. 8): The two "Sunshine State" rivals are picked to win their ACC divisions and could be the ACC Championship preview.
9) Nebraska @ Washington (Sep. 18): The only true non-conference test for the Cornhuskers, while the Huskies will look to defend their home field from a BCS contender.
8) West Virginia @ LSU (Sep. 25): Two BCS monsters in the mid-2000s are now looking to rebuild and get back to that dominance. This will be a nice matchup against eight or nine win teams.
7) TCU vs. Oklahoma State (Sep. 4 in Arlington, TX): Though the Cowboys are rebuilding, this early season game could be a good starting point, while a loss would damper TCU's BCS chances.
6) Texas @ Nebraska (Oct. 16): A potential Big 12 Championship preview will play into the Cornhuskers favor with an experienced team and the "Red Sea" strongly behind them.
5) Penn State @ Alabama (Sep. 11): A matchup of two of the most decorated teams in NCAA history is also an early test for both teams. Penn State is in a rebuilding stage with a brand new quarterback. While this BCS game will put the Tide to the test.
4) Virginia Tech vs. Boise State (Sep. 6 in Washington, D.C.): Boise State needed more games to earn them credibility in the BCS. What they don't need in a repeat of their game with Georgia in 2005 where they were trounced 48-13.
3) Florida State @ Oklahoma (Sep. 11): Two prestigious programs with a lot of history. This game should live up to its billing with two good teams.
2) Florida @ Alabama (Oct. 2): The last two SEC Championship games rematch in this game against the previous two national champions. The Gators are rebuilding with Joe Brantley under center, but the Tide look to keep "rolling" toward a 2nd straight BCS Title game.
1) Miami @ Ohio State (Sep. 11): The Buckeyes have a knack for playing these Top 5 games early with previous matchups against Texas and USC. Miami will be primed, ready, and looking to prove themselves.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Saturday, August 1, 2009
2009 College Football Preview
College football in 2009 looks to be another strong year, but the top looks to be held by the same teams as in 2008. Once again, college football fans here the rumblings of BCS title chants in Gainesville, Norman, Austin, and Los Angeles. In the first of the three cities, they each boast frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy. 2009 is also a year for the Mountain West and Boise State to make their claim that they belong in the BCS on a yearly basis. This all leads into the top 5 stories heading into the new season.
5) Since the beginning of the decade, the Pac-10 conference has been about the outstanding quarterback play. Joey Harrington, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty, Rudy Carpenter all come to mind when we think of high powered offense from the Pacific coast. This year is not the case, in fact only two Pac 10 teams are sure who their QBs will be heading into the 2009 season. Jake Locker from Washington and Jeremiah Masoli from Oregon are the only two with secure jobs. Locker is coming off an injury to rejoin his teammates who went 0-12 last season. Instead, the Pac-10 seems to boister the deepest and most explosive group of running backs in the nation. Jahvid Best and Jacquizz Rodgers of Cal and Oregon State respectively are outsiders in the Heisman race this season. Pac 10 also includes the powerhouse backfield in Southern Cal of Joe McKnight, C.J. Gable, and Stafon Johnson. Oregon's LeGarrette Blount is an explosive back for the Ducks and their spread offense. These running backs all have the talent to breakthrough the scene, and the best back out of the Pac-10 this season could wind up in New York with Big 3.
4) Playoffs? Still talking about playoffs? Yes Coach Mora...playoffs. Probably the biggest controversy in sports in the past decade, aside from the steriod-era in baseball being revealed, has been the BCS and how much a playoff system would benefit in figuring out a champion for each season. Last year was a prime example for those in favor of a playoff system. Texas beat Oklahoma in last year's Red River Shootout 45-35, but failed to jump over the Sooners in the BCS standings, thus sending OU to the National Championship game against Florida. Also, three teams with two or more losses were sent to BCS games based on conference championships. Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Virginia Tech were thought by many to have not belonged in their respective bowls. Cincinnati and Virginia Tech played each other in one of the more boring BCS games with the Hokies winning 20-7. Ohio State would end up taking it to Texas coming up short 24-21. Then the biggest shocker came from Utah, laying the wood to arguably the 3rd or 4th best team in the nation Alabama 31-17. All these factors caused stirs for playoffs, but arguing and discussing it is a mood point with ESPN getting the rights to the BCS for the next several years.
3) 2009 could be the make or break year for the Big East in the eyes of college football fans. While is it true they have an affiliation with the BCS, they got it back in the BCS's inception in 1998, when Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College are all a part of the Big East. In 2003, when those three went, so did the conference. The Big East held on for a little bit thanks to big time players like Brian Brohm of Louisville and the two-headed machine of Pat White and Steve Slaton, and the rise of fame in 2007 of Rutgers and South Florida. Now that the magic has worn off, the Big East is running low on big time playmakers and nationally competitive teams. Some polls don't even have a Big East team in their preseason Top 25, compared to three teams from the Mountain West conference getting preseason nods. The best team going into the season is anyone's guess, but comes down to either Pittsburgh or West Virginia. Pitt lost their best player to the NFL in the form of LeSean McCoy, but coach Dave Wandstadt has had good recruiting classes. West Virginia is in rebuilding mode after Pat White graduated, but a solid returning defense and playmaker Noel Devine could lift the Mountaineers. This year could be the same as the last with 4 or 5 teams sharing the same record, thus having another 9-3 or 8-4 team going back to the Orange Bowl.
2) Many think that the Big East is keeping teams like Boise State, BYU, Utah, and TCU from getting their shot at the BCS pie. But since we have an automatic bid by the Big East, the discussion begins on who has the best shot in claiming an at-large bid. Utah and Boise State have both had success in BCS bowls. The Utes are 2-0 in their appearances (35-7 over Pitt in 2005 and 31-17 over Alabama in 2008). Boise State won their lone appearance in an historic way, beating one of the best teams of the decade, Oklahoma, 43-42 in overtime. In order to make their names known to the nation, Utah, TCU, and BYU have made their non conference schedules tougher. Utah has added games @ Oregon and Louisville at home. TCU goes on the road to Virginia and Clemson in a couple of tough ACC games. But the team with the most to gain this season if they win, is BYU. The Cougars have put games @ Oklahoma and Florida State at home in the month of September. BYU also plays host to their Mountain West counterparts TCU and Utah at home.
1) What else is new? Anytime someone puts a number one in ranking down, how can it not contain the words Florida or Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow's road to a 2nd straight Heisman Trophy is much tougher than his team's road to a third national title in four years. Tebow arguably more talent around him this year than he did last year, which is scary considering Percy Harvin is gone to the NFL. The list of names is almost scary to opposing teams. Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey at runningback, Carl Moore, David Nelson, and Aaron Hernandez at receiver/tight ends, and the always dangerous Brandon James at kick returner have the makings for yet another high powered Urban Meyer offense. This is all good news and bad news to Tim Tebow. Good news: his immense talent (and soft schedule to boot) around him gives a great chance at more hardware on his fingers. Bad news: the spotlight is taken off Tebow and spread to the rest of his team. Tebow's chances of winning a 2nd Heisman are hurt, but maybe his team around will put number 15 on the same wall as Archie Griffin.
Here is my list of BCS conference champions:
ACC: Virginia Tech (over Florida State in the ACC Title game). The Hokies return a stout defense and a duel threat quarterback in Tyrod Taylor. Frank Beamer no longer has to decide to choose between Taylor and Sean Glennon, so maybe this takes the pressure off and allows Taylor to be that explosive quarterback that he's shown he could be. Speaking of Beamer, his patented "Beamer Ball" of doing little things (like defense and special teams) has led to a lot of success. Look for Virginia Tech to roll into Jacksonville for their 3rd straight ACC Title game appearance and winning over whoever comes out of the ACC Atlantic.
Big East: West Virginia. The Mountaineers are probably the best team in this mediocre conference. Noel Devine is still an exciting player, and has a great chance at being the Big East player of the year. Backed with a solid defense, the Mountaineers will win a tough, but mediocre Big East, but because of nonconference games against Auburn and Colorado, they're record won't leave them with a good taste in the mouths of the rest of the college football nation.
Big 10: Penn State. It may be time for a changing of the guard for one year in the Big 10. Ohio State has dominated the conference, but find themselves with lots of question marks. Will Terrelle Pryor step up and be the leader they need? Will Pryor find any targets at running back or receiver? How will the defense be with the losses of Lauranaitis, Freeman, and Jenkins to the NFL? Evan Royster and Daryll Clark in Happy Valley look to have the formula to win the Big 10 this year. Along with a strong defense and a home game Nov. 7 against the Buckeyes, look for Joe Pa to have his boys in the BCS mix.
Big 12: Texas (over Nebraska in the Big 12 title game). This is the most exciting and hardest to predict conference in the nation this year. Texas and Oklahoma are at the top, but Oklahoma State is nipping at their heels this year. Up north, Kansas and Nebraska will duel it out for a shot at runner up in the title game. Texas this year has to go to Oklahoma State and arch rival Texas A&M, and of course that "small" game in Dallas Oct. 17 against Oklahoma. But Colt McCoy has his favortie target in Jordan Shipley back, and coach Mack Brown has put together another strong defense to close down on teams, but the season will fall on the arm of McCoy. This is a hard selection with the offense the Sooners return of Bradford, Murray, Brown, and Gresham. It's a coin flip either way, and mine landed on Texas.
Pac 10: USC. Yes, the Trojans will rise up yet again to capture the Pac 10. This year may be a little harder on USC than in recent years. Oregon, Cal, and Oregon State are all much improved and have a great chance to upset USC for the crown this year. USC also plays away games at Ohio State and Notre Dame. If the Trojans struggle against the Irish, they could fall into a trap the next week against the stingy Beavers. The schedule gets tougher after that with back-to-back road games at Oregon and Arizona State. That stretch of games will prove the mettle of this year's Trojans. They have the talent, but do they have the quarterback?
SEC: Florida (over LSU in the SEC Title game). How easy was that? Sure, the SEC may be the toughest conference and the hardest to win year in and year out. But when you have the talent the Gators do, the hype is well deserved. No one in the SEC east is anywhere close to competing for the bid to Atlanta with Georgia losing its big playmakers and South Carolina & Tennessee being down again. LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss will have a battle royale of a year in the west. But look at the roster, and look at the last 3 years. 12 of Florida's starters are seniors this year, seniors that have won 2 other national titles during their time in Gainesville.
My Top 5 guys to make it to the Heisman ceremonies (with career stats):
5) Dez Bryant. WR/Oklahoma State. 2102 yards receiving 25 TDs. 2 full years of play
4) Jahvid Best. RB/California. 1801 yards rushing 17 TDs. 1 full year of play
3) Sam Bradford. QB/Oklahoma. 70% completion 7481 passing yards 86TDs. 3 full years of play
2) Tim Tebow. QB/Florida. 65.7% completion 6390 passing yards 67 TDs. 2 full years of play
my preseason Heisman selection 1) Colt McCoy. QB/Texas. 70% completion 9732 passing yards 85 TDs. 3 years of play.
Four players on the outside looking in for the Heisman ceremonies:
Zach Robinson QB/Oklahoma State
Dan LeFevour QB/Central Michigan
Jonathan Dwyer RB/Georgia Tech
Jacquizz Rodgers RB/Oregon State
Here is a list of some of the top playmakers in the nation (these guys are worth the price of admission):
Noel Devine RB/West Virginia
DeMarco Murray RB/Oklahoma
Evan Royster RB/Penn State
Dexter McCluster WR-RB/Ole Miss
Julio Jones WR/Alabama
Arrelious Benn WR/Illinois
Javier Arenas KR/Alabama
Brandon James KR/Florida
Perrish Cox KR-CB/Oklahoma St
Eric Berry S/Tennessee
Taylor Mays S/USC
George Selvie DE/South Florida
Top Non-conference games (by order of date not importance):
Oregon @ Boise State--Sep. 3. What a better way to kick off the college football season than with an exciting matchup against between two of the most innovative offenses in the nation. Oregon would have a big edge, if they didn't have to travel to the smuf turf on a Thursday night. The Ducks' Masoli looks to give his team an early boost before the meat of the schedule, while this game will determine Boise State's BCS possibilities.
Georgia @ Oklahoma State--Sep. 5. This game could either be a test by a young Bulldog team, or the coming out party for Mike Gundy and the Cowboys. Offense will rule this game in what could be an old fashioned shootout. Young recievers from Georgia, A.J. Green and Marlon Brown shine for Georgia, while the offensive juggernaut of Zach Robinson, Kendall Hunter, and Dez Bryant look to put a black eye on the SEC.
Virginia Tech/Alabama in Atlanta--Sep. 5. Another big tussle for the SEC, this time against the class of the ACC. While the Tide handled business in the same scenerio last year versus Clemson, the Hokies look to become a darkhorse national contender. Stout defenses will rule this game in what could turn into a field goal game.
USC @ Ohio State--Sep. 12. It's pretty simple. Win, and your going to be in the thick of the national title picture, lose and maybe start reserving your Rose Bowl seats. This could even be a preview of the 2009 Rose Bowl, but this will be an exciting game not because of their history, its exciting because the future of these two teams is so clouded. Both look to be rebuilding after major losses in the team, but USC still has immense talent on their sidelines. This will be the opportunity for Terrell Pryor to go from high school legend, to big time college football player.
Florida State @ BYU and Utah @ Oregon--Sep. 19. Mountain West, here is your opportunity to put your product out to the rest of the college football world. BYU has the talent to knock off the Seminoles in a trap game for Bobby Bowden. Utah matches up nicely with Oregon, but Autzen Stadium is one of the most hostile places in all of college football. Wins by either BYU or Utah will catapault them into BCS discussions. Losses, and those spots will probably go to bigger conference teams.
5) Since the beginning of the decade, the Pac-10 conference has been about the outstanding quarterback play. Joey Harrington, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty, Rudy Carpenter all come to mind when we think of high powered offense from the Pacific coast. This year is not the case, in fact only two Pac 10 teams are sure who their QBs will be heading into the 2009 season. Jake Locker from Washington and Jeremiah Masoli from Oregon are the only two with secure jobs. Locker is coming off an injury to rejoin his teammates who went 0-12 last season. Instead, the Pac-10 seems to boister the deepest and most explosive group of running backs in the nation. Jahvid Best and Jacquizz Rodgers of Cal and Oregon State respectively are outsiders in the Heisman race this season. Pac 10 also includes the powerhouse backfield in Southern Cal of Joe McKnight, C.J. Gable, and Stafon Johnson. Oregon's LeGarrette Blount is an explosive back for the Ducks and their spread offense. These running backs all have the talent to breakthrough the scene, and the best back out of the Pac-10 this season could wind up in New York with Big 3.
4) Playoffs? Still talking about playoffs? Yes Coach Mora...playoffs. Probably the biggest controversy in sports in the past decade, aside from the steriod-era in baseball being revealed, has been the BCS and how much a playoff system would benefit in figuring out a champion for each season. Last year was a prime example for those in favor of a playoff system. Texas beat Oklahoma in last year's Red River Shootout 45-35, but failed to jump over the Sooners in the BCS standings, thus sending OU to the National Championship game against Florida. Also, three teams with two or more losses were sent to BCS games based on conference championships. Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Virginia Tech were thought by many to have not belonged in their respective bowls. Cincinnati and Virginia Tech played each other in one of the more boring BCS games with the Hokies winning 20-7. Ohio State would end up taking it to Texas coming up short 24-21. Then the biggest shocker came from Utah, laying the wood to arguably the 3rd or 4th best team in the nation Alabama 31-17. All these factors caused stirs for playoffs, but arguing and discussing it is a mood point with ESPN getting the rights to the BCS for the next several years.
3) 2009 could be the make or break year for the Big East in the eyes of college football fans. While is it true they have an affiliation with the BCS, they got it back in the BCS's inception in 1998, when Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College are all a part of the Big East. In 2003, when those three went, so did the conference. The Big East held on for a little bit thanks to big time players like Brian Brohm of Louisville and the two-headed machine of Pat White and Steve Slaton, and the rise of fame in 2007 of Rutgers and South Florida. Now that the magic has worn off, the Big East is running low on big time playmakers and nationally competitive teams. Some polls don't even have a Big East team in their preseason Top 25, compared to three teams from the Mountain West conference getting preseason nods. The best team going into the season is anyone's guess, but comes down to either Pittsburgh or West Virginia. Pitt lost their best player to the NFL in the form of LeSean McCoy, but coach Dave Wandstadt has had good recruiting classes. West Virginia is in rebuilding mode after Pat White graduated, but a solid returning defense and playmaker Noel Devine could lift the Mountaineers. This year could be the same as the last with 4 or 5 teams sharing the same record, thus having another 9-3 or 8-4 team going back to the Orange Bowl.
2) Many think that the Big East is keeping teams like Boise State, BYU, Utah, and TCU from getting their shot at the BCS pie. But since we have an automatic bid by the Big East, the discussion begins on who has the best shot in claiming an at-large bid. Utah and Boise State have both had success in BCS bowls. The Utes are 2-0 in their appearances (35-7 over Pitt in 2005 and 31-17 over Alabama in 2008). Boise State won their lone appearance in an historic way, beating one of the best teams of the decade, Oklahoma, 43-42 in overtime. In order to make their names known to the nation, Utah, TCU, and BYU have made their non conference schedules tougher. Utah has added games @ Oregon and Louisville at home. TCU goes on the road to Virginia and Clemson in a couple of tough ACC games. But the team with the most to gain this season if they win, is BYU. The Cougars have put games @ Oklahoma and Florida State at home in the month of September. BYU also plays host to their Mountain West counterparts TCU and Utah at home.
1) What else is new? Anytime someone puts a number one in ranking down, how can it not contain the words Florida or Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow's road to a 2nd straight Heisman Trophy is much tougher than his team's road to a third national title in four years. Tebow arguably more talent around him this year than he did last year, which is scary considering Percy Harvin is gone to the NFL. The list of names is almost scary to opposing teams. Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey at runningback, Carl Moore, David Nelson, and Aaron Hernandez at receiver/tight ends, and the always dangerous Brandon James at kick returner have the makings for yet another high powered Urban Meyer offense. This is all good news and bad news to Tim Tebow. Good news: his immense talent (and soft schedule to boot) around him gives a great chance at more hardware on his fingers. Bad news: the spotlight is taken off Tebow and spread to the rest of his team. Tebow's chances of winning a 2nd Heisman are hurt, but maybe his team around will put number 15 on the same wall as Archie Griffin.
Here is my list of BCS conference champions:
ACC: Virginia Tech (over Florida State in the ACC Title game). The Hokies return a stout defense and a duel threat quarterback in Tyrod Taylor. Frank Beamer no longer has to decide to choose between Taylor and Sean Glennon, so maybe this takes the pressure off and allows Taylor to be that explosive quarterback that he's shown he could be. Speaking of Beamer, his patented "Beamer Ball" of doing little things (like defense and special teams) has led to a lot of success. Look for Virginia Tech to roll into Jacksonville for their 3rd straight ACC Title game appearance and winning over whoever comes out of the ACC Atlantic.
Big East: West Virginia. The Mountaineers are probably the best team in this mediocre conference. Noel Devine is still an exciting player, and has a great chance at being the Big East player of the year. Backed with a solid defense, the Mountaineers will win a tough, but mediocre Big East, but because of nonconference games against Auburn and Colorado, they're record won't leave them with a good taste in the mouths of the rest of the college football nation.
Big 10: Penn State. It may be time for a changing of the guard for one year in the Big 10. Ohio State has dominated the conference, but find themselves with lots of question marks. Will Terrelle Pryor step up and be the leader they need? Will Pryor find any targets at running back or receiver? How will the defense be with the losses of Lauranaitis, Freeman, and Jenkins to the NFL? Evan Royster and Daryll Clark in Happy Valley look to have the formula to win the Big 10 this year. Along with a strong defense and a home game Nov. 7 against the Buckeyes, look for Joe Pa to have his boys in the BCS mix.
Big 12: Texas (over Nebraska in the Big 12 title game). This is the most exciting and hardest to predict conference in the nation this year. Texas and Oklahoma are at the top, but Oklahoma State is nipping at their heels this year. Up north, Kansas and Nebraska will duel it out for a shot at runner up in the title game. Texas this year has to go to Oklahoma State and arch rival Texas A&M, and of course that "small" game in Dallas Oct. 17 against Oklahoma. But Colt McCoy has his favortie target in Jordan Shipley back, and coach Mack Brown has put together another strong defense to close down on teams, but the season will fall on the arm of McCoy. This is a hard selection with the offense the Sooners return of Bradford, Murray, Brown, and Gresham. It's a coin flip either way, and mine landed on Texas.
Pac 10: USC. Yes, the Trojans will rise up yet again to capture the Pac 10. This year may be a little harder on USC than in recent years. Oregon, Cal, and Oregon State are all much improved and have a great chance to upset USC for the crown this year. USC also plays away games at Ohio State and Notre Dame. If the Trojans struggle against the Irish, they could fall into a trap the next week against the stingy Beavers. The schedule gets tougher after that with back-to-back road games at Oregon and Arizona State. That stretch of games will prove the mettle of this year's Trojans. They have the talent, but do they have the quarterback?
SEC: Florida (over LSU in the SEC Title game). How easy was that? Sure, the SEC may be the toughest conference and the hardest to win year in and year out. But when you have the talent the Gators do, the hype is well deserved. No one in the SEC east is anywhere close to competing for the bid to Atlanta with Georgia losing its big playmakers and South Carolina & Tennessee being down again. LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss will have a battle royale of a year in the west. But look at the roster, and look at the last 3 years. 12 of Florida's starters are seniors this year, seniors that have won 2 other national titles during their time in Gainesville.
My Top 5 guys to make it to the Heisman ceremonies (with career stats):
5) Dez Bryant. WR/Oklahoma State. 2102 yards receiving 25 TDs. 2 full years of play
4) Jahvid Best. RB/California. 1801 yards rushing 17 TDs. 1 full year of play
3) Sam Bradford. QB/Oklahoma. 70% completion 7481 passing yards 86TDs. 3 full years of play
2) Tim Tebow. QB/Florida. 65.7% completion 6390 passing yards 67 TDs. 2 full years of play
my preseason Heisman selection 1) Colt McCoy. QB/Texas. 70% completion 9732 passing yards 85 TDs. 3 years of play.
Four players on the outside looking in for the Heisman ceremonies:
Zach Robinson QB/Oklahoma State
Dan LeFevour QB/Central Michigan
Jonathan Dwyer RB/Georgia Tech
Jacquizz Rodgers RB/Oregon State
Here is a list of some of the top playmakers in the nation (these guys are worth the price of admission):
Noel Devine RB/West Virginia
DeMarco Murray RB/Oklahoma
Evan Royster RB/Penn State
Dexter McCluster WR-RB/Ole Miss
Julio Jones WR/Alabama
Arrelious Benn WR/Illinois
Javier Arenas KR/Alabama
Brandon James KR/Florida
Perrish Cox KR-CB/Oklahoma St
Eric Berry S/Tennessee
Taylor Mays S/USC
George Selvie DE/South Florida
Top Non-conference games (by order of date not importance):
Oregon @ Boise State--Sep. 3. What a better way to kick off the college football season than with an exciting matchup against between two of the most innovative offenses in the nation. Oregon would have a big edge, if they didn't have to travel to the smuf turf on a Thursday night. The Ducks' Masoli looks to give his team an early boost before the meat of the schedule, while this game will determine Boise State's BCS possibilities.
Georgia @ Oklahoma State--Sep. 5. This game could either be a test by a young Bulldog team, or the coming out party for Mike Gundy and the Cowboys. Offense will rule this game in what could be an old fashioned shootout. Young recievers from Georgia, A.J. Green and Marlon Brown shine for Georgia, while the offensive juggernaut of Zach Robinson, Kendall Hunter, and Dez Bryant look to put a black eye on the SEC.
Virginia Tech/Alabama in Atlanta--Sep. 5. Another big tussle for the SEC, this time against the class of the ACC. While the Tide handled business in the same scenerio last year versus Clemson, the Hokies look to become a darkhorse national contender. Stout defenses will rule this game in what could turn into a field goal game.
USC @ Ohio State--Sep. 12. It's pretty simple. Win, and your going to be in the thick of the national title picture, lose and maybe start reserving your Rose Bowl seats. This could even be a preview of the 2009 Rose Bowl, but this will be an exciting game not because of their history, its exciting because the future of these two teams is so clouded. Both look to be rebuilding after major losses in the team, but USC still has immense talent on their sidelines. This will be the opportunity for Terrell Pryor to go from high school legend, to big time college football player.
Florida State @ BYU and Utah @ Oregon--Sep. 19. Mountain West, here is your opportunity to put your product out to the rest of the college football world. BYU has the talent to knock off the Seminoles in a trap game for Bobby Bowden. Utah matches up nicely with Oregon, but Autzen Stadium is one of the most hostile places in all of college football. Wins by either BYU or Utah will catapault them into BCS discussions. Losses, and those spots will probably go to bigger conference teams.
Here are the top conference games to keep an eye on this year:
Florida @ LSU--Oct. 10. Probably the only really tough game on the Gators schedule, and they get a week off before their trip to Death Valley. LSU always gives Florida fits, and Les Miles always has a few tricks under that tight hat of his. Florida has the talent and the experience, but the Tigers have won the last two meetings against the Gators in Baton Rouge.
Texas/Oklahoma in Dallas--Oct. 17. Not only is this game the benchmark year in and year out for the Sooners and Longhorns, and not only has the game had national title implications for the last several years, but it is one of the most exciting games on the college football schedule. Now the country to full aware of Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, its time for these two Heisman finalists to show why they are the best. Texas has had the better of Oklahoma, winning the last three of four games by a combined total of 139-85. But the Sooners do own a 6-3 record against their rival since 2000.
Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech--Oct. 17. The Hokies and Yellow Jackets are probably going to be the class of not only the ACC Costal, but the entire ACC. Frank Beamer and his Hokies will bring their strong defensive play and try to stop the elusive option attack of Tech coach Paul Johnson and his star at runningback, Jonathan Dwyer. Winner will have the inside track to Jacksonville, and a possible BCS game.
USC @ Oregon--Oct. 31. By the time the Trojans pull into Auzten Stadium, they will have played at Cal, at Notre Dame, and home game against Oregon St...all in the same month. USC will no doubt prove their worth for a BCS title game by going undefeated during this stretch. A loss will almost totally put them out of the title picture because of teams like Texas and Oklahoma playing each other. The Ducks have a tough first month against Boise State, Purdue, Utah, and Cal in September, and may be looking to bring the Trojans back down to them. USC has lost 3 straight games in the state of Oregon (Oregon and Oregon State).
Utah @ BYU--Nov. 28. This could be the game that not just decides the Mountian West champion, but if Utah goes back for a 3rd BCS game, or if the Cougars make it their their 1st BCS game in school history. Utah has a bit of a softer schedule and could wind up undefeated heading into this game. BYU has games against Oklahoma and Florida State early in the year. Utah stomped their counterparts last year 48-24 en route to yet another undefeated season. BYU will be battle tested and ready for a much tighter game when they host the Utes at the end of the year.
Here are my predictions for the 2009-10 BCS:
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Penn State
Sugar Bowl: West Virginia vs. BYU
Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Notre Dame
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma
BCS Title game: USC vs. Florida. Winner & National Champion: Florida
Florida plain and simple has the talent, experience, and rings to prove why they are the favorites. But college football fans could get their dream match up between the two best teams of the last decade in USC/Florida. Notre Dame probably won't deserve a BCS bowl, but their schedule sets up nice for a 9-3 record, which has meant BCS bid in the past. I believe BYU will lose early to Oklahoma, but be able to work themselves into a BCS bid thanks to other tough games they are capable of winning. Because of BCS tie ins, teams like LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, and Boise State could get passed over by lesser teams.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Sporting Stock Market
The last several months has shown that the United States (and the world) economy is not quite as strong as once originally thought. This blog is not to make any light of what is going on with job layoffs, nor to make light of people struggling with the failing economy. The intent is to show which of the major 4 U.S. professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL) are struggling or maintaining a good image to the average viewer of the sports.
National Football League: Stock Up.
Just coming off of another exciting playoff season and very entertaining Super Bowl XLIII, the NFL is looking strong and very alive. The season started off with a down moment, when Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady went down with a season ending injury. Plus the Indianapolis Colts started off the 2008 season with a 3-4 record. As well as the recurring role of the outspoken Terrell Owens, and the so-called "love triangle" that went on between Owens, Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo, and Tight End Jason Witten. Nevertheless, the league saw the rise of the Tennessee Titans and NFC South (Carolina, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay). Along with the return of powerhouses like Pittsburgh and New York Giants. The NFL also saw the rise of three rookies to prominence, Chris Johnson (Titans Running back), Joe Flacco (Ravens Quarterback), and Rookie-of-the-Year winner Matt Ryan (Falcons Quarterback). All of whom played in this year's postseason. In the playoffs, the "Cinderella" team Arizona Cardinals shocked the entire sports world and advanced to their 1st ever Super Bowl, defeating the Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles. Also, Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals Wide Receiver) led his team and broke Jerry Rice's record for most receiving yards in a single postseason (30 receptions, 546 yards, and 7 Touchdowns). The other Super Bowl team was the Pittsburgh Steelers. They made it to their 7th Super Bowl in franchise history. They would win their 6th Super Bowl over the Cardinals, in a game that saw an outstanding finish.
Major League Baseball: Stock Down.
Spring Training is about to start up, and players probably couldn't be anymore ready to get to the batting cages and to the practice mounds. Last October saw a less than stellar playoff and World Series, which didn't involve any teams from a major market like Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, or New York. Sure, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had a very nice run and a great season, winning the AL East from the Red Sox and Yankees, but in terms of star power, the World Series lacked it. Congratulations to the Phillies, but a large dark cloud still hangs over the sport, and it involves the use of anabolic steroids and HGH among many players. The last 2-3 years has seen icons like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Mark McGwire at the forefront of the allegations they "cheated" in obtaining records and playing the game. As of late, more names have popped up, most notably Alex Rodriguez. "A-Rod" was the face of baseball to help fans make it to the end of the "Steroid Era". He was supposed to be the "shining star" and break all the records of Bonds the correct way. On February 7, 2009, it was reported that Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2003. He was only one of 104 players reported to be on a sealed list of players whom tested positive in the same 2003 survey. If more prominent names come out on this list, then Major League Baseball may not be able to recover most of its fan base for a long time.
National Basketball Association: Stock Up.
The NBA just might surpass the MLB in the next couple of years. The upside to the NBA is incredible. The rivalry between the two most storied franchises (Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers) is back alive. Plus the emergence of the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks. The ususal suspects (San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Phoenix Suns) are still at the top battling to remain with the rest. The NBA also has a bountiful amount of talent and skill in the league. It has always had star power, but never before has it been as deep and talented as it is in 2009. Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are the two staples and headliners of the league. But "The Big 3" in Boston (Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce), Chris Paul (Hornets), Dwayne Wade & Michael Beasley (Miami Heat), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder), Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), and Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) are among the stars that are making the NBA into a likable league again. It is no longer just up to 4-6 teams to make the league. Each division is deep in the talent and makes for very interesting matchups year in and year out. The NBA's desire to clean up the league has apparently paid off, and if it's kept up, could become the 2nd best on this list.
National Hockey League: Stock Down.
Perhaps a bit harsh, but I am trying to enjoy the sport for what it is. Most likely, the United States as a whole will probably never accept hockey on a regular basis. For the sport to be successful, it needs star power, and the lack of recognizable stars to the majority of sports fans is very noticeable. The biggest star in the sport, Sidney Crosby, has been plagued by an injury that kept him from playing in the All-Star game, but it has dropped his team to 4th in their division. Perhaps the NHL will stick around for a while, but may not ever take off any places other than Canada, Detroit, Boston, and Pittsburgh. The last few years have seen teams from North Carolina, California, and Florida win the coveted Stanley Cup, which has been the subject of more punchlines than interests. Perhaps the best scenario for the NHL is to build on the Detroit Red Wings long success, match that with young teams like Washington and Pittsburgh, and maybe that could rejuvenate the sport. Hockey is much to exciting to see it get thrown by the wayside. As much as Americans love to see physical, violent sports, hockey just hasn't taken off for some reason. The NHL isn't tainted like the MLB is, so I genuinely hope that they can right the ship and keep it steady heading into the future.
I chose to not include NASCAR because I recently did a full story on the 2009 season, but I would list their stock as steady, sort of unchanging. The economy struggles have set the sport back financially, but the fresh crop of new talent mixed with the staples of the sport have NASCAR holding steady.
National Football League: Stock Up.
Just coming off of another exciting playoff season and very entertaining Super Bowl XLIII, the NFL is looking strong and very alive. The season started off with a down moment, when Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady went down with a season ending injury. Plus the Indianapolis Colts started off the 2008 season with a 3-4 record. As well as the recurring role of the outspoken Terrell Owens, and the so-called "love triangle" that went on between Owens, Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo, and Tight End Jason Witten. Nevertheless, the league saw the rise of the Tennessee Titans and NFC South (Carolina, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay). Along with the return of powerhouses like Pittsburgh and New York Giants. The NFL also saw the rise of three rookies to prominence, Chris Johnson (Titans Running back), Joe Flacco (Ravens Quarterback), and Rookie-of-the-Year winner Matt Ryan (Falcons Quarterback). All of whom played in this year's postseason. In the playoffs, the "Cinderella" team Arizona Cardinals shocked the entire sports world and advanced to their 1st ever Super Bowl, defeating the Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles. Also, Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals Wide Receiver) led his team and broke Jerry Rice's record for most receiving yards in a single postseason (30 receptions, 546 yards, and 7 Touchdowns). The other Super Bowl team was the Pittsburgh Steelers. They made it to their 7th Super Bowl in franchise history. They would win their 6th Super Bowl over the Cardinals, in a game that saw an outstanding finish.
Major League Baseball: Stock Down.
Spring Training is about to start up, and players probably couldn't be anymore ready to get to the batting cages and to the practice mounds. Last October saw a less than stellar playoff and World Series, which didn't involve any teams from a major market like Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, or New York. Sure, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had a very nice run and a great season, winning the AL East from the Red Sox and Yankees, but in terms of star power, the World Series lacked it. Congratulations to the Phillies, but a large dark cloud still hangs over the sport, and it involves the use of anabolic steroids and HGH among many players. The last 2-3 years has seen icons like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Mark McGwire at the forefront of the allegations they "cheated" in obtaining records and playing the game. As of late, more names have popped up, most notably Alex Rodriguez. "A-Rod" was the face of baseball to help fans make it to the end of the "Steroid Era". He was supposed to be the "shining star" and break all the records of Bonds the correct way. On February 7, 2009, it was reported that Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2003. He was only one of 104 players reported to be on a sealed list of players whom tested positive in the same 2003 survey. If more prominent names come out on this list, then Major League Baseball may not be able to recover most of its fan base for a long time.
National Basketball Association: Stock Up.
The NBA just might surpass the MLB in the next couple of years. The upside to the NBA is incredible. The rivalry between the two most storied franchises (Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers) is back alive. Plus the emergence of the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks. The ususal suspects (San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Phoenix Suns) are still at the top battling to remain with the rest. The NBA also has a bountiful amount of talent and skill in the league. It has always had star power, but never before has it been as deep and talented as it is in 2009. Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are the two staples and headliners of the league. But "The Big 3" in Boston (Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce), Chris Paul (Hornets), Dwayne Wade & Michael Beasley (Miami Heat), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder), Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), and Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) are among the stars that are making the NBA into a likable league again. It is no longer just up to 4-6 teams to make the league. Each division is deep in the talent and makes for very interesting matchups year in and year out. The NBA's desire to clean up the league has apparently paid off, and if it's kept up, could become the 2nd best on this list.
National Hockey League: Stock Down.
Perhaps a bit harsh, but I am trying to enjoy the sport for what it is. Most likely, the United States as a whole will probably never accept hockey on a regular basis. For the sport to be successful, it needs star power, and the lack of recognizable stars to the majority of sports fans is very noticeable. The biggest star in the sport, Sidney Crosby, has been plagued by an injury that kept him from playing in the All-Star game, but it has dropped his team to 4th in their division. Perhaps the NHL will stick around for a while, but may not ever take off any places other than Canada, Detroit, Boston, and Pittsburgh. The last few years have seen teams from North Carolina, California, and Florida win the coveted Stanley Cup, which has been the subject of more punchlines than interests. Perhaps the best scenario for the NHL is to build on the Detroit Red Wings long success, match that with young teams like Washington and Pittsburgh, and maybe that could rejuvenate the sport. Hockey is much to exciting to see it get thrown by the wayside. As much as Americans love to see physical, violent sports, hockey just hasn't taken off for some reason. The NHL isn't tainted like the MLB is, so I genuinely hope that they can right the ship and keep it steady heading into the future.
I chose to not include NASCAR because I recently did a full story on the 2009 season, but I would list their stock as steady, sort of unchanging. The economy struggles have set the sport back financially, but the fresh crop of new talent mixed with the staples of the sport have NASCAR holding steady.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
2009 NASCAR Preview
On February 15, 2009, the green flag will drop and another season of NASCAR will begin and run through the middle of November. This season is not any different than any other season. The cars have been tweaked, the drivers have changed, and sponsors have changed. The economy has plagued NASCAR during the offseason. Forcing some operations to shut down, merge, or even shut down. But here are the four biggest storylines that are worth following in the 2009 edition of the Sprint Cup. Here they are in order.
4) The next generation. NASCAR is changing in 2009. Some of it isn't quite planned. But refreshing, is seeing the number of rookies and potential superstars coming into the sport. The headliner of this group of four is Joey Logano. Logano has been dubbed "The Next Big Thing" by some of NASCAR's elite. In 2008, he started his career in the Nationwide Series by becoming the youngest driver to win a race in the series, at the Kentucky Motor Speedway. He would also rack up 4 poles, 5 Top-5's, and 14 Top-10's in only 19 races. He will be driving the #20 Home Depot car, now that Tony Stewart has created his own team. The two guys that will no doubt be chasing Logano are Scott Speed and Brad Keselowski. Speed made a name for himself in the Camping World Truck Series. The Formula One transplant made a splash in 16 races by winning at Dover and recording 1 pole, 4 Top-5's, and 9 Top-10's. Keselowski has been groomed for the Sprint Cup series by superstar Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He has spent the last two season racing in the Nationwide Series under J.R. Racing. In 69 races, Keselowski has 1 Pole, 2 wins (in 2008 at Nashville and Bristol), 11 Top-5's, and 25 Top-10's. The last rookie this year is Max Papis. The Italian road-course racer is looking to make noise in 2009 and win the Rookie-of-the-Year from this stacked field.
3) The rivalry continues. For the last 3 years, two racing organizations have dominated the Sprint Cup series. They would be Hendrick Motorsports and Roush-Fenway Racing. In 2007 and 2008, the 5 Roush cars (6, 16, 17, 26, and 99) combined for 18 wins, 84 Top-5's, and 149 Top-10s. On the flipside, Hendrick racers (5, 24, 48, and 25/88) combined to get 26 wins, 96 Top-5's, 147 Top-10's. Yes, Hendrick has won the last 3 Sprint Cup Championships with Jimmie Johnson, but in 2006 and 2008 Roush-Fenway cars finished 2nd to Johnson in the points chase. In fact, in 2006, Roush and Hendrick cars made up half of the 12 car field in the Chase for the Championship. In 2007, 3 Hendrick and 2 Roush cars made it into the Chase. Yet again, in 2008, half of the Chase were made up of the two mega-powers of racing. 2009 figures to be no different. Casey Mears has exited the duties of the 5 car, and NASCAR legend Mark Martin (who ironically made his entire career with Roush) will pilot the car in '09.
2) Time for the "Golden Boy" to step up. 2009 just might be Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s last chance to prove himself to NASCAR fans. Sure, the loyal fans of the 88 (plus those fans of his father) will always stick behind him, but this year is the chance to prove if he belongs among the elite. Junior made the transition in 2008 from frontman of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to being the third best driver in the Hendrick Motorsports organization. Hendrick, in 2009, has brought Mark Martin on board to man his fourth car, giving more reason for Junior to step his "game" up and start competing for championships. If Junior cannot do it in 2009, or at least compete at the end, he may never have a better shot at it.
1) Can the 48 4-peat? The last 3 years have belong to Jimmie Johnson. The 34 year old racer from California has already accumulated 3 straight championships and aiming for number 4 this year. He hasn't always been the most dominant guy, but he does just enough to make the Chase on a yearly basis, and then makes a big run towards the end to win the Chase in seemingly a dominating effort. 4-in-a-row has never been accomplished in NASCAR, and very rarely in any professional sport. Johnson has never been known to make big splashes in the spring and summer, but come august, better look out for #48 to make a big run towards the championship.
Chase Predictions (in no order):
Jimmie Johnson (#48, Lowe's, Hendrick)
Jeff Gordon (#24, DuPont, Hendrick)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#88, AMP/National Guard, Hendrick)
Carl Edwards (#99, Aflac, Roush)
Matt Kenseth (#17, DeWalt, Roush)
Kevin Harvick (#29. Penzoil, Childress)
Jeff Burton (#31, Cingular, Childress)
Kyle Busch (#18, M&M's, Gibbs)
Kurt Busch (#2, Miller Lite, Penske)
Denny Hamlin (#11, FedEx, Gibbs)
Tony Stewart (#14, Office Depot, Stewart/Haas)
Kasey Kahne (#9, Budweiser, Petty)
Rookie-of-the-Year Prediction:
Joey Logano (#20, Home Depot, Gibbs)
Breakout Racer of the Year Prediction:
Jamie McMurray (#26, Crown Royal, Roush)
Daytona 500 Prediction:
Denny Hamlin
2009 Sprint Cup Champion prediction:
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
4) The next generation. NASCAR is changing in 2009. Some of it isn't quite planned. But refreshing, is seeing the number of rookies and potential superstars coming into the sport. The headliner of this group of four is Joey Logano. Logano has been dubbed "The Next Big Thing" by some of NASCAR's elite. In 2008, he started his career in the Nationwide Series by becoming the youngest driver to win a race in the series, at the Kentucky Motor Speedway. He would also rack up 4 poles, 5 Top-5's, and 14 Top-10's in only 19 races. He will be driving the #20 Home Depot car, now that Tony Stewart has created his own team. The two guys that will no doubt be chasing Logano are Scott Speed and Brad Keselowski. Speed made a name for himself in the Camping World Truck Series. The Formula One transplant made a splash in 16 races by winning at Dover and recording 1 pole, 4 Top-5's, and 9 Top-10's. Keselowski has been groomed for the Sprint Cup series by superstar Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He has spent the last two season racing in the Nationwide Series under J.R. Racing. In 69 races, Keselowski has 1 Pole, 2 wins (in 2008 at Nashville and Bristol), 11 Top-5's, and 25 Top-10's. The last rookie this year is Max Papis. The Italian road-course racer is looking to make noise in 2009 and win the Rookie-of-the-Year from this stacked field.
3) The rivalry continues. For the last 3 years, two racing organizations have dominated the Sprint Cup series. They would be Hendrick Motorsports and Roush-Fenway Racing. In 2007 and 2008, the 5 Roush cars (6, 16, 17, 26, and 99) combined for 18 wins, 84 Top-5's, and 149 Top-10s. On the flipside, Hendrick racers (5, 24, 48, and 25/88) combined to get 26 wins, 96 Top-5's, 147 Top-10's. Yes, Hendrick has won the last 3 Sprint Cup Championships with Jimmie Johnson, but in 2006 and 2008 Roush-Fenway cars finished 2nd to Johnson in the points chase. In fact, in 2006, Roush and Hendrick cars made up half of the 12 car field in the Chase for the Championship. In 2007, 3 Hendrick and 2 Roush cars made it into the Chase. Yet again, in 2008, half of the Chase were made up of the two mega-powers of racing. 2009 figures to be no different. Casey Mears has exited the duties of the 5 car, and NASCAR legend Mark Martin (who ironically made his entire career with Roush) will pilot the car in '09.
2) Time for the "Golden Boy" to step up. 2009 just might be Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s last chance to prove himself to NASCAR fans. Sure, the loyal fans of the 88 (plus those fans of his father) will always stick behind him, but this year is the chance to prove if he belongs among the elite. Junior made the transition in 2008 from frontman of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to being the third best driver in the Hendrick Motorsports organization. Hendrick, in 2009, has brought Mark Martin on board to man his fourth car, giving more reason for Junior to step his "game" up and start competing for championships. If Junior cannot do it in 2009, or at least compete at the end, he may never have a better shot at it.
1) Can the 48 4-peat? The last 3 years have belong to Jimmie Johnson. The 34 year old racer from California has already accumulated 3 straight championships and aiming for number 4 this year. He hasn't always been the most dominant guy, but he does just enough to make the Chase on a yearly basis, and then makes a big run towards the end to win the Chase in seemingly a dominating effort. 4-in-a-row has never been accomplished in NASCAR, and very rarely in any professional sport. Johnson has never been known to make big splashes in the spring and summer, but come august, better look out for #48 to make a big run towards the championship.
Chase Predictions (in no order):
Jimmie Johnson (#48, Lowe's, Hendrick)
Jeff Gordon (#24, DuPont, Hendrick)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#88, AMP/National Guard, Hendrick)
Carl Edwards (#99, Aflac, Roush)
Matt Kenseth (#17, DeWalt, Roush)
Kevin Harvick (#29. Penzoil, Childress)
Jeff Burton (#31, Cingular, Childress)
Kyle Busch (#18, M&M's, Gibbs)
Kurt Busch (#2, Miller Lite, Penske)
Denny Hamlin (#11, FedEx, Gibbs)
Tony Stewart (#14, Office Depot, Stewart/Haas)
Kasey Kahne (#9, Budweiser, Petty)
Rookie-of-the-Year Prediction:
Joey Logano (#20, Home Depot, Gibbs)
Breakout Racer of the Year Prediction:
Jamie McMurray (#26, Crown Royal, Roush)
Daytona 500 Prediction:
Denny Hamlin
2009 Sprint Cup Champion prediction:
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
2008 College Football Bowl Games
This Saturday begins the bowl season in college football. That right, the time of the college football year where it really does not matter what you did in the regular season, just as long as you get 6 wins (even when at least 4 can be against 1-AA (FCS) teams) and get a trip to Las Vegas, San Francisco, or Tampa. This year's bowl games will feature 9 teams who did that very thing, only winning 6 games. 18 teams won 7 games, 14 teams won 8 games, 11 teams won 9 games, and 15 out of the 68 bowl eligible teams won 10 or more games.
Headlining the bowl season, as always, is the controversial Bowl Championship Series, which was created to do two things: 1) Eliminate the chance of having a split National Champion and 2) Placing the best teams in best 5 bowl games (Fiesta, Rose, Sugar, Orange, BCS Title Game). The 2008 version of the BCS does neither of the two. The likelihood of a split champion this year still looms large, especially after the fact it has happened twice in the 10 years since the BCS came into existence (2003 and 2004). This year's title game features two 12-1 teams in Oklahoma and Florida. The Texas Longhorns, however, still sit at 12-1 as well and some feel as though they were slighted out of a National Title slot, since they defeated Oklahoma earlier this season. If either team, Oklahoma or Florida, only win by the slimmest of margins and Texas blows out Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, some AP and USA Today voters could vote and we have a split champion. The 2nd problem with the BCS has to do with the fact the best teams don't play in the 5 bowls. Two 12 win teams, Boise State and Ball State, got left out of the BCS and are heading to the Poinsettia and GMAC Bowls, respectively. One 11 win team, Texas Tech, has also been left out and is going to the Cotton Bowl. While a 10-2 Ohio State team and a 9-4 Virginia Tech team both got BCS selections.
Now onto the rest of the bowls. The main problem with this bowl system is all of the contracts that major conferences hold on the bigger of the non-BCS bowls. SEC currently holds contracts to the Cotton, Outback, Capital One (Citrus), and Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl. In those games, respectively, Ole Miss (8-4), South Carolina (7-5), Georgia (9-3), and LSU (7-5). While Georgia belongs in the Capital One Bowl, more deserving teams like Boise State (12-0), TCU (10-2), and BYU (10-2) all should get a chance at showing what they're made of on a bigger stage. The problem is, that these teams play in much smaller conferences, and are looked down upon because of it. BYU and TCU both play in the Mountain West. Utah, another Mountain West team, earned a shot at the BCS Fiesta Bowl by going 12-0, while their counterparts are heading to Las Vegas and San Diego. Boise State plays in the WAC and will be joining TCU in San Diego for the Poinsettia Bowl.
As for the games themselves, here is the list of the Headliners, Under the Radars, and Duds of this season:
Headliners:
Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego: Boise State (12-0) vs. TCU (10-2)
BCS Rose Bowl in Pasedena: Southern Cal (11-1) vs. Penn State (11-1)
BCS National Title Game: Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1)
Under the Radars:
Meineke Bowl in Charlotte: North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4)
Holiday Bowl in San Diego: Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Oregon (9-3)
Sun Bowl in El Paso: Pittsburgh (8-4) vs. Oregon State (8-4)
Capital One Bowl in Orlando: Michigan State (9-3) vs. Georgia (9-3)
GMAC Bowl in Mobile: Ball State (12-1) vs. Tulsa (10-3)
Duds:
St. Petersburg Bowl in Tampa: Memphis (6-6) vs. South Florida (7-5)
Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu: Notre Dame (6-6) vs. Hawaii (7-6)
Alamo Bowl in San Antonio: Northwestern (9-3) vs. Missouri (9-4)
International Bowl in Toronto: Buffalo (8-5) vs. Connecticut (7-5)
BCS Fiesta Bowl in Tempe: Ohio State (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1)
Travis's Bowl Picks:
Here are my selections for the Bowl Championship Series:
Orange Bowl in Miami: Cincinnati over Virginia Tech
Sugar Bowl in New Orleans: Alabama over Utah
Fiesta Bowl in Tempe: Texas over Ohio State
Rose Bowl in Pasedena: Southern Cal over Penn State
National Title Game in Miami: Oklahoma over Florida 31-30
In conclusion, this year's bowl games are very lackluster. The ones that stand out from the rest are few and stand out quite a bit. When so many teams only win 6 and 7 games are awarded with bowl games, it's almost a slap in the face to a team that has won 10 or more games that get awarded with the same honor. One of those 6 win teams, Notre Dame, has only beaten one other team who is bowl eligible (Navy (8-4)). If a playoff system is out of the question, let's reduce the number of game from 34 down to 20. Second, make a rule that a team must have at least 8 wins and 3 of those wins against teams with winning records in the FBS. If 40 teams do not reach that criteria, then reduce the number of bowl games for that year. This would make sure that only deserving teams are able to reap the rewards of a bowl win, and restore the prestige to not only going to a bowl, but winning a bowl game.
Headlining the bowl season, as always, is the controversial Bowl Championship Series, which was created to do two things: 1) Eliminate the chance of having a split National Champion and 2) Placing the best teams in best 5 bowl games (Fiesta, Rose, Sugar, Orange, BCS Title Game). The 2008 version of the BCS does neither of the two. The likelihood of a split champion this year still looms large, especially after the fact it has happened twice in the 10 years since the BCS came into existence (2003 and 2004). This year's title game features two 12-1 teams in Oklahoma and Florida. The Texas Longhorns, however, still sit at 12-1 as well and some feel as though they were slighted out of a National Title slot, since they defeated Oklahoma earlier this season. If either team, Oklahoma or Florida, only win by the slimmest of margins and Texas blows out Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, some AP and USA Today voters could vote and we have a split champion. The 2nd problem with the BCS has to do with the fact the best teams don't play in the 5 bowls. Two 12 win teams, Boise State and Ball State, got left out of the BCS and are heading to the Poinsettia and GMAC Bowls, respectively. One 11 win team, Texas Tech, has also been left out and is going to the Cotton Bowl. While a 10-2 Ohio State team and a 9-4 Virginia Tech team both got BCS selections.
Now onto the rest of the bowls. The main problem with this bowl system is all of the contracts that major conferences hold on the bigger of the non-BCS bowls. SEC currently holds contracts to the Cotton, Outback, Capital One (Citrus), and Chick-Fil-A (Peach) Bowl. In those games, respectively, Ole Miss (8-4), South Carolina (7-5), Georgia (9-3), and LSU (7-5). While Georgia belongs in the Capital One Bowl, more deserving teams like Boise State (12-0), TCU (10-2), and BYU (10-2) all should get a chance at showing what they're made of on a bigger stage. The problem is, that these teams play in much smaller conferences, and are looked down upon because of it. BYU and TCU both play in the Mountain West. Utah, another Mountain West team, earned a shot at the BCS Fiesta Bowl by going 12-0, while their counterparts are heading to Las Vegas and San Diego. Boise State plays in the WAC and will be joining TCU in San Diego for the Poinsettia Bowl.
As for the games themselves, here is the list of the Headliners, Under the Radars, and Duds of this season:
Headliners:
Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego: Boise State (12-0) vs. TCU (10-2)
BCS Rose Bowl in Pasedena: Southern Cal (11-1) vs. Penn State (11-1)
BCS National Title Game: Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1)
Under the Radars:
Meineke Bowl in Charlotte: North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4)
Holiday Bowl in San Diego: Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Oregon (9-3)
Sun Bowl in El Paso: Pittsburgh (8-4) vs. Oregon State (8-4)
Capital One Bowl in Orlando: Michigan State (9-3) vs. Georgia (9-3)
GMAC Bowl in Mobile: Ball State (12-1) vs. Tulsa (10-3)
Duds:
St. Petersburg Bowl in Tampa: Memphis (6-6) vs. South Florida (7-5)
Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu: Notre Dame (6-6) vs. Hawaii (7-6)
Alamo Bowl in San Antonio: Northwestern (9-3) vs. Missouri (9-4)
International Bowl in Toronto: Buffalo (8-5) vs. Connecticut (7-5)
BCS Fiesta Bowl in Tempe: Ohio State (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1)
Travis's Bowl Picks:
Here are my selections for the Bowl Championship Series:
Orange Bowl in Miami: Cincinnati over Virginia Tech
Sugar Bowl in New Orleans: Alabama over Utah
Fiesta Bowl in Tempe: Texas over Ohio State
Rose Bowl in Pasedena: Southern Cal over Penn State
National Title Game in Miami: Oklahoma over Florida 31-30
In conclusion, this year's bowl games are very lackluster. The ones that stand out from the rest are few and stand out quite a bit. When so many teams only win 6 and 7 games are awarded with bowl games, it's almost a slap in the face to a team that has won 10 or more games that get awarded with the same honor. One of those 6 win teams, Notre Dame, has only beaten one other team who is bowl eligible (Navy (8-4)). If a playoff system is out of the question, let's reduce the number of game from 34 down to 20. Second, make a rule that a team must have at least 8 wins and 3 of those wins against teams with winning records in the FBS. If 40 teams do not reach that criteria, then reduce the number of bowl games for that year. This would make sure that only deserving teams are able to reap the rewards of a bowl win, and restore the prestige to not only going to a bowl, but winning a bowl game.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Grades on the UT Football team: 9/01/08 @ UCLA
Every week that UT plays this season (and possibly the Titans too) I will attempt to do my own grading on the UT football team and how I think they performed in that week.
Week 1:
Running backs: B-. Hardesty broke a couple of awesome TD runs and Foster busted off some good runs as well.
Quarterback: C. Inaccurate at times and didn't respond to pressure real well. Good job, though, running the "2-minute" offense at the end.
Offensive line: D. Probably the biggest disappointment of the game. For a line that only gave up 5 sacks all year long, they looked like scrubs out there versus the Bruhins.
Wide Recievers: C+. Dropped balls continually, but made a few good plays. Gerald Jones was the class of the recieving core and probably deserves a B+.
Defensive Line: B+. I thought they got to the QB well but didnt put him into the turf enough. They disrupted his passing motion, but it didn't seem to work much at the end.
Linebackers: C. Rico McCoy, Elix Wilson, and Adam Myers-White were almost non exsistent in this game. Backup Nevin McKensie made a good play off his interception for the TD.
Secondary: B-. A+ 1st half with 4 INTs, but didn't execute in the end which led to the game going into overtime. Very soft coverage on the final UCLA drive.
Special Teams: D. While blame should not be put on Lincoln for the loss, 1 for 4 on field goals are not a good stat. The punt block for a TD was a wild mess and shouldn't have happend. The bright spot again was Gerald Jones with a few good punt and kick off returns for good yardage.
Coaching Staff: C-. Players have to execute, but play calling was a head scratcher at times. Tennessee is at their best when the run the ball. Not when they pass 41 times in a game. Foster and Hardesty were producing on the ground, but weren't given the ball more than they should have. Finally, the odd punt formation that led to a block for a TD was very confusing.
Overall Grade: D+. Should have never lost this game. Poor execution and iffy play calling led to this victory for the Bruhins. UT is a better football team, but they failed to show it on either side of the ball for 4 quarters...and 1 OT.
Players of the Game: Offense: Montario Hardesty: 12 carries 66 yards 2 TDs
Defense: Nevin McKenzie: INT returned for a TD
Special Teams: Gerald Jones: 3 K/P ret.109 yards
Week 1:
Running backs: B-. Hardesty broke a couple of awesome TD runs and Foster busted off some good runs as well.
Quarterback: C. Inaccurate at times and didn't respond to pressure real well. Good job, though, running the "2-minute" offense at the end.
Offensive line: D. Probably the biggest disappointment of the game. For a line that only gave up 5 sacks all year long, they looked like scrubs out there versus the Bruhins.
Wide Recievers: C+. Dropped balls continually, but made a few good plays. Gerald Jones was the class of the recieving core and probably deserves a B+.
Defensive Line: B+. I thought they got to the QB well but didnt put him into the turf enough. They disrupted his passing motion, but it didn't seem to work much at the end.
Linebackers: C. Rico McCoy, Elix Wilson, and Adam Myers-White were almost non exsistent in this game. Backup Nevin McKensie made a good play off his interception for the TD.
Secondary: B-. A+ 1st half with 4 INTs, but didn't execute in the end which led to the game going into overtime. Very soft coverage on the final UCLA drive.
Special Teams: D. While blame should not be put on Lincoln for the loss, 1 for 4 on field goals are not a good stat. The punt block for a TD was a wild mess and shouldn't have happend. The bright spot again was Gerald Jones with a few good punt and kick off returns for good yardage.
Coaching Staff: C-. Players have to execute, but play calling was a head scratcher at times. Tennessee is at their best when the run the ball. Not when they pass 41 times in a game. Foster and Hardesty were producing on the ground, but weren't given the ball more than they should have. Finally, the odd punt formation that led to a block for a TD was very confusing.
Overall Grade: D+. Should have never lost this game. Poor execution and iffy play calling led to this victory for the Bruhins. UT is a better football team, but they failed to show it on either side of the ball for 4 quarters...and 1 OT.
Players of the Game: Offense: Montario Hardesty: 12 carries 66 yards 2 TDs
Defense: Nevin McKenzie: INT returned for a TD
Special Teams: Gerald Jones: 3 K/P ret.109 yards
Sunday, March 2, 2008
NASCAR: Fastly becoming America's New Pastime
Just imagine....a warm spring day. The whole place is full of fans wanting to see their favorite athletes, and how they will fare today. The beers are flowing and the hot dogs go on the grill about as fast as they come off. Seems like a perfect day at a sporting event. That is until that 15 car pileup in turn 3 happens. What? Were you expecting baseball and not NASCAR?
Sure, about ten or twenty years ago, those thoughts would have been used for "America's favorite pastime". But those thoughts are quickly going up in a cloud of dust. More and more, people are tuning away from the Yankees vs. Red Sox, and tuning in to see if Tony Stewart is going to wreck Kurt Busch. Baseball used to be recognized by the last names of players instead of the the sport itself. Not too long ago, people could say Ruth, Mantle, Ryan and Ripken, and they would know what you were talking about. In fact, NASCAR wasn't even relevant at the time. Aside from guys like Jeter and Rodriguez, baseball is straining to have those big names that pop out to the average sports fan that may not follow baseball as contently. Instead, the Major League Baseball is recognized by Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco for their alleged steroid use. Bonds and Clemens have yet to be found guilty, but we all know that the court of public opinion outweighs the court of law.
On the other hand, there is NASCAR. Being more and more recognized through correct publicity for their athletes like Gordon, Stewart and the ever present Earnhardt, Jr. NASCAR doesn't have to worry about steroid use. Other than Michael Waltrip using jet fuel at the 2007 Daytona 500, NASCAR is virtually clean. More and more fans are getting tired of seeing mediocre pitchers getting paid millions and millions of dollars. Instead, they like the idea that NASCAR drivers don't get paid by lengthy contracts, but rather their performance on the track. Yes, they get big contracts from sponsors, but guys like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, as well as most other drivers, got those big contracts by starting out as the low man on the totem pole and working their way up. Even though millions of dollars is rewarded to these drivers, NASCAR is one of the only truly "blue-collar" sports of the major ones. Golf being the other exception.
Baseball still has its rivalries to fall back on for ratings boosts. People still tune in to watch the Yankees/Red Sox, Dodgers/Giants, Braves/Mets, and Cubs/White Sox. But more and more, people get tired of seeing four or five teams dominate a season, then some no name team win the World Series. NASCAR does have racing stables that are very dominant. No one will deny that Hendrick Motorsports (Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Casey Mears) and Roush-Fenway Racing (Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and David Regan) are usually up at the front most races. But when it is one lap to go, it doesn't matter if Johnson's car is half-owned by Gordon, if he has to move him out of the way to win, he will. Rivalries are also a big part of NASCAR. Ford vs. Chevrolet used to be the biggest until all the bodies were made the same. Roush-Fenway Racing vs. Hendrick Motorsports. Toyota vs. Everyone else. Kurt Busch vs. Tony Stewart.
More fans are also being turned onto NASCAR based off of its fan base. How many times do you see a Red Sox fan share a beer with a Yankee fan two hours before the opening pitch? Rarely ever. NASCAR fans are one big community. Gordon fans will prop their number 24 flags up and have them wave beside the Earnhardt 3 and 8 flags, then share a beer and grill up some food. For 500 miles, chances are you would love nothing more than to punch that lone Robby Gordon fan in the head for not having a real driver, but then again everyone hates everyone for those 500 laps. But its the sense of almost a family before and after every race. They share their alcohol and their hangovers together.
The proof isn't necessarily in the pudding, but rather in the TV ratings. The Daytona 500 keeps gaining and gaining viewers every year, whereas viewers of the World Series keep declining. Keep in mind, that Daytona is one race, and the World Series is up to seven games. For the 500 to even compete with an average of seven games on the biggest stage in baseball, it is remarkable to see. The All-star events have changed too. Baseball saw a ten percent decreased from this All-Star Game in 2007 from 2006. Whereas the NASCAR All-Star race, which is basically a 30 car dash for about one million dollars, saw its best ratings. Obviously more people enjoy seeing drivers wreck other drivers to get that cool million, rather than Barry Bonds whiff at three fastballs from Roger Clemens.
Baseball will never go out of style. There are too many little leagues and softball leagues for that to happen. There aren't new as many tracks from five and six year olds, as there are tee ball fields. But in terms of mainstream popularity on the major league level, baseball could fall into the same breath as the NBA, soccer and tennis. The game has been tampered with and tainted too much with the allegation of steriod use on its most influential players. Five years from now, numbers 8, 20, 24 and 48 won't be recognized by the guys taking 95 mile per hour fastballs, but rather by the guys driving the 195 mile per hour race cars.
Sure, about ten or twenty years ago, those thoughts would have been used for "America's favorite pastime". But those thoughts are quickly going up in a cloud of dust. More and more, people are tuning away from the Yankees vs. Red Sox, and tuning in to see if Tony Stewart is going to wreck Kurt Busch. Baseball used to be recognized by the last names of players instead of the the sport itself. Not too long ago, people could say Ruth, Mantle, Ryan and Ripken, and they would know what you were talking about. In fact, NASCAR wasn't even relevant at the time. Aside from guys like Jeter and Rodriguez, baseball is straining to have those big names that pop out to the average sports fan that may not follow baseball as contently. Instead, the Major League Baseball is recognized by Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco for their alleged steroid use. Bonds and Clemens have yet to be found guilty, but we all know that the court of public opinion outweighs the court of law.
On the other hand, there is NASCAR. Being more and more recognized through correct publicity for their athletes like Gordon, Stewart and the ever present Earnhardt, Jr. NASCAR doesn't have to worry about steroid use. Other than Michael Waltrip using jet fuel at the 2007 Daytona 500, NASCAR is virtually clean. More and more fans are getting tired of seeing mediocre pitchers getting paid millions and millions of dollars. Instead, they like the idea that NASCAR drivers don't get paid by lengthy contracts, but rather their performance on the track. Yes, they get big contracts from sponsors, but guys like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, as well as most other drivers, got those big contracts by starting out as the low man on the totem pole and working their way up. Even though millions of dollars is rewarded to these drivers, NASCAR is one of the only truly "blue-collar" sports of the major ones. Golf being the other exception.
Baseball still has its rivalries to fall back on for ratings boosts. People still tune in to watch the Yankees/Red Sox, Dodgers/Giants, Braves/Mets, and Cubs/White Sox. But more and more, people get tired of seeing four or five teams dominate a season, then some no name team win the World Series. NASCAR does have racing stables that are very dominant. No one will deny that Hendrick Motorsports (Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Casey Mears) and Roush-Fenway Racing (Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and David Regan) are usually up at the front most races. But when it is one lap to go, it doesn't matter if Johnson's car is half-owned by Gordon, if he has to move him out of the way to win, he will. Rivalries are also a big part of NASCAR. Ford vs. Chevrolet used to be the biggest until all the bodies were made the same. Roush-Fenway Racing vs. Hendrick Motorsports. Toyota vs. Everyone else. Kurt Busch vs. Tony Stewart.
More fans are also being turned onto NASCAR based off of its fan base. How many times do you see a Red Sox fan share a beer with a Yankee fan two hours before the opening pitch? Rarely ever. NASCAR fans are one big community. Gordon fans will prop their number 24 flags up and have them wave beside the Earnhardt 3 and 8 flags, then share a beer and grill up some food. For 500 miles, chances are you would love nothing more than to punch that lone Robby Gordon fan in the head for not having a real driver, but then again everyone hates everyone for those 500 laps. But its the sense of almost a family before and after every race. They share their alcohol and their hangovers together.
The proof isn't necessarily in the pudding, but rather in the TV ratings. The Daytona 500 keeps gaining and gaining viewers every year, whereas viewers of the World Series keep declining. Keep in mind, that Daytona is one race, and the World Series is up to seven games. For the 500 to even compete with an average of seven games on the biggest stage in baseball, it is remarkable to see. The All-star events have changed too. Baseball saw a ten percent decreased from this All-Star Game in 2007 from 2006. Whereas the NASCAR All-Star race, which is basically a 30 car dash for about one million dollars, saw its best ratings. Obviously more people enjoy seeing drivers wreck other drivers to get that cool million, rather than Barry Bonds whiff at three fastballs from Roger Clemens.
Baseball will never go out of style. There are too many little leagues and softball leagues for that to happen. There aren't new as many tracks from five and six year olds, as there are tee ball fields. But in terms of mainstream popularity on the major league level, baseball could fall into the same breath as the NBA, soccer and tennis. The game has been tampered with and tainted too much with the allegation of steriod use on its most influential players. Five years from now, numbers 8, 20, 24 and 48 won't be recognized by the guys taking 95 mile per hour fastballs, but rather by the guys driving the 195 mile per hour race cars.
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