Stadium Stories

My Heisman Ballot

2009-12-08T14:54:00.002-05:00

If I had a Heisman ballot this is how I would fill it out.

Just Missed
5. Kellen Moore - Moore is the best quarterback in the country and thus is my highest ranked quarterback. Moore did everything he could possibly do to win this trophy, but with the competition he faced I just can't say he deserves it. On a more well known team, Moore would have won.

4. Toby Gerhart - I'd have no issue whatsoever if Gerhart were to win on Saturday. The gap in who deserves the trophy is the smallest since 2002 and Gerhart is in a situation very similar to Larry Johnson. Johnson had more yards (about 300) and less touchdowns (26 to 20) and played on a team that was good, but not top notch. Johnson ended in third to Palmer and Banks. I expect similar results for Gerhart, but the reason I have him at fourth is because I think the guy ahead of him is slightly better.

Making The Ballot
3. CJ Spiller - Gerhart seemed like a lock for the 2 spot or possibly the 1 and than Championship weekend happened. Carolina crushed Spiller's Heisman hopes, but Spiller deserved the invite instead of McCoy. Spiller's advantage over Gerhart isn't so much what he did to Georgia Tech, which did catch him up to Gerhart, but moreso his game breaking ability. Now this isn't dissing Gerhart, he is a game breaker which people including myself at times don't give him credit for. Gerhart carries defenders with speed, but if there's one player in the country that can truely change the game in one play, it's CJ Spiller. Consistency as a running back and Clemson's losses killed Spiller.

2. Ndamukong Suh
Disgusting. The one word I can think of to define Suh's performance in the Big 12 Championship game. 4.5 sacks as a defensive tackle is unheard of....against a Division 2 team, but against a 2nd ranked team is a performance for the ages. Suh is an unbelievable player and he still manages to put up the stats when teams key on him. I'm actually cheering for Suh to win the trophy and he deserves it, but I just couldn't give him the vote over Ingram for some reason.

1. Mark Ingram
Ingram is a picture perfect candidate for the Heisman. He is the undoubtable leader of the best team in the country. Ingram missed some time for injury and Saban never seemed to pad Ingram's stats. Ingram simply dominated the competition with the exception of a performance against Auburn. Ingram took it too the number one team in the country this week, which is what Heisman winners do.

Time for Bowl Season

2009-12-08T14:44:00.002-05:00

It comes and goes in the blink of an eye. With the exception of Army-Navy this season is over and all college football fans have to look forward to are bowl games. Its the time of year when schools like Temple get the most attention of the season and schools like Florida State have to look back on their lackluster season and wonder what could have happened. The final week of the season ended with a bang. The Clemson-Georgia Tech game was a thriller, which sucked considering I only had one TV and had to miss portions of the Nebraska-Texas, one for the ages, game. The latter was going to come down to which team could get into field goal range, not whether they could make it. Henery and Lawrence are both very good kickers and I have full faith Henery would have made the same one Lawrence did. CJ Spiller just absolutely took it to Tech, but it wasn't enough. I've heard a lot of complaints towards the performance of Parker in the game, but how about blaming it on the defense. If I remember correctly, Georgia Tech scored on all but one possession. You have to help your offense out a little bit. And if you missed the best play of the week go youtube the end of the Illinois game. I won't spoil it if you haven't, but it could be the craziest play of the year.

Championship Week Rankings

2009-12-05T23:50:00.002-05:00

1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Texas
4. Boise State
5. Cincinnati
6. Florida
7. Ohio State
8. Oregon
9. Iowa
10. Penn State
11. Georgia Tech
12. Virginia Tech
13. LSU
14. BYU
15. Oregon State
16. Pittsburgh
17. Northwestern
18. Wisconsin
19. Miami
20. Oklahoma State
21. Stanford
22. West Virginia
23. Utah
24. Texas Tech
25. Nebraska

Week 13 Thoughts

2009-11-29T21:49:00.002-05:00

It all comes and goes so fast. The regular season is "unofficially" over, as the last arguably full week of college football is over. The Big Ten was off with the exception of Illinois, but the rest of the country finished up their season this week. This turned out to be the best week of the season in my opinion. Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma State all fell victim to the rivalry game and made the BCS games more clear, as the only real question remaining is Iowa or Penn State and with Oklahoma State losing it looks to be Iowa. Mark Ingram and CJ Spiller took major hits to their Heisman campaigns, but it makes me mad that people take them off the board because of one game and than a guy like Colt McCoy is miraculously atop a lot of Heisman boards. McCoy sucked at the beginning of the season. The Heisman is given to the best player in college football for the 2009 season, not the last 4 weeks of the 2009 season. So people need to take a step back off the McCoy bandwagon. And don't even get me started if you consider Tebow a contender.

Top Players of the Week
1. Colt McCoy
McCoy is the player of the last 4 weeks, he's just not the player of the year. McCoy put up POTWOTY, which is Player of the week of the year numbers, this week. He threw for 304 yards with 4 touchdowns and no picks. That is a great day at the ballpark for any quarterback playing his rival, but he wasn't done there. McCoy had 175 yards on the ground with another touchdown. For you guys not wanting to do math, that is 479 total yards and 5 touchdowns. McCoy is peaking at the right time and the Texas defense can recover from this showing, they are the favorites to win the National Championship right now. Florida and Alabama are solid teams, but not at the level Texas is playing right now.

2. Tony Pike
Cincinnati didn't look very good on defense against Illinois. Yes, one could argue the game was worse than the 13 points the score indicated, but you could argue it should have been even closer. The Cincinnati secondary was giving Juice Williams fields of room to throw to his receivers and he still couldn't hit the pass at some points. With a little better throwing quarterback, Illinois could have torched the Bearcat secondary. Tony Pike was prepared, though, to outscore whatever the Illini offense could do. Pike was a yard short of 400, but he threw an amazing 6 touchdown passes, which outdid McCoy's total touchdown effort for the week.

3. Anthony Dixon
Mississippi held Mississippi State to less than 100 yards through the air, but they couldn't handle Dixon, as he just wore the Ole Miss defense and their strong defensive line down. Dixon along with quarterback Chris Relf torched the Ole Miss defense for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground, one of those being Dixon to go along with his 133 rushing yards. Dixon had two receptions for 12 yards to put his total yards at 145 for the day. Mississippi blanked Mississippi State 45-0 last season and put 27 on the board this season. The difference was the Bulldog offense putting up 34 points of their own this time and they added a pick 6 on defense. Mississippi State broke the game open in the third quarter and Ole Miss wasn't able to fight back.

4. Ryan Williams
Virginia looked like they were going to keep it close for awhile, but Ryan Williams and Virginia Tech were just to much for Al Groh's team and Groh's job. Groh was fired today after failing to beat the instate rivals and having another subpar season. Williams had 183 yards on the ground and had 4 touchdowns, as the freshman wonder finished the regular season. Darren Evans is going to have to fight for carries next season, cause stealing them from a guy that ran for over 1500 yards and had 19 touchdowns through the regular season isn't going to be easy. Williams should pass the 20 touchdown barrier in the bowl game, and could easily finish with 1600 yards if not 1700. Before a bad stretch cost him, Williams was a Heisman candidate and he should be a candidate next year with more experience.

5. Ealey/King
Washaun Ealey and Caleb King both torched the Georgia Tech defense and it would be unfair to give the honor to one over the other. Ealey finished with 183 yards and got his carries more consistenly but failed to score a touchdown. King had 166 with 75 coming off a long run, but he finished with a pair of touchdowns. Its fair to say both had a major impact on the upset in the Georgia state rivalry game. Their output meant Joe Cox, who has had a less than stellar season, only needed to attempt 14 passes and they kept the clock moving on a team that thrives in ball control offense themselves. King lost a fumble in the game, but it shouldn't take away from what this duo acccomplished.

Week 13 Rankings

2009-11-29T14:19:00.002-05:00

I wanted to note there was no Heisman Contenders last week, nor will there be one this week. I will release my "pretend" official ballot after this week's games. I already said who the final three were, so Colt McCoy will not be my Heisman choice, but I'm not guaranteeing the top 3 are the final 3, but one of them will be my choice for winner.

I'm making one notable change this week in my rankings. I believe Boise State is a better team than Cincinnati. Boise State plays better defense in my opinion and Kellen Moore is better than Tony Pike. Don't even get me started on running back comparisons.

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Boise State
6. Cincinnati
7. Ohio State
8. Oregon
9. Iowa
10. Penn State
11. Virginia Tech
12. Oregon State
13. Georgia Tech
14. USC
15. LSU
16. BYU
17. Pittsburgh
18. Northwestern
19. Wisconsin
20. Miami
21. Oklahoma State
22. Stanford
23. West Virginia
24. Utah
25. Texas Tech

Week 12 Thoughts

2009-11-26T12:10:00.002-05:00

This was the last full week of college football, as Illinois is the only Big 10 team that still has a game on their schedule. Iowa and Penn State are now in a beauty pageant to see who deserves a BCS bid, while other conference's are still trying to sort out their champion. Ohio State sealed the deal this weekend as sole winners of the conference, but while the SEC, Big 12, and ACC have their two championship teams, we still have 2 weeks before winners are crowned. The Pac-10 comes down to a Oregon-Oregon State that no one predicted at the beginning of the season would have those kind of implicatioins. Rivalry week is over for the Big Ten, but it is just starting for the rest of the country and it should be interesting to see if any mammoth upsets are seen, notably one in a game like Alabama - Auburn. With conference championship games decided this week is mainly about jocking for bowl position.

Players of the Week
1. Mike Mohamed, Cal
The Cal linebacker was everywhere for the defense Saturday. Mohamed totaled 10 tackles, including 0.5 TFL for a loss, but it was his game preserving interception inside the 5 yard line at the end of the game that clinched the player of the week honors for the linebacker. Cal upset a surging Stanford team and officially ended their hopes to go to the Rose Bowl. Oregon and Oregon State now have a Rose Bowl determining game next week, which will showcase the matchup of running backs LaMichael James and Jacquizz Rodgers. Cal gets back on track as they try to finish the season strong after having a couple more setbacks this season than they would have liked. One positive from this season was Vereen's performance in place of an injured Best.

2. Daryll Clark, Penn State
Clark preserved Penn State's BCS hopes as Penn State came back from a lack luster first half to dominate a Michigan State team up and down the field in the second half. Clark finished the game with 310 yards, but more importantly he didn't throw any picks to go with his 4 touchdown passes. Add in Curtis Drake had a touchdown pass, the Nittany Lions had 5 touchdowns through the air. Clark has had an up and down year, but with the other competition he'll be named my first team All-Big Ten quarterback, but he won't be named Big Ten offensive player of the year. [A hint - he's a running back] Penn State and Iowa play the waiting game now with one most likely going to a BCS game.

3. Sam Maxwell, Kentucky
Maxwell and the Kentucky Wildcats made a forgettable season for Bulldog fans even worse as Kentucky hung on to beat Georgia. Maxwell had 11 tackles, a career high, but it was his big plays that earned him player of the week honors. Maxwell added an interception to his totals and had a crucial tackle against Caleb King at the end of the game. Kentucky's performance will only add speculation to Mark Richt and his job security. Kentucky themselves have done a good job this season in taking advantage of a weak SEC East. Behind Florida, there is no one in the SEC East this season and Kentucky quietly had a solid season.

4. Larry Asante, Nebraska
Nebraska and Kansas State played for the right to play Texas in the Big 12 Championship game and the game quickly became a defensive grudge match. Nebraska held Kansas State to three points and safety Larry Asante was a big reason why. Asante totaled 10 tackles, but like Maxwell it wasn't the tackles that were pivotal. Asante had a pick for the Cornhuskers, but he also forced a fumble at the Nebraska 1 yard line that held Kansas State out of the endzone. Nebraska now gets to play Texas in the Championship game and while it is unlikely they'll win, the opportunity presents itself for them to qualify for the Fiesta Bowl if they can pull the improbable.

5. Danario Alexander, Missouri
Alexander had another great game for Mizzou. At the beginning of the year, I fully expected Jared Perry to try to replace Jeremy Maclin, but it has been Alexander that has been providing the spark for the Mizzou offense and his quarterback Blaine Gabbert has had a quietly solid first season. Alexander had 11 catches this week for 173 yards and a touchdown. Alexander is on pace to finish the season with over 100 catches, 1500 yards, and about 15 touchdowns. If he played on a better team, Alexander would be being hailed as the top receiver in the country and it's a shame he isn't. If you haven't seen Alexander yet, you need to.

Week 12 Rankings

2009-11-21T23:57:00.002-05:00

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Ohio State
9. Pittsburgh
10. Oregon
11. Iowa
12. Penn State
13. Oklahoma State
14. Clemson
15. Virginia Tech
16. Oregon State
17. Mississippi
18. USC
19. LSU
20. BYU
21. Utah
22. Northwestern
23. Stanford
24. Wisconsin
25. Texas Tech

Heisman Contenders - Week 11

2009-11-20T16:54:00.003-05:00

1. Mark Ingram
This is still Ingram's award to lose more than it's Spiller or Gerhart's to win. Ingram is leading an undefeated Alabama team that looks to win the National Championship. Including rushing and receiving yards, Ingram has over 1500 total yards on the season with 4 games to play, so 2000 yards should happen. Ingram has 13 touchdowns, but unlike Gerhart or Spiller, Ingram has a backup that could be starting on a lot of teams in Trent Richardson. No matter what happens it seems this is the year of the running back. At this point in the season, it would be a dishonor to the Heisman and college football in general if McCoy or Tebow were to win. Ingram, Spiller, and Gerhart should be named the 3 finalists TODAY and let them battle it out over the next couple weeks.

2. CJ Spiller
The interesting case of CJ Spiller. Spiller is the reason Clemson is slowly becoming one of the hottest teams as the team approaches the bowl season. Spiller fills up the stat columns, but not just in one category. He has 836 rushing yards and 6 TDs. Most running backs call that an average to good year, but you have to look deeper to find Spiller's impact. He has 24 catches for 382 yards and 4 touchdowns. Did I mention he has a touchdown pass and even has 1 tackles for giggles? The most impressive stat out of all though is the amazing 4 TDs he has logged on special teams. Gerhart's team might be hotter, but Stanford isn't all that much better, if at all, than Clemson so I give the edge to the more dynamic player right now.

3 Toby Gerhart
What makes this Heisman race come down to the final weeks is the fact that the guy I have at third on my "imaginary" ballot is on the hottest team and averages the most rushing yards of all of them and has the most rushing touchdowns. Statistically speaking, Gerhart is the best player in the Heisman race and in the country, but can he even garner All-American status? Gerhart is 5 yards short of 1400 yards on the season right now with a grand 19 touchdowns. What hurts Gerhart is that his yac is only 5.3 and his yard totals come from so many carries each game. But when you're a powerback that is to be expected. If you're a coach would you rather get 3, 4, or 5 yard carries or 1, 1, 2, 1, 50 yard carries. Gerhart has deceptive speed but he thrives more between the tackles than a CJ Spiller.

Since I have made a cut for the Heisman race, here are the people that deserve some recognition.

Quarterback
Kellen Moore
Case Keenum
Jimmy Clausen

Running Back
Dion Lewis
LaMichael James
Jacquizz Rodgers

Wide Receivers
Golden Tate
Jordan Shipley
Austin Pettis

Defense
Ndamukong Suh
Rahim Moore
Earl Thomas

Week 11 Thoughts

2009-11-16T12:36:00.003-05:00

The fall of the Trojan dynasty has begun. The Washington game was considered by many as a fluke, but what it really was was a warning sign. The two massacres that were Oregon and Stanford have shown the Trojans aren't the same team they have been for the last decade. Matt Barkley may have a bright future, but he's not there yet. He got shown up this week by a fellow freshman Andrew Luck, who should be a force in years to come. The thing that has really gotten the Trojans the past couple weeks is the play of the defense. The linebacking corps is just not the same after the departure of the big 3 and even their superstar, Taylor Mays, has seen his production fall dramatically this season. Ohio State won the Big Ten this week with a victory over Iowa, but the nation should take notice what Iowa has done this season. They took an upbeat Ohio State team to overtime with what many would consider their 4th string running back and a freshman quarterback. Iowa doesn't look like a one hit wonder, but rather a future contender in an improving Big Ten. Texas is dominating a weak Big 12, Florida and Alabama are rolling towards their huge matchup, Cincinnati has a big battle against Pittsburgh coming up, and Georgia Tech's only competition in the ACC is a surging Clemson team.

Top Players
1. Toby Gerhart
Has there been a week when I haven't put Gerhart here? Andrew Luck continues to be steady at quarterback for the Cardinals and all he needs to do is be efficient. Luck may be a superstar eventually, but when your senior running back has almost 1400 yards and 19 touchdowns with three games left you don't have to do anything more. Getting to 2000 yards is probably unrealistic at this point with only 3 games and 605 yards to go, but getting to 1800 yards and 25 touchdowns seems like a very reasonable possibility. Gerhart's performance will be reflected in my Heisman contenders this week with the fall of Houston and Keenum's Heisman hopes. Gerhart has proved me wrong this season and I finally started believing in the last few weeks, but dominating USC has completely sold me.

2. Tank Carder
The sophomore linebacker was just one of many reasons TCU dominated Utah in all facets of the game and continued to show the legitimacy of the Horned Frogs. It's worth noting one of TCU's victims, Clemson, is one of the country's hottest team's behind CJ Spiller. TCU is definitely one of the top 5 teams in the country and aren't just benefitting from an "easy" non-BCS school conference schedule. I do think Boise State is overrated, but TCU is not. I fully expect TCU to win their BCS game unless they end up playing the loser of the Alabama-Florida game. Tank Carder had a pick 6 against Utah this week to seal the victory for TCU, making the game an out of reach 35-7. TCU is a fast, physical team and has a coach that can compete with the best of them.

3. EJ Manuel
Manuel wasn't spectacular and I usually reserve this section for players that put up insane stats for teams that are in contention. Manuel and the Seminoles fall into neither category, but don't discount the performance of the young gun slinger. Manuel was a highly touted quarterback a few years ago out of high school. Christian Ponder, who was having a very good season overshadowed by the deficiencies of the Florida State defense, is out for the regular season and Manuel received his first career start this past week. Playing in a pivotal game for Florida State's bowl hopes, Manuel delivered for Bobby Bowden completing 75 % for 220 yards and a touchdown (1 INT). He also showed his mobility running the ball 10 times for 45 yards and a touchdown. Whether it be Bobby Bowden or Jimbo Fisher, Florida State's coach has his quarterback of the future.

4. Dexter McCluster
If there was ever a player deserving of player of the week, McCluster is the unanimous decision. In one of the top offensive performances of the year, McCluster ran for 282 yards on the ground for 4 TDs. The wide receiver also caught 4 passes for 42 yards in one of the most dominant displays in Mississippi football history. McCluster didn't do this against a creampuff or a team with a bad defense. He did this against a well respected Tennessee defense that held Alabama and Florida's offense to much less. McCluster had a slow start to the season, but Houston Nutt has been getting him the ball more and more in the last few weeks and McCluster has shown the country why he deserves every single one of those touches. (It also doesn't hurt me that he's my fantasy wide receiver)

5. Kellen Moore
In what was widely considered as Boise State's last test, even though I think Nevada is the key game, Moore and the Boise State offense exploded on Idaho in rout to a 63-25 beatdown. The ever efficient Moore threw 22 of 32 passes complete for 299 yards and a most impressive 5-0 touchdown-INT ratio. Moore has what many would consider an insignificant 2 rushing yards, but I like mentioning that to say he had over 300 total yards of offense. Moore might play for Boise State, but if you haven't seen him he's real fun to watch. It should also be noticed that Moore's go to guy Pettis was on the receiving end of 8 of those balls for an outstanding 4 touchdowns. Pettis might quietly be making a claim for All American honors with 14 touchdowns this season.

Week 11 Rankings

2009-11-15T00:05:00.002-05:00

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Ohio State
9. Pittsburgh
10. Oregon
11. LSU
12. Oklahoma State
13. Stanford
14. Iowa
15. Penn State
16. Clemson
17. Wisconsin
18. Virginia Tech
19. Oregon State
20. USC
21. Rutgers
22. Houston
23. Mississippi
24. BYU
25. Northwestern

Heisman Contender - Week 10

2009-11-14T00:24:00.002-05:00

1. Mark Ingram
Ingram continues to be the most dominant player in college football. He had 144 rushing yards and 30 receiving yards on 5 receptions against a top defense in LSU. Ingram is the best player on the best team right now and I said before the season Ingram would be better than Coffee. What I didn't expect is that Trent Richardson would be just as good as Ingram was to Coffee. It's a great thing to have two great backs like Alabama has, but Ingram is clearly the best right now as he is the best in the country. If Ingram doesn't win the Heisman at this point in the season, the Heisman trophy is committing suicide, because the only other possible winners are Tebow and McCoy and they definitely don't deserve it this season.

2. Case Keenum
Keenum is probably the best player in the country and while I agree that the Heisman should be given to the best player in the country, I believe Ingram deserves the award right now as he is playing just as well as Keenum and he still has his team undefeated. There is no doubt in my mind, Keenum has demonstrated a perfect Heisman season. He puts up the crazy stats the voters like. He has more marquee moments than a voter can count, but the only problem is he plays for Houston. He went over 500 yards for the third time this season this past week and if ballots ended today he would my first team All-American quarterback.

3. CJ Spiller
I say that Spiller needs a big performance and what does he do? He delivers probably the best running performance of his career. For possibly the first time all season, he was rather average on special teams, but his running performance and his 67 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game are undeniable and Spiller deserves his position in the Heisman race. The problem for Spiller is his team's overall performance. This blog tries to predict the Heisman outcome while still showing who I believe is the winner. Do I believe Keenum and Spiller will finish 2-3? Hell no, but they clearly deserve it over McCoy and Tebow who probably will.

The rest of the pack
At this point in the season, the Heisman race is becoming more and more clear and in tradition with the Heisman committee inviting less and less to the Heisman ceremony (recently 3 instead of the classic 5) I am limiting my race at this point in the season to 3. However, this year's race is still undecided. Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy are going to get votes whether or not they really deserve them. Right now Tebow, nor McCoy are in my top 5 candidates, but for namesake the will get first place votes no matter what. Earl Thomas and Ndamukong Suh are stealing the spotlight from Taylor Mays and Eric Berry and rightly so based on this season's performance. Unlike offensive superstars who get namesake, Suh and Thomas are getting the credit over the talented safety duo. Golden Tate is a darkhorse contender at this point, but Notre Dame is doing subpar at this point. Jordan Shipley also deserves an outside shot. Shipley is clearly outplaying his quarterback, McCoy, but the name player will be the one getting the votes.

Week 10 Thoughts

2009-11-10T23:43:00.002-05:00

Week 10 saw teams fall and teams make their mark. Stanford beat arguably the hottest team in the country in Oregon and Toby Gerhart had another outstanding day. I doubted Gerhart to start the year and really thought Luck was going to be the leader of this offense. Luck has played really well for a freshman, but Gerhart is the heart and soul of this Stanford squad. Alabama stayed undefeated with a win over rival LSU, and Ohio State massacred and entirely dominated a Penn State squad. Boise State struggled and Kansas State had a crucial win in the Big 12 North to continue their march to the conference title game. Case Keenum is the most clutch player in America and Georgia Tech barely held on for victory. USC just doesn't look the same this year, while CJ Spiller struck lightning again. Nebraska held Oklahoma to 3 points and its almost sad how far the Sooners have fallen in one season. Alabama, Florida, and Texas are the clear 1-2-3 right now and pending catastrophe will be 2 of the 3 reps in the MNC game.

Top Players
1. Toby Gerhart
Gerhart might have the leader role on how many times he has landed on this list. Despite fumbling, Gerhart was given the ball again and again against Oregon. Gerhart had a ridiculous 38 carries for an impressive 223 yards, but more importantly he got into the endzone three times for Stanford. Stanford's offense won this game. Jeremiah Masoli had a 3/0 ratio and James got his 100 yards on the ground. Andrew Luck stayed solid for Stanford, but this was clearly Gerhart's game as he ran it at almost a 2:1 ratio to Luck's throws. Gerhart will get his Heisman hype as his team works their way up in terms of national respect.

2. Cameron Heyward
Heyward was all over the field for the Buckeyes against Penn State Saturday. Ohio State with the win controls their own destiny in the Big Ten and with the injury to Stanzi, Ohio State should be bigtime favorites this week against Iowa. Heyward and the rest of the Buckeye defensive line manhandled an overwhelmed Penn State offensive line of Saturday. Heyward is a future NFL star and he played big in one of the Buckeye's biggest games of the season with 11 tackles and 2 sacks. The Buckeyes defense is proving to be one of the tops in the country with a couple shutouts this season and now holding one of the Big Ten's top offenses to a measly 7 points and that 7 points being controversial too.

3. Case Keenum
Keenum is keeping himself alive in the Heisman race, doing everything he can possibly do. This week he completed 40 passes and for a second week in a row he threw for over 500 yards, totalling 522 with 21 more on the ground from 6 carries. Keenum was interception-less and threw for an "average" 3 touchdowns. It's his clutch performances that should be getting the attention of the country though. Most Heisman winners have some marquee moment that defines them each season. Keenum just has that winning knack. Houston doesn't always win pretty, but Keenum makes sure they are in that W column at the end of the day. Keenum's team was on the brink of defeat, but a couple of clutch throws put the Houston kicker in range for the gamewinner and he didn't disappoint.

4. Zach Collaros
Well Cincinnati fans should feel about their future. Colloras is only a sophomore and he may already be a top 5 quarterback in the country after coming off the bench for another one in Tony Pike. Collaros had another absolutely monstrous week throwing for 480 yards and running for 75 more with 3 combined touchdowns. The Big East is quickly forgetting Matt Grothe, as Collaros is possibly a better passer and better runner. If Collaros had played the entire season for the Bearcats, he would be in my opinion the obvious choice for the Heisman. He has almost 300 rushing yards to go with 1200+ passing yards and he has only started for a small fraction of the team's games so far. Cincinnati is here to stay and Collaros is the reason why.

5. CJ Spiller
There were a lot of candidates this week for top players of the week honors, but I decided to reward the people in Heisman contention more as they come up big when they need to. Clemson is storming back after a so-so start to the season and it all starts with Spiller. Spiller came up big on the ground this week, an area where I have doubted him in the past, with 165 yards and a score. Spiller didn't do anything special on special teams this week, but he added 67 yards and a touchdown on three catches in the aerial game. With all these yards, Spiller has to start getting more attention nationally. Sure Clemson isn't a top team, but they are definitely playing well now and Spiller doesn't pad his stats against the Coastal Carolina's of the world.

Week 10 Rankings

2009-11-08T21:21:00.003-05:00

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Ohio State
9. Pittsburgh
10. Oregon
11. LSU
12. Houston
13. USC
14. Oklahoma State
15. Arizona
16. Iowa
17. Penn State
18. Utah
19. Miami
20. Oregon State
21. Stanford
22. Wisconsin
23. Tennessee
24. BYU
25. West Virginia

Week 9 Heisman Contenders

2009-11-04T23:46:00.002-05:00

1. Mark Ingram
I hold true to my word this week. Ingram remains among the elite in the Heisman race and is still the frontrunner. He has a huge test this weekend against LSU and I believe if he can get 150 yards and Alabama wins, Ingram will have the Heisman trophy at the end of the season. Ingram is clearly the top player in the country right now and if he has a dominating performance against one of the nation's stingiest defenses, he'll have no reason not to be the winner. In a year that lacks standouts, the sophomore back has established himself as the next person up to the task of competing for multiple Heismans.

2. Case Keenum
What did I say last week about Keenum? Needing to do something big? The answer by Keenum is still echoing. 559 yards and 5 touchdowns, throwing for over 80 percent. I've decided I don't care at all what team Keenum plays on. If Ingram comes up slow this week, Keenum is the clear number 2 on this list and will take over the top spot. Keenum has fallen out of the spotlight in the national media to a degree, but any college football fan knows what Keenum did and how he performed clutch, while his defense struggled. Keenum is the real. System quarterbacks throw for 300 yards, not 500+ two times in one season.

3. CJ Spiller
I could have eliminated him off the list, but I'm not going to. Spiller had 27 yards and a touchdown this week, but his team dominated Coastal Carolina by over 40. There's no reason for Dabo to risk injury to his best player when Clemson still has a shot at the ACC Championship and Spiller has his draft status being evaluated weekly. It's almost relieving to see players earning their stats in meaningful games and not just padding them against the crappy teams on the schedule. Spiller needs to make a big impact for an improved Tiger team this weekend against Florida State if Spiller wants to justify my reasoning for this move.

4. Golden Tate
Tate makes the Golden Child "golden." Jimmy Clausen has played well this year, but when you have Tate at your disposal and Michael Floyd playing half the time, it's not too hard to put up some stats. With Floyd's injury (who is coming back this week), Tate developed into a more dynamic role in the offense and has been a more receiver version of Dexter McCluster. I expect Tate to surpass 1000 yards through the air and 10 TDs this weekend, impressive stats for a receiver. Tate is playing Navy this weekend and he needs to put up big numbers against a team Temple beat.

5. Earl Thomas
I really wanted to put Daryll Clark here again after another good performance against Northwestern, playing well while the rest of the team coasted. Ndamukong Suh is getting all the love and is an All-American for sure, but his team isn't playing well at all and the defense has been giving up too many points as of late. Earl Thomas is the young leader of a suffocating Texas defense. Playing defense is hard to get credit, but Thomas has 6 picks on the season including a huge pick 6 against Oklahoma State. He has another pick 6 on his resume this season to go along with 11 passes broken up. Taylor Mays and Eric Berry will probably be first team All-Americans just on name credit, but Thomas and Iowa safety Tyler Sash are probably having the better years. And no I'm not discrediting Berry for his lack of picks, but rather complementing Sash and Thomas.

Week 9 Thoughts

2009-11-03T14:34:00.002-05:00

It's unbelievable what Iowa is doing. Whether they're play like a top 5 team or not, they deserve to be there. They're getting computer respect, but no human respect and I have to disagree with that. What Iowa lacks in star power, they make it up with the "it" factor. Iowa can't seem to lose, not a bad quality to have at all. Alabama had the week off and Florida steam rolled a bad Georgia team. The team of the week had to be Oregon, giving USC an utter beat down and showing the country they might not just be the best team in the Pac-10, but in the country. I'm still a firm believer that if you lose, you don't deserve to be ahead of the undefeated teams at this point in the season. Teams will drop and Oregon is in the driver's seat to take their spot. These next few weeks are pivotal in shaping up the National Title race and the interesting case of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Top Players
1. LaMichael James
Blount? Who's Blount? Oregon got the biggest break of the season by losing to Boise State and Blount throwing the punch he did. What a blessing it has been for the team. Blount didn't have the best reputation before the punch and now that he's humbled, that old presence he had is no longer in the locker room. James has taken the country by storm this season and what better way to put an exclamation point on a breakout season than putting a beatdown on the Trojans of USC. James ran for 183 yards and a touchdown as Oregon didn't just beat USC, but they took them to town. Oregon is a rising force in college football and while USC is still a top 5-10 program in the country, Oregon is becoming one too. With Kelly at the helm, this team won't be going anywhere in the near future.

2. Texas Defense
I couldn't give the award to just one player, as it was a group effort. The Texas defense destroyed a good Oklahoma State offense in rout to 41 points as a team that included 2 pick 6's. Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each took one back on Zac Robinson and Texas's weak run game wasn't a big deal considering the defense of Texas was keeping up themselves in the scoring category with Robinson and company. Robinson was forced into 4 interceptions and Tolston was held to just 70 yards on 19 carries and the suffocating defense of Texas looks to be one of the top 5 units in the country. Texas made a statement about their title hopes.

3. Tim Tebow
Tebow had a much better game this week and while he won't rise to the top of the Heisman trophy ballots, he showed up for the first time in a while. He was an efficient 15 of 21 for 164 yards and two touchdowns through the air, but he showed his running ability again as he ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia may be down, but this is still a rivalry game and Tebow proved he was the best player on the field Saturday. Tebow now has the career rushing touchdown record, although tainted until he gets 4 more touchdowns (I think they should count Walker's bowl game touchdowns). Florida had an equally dominating performance to Texas and the National Title race just got more interesting.

4. Case Keenum
Houston couldn't play defense on Saturday. A team that shut down Texas Tech and Oklahoma State just kept giving up points to Southern Miss. Thankfully for Houston, Keenum came to play. System quarterback or not, Keenum was 44 of 54 for a ridiculous 559 yards and 5 touchdowns. Some quarterbacks in the country take three games or possibly more to reach totals like that. Keenum may not play the country's best defenses, but 559 yards is 559 yards and that is incredible. Keenum answered my call for a big game this past weekend and he deserves not only Heisman mention, but top 3 status. Keenum is definitely one of the top 5 quarterbacks in the country this year and I would put him up against anyone.

5. Zack Collaros
Collaros has to be the best second string quarterback in the country or close to it. Cincinnati has their key player go down and all the second string does is pick up where Pike left off if not outplaying the starter. Collaros adds a mobile dimension to Cincinnati's offense, but it was his arm against Syracuse that was all so impressive. Collaros was a cool 22-28 for 295 yards and all four of Cincinnati's touchdowns this Saturday. He added 22 on the ground to put him over 300 total yards for the game. If Collaros has to keep playing, I'm going to be really tempted to put Cincinnati QB down as my All-Big East quarterback at the end of the season.

On a side note to top players this week, I just want to mention how stupid Mike Williams of Syracuse has to be. Williams is one of the top playmakers in the country and he just quits. I know this probably has to do with his suspension from a week ago, but to quit on your teammates like that is just cowardly. This will kill his NFL Draft status and tarnish his reputation and deservedly so. Good riddance Mike Williams, college football doesn't need you.

Week 9 Rankings

2009-11-01T13:06:00.002-05:00

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. TCU
5. Iowa
6. Cincinnati
7. Boise State
8. Oregon
9. Penn State
10. LSU
11. Georgia Tech
12. USC
13. Ohio State
14. Pittsburgh
15. Houston
16. Arizona
17. Wisconsin
18. Oklahoma State
19. Miami
20. Oklahoma
21. Utah
22. California
23. Notre Dame
24. Virginia Tech
25. Tennessee

Week 8 Heisman Contenders

2009-10-29T14:46:00.003-04:00

1. Mark Ingram
Ingram will hold the top spot another week despite failing to run for 100 yards. He did however run for 99, which was almost as much as his quarterback McElroy threw for. Aiding Ingram's cause this week was the fact his usually reliable backup Richardson only mustered 18 yards on the ground, showing the strength of the Tennessee defense. Alabama is on a bye week this week, so unless someone pulls a Superman like performance, expect Ingram to sit atop the Heisman watch for another week. Ingram solidified himself as the top back this week, as Ryan Williams committed a costly fumble that led to Virginia Tech losing.

2. Tony Pike
Only in a year where Heisman candidates can a guy not lose ground by being injured. Tony Pike has been a steady force for Cincinnati and with Cincinnati still winning without him he has the benefit of his team remaining undefeated. Collaros is reportedly going to get the start this week, so this week really would kill Pike's hopes if he can't play. Pike has been a steady performer all season, but the one thing he is lacking is a truly signature performance. Without that signature performance and missing two games, Pike may be effectively eliminated from the competition this next week.

3. Case Keenum
Keenum's performance Saturday will hurt in the Heisman. Most Heisman contenders can afford going 25/36 for 233 yards and a touchdown, but Keenum can't. Keenum's schedule is easy from here on out and without at least an average of 3 touchdowns per game, he'll fall completely off the radar of some. I'll give him slack this week considering the game was well in hand and Keenum didn't have to do anything. He was still efficient with his passing percentage. Keenum might join Pike off this radar unless he does something huge this week. With big conference games coming up, the BCS schools may see some of their players step up and take these positions.

4. CJ Spiller
Spiller is an interesting case. I've said before I don't believe Spiller is a top 5, maybe not even top 10 back in the country. In terms of true running backs that run between the tackles I know he is not, but that's not why he is on this list. Clemson has a few losses this season, which puts Spiller in the same situation as Suh, but Clemson is going in the opposite direction of Nebraska and I gave the edge to Spiller. Luckily for Spiller, Clemson can still make the ACC Title game and are one upset from a BCS berth, keeping him in the spotlight. Spiller is a tremendous receiver out of the backfield and on returns he is a threat every single time. If Spiller keeps putting up 200+ all purpose yards a game, he'll get the respect from me.

5. Daryll Clark
I know many will call me homerish for this, but honestly he has just as good an argument as the others. Like Tim Tebow, Clark has a new set of receivers this season and Tebow had the luxury of Riley Cooper coming back. Tebow had a more experience line and a deeper set of backs, but who has the much better stats at this point? McCoy has an argument as his team is hot, but who has had the better overall season? Jimmy Clausen? How about Golden Tate, he is the better Heisman candidate on that team and is currently six in my Heisman Contenders. Clark had a problem with picks at the beginning of the season, but some of those were unlucky tips off receivers hands and he has thrown only 1 in the last 4. Sure 3 of his 7 are against Iowa, his one bad game but the other 4 were all against cupcakes out of conference, not from his other 3 conference games. Clark has 1884 yards already with 17 touchdowns. Add in 4 rushing touchdowns and his rushing yards put him over 2000 total yards for the season. His 17 touchdown passes are number 1 in BCS conference schools.

Week 8 Thoughts

2009-10-29T13:13:00.003-04:00

The week started with a bang as North Carolina was dominating Florida State. Problem for North Carolina was there was too much time left on the clock and Florida State came storming back for the win. Pittsburgh continued the excitement early Saturday making a statement by destroying South Florida. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are the frontrunners in the Big East with West Virginia the darkhorse. Georgia Tech showed they are going to make a run at the ACC Championship, while the Big 12 North continued to look pathetic with Nebraska turning the ball over 8 times in an ugly loss. Penn State and Oklahoma steamrolled Michigan and Kansas. But it was the close games in the SEC that set the mark for the day. Alabama needed a blocked field goal to defeat Tennessee as their offense continues to sputter and Florida held on to defeat a Mississippi State team that wouldn't quit. USC had to fight for their lives against Oregon State, as Taylor Mays delivered what might go down as the hit of the year (although it was illegal). Nevada and Idaho provided the fireworks for the week playing a 70-45 game, but the game of the week had to be Michigan State-Iowa. In a defensive grudge match, Michigan State broke it open with a hook and ladder and scored with time for one final Iowa push. With how the game was going it looked over, but Ricky Stanzi and Iowa seem possesed this year and Stanzi led his troops to down the field to position themselves for one play at the endzone. Stanzi threw a perfect pass on the slant route and Iowa won as time expired. The National Title race would be a disaster if Iowa, an SEC team, and Texas win out, but right now I just don't see that happening.

Players of the Week
1. Terrence Cody
I'm only stating the obvious here. Cody might have performed the most memorable play of the season to date (unless you consider Ricky Stanzi's throw the best). The monster in the middle blocked Tennesee's game winning field goal try, but he didn't do this just once but twice considering he had blocked another kick earlier in the quarter. Cody preserved Alabama's undefeated and moved them one step closer to the SEC Championship game, which with a win could propel them to the National Championship game. In a game where the offense sputtered, McElroy had 120, Ingram was under 100, and Richardson did nothing to spell him, Alabama's defense won the game. They gave Crompton over 250 yards through the air but they didn't break and won the game.

2. Allen Bradford
No it's not Stafon Johnson or Joe McKnight, it's Bradford who carried the load for the Trojans this week. Without Bradford's breakout performance, USC could have 2 losses right now. Bradford had 147 on the ground with over 9 yards a carry. Bradford's touchdowns were clutch and allowed USC to hold to beat the resilient Beavers from Oregon State. USC's offense has stepped it up, as it is clear the defense isn't close to the defense of last season. Last year the strength was in the linebackers, but this year it is in the secondary, which caused problems playing Quizz Rodgers. The defense gave up 36 points, but it doesn't matter since Bradford and company put up 42. The only problem USC has in the backfield is getting everyone enough carries and letting the backs get into a groove.

3. Colt McCoy
Right when McCoy has been officially eliminated from everyone's Heisman list, he pops right back up. McCoy looked like the McCoy of old against the Sean Weatherspoon led Missouri defense slicing them up for 269 yards on 26-31 throwing. Whittaker led Texas with only 36 yards on the ground, but that was a result of what McCoy was accomplishing through the air. If Texas wants to win a National Championship, they'll have to become more multi-faceted. With their air game looking improved and McCoy and Shipley always being threats, look for the pressure to be on the backs especially with defenses keying on the pass in the coming weeks. McCoy isn't at the top of Heisman lists, but with an open race he could rise faster than most would think.

4. Colin Kaepernick
I really thought Nevada was going to be a better team this season than how they have played this far. They finally stepped it up this week though. Idaho became bowl eligible for the first time in years last week, but the Nevada offense just ran circles around their defense. Kaepernick had an okay 178 yards through the air with 2 touchdowns, but it was his work in the ground game that turned the rout on. On just 15 carries, Kaepernick sliced his way to 230 yards and 4 touchdowns against a team that thought they were one of the season's surprises. If Nevada can keep up this offensive play and improve their defense look out Boise State. This could be Boise State's last challenge.

5. CJ Spiller
Big time players play their best in big time games. I haven't been on the Spiller bandwagon at all this season, but he deserves his props this week against Miami. I've never considered Spiller a very good running back and still don't to a degree, but he is great out of the backfield and a tremendous returner. Spiller only had 81 on the ground but he had 6 catches for over 100 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game. His most important play was his kickoff return for a touchdown. Clemson had to play this game in Miami and easily could have gotten rattled by a Miami score, but Clemson held strong, did what they had to do and won the game in overtime capitalizing on Miami's mistakes. If Clemson can win some more games, which they are capable of, they can make the ACC Championship game and Spiller will get his votes.

Week 8 Rankings

2009-10-25T00:02:00.002-04:00

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Iowa
5. TCU
6. Cincinnati
7. Boise State
8. LSU
9. USC
10. Oregon
11. Penn State
12. Georgia Tech
13. Oklahoma State
14. Virginia Tech
15. Ohio State
16. Houston
17. Pittsburgh
18. Arizona
19. Wisconsin
20. Miami
21. Mississippi
22. Oklahoma
23. Utah
24. West Virginia
25. Notre Dame

Week 7 Heisman Contenders

2009-10-24T09:41:00.003-04:00

1. Mark Ingram
At this point in the season, it would take a major screw up by Ingram to lose the Heisman. His team seems to be connecting on all cylinders and he's carrying the offense on his shoulders. Alabama is probably the best player in the country and that never hurts the cause for a Heisman candidate. Ingram should surpass the 1000 yard mark either this week or next. Ingram's next major test is LSU, which should be the hardest for him before Alabama plays Florida in the SEC Championship game. Ingram's 200+ yard performance on the ground against South Carolina has set him apart from the rest of the pack, considering he ripped most of those yards after initial contact and when the game was close in score. Those are signs of a tough, clutch player.

2. Tony Pike
Pike could take a fall after this week, but Heisman Contenders rewards year to date performance and not projected output. News broke recently that Pike will not start this week, rather his backup Collaros. Collaros is a pretty fun quarterback to watch, being much more mobile than Pike, but Cincinnati will miss Pike's arm if he doesn't see action in the game. Pike has 1633 yards on the season through the air and a 15/3 ratio at the midway point through the season. If he continued that rate (meaning he played every game), he'd end up with about 3500 yards and 33 touchdowns, which is impressive but still not close to the numbers of Sam Bradford a season ago. Cincinnati has to continue to roll if Pike has any shot at this award.

3. Ryan Williams
Ryan Williams gets a break from Heisman Contenders this week. Although his team lost, Williams still managed 100 yards (including a big 66 yard run) despite playing will an illness. Williams continues to be the most exciting freshman (true or redshirt) in the country over Matt Barkley. It should be interesting to see how many carries Darren Evans will get next season with Williams performing at such a high level. Through the first seven games of the season, Williams has 999 all purpose yards and 11 touchdowns, amazing statistics for a guy that wasn't even supposed to start this season. Hokie nation knew how good Williams could be, but most of the nation didn't.

4. Case Keenum
Houston won big again, keeping Keenum in the hunt for the trophy. Keenum is number one in the country in passing yards per game, a statistic expected from him if he wants the trophy. Through just six games he has 2501 yards and 19 touchdown passes. Unlike Pike, Keenum will approach the numbers of Bradford from a season ago, but will his conference hold him back from winning the trophy? Keenum has already proved he can beat the big boys. Oklahoma State hasn't had the season they wanted with injuries and suspensions, but they keep managing to win. Houston also beat Texas Tech, a team that seems to be clicking right now and although Sheffield wasn't the quarterback against Houston, must people won't remember that little detail.

5. Tim Tebow
The interesting case of Tim Tebow. The purpose of this blog entry at the beginning of the season was to show who I thought was most deserving of the trophy, but as we enter the back half of the season the purpose changes to projecting who will win the Heisman trophy. As much as the media says Tebow is the Heisman favorite or one of the front runners at this point, what justification do the voters have for that vote? Yes, they can say Tebow does enough for his team to win and that they are ranked as the top team in the nation in some polls, but that argument better supports Mark Ingram. Tebow is riding reputation at this point and until he makes a statement, he does not deserve this trophy.

Week 7 Rankings

2009-10-18T12:16:00.002-04:00

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Iowa
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. USC
8. LSU
9. Miami
10. Oregon
11. Penn State
12. TCU
13. Oklahoma State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Virginia Tech
16. Ohio State
17. BYU
18. Houston
19. Texas Tech
20. Boston College
21. Arizona
22. Wisconsin
23. Pittsburgh
24. Arkansas
25. Kansas

Week 7 Thoughts

2009-10-17T22:09:00.002-04:00

Week 7 was the best week yet of football this season. All the top teams seemed to play tight games and went down to the wire. Kansas, Ohio State and Virginia Tech will both exit the top 10 this week. The rest of the Top Ten; Alabama, Florida, Texas, Boise State, and USC all struggled to win their games. LSU had the week off and Cincinnati was the lone team to cruise to victory and they took the victory at a price with Pike going down. The Heisman race now has a frontrunner. Mark Ingram ran for over 200 yards in the South Carolina game and is the country's best player right now. Suh and Williams got hit with their team's losing. Conference play is rolling and college football is in full blast. The National Title picture instead of becoming clearer is just foggier with Boise State and Cincinnati continuing to win.

Top Players
1. Mark Ingram
Alabama was a one man show Saturday night in a closer than expected game against South Carolina. McElroy and Jones struggled in the game, but Ingram picked up the slack. Ingram has not only dethroned Jahvid Best as the best running back in the country, but he has officially taken the title as the best player in the country. Ingram plays better in the bigger games and he carries his team more than I dare say Tebow and McCoy do. Tebow has running backs at his disposal and McCoy has Jordan Shipley outshining him. Ingram had 246 yards on the ground and 23 receiving, which was 23 more yards through the air than Julio Jones did. Ingram is Alabama and possibly a future National Champion.

2. Josh Nesbitt
Nesbitt hasn't had the best year at the helm for Georgia Tech throwing the ball. He threw a pick and only completed one of seven passes versus a stingy Virginia Tech defense. Problem for the Hokies was that one completion was a 51 yard play to Thomas and Nesbitt was dominant in the ground game going for 122 yards, but more importantly 3 touchdowns. In a game that Tyrod Taylor was supposed to be the better mobile back and Ryan Williams was a Heisman candidate, it was Nesbitt who looked the best on the ground. Scoring 28 points on a Hokie defense and even more so considering the time consuming offense Georgia Tech runs.

3. Matt Barkley
Barkley has a very similar background to his counterpart from Saturday, Jimmy Clausen. Barkley's future may have been predicted as brighter before the game, but it was Clausen that was getting the Heisman attention. Barkley came out of the game champion in two regards. First, the freshman guided his team to victory, the most important part to either quarterback. Second, it was Barkley and not Clausen who dominated the statline. Barkley threw for a smooth 380 yards to go along with his 2 touchdowns. No one will mention that Notre Dame's pass defense sucks, but I'll give Barkley the credit just for the situation and how he handled it.

4. AJ Wallace
I'm not usually one to be a homer and put Penn State players up here, but Wallace deserves the mention. Wallace didn't dominate a stat book with his 4 tackles, but it's what he doesn't get credit for in the statbook. First, one his tackles had major meaning. He combined with Navorro Bowman on a fourth down goal line stand to beat the ball carrier to the outside and tackle him and preserve the shutout for the Nittany Lions. But the reason Wallace is on here is for what he did against Eric Decker. Decker is one of my favorite players to watch, as he can make the hard catch even when he is well defended. Well Decker didn't get much opportunity Saturday. Wallace had Decker's number and didn't allow Decker to catch a ball under his watch. Decker's only catch came on a decent enough schemed play that found both safeties misplay a interception and getting split by Decker.

5. Texas Defense
Someone had to win the Red River shootout and it was the Texas defense that stepped up to the task. The first thing they did was knock Heisman winner Sam Bradford out of the game and force Oklahoma to rely on the freshman Landry Jones. Jones had 250 yards through the air, but it did little good and he threw two picks. The impressive part of the defensive performance was Texas' stifling run defense. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown were expected to be one of the top running duos in the country, but behind the offensive line they couldn't do anything. Brown had 23 yards, but Murray and the team's total were both negative. McCoy didn't have his best day, but the defense allowed him to still win the game.

Heisman Contender - Week 6

2009-10-16T20:25:00.002-04:00

1. Ryan Williams
Williams is performing well for Virginia Tech and if he was name Darren Evans, he would be at the top of everyone's list right now, not a doubt in my mind. Being a freshman kills one's Heisman campaign, but being the playmaker on a Top 5 team is criteria number 2 for a Heisman winner. Being a quarterback is criteria 1, but every now and than that's ignored. Williams biggest competition at the moment also happens to be a running back. It's that kind of year.

2. Mark Ingram
If Mark Ingram didn't get the flu, he would be the clear Heisman favorite. His stats suffered as a result and he hasn't been one to pad his stats against crappy opponents. Trent Richardson is killing Ingram's Heisman hopes and that is a good thing if you're an Alabama fan. Ingram is still the primary runner, but in the same way Coffee was last year with Ingram getting significant second team reps. Alabama is rolling through their schedule now and if Ingram can stay healthy, he will end the running back drought for the Heisman.

3. Ndamukong Suh
I'm all for a defensive player winning the Heisman and if the Heisman was given today, I would given Suh my imaginary first place vote. The reason he is at number 3, you might ask? The list is Heisman contenders. Suh is a contender and in my opinion the best candidate right now, but I don't believe he is the front runner because it is more difficult to sustain defensive statistics than offensive statistics. Suh will not win this award without ridiculous statistics and the crappy part of playing defensive tackle is that you can play a stout defensive game, but not have any stats. Some of the best defensive tackles in the country never get noticed, but Suh's athletic ability is keeping him in this race.

4. Tony Pike
Pike's Heisman campaign could be coming to an end. It was announced a surgery option will be considered Monday for the injury to the forearm he took against South Florida. I'm going to give him credit for what he's done to date this season though. I really believed Cincinnati was overrated, but I was wrong even though I still believe they're getting too much credit. Don't get me wrong, with Pike leading the offense they're one of the better teams in the country. But National Championship worthy, no way in the world. The Big East doesn't provide much competition at all. Look at how Auburn looked great because of a win over Big East power West Virginia and than they fell flat to Arkansas.

5. Case Keenum
Keenum's reign on this watch is coming to an end. Keenum led his team to a win over another BCS school in Mississippi State, but despite his 4 touchdown passes he threw two picks with one being returned. Keenum runs a fun offense to watch, but Houston just doesn't have the schedule to get Keenum his credit and realistically he isn't going to throw for 500 yards and 6 touchdowns every single week. Keenum gets the last spot this week only because I want to go against media favoritism and support a player who has played better than Tim Tebow this season. This contest shouldn't be a popularity race.

Week 6 Thoughts

2009-10-13T12:32:00.002-04:00

College football is finally starting to gain some stability and staying power this week. There were not any monumental upsets and the one that "shocked" some people was one I have been waiting for all season: Arkansas over Auburn. Auburn has the opportune SEC schedule, one that looks no worse than, gasp, a Big Ten schedule. Arkansas plays the tougher schedule, but was clearly the better team led by Ryan Mallett and one of the most underrated offenses in the country. This week saw several top 10 teams take the week off and the other teams in the top 10 did fairly well and there were not too many scary moments for the teams at the top. Florida had the big win of the week by beating LSU, but as I have been saying LSU is vastly overrated and it just goes to show Florida is not the team everyone expected at the beginning of the season. Do not get me wrong, Florida very well could go undefeated and win the National Championship (I say they lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship), but they are no where near the caliber of 2005 Texas and USC and other recent teams that went down as some of the best. Pollsters still voting Florida number 1 have Tebow-syndrome, Alabama is clearly playing the best football in the country. The team possibly playing the second best is the team Alabama beat to open the season. Iowa and Kansas maintained their perfect seasons this week, but both showed me that their time is limited.

Five Stars of the Week
1. Jonathan Crompton
You got to hand it to the guy. There is no one in college football the past two years taking as much heat as Crompton has. Even when he has one good play, people are already anticipating how he'll mess up the next one. This week Tennessee had Georgia. Now Georgia is not the same Georgia people are accustomed to, but they are still a decent team and were the lone team to knock off South Carolina, a task Ole Miss could not accomplish. The game was expected to be close because of both team's defenses. Most people would assume Tennessee giving up 19 points would be an automatic loss, but credit Kiffin for sticking with the senior this season despite opposition. Crompton was very efficient at 20-27 for 310 yards and threw for four touchdowns. Georgia's defense has not lived up to expectations, but I promise you they are not that bad. Credit the Tennessee quarterback.

2. Mark Ingram
Ingram continues to come up big for Alabama. Glen Coffee leaving has not done anything to the Alabama run game except possibly upgrading it. That is not because Coffee was not a very good back himself, it's just it gives an experienced Ingram to run the ball more and Trent Richardson a chance to play too. Mississippi has a strong defensive front and were doing a good job of getting pressure of McElroy. With McElroy not playing his best, Ingram took control of the game rushing for 172 yards on 28 carries, scoring along the way and adding 16 receiving yards. Richardson added 40 yards behind him too. With Alabama playing the best football in the country right now, Ingram could find himself rejoining the Heisman race soon and being there until the end.

3. Ross Homan
Granted, Homan was not part of the 14 defensive points Ohio State put on the board from pick 6's, but he was by far the best player on the field Saturday. Homan had 15 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble as he roamed the field for the Buckeyes. It seemed like every play Homan was in on the tackle. The most impressive part of the entire Buckeye defense's play was the fact they did not get any time to rest. They scored 3 non-offensive touchdowns and at one point played about the first 12 minutes of the 3rd quarter without a break and without breaking down. Defense won Ohio State the football game and is the reason Ohio State is in the driver's seat to win the Big Ten. Homan was the lead man Saturday stopping a John Clay that went off on Minnesota the previous week and holding him to just 59 yards on 20 carries or less than 3 ypc.

4. Thaddeus Lewis
NC State has had a very up and down year to this point, but despite the wins and losses the problem has been the consistency of the offense. Blame this game on the defense and the fact Thaddeus Lewis did not get the message. The Duke quarterback shocked the Wolfpack, throwing for 459 yards, 5 touchdown passes, 1 touchdown run, and 0 interceptions to lead a disrespected Duke offense up and down the field. Duke is a different team under Cutliffe and give him a couple years to get his own recruits and Duke could start making noise in the ACC. They are at .500 6 games into the season and almost shocked Virginia Tech recently, an abrupt change from the Duke football tradition, or lack there of. If Lewis can play half as well as he played here, Duke will win a few more games this season and possibly go to a bowl game. Maryland, Wake Forest, and Virginia are all winnable games for the Blue Devils.

5. Steven Sheffield
Yes, there were probably more important performances this week than Lewis and Sheffield. Yes, Sheffield was playing a less than stellar defense and playing in a very good offensive system. However, both performances were impressive despite the situation, both in conference games and not against some lower level team. Sheffield replaced an injured Taylor Potts and looked flawless leading the Texas Tech offense to a devastating win over Kansas State. Despite an interception, Sheffield threw for 490 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also added 19 yards on the ground. Many fans like what they're seeing from Sheffield and some want him to take Potts place even when Potts is healthy again. Graham Harrell may be gone, but Texas Tech is showing the system never dies with quarterback changes. The tradition continues.

Week 6 Rankings

2009-10-11T23:09:00.002-04:00

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

Heisman Contenders - Week 5

2009-10-08T16:20:00.002-04:00

1. Tim Tebow, Florida
It's hard to believe that a player can jump to the top of the Heisman ballot without even playing, but Tebow has done that. Ryan Williams would have taken the top spot this week, but his Hokies struggled to put away a less than stellar Duke team. Tebow's Heisman hopes are on the line this weekend if he does not find a way onto the field and his team manages to lose. Tebow has not played near spectacular this season, but neither has anybody else and everyone is looking for a player to finally step up and claim Heisman front runner status. Tebow's concussion is the most talked about story in college football right now and for once the Tebow hype is warranted. This is a top 5 matchup with major national title implications and Florida is very vulnerable against a raucous LSU crowd and a team that seems to have Urban Meyer's number. Big players come up big in big games. Time for Tebow to suit up and play.
Season Stats - 44/68/643 6/1, 55/271/5

2. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
Williams did not have the best game last week, but he still is not getting enough credit from the nation. Virginia Tech was the popular preseason pick for a team to fall flat on their face this season and Williams is not allowing for any of that. Virginia Tech has fought back from an early season loss to Alabama to beat the hottest team in the country in Miami. Williams has been the catalyst for the offense and Virginia Tech fans hope Tyrod Taylor's improved passing continues over the next couple months. Virginia Tech struggled to beat Duke this past week and Williams had his worst ypc of the season. He rushed for 83 yards but on 24 carries and failed to catch a pass for the first time this season. His team still won though, thus resulting in him being ahead of Case Keenum.
Season Stats - 108/575/8, 6/120

3. Case Keenum, Houston
It was a rough week for the Heisman Contenders last week as their teams went a combined 1-3 with the one win almost being a huge upset. Keenum put up a ridiculous statline in the loss and from all indications if Houston had a half-hearted effort defensively they could have won this game. Keenum threw an unbelieveable 76 passes and completed 51 of them for 536 yards with 5 touchdowns and no turnovers. If Keenum can win out and continue to put up a statline like this, he should creep back into the Heisman race in terms of the media, but he'll take a major fall in most people's eyes with the loss. I still give the guy credit, as he is the most deserving player in the country of the award at this point.
Season Stats - 144/210/1696 13/2, 18/52/3

4. Tony Pike, Cincinnati
Stadium Stories has yet to jump on the Cincinnati bandwagon. Most people put them in the Top 10, but I still have them at 14 and believe their run has a lot to do with their schedule rather than their play. However, in a year where teams are struggling and college football is down in general, Cincinnati is playing very well. Pike is the ring leader of the offense and has come from being a fifth stringer on the verge of being cut a couple seasons ago to being one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Pike did not have one his best days this past Saturday against Miami (OH), but I will give him the benefit of the doubt since a lot of other Heisman Contenders struggled this week.
Season Stats - 116/174/1493 13/3, 14/41/2

5. Golden Tate, Notre Dame
With the lackluster performances of the country's best lately, Colt McCoy could find his name here soon and underdog Toby Gerhart, a back to back top performer of the week, could find his name here soon. That is not to take away from Golden Tate who is becoming this Notre Dame offense. I gave Clausen credit in the performers of the week, but I feel Tate is the better Heisman candidate. Wide receivers struggle to garner Heisman hype unlike the other skill positions, but Tate has the Wildcat position helping him majorly in the stats category. If he performs like he did last week against some decent teams, Tate could jump all the way to the top of this whole race. If you didn't hear he caught 9 balls for 244 yards and touchdown and added 31 yards on the ground in a single carry against a Washington defense that shut down USC.
Season Stats - 33/602/4, 13/93/1

Week 5 thoughts

2009-10-05T19:37:00.002-04:00

In my return to the armchair this week, college football went its first week without a top 5 upset, but their is an asterisk next to that since only 3 of the 5 teams played. College football saw a week without Superman or Colt McCoy, but there were still highs and lows in the week. The Michigan Cinderella story stalled, as Michigan State got back on track after a lackluster start to the season. Penn State awakened a week late, as the the team they beat struggled against Arkansas State. USC steamrolled California and Oregon continues to prove they are a legit threat to win the Pac-10 along with the darkhorse, Stanford. Houston went down despite Case Keenum completing 51 passes for over 500 yards. Go figure. Miami effectively ended Oklahoma's national title hopes and LSU passed their first test of the season. Auburn is still undefeated and Cincinnati is quietly making a run at the big one. Duke almost pulled a big upset, while Virginia pulled an upset of their own. College football is alive and well, upsets aplently and comebacks arising, but the one think still completely uncertain is the Heisman trophy winner. A star has yet to be established.

5 Stars of the week

1. Taylor Mays - This award could go to the entire USC defense for their utter shutdown of Kevin Riley, Jahvid Best and company, but Mays was the ring leader. Mays picked off Kevin Riley on Cal's first possesion and the Trojans did not look back from there. California was limited to 3 points and the USC offense performed admirably putting up 30 points. Best was a frontrunner for the Heisman trophy going into the matchup but comes out of it barely in the running. He was limited to 47 yards on 14 carries and was a nonfactor in the game. Kevin Riley was held in check only completing 15 of 40 passes and threw for under 200 yards.

2. Javarris James - James did not account for any of Miami's points in their victory over Oklahoma, but he was a big reason they won the game. His 50 yard run in the second quarter ignited the Miami offense and a couple plays later, the Hurricanes were celebrating a touchdown pass of Jacory Harris. In his other 14 carries, Harris ran for 100 and had a slick 10 ypc on the day. It looked like it was going to be an ugly day for the Miami offense early as Harris struggled on his way to two interceptions, but he picked it up and James helped the cause. Oklahoma is done in terms of the national title race and Miami is definitely making its case. Yes, they have a loss, but does a team in the country face a tougher 4 game stretch than Miami just got through with. With the bulk of thier season behind them, Miami should find themselves in an ACC title game with possibly more on the line.

3. Toby Gerhart - For the second week in a row Gerhart finds his name on this list. His quarterback, Andrew Luck, is just getting better by the week and Stanford is starting to make some noise in the Pac-10 with a couple early season wins in conference. Gerhart ran for 134 yards this week and tacked on three touchdowns as Stanford passed their first test in conference play downing Rick Neuheisal and UCLA. Stanford has another winnable game against Oregon State next and if they can win that, Gerhart is going to start getting some mention for the Heisman trophy. Gerhart lacks the speed of a Joe McKnight, but the guy just gets it done. He's powerful, but decepetively fast at the same time. Jim Harbaugh is doing a terrific job with the talent he has at Stanford.

4. Jimmy Clausen - Notre Dame does not win the games smoothly, but to the disbelief of the country they are 4-1. After the Michigan loss was magnified and Notre Dame always seeming to be on the losing end to start games, it is hard to believe they only have 1 loss right now but they do. Sure Golden Tate has a huge role in that, but do not undermine the job Clausen has done. Losing Michael Floyd could have been devastating, but all Clausen did against a Washington defense that performed well against LSU and USC was throw for 422 yards and 2 TDs. He was also great in the clutch giving the Irish a touchdown in overtime, which was the gamewinner. Golden Tate caught 9 of Clausen's balls and can be called co-MVP with 244 receiving yards.

5. John Clay - Wisconsin and Minnesota did not disappoint in their game. Zach Brown was struggling at running back for the Badgers, but Clay stepped up and ran all over the Golden Gophers. He had 184 yards and 3 TDs and just dominated the game. This spot however would go to Eric Decker if his team could have pulled it out. Not to take away from Clay as he was the MVP of the game, but Decker deserves praise. The guy plays on a subpar team but consistently puts out the best stats of any player in the country despite the fact that everyone in the stadium knows who Adam Weber is looking for. People might think AJ Green is important to the Georgia offense, but Decker not only is the heart and soul of the Minnesota offense but I actually believe he makes Decker look as good as he does.

Week 5 rankings

2009-10-04T21:16:00.002-04:00

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Boise State
5. LSU
6. Kansas
7. USC
8. Virginia Tech
9. Oklahoma State
10. Ohio State
11. TCU
12. Miami
13. Iowa
14. Cincinnati
15. Oregon
16. Penn State
17. Auburn
18. Ole Miss
19. Wisconsin
20. Stanford
21. South Carolina
22. Missouri
23. South Florida
24. Oklahoma
25. Georgia

Week 5 picks

2009-10-02T21:56:00.002-04:00

Oklahoma - Miami
Oklahoma seemed to suffer a season-ending upset when Sam Bradford went down and so did the hopes of an undefeated season. Miami has gotten all the hype this season, as they arguably had the best first three weeks of college football (2 games), but the key to this match-up is how Oklahoma has quietly crawled back to the top of the rankings and Landry Jones is really coming of age and showing Sooner fans that Oklahoma and the offensive firepower is here to stay. Jacory Harris has looked very composed this season and despite pouring rain, Virginia Tech dominated Miami a week ago. I'm waiting for Murray and Brown to really get going in the Sooner backfield and although Miami has a stingy defense, Ryan Williams did well last week and I expect this to be a breakout week for the backs.
The Pick - Oklahoma

California-USC
This is a very interesting match-up and a very, very important game to the Pac-10 race. Oregon showed a week ago that they plan on being into the race until the end, but Cal has a do or die game this week against Southern Cal. Cal got embarassed last week and I don't expect a repeat this week led by the offense talent of Best and Riley. I'm not sold on the USC team yet. The defense is still young, but they are playing well and the offense hasn't exactly put on a fireworks display yet. Joe McKnight is really developing into a go-to back, but the passing game just isn't what I expected. With such an experienced receiving corps led by Damian Williams, I expected more.
The Pick - Cal

Tennessee - Auburn
Auburn has put on a surprising display of offensive power and versatility so far this season, but Tennessee's defense will be the team's first real test. Can Chris Todd demonstrate his improvement against a real team or will he revert to last year's performances. Tennessee still lacks a quarterback, but Hardesty has been very solid at running back and is currently one of the best in the SEC out of the backfield. Look for a hard fought battle and for Tennessee to squeak out this game defensively in a game fought in the teens.
The Pick - Tennessee

Wisconsin - Minnesota
If you're up to watching a game at 12 noon tomorrow, make sure to watch this game with undefeated Wisconsin and a Minnesota team that features one of the best receivers in the country in Eric Decker. Decker doesn't get nearly enough credit from the media and it is a shame that it is only because he plays for the Golden Gophers. The last time Minnesota got attention nationally offensively was with Maroney and Barber in the backfield, but Decker is THE most consistent receiver in the country and dictates the game even when people know he is the go to guy. Look for Decker to expose Wisconsin and Minnesota to win this game.
The Pick - Minnesota

Georgia - LSU
LSU is the most overrated team in the country and they play a trap game this week against Georgia. Everyone in Baton Rouge wants LSU to be the team that takes down Florida and with that matchup only a week away and Florida fans already talking about it due to their bye week, look for LSU to not fully focus on Georgia and leave Athens with a loss. Georgia probably won't score 40 points but they'll be able to stop an LSU offense that has struggled to develop Charles Scott in the running game.
The Pick - Georgia

The Upset Pick - Michigan State (Michigan)
Michigan State just has not had any luck this season. They're so close to winning, but they always end up on the wrong side. Michigan has seen the otherside of the spectrum and this will be the week, the two feel the other side of the feeling. Michigan State is finally settling into an offense and Michigan has started to garner the attention and are ripe for the upset.

Heisman Contenders - Week 4

2009-09-30T08:35:00.005-04:00

1. Jahvid Best, California
Best had a subpar performance as his team got pummeled by Oregon. Scoring 3 points as an offense is pathetic and Best is getting a reprieve still remaining on top of the Heisman board. Season to date he is still the best player at this point in the season and with teams dropping like flies this season losing one game shouldn't be a death sentence. Best totalled just 69 yards of offense against Oregon, but he still has 467 yards and 8 TDs on the season and he has a big game this week against USC to show where he really should be on this list. If he can total 100+ yards and lead Cal to an upset win, he deserves to be at the top of this list and if Cal struggles again and Best doesn't run laps around the USC defense, he will fall and a new leader will emerge. The problem with dropping Best is there is no player that has earned true consideration for the trophy at this point in the season.
Season Stats - 69/467/8, 9/73/1

2. Case Keenum, Houston
In this day and age a quarterback from Houston isn't going to win any major college awards, but it is time for the national media to start giving Keenum more credit for what he's doing. Football is a team game, but no way in my eyes does Houston beat both Texas Tech and Oklahoma State if it wasn't for Keenum at quarterback. People gave Graham Harrell credit last season when Texas Tech was winning, so why not give Keenum his due. To date he's played a valiant schedule and although it drops off, he has already shown he can do whatever is handed to him. Despite just one passing TD, Keenum had over 450 yards of total offense in the win over Texas Tech. Keenum will have to keep the numbers up as the competition weakens, but if Houston keeps winning I won't be dropping Keenum off this list. He's possibly been the best quarterback in the country to date.
Season Stats - 93/134/1160 8/2, 15/43/3

3. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
Why is the guy getting no hype for the Heisman? Sure he came into the season as a scout team wonder and had to replace a guy many considered a Heisman contender, but this has become ridiculous how if a player is not hyped in the preseason or orchestrates the world's biggest upset that he does not get the credit he is due. Sure Virginia Tech lost to Alabama, but they have responded well and it all starts in the backfield and I promise it is not the result of Tyrod Taylor. Williams has the consistency Evans lacked a season ago and had another big week last week with 190 total yards and two touchdowns against a good Miami team. Williams is now in the top 5 in the country in rushing yards and the freshman is the leader of the Tech offense.
Season Stats - 84/492/8, 6/120

4. Tim Tebow, Florida
The preseason favorite for the Heisman isn't putting up the stats he's accustomed to this year and Saturday he put his fate for the next game in jeopardy with a concussion. I expect him to play after the bye week, but how effective will he be? Tebow is being considered for the Heisman right now because of his leadership skills and what he is overcoming, not gaudy statistics. Tebow has had to throw to a depleted receiving corps that has battled injuries and departures to the NFL. Tebow does have some weapons at running back at his disposal, but no Percy Harvin to fall back on this season. Tebow's candidacy is still strong in the media's eyes, but he needs to do something and soon if he wants to continue to have my support. The one thing that is helping him is keeping his team undefeated, which Williams and Best could not do.
Season Stats - 44/68/643 6/1, 55/271/5

5. Eric Decker, Minnesota
It is hard to get a lot of credit when you play for a team that isn't too great, but Decker is definitely living up to his preseason hype and possibly playing better right now. He only has one game under 100 yards receiving and he had 2 TDs in that game this week, while battling a bad ankle. Minnesota has not played the best competition yet, but everyone has at least heard of Syracuse, Air Force, Cal, and Northwestern. Minnesota almost knocked off Cal while they were still in the top 10 too. Decker is one of the most reliable players in the nation and he still gets his yards although everyone knows the ball is coming to him.
Season Stats - 35/499/4

Week 4 thoughts

2009-09-28T22:07:00.003-04:00

As I've said before this season, this season does not feature too many great teams. I'm against saying all these teams in the top 10 that are losing are frauds. They just did not deserve the ranking they had in the first place. I really thought California would have done better against Oregon, but before the season I had a hard time deciding between California and Oregon for the league title. USC is not the USC everyone knows this year and that should have been expected after heavy personnel losses. Penn State was very overrated evidenced by a struggling offense against cupcakes, but the problem is that everyone else is so average that someone has to occupy those top 10 spots. Kansas is ranked in the top 10 in my poll, while barely the top 20 in the national polls, but who's to really say where they should be until they lose.

In college football this year more than any before winning is all that matters. Quality points are more a thing of the past. Look at the number of undefeated teams left. It's decreasing faster than ever. LSU and Boise State will fall soon, they are good teams, but they are not great. They are a result of average football season in terms of quality football and in time they will fall too. Florida has yet to look dominant and do not have the receivers they need to be a great team, but the team they have could be good enough to win in a year like this. More than ever this season, an under the radar team can come out of nowhere and challenge not just for a BCS berth, but a National Championship berth. I honestly do not expect an undefeated team at the end of the season. Florida has a dangerous game against LSU coming up, I believe Texas is going to fall victim to an Oklahoma team that is quietly making a comeback in the rankings, Iowa has always struggled against Ohio State, Cincinnati should slip up somewhere, and Alabama will probably have to play Florida in the SEC Championship game. The BCS may see the biggest controversy it has ever seen at the end of this season. The national champion could end up with 2 losses in the same way LSU won two years ago, if teams do not step it up a notch.

Top Performers
1. Eric Norwood, South Carolina
Norwood is one of the most consistent players in the country. Through four games, he has recorded a sack in every game, twice racking up a pair. He has 27 tackles, 6 sacks, and an INT through 4 games and should be up for all the national awards and All American consideration. Norwood was instrumental in South Carolina's win over Ole Miss. Norwood had 10 tackles and 2 sacks in the win and was giving the Ole Miss offense problems all night. Granted Ole Miss was one of those team overrated as a result of the average year, South Carolina played an outstanding game defensively and their leader was at the heart of the performance.

2. Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon
Masoli did not play typical Masoli running football. California held the athletic quarterback to a mere 21 yards on the ground, but what he did through the air gave no reason for Oregon to force Masoli to run the ball. Masoli has struggled all season in the passing game and after an abysmal start to the season, Masoli finally showed up and on a big stage at that. He threw for an incredible 21/25 253 yards and 3 TDs with no picks. That's an 84% completion percentage for a guy that hit 4/16 last week and struggled to get above 50% in the first two games of the season. Oregon fans may have once thought the season was lost, but with Masoli back on track and the locker room cancer (Blount) behind them, Oregon may have righted ship and compete for the Pac-10 crown.

3. Broderick Binns, Iowa
The young defensive end is emerging as one of the conference's best and stepped up on the national stage for the Hawkeyes. The sophomore had 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble as he gave Darryl Clark and the Penn State offensive line fits all night. Not only should the credit be given to Binns, but the entire Iowa defense. They gave the offensive line fits all night, the linebackers, particulary Angerer played well in coverage and against the run and the secondary didn't give Penn State much of a chance with the exception of the first play of the game to Chaz Powell. This unit will keep Iowa in every game it plays this season and could have them competing for a Big Ten title.

4. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
Darren Evans who? Evans may have a hard time getting playing time next season. A season ago Evans was known for his big performances, not his consistency. Mr. Williams is the king of consistency right now and is really making a mark in this Tech offense. With Taylor still developing at quarterback, Williams has stepped up as the playmaker and this week it was a fast, physical Miami defense that was the victim. He rushed for 150 yards and 2 TDs in the pouring rain as Tech dismantled an upbeat Miami team. Williams has almost 500 yards to go along with 8 TDs in his first 4 games as the feature back, and has gone over 100 in every performance except against a stellar Alabama defense. He also has 120 yards in the receiving game.

5. Toby Gerhart, Stanford
A week after the Washington defense stuffed the USC offense, Gerhart goes off for 200 yards on the Huskies. Gerhart is not a flashy back, but he's a gritty guy that is very tough to bring down. Stanford is flying under the radar right now. Yes, they lost to a worse Wake Forest team and have not played a tough schedule, but play a very big game to the program against UCLA next week. Stanford is a team on the rise and Andrew Luck should be a very good quarterback for this team in time. It would be a tough thing, but this Stanford team could very possibly be 7-1 heading into their bye week, before one of the toughest four game stretches in the country to close the season.

The underrated team - Purdue
Purdue is a weak 1-3 right now and the loss to Northern Illinois stings, but this team has got to be the best team with 3 losses in the country. They were a made extra point from taking a rejuvenated Oregon team into overtime a couple of weeks ago and almost beat Notre Dame Saturday only to fall short on a late Irish drive. Danny Hope has given Boilermaker fans hope for the future with a very underappreciated back in Ralph Bolden. Bolden is only a sophomore and could be the player that starts the Big 10's revival. The revival of the Big Ten is not going to be in the elite teams, but in the lower to middle tier teams that can help the conference's bowl record.

The overrated team - LSU
LSU is vastly overrated right now. The team has struggled all season. The team has struggled to get their first team all conference back going in Charles Scott and the team is letting average teams like Washington and Mississippi State take them to the brink of defeat. LSU can prove its worth in the coming weeks with a huge game against a Florida team that features a questionable Tim Tebow and a depleted receiving corps. That game is sandwiched with Georgia and Auburn in a defining three game stretch for the SEC West team.

Week 4 Rankings

2009-09-27T21:14:00.002-04:00

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

Week 4 picks

2009-09-25T15:10:00.004-04:00

It wasn't pretty last week, so I need to make some better picks this week. My upset pick of the Golden Gophers looked like it had a chance when it was tied in the fourth, but California ultimately pulled away and won.

Michigan State - Wisconsin
Michigan State has suffered a tough beginning to the season after high expectations for the Big 10 season. Luckily for them the Big 10 season is just beginning. They play an undefeated Badger team in Camp Randall, but look for Michigan State to get back on track after losses to Central Michigan and Notre Dame. Kirk Cousins looks to be the answer at quarterback, but the big question is who is going to finally step at the running back position. Wisconsin found their quarterback in Tolzien and not Phillips like expected and they'll rely on John Clay and Zach Brown to carry their offense. I'm still not sold on Wisconsin and I think this is an important game for Michigan State and they'll come out strong especially on defense led by Greg Jones.
The Pick - Michigan State

Florida State - South Florida
South Florida caught a major blow to their season. It may be better for them in the long run, but it could hold them back from competing in the Big East this season. Matt Grothe had a probable collegiate career ending injury by tearing his ACL. Florida State looked pathetic against Jacksonville State, but competed admirably with Miami the first week of the season. South Florida has had this date marked on their calendar as they look to establish themselves with the big 3 in Florida, but it won't happen with a redshirt freshman starting for the first time. Look for Florida State to win this game by 15-20.
The Pick - Florida State

Miami - Virginia Tech
The thing that separates these ACC foes right now is the play of the quarterback. Jacory Harris is playing like a Heisman candidate, hitting receivers all over the field with precision, while Tyrod Taylor, a talent running the ball, still hasn't developed that passing aspect of his game. Miami and Virginia Tech are both good on defense, but look for Miami to start to wear down the Virginia Tech defense in the same way Alabama did. Graig Cooper and Ryan Williams provide good support to the quarterbacks in the game. Cooper is a fun player to watch and Williams is doing very well replacing the injured Darren Evans. Playing in Blacksburg should benefit Tech, but remember Miami has had 2 extra days to prepare this game.
The Pick - Miami

Washington - Stanford
Ask most a casual college football fan if they care about the result of the Washington-Stanford game. The majority, if not all the time, you're going to get a resounding "who cares." Well you should care, both teams are 2-1 and while they might not win the Pac-10, they're both teams to watch into the future. Both teams boast solid quarterbacks. The young Andrew Luck is one to watch for the next couple years at Stanford, but the one to watch today is Jake Locker. Locker has provided a spark to a dead program in Washington, returning from last season's injury. Andrew Luck has been efficient in his first few games as the Stanford starter and like Locker is not afraid to pick up a few yards on the ground. Toby Gerhart provides Stanford with the better balance on offense and look for Washington to struggle with the hangover from the USC win.
The Pick - Stanford

Penn State - Iowa
It's sad the nation won't be seeing these two teams at their best when they play in this week's primetime TV slot. Iowa will most likely be missing All-American candidate Bulaga at tackle and Stanzi's top receiving threats DJK (WR) and Moeaki (TE) might not be at full strength. Penn State could be without their own All-American candidate in Sean Lee. Navorro Bowman is still questionable at this point, but most indications are that he'll play. Stupar has an ankle tweak and Mauti has been sidelined for the season with an ACL tear in the preseason. Penn State's linebacking corps is the unit to watch this weekend especially after Bani Gbadyu said on his facebook that he'll be starting this weekend. The situation points to a Penn State victory. It's a home game in primetime, a situation Penn State thrives in and revenge is on the minds of the Nittany Lions. Two interesting things to watch are Penn State's defense and how legit they are and how much damage Ricky Stanzi can do into Penn State's secondary. It should be a close game before Penn State pulls away.
The pick - Penn State

Upset of the Week - Arkansas (@Alabama)
Everything points against the Hogs in this game. The streak of top 5 upsets this season has already been continued this week with Ole Miss and Penn State has a tough game themselves. Arkansas lost this matchup by 35 a season ago and they have to travel to Alabama for the game. There are reasons I believe Arkansas can spring this upset though. Ryan Mallett is the most efficient quarterback in the country right now and think about how many points Arkansas put up on Georgia last week just passing the ball. I truly believe this is the week Arkansas realizes they need to utilize All-SEC back Michael Smith. He only has 102 yards to date this season on the ground but at 8.5 ypc. If Arkansas can get him going and Jarius Wright continues to play well at receiver, Arkansas will put up the points they need to win. Alabama thrives in the run game, not the pass game. Arkansas got beat last week by Joe Cox and right now Cox is better than McElroy. If Arkansas can contain Julio Jones and McElroy and force Alabama to their strength, ironically they'll have the advantage. Arkansas held Samuel to 26 yards on 15 carries last week if you take out a 80 yard dash. Alabama better watch out or this game could go sour and even if they obtain a lead, Mallett can score fast.

Heisman Contender - Week 3

2009-09-23T15:09:00.002-04:00

1. Jahvid Best
Most people have a prejudice toward the quarterback, but make no mistake. Right now Jahvid Best is the best player in the country. His team had a modest 35-21 victory over an overmatched Golden Gopher team, but 30 of those 35 points (and the reason for the other 5) were all from a certain player marching into the endzone. After his 5 TD performance, Best stands third in the country at 412 yards and he's got 8 touchdowns to go with those yards. He's on pace for almost 35 rushing touchdowns this season. While that number seems unattainable, Best will still put up huge numbers the rest of the season. If Heisman voters put their quarterback prejudice aside and vote for a Pac-10 player not from USC, Best should be the winner at this early point in the season by a clear margin.
Season Stats - 53 rushes 412 yards 8 TDs, 7 catches 59 yards 1 TD

2. Tim Tebow
Tebow hasn't put up Tebow like numbers yet and if even though he's doing what he needs to for his team to win, if he doesn't start putting numbers up he'll find himself sliding down the Heisman Contenders race in the coming weeks. While he picked up over 70 yards on the ground against Tennessee, he only threw for 115 with no touchdowns and a pick. I'll give Tebow a pass this week as he gears up for the real season after those first two cupcakes. Coach Meyer said Florida didn't have to open up the offense against Tennessee and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but Tebow needs to start putting up better stats, as sadly enough that's what wins Heisman trophies.
Season Stats - 39/58 540 yards 5/1, 39 rushes 148 yards 3 TDs

3. Case Keenum
You can't punish a guy for having the week off, so Keenum remains at the number 3 spot on the list. Keenum overcame his first obstacle against Oklahoma State to come onto the radar list, but he has his second battle with Texas Tech this coming week. This game will define Houston's BCS hopes and without a huge game Keenum can all but kiss his Heisman longshot hopes goodbye. Just like the polls, everyone has their prejudices before the season and wants to lock out the mid-major guys. Why not include Keenum in the balloting. Keenum can create plays and not just against inferior opponents. Georgia's offense has been alive in both games not against Oklahoma State this season. Guess which team Keenum scored 45 on.
Season stats - 55/76 725 yards 7/1, 7 rushes 16 yards 2 TDs

4. Jacory Harris
The nation's third most efficient quarterback is leading Miami back to the promise land. Colt McCoy had another off week and again won't be making the list, but how about the quarterback that's emerging down south. Harris doesn't look like a big, strong quarterback, but he is very smart with how he reads the field and is doing an excellent job running the Miami offense. He hits his passes and with Graig Cooper aiding him, Miami should continue to have a potent offense. Harris is doing this despite the nation's hardest opening schedule. His two opponents to date have been Florida State and Georgia Tech and a date with Oklahoma is right around the corner. Talk about not being able to ease into the season.
Season Stats - 41/59 656 yards 5/2, 1 rush TD

5. Joe McKnight
Call this the wildcard pick. McKnight might not be putting up Reggie Bush like numbers, but is their a running back in the nation that could with stable of backs? It doesn't matter how good McKnight gets, because he'll share carries with the other back just because they're really good too. Barkley is getting all the credit at SoCal for being the amazing true freshman quarterback, but McKnight is the guy who has this offense going. The offense did struggle against Washington to only put 13 points up, but McKnight hit the century mark on only 11 carries. Maybe McKnight should be getting the ball more. McKnight is also the guy that almost single-handedly beat Ohio State. That last drive was all Joe McKnight. He took over the game under the ultimate pressure of an away primetime game in clutch time.
Season Stats - 41 carries 305 yards 3 TD, 6 catches 72 yards

Thoughts on Week 3

2009-09-20T17:20:00.003-04:00

Top Performers of the Week
1. Jake Locker - Locker had good stats, not great ones but its the performance in the spotlight that garners him a spot in top performers of the week. Locker had 237 passing yards without a touchdown, but he also had no picks. He did pick up a rushing touchdown. Locker led his team down the field at the end of game with a clutch fourth quarter drive to allow his kicker to win the game with an easy chip shot. It's probably fair to say Washington would have won a few games last year had Locker not gotten hurt, but no one could have expected this kind of start for Washington this season. Locker kept the team competitive with a top 10 LSU team and led his team to an upset of a top 5 USC team. Washington isn't a BCS caliber team yet, but Sarkisian definitely has the team on the right track and faster than expected.

2. Joe Cox - After a dismal start to the season against Oklahoma State, Cox has progressed nicely. Special teams was the difference in the Carolina game, but it was the offense in the Georgia game. Cox threw for 375 yards and 5 TDs (1 INT) against Arkansas and ultimately prevailed in the slugfest. Ryan Mallett would be sitting here if he couldn't have come up more at the end of the game and brought Arkansas back. He also had 5 TDs and over 400 yards passing but he made some costly plays in the final drives that held back Arkansas from a big win for the program. Cox's main target was Green, but Moore gave him a viable second option.

3. Landry Jones - Tulsa is not a bad team, but Oklahoma made it seem that way led by the young quarterback. Despite 2 picks, Jones threw for 336 yards and a astounding 6 TD passes while Oklahoma destroyed Tulsa 45-0. Jones looks like a viable replacement next year when Bradford is gone and it's a shame for Oklahoma that he was thrown into the fire against BYU. One would have expected it to be Brown and Murray taking the load with Bradford on the sidelines, but Oklahoma is still maintaining a strong passing game in his absence. The freshman quarterback is up to 9 TD passes in two games and if he can keep his picks down, he could put up some serious numbers. The question will be how he performs against Miami if Bradford isn't back by than.

4. DeAndre McDaniel - The Clemson safety continues to make plays for a Clemson defense that is coming together nicely. If their offense can catch up, Clemson could make some noise in ACC play. McDaniel is up to 4 picks in the early season after another one in the game against BC this weekend. He also picked up a sack and 8 tackles as Clemson held BC to a late touchdown and 7 points. The Clemson defense played pretty well against Georgia Tech with the exception of a few plays including the fake that went for a touchdown. The offenses of the ACC aren't spectacular and look for Clemson to continue to play well on the defensive side of the ball.

5. Mike Williams - The big news of the offseason for Syracuse was what Greg Paulus could provide to a bad Orange offense, but Syracuse fans knew the bigger news was the return of the star receiver. Williams proved true to his reputation in a win over Northwestern as he totalled 209 yards on 11 catches and 2 touchdowns. If Paulus can continue to get him the ball, Williams could provide competition to Brown and Pike for Big East offensive player of the year honors from the position of wide receiver, a difficult position to win from.

Best Performance in a loss - Ryan Mallett
As I already mentioned, Mallett put up 5 touchdowns and 400+ yards as Arkansas lost to Georgia in a game where defense was invisible. Mallett took a few costly tackles in the closing drives but his play can't be ignored. He didn't throw a pick and led his team despite not having the playmakers that other top quarterbacks in the country may have at their disposal. Mallett looked good his freshman season at Michigan and it may just work out right for the Hogs that Mustain left.

Surprises
1. The devastating injuries that always happen
Sam Bradford's injury will probably go down as the biggest of the season unless Tim Tebow gets hurt, but two big players are now done for their respective teams this season. Michael Floyd, a guy I listed as a potential Heisman candidate as recently as last week, is gone for the season in a potentially lethal blow to the Irish's BCS hopes. Golden Tate will have a lot more pressure on him and I expect their passing game to be contained better in the coming weeks. Matt Grothe also had a season ender, by tearing his ACL. Grothe has been the heart and soul of South Florida the last few seasons and with a wide open Big East race South Florida had a good shot of taking the title. Now those hopes are diminished and West Virginia and Cincinnati appear to be the favorites.

2. A tough weekend for the BCS busters
TCU, Houston, and Boise State are the three remaining non-BCS schools that appear to have a good shot at busting the BCS. BYU took a major blow this weekend by not only losing to Florida State, but getting thoroughly beat by a superior team and one that isn't BCS caliber at the moment. Utah also lost to Oregon, a team that hasn't exactly lived up to its preseason ranking. Jeremiah Masoli played poorly again, but he did enough for his team to win. Cain didn't do much at the quarterback position and Utah desparately missing Brian Johnson from last year's undefeated squad. Houston and TCU have big games in sight and need to perform well or we could see an all-BCS school pool of BCS games.

3. Georgia Tech
How disappointing. A lot of people are going to look at this game as how good Miami is, but I really think this exposed Georgia Tech more than it proved Miami as legit. Georgia Tech could not get a push upfront for the second consecutive game and Jonathan Dwyer is production-less. The big plays are too far between and the team doesn't have the talent on the line to overcome the fact that other teams are learning their system. Nesbitt is a terrible quarterback and it's really hurting Tech when they find themselves down in games. The offense relies on getting ahead, because the offense requires time to operate. Nesbitt is a good athlete, just not a quarterback. The defense also looks badly conditioned. Yes, they'll be tired if the offense can't move the ball, but they looked gassed in the first quarter of the game and that shouldn't ever happen. The coverage was terrible and it wasn't just the result of Jacory Harris being that good.

4. Washington
Washington was definitely going to be a better team going into the season. Jake Locker does wonders for the offense, but an improvement to this magnitude? Sarkisian has his team believing and the results to date have been impressive. Washington took a sluggish LSU team to the fourth quarter and almost sparked an upset. They won an easy game last week, but it was still important to feel what it's like to win for the first time in two years. They did what they couldn't do against LSU and won the USC game with a crucial drive in the fourth quarter against USC showing composure as Locker led them to that fateful field goal.

Week Wrap-up
College football seems to be down this year. Everyone knew with 85 man scholarship limits that the gap between the elite and average teams was going to get smaller, but not to this degree. The top 5 isn't as dominant as it usually is. Last year's Penn State team, for example, was way better at this point than they are this year and Penn State is ranked 4 in the coaches poll. A lot of the top teams have also struggled to put teams away early this year. Alabama had trouble a week ago putting away their opponent, while Oklahoma State never got going and lost to Houston. Florida struggled to gain a big advantage on a Tennessee team that lost to UCLA the week before. Ole Miss struggled against Memphis for the better part of the game in the first half a few weeks ago. Teams from small conferences like BYU can win a big game (Oklahoma) only to get killed by a mediocre team (Florida State). No team has proved they are National Championship caliber yet, but the time has come for someone to step to the forefront.

Week 3 Rankings

2009-09-20T16:15:00.002-04:00

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. California
5. Ole Miss
6. Penn State
7. LSU
8. Kansas
9. USC
10. Ohio State
11. Oklahoma
12. Oklahoma State
13. Miami
14. Boise State
15. Virginia Tech
16. Georgia
17. TCU
18. Michigan
19. Houston
20. Arkansas
21. Nebraska
22. Washington
23. Mizzou
24. Cincinnati
25. Auburn

Week 3 picks

2009-09-17T21:15:00.002-04:00

After a subpar first week, I went 4-1 last week to bring my record to 6-4 through 2 weeks. As always I'll try to predict 5 of the week's marquee matchups and pick a potential upset.

Virginia Tech - Nebraska
Virginia Tech is ranked higher according to the official polls, but in my poll and my opinion Nebraska is the better team. Playing in Lane Stadium will aid the Hokies and the emergence of former scout team star Ryan Williams as the number 1 tailback. The x-factor in the game however is Zac Lee. The inexperienced quarterback has put up tremendous statlines in the first two games, albeit weak competition. If Lee can handle the pressure of the Hokie defense and crowd, Nebraska should be able to take a win back home. Tyrod Taylor still looks like a run only quarterback and just isn't there yet as a passer. Virginia Tech stole last years game from the home team and look for Nebraska to return the favor.
The Pick - Nebraska

Oregon - Utah
What a disappointing start to the season for the Ducks. After coming into the season with top 10 expectations and a shot at the Pac 10 title, the team has struggled in the early going. After the terrible offensive performance against Boise State, the Ducks put 38 points up on Purdue. The problem is Masoli still struggled, they're without their top back in Blount for the remainder of the season, and Purdue is a subpar team. Purdue also took Oregon to the brink of overtime, only being denied by a missed extra point and a subsequent missed 2 point conversion. Autzen Stadium better live up to their reputation if the want to rattle the Utes and Masoli needs to start throwing the ball better. Utah is not the same team that went undefeated last year and are possibly the fourth best non-BCS school (BYU, Boise State, Houston) but this is their chance to make their statement.
The Pick - Utah

Georgia - Arkansas
Georgia has had an interesting start to the season. The first week their offense couldn't do anything, but the defense played well against an explosive offense from Stillwater. Against South Carolina the defense struggled against an average at best offense in Carolina, but the offense and special teams played well. What Georgia team is going to show up on Saturday? Arkansas is an interesting team to watch this season. With a strong duo at running back in Michael Smith and Broderick Green and a high ceiling quarterback in Ryan Mallett, the Razorbacks could compete in the SEC West. LSU and Ole Miss have looked less than stellar so far and Arkansas could make a statement with a home win over Georgia this weekend. The offense should put up some points, if only the defense can hold Georgia to less.
The Pick - Arkansas

West Virginia - Auburn
I'm not sold on Auburn quite yet. Through two games Chris Todd has put up a decent amount of yards but the alarming statistic is still his completion percentage. 55.1% is not going to cut it versus better competition especially when SEC play starts. West Virginia has seen the emergence of Jarrett Brown as a worthy successor to Pat White completing over 75% of his passes in the first two while also racking up yards on the ground. The running backs should aid both teams and the game will come down to which quarterback plays better. Brown is a better quarterback than Todd even with Todd's experience. Although the game is at Auburn, West Virginia should bring this one home.
The Pick - West Virginia

Texas - Texas Tech
Texas is looking for revenge and revenge they shall get. Although Texas struggled against Wyoming last week, don't expect another subpar performance by the Longhorns this week. It's hard to get up and go play at Wyoming and Texas has had this date marked on their calendar all offseason for destroying a possible national championship game birth last season. Taylor Potts has led his team to countless touchdowns the first two weeks, but it would take superman himself to quarterback Texas Tech to a win in Austin this weekend.
The Pick - Texas

Upset Pick - Minnesota (California)
Minnesota hasn't played well this season, but lucky for them California has travel across part of the country to come play in a new stadium. Minnesota should be up for this game and you can't discount the offensive potential of Adam Weber and Eric Decker. If those two can get going and the defense can get to Jahvid Best early and get in Kevin Riley's head, California could have a hard time with the Golden Gophers.

Heisman Contender - Week 2

2009-09-14T16:16:00.004-04:00

1. Tim Tebow
After a lackluster week by Colt McCoy, Tebow is the front runner for the trophy. Although it was only Troy, Tebow put up superman numbers totaling 5 TDs and over 300 total yards. This will be an interesting week for Tebow playing Tennessee. The Tennessee defense will be much tougher, but how much does Urban Meyer want to beat Lane Kiffen? Look for Tebow to add at least 3 touchdowns to his resume this week. The first two weeks have played out perfectly for the 2007 winner, as one of his main competitors is out of the race and McCoy struggled mightily against Wyoming. Tebow is not only aided in the competition by his name, but he also plays quarterback which right now is the easiest position to win the Heisman.
Season stats - 25/39 425 yards 5/0, 15 rushes 72 yards 2 TDs

2. Jahvid Best
I still think Colt McCoy is the number 2 candidate for the Heisman, but that would be basing this too much on preseason and previous year hype. Best is the best running back in the country and could give the quarterback position a run for its money this season. Best had another solid performance in week 2 by rushing for 144 yards and a touchdown in a win over Eastern Washington. The speed of Best is what makes him such a great player. He has to play an experienced Minnesota defense this week across the country, so it should be interesting to see how he counters.
Season stats - 27 rushes 281 yards 3 TDs

3. Case Keenum
Yes, Case Keenum's situation is similar to Graham Harrell's a season ago. Houston is going to put points up and throw the ball with success, but the junior is none-the-less very impressive. He led Houston, yes Houston, to an upset of a top 5 team in Oklahoma State. Luckily for Keenum, he'll have more chances to showcase his abilities. If Houston can run the table, which would include victories over Texas Tech, Tulsa, and Mississippi State, he deserves to be at least mentioned in regards to the Heisman trophy. Keenum looks very relaxed when he's playing and he's fun to watch. He has a very important game in two weeks against Texas Tech.
Season stats - 55/76 725 yards 7/1, 7 rushes 16 yards 2 TDs

4. Mark Ingram
Ingram only had 56 yards in the victory over Florida International, but he wasn't needed with Richardson carrying the load as Ingram was sick with the flu. Ingram still maintained his ypc average of 5.6 (5.7 through two games). Ingram is one of the toughest backs in the country to bring down when he's at full strength and I expect another 100 yard game next week against North Texas. After a less than stellar start this week against Florida International, I believe Alabama is going to turn it up a notch and roll over North Texas. Look for Ingram to have multiple touchdowns.
Season stats - 36 rushes 206 yards 2 TDs, 7 catches 82 yards 1 TD

5. Michael Floyd
Even though Notre Dame lost to Michigan it wasn't the fault of Floyd and the Notre Dame passing game. Floyd and his counterpart Golden Tate ran circles around the Michigan secondary all day. Floyd has two things going for him in terms of competing for a Heisman - he's behind an experienced and solid quarterback in Clausen and he plays for Notre Dame and their weak schedule will aid him in putting up big numbers. He had 7 catches, 131 yards, and a touchdown in the loss to Michigan.
Season Stats - 11 catches 320 yards 4 TDs

Yes, there is no Colt McCoy on this list. He can return next week if he plays like he can against Texas Tech.

Week 2 - Top 25

2009-09-13T13:56:00.003-04:00

1. Florida
2. USC
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. California
6. Ole Miss
7. Ohio State
8. BYU
9. Oklahoma
10. Penn State
11. Kansas
12. LSU
13. Oklahoma State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Boise State
16. Arkansas
17. Nebraska
18. Georgia
19. TCU
20. Virginia Tech
21. Michigan
22. Houston
23. Utah
24. Miami (Fl)
25. Missouri

Thoughts on Week 2

2009-09-13T13:05:00.002-04:00

Games I watched
Georgia Tech - Clemson
Colorado - Toledo
Penn State - Syracuse
Michigan - Notre Dame
Oklahoma State - Houston
Georgia - South Carolina
Ohio State - USC
Purdue - Oregon

Top performers of the week
1. Dan LeFevour - LeFevour and the Chippewas finally upset a higher ranked team. Always a scary team to play for BCS schools with LeFevour at the helm, Central Michigan has never had the impact on college football in the last couple years as yesterday beating Michigan State. In a game where LeFevour became the all time MAC total offense leader, he threw for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns. Michigan State was supposed to be one of the Big Ten's frontrunners at the beginning of the season, but how will this game affect them?

2. Case Keenum - The Houston quarterback orchestrated to upset of the week, as the Cougars beat Oklahoma State. Keenum leads one of the country's most dynamic offenses and he didn't disappoint in Houston's biggest game of the season. The junior threw for 366 yards and 3 TDs and led Houston to 21 points in the fourth quarter in the wake of an Oklahoma State comeback. Keenum looks very non-chalant in the pocket, but his efficiency and poise is incredible. With a schedule that includes Texas Tech, Mississippi State, and Tulsa, Houston could make a run at the BCS if they could win all of them.

3. Tate Forcier - The true freshman burst onto the scene last week, but this week's game against Notre Dame was a true test of his composure. Forcier didn't disappoint and led his team down the field for the game winning touchdown. Forcier looked great under pressure notably on a play where a Notre Dame defender came running at him, Forcier ball faked and ran right past the jumping pursuer. Forcier could be the catalyst to a shocking season for the Wolverines. As the rest of Big Ten struggles, look for Michigan to make a run.

4. Brandon Boykin - Boykin was a major factor in Georgia's win over South Carolina. Boykin picked off Garcia, but Boykin's defining moment was when he returned the kickoff after South Carolina's opening touchdown. It looked like Carolina was going to have the momentum and the Georgia fans were silent. Boykin preceded to run 100 yards back in Georgia's longest kickoff return ever and the stadium was re-energized.

5. Joe McKnight - This isn't for McKnight's performance the whole game, but rather for the clutch performance he had on the last drive for the Trojans. McKnight had 31 rushing yards and a 22 yard reception alone on the final, defining drive for USC. Down by 5 and in need of a touchdown, McKnight finally became the Joe McKnight everyone has been waiting for. He transformed into a true game changer and led USC to victory.

Best Performance in a loss - Ross Homan
The junior backer for Ohio State accumulated 9 tackles and an interception in the losing effort. The entire Ohio State defense should get this award. If you take away the final drive, the defense basically gave up a field goal. The first touchdown should be credited to Terrelle Pryor, not the defense. Having to defend a team starting inside the 5 isn't fair and the defense actually took the Trojans to fourth down and they barely scored on fourth.

Surprises
1. The performance of big schools against smaller schools
It seems this year like the big boys are having a tougher time with the non-BCS schools. Oklahoma State and Michigan State were both upset this week by smaller schools with very good quarterbacks. The more surprising part has been the struggle in the first half for the BCS schools. Last week Ole Miss struggled mightily with Memphis in the first half before pulling away and this week Texas was getting outplayed by Wyoming in the first half. The offenses just haven't been clicking like expected yet.

2. Michigan
A lot of people thought Notre Dame was going to have "that year" this year and they very well might thanks to a great quarterback and wide receiver situation in Clausen, Tate, and Floyd, but it may be Michigan who has the huge year. Rodriguez scored big time with the arrival of Forcier and Robinson, and the quarterback situation is miles ahead of where it was last season. Brandon Minor is back and running hard at back and the defense looks better, although the secondary struggled to contain Floyd and Tate. Michigan may not win the Big Ten this year, but they will have an impact on the race for the title.

3. The points put up in the Georgia - South Carolina game
Georgia and South Carolina are traditionally known for playing tight games and they definitely didn't disappoint with Garcia missing Maddox being open on the last Gamecock play dictating the final score, but the amount of points put up in the game was incredible. Georgia held an explosive Oklahoma State offense to 24 points last week and South Carolina holding Russell Wilson to just 3 points last week (NC State put up 65 this week). The point explosion was helped by the kick return fireworks, but the offenses still contributed to it. Should be interesting to see how both teams can play if they can play both offense and defense on any given night.

Disappointments
1. LSU
I'll admit I didn't see the Vanderbilt game but only 23-9? LSU looked sloppy against Washington last week and I would have assumed coming home after the embarassingly uninspired performance they would have put up some points against an average at best Vanderbilt team. The SEC West was supposed to be great but Alabama struggled with Florida International for the most part of the day, Mississippi looked weak against Memphis in their only game to date, and LSU has looked less than stellar. It just appears more and more to be Florida's conference.

2. Missouri
Yes, Missouri won. However, after that great performance last week against Illinois and looking like they were going to be a contender for the Big 12 North title, they come out very flat against Bowling Green and have to make a comeback just to win the game. Kansas and Nebraska both won comfortably but Missouri still could take the division crown if they can recover from this less than stellar performance. Blaine Gabbert didn't put up the numbers he did in the first week and it should be interesting what offense shows up next week for Mizzou.

Final Thoughts
This was a tough week for the Top 10. Alabama, Texas, and Penn State all played less than stellar in their victories, although it might not show in the final scores. Oklahoma State didn't fair as well and lost to an underrated Houston team. There were some very entertaining games this week. Georgia-South Carolina, USC-Ohio State, Michigan State-Central Michigan, Purdue-Oregon, and Clemson-Georgia Tech were just some of the games that came down to the wire and were great from a fan's view. Several teams in the top 10 have yet to find their rhythm and if they don't find it before conference play, look for the Top 25 to be flipped upside down. USC wins another game over the Big Ten, but the Big Ten looked much better overall in non-conference marquee matchups this week. Purdue played much better than one could have expected against Oregon, Michigan beat Notre Dame, and Ohio State beat USC for the better part of the game.

Week 2 picks

2009-09-10T14:02:00.002-04:00

After a pathetic start to the season (2-3, missed the upset pick), I'm going try my hand again at picking the weekend's most intriguing matchups.

Thursday
Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
This game last year was the first for Dabo Swinney and Georgia Tech spoiled his debut with a 21-17 victory. Although Clemson has probably been preparing for Georgia Tech a decent amount during the offseason, they are only 5 days removed from playing a normal offense. Practice and preparation has probably been tough for the Tigers this week, as they rush to get ready. I expect Roddy Jones to make a bigger impact than he did last season in this matchup and he could be the difference maker. Playing in Atlanta won't be an easy task for Clemson as they play their first true test with new quarterback Kyle Parker.
Prediction - Georgia Tech

Saturday
Notre Dame at Michigan
Notre Dame won last year's matchup 35-17, but Michigan has had a year to adjust to Rich Rodriguez's system and he has more athletes to fit his system. Tate Forcier had an impressive debut for the Wolverines. Denard Robinson also looked good as a more mobile option at quarterback. Michigan played well against a weaker opponent last week, but it is yet to be seen how they play against a real opponent. Brandon Minor is probable for Saturday and would only help the Michigan cause. Notre Dame blew away Nevada. The impressive part was holding Colin Kaepernick and the Nevada offense scoreless. Jimmy Clausen was impressive going 15-18 and the passing game looks in sync for the Irish. Both teams are still question marks at this point, but look for Michigan to squeak out a victory in Ann Arbor.
Prediction - Michigan

South Carolina at Georgia
Joe Cox looked solid at the beginning of the game last week against Oklahoma State. Richard Samuel also looked fast and physical. The problem for Georgia is that early performance didn't continue throughout the game and Georgia's offense sputtered. An interesting matchup in the game Saturday should be Green against Auguste (pending Gilmore doesn't man him). Green was shut down for the most part last week against an underrated corner in Perrish Cox. South Carolina played very well defensively against NC State, but if they stand a chance in this game the offense will have to do something. Brian Maddox looked solid early against NC State pounding the ball up the middle, but I don't know how effective they'll be playing a defensive line like Georgia's led by Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens. Stephen Garcia has to step it up at quarterback for the Gamecocks. His pocket presence at times is questionable and his footwork in the pocket needs to improve. Georgia should win a low scoring game because of a more efficient offense.
Prediction - Georgia

UCLA at Tennessee
Tennessee, albeit playing a weak WKU team last weekend, put up an impressive display of offense and Lane Kiffen looks to show how fast he can bring the Volunteer program back to the promise land. Led by Hardesty, Brown, and Oku at running back, Tennessee should look to run the UCLA defense out. Akeem Ayers and Reggie Carter will have something to say about that. The front 7 of UCLA and the running backs of Tennessee is the key matchup of the game. Evidenced by LSU's performance against Washington last week traveling across the country for a game is not easy, so UCLA will be at the disadvantage. Rick Neuheisel has the UCLA program heading in the right direction, but Kevin Prince isn't there yet at quarterback. He's still young and Jonathan Crompton has a chip on his shoulder as the quarterback of Tennessee after receiving death threats for his performances last season.
Prediction - Tennessee

USC at Ohio State
As I mentioned in my mailbag post, the game definitely favors Ohio State. Saturday will define Matt Barkley's season even though it is only his second game as a collegiate player. Terrelle Pryor will also have eyes on him, as his development will be evaluated by his performance in this crucial game with National Title implications. Pryor almost led Ohio State to an upset last year over Texas, but his defense let him down. Boom Herron needs to step up his game this week and the Ohio State defense needs to play up to their potential if they want to win. Playing in the 'Shoe across the country for the Trojans and their young defense will be a difficult obstacle, but the Buckeyes aren't the team right now that they need to be to compete with the Trojans. I really thought last Friday that this was going to be Ohio State's game with all the setbacks USC has had, but Ohio State will come up short....again.
Prediction - USC

Upset Pick - Iowa State (Iowa)
Iowa State has a very underrated quarterback in Austen Arnaud. Look for the dual threat quarterback to put up good numbers against an Iowa defense missing Matt Kroul and Mitch King in the middle. Iowa struggled to beat Northern Iowa last week and the fans blamed it on the success of Northern Iowa's quarterback. Arnaud might not have a big supporting cast, but he can make things happen himself. The loss of Jewel Hampton is a dagger for the Hawkeyes and if they don't figure something out at the crucial tailback position their season could turn from bad to worse. Anything can happen in a rivalry game and playing at Iowa State will not be beneficial to the Hawkeyes.

Mailbag

2009-09-08T15:04:00.003-04:00

Hey Daniel, what do u think of the USC-Ohio St. game this Saturday? Blowout like last year?
Dan Riley

I originally thought this was going to be a close game and I even had Ohio State winning. There's a couple things to consider about USC. Matt Barkley and the Trojans come into the 'Shoe this season. Traveling across the country isn't always an easy task. Ask California and Maryland how that series turned out for the visiting team or look at how LSU played at Washington this week. Never underestimate the difference traveling to a new time zone and playing after a long plane ride. Matt Barkley faces his first test as the leader of the Trojans. An interesting statistic is Barkley threw 18 picks as a senior in high school. Some have said that's a result of his willingness to throw the ball into tough holes and his aggresiveness, which would show his confidence, but how is he going to handle the pressure of playing in front of 100,000+ all rooting against him? Center Kristofer O'Dowd also plans to return this week, so if he returns at center will there be muffed snaps after Barkley has gained familiarity with Jeff Byers? Armond Armstead currently is battling a broken leg and won't get to contribute on the defensive line for the Trojans. Joining him by not playing is CB Shareece Wright. The starting corner was determined academically ineligible last week and only hurts USC's young defensive effort. Helping USC's cause is the emergence of Joe McKnight. The former highly touted recruit, "the next Reggie Bush," had a very strong performance against San Jose State and looks more polished this season. Everything points to Ohio State stealing this game for the Big Ten and their dignity. Terrelle Pryor is the key to the game. He didn't look especially sharp against Navy, but he'll have to play his best if the Buckeyes want to win the game. The defense gets to play a more pro-style offense this week and with the secondary, particulary the safeties, being the strength of the Buckeye defense look for them to perform better. USC will be the favorite heading into the game, but all signs point to Ohio State keeping the game tight or even winning it.

Daniel, what are you thinking about the game this Thursday night? Is Steele going to have a good game plan to stop Georgia Tech's run game, or are they going to hit us on a few big play action plays like last year?
Kessler Scott

A quick review of last year's game when Georgia Tech beat Clemson 21-17 shows that the game wasn't won in typical triple option fashion. Georgia Tech scored a pick 6 to start the scoring on one of their 4 picks of Clemson players and scored another through the air. Throwing four picks is a recipe for disaster, but Cullen Harper (2 picks although one was as time expired) is gone and Kyle Parker will get his shot this year. Georgia Tech was also Swinney's first game as a head coach last season, so this year there will be no transition period before the game. Georgia Tech only had 298 yards of total offense last year, so if Clemson can limit the turnovers and giving up field position they should be fine. Everyone knows Dwyer is the catalyst to the Georgia Tech offense, but Clemson needs to make sure back Roddy Jones doesn't get going (he didn't last year with the exception of a big catch). Georgia Tech's offensive line is better this season after learning the system for a year, but Steele should also be more prepared to stop their attack this season and the two basically neutralize each other. The key to the game is not so much stopping Georgia Tech's ball control offense, but playing better offense than a season ago. 52 rushing yards won't cut it for Clemson.

I am a professed Alabama fan to a fault. I liked your thoughts on Ingram. I personally feel that McElroy will be the bigger surprise. Granted, he did look shaky Saturday night (I was there) but I am expecting big things from him this year. What did you think of his performance?
Allen Grier

McElroy didn't have the greatest of starts to the night. His second throw of the night should have been a completion to Julio Jones on an overthrow, but he came right back on the next passing play and threw a near beauty to Darius Hanks (a little less and Hanks had a touchdown). He then preceded on to have a couple bad completions including a near pick near the right sideline. McElroy struggled throughout the first half, but he played well in the second half. It seemed like the nerves got to him to start the game, as his receivers were getting open and he just wasn't hitting his spots. The second half showed McElroy's promise and if he settles in, he should become better than his predecessor John Parker Wilson. While struggling throwing the ball in the first half, McElroy showed his ability to move with 24 rushing yards at one point early in the game. With a back like Mark Ingram, McElroy won't have to be spectacular for Alabama to succeed. Julio Jones will make up for some of his mistakes, but McElroy has to make sure to distribute the ball to his other targets. McElroy had a positive first showing, especially considering the environment, the pressure of his first start, and the defense he played. McElroy should only play better as the year progresses, and the Tide's offense should roll.

Heisman Contenders - Week 1

2009-09-07T18:44:00.003-04:00

1. Tim Tebow
Tebow did exactly what was expected of him in week 1, he led his team to victory. The statline wasn't gaudy, but when your backs are breaking 75 yards runs and the final score is 62-3 you shouldn't expect too much.
Season stats- 10/15 188 yds 1/0, 2 rushes 1 yds 1 TD

2. Colt McCoy
McCoy had a much better statline than Tebow, but he also had more opportunity to put those stats up. McCoy and Tebow won't separate in the standings, as they are really 1 and 1a right now, until one has a really bad game or one does something spectacular.
Season stats- 21/29 317 yards 2/1, 7 rushes -3 yds

3. Jahvid Best
Best is one of the most explosive players in the country and he had a solid game as California pounded Maryland. The fact Kevin Riley played well at quarterback should only help Best, as teams won't key as much on the run. Best didn't have many carries, but he still surpassed the century mark.
Season stats- 10 rushes 137 yds 2 TD, 2 catches 23 yds

4. Mark Ingram
Ingram proved that he's ready to be the class of the SEC in his first game as starter replacing Glen Coffee. Ingram wore down a very good Virginia Tech defense, as Alabama rolled to victory over the Hokies. Ingram may not have much preseason Heisman hype, but you can't deny his impressive performance in primetime.
Season stats- 26 rushes 150 yds 1 TD, 3 catches 35 yds 1 TD

5. Daryll Clark
Clark had the most passing yards of any BCS school quarterback not from Texas Tech this weekend with a brand new cast of wide receivers. Clark seemed to force it at times, but he led the Nittany Lions to 344 first half yards as the running game sputtered. If the offensive line gets better and Royster gets going, Clark is going to have an opportunity to throw the ball.
Season stats- 29/40 353 yds 3/1, 3 rushes 5 yds

Week 1 Rankings

2009-09-06T18:46:00.002-04:00

Florida
Texas
Alabama
Oklahoma State
California
USC
Penn State
Oklahoma
Ole Miss
Ohio State
LSU
BYU
Kansas
Georgia Tech
Boise State
Arkansas
Nebraska
Georgia
Notre Dame
TCU
Florida State
Utah
Missouri
Virginia Tech
Clemson

Thoughts on Week 1

2009-09-06T15:15:00.002-04:00

Note- It has always been said the greatest improvement is made between week 1 and week 2.

Games I watched this weekend:
NC State-South Carolina
Oregon-Boise State
Penn State-Akron
Oklahoma State-Georgia
Oklahoma-BYU
Alabama-Virginia Tech
Washington-LSU

There were other games I had, but I didn't see enough snaps to truly say I was watching them. All the games listed above i saw in their entirety or at least 80%.

Top performers of the week
LB Eric Norwood, SC
Norwood was one of the primary reasons Russell Wilson and the NC State offense went nowhere the entire game Thursday. Norwood totaled 8 tackles and 2 sacks in the week.

WR Eric Decker, Minnesota
Minnesota barely beat Syracuse in overtime, but Decker was a constant threat to Syracuse all day and came through in crunch time for Minnesota as he caught 9 balls for 183 yards.

CB Perrish Cox, Oklahoma State
Cox shutdown AJ Green for the most part of the day, as he led Oklahoma State to an astounding 10 point defensive performance. Cox had several pass break-ups and was all over the field.

QB Max Hall, BYU
Hall had a few mistakes but he led his team to victory in the absence of top tailback Harvey Unga and against constant pressure all day from one of the most talented defensive lines in the country.

RB Mark Ingram, Alabama
By the fourth quarter, Ingram was just running the defensive players from Virginia Tech over. Ingram had 150 yards against one of the nation's stingiest defenses and he wore them down as the game progressed.

Best Performance in a loss - Jake Locker, Washington
Washington was competing with LSU the entire night and that can be credited to Locker. During crucial third downs, Locker would come up big with his feet and even though they lost, hope is being restored up in Washington.

Disappointments
1. Oregon - The offense didn't just sputter, they failed. Blount was pathetic not only after the game, but during the game. A former 1000 yard back totalled -5 yards against a defense with 2 returning starters. Jeremiah Masoli looked like he was going to get it going on his third quarter touchdown drive, but he was way to inconsistent and this offense doesn't look anything like it was last season. Jeremiah Johnson will be missed in Eugene this season, now that Blount is gone.

2. Iowa - Iowa did lose two All Big Ten defensive tackles, but the team just didn't look like a team with so many returning starters after ending the season on such a high note. Stanzi didn't put up very good statistics against Northern Iowa and they had to block 2 kicks just to hold on to win. The loss of Jewel Hampton for the season could spell trouble for a team that relies heavily on the run game. Iowa has a long way to go if they want to compete with Penn State at the end of the month.

3. Oklahoma - Yes, losing Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham would be devastating to any team, but Oklahoma wasn't exactly stiking lightning when Bradford was in there. I though DeMarco Murray should have gotten more carries and the team just couldn't capitalize on opportunities in places they thrived last season against BYU. Bradford could be back for Miami and Oklahoma should be fine until then, but in college football one loss can be devastating.

4. The ACC
The ACC's cellar-dwellars are known to be bad, but to lose to both Richmond and William & Mary shows the conference's deficiencies at the bottom. Duke and Virginia were embarassed and Maryland was destroyed by a good California team. NC State and Wake Forest lost to average teams in South Carolina and Baylor. The conference does not look strong at all, as the top of the conference struggled to move the ball as Alabama essentially tripled Virginia Tech's yardage output.

Surprises
1. Possible importance of Michigan-Notre Dame matchup
Several people have Notre Dame highly ranked, but Notre Dame has a recent history of not living up to whatever expectations are thrust upon them. The receivers are known to be good, but the offense was absolutely rolling at the beginning of the game against Nevada and they also shut down a competent Nevada offense led by Colin Kaepernick. Michigan only played Western Michigan, but they dominated and Tate Forcier looked solid in his first career start. Michigan isn't expected to compete for a Big Ten title, but they look much improved.

2. Mizzou
Mizzou proved yesterday that they can compete with Nebraska and Kansas for a Big 12 North title. Weatherspoon and company shut down Juice Williams and company on defense and Blaine Gabbert showed the offense hasn't missed a beat with the deparature of graduated quarterback Chase Daniel. The former highly touted quarterback had a stellar first performance in an unexpected easy win over their rival.

Final Thoughts - College football and all its surprises has already started. Two top ten teams have already gone down with Virginia Tech (although inevitable that one would) and Oklahoma. Oklahoma was a preseason sweetheart, but unexpected injuries and just a new season can change what people think they know. Navy almost provided a shock to the nation only to see Ohio State hang on. The ACC struggled mightily in the opening week. The Pac 10 and Big 10 weren't spectacular and even the SEC wasn't flexing any muscles. The Big 12 looks like the premier league right now with convincing wins out of conference by Missouri and Oklahoma State, but the conference favorite Oklahoma fell. The parity of college football......

Thursday notes

2009-09-04T00:17:00.002-04:00

Give props to the USCe defense, but Russell Wilson and the NC State offense was downright pathetic. Wilson looked uninterested for the first three quarters and just couldn't finish in the fourth despite a perfectly placed ball over the hands of Gilmore only to be dropped by the receiver. NC State has no running game and the pressure was on Wilson all night. If NC State doesn't look more interested next week, it could be a long season for Coach O'Brien and company.

South Carolina's offense wasn't pretty but there were a few bright points. Giles made a freshman mistake running backwards on one play, but his one run where he knocked the guy over showed his potential. Maddox did well running up the middle, but Giles appears to be the home run threat. Gurley caught a few passes in the first half and looks to be a big, physical threat in the future. Garcia was less than stellar and showed he still has work to do, but give him credit that he did what he had to do to win. Carolina has a ton of work to do on offense, but the defense was sound, despite the absence of some defensive lineman. If the offense can step it up, Carolina will be able to compete with some SEC teams but if they perform like they did tonight it could be a long season.

Indiana and Iowa State are both going to finish near or at the bottom of their conferences and neither was stellar in their openers tonight. Utah State had the score close at times, but Utah did what they had to do to win.

Boise State appears to be the non-BCS school to watch this season. Harper and Avery are doing well on the ground against Oregon and Kellen Moore is hitting everything he has to. The Boise State offense is very efficient and I'm surprised they only have 19 points in the third quarter.

Oregon just looks flat out lost out there. They seem to be waking up now, driving right down the field as I type. Masoli looked terrible in the first half along with the rest of the offense. Blount isn't running with any aggression out there, but Masoli seems to be waking up as he just ran in for the touchdown. The Oregon defense finally got a break as the offense drove down the field and if they come out strong this could be a game.

Only 1 day to go

2009-09-02T16:57:00.002-04:00

Its been 238 days since college football.

Quick Hitter - Kirk Cousins was named starting quarterback for Michigan State, but doesn't mean the battle is necessarily over with Nichol.

We only get a small sample tomorrow, but it's more than enough for us football fans after the dead season. Sure recruiting is entertaining, but the reason we're all fans starts in just 1 day. It feels so good to say that. Tomorrow actually has a few good games. NC State and South Carolina is a decent non-conference game that could show how good both of these teams are going to be this year. The big game starts later though. Boise State and Oregon is a very consequential game. For Boise State it's about BCS busting and again proving themselves to the nation. For Oregon the game will be a rematch of last year's defeat and set the tone before conference games start in what could be an interesting conference battle between the Ducks, California, and USC.

Only 1 more day until you hear the name Tim Tebow more times than you can count.

Heisman Contenders

2009-09-01T16:25:00.002-04:00

1. Tim Tebow
Tebow will have to prove he can play without Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy this year. The running backs should only be better this season and that could potentially take away from of Tebow's statistics, which are a must for Heisman contenders.

2. Colt McCoy
Having Shipley back will only help McCoy in his attempt to give each of the quarterbacks in the terrific trio a Heisman trophy. Texas lacks a dominant back and that should only help McCoy gain rushing yards in addition to passing yards. McCoy should put up the best statistics of the trio.

3. Sam Bradford
It's pretty bad when the returning Heisman trophy winner is only third in anyone's list, but McCoy and Tebow had an equal argument at the trophy last season and Tebow himself is a former winner. Oklahoma's line lost a bunch of all-conference performers and with weapons such as DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown at running back, I don't expect Bradford to put up the same numbers as last season.

4. Kendall Hunter
Hunter might play for the country's most dynamic offense with Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant. Hunter's problem may be sharing the spotlight with Bryant, who is a touchdown machine. In a league of weak defenses, Hunter has the potential to reach the 2000 yard plateau this season.

5. Julio Jones
Wide receivers barely ever win Heismans, but they can unlike defensive players who don't get enough respect in these award ceremonies. Jones has to play with a new quarterback in Greg McElroy this season and if McElroy can't get him the ball, Jones can't do anything. A wide receiver winning the Heisman hinges on the fact he has a good quarterback and he is the primary target.

8/31/09 Rankings

2009-08-31T09:22:00.002-04:00

The rankings are basically the same as the preseason with a tweak or two due to injury.
1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma State
6. California
7. USC
8. Penn State
9. Ohio State
10. LSU
11. Oregon
12. Ole Miss
13. Georgia
14. Kansas
15. Georgia Tech
16. Virginia Tech
17. Iowa
18. Boise State
19. Arkansas
20. Clemson
21. Nebraska
22. TCU
23. Utah
24. Florida State
25. NC State

Week 1 Picks

2009-08-30T15:48:00.004-04:00

Football season is finally upon us. Its the Sunday before games start and we can officially say its the season, since we are all encountering the same wait we experience every week during the season. Week 1 is the hardest week to have a gauge on simply because no team has played yet and as much as people think they know about the upcoming season nothing's been proven yet. Sure Florida returns essentially there whole team, but how well did the team work in the offseason? How are they going to replace Murphy and Harvin? Questions surround all 120 teams in the country and some will be answered this weekend, while others won't. Week 1 features a few interesting matchups, but for the most part the weekend just features the big teams getting a warm-up cupcake matchup. Each week I'll be showing people my picks for the week's marquee match-ups and my pick for upset of the week.

Thursday

South Carolina @ NC State
This isn't a marquee matchup, but it will be beneficial in showing how good NC State is and how much of a contender they are in the ACC. South Carolina has too many question marks in the early season with a green secondary, a situation at running back, and a quarterback that hasn't reached everyone's expectations quite yet. Russell Wilson should avenge last year's result at home this season.
Pick - NC State

Oregon @ Boise State
Oregon lost last season to the Broncos in Eugene and this season they have to travel to the blue turf. Boise State has a weapon at quarterback in Kellen Moore, but so does Oregon in Jeremiah Masoli. LaGarrette Blount finally gets to be the man for the Ducks and a hungry Oregon team should pull out a pivotal game for Boise State's BCS hopes.
Pick - Oregon

Georgia @ Oklahoma State
In what might be the most exciting matchup of the week, Georgia travels to Stillwater. Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter, and Dez Bryant should be operating at a high level. Georgia must recover from the loss of Moreno and Stafford. Joe Cox and Richard Samuel will be the replacements, but the potential loss of Caleb King to injury could hold back the Georgia offensive attack. Georgia should be better on defense this season, but the three headed monster of Oklahoma State at home should be too much for the Bulldogs.
Pick - Oklahoma State

BYU vs Oklahoma
BYU returns quarterback Max Hall this season after he put up ridiculous numbers to start last season and was gaining some Heisman hype. The problem for BYU though is they have to play the player that ended up with the Heisman last season in Sam Bradford. Bradford has weapons at his disposal in Jermaine Gresham, DeMarco Murray, and Chris Brown and BYU just won't have the athletes to keep up.
Pick - Oklahoma

Alabama vs Virginia Tech
Alabama starts the season with a new quarterback in McElroy and technically a new starting back in Mark Ingram (even though he proved himself last year as a freshman). Virginia Tech needs a new running back after receiving a devastating blow by losing Darren Evans for the season. Tyrod Taylor must prove that he's capable of leading a competent offense against a stingy Alabama defense. The game should be low scoring, but I don't see Virginia Tech putting the points on the board they need.
Pick - Alabama

Upset Alert - Notre Dame (against Nevada)
Notre Dame faces a team in Nevada that majorly underachieved last season. Colin Kaepernick is one of the top quarterbacks in the country and threw for almost 3000 yards and rushed for over 1100 last season. He was part of 39 TDs to only 7 picks. His back Vai Taua isn't too shabby either rushing for over 1500 yards as a sophomore. Dontay Moch will be the man to watch on defense and it should be interesting to see if he can put pressure on Jimmy Clausen. Notre Dame appears stacked at certain positions on paper, but there are weaknesses. Clausen has a tendency to throw a lot of picks and the running game leaves some to be desired. David Bruton will be missed at safety and it will be interesting to see if Kaepernick can capitalize. Don't be surprised if Nevada pulls out a game with the score in the mid-20s.

Big Ten - Purdue

2009-08-27T00:19:00.002-04:00

Purdue - Purdue is known for quarterback play. More recently Drew Brees and Kyle Orton come to mind and Curtis Painter was expected to play well last season. He struggled at times last season and the team did with him. Joey Elliott will be the starter this season, looking unimpressive in very limited action the pass couple seasons. Elliott is a senior this season and the fact he was third on the depth chart last season gives a bleak outlook for Boilermaker fans. Jaycen Taylor will be the starter at running back pending a successful recovery from a knee injury last season and could be even better than his predecessor Kory Sheets. The defense is middle of the pack, but where the Boilermakers are really going to struggle is in the trenches. The line probably won't protect too well and that could affect both Taylor's play and that of Elliott's development. It's a shame how Purdue struggled last season, but success doesn't seem near and Purdue will finish in the basement of the Big Ten this season.

Strength - Running Back
It's kind of a stretch to call running back a strength with a guy coming off an ACL tear, but Taylor was very good before the tear. He has a 5.6 career ypc with 37 receptions to his name after he transferred in from junior college. Al-Terek McBurse is the highest rated freshman in Purdue's recruiting class and could see action this season in the back-up role to Taylor. Taylor and McBurse will provide different styles of play as McBurse is 24 pounds heavier than Taylor and thats comparing a senior to a freshman. The passing game is going to be very weak this season and Purdue will have to rely on the running game with the weak pass protection.

Weakness - The rest of the offense
The passing attack is pathetic. Joey Elliott was a decent recruit out of high school, but he has done minimal in his first three years playing for the Boilermakers. The offensive line is potentially the worst in the Big Ten and breaking in a new quarterback is going to be hard. Sacks shouldn't be hard to come by for opposing team, which is what will give Indiana the advantage in their head to head match-up. Keith Smith provides a solid option at receiver, but he didn't average over 10 ypc last season and is not a breakaway type of threat. The rest of the receivers and tight ends are very raw in game production.

Key Game - 11/21/09 @Indiana
Purdue is going to be the underdog in this game like every other game in Big Ten play. They also play Notre Dame and Oregon out of conference and unless something crazy happens both of those games will be losses. Indiana presents a bad matchup for Purdue. Indiana's weakness is their secondary. Purdue's passing game is subpar. Purdue struggles against strong defensive lines, Indiana has the best end duo in the conference potentially. Expect Middleton and Kirlew to go off for 3 or more combined sacks in this game. Purdue will be lucky to match the win total of 4 from last season and Boilermaker fans might as well start looking forward to basketball season.

Key Player - Joey Elliott
Elliott should be the starter. He's completed 55% of his passes in back up roles over his 3 year career with a 2-2 ratio. He hasn't had the opportunity to be the man yet and that should worry fans as he wasn't the first option last season when Painter struggled. Justin Siller was okay, but nothing to excited about. The running game will be fine, but Elliott must prove that he can make quick decisions in the passing game. The line will probably break down fast and Elliott will be needed to make plays not only with his arm but with his feet. If Elliott could put up decent numbers with a green bunch of receivers, he should be commended even if it doesn't result in many wins.

Impact Freshman - Al-Terek McBurse

Predicted Big Ten finish - 11th

Top 5 Players
1. RB Jaycen Taylor
2. DE Ryan Kerrigan
3. DT Mike Neil
4. WR Keith Smith
5. CB David Pender

Big Ten - Indiana

2009-08-26T22:15:00.003-04:00

Indiana
Skinny - Indiana caught a tough break as Kellen Lewis was officially dismissed from the team after being switched from quarterback to receiver. Lewis was stellar two seasons ago, but struggled mightily last season as he split time with Ben Chappell. Lewis was a heck of an athlete, but he struggled with off the field problems and coach Bill Lynch decided to just move past the Lewis era. Chappell isn't a bad quarterback, but he's nothing spectacular. The running back situation is bleek. Redshirt freshman Darius Willis should challenge Bryan Payton and Demetrius McCray for carries this season. The secondary is week and the linebackers aren't much better, but the defensive ends are possibly the best duo in the league, if not one of the better duos in the country. Kirlew had a monster season last year at one spot, even though he was supposed to play second fiddle to Greg Middleton last season. Middleton had a monster '07 season and if he returns to form, the two could be nightmares for opposing tackles. Indiana could progress some from last season's 3 wins, as they could put together a 3-0 start, but the rest of the season could get ugly. With wins over Virginia and Purdue, Indiana could fight for a bowl birth.

Strength - Defensive Ends
Greg Middleton was a monster two seasons ago. He came into last season as a first team Big Ten player last season and was expected to compete for postseason awards and All-American honors, but he had a disappointing year. This year he's looking to rebound and he has great help in doing so. Kirlew is on the opposite side of the line and after being overshadowed last off-season, he's the one who is gaining press and preseason awareness after accumulating over 10 sacks last season. If they can get some help from the defensive ends, the line for Indiana could put some serious pressure on the quarterbacks, thus minimizing the impact the weak secondary has on the game.

Weakness - Running Game
The team loses their two biggest running threats. Marcus Thigpen was a solid first option and averaged 6.7 yards a carry, but he only carried the ball 94 times. Kellen Lewis was always dangerous with the ball in his hands and was one of the best running quarterbacks in the nation. Back this year are 2nd and 3rd backs, Bryan Payton and Demetrius McCray, and Darius Willis, a more highly touted redshirt freshman. All three will see carries, but can any of them step up as a go to guy? Indiana has some decent possession receivers, but lacks a true playmaker on offense and a guy from the running game being that man would be a great addition.

Key Game - 11/7/09 Wisconsin
The same day the top of the Big Ten has its big game (Ohio State-Penn State), the teams fighting for bowl eligibility have their defining game. Winning this game is crucial for both Wisconsin and Indiana. Wisconsin has a better stable of players and is traditionally better, but their quarterback situation is weak right now and Indiana will have time to find a running back to challenge the rushing attack of John Clay and company. Wisconsin should be the favorite, but don't disregard the fact the game is in Bloomington. Wisconsin had a down year last year and blew away Indiana, so Indiana is going to need to do something way different if they stand a chance.

Key Player - Darius Willis
Willis is the key to the Hoosiers success. Chappell is a viable option at quarterback and the wide receivers should be fine if Indiana was willing to move their best option, Ray Fisher, to cornerback in the spring. Willis performed very well on scout team last year, but than again this is Indiana's defense, which just isn't that good. Darius Willis is the only guy in the stable of backs to have any respect coming out of high school and with Thigpen gone, he has the opportunity, as much as anyone else to be that guy. Payton and McCray had terrible ypc last year and the job is Willis' to grasp.

Predicted Big 10 finish - 10th

Impact Freshman - Nick Zachery

Top 5 Players
1. DE Jammie Kirlew
2. DE Greg Middleton
3. LB Matt Mayberry
4. OL Cody Faulkner
5. WR/CB Ray Fisher

Washington State

2009-08-25T23:10:00.005-04:00

Washington State
Skinny - Washington State, o, Washington State. I struggle to think of teams that are worse than the Cougars from Washington State. The defense was next to last in the NCAA last season in terms of scoring and guess where the offense was? You guessed it, next to last. As pitiful a team as they are they killed a non D-1 school in Portland State and managed to squeak a thriller (haha a thriller) out against Washington in the battle of defeated Pac-10 schools last season to salvage the season. Kevin Lopina was miserable last season at quarterback. He managed to throw a goose-egg in terms of touchdowns, while throwing a dazzling 11 picks. Dwight Tardy ran for a tremendous 481 yards as the feature back. Brandon Gibson was the one bright spot at receiver, but the talent was so bad around him, he made no difference. He's gone so now the Cougars rely on the amazing weapons of Jeshua Anderon (less than 10 ypc) and Kevin Norrell. Sick of the sarcasm, well the defense isn't any better. Washington State, I expect, to go defeated this season in Pac-10 play and its possible with a loss to SMU to play a perfectly defeated season. Washington State was good in the beginning of the century, but now they're just a laughing stock.

Strength - None
There is nothing at all to look forward to about this team. I'm sorry but this team is in shambles. Kenny Alfred, the center, is the team's top player, but he's in his senior season and the team needs to start building for the future. James Montgomery should challenge for the starting role at running back after transferring from California. He was a top 30 running back out of high school and should help a program with no back surpassing the 500 yard barrier or 3 TDs last season. Louis Bland is the bright spot on the defense after totaling 7 TFLs in his freshman season. Washington State didn't bring home a stellar recruiting class and the future looks bleak.

Weakness - Pretty much everything
The quarterback situation is bad. Kevin Lopina had a 0-11 ratio last season and will battle Marshall Lobbestael for the job. Both players battled injuries last season and Lobbestael is coming off a torn ACL. The receivers they're throwing to are weak after the graduation of Brandon Gibson. The offensive line won't provide much protection and Lopina will probably be the starter as he provides a little more mobility and he'll need to escape the pocket as it will consistently break down. Toby Turbin is the leading sack returner with 3 and the pressure from the defensive line is weak and the defense should be tired with the amounts of time it will spend on the field. The linebackers and secondary don't give the team much hope.

Key Game - 11/28/09 @Washington
Washington State's only shot at a win in the Pac-10 pending the other doesn't forfeit or forget the two deep at the airport is their season finale at in state rival Washington. Washington State won last year, but several things point in favor of the Huskies. The Huskies should have an improved running game highlighted by Jake Locker's return and a healed starter to aid the running back position. The defense is stronger for the Huskies and the game is at home, which will prove difficult for the Cougars. A rivalry game can go either way, but I'm willing to believe after State winning last season, that Washington will win this game by double digits.

Key Player -Kevin Lopina
Lopina was the starter last season although Lobbestael got some playing time while Lopina was on the mend. Lopina failed to throw a TD pass, while Lobbestael had a 4-4 ratio, but Lopina had a better passing percentage and is better on his feet than Lobbestael. Lopina is the senior, so he has one last shot at the job. If he fails to improve on last season, the position will be handed to the future in Lobbestael, if he fully recovers from the ACL tear last season. The loss of Gibson as a first option will put even more pressure on the quarterback position. Games against Hawaii and SMU are winnable and the Cougars could match last season's win total if they pull those two out.

Impact Freshman - Gino Simone

Predicted Pac 10 finish - 10th

Top 5 Players
1. C Kenny Alfred
2. S Chima Nwachukwu
3. LB Louis Bland
4. LB Andy Mattingly
5. WR Jeshua Anderson

Washington

2009-08-25T22:23:00.002-04:00

Washington
Skinny - Washington is an absolute disgrace right now in terms of football and thats not referring to the University of Washington, rather the state of Washington football. Washington State is even more abysmal than Washington and will contend for honors of worst BCS school in the country. There biggest opponent could be their in state rivals, the Huskers, who successfully went defeated last season at 0-12. Washington has one bright spot and that is the return of dual athlete Jake Locker. Locker has put a possible baseball career on hold as he returns from an injury last season. Locker is the face of the program and was expected to be Tebow-west season last season before a season-ending thumb injury. Chris Polk flashed signs of potential before he got injured to last season and should surprise some people as a redshirt freshman this season. If he doesn't play well, the rest of the options are very weak. The rest of the offense is bad and the defense isn't much better, despite a good DE in Te'o-Nesheim and a solid linebacking corps. Washington should beat Idaho and Washington State, but any more is a stretch.

Strength- Jake Locker
The most given on the team. Locker had over 2000 yards as a freshman passing in addition to being 14 yards short of 1000 on the ground. Locker has good size and is a true dual threat and athlete. Locker lacks the weapons a Tebow or Bradford has, but he creates for himself. D'Andre Goodwin caught 60 passes last season and the best of the receiving corps returns only aiding Locker in his recovery comeback season. Locker will get his yards both on the ground and through the air, but he needs to improve on his passing percentage. He's not as good a passer as Tebow, but he's pretty close in the running game. It should be interesting to see how this year plays out and what Locker does in terms of his career (football and baseball).

Weakness - The rest of the team
Yes. there are bright spots. Te'o-Nesheim is one of the better ends in the conference and the linebacking corps is solid led by Mason Foster, a TFL machine, but the rest of the team lacks playmakers and overall just talent. Steve Sarkisian has one heck of a job to do at Washington, but his specialty is recruiting and offense and that's where the biggest holes are on the team. Washington had 11 wins as recently as 2000, but spiraled quickly from there. Sarkisian must start building from the bottom up. There won't be many senior starters on the team this season and the focus will be on the future and not the present. The 2010 recruiting class will be of great importance.

Key Game - 10/10/09 Arizona
Yes, Arizona will be a heavy favorite in this game and rightly so. Washington has a daunting schedule for a team that needs a morale and confidence boost. They face a lot of the middle of the pack type Pac 10 teams on the road. Washington State and Idaho will be wins for Washington unless they screw up, which is entirely possible. Notre Dame and LSU provide very difficult OOC games for the Huskies and UCLA, Stanford, and Arizona State are all away games in conference play. Beating Arizona would give a little excitement to a state that is already looking forward to basketball season despite a 0-0 record for both BCS schools.

Key Player- Chris Polk
Polk was the starter before he took a medical redshirt last season. Polk was recruited to play wide receiver, but at 200 pounds he isn't a bad size for a running back. Polk needs to give Locker a viable second option in the offense. He needs to prove he is durable enough for a 12 game season and he just needs to prove his worth overall. The running back situation was miserable last season. Terrance Dailey was the leading rusher on the team with a big 338 yards and a touchdown. The co-leaders in rushing touchdowns had 3, while the team sported a big 5 TDs through the aerial game in Locker's absence.

Predicted Pac-10 finish - 9th

Impact Freshman - James Johnson

Top 5 Players
1. QB Jake Locker
2. DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim
3. LB Mason Foster
4. S Nate Williams
5. WR D'Andre Goodwin

Big Ten - Wisconsin

2009-08-17T13:11:00.003-04:00

Wisconsin
Skinny - Wisconsin had been a top contender in the Big Ten for a few years, but coach Bret Bielema's team has gotten worse each season he's been there after going 12-1 his first season and instilling a state of excitement in Badger nation. One of the problems for Wisconsin has been living up to expectations and quarterback play. Dustin Sherer was less than stellar at quarterback last season after he took over Allan Evridge's position. Evridge was supposed to be a solid two year starter after transferring in from Kansas State, but got beat out by Tyler Donovan in an interesting quarterback race to replace John Stocco and lost his job last season to Sherer after Donovan graduated. Sherer was less than stellar and could lose his job before the season starts to a host of candidates. Coach Bielema stated the other day that up to four people are in the race to start. Curt Phillips looks like the obvious pick for the future and will probably have the job at some point this season. John Clay replaces PJ Hill and may actually be an upgrade. The defense is decent but they don't exactly play the most efficient offenses either. Wisconsin won't be very good this season and will probably repeat last year's 7-6 performance.

Strength - Running Back
John Clay wasn't the starter last year but he ran for 884 yards and 9 TDs in a backup role to PJ Hill. His 5.7 ypc was better than Hill's and Clay's potential is a lot higher. Most teams hope to replace people like Hill with adequate players, but Clay could actually bolster the position. Zach Brown moves from third string to second team this season and is a solid backup option for the Badgers. The quarterback situation in very unsettled in Madison, but the receivers should ease the pain to a degree and the offensive line will be solid, so all the pressure shouldn't be on the running backs even though Wisconsin will heavily rely on the run game if they want to win a few games in Big Ten play this season.

Weakness - Quarterback Play
Dustin Sherer played half of last season after replacing a failed transfer player in Allan Evridge. Sherer didn't play all that great and the quarterback position was opened up in the spring. Curt Phillips is probably the long term answer for the Badgers as a redshirt freshman, but he has yet to seize the position and uncertainty could plague them all season. Scott Tolzien presents another horse in the race, but the chance he wins the job is very low. Wisconsin had a decent offense last season in terms of production overall, but they struggled mightily in the 6 defeats and strong performances against Marshall and Indiana can't overshadow the struggles experienced.

Key Game - 10/3/09 @Minnesota
The Minnesota game follows a difficult Big Ten opener against Michigan State. Wisconsin plays at Ohio State and against Iowa the following weeks and will be in danger of a 0-4 start in Big Ten play if they can't steal one at Minnesota. An 0-4 start would be devastating, especially since Wisconsin will have a chance to win all 4 of the next games with the toughest being at Northwestern to close Big Ten play. Wisconsin catches a huge break in conference play missing both Penn State and Illinois and as a result could finish better in terms of win/loss record in the Big Ten than they should.

Key Player - Curt Phillips
Dustin Sherer had his opportunity last season and unless he has a huge senior season, the Badgers should turn to the young gun Phillips at some point in the season. Phillips has a couple things going for him. He was a more highly rated player coming out of high school (but star gazing means nothing in the end), he is more athletic than his peers and could present a better option for Wisonsins offense, and he performed well on the scout team last season and will be the quarterback of the future for the Badgers. Phillips doesn't have to be the staple of the offense, that's the job of John Clay, but he has to be a steady game manager and help his team to victory like John Stocco did a few years ago.

Impact Freshman - Jordan Kohout

Predicted Big Ten finish - 9th

Top 5 Players
1. RB John Clay
2. TE Garrett Graham
3. WR David Gilreath
4. OT Gabe Carimi
5. K Philip Welch

Half a month away

2009-08-16T23:36:00.002-04:00

The wait for college football is an agonizing one, but at least we got fall practice now. Reports leak out and more information is revealed every day.

Penn State - Michael Mauti went down in a scrimmage with a knee injury. ACL tear is the most likely, but the final report won't be available until the MRI or at the earliest Monday.

Auburn - Chris Todd was named starter yesterday, but does that really mean much? I guarantee he won't start all 12.

Missouri - In the first fall scrimmage, Blaine Gabbert put up a solid stat line for Mizzou. 17/22 219 1/1

The final 5 previews will be out soon.

Pac 10 - Stanford

2009-08-14T23:32:00.002-04:00

Stanford
Skinny - Stanford has gotten better in each of the past few seasons. This season they'll upgrade at quarterback as Andrew Luck is most likely going to unseat incumbent Tavita Pritchard. Luck is a high profile player, which isn't a common sight at a school like Stanford, an academic school. Toby Gerhart provides a good option at running back after rushing for over 1100 yards and 15 TDs last season. Tyler Gaffney was highly recruited and could help provide a 1-2 punch this season at running back. Stanford had a very good recruiting class last season having a top 20 type class. Third year coach Jim Harbaugh has the team heading in the right direction and Stanford could return to a bowl game for the first time since 2001 this season. The defense was average last season and Stanford hopes that will improve this season. Stanford didn't do well in the turnover category last season and if they can improve on that, Stanford could surprise some people. They won't be winning a league title, but a push for a top 5 finish isn't out of the realm of possibility within the conference. Stanford is a team building for the future.

Strength - Young players
Jim Harbaugh is turning this dormant program around. The recruiting class this season could see several true freshman getting considerable playing time. Tyler Gaffney could see some time at running baack, Jamal-Rashad Patterson and Jemari Roberts will get looks at Stanford as they possess good size and LB Shayne Skov is built to play immediately. Andrew Luck is only a redshirt freshman and should be a threat for years to come, unless highly touted true freshman Josh Nunes provides a push for the starting position. The team features several sophomore starters and the team overall is pretty young. Stanford is trying to become a force and it's very possible considering the fertile recruiting land they live in.

Weakness - Secondary
Bo McNally is one of the team's best players, but although the rest of the secondary provides a high number of tackles, the pass coverage must improve. The Pac-10 is becoming a more mobile league in terms of quarterback, which will aid a secondary that is better defending the run than the pass. Austin Yancy, Sean Wiser, and Delano Howell all provide depth at safety and Kris Evans returns at cornerback. The experience is vast and Stanford must keep improving in this aspect of the game to get up there in the league standing. McNally should compete for all conference honors by the end of the season.

Key Game - 10/24/09 Arizona State
Stanford has a shot to take down a team going in the opposite direction at the end of October. The Wake Forest game will be difficult in the second week considering they have to travel across the country, but Wake isn't really much different from Stanford in terms of ability. Stanford is probably more talented, but Wake is better coached. Notre Dame will be a challenge to finish the season, but San Jose State, Washington, and Washington State should all see Stanford as the favorite. Beating Arizona State and either Notre Dame or UCLA or Wake Forest would give Stanford that 13th game they've been lacking for so long. Stanford has a high ceiling if the freshman provide a spark like expected.

Key Player - Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck is a highly touted quarterback. Enough so that he is unseating two year starter Tavita Pritchard. Luck is built well at 6'4" 225 and is being highly spoken of by his coach Harbaugh. If it's not Pritchard pushing him in camp, true freshman Josh Nunes should be. Nunes, while not as highly touted, is another top 20 quarterback to sign on with the rising program. Luck will be throwing to an experienced, yet average bunch of receivers behind a strong line of scrimmage. Gerhart should also take some of the pressure off him from the backfield.

Impact Freshman - Jemari Roberts

Predicted Pac 10 finish - 8th

Top 5 Players
1. OL Chris Marinelli
2. OL Andrew Phillips
3. FS Bo McNally
4. RB Toby Gerhart
5. QB Andrew Luck

Big Ten - Michigan

2009-08-14T21:46:00.002-04:00

Michigan
Skinny - Oh how one season can take a prideful program downhill. Yes, Michigan is just regrouping after a drastic change in tradition. Out is giving the number 1 jersey to the star receiver, in is the spread offense. The problem for Rich Rodriguez in his first season was the quarterbacks he had in the cupboard. Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan both weren't suited to run his system efficiently. It tooks Rodriguez awhile to figure out Brandon Minor was his best option at running back too. The defense performed way under expectations and was the reason Michigan played so awful and lost to Toledo. The learning curve and adjustment to the system is still going to be taking place this season, but Tate Forcier, the true freshman quarterback, should immediately take the reigns after coming in for the spring. Forcier and Minor will solidify two unstable positions last season. Greg Mathews and Martavious Odoms provide solid support at the receiver position and the offensive line will be much better. Michigan is still a year or two from competeting in the Big Ten, but they shouldn't be quite as bad as last season and should match their win total from last season in the non-conference slate.

Strength - Offensive Line
Stephen Schilling leads one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten and if Justin Boren wouldn't have transferred, Michigan would have two All-Big Ten first teamers going into the season. 4.5 starters return to a unit that had to adjust to blocking for a spread based attack last season. Mark Ortmann, Schilling, David Molk, and David Moosman all return as starters and Perry Dorrestein started a few games before facing injury last season. With a definitive number 1 at running back this season, the offensive line will have better cohesion with the running game and the quarterback situtation, despite having a true freshman, should see an immediate upgrade and pass blocking should be easier for a more dual-threat quarterback in Forcier.

Weakness - Lack of star power
Michigan is a solid team across the board units wise, but no unit stands out as a superhuman unit. Michigan has good players; Schilling, Minor, and Brandon Graham are all All Big Ten players, but the team is just solid. Mathews and Odoms are good at receiver, Minor is solid at running back, but none of the offensive players are the breakaway threats that Rich Rodriguez was famous for at West Virginia. There is no Steve Slaton, Noel Devine, or Pat White on the team. There's also no tough grit player like an Owen Schmidt. Michigan needs playmakers to be competing for titles again not a bunch of role players. Role players complement playmakers, not displace them.

Key Game - 11/14/09 at Wisconsin
This is a very winnable game for the Wolverines despite having to play in a very difficult climate. Michigan should go 3-1 in non-conference play with a chance at 4-0 just because Michigan always plays Notre Dame tough despite the talent on the teams. Indiana, Purdue, and Wisconsin present three winnable games in the Big Ten and Michigan could return to a bowl game. Michigan can compete with anyone as they were beating Penn State for a good portion of the game last season. Stealing a game at Michigan State, Iowa, or Illinois will be tough however, so winning 6 would be a good goal for the Wolverines. 7 or 8 is probably the highest this team can go, but winning in Madison is a must for postseason play.

Key Player - Tate Forcier
Forcier's family lineage isn't too great in terms of success. Both his brothers Jason and Chris were recruited for division 1 football, but it didn't work out for either of them and usually the Forcier name is heard in terms of failure (see Furman letter) rather than living up to the expectations. Tate hopes to change that as he is the best of the bunch and is already being given the reigns to the position at Michigan. His competition isn't too much and he is more of a dual threat than the rest of the quarterbacks in competition. He has a solid supporting cast and the adjustment will be made easier with lightened expectations at Michigan.

Impact Freshman - Tate Forcier

Predicted Big Ten finish - 8th

Top 5 Players
1. OL Stephen Schilling
2. DE Brandon Graham
3. RB Brandon Minor
4. LB Obi Ezeh
5. LB Jonas Mouton

Pac 10 - Arizona State

2009-08-14T12:21:00.002-04:00

Arizona State
Skinny - Dennis Erickson was loved two years ago, but than out of no where Arizona State struggled mightily last season on route to a 5-7 record and no bowl game. The Rudy Carpenter era is over and it ended without a bang like many expected, since Carpenter was good enough to kick Sam Keller out of town. Dimitri Nance was technically the leading rusher last season, but he was nothing special. Shaun DeWitty should get some snaps from the backfield, but neither him or the offensive line are anything to get excited about. The receivers are average, but the quarterback situation won't be pretty. The defense will be the bright spot on the team. The linebackers are near the top in the league and the defensive line will be all right. Arizona State won't be much better than they were last season if they even are. The talent is not as good as it was last season, but that team struggled to meet expectations and it should be interesting how the team responds not facing much respect this season.

Strength - Linebackers
Mike Nixon returns on the outside and led the team with 5 interceptions and 90 tackles last season. He's a first team member of the All-Pac 10 team. Travis Goethel led the team in TFL last season with 7.5, had 71 tackles, and 2 picks last season. The last linebacker spot will go to a new starter. Vontaze Burfict is the darkhorse to win the job as a true freshman and if he lives up to his potential quickly as a top recruit, this unit could be scary. Burfict is huge as a freshman at 6'3" 245 pounds and can pack a punch. The defensive line is strong in addition to the linebackers led by DE Dexter Davis and the pass rush should be incredible between the two units. Davis had 11 sacks last season and Lawerence Guy will be solid at the tackle position again.

Weakness - Quarterback
The options at quarterback are bleak. Danny Sullivan was the back up last season and struggled mightily in relief appearances last season. Samson Szakacsy is a more mobile option at quarterback, but is only a sophomore and didn't play any football last season. Brock Osweiler is an interesting option at 6"8" as a freshman and would tower over his own lineman, as the Sun Devils offensive line is not particulary tall. Rudy Carpenter was a multi-year starter and a tough act to follow. Michael Jones is gone as the top receiver, but Chris McGaha is backs, as is Kerry Taylor and Kyle Williams. The offense will probably struggle this season and it goes back to quarterback play.

Key Game - 11/28/09 Arizona
In a rivalry game, either team could win despite the talent gap. Arizona State and Arizona aren't too different in situations this year. Arizona will have the better offense with the return of Grigsby, but Arizona State may end up with the better defense. Both teams lose veteran quarterbacks in Tuitama and Carpenter. Arizona State should go 2-1 in the non-conference and win games against Washington and Washington State without too much of a problem. Stanford and Arizona will be potential wins, and Arizona State will need both wins if they want to return to postseason play.

Key Player - Vontaze Burfict
The key to the season is having a quarterback step up, but it is yet to be seen what quarterback is going to fill that role, if one even is able to. Burfict is a physical specimen at 245 and being a true freshman linebacker. He could eventually grow into a defensive end, but for now his impact needs to be felt at the middle linebacker position. The other two linebacker spots are on lock down by two proven vets, but the other spot is wide open. The middle of the defense will be strong with a good middle backer and Burfict has the chance at being a four year strong hold and starter.

Impact Freshman - Vontaze Burfict

Predicted Pac 10 finish - 7th

Top 5 Players
1. DE Dexter Davis
2. LB Mike Nixon
3. LB Travis Goethel
4. DT Lawrence Guy
5. K/P Thomas Weber

Big Ten - Minnesota

2009-08-14T11:51:00.002-04:00

Minnesota
Skinny - Minnesota has one of the better QB-WR combos. Eric Decker is one of the most unappreciated players in the country. Decker is what makes the Minnesota offense role and was the main reason Minnesota was even in the top 100 in scoring and why they were 55th in passing yardage as he had 1074 yards alone. Adam Weber's not too shabby himself at the quarterback spot. He may not be a touchdown machine, but he's efficient and he can beat you on the ground if he needs to. Minnesota used to be known for their power running game when Barber and Maroney were playing and they are hoping Duane Bennett can recover from an early injury last season and be the back the need. The defense was good at the beginning of last season when Minnesota started 7-1. It was in those final five losses, also the final five games, that the offensive and defensive wheels both came unglued. If Minnesota can start strong again, which will harder with a game versus California and an early season trip to Northwestern, and finish stronger they could return to a bowl game. The schedule is much more difficult this season, so don't expect another 7-1 shocker.

Strength - Passing Game
Adam Weber is good on his feet, but he's better through the air. Last season he threw for 2761/15/8 and hopes to improve on those numbers this year. Decker is back and will leave his name in the record books, as he completes his senior year at receiver. Ben Kuznia and Brandon Green will provide solid depth at receiver, but the true wildcard is one of the top JUCOs in the country in Hayo Carpenter. Carpenter is relatively small at 5'11" 185 lbs., but he has 4.4 speed and could be the perfect complement to Decker with his speed. Decker and his receiving troops should get Minnesota in the top 40 in passing yards this season, behind an improved line.

Weakness - Secondary
Luckily for Minnesota, the passing attacks in the Big 10 are not nearly as strong as they are around the rest of the country. Daryll Clark and Juice Williams will be the two strongest attacks with Pryor and Kafka being more dual threats. Stanzi could also provide some trouble for the Golden Gophers, but for the most part having a weaker pass defense unit isn't a death sentence in the Big 10. Traye Simmons, Marcu Sherels, Kyle Theret, and Tramaine Brock all return in the secondary, but the unit only ranked 93rd in the country last season and the teams they faced weren't overwhelming by any margin. The unit will see a lot of pressure this season with a weak defensive line, and if the unit doesn't play well they will be exposed.

Key Game - 9/26/09 @Northwestern
Minnesota's schedule gets much tougher as the season progresses and winning a game on the road in Evanston would be huge with Wisconsin and Purdue following on the schedule. That would give Minnesota a chance at 3-0 in the conference before heading to Penn State and Ohio State back to back weeks and than playing a difficult final four that includes Michigan State, Illinois, and Iowa. The same result of W/L last season could be very possible, but at least this time the teams on the schedule will be more difficult. Coming off a tough game versus California, Minnesota could either be dejected or motivated.

Key Player - Duane Bennent
Bennent flashed his potential his true freshman season with over 400 yards and seemed to be the go to guy week 1 last season. In game 2 he got injured and that ended his season. After using a medical redshirt, he returns this season and looks to regain his starting role. DeLeon Eskridge didn't do much in replacing Bennent last season, so Minnesota needs someone to balance a potentially potent offense. The offensive line is better than last season and should be able to open some holes for Bennent. Bennent also has ability out of the backfield and look for Weber to hit him for some screens and just utilize his abilities.

Impact Freshman - Ra'Shede Hageman

Predicted Big 10 finish - 7th

Top 5 Players
1. WR Eric Decker
2. CB Traye Simmmons
3. QB Adam Weber
4. RB Duane Bennent
5. LB Lee Campbell

Big 12 - Texas A&M

2009-08-14T11:14:00.002-04:00

Texas A&M
Skinny - Last year was the Aggies worst year since 2004, as they played for new coach Mike Sherman. Despite the influence of the 12th man, Texas A&M fans shouldn't have to much to cheer about this season. If they played in the North division, they would finish as a middle of the pack type of team, but playing in the stacked South they'll be at the bottom with little hope of finishing better. Jerrod Johnson is a solid option at quarterback and WR Jeff Fuller, WR Ryan Tannehill, and TE Jamie McCoy all provide solid receiving options. Fuller and Tannehill are only sophomores and should be even better. The Aggies hope a back up quarterback develops, so Tannehill can focus on receiver without the threat of being back up quarterback and practicing for emergency play. Cyrus Gray was one of the better backs out of high school and will see the prominent running role in this years offense as Mike Goodson leaves. The offensive line won't be too good, which will be the main thing holding the offense back. The defense was pretty bad last season and with the exception of a few players in the secondary and the defense line, the defense will be pretty new. The Aggies will win a few, but just gaining bowl eligibility should be the goal.

Strength - Wide Receiver
The passing attack was strong last season for the most part with Jerrod Johnson starting most of the season, as new coach Sherman decided to go against the incumbent Stephen McGee. Ryan Tannehill is the back up quarterback going into camp, but he is also the leading receiver for the team. He is a talented third year sophomore and should be incorporated highly into the offense. The biggest threat could be sophomore Jeff Fuller. Fuller had 50 receptions and 9 TDs as a true freshman last season and will have a years experience heading into this season. Terrence McCoy returns as the third option and provides a solid target. TE Jamie McCoy is a second team Big 12 selection and remember 1st teamer is Jermaine Gresham, showing McCoy's talent.

Weakness - Offensive Line
The unit has five returning starters. The bright side is Evan Eike was a 2nd team freshman All-American last season and Matt Allen is a transfer from LSU. Beyond that this unit isn't too great. They had a dynamic back in Mike Goodson behind them last season, and he struggled to gain yards. Jorvorskie Lane was something like 270 pounds and he couldn't do anything in very limited action behind the line last season. Cyrus Gray provides a potentially dangerous target for the Aggies, but he must run behind something. The unit gave up a ridiculous 39 sacks last season and their run defense was one of the poorest in the nation, especially considering the talent.

Key Game - 11/21/09 Baylor
Baylor is my surprise pick, but this matchup could very important for the Aggies. They should be able to win 3 in the non-conference and a win versus Iowa State is highly likely. An upset or win versus either Kansas State or Colorado on the road would give them 5 wins heading into the next to last week (The last week is probably not winnable in a very important contest to Texas, as it could have National Title implications). Having 5 wins, a reasonable guess, going into this game would mean the game means the difference between 12 and 13 games. After failing to play last season, Aggie players should be hungry to return to the post season, but to beat Baylor the new linebackers must step up and be able to contain the elusive Robert Griffen.

Key Player - Cyrus Gray
The passing game should be good as the bulk of the players from last season return at receiver and quarterback. Gray will be asked to assist a running unit that struggled mightily last season. He'll have to use his athletic prowess to overcome the weakness of the offensive line and he will really have to take what's given to him and take full advantage. Mike Goodson was a capable receiver in addition to running the ball, so Gray would be best if he could showcase more dynamic play in the passing game, in addition to his work as the feature back running between the tackles. Gray is undersized at less than 200 pounds, so developing hands in crucial or he could take a beating on the ground.

Impact Freshman - Rhontae Scales

Predicted Big 12 finish - 6th (South)

Top 5 Players
1. TE Jamie McCoy
2. WR Ryan Tannehill
3. FS Trent Hunter
4. WR Jeff Fuller
5. QB Jerrod Johnson

Big 12 - Texas Tech

2009-08-13T22:23:00.001-04:00

Texas Tech
Skinny - In a very similar situation to Missouri, Texas Tech loses a heralded receiver/quarterback combo. It's hard to decide who meant more to the team. Michael Crabtree was the playmaker, the one who beat Texas, the one who made the National Championship Game controversy. But Graham Harrell was the one who threw him that pass, he was the one who was a four year performer, the one who spread it to all the receivers. Three receivers had over 70 receptions last season. It might be different from scouts points of view, but from the college football point of view it wasn't Crabtree or Harrell, it was Crabtree and Harrell. Both are gone and so is co-leading rusher Shannon Woods. The offense should be devastated right? Wrong, this is Texas Tech. Quarterbacks move on and the next one gets plugged in. Taylor Potts will continue that legacy this year and Detron Lewis will take the torch as designated receiver. The defense continues to improve and Texas Tech is not the same dormant program it used to be. The problem for Tech is the Big Twelve South is the best division in the country and the first three programs are way better than most of the country. Baylor, I expect to surprise people behind Robert Griffen. That leaves Tech at the bottom of the pecking order, but don't expect less than say 8 wins.

Strength - The ability to reload
Its hard to really pick a unit that is the strength. Brandon Carter and Marlon Lynn lead an offensive that is otherwise not so great, but they play well themselves. The defensive line was hit hard when McKinner Dixon entered the supplemental draft due to academic problems at Tech. His precense would have been huge for the Tech defense. But if Tech is known for one thing, it is there ability to recover from personnel losses. Losing Harrell is costly because he was a four year starter, but haven't we gone through this before when a big time production quarterback graduates from Tech and the next one plays just as well. Taylor Potts will be given the chance to play in one of the best college football systems in America and so will the receivers, with the top 3 all gaining considerable starting or relief experience from a season ago.

Weakness - Half the offensive line
Like I mentioned in the strength. Carter and Lynn are two very good lineman, with Carter getting 2nd team All-American honors on my list. The other three starting spots are up for grabs after the loss of the productive Louis Vasquez and Rylan Reed. Center Ryan Hamby is also gone. Its hard to lose players of that quality, but Tech is lucky to have some stars left on the line. Center Shawn Byrnes was the starter two years ago, so Tech should be all right in that position, but Chris Olson and Mickey Okafor are both frontrunners and inexperienced for the other positions. This system excels on good pass blocking and this unit must pick it up quickly and gel.

Key Game - 10/31/09 Kansas
Texas Tech has a winnable game at home against the North division favorite Kansas at the end of October before a pivotal three game stretch that includes two of the big three and my darkhorse Baylor. Tech should be bowl eligible going into this game and this game should only improve their stock if they were to pull it off. Kansas should be better this season after flying under the radar for most of last year. Reesing has the ability to win and he'll try to pull a Graham Harrell this year.

Key Player - Taylor Potts
Every quarterback it seems like excels in this system. The list goes on and on with players under Mike Leach. The torch has been passed and Potts shouldn't have much contention for the job. Potts has a very experienced group of receivers back in Lyle Leong, Edward Britton, Detron Lewis, and Tramain Swindall. Baron Batch is also a very good receiver out of the backfield and could catch 50 balls from Potts this season. With tons of weapons at his disposable and Brandon Carter more than likely defending his backside, the offense will operate however Potts will allow it. Potts has done well career wise in relief and boasts a 5-2 ratio with a 65% percentage in his limited time.

Impact Freshman - Joel Gray

Predicted Big 12 finish - 5th (South)

Top 5 Players
1. OL Brandon Carter
2. OL Marlon Winn
3. WR Detron Lewis
4. CB Jamar Wall
5. RB Baron Batch

Big 12 - Iowa State

2009-08-13T21:39:00.002-04:00

Iowa State
Skinny - Austen Arnaud is a really good quarterback given the level of talent around him and he should only be better this season. Iowa State's top back is back, but neither Alexander Robinson or his offensive line are anything to scare an opponent with. RJ Sumrall is the only receiver not back, but again, the receivers coming back are nothing special. The defense, like other defenses in the bottom half of the Big 12, was pretty miserable last year and things don't look any brighter going into this season. Iowa State didn't have anyone make All Big-12, although give Arnaud credit. If he had a better supporting cast and played in a conference like the Big Ten or the ACC, he'd be getting a lot more national attention. Iowa State lost ten in a row after a 2-0 start last season and this season doesn't look much better. They might get three non-conference wins this season as Army replaces UNLV, but another defeated Big 12 season is probable unless Iowa State could spark an upset.

Strength - Austen Arnaud
Finding a strength on a team like this, sadly, is hard to find. One strength is there turnover margin ranked 40th in the nation in the positive side last season. Besides that their quarterback is really their only "good" player. Arnaud got a bit of action his freshman season, but burst on to the scene, as much as an Iowa State player can, last season with 2792 yards through the air and 401 on the ground. He had 20 TDs between the two to 10 picks. Arnaud is built well at 6'3" 220 and should keep the games relatively close.

Weakness - Everything else
Most of the receivers are back, but none of them really stand out as playmakers. The ypc were low for most of Arnaud's targets, diminishing the chance for a big play. The running back situation isn't great behind Robinson. His 4.6 ypc isn't bad, especially for a team of this caliber, but its nothing spectacular and the offensive line he runs behind doesn't do much to help. Christopher Lyle had a solid 5 sacks last year and outperformed starter Rashawn Parker. Frere is a solid option at one tackle, but the other is up for grabs. The linebackers were nothing spectacular. You're bound to get tackles when your always on the field and a safety actually led the team, which means teams are getting to the second level. The secondary was terrible last year and gets two new starters this year.

Key Game - 9/26/09 Army
You know its bad when this is a game you need to win. Army should give Iowa State a third win unless they lose to a team they shouldn't. That mean they'll get to start the season 3-1 and give them a false sense of hope before fading away with the progression of the Big 12 schedule. Iowa State just needs to recruit better if they want to get better. Recruiting is a result of winning, so new coach Paul Rhoads better figure something out or the cycle of losing under Gene Chizik will just continue.

Key Player - Alexander Robinson
Robinson is just one of about 21 starters that needs to step up if Iowa State wants to compete with the teams in the Big 12. Iowa State looked like they had a shot at a few games last season. They lost to UNLV in overtime and the next week they lost a two point game to Kansas. They lost at Colorado by just 4 points near the end of the season too. If Robinson and a few other players can step up there game just a little, Iowa State might be able to win one or two of those games and maybe make an impact in the Big 12 standings by screwing over other teams.

Impact Freshman - Josh Lenz

Predicted Big 12 finish - 6th (North)

Top 5 Players
1. QB Austen Arnaud
2. OL Reggie Stephens
3. FS James Smith
4. LB Jesse Smith
5. DT Nate Frere

Big 12 - Colorado

2009-08-13T19:33:00.003-04:00

Colorado
Skinny - Colorado has a lot more potential than Kansas State does, thus why they're ranked higher than Kansas State. Cody Hawkins has been a less than desirable quarterback in a conference that feeds off of big time offense. Ranking 100th in the nation in offense in the Big 12 is a very bad thing. The offensive weapons are there though. Rodney Stewart showed glimpses of stellar play early last season as a freshman and the other back Darrell Scott was one of Colorado's biggest recruits in years. Hawkins will be challenged for the starting job if he struggles by Tyler Hansen, a more physically gifted player, and it will interesting to see how long daddy sticks with his son at quarterback. Markquest Simas is the supposed to be the target at receiver after being ineligible to play last season. The defense is starting over with just a couple starters returning, but that probably isn't a bad thing as the defense was less than stellar last season. Colorado won't be world beaters this season, but they should return to a bowl game.

Strength - Running Back
For a position that only ranked 86th, the running backs have dangerous potential. Rodney Stewart was not the one who was supposed to emerge as the starter. Knowing that Stewart is a reliable first option, after averaging a solid 4.7 ypc as a freshman behind an okay line. Darrell Scott has and incredible amount of potential after being the number 1 running back in the nation coming out of high school. Scott struggled through his freshman campaign and also had to battle the injury bug, so he should only be better this season as he gets to start over fresh and healthy. The line should be better this season with the return of a player just as coveted as Scott in Ryan Miller from the injury bug last season.

Weakness - Quarterback
Cody Hawkins has constantly been criticized in the starting role and the criticism is pretty great considering his dad being the coach makes people question the priorities of the lead man. Tyler Hanson has a year of experience. He had 261 rushing yards last season but also had 4 picks in only 65 pass attempts. Dan Hawkins will have a tough decision to make this year. Hanson was being reshirted last season before he had to be called into duty. After struggling the job returned to Hawkins, who player better. Maybe the competition will help Hawkins and he'll begin to excel or maybe Hanson's experience will be good for him going into his second year in the system.

Key Game - 10/31/09 Missouri
This will be the pivotal game in a stretch that figures to have a shot at a few Big 12 conference wins for the Buffaloes. Kansas Stat, Missouri, Texas A&M, and Iowa State all present winnable games and Colorado should finish non-conference play either 3-1 or 4-0, depending on the result of the West Virginia game. Colorado struggled in games they managed to win last season, so they really need to play better. The offense is good enough to put up points, but they need to actually do it.

Key Player - Taj Kaynor/Eugene Goree
Football starts in the trenches and where better to repair a defense but at the defensive tackle position. Colorado is planning on using a mix between 3-4 and 4-3 formations. Although one tackle is needed for a 3-4, 4-3 alignments will be present too. Goree and Kaynor didn't get much experience last season and the run defense wasn't very good with the previous starters, and the pass defense wasn't much better. Attacking the center of the line will be key to let the linebackers knock the running backs back, and give the defensive ends a chance at 1 on 1's in passing situations. If Kaynor and Goree can be the stronghold, the job will be easier for the rest of the defense and Colorado's win total may increase in return.

Impact Freshman - Nick Kasa

Predicted Big 12 finish - 4th (North)

Top 5 Players
1. CB Cha'pelle Brown
2. LB Jeff Smart
3. RB Darrell Scott
4. RB Rodney Stewart
5. LB Shaun Mohler

Big 12 - Kansas State

2009-08-13T15:02:00.001-04:00

Kansas State
Skinny - He's back. For 17 years, Bill Snyder coached Kansas State and after watching the program's fall the past couple of years, he returns to the head coaching position. Snyder should not be expected to be a miracle maker his first year in Manhattan. Snyder doesn't have Josh Freeman, the leader of the Wildcats, back, but he does have his favorite target Brandon Banks back for his senior season. Banks is very small (150 pounds) and could be Percy Harvin-lite. Snyder will need to worry about rebuilding the offense, but the bigger issue is not rebuilding, but rather building a defense. Kansas State was 110th or worse in scoring defense, rushing defense, and total defense. Pass defense didn't manage to crack the top 100 either. Kansas State won't be competing for a Big 12 North title this season, but they shouldn't be at the very bottom of the division either with Iowa State still the bottom dweller.

Strength - Brandon Banks
Banks is only 5'7" and 150 pounds, but he's a speedy target that has good hands. Banks had 67 receptions last year, doubling the next closest player. He also had 126 yards on the ground last season in only 7 carries. Perhaps with no proven running back, Kansas State should use the talent of Banks with more end around type of plays. Banks surpassed 1000 yards (1049) and had 9 TDs. Lamark Brown and Aubrey Quarles will play alongside Banks, but both only had a few starts at receiver last season. Quarles is on his last stint as a senior and hasn't been a breakaway performer yet and Brown split time last season between receiver and running back and actually led to team in rushing yards last season.

Weakness - Back 7
Kansas State has a pair of new defensive cooridinaters from the ACC. Kansas State should see a blend of a 4-3 and 4-2-5, as the latter is more suitable to the defensive coaching staff. The secondary was downright bad last season, but than again so was the rest of the defense. Josh Moore is the best defender at corner (2nd team All-Big 12) and he should only get better in his junior season. He led the team in tackles last season and added 3 picks and 12 passes broken up. Courtney Herndon and Tysyn Hartman return at safety. The other corner spot is up for grabs with JCs and true freshman being given a legit shot at the position. Alex Hrebec and John Houlik will be the linebackers with Ulla Pomele providing a third option. Their production needs to improve. The hybrid position will also be up for grabs. This unit must find a set of players that can be productive.

Key Game - 10/10/09 @Texas Tech
If Kansas State can find a quarterback by this non-divisional match-up they'll have a chance at the upset. The only game that will be in question before this game will be the UCLA game and that game is winnable; although, it won't be easy. Going into this game 5-0 or 4-1 would give Kansas State a chance to make themselves bowl eligible quickly. After Texas Tech, they have another winnable game at A&M before the schedule becomes much harder. Kansas State will have the opportunity to make themselves bowl eligible after failing last season, but it will be a challenge.

Key Player - Daniel Thomas
Thomas won't be the favorite to be the starter going into the season, but he'd probably give Kansas State the best shot at winning. The former junior college player is more dynamic than the rest of quarterbacks on the roster. A mobile quarterback would be especially helpful in keeping a defense honest, considering Kansas State doesn't have a legitimate threat at running back. Thomas will be the underdog to Carson Coffman, as Coffman was number 2 on the depth chart last season.

Impact Freshman - Torell Miller

Predicted Big 12 finish - 5th (North)

Top 5 Players
1. WR Brandon Banks
2. CB Josh Moore
3. LT Nick Stringer
4. DE Brandon Harold
5. DE Eric Childs

Big 12 - Mizzou

2009-08-13T14:30:00.002-04:00

Mizzou
Skinny - Missouri suffers two major personnel losses, but those two could destroy the team. Jeremy Maclin, Mr. Do-it-all, is gone along with the director of Missouri's emergence Chase Daniel. Filling the spots will be quarterback Blaine Gabbert, a former highly touted player, and proven receiver Jared Perry. Gabbert will have a solid supporting cast with Perry, a proven vet, and a touchdown machine at running back in second team All-Big 12 back Derrick Washington. Gabbert won't however have Daniel's safety valve that was Chase Coffman at tight end. Instead his receiving corps features Perry, Danario Alexander, Jerrell Jackson, and TE Andrew Jones. Tommy Saunders, the third leading receiver is also gone from last season. The defense returns first team All-Big 12 threat Sean Weatherspoon, a true tackle machine, average over 10 a game. A terrible pass defense from last season will feature a new bunch of players, and that overhaul is badly needed. Missouri should have a serviceable offense, but after relying on its top 10 talent the last couple seasons the defense is going to need to step up. Missouri will take a step back in the national scene as they recover.

Strength - Running Back
Derrick Washington is a dangerous player and plays behind a solid line. Washington had 17 TDs last season along with 2 receiving ones and had 29 receptions for 277 yards in addition to 1036 rushing yards. With Maclin and his his Harvin-type carries gone, expect Washington's carry count to improve this season as he's very efficient with each carry (5.9) and his back up De'Vion Moore loooked solid as a freshman. Moore (5.6) was solid in his 41 carries last season and should see more carries this season, as the passing attack won't be the strength this year and could play second fiddle to the rushing attack if Pinkel changes the play calling.

Weakness - Secondary
The secondary was atrocious last season. The finished 117th in the nation in pass defense and even though Missouri got screwed by playing Oklahoma, Texas, and Oklahoma State the production for the players was just sad. Carl Gettis is the lone returner at the cornerback position and having 78 tackles from the corner position is not something to necessarily be proud of. Kenji Jackson will start at one safety position after getting a lot of playing time and 4 starts as a true freshman (62 tkls). Hardy Ricks also played considerably last season and will try to bolster the other safety position. Kevin Rutland and ND transfer Munir Prince will battle for the other corner position. Prince is known for his speed which could give him the edge in the job battle.

Key Game - 10/8/09 Nebraska
The Big 12 opener is not a must win, but Missouri must compete. Stealing a win against the Hornhuskers in definitely possible. They will still be adjusting to a new set of linebackers, giving Washington a chance to shine. The game is at home. Missouri's sad pass defense could be disregarded with Nebraska's inexperience at quarterback and having to rely on Helu. If Helu gets going, Weatherspoon matches up well. The match-up is very favorable for the Tigers and could open up the Big 12 North. The Kansas game is not home or away, so Kansas fields no locational advantage. Oklahoma isn't on the schedule and the Baylor game is home. The schedule is favorable, but Mizzou will have a tough opener against Illinois.

Key Player - Blaine Gabbert
This is a pretty obvious selection. Gabbert follows in the footsteps of one of the most productive quarterbacks in the history of Missouri football. Gabbert was a top 10 quarterback coming out of high school, but didn't put up great statistics in very limited action last season. He did play behind two quarterbacks with pro potential, as Chase Patton was one of the top back ups in the country. Gabbert doesn't have all that many weapons at his disposable relatively. Perry is his best option, but thats not even fair when you consider Daniel had Coffman and Maclin. Gabbert will have to show the same stuff he showed in high school if Missouri wants to compete in the shoot-outs the Big 12 is known for.

Impact Freshman - Sheldon Richardson

Predicted Big 12 finish - 3rd (North)

Top 5 Players
1. LB Sean Weatherspoon
2. RB Derrick Washington
3. OL Kurtis Gregory
4. DT Jaron Baston
5. WR Jared Perry

Big 12 - Nebraska

2009-08-13T13:58:00.002-04:00

Nebraska
Skinny - After taking a step back in the national limelight, Bo Pelini is trying to bring Nebraska back. He had a solid season last season, only losing to ranked teams (although Virginia Tech wasn't ranked at the time). They ended a good season with their 9th win over Clemson in the bowl. Offense was the key to the team last season but only a running back that split time is a returning starter in the skill/quarterback positions. Joe Ganz is gone after a rather productive season at quarterback last season and Nebraska is going to be relying on Zac Lee, a player with 2 career pass attempts. Look for true freshman Cody Green to challenge for playing time, as he's probably the quarterback of the future with a solid 6'4" 215 frame. Roy Helu is returning after leading the team in rushing despite giving snaps to Marlon Lucky, so his production should go up this season. The defense struggled for a Cornhusker defense last season, but the cornerstone of the team is back in DT Ndamukong Suh. The schedule is lighter than last season, despite an early season trip to Virginia Tech and Nebraska should be competing for a Big 12 North title with Kansas.

Strength - Roy Helu Jr.
Helu is the team's only proven offensive threat and comes off a season where he average 6.4 ypc, had 803 yards and 7 TDs. He didn't make my all conference team, but that's more a testament to Murray, Hunter, Brown, and Washington than it is a diss to Helu. Helu will have the opportunity to put up huge numbers this season behind an experienced that includes C Jacob Hickman. Helu had 500+ yards in the final four last season and had a quarter century in terms of receptions last season. He should take the nation by storm this season in terms of production due to not getting a full season of reps last season, but his performance shouldn't be all that much of a shocker.

Weakness - Quarterback
Joe Ganz had over 3500 yards last season in addition to a ratio north of 2-1. Having a productive offense is a must in the Big 12 and Nebraska has to go from a quarterback that led his team to top 20 performances in passing and scoring offense in the nation to a quarterback that doesn't know the college level. Zac Lee will be the favorite for the position and has the lineage to play well. Lee is mobile, which is good after Ganz put up over 250 yards in addition to his passing skills. Lee will be challenged by incoming freshman Cody Green, who has the build and the potential of a good quarterback.

Key Game - 11/14/09 @Kansas
This game could determine the Big 12 North champion. It'll be interesting to see what kind of year Kansas QB Todd Reesing has. Will he be last year's Chase Daniel or last year's Graham Harrell. Kansas kind of fell of the radar last season after their shocking season the year before. Briscoe was cleared to play and Reesing will have targets at his disposable to throw to. Nebraska struggled in pass coverage last season and Colt McCoy wasn't on the schedule. The Nebraska secondary returns from last season and can't be any worse as S Larry Asante will be the leader of the unit. Nebraska could be a very good team in 2010, but will the inexperience of the offense and the continual rebuilding of the defense hold them from a North title this year?

Key Player - Ndamukong Suh
Suh is a second team All-American and is the best player on Nebraska. So why is he the key player to Nebraska's success? Suh led the team in tackles last season along with sacks. A top player is expected to lead a team in tackles when he plays linebacker or possibly safety, but Suh stars from the defensive tackle position. Suh has a new bunch of linebackers behind him and if Nebraska wants to win in a league that has a better bunch of backs this season, he'll need to make sure the running backs stay in front of him and he stops them before they can reach the next level.

Impact Freshman - Cody Green

Predicted Big 12 finish - 2nd (North)

Top 5 Players
1. DT Ndamukong Suh
2. RB Roy Helu Jr.
3. OL Jacob Hickman
4. K/P Alex Henery
5. S Larry Asante

ACC - Virginia

2009-08-12T11:26:00.002-04:00

Virginia
Skinny - As Duke and North Carolina have made way on the upswing, Virginia is falling victim to the downswing and cellar-dwelling as of late. The talent level is below-average and the playmakers aren't playmakers. Cedric Peerman was a decent option at tailback last season, but he's gone and Mikell Simpson will try to pick up the slack. The quarterback position is up for grabs. Marc Verica was a below average starter last season and probably won't start again this season. Jameel Sewell was the previous starter, but had academic issues last season and former cornerback Vic Hall fits the new spread system the best. Changing systems, in addition to a lack of talent, should provide for a very bad year for the Cavaliers. The non-conference schedule provides one easy win, but 3 games they could lose to TCU, Southern Miss, and Indiana. Getting to 4 wins will be a challenge for Virginia this year, as they must regroup to get better.

Strength - Secondary
This unit is by far the best on the team. Ras-I Dowling is the team's best player and only player to make the All-ACC team (1st team). Dowling had 3 picks last season in addition to 11 passes broken up. Vic Hall will a great option at the other corner if he doesn't win out at quarterback, but the other option Chris Cook was very solid before he sat out last season with academic issues like Sewell. Corey Mosley returns after his freshman season starting at safety and doing well for a freshman. Mike Parker, Brandon Woods, or Rodney McLeod should take over the other spot, but the unit should be fine with whoever starts as this position has the most depth as any on the team.

Weakness - Wide Receivers
The number 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 guys in receptions last season are gone, albeit not all were receivers. Whoever the new quarterback is, is going to need some options to throw to. Jared Green is the obvious starter getting the most action last year as a freshman, but who else is going to be in the lineup is still up for grabs. Don't be surprised if a true freshman like Tim Smith gets a look as most of the receivers in the program are younger anyway. An inept offense last season could be even worse this season.

Key Game - 10/17/09 @Maryland
If Virginia can steal one at Maryland, it will relieve the pain of the season. Virginia could be 1-4 going into this game or 2-3 (but I don't see much better) and only 1 game after that will see Virginia with a reasonable chance. Virginia proved last season they could beat better teams, but the cornerstone of their team Eugene Monroe is gone and the offensive playmakers are nearly as much. The out of conference schedule wouldn't be too bad for a normal team, as it has a BCS school and 2 reputable mid-major schools but all three of those schools will provide a big challenge to a team of the caliber of the Cavaliers.

Key Player - Vic Hall
Hall will play. Hall was one of Virginia's best defenders at cornerback, but his athletic talent needs to be maximized, which is why he is being given a shot at quarterback. He starred at the position in high school, but so many years removed from consistently playing the position could be questionable. Hall did start the spring game at quarterback and seems to be getting a good look in the newly installed spread system at Virginia. Hall only has one season of eligibilty left, so even if Hall exceeds all expectations, its not a long term fix and Virginia will have to regroup again next season.

Impact Freshman - Tim Smith

Predicted ACC finish - 6th (Coastal)

Top 5 Players
1. CB Ras-I Dowling
2. CB/QB Vic Hall
3. OL Will Barker
4. FS Corey Mosley
5. DE Matt Conrath

ACC - Maryland

2009-08-12T10:51:00.002-04:00

Maryland
Skinny - Maryland has a first team All-ACC linebacker in Alex Wujciak, a solid running back, and return specialist Torrey Smith. Beyond that, the team is just average and lacks starpower. Maryland plays in the ever changing ACC Atlantic Division. Maryland was 8-5 last season including a non-conference win over California and a bowl win over Colin Kaepernick and Nevada. They beat Clemson and NC State and lost to Middle Tennessee State and got destroyed by Virginia. Gone is Darrius Heyward-Bey and the majority of the defense, so the team is going to take a step back this season and could find themselves in the cellar of the Atlantic this season. Maryland has to travel to California this year, which is almost a sure loss but they should be able to knock off Middle Tennessee State this year. Rutgers replaces Eastern Michigan, but the ACC schedule is not too grueling. Maryland's goal should be to return to the postseason in a rebuilding year. Maryland does always manage to show up and shock a team they shouldn't, so they're not to be taken lightly.

Strength - Running Back
Da'Rel Scott is the team's offensive weapon and he averaged 5.4 ypc on the ground last season. His back-up Davin Meggett provides a solid second option with 457 yards on the ground last season (5.1). Maryland only ranked 61st in the country in rushing yards last season but Scott and Meggett should be able to eclispe 1800 yards as a duo this season. The one thing that could be holding them back from 1800 yards or more is the offensive line. Its a brand new line minus the LT and C and the new players aren't exactly world beater prospects.

Weakness - Offensive Line
The offensive line returns Bruce Campbell (LT) and Phil Costa (C). Costa is the top lineman for Maryand and was moved to C this year to guide the new lineman. Campbell was the highest rated player out of high school of the starters, but still has room for improvement. The rest of the line is very green, which needs to open holes for Da'Rel Scott and give time for Chris Turner to operate at quarterback. Turner is a good quarterback but he lost his top target, Heyward-Bey, and will have to rely on an average, inexperienced group of receivers. Lamar Young and Justin Lewis should be two of the three starters with Paul Pinegar and Tyler Bowen fighting for the last spot.

Key Game - 10/10/09 @Wake Forest
A year ago, Maryland shut down Wake Forest in dominating fashion, but this year they travel to play the Deamon Deacons with a lesser squad. This is the second ACC game of the season and expect them to be coming in with a loss after playing a revenge game with Clemson the week before. Maryland has better athletes than Wake Forest, but Riley Skinner is a game manager that will put up a big game against a raw Maryland defense. Wujciak needs to quarterback the Maryland defense as it grows up and he needs to be a tackle machine again with a new defensive line.

Key Player - Torrey Smith
Torrey Smith has made his mark for Maryland as a returner, but now the Terps need him as a number 1 receiver. He was third on the team last season in receptions and yardage, but quarterback Turner needs some new targets this season. Smith provides a playmaking option for an offense that isn't too scary after finishing just 92nd in the country in scoring last season despite having a skill player taken in the top 10 last spring in the NFL Draft. Smith is average in size at 6'1" 200 but performed well as a freshman and should only improve as a sophomore.

Impact Freshman - Pete White

Predicted ACC finish - 6th (Atlantic)

Top 5 Players
1. RB Da'Rel Scott
2. LB Alex Wujciak
3. WR Torrey Smith
4. QB Chris Turner
5. C Phil Costa

ACC - Duke

2009-08-11T23:20:00.002-04:00

Duke
Skinny - Duke is traditionally known as one of the worst college football programs in the country. The only two ways you used to hear about Duke in a football sense was losing streaks and Steve Spurrier's traditional 25th place vote for them in the coaches poll. That's it. Things are changing in Durham and head coach David Cutliffe is the catalyst. Former Tennessee offensive coordinator, Cutliffe led Duke to an unprecedented 4 wins last season and they actually had a winning record 7 games into the season last year. A lot of their losses weren't as bad as they've been in the past either last season. The nonconference slate has 3 potential wins for Duke and the young team has an outside, and I mean outside shot, at potentially earning a bowl birth. They play Virginia and Maryland, the ACC's worst teams and if they can win those 5 games only one upset would be needed. When was the last time Duke was being considered for bowl eligibilty?

Strength - Quarterback
Thaddeus Lewis is a solid option at quarterback, before Cutliffe is able to bring in quarterbacks that fit his system. Lewis threw for over 2000 yards, had 62% completion percentage, and a very solid 15-6 ratio last season. Duke games aren't always filled with the same level of competition as other games may, but Lewis performed very well as a starting quarterback in the ACC. One problem is his prime target Eron Riley is gone, so somebody namely Johnny Williams, a sophomore who performed admiraly as a freshman, needs to step up in his absence.

Weakness - Running Game
The running game will take a step forward this, but a giant leap is really what is needed. Re'quan Boyette is the teams best back and returns from an injury last season. He has a career 4.3 ypc average, which way outdoes the top player from last seasons 3.7. Hollingsworth (3.7) will be his backup after leading the team with less than 400 yards a season ago. Desmond Scott is the future of the program, being a highly touted true freshman. Look for Scott to get considerable action this season, as Duke continues to build for the future.

Key Game - 10/24/09 Maryland
This game will be pivotal for all bowl hopes for Duke. If Duke could beat a down Maryland program, they'll set up a very important game at Virginia the following week. Duke should have 3 wins going into this matchup. A win here and at Virginia will give them 5 going into the final 4. Playing a rival at North Carolina and a game against Wake Forest could provide Duke with that final game they need. Bowl hopes are stretching it for fans in Durham, but for once there is hope.

Key Player - Desmond Scott
This guy is the future of the program in my opinion. He needs to prove to the nation, players at Duke can excel in a competitive environment. If Duke can start to win with this guy, more players will want to apart of the rising program. If Scott struggles, no motivation is given to big time recruits to play at Duke. Scott was the clear jewel of this class for Cutliffe, and coming into a struggling program with a bad run game, he should see substantial playing time this year.

Impact Freshman - Desmond Scott

Predicted ACC finish - 5th (Coastal)

Top 5 Players
1. OL Kyle Hill
2. LB Vincent Rey
3. DT Vince Oghobaase
4. QB Thaddeus Lewis
5. P Kevin Jones

ACC - Boston College

2009-08-11T22:52:00.002-04:00

Boston College
Skinny - Like Penn State a year before, Boston College fans were given devastating news about a star linebacker. Unlike Penn State linebacker Sean Lee, Mark Herzlich faced a much more severe circumstance. Herzlich is facing cancer and his presence will be severely missed by fans and coaches alike in Chestnut Hill. Boston College had a solid defense last season and were very tough against the run. They pitched two shut outs including Notre Dame and Golden Tate. Chris Cane began the season as starter last season, but gave way to freshman Dominique Davis by season's end. Davis flashed signs of potential last season, but also seemed lost at times, especially in defeats to Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt. Montel Harris and Josh Haden add a great 1-2 punch on offense and Rich Gunnell heads a solid receiver corps. The defense returns 6 starters from last season (but Herzlich won't be there) and should be solid despite some considerable personnel losses. The schedule is manageable, but a new coach and a raw quarterback could hold back the team.

Strength - Secondary
Roderick Rollins, Donnie Fletcher, and DeLeon Gause are a solid bunch at corner and should be flanked by a proven veteran in Wes Davis at free safety and Marcellus Bowman at strong safety. The unit was 18th in pass defense last season and are relatively the same bunch of guys. Boston College was only +3 in turnover margin, but that was not due to a lack of interceptions. Boston College had 26 picks last season but twelve are lost with Paul Anderson and Mark Herzlich. The corners and safeties will have to contribute more this season to that total, but the returners had a solid amount last season.

Weakness - Quarterback
Dominique Davis was less than stellar in his starts last season. He could be handed the benefit of the doubt for being a freshman, but he just looked lost at times. He threw under 50% of his passes for completions last season and had an okay 6-4 ratio. He wasn't a fear on the ground last season only averaging 1.1 ypc last season. Justin Tuggle will provide competition to Davis in camp, as Tuggle fits offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill's system a lot better being a more mobile quarterback. Davis has talent around him and he needs to utilize it or he'll find himself in the same position he was before Crane's injury last season.

Key Game - 9/26/09 Wake Forest
Boston College plays a home game against Wake early in the season after a tough game in Death Valley. Boston College won't want to find themselves in the 0-2 hole to start conference play and they match up pretty similarly to Wake Forest. Winning this game would be important as the next three games include Florida State, Virginia Tech, and NC State, who are all title contenders. Boston College may be projected 5th in the division, but this conference is wide open and they could easily find themselves near the top of the conference and repeat last season's championship game performance if they can find a quarterback.

Key Player - Dominick LeGrande
If you asked LeGrande last winter if he expected to start this season, he probably would have of thought it was possible. If you told him it was in Herzlich's slot and not the other outside linebacker spot, he probably would have been baffled. LeGrande is just a sophomore and had 9 tackles as a true freshman. His second year in the system will be greatly important in terms of team success. Mike McLaughlin will be the leader of the linebackers if he's 100 percent, but if he's not LeGrande could quickly become the needed leader of a young linebacking corps.

Impact Freshman - Andre Lawrence

Predicted ACC finish - 5th (Atlantic)

Top 5 Players
1. OL Anthony Castonzo
2. LB Mike McLaughlin
3. OL Matt Tennant
4. FS Wes Davis
5. RB Montell Harris

ACC - Wake Forest

2009-08-11T22:23:00.002-04:00

Wake Forest
Skinny - Jim Grobe does his best at Wake Forest, but the talent just doesn't compare to that of the Florida State and Virginia Tech's of the conference. Wake does however manage to overachieve most of the time and that can be credited to the coaching staff. Recently that overachieving can also be credited to the face of the program, Riley Skinner. Skinner has been Wake's star player since his freshman season and nothing should deter him from finishing his senior season strong. The talent around Skinner; however, just isn't that great. The running game struggled last season and coaches hope Josh Adams can regain 2007 form and Kevin Harris can maintain the ypc average he had last season in a limited role. Brandon Pendergrass could also impact the position after leading the team in rushing last season, despite a bad ypc. The defense was highly regarded last season and helped keep Wake in games, but the back 7 only have one returning starter and the secondary was the key to the team's success last season. Wake should be a middle of the pack team this season, but look for them to take a step back. They finished 5th in the country with a +17 turnover margin and despite the return of Skinner, most teams can't maintain that great of a margin. Wake is well coached but play dangerous non-conference games against Baylor and Stanford and should be satisfied with a bowl season.

Strength - Riley Skinner
Skinner is the face of the program and has been for the past 4 seasons, leading his team to an 11-3 record his freshman season. Skinner has over 6000 career passing yards in a program that isn't known for amazing offensive performances. If he puts up slightly better numbers than last season he could end his career with 9000 passing yards, and shatter Wake records. Skinner is a second team All-ACC performer, but he probably would make first team on another team with a better supporting cast. He minimizes mistakes, despite playing with a sub-par group of receivers and an average offensive line. Skinner is not a mobile quarterback, but he can also pick up a yard for the team on the ground if needed.

Weakness - Playmakers
Skinner is a great quarterback, accurate and a game manager, but the role players are sub-par. Grobe can talk up the young players all he wants, but until the make an impact on one of the least productive offenses in the country potential means nothing. Adams disappointed at the running back position last season and split time with the other two backs as a result. Blocking should be better this season helping that cause. DJ Boldin is no longer there after tripling the receptions of the closest receiver. That means Marshall Williams majorly needs to step up along with Devon Brown and Jordan Williams.

Key Game - 9/5/09 Baylor
The team destroyed Baylor last season in their best offensive performance of the season. This season Robert Griffen is established and the Baylor defense should be ready as they travel to Winston Salem. The schedule isn't as bad as last season as the Ole Miss game is replaced by Stanford (Wake did beat Ole Miss though). Beating Baylor is important if Wake wants to start strong like they did last season. If they do make it to ACC play unscathed, the offense mst not sputter like it did a season ago. A younger defense won't be able to be relied on as much and the offense must provide some support.

Key Player - Matt Woodlief
Woodlief will be the quarterback of the defense, operating from the middle linebacker position. Woodlief has provided solid back up numbers his first two seasons (about 20 tackles a season, but is built real small. At only 5'11", he's undersized and most overcome that with grit. All three linebackers are gone from last season including the machine that was Aaron Curry. Woodlief joins Hunter Haynes as an experienced back-up, but without proven first team leadership. The defense was pretty strong last season, but losing the backbone of Aaron Curry could set the team back. An experienced defensive line should ease the job of the new backers.

Impact Freshman - Quan Rucker

Predicted ACC finish - 4th (Atlantic)

Top 5 Players
1. QB Riley Skinner
2. DT Boo Robinson
3. DT John Russell
4. TE Ben Wooster
5. OL Chris DeGeare

Darren Evans - Virginia Tech

2009-08-11T22:15:00.003-04:00

Its always a sad day when a good player goes down, especially with a season-ender before the season begins. Darren Evans tore his ACL in fall practice and will miss the entire 2009 season. Evans had 1200+ rushing yards last season (albeit only 4 100+ games) including a big performance for Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl victory. Evans made my first team All-ACC team as a sophomore and was very important to an average Hokie offense, whose talented, but underperforming quarterback Tyrod Taylor only mustered a 2-7 ratio last season.

The worst part of the injury is, that at least on the surface, it seems to be the fault of the training staff at Virginia Tech. He apparently sprained his knee in a practice friday and tore the ACL just days later being back on the field. Fall practice is important, but protecting star players is even more important.

Josh Oglesby and Ryan Williams were next on the depth chart and are expected to split time in the wake of the injury. Williams probably has a higher ceiling with Oglesby being more experienced. Expect Williams to take the role for himself by season's end.

Source - http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4392725

ACC - Miami

2009-08-11T14:56:00.002-04:00

Miami
Skinny - Miami just can't seem to get back to where it was at the beginning of the decade. Miami used to breed quarterbacks, but they can't seem to find a quarterback of late. Hurricane fans are hoping Jacory Harris is finally that player. Harris had a solid season as a freshman and hopes to build on it along with fellow sophomore Aldarius Johnson. If the duo continues to develop they could remind Miami of the glory days. Miami was a streaky team last season, but they performed admirable in a bowl game against a much better Cal team. Miami, uncharateristically, struggled on run defense last season and hope to beef it up this season with a crew of sophomore starters. Sean Spence is the future of Miami defense at linebacker and could be a first team All-ACC player by the end of the season. Miami has cleaned up their program under Randy Shannon and now are trying to restore their football image after cleaning up the Thug U moniker.

Strength - Jason Fox
The left tackle is team's top player and has a nice 6-7 310 frame. Fox is one of two All-ACC players, in addition to K/P Matt Bosher, and specializes in protecting the quarterback's blind side. Fox didn't get enough credit in post-season honors last season, but he didn't allow a sack last season from the most crucial spot on the offensive line, the quarterback's blindside. Knowing your blind side is safe gives a quarterback more confidence manuevering through the pocket and finding open receivers.

Weakness - Defensive Line
The defensive line is full of highly ranked players from high school, but they ranked real low in the nation in stuffing the run, on a team known for solid defense. Shannon was also a defensive coordinator before his head coaching role, so one would expect better from a Shannon coached team. Allen Bailey had 5 sacks last season and he'll be a starting tackle this season. The good news is five sacks is great for a tackle; the bad news is the 5 sacks came from the end position and 5 sacks is not a great number for a team leader. The line should be shuffled a lot as the team waits for players to develop and emerge.

Key Game - 9/7/09 @Florida State
Miami easily has the toughest 4 game stretch to open the season in the country. Playing @Florida State, Georgia Tech, @Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma seems demoralizing. Miami will be lucky to start the season 2-2 or even 1-3. Of course the schedule only gets easier, but Florida A&M and UCF are the only two non-BCS schools on the schedule. Beating rival Florida State in the opener would ease the pain of the upcoming schedule as the first three games are all pivotal conference games.

Key Player - Jacory Harris
Miami has a nightmare schedule to open the season and Jacory Harris must remain composed through the stretch. Harris was the starter last season, while splitting time with the departed Rober Marve, so he knows what starting in the ACC is like. Aldarius Johnson is a high ceiling receiver to throw to and Graig Cooper and Javarris James are both back at tailback to take the pressure off the passing game. The offense was only 50th in scoring last season and Harris must improve those numbers if Miami wants to compete in the ACC and not get embarassed by teams like Oklahoma.

Impact Freshman - Ray Ray Armstrong

Predicted ACC finish - 4th (Coastal)

Top 5 Players
1. LT Jason Fox
2. WR Aldarius Johnson
3. LB Sean Spence
4. K/P Matt Bosher
5. QB Jacory Harris

ACC - North Carolina

2009-08-11T14:27:00.002-04:00

North Carolina
Skinny - North Carolina fans were excited when Butch Davis was named coach a couple seasons ago. North Carolina was a perennial bottom feeder in the conference standings and remained there with 4 wins in Davis' first season trying to turn the program around. After a year in his system, North Carolina turned heads last season in the second week shutting down an upbeat Rutgers program and a quarterback in Mike Teel, that was supposed to have a strong year. The team won 7 of the first 10, with all three losses being by three or less points. They got blown out by NC State, before beating Duke and losing a hard fought game to West Virginia in the bowl by 1 point. North Carolina played a lot of close games last season and with a lot of talent coming back, the team could potentially improve on last season's performance. The schedule gets tougher though as they have to travel to NC State, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech and Florida State rotates onto the schedule. North Carolina is probably a year or two from reallly competing with the conference big boys, but they definitely should show an impact on the conference standings and return to a bowl game this season.

Strength - Linebacker
Quan Sturdivant is the team's best player after racking up 122 tackles last season including an incredible 87 solo. Bruce Carter provides a good complement to Sturdivant, garnering 5 sacks in addition to his 68 tackles. The third position will be filled by new starter Zach Brown, a young player showing the transition to Davis' players. The defensive line returns intact from last season. Led by Marvin Austin, the defensive line should give the linebackers ample opportunity to eat up opposing running backs and hassle the quarterback. Sturdivant is a first team All-ACC member and Carter will have a chance of postseason recognition.

Weakness - Wide Receiver
The group is very inexperienced, with hybrid Greg Little being the only experienced player at the position. Little has seen more touches through the ground game the last couple of seasons and will need to develop into a more pure receiver as the the team has to replace Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate, two of the most talented receivers to play at North Carolina. The position will feature a battle of freshman and sophomores. Dwight Jones and Josh Adams will be the favorites and don't be surprised if Adams is joined by fellow true freshman Jheranie Boyd as two true freshman starters. TJ Yates is a proven quarterback and should help the receivers adjust.

Key Game - 9/26/09 @Georgia Tech
North Carolina had Georgia Tech's number last season as the beat them 28-7 in a surprising game. How well will North Carolina be prepared this season as they travel to Atlanta in a rematch game that could be very important to North Carolina's Coastal division hopes. Georgia Tech returns Nesbitt, Dwyer, and Jones and should provide an interesting battle against North Carolina's strong front 7. North Carolina probably won't be able to beat both Tech's on the road this season, but they match up well against Georgia Tech and could pull a repeat of last season.

Key Player - Shaun Draughn
The running game will have added emphasis this season with the departure of Hicks and Tate and Draughn needs to improve on a modest 4.4 ypc last season. He also only had 3 TDs so the numbers could be improved. He back up and Greg Little both put up 300+ yards last season, but only one is a true back. Draughn has one year of starting experience under him and runs behind pretty much the same line as last season.

Impact Freshman - Josh Adams

Predicted ACC finish - 3rd (Coastal)

Top 5 Players
1. LB Quan Sturdivant
2. CB Kendric Burney
3. LB Bruce Carter
4. DT Marvin Austin
5. QB TJ Yates

ACC - Florida State

2009-08-11T13:54:00.002-04:00

Florida State
Skinny - Florida State is no longer the team they once were. When Miami joined the conference a few years ago, the two teams were supposed to battle each other for the league title every year. It never happened though and than Florida State got caught up in a big academic schedule. Freed from the suspensions this year (although facing penalties from the NCAA including Bobby Bowden's forfeited wins), the team hopes to return to the top of the league standings. The team finished last season 9-4 with a blowout win over the disappointing Wisconsin Badgers in the Champs Sports Bowl. The team struggled to generate offense in their losses to Wake, Boston College, and Florida. They also suffered defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech. The team returns their quarterback Christian Ponder this season, but he hasn't been the most consistent and he has a new set of receivers and backs around him. He'll have protection as the line returns intact. The defense is always strong, but they could take a step back this season. The ACC is up for grabs, and although Florida State may not be the best team on paper, they are always one of the league's most talented teams and by the end of the season could be competing for the league title.

Strength - Offensive Line
The offensive line is the clear strength of this team. The five starters Andrew Datko, Rodney Hudson, Ryan McMahon, David Spurlock, and Zebrie Sanders from last season all return. Hudson is first team All-ACC and McMahon is second team. A pair of sophomores will run behind the experienced group and Ponder should have ample time to throw as he adjusts to a new set of receivers. There's no seniors on the line, so the line is still growing and could be downright nasty by next season. McMahon is the leader from the center position and along with Hudson, is the most experienced on the line.

Weakness - Wide Receivers
Ponder didn't have the greatest statline at quarterback last season. He had a modest 14-13 ratio and through only 55.7% of his passes complete. He loses experienced receivers Greg Carr and Preston Parker and his leading returning receiver Taiwan Easterling was injured in the spring. Who is going to play with Easterling is still a question, although Bert Reed has the inside position to win one spot. The other receiver position is much more of a question mark. Someone needs to step up, as the passing game ranked pretty low last season (82nd in the country in terms of yardage). The running backs have high ceilings but are inexperienced too, so pressue will fall on the receivers as the quarterback returns.

Key Game - 11/7/09 @Clemson
A week after playing NC State at home in a pivotal conference tilt, the Seminoles must travel to Clemson. Clemson and Florida State come into the season with fairly similar situations and expectations (experienced lines, but questions marks on other parts of the offense). Playing in Death Valley will not aid the Seminoles, who will be coming off an important stretch in their schedule. Florida State should be settled in on skill players by this point, but Clemson should be able to say the same about the quarterback position. Whatever team develops better as the season goes on should win this toss-up.

Key Player - Christian Ponder
He's one of the most experienced players on the team, but question marks still surround the signal caller. Ponder put up less than stellar statistics last season as the leader of the Seminoles and must improve behind the league's top offensive line. The inexperience of the receivers means Ponder must be smart with his passes and his decision making. Ponder excels on the ground in addition to the air, so his rushes could prove pivotal to the team's success.

Impact Freshman - Greg Reed

Predicted ACC finish - 2nd (Atlantic)

Top 5 Players
1. OL Rodney Hudson
2. C Ryan McMahon
3. LB Dekota Watson
4. OL Andrew Datko
5. CB Patrick Robinson

News around the NCAA

2009-08-09T01:05:00.002-04:00

Kansas - Dezmon Briscoe practiced for Kansas and is academically eligible, so it looks good for the Jayhawks as one of the country's top pass catchers will be available this fall. Briscoe is complemented well by back up quarterback/possession receiver Kerry Meier in a Kansas offense that should be sharp (no pun intended). Todd Reesing and Jake Sharp are also back for an underrated Kansas squad.

NC State - I heard some rumblings about Russell Wilson being outperformed by Sean Glennon's younger brother, Mike. Mike isn't expected to take Wilson's job, but he will be taking some of his snaps this fall. Coach Tom O'Brien has been quoted that Mike will get some legit playing time this fall, as NC State will need a back-up if something were to happen to Wilson. Wilson was injury plagued at times last season, so a back-up option is important. When and how much time Glennon will receive is yet to be completely determined, but some news outlets are saying a first half series each game. Having two good quarterbacks is a good thing, but is it worth taking out a first team All-ACC player and possibly have him lose his rhythm for a guy coming cold off the bench?

Georgia - Word out of Athens is Moreno won't have a successor. His job will be shared as coach Richt doesn't expect one running back to outperform the other players well enough to gain a solid grip on the position. "We are going to find out who is the best back, if there is such a thing," Richt said in a quote from SI.com, "We might have a situation where two or three are the best backs. I doubt one man will get every carry. More than likely it will be by committee." Caleb King is the most experienced, but Richard Samuel, Washaun Ealey, and Carlton Thomas will all be fighting for some of those carries.

Pac 10 - UCLA

2009-08-06T17:42:00.002-04:00

UCLA
Skinny - UCLA will be good -- eventually. UCLA hired super recruiter and good coach Rick Neuheisel last year. Neuheisel has had problems with the NCAA in the past, but if he can steer clear of violations he'll lead UCLA to the promised land. He's in the perfect situation. He's at a very famous school, in one of the most talent rich states in the country, and another chance in a conference that he's familiar with. Neuheisel led UCLA to a week one victory over Tennessee last year, but it went pretty downhill from there. This won't be a quick turnaround, but once Neuheisel gets more of his players into his system, the team will succeed. The team returns better than half their starters from last season, but expect several position battles as Neuheisel's higher ranked recruits challenge the upperclassmen. Kevin Prince will take over the quarterback position form Kevin Craft and should be a major upgrade, as he has an experienced bunch of receivers to throw to. UCLA is gathering talent and hopes to challenge USC as the conference supremist in the future, but its still a couple years down the road. They have a tough stretch in the middle of the season, but the schedule is playable and UCLA should finish in the middle of the pack.

Strength - Linebacker
Reggie Carter is the leader of the defense and looks to finish his career strong. Akeem Ayers is a rising player after getting quality time as a freshman last year. Kyle Bosworth is coming off a redshirt year, due to injury, but he is essentially a returning starter for the team. The unit only shows one true returning starter, but in truth all three should be considered returning starters. Carter has been consistent the last two years in the middle, but he could be passing the torch as top backer to Ayers this season. Ayers only started three games last season, but accumulated 40 tackles and 4 sacks and if he lives up to his potential he could be garnering first team All-Conference honors by the end of the season. Kyle Bosworth had a solid 74 tackles two seasons ago and should be a solid complement to the other two.

Weakness - Offensive Line
The offensive line was pathetic last year to say the least. The team was ranked 116th in the country in rushing yards per game averaging under 83 a game. To put that in perspective, 5 backs in the Pac-10 alone last season surpassed that amount by themselves each game (speaking by average). The line returns several starters, but it should be interesting to see how many keep their starting role. Jeff Baca may be the only one, as former starting center Jake Dean will give way to Colorado transfer Kai Maiava. The line could suffer growing pains if Neuheisel puts in his talented pair of true freshman, but it may be better for the team in the long run if Stan Hasiak and Xavier Su'a-Filo start now. The line will be young, but they can't underperform in regards to last season's performance.

Key Game - @Tennessee
It's rare for a non-conference game to be a team's most important game, but I feel beating Tennessee would be huge for UCLA. They'll have to travel to Neyland Stadium, but they'll catch the Volunteers at a great time. Tennessee will still be adjusting to their new system and their freshman will still be inexperienced. Tennessee will be the favorite, but its a prime opportunity for UCLA to steal another one from them. They will have an easier game the next week (while still a major conference game against Kansas State) and could enter Pac-10 play at 3-0, 1 win from last season's total.

Key Player - Kevin Prince
Prince is by far the most important player on UCLA. UCLA should have a pretty good defense. The pass defense was very good last season and the linebacking unit and Korey Bosworth/Brian Price should improve the run defense numbers greatly from a season ago. The running game will be a question mark, but if Derrick Coleman can build on a solid ypc from last season and runs behind any improvement in the line, the unit will perform better. Prince will be the dictating factor on the team. Taylor Embree and Terrence Austin are ready for a quarterback that can them the ball and there is depth behind them. Prince is being hyped up by Neuheisel, after he named him starter. Prince could take UCLA from a team a couple years from success to being a surprise team to many. UCLA has all the tools to make a perfect team to surprise the nation, but will the lingering question marks overpower the potential?

Impact freshman - Xavier Su'a-Filo

Predicted Pac-10 finish - 6th

Top 5 Players
1. CB Alterraun Verner
2. LB Reggie Carter
3. K Kai Forbath
4. LB Akeem Ayers
5. S Rahim Moore

Pac 10 - Arizona

2009-08-05T21:31:00.002-04:00

Arizona
Skinny - The backbone of the Wildcats offense is gone. Mike Thomas finished his career as the Pac-10's career receptions leader and the guy throwing him those passes, Willie Tuitama is also gone. Although these two were the staple of an improving Arizona program, the star and playmaker of the team, tight end Ron Gronkowski, is back and should provide some offensive sparks. The two leading candidates to replace Tuitama present two different types of attacks that coach Mike Stoops could consider. The battle of the sophomores features the athletic Matt Scott and the more pro style Nick Foles. Whoever wins the job will have the luxury of throwing to an experienced receiver in Delashaun Dean, who will try to make up for Thomas' lost production, and Gronkowski. Nic Grigsby highlights a productive backfield, as his 1153 yards last season was good and his back up Keola Antolin will challenge him after a very successful freshman season. Arizona has a pretty difficult schedule, including a game against Dan LeFevour and the Chippewas, a trip to Iowa to play a dangerous Hawkeye team and a devastating four game stretch to close the season. Arizona will probably take a step back this season or finish in a similar fashion to last season, as they replace the heart of their team for the last few years.

Strength - Secondary
Devin Ross and Trevin Wade will be the starting corners for the Wildcats and they form a solid duo. Ross is an experienced senior, who could find his way onto the postseason awards lists for the Pac-10. Trevin Wade is a talent waiting to be showcased. He led the team as a freshman with 4 picks despite not being in the starting line-up. Marcus Benjamin should play in the nickleback role and see some playing time, as he enters the school as a junior college transfer. Back from the 23rd ranked pass defense from last season is two year starter Cam Nelson at safety. Nelson is a solid player who might not snatch a ton of interceptions, but he tackles well as he was third on the team in tackles last season with 67. Robert Golden was one of Arizona's higher rated recruits last season and saw action in all games, and hopes to turn his hype into production this season at safety.

Weakness - The offensive line
Arizona only had 158.4 ypg (48th in NCAA) on the ground last season, despite a 1000 yard tailback and a solid backup (500 yards) in Antolin. Granted Tuitama was more of a pocket passer, one would think the unit still would have performed better running the ball. The unit lowered their sacks allowed last season to 28, but I would imagine that number returns to the 30s this year after losing 3 starters to graduation/NFL, including Eben Britton. Britton would have anchored the line this season after an All-Pac 10 performance last season, but decided to test the NFL. Uncertainty rests at the quarterbacks blind side (LT) and RG. RT features a semi-new starter in Adam Grant, but he started several games last season and the spot should be his.

Key Game - 9/26/09 @Oregon State
Arizona doesn't have the easiest nonconference slate to start the season. They play a dangerous quarterback in the opener, though he got destroyed when he played Georgia last season and LeFevour will have a long plane ride to Tucson. Playing @ Iowa the third game of the season will put Arizona in the underdog role. Should the survive those two games they'll have an important opener in the Pac-10 playing at an Oregon State team that features firepower behind the Rodgers brothers. Arizona has the potential to make a run starting with this game and building hype and confidence before they travel to California the second week in November.

Key Player - Matt Scott
Following up a four year starter at quarterback is never an easy situation and it doesn't make it easier that his prime target won't be there to help you. Scott doesn't have the job locked up by any means as he'll be challenged by Michigan State transfer Foles, but he seems to have the inside position on winning the job. Scott proved in limited action last season that he's dangerous with his feet and will add a new dimension to an offense that has a solid running game. But can he keep defense's honest with his arm. He hasn't had much opportunity in real game situations to throw the ball and he'll need to learn quickly before Arizona travels to play the Hawkeyes in their marquee non-conference tilt.

Impact Freshman - Adam Hall

Predicted Pac-10 finish - 5th

Top 5 Players
1. TE Rob Gronkowski
2. OG Colin Baxter
3. RB Nic Grigsby
4. WR Delashaun Dean
5. CB Devin Ross

Pac 10 - Oregon State

2009-08-03T20:09:00.002-04:00

Oregon State
Skinny - Oregon State repeated history again last season. And I'm pretty positive Beaver fans have had enough of it. Oregon State again started the season very slow, getting beat by an average Stanford team than got blown to pieces in Happy Valley (giving a slight benefit of the doubt that they traveled across the country). After the 0-2 start they recovered by blowing out lowly Hawaii and than pulled the shocker of the college football season, as freshman back Jacquizz Rodgers had a breakout performance as Oregon State defeated the mighty Trojans of USC and destroying their national title hopes. They lost to a Utah team that ended up undefeated by 3 points and didn't lose again until the played in the War against Oregon in the finale, where they got beat bad. Oregon was pretty good itself at that point though and went on to beat a very good Oklahoma State team in the bowl. Oregon State won their bowl game disgracefully; however, bear in mind they were missing Rodgers that game. Oregon State has to rebuild the defense this season but the Rodgers brothers return and should only continue to blossom into stardom, while Lyle Moevao should continue to progress and if he shouldn't Sean Canfield is a capable backup.

Strength - The Rodgers
Jacquizz is the one that garners the national attention and rightfully so as he rushed for 1253 yards as a freshman back and was the most important player in the USC upset, but his brother James is a very good player at the receiver position. He'll rack up similar stats to a better known player, Dexter McCluster from Mississippi, except Rodgers will have more receptions and yardage through the air due to the graduation of Sammie Stroughter and Shane Morales. Rodgers is now the feature receiver and with an experienced quarterback he should have a very good year. Jacquizz should be a Heisman trophy candidate as a sophomore. His small stature doesn't hurt him, as he hits the hole well and hides himself real well.

Weakness - The secondary
The secondary ranked 22nd in the country last season in terms of yardage, which are very solid numbers. The problem is none of the starters from that unit return. The projected starters have had experience as backups, but gaining that cohesiveness as a unit quickly will be very important. They play Cincinnati, in a game they really need to win, in the third week of the season and their quarterback Pike is one of the better throwers in the Big East. Its not an incredibly strong year for quarterbacks in the Pac 10, so Oregon State may be in luck and the quarterbacks that are good are good because they're dual threats, not solely because their ability to pick apart a defense.

Key Game - September 26 vs. Arizona
Arizona graduated Willie Tuitama and Mike Thomas, two key offensive weapons for year for the Wildcats, but Nic Grisby returns to anchor a strong run game for Arizona. Arizona won't be a duanting opponent, but Oregon State seems to struggle in the early going. Luckily, their first Pac-10 game isn't until the fourth week, so Mike Riley should have the troops fired up to their ability by than. The three big ones in the Pac-10 are all away games for Oregon State (USC, Cal, and Oregon). If Oregon State takes care of business in the games they should and spring an upset or two on the big players in the conference, they have a darkhorse ability to at least win a share of the Pac-10 title.

Key Player - Lyle Moevao
Moevao is a very black and white player. He has his incredible spurts and his letdowns. His potential is high, but will off-season surgery delay his progress? His stats last season were respectable with over 2500 yards and 19 TD passes, but he needs to limit the picks after throwing 13 last season. He has a proven back-up in Sean Canfield and could easily be surpassed on the depth chart by an injury setback or bad play. The team did well last season in close games with Moevao at the helm and he needs to continue to show composure down the stretch as the former junior college transfer enters his senior season. He loses two good targets, Straughter and Morales, but getting Rodgers back is huge and he could catch upwards of 70 passes for Moevao this season.

Impact Freshman - Ruebon Robinson

Predicted Pac-10 finish - 4th

Top 5 players
1. RB Jacquizz Rodgers
2. WR James Rodgers
3. LB Keaton Kristick
4. DT Stephen Paea
5. QB Lyle Moevao

My surprise teams

2009-08-02T17:19:00.002-04:00

Arkansas - Arkansas may not have a terrific record at the end of the season due to the division they play in, but they may make a consequential impact by upsetting a team or two and throwing off the top of the division standings. Arkansas caught a lucky break the other day when Broderick Green was granted permission by the NCAA to play this year and not have to sit out a year after transferring from USC "to be with his ailing grandmother." Green should pair nicely with All Conference back Michael Smith and form one of the best backfields in the SEC and possibly the country. Ryan Mallett will fit nicely into Petrino's system at quarterback and with a good set of backs he should get ample opportunity to showcase his arm.

Baylor - Baylor faces the same situation as Arkansas - a team with a lot of potential but bogged down by a tough division and in Baylor's case even tougher. I have the top 3 teams in the Big 12 South all in the Top 5, which means Baylor should theoretically struggle to get respect even if they play well. However, if history serves as a lesson Baylor could make it onto the national stage and make an Oklahoma State-esqe impact on college football from a year ago. Oklahoma State should fit into Texas Tech's role from last season and Baylor, if they play up to their full potential and with a little luck, could break the top 15 by the end of the season. Robert Griffen has as much potential as anyone in America and could even challenge the big boys for All Big 12 status, which is almost as good as All American status these days.

West Virginia - Jarrett Brown is no Pat White, but he is a capable quarterback and playing in the mediocre, to say the least, Big East, he should find success through the air with West Virginia's top receivers returning and on the ground. Behind him he has Noel Devine, an always dangerous speedster. The defense will be strong in the middle and if they can survive a non-conference schedule filled with nationally known teams, yet not grueling opponents, they may receive the recognition they deserve heading into the Big East schedule. They have to play at South Florida and at Cincinatti, but they arguably have the best talent in the conference and the team will be fighting for coach Bill Stewart, as the team continues to recover from the loss of Rich Rodriguez.

Clemson - Clemson never seemed to handle expectations under Tommy Bowden, and luckily for them neither exists heading into the season. The quarterback situation will continue to be debated heading into fall camp, but Kyle Parker (or Willy Korn) can't possibly be worse than Cullen Harper played last season after a great junior campaign. Some might blame it on the offensive line, the coaching, or a combination but I though James Davis seemed to plateau in the latter stages of his career and now that he's graduated CJ Spiller has the opportunity to become the feature back. The defense will be very good and the offensive line is the best it's been since at least 2006. Winning the ACC is a very attainable goal and the Tigers have the ability to do it if Dabo Swinney can finally lead the Tigers to where their talent says they should be.

Preseason Top 50

2009-08-02T16:49:00.002-04:00

This is my top 50 going into the season. I've been going back and forth with several teams, but I thought about this for a long time and I'm going to stick with this until the first week of the season. My conference predictions will probably be contradicted in places, but this is my final preseason poll/projection.

1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma State
6. California
7. USC
8. Penn State
9. Ohio State
10. LSU

11. Oregon
12. Ole Miss
13. Virginia Tech
14. Iowa
15. Georgia
16. Kansas
17. Georgia Tech
18. Boise State
19. Arkansas
20. Clemson

21. Nebraska
22. TCU
23. Utah
24. Florida State
25. NC State
26. Michigan State
27. BYU
28. Oregon State
29. Northwestern
30. Illinois

31. Baylor
32. Tennessee
33. Texas Tech
34. West Virginia
35. North Carolina
36. Notre Dame
37. South Florida
38. Auburn
39. Cincinnati
40. Rutgers

41. Miami
42. Pittsburgh
43. South Carolina
44. Wake Forest
45. Boston College
46. Minnesota
47. Arizona
48. East Carolina
49. UCLA
50. Missouri

Heisman Contenders

2009-08-02T16:31:00.002-04:00

My list of contenders for the Heisman Trophy. In parenthesis are the ranking I give to each player in terms of position. The position is not necessarily who I think the better player is, but who has a better chance of bringing home the trophy.

Front runners
1. Tim Tebow (QB1)
2. Colt McCoy (QB2)
3. Sam Bradford (QB3)
4. Kendall Hunter (RB1)
5. Julio Jones (WR1)
6. DeMarco Murray (RB2)
7. Jahvid Best (RB3)
8. Arrelious Benn (WR2)

Contenders
9. Russell Wilson (QB4)
10. Jeremiah Masoli (QB5)
11. Evan Royster (RB4)
12. Dez Bryant (WR3)
13. Jacquizz Rodgers (RB5)
14. Zac Robinson (QB6)
15. Dexter McCluster (WR4)
16. Todd Reesing (QB7)
17. Damian Williams (WR5)
18. Terrelle Pryor (QB8)
19. Jevan Snead (QB9)

Darkhorses
20. Jermaine Gresham (TE1)
21. Eric Berry (DEF1)
22. Golden Tate (WR6)
23. Kellen Moore (QB10)
24. Charles Scott (RB6)
25. Taylor Mays (DEF2)
26. Daryll Clark (QB11)
27. Juice Williams (QB12)
28. Robert Griffen (QB13)

Longshots
29. Darren Evans (RB7)
30. Noel Devine (RB8)
31. AJ Green (WR7)
32. Dezmon Briscoe (WR8)
33. Colin Kaepernick (QB14)
34. Aaron Corp (QB15)
35. Jonathan Dwyer (RB9)
36. LaGarrette Blount (RB10)
37. Max Hall (QB16)
38. Jimmy Clausen (QB17)
39. Eric Decker (WR9)
40. Ryan Mallett (QB18)
41. Chris Brown (RB11)
42. Adam Weber (QB19)

All American Team

2009-08-02T16:22:00.002-04:00

1st Team
QB Tim Tebow, Florida
RB Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
RB Jahvid Best, California
WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
WR Julio Jones, Alabama
TE Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma
OL Kristofer O'Dowd, USC
OL Jeff Byers, USC
OL Ciron Black, LSU
OL Bryan Bulaga, Iowa
OL Trent Williams, Oklahoma
K Alex Henery, Nebraska
P Bryan Anger, California
DE Sergio Kindle, Texas
DE Carlos Dunlap, Florida
DT Terrence Cody, Alabama
DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma
LB Brandon Spikes, Florida
LB Rolando McClain, Alabama
LB Navorro Bowman, Penn State
DB Joe Haden, Florida
DB Syd'Quan Thompson, California
DB Eric Berry, Tennessee
DB Taylor Mays, USC
AP Brandon James, Florida

2nd Team
QB Colt McCoy, Texas
RB Evan Royster, Penn State
RB Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech
WR Damian Williams, USC
WR Arrelious Benn, Illinois
TE Rob Gronkowski, Arizona
OL Maurkice Pouncey, Florida
OL Adam Ulatoski, Texas
OL Brandon Carter, Texas Tech
OL Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
OL Sergio Render, Virginia Tech
K Kai Forbath, UCLA
P Travis Baltz, Maryland
DE Jerry Hughes, TCU
DE George Selvie, South Florida
DT Geno Atkins, Georgia
DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Mizzou
LB Sean Lee, Penn State
LB Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
DB Trevard Lindley, Kentucky
DB Myron Lewis, Vanderbilt
DB Ahmad Black, Florida
DB Morgan Burnett, Georgia Tech
AP Javier Arenas, Alabama

Pac 10 All-Conference

2009-08-02T16:14:00.003-04:00

1st Team
QB Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon
RB Jahvid Best, Cal
RB Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State
WR Damian Williams, USC
WR James Rodgers, Oregon State
TE Rob Gronkowski, Arizona
OL Kristofer O'Dowd, USC
OL Jeff Byers, USC
OL Charles Brown, USC
OL Chris Marinelli, Stanford
OL Kenny Alfred, Washington State
K Kai Forbath, UCLA
P Bryan Anger, Cal
DE Dexter Davis, Arizona State
DE Will Tukuafu, Oregon
DT Brian Price, UCLA
DT Tyson Alualu, Cal
LB Michael Mohamed, Cal
LB Reggie Carter, UCLA
LB Mike Nixon, Arizona State
DB Syd'Quan Thompson, Cal
DB Alterraun Verner, UCLA
DB Taylor Mays, USC
DB TJ Ward, Oregon
AP Kyle Williams, Arizona State

2nd Team
QB Jake Locker, Washington
RB LaGarrette Blount, Oregon
RB Nic Grigsby, Arizona
WR Ronald Johnson, USC
WR Delashaun Dean, Arizona
TE Ryan Moya, UCLA
OL Shawn Lauvao, Arizona State
OL Colin Baxter, Arizona
OL Mike Tepper, Cal
OL Alex Parsons, USC
OL Andrew Phillips, Stanford
K Thomas Weber, Arizona State
P Keenyn Crier, Arizona
DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Washington
DE Everson Griffen, USC
DT Stephen Paea, Oregon State
DT Lawerence Guy, Arizona State
LB Spencer Paysinger, Oregon
LB Mason Foster, Washington
LB Keaton Kristick, Oregon State
DB Darian Hagan, Cal
DB Walter Thurmond III, Oregon
DB Rahim Moore, UCLA
DB Marcus Ezeff, Cal
AP Ronald Johnson, USC

ACC All Conference

2009-08-02T16:06:00.003-04:00

1st Team
QB Russell Wilson, NC State
RB Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech
RB Darren Evans, Virginia Tech (replaced by Clemson RB CJ Spiller)
WR Jacoby Ford, Clemson
WR Owen Spencer, NC State
TE Ben Wooster, Wake Forest
OL Thomas Austin, Clemson
OL Sergio Render, Virginia Tech
OL Rodney Hudson, Florida State
OL Anthony Castonzo, BC
OL Jason Fox, Miami
K Matt Bosher, Miami
P Travis Baltz, Maryland
DE Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech
DE Jason Worilds, Virginia Tech
DT Vince Oghobaase, Duke
DT Boo Robinson, Wake Forest
LB Mark Herzlich*, BC (replaced by BC LB Mike McLaughlin)
LB Alex Wujciak, Maryland
LB Quan Sturdivant, NC
DB Stephan Virgil, Virginia Tech
DB Ras-I Dowling, Virginia
DB Morgan Burnett, Georgia Tech
DB Kam Chancellor, Virginia Tech
AP CJ Spiller, Clemson

*Herzlich was diagnosed with cancer this spring and will most likely not play any this season.

2nd Team

QB Riley Skinner, Wake Forest
RB Da'Rel Scott, Maryland
RB CJ Spiller, Clemson (replaced by BC RB Montel Harris)
WR Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech
WR Aldarius Johnson, Miami
TE Greg Boone, Virginia Tech
OL Matt Tennant, BC
OL Blake DeChristopher, Virginia Tech
OL Cord Howard, Georgia Tech
OL Kyle Hill, Duke
OL Ryan McMahon, Florida State
K Josh Czajkowski, NC State
P Kevin Jones, Duke
DE Ricky Sapp, Clemson
DE Da'Quan Bowers, Clemson
DT Marvin Austin, NC
DT John Russell, Wake Forest
LB Cody Grimm, Virginia Tech
LB Dekoda Watson, Florida State
LB Mike McLaughlin, BC (replaced by Duke LB Vincent Rey)
DB Kendric Burney, NC
DB DeAndre Morgan, NC State
DB Wes Davis, BC
DB DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson
AP Torrey Smith, Maryland

Modifications made for Herzlich and Evans on August 11th

Big 12 All-Conference

2009-08-02T15:59:00.003-04:00

1st Team
QB Colt McCoy, Texas
RB Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma St
RB DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma
WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma St
WR Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas
TE Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma
OL Trent Williams, Oklahoma
OL Adam Ulatoski, Texas
OL Chris Hall, Texas
OL Russell Okung, Oklahoma St
OL Brandon Carter, Texas Tech
K Alex Henery, Nebraska
P Derek Epperson, Baylor
DE Sergio Kindle, Texas
DE Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma
DT Ndamakong Suh, Nebraska
DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Mizzou
LB Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
LB Joe Pawelek, Baylor
DB Dominique Franks, Oklahoma
DB Cha'pelle Brown, Colorado
DB Darrell Stuckey, Kansas
DB Jordan Lake, Baylor
AP Perrish Cox, Oklahoma State

2nd Team
QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
RB Chris Brown, Oklahoma
RB Derrick Washington, Mizzou
WR Jordan Shipley, Texas
WR Brandon Banks, Kansas State
TE Jamie McCoy, Texas A&M
OL Charlie Tanner, Texas
OL Marlon Winn, Texas Tech
OL Evan Eike, Texas A&M
OL Jacob Hickman, Nebraska
OL Kurtis Gregory, Mizzou
K Hunter Lawerence, Texas
P John Gold, Texas
DE Auston English, Oklahoma
DE Jake Laptad, Kansas
DT Phil Taylor, Baylor
DT Jaron Baston, Mizzou
LB Roddrick Muckelroy, Texas
LB Andre Sexton, Oklahoma St
LB Jeff Smart, Colorado
DB Joshua Moore, Kansas St
DB Jamar Wall, Texas Tech
DB Earl Thomas, Texas
DB Trent Hunter, Texas A&M
AP Dez Bryant, Oklahoma St

SEC All-Conference Team

2009-08-02T15:50:00.001-04:00

1st Team
QB Tim Tebow, Florida
RB Charles Scott, LSU
RB Michael Smith, Arkansas
WR Julio Jones, Alabama
WR AJ Green, Georgia
TE DJ Williams, Arkansas
OL Ciron Black, LSU
OL Mitch Petrus, Arkansas
OL Mike Pouncey, Florida
OL Maurkice Pouncey, Florida
OL Clint Boling, Georgia
K Joshua Shene, Mississippi
P Chas Henry, Florida
DE Carlos Dunlap, Florida
DE Antonio Coleman, Auburn
DT Terrence Cody, Alabama
DT Geno Atkins, Georgia
LB Eric Norwood, SC
LB Brandon Spikes, Florida
LB Rolando McClain, Alabama
DB Eric Berry, Tennessee
DB Ahmad Black, Florida
DB Joe Haden, Florida
DB Trevard Lindley, Kentucky
AP Brandon James, Florida

2nd Team
QB Jevan Snead, Mississippi
RB Mark Ingram, Alabama
RB Ben Tate, Auburn
WR Brandon LaFell, LSU
WR Dexter McCluster, Mississippi
TE Aaron Hernandez, Florida
OL John Jerry, Mississippi
OL Trinton Sturdivant, Georgia
OL Ben Jones, Georgia
OL Joseph Barksdale, LSU
OL Zipp Duncan, Kentucky
K Leigh Tiffin, Alabama
P Clinton Durst, Auburn
DE Rahim Alem, LSU
DE Greg Hardy, Mississippi
DT Malcolm Sheppard, Arkansas
DT Dan Williams, Tennessee
LB Pat Beenoist, Vanderbilt
LB Micah Johnson, Kentucky
LB Rennie Curran, Georgia
DB Reshad Jones, Georgia
DB Major Wright, Florida
DB Janoris Jenkins, Florida
DB Myron Lewis, Vanderbilt
AP Javier Arenas, Alabama and Trindon Holliday, LSU

Its Vacation Time

2009-07-17T20:34:00.003-04:00

I'm off to Chicago, Cedar Point (top amusement park), and Pittsburgh so there may be a gap between posts. Just because I won't be posting, doesn't mean I won't be working on the blog. Expect all the all-conference teams, all-american teams, and Top 25 by the time I return if not when I have access to a computer with internet. The previews will be on hold until I get back, but everything else in season prep work will be done.

ACC - NC State

2009-07-17T19:07:00.002-04:00

NC State
Skinny - Last season was a tale of two seasons for the Wolfpack. The offense was miserable in the first couple games before they finally started to get it together. When their offense had okay numbers, the defense could keep the other team's number low enough for the win. Finally starting in the Duke game everything turned around and NC State won four straight and became a respectable team before losing to Rutgers and a rejuvenated Mike Teel in the bowl game. Russell Wilson is going to be a special one at quarterback, he already is good coming into his sophomore season and he's trying to reach "great" status. The defense also started giving up less points towards the end of the season last year. The ACC has no clear cut dominant team, so NC State has the chance to take it to the next level and reach the ACC Title game this season and possibly a BCS game if everything works out. The issue could become the schedule though. Playing at Florida State and at Virginia Tech may not be desirable, but they do miss Georgia Tech.

Strength - Russell Wilson
Wilson is easily the best and most important asset to this team. Russell Wilson got injured quickly against South Carolina and it was obvious how much it hurt them immediately. NC State had no offense until he returned to action and when he did he went on to a ridiculous 17-1 TD-INT ratio. Wilson will probably be a unanimous first teamer on the All-ACC squad pending injuries and contend for All-American honors although he will probably fail despite his play due his conference, his team, and his lack of hype opposed to the Big Three (Tebow, McCoy, and Bradford). His receiving corps returns pretty much intact and Wilson shouldn't have any problems with chemistry. Overcoming a weak offensive line will be his only issue.

Weakness - Offensive Line
The line returns the tackles and the center, but the line won't be an asset. None of the returning starters are anything special with Larsen probably being the best at center. The guard spots will either go to a pair of seniors, a pair of redshirt freshman, or a combination of the two. Either way the guard position isn't too scary of a though for opponents. The running back position is unsettled after losing starter Andre Brown to graduation, but luckily for the line Wilson has the ability to create for himself and take off if he has to. Wilson isn't going to be a Juice Williams, but opponents have to respect the run and he'll gain a few hundred yards on the ground this year. I expect him to be groomed as more as a Troy Smith type product with his rushing yards to decline each year as he becomes more pro-style and his passing game continues to get better.

Key Game - 10/31/09 @Florida State
The schedule is pretty weak up to this point and NC State should be making headlines as a top 15, if not as an over-rated top 10 team at this point. NC State can prove the critics wrong and build on the early season or they can fade off. Florida State will be their first test of the tougher portion of their schedule. This game could also ultimately decide the champion of the Atlantic division of the ACC. NC State will play consecutive games at Florida State, against Maryland and Clemson, at Virginia Tech, and finish against an improved North Carolina team. NC State could finish the year a middle of the pack 7-5 or a stellar 12-1. They're definitely a team to watch in the early season.

Key Player - Brandon Barnes
He won't be the early season starter, as that is the job of proven back up Jamelle Eugene, but he will have carries to prove himself and possibly ultimately take over the starting position. Barnes is the highest ranked of the NC State's stable of backs by a long shot and easily has the most potential. He's only a redshirt freshman, so fans can't expect the world out of him, but a 800 yard season is not out of the realm of possibilty and couple that with the yards Eugene and Wilson will contribute, NC State could be solid on the ground for this year and he could be a force in the future.

Impact Freshman - Jarvis Byrd

Predicted ACC finish - 1st (Atlantic)

Top 5 Players
1. QB Russell Wilson
2. CB DeAndre Morgan
3. LB Nate Irving
4. WR Owen Spencer
5. TE George Bryan

Big Ten - Illinois

2009-07-16T20:54:00.005-04:00

Illinois
Skinny - Juice Williams was supposed to turn Illinois around and to a degree he has, but he has one final chance to push over the top and become the Heisman type quarterback everyone believed he could become. He threw for over 3000 yards last year, which is quite an accomplishment considering many believe he is a run first type of threat evidenced by his 700+ yards on the ground last season. However he had less than a 60 percent completion percentage and he had 16 picks a season ago, which is a recipe for a lack of offensive consistency. He gets Arrelious Benn back, which always eases the pressure. The offense started last season rolling, but started fading down the stretch and the record did with it. After an impressive turnaround by Ron Zook, the team took a step back last season from their breakout season in 2007. I don't expect Zook and crew to fall back into the cellar, but they haven't proven they can play up with the conference heavyweights yet.

Strength - Gamebreaking ability
Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn both single-handedly have the potential to turn a game around. Benn is not only a threat at the receiver position, but a gamechanger on special teams with his return abilities. Benn only had 3 TDs last season from the receiver position, but mark that with an asterik. Benn is build large at 220 pounds and is the definite number 1 receiver for the Illini. He had to overcome double teams last season, but he still eclipsed 1000 yards and this year he has a serious complement in Jarred Fayson. Fayson will expose team's weaksides and only give Benn more opportunities, as defenses have to respect the second option. Williams is prone to mistakes and costly turnovers, but if there's one quarterback in the country that has the most athletic ability it is arguably Williams (Robert Griffin and Terrelle Pryor may disagree) and he's a senior so he's seen it all in his first three years and he can beat someone over the top or with his legs if he has to. He has the package to be the best quarterback in the country, but its a matter of how much he has evolved.

Weakness - Linebacker
Martez Wilson is extremely talented in the middle and is in no part a reason for this unit being a weakness for the team, but its the uncertainty on the outside that may make Illinois fans cringe. Wilson was able to practice in the spring despite being stabbed, so he should be fine come the regular season, but the players surrounding him better be ready. No seniors seem primed to take over the starting roles and they may be occupied by sophomores and freshman. Ian Thomas, Justin Staples, and Russell Ellington are the top candidates between the three positions. The experience inside the group is minimal, but the Illini do have history on their side. They've recovered fine from the loss of J Leman recently and fans are hoping they can do the same with the loss of Brit Miller.

Key Game - 9/26/09 @Ohio State
This is not a must win for the Fighting Illini, but they need to keep it close and gain some confidence because this game starts an incredibly difficult Big Ten season opening stretch. After leaving the Shoe, they get Penn State and Michigan State consecutive weeks, potentially leaving them at 0-3 in conference play. Considering this was a team that struggled down the stretch last season, they must prove themselves at the beginning and believe that they can finish the season strong. If they really do start 0-3 in conference play, they'll be on the outside looking in when bowl season comes around and they're left out.

Key Player - Jason Ford
Daniel Dufrene had a solid ypc average last season and should challenge for the leading role this season, but he also put a goose-egg up in the touchdown category and fellow back Jason Ford managed to put up 8 as a freshman. While Dufrene may be a quicker back and this could ultimately become a two-back system, Ford has the opportunity to seperate himself from the pack in the offseason as Dufrene nurses injuries. Williams led the team in rushing last season, and the team wasn't terrible finishing 38th in the country in rushing but if the team wants to go somewhere the running attack needs to be top-20 with Juice at the helm.

Impact Freshman - Justin Green

Predicted Big Ten finish - 6th

Top 5 Players
1. WR Arrelious Benn
2. LB Martez Wilson
3. QB Juice Williams
4. RG Jon Asamoah
5. DT Josh Brent

Big Ten - Northwestern

2009-07-15T18:11:00.002-04:00

Northwestern
Skinny - Northwestern probably won't ever become a football powerhouse simply as a result of the type of school they are. Northwestern is known more for their academics than athletic prowess; however, I would like to give credit to their women's lacrosse team and their dominance. CJ Bacher won't be the signal caller this year for the Wildcats, but the new frontman Mike Kafka is no stranger to Northwestern fans, or Minnesota fans for that matter. Kafka started the Minnesota game and look like Tim Tebow as he busted out 217 rushing yards at quarterback in route to a victory. Northwestern surprised a lot of people with 9 wins last season and they put up a very respectable fight to a Jeremy Maclin-led Missouri Tigers before falling in an overtime thriller. There's also clear room for improvement for a team that typically doesn't have the same talents pipelines as other schools. They could cut down on turnovers after being negative last season despite their 9-4 record. Northwestern has Penn State return to the schedule this season, but Ohio State and a better Michigan team both fall off meaning the Wildcats have a good shot at finishing near the top of the conference.

Strength - Secondary
The clear strength of the team, the secondary looks to build towards being a dominant unit. Brendan Smith, Sherrick McManis, and Brad Phillips will all fight for all conference honors and sophomore Jordan Mabin could too if he builds on a solid performance as a freshman. Justan Vaughn also returns this season after being injured early last season and he was the starter before Mabin showed why he was a talented recruit. Smith, McManis and Phillips are 1, 2, 3 in returning tackling leaders for Northwestern and thats not just because the linebackers graduated. They ranked 1, 3, 4 last season (Phillips, Smith, McManis in order). Mabin also pulled down 52 tackles and 3 picks as a redshirt freshman, exciting Northwestern fans of his future. Three of the players are seniors and one would expect the leadership to come from this unit in an otherwise young defense.

Weakness - Running back
Gone is four year performer Tyrell Sutton. Sutton was one of those players that everyone felt was around forever before he graduated last season, four years after a stellar freshman season. Despite some injuries, Sutton had a very successful career for the Wildcats and now they have the task to replace him which won't be easy. Stephen Simmons is the assumed starter considering his previous experience as opposed to the others, but Jeravin Matthews and redshirt freshman Alex Daniel should provide friendly competition. Look for Mike Trumpy, the true freshman to be the darkhorse contender and try to make a Sutton type impact. Kafka could easily end up being the leading rusher with about 700 yards if a running back doesn't step up and take the lead role, because this could easily end up an ugly tailback by committee.

Key Game - 9/26/09 Minnesota
Win this game and Northwestern could be on their way to a 6-0 record and than a 7-1 or possibly 8-0 start if they could upset Michigan State in East Lansing. Minnesota has Weber and Decker back, but those two couldn't beat a Kafka-led Northwestern last season and the game is in Evanston this season only helping Northwestern. Northwestern will have a tough final 4 playing Penn State and Wisconsin and going on the road to Iowa and Illinois, but if they could pull out 2 of the final 4 coupled with at least 7 of the first 8 they could be on their way to equally or surpassing last years win total.

Key Player - Jeremy Ebert
Ebert earned a few starts last season as a true freshman and is the leading receiver back for the Wildcats. If Ebert could take over Ross Lane's position in the offense, the Wildcats will be in solid shape in the passing game despite losing three senior starters to graduation. Ebert showed his potential last season and in his second year in the program, he will become the go to guy. Former quarterback Andrew Brewer could be a solid possession guy similar to the mold of Kansas' Kerry Meier but it is up to Ebert to become the big play man for the Wildcats. He had 15 receptions for 161 yards and 2 TDs as a freshman and needs to really build on those numbers now as a full time starter.

Impact Freshman - Mike Trumpy

Predicted Big Ten finish - 5th

Top 5 Players
1. SS Brendan Smith
2. DE Corey Wooten
3. FS Brad Phillips
4. CB Shane McManis
5. QB Mike Kafka

SEC - Kentucky

2009-07-12T15:23:00.002-04:00

Kentucky
Skinny - Kentucky is not a bad team for a team that I'm predicting to come in last in their conference division. They could win all their nonconference games and were lucky to get Mississippi State at home, but beyond that the schedule is very difficult. Kentucky needs some receivers and running backs to step up and they need more production out of the quarterback position, but the offensive line could end up being solid and the defense, despite only 4 returning starters, should be good. Each defensive unit has a top performer; Jeremy Jarmon on the line, Micah Johnson at linebacker and Trevard Lindley in the secondary. Corey Peters and Winston Guy could also make big impacts on the defensive side of the ball. Mike Hartline was okay last year at quarterback but his passing percentage wasn't so hot and Morgan Newton, a highly recruited freshman, could challenge his role as the head man.

Strength - Left side of the defensive line
Jeremy Jarmon and Corey Peters, both seniors, should be scary in opponents eyes this season and expect a lot of runs from opposing team to attck the right side, which features two new starters. Jarmon had 4.5 sacks last season, but also broke up 6 passes at the line. Corey Peters had a solid 4 sacks from the tackle spot and is good at clogging the middle. The defense got off to a terrific start last season, albeit a weak schedule, but seemed to fade at the end and the durability of the defensive line down the stretch in SEC play will dictate Kentucky's chances at a bowl berth.

Weakness - Wide Receiver
Randall Cobb is a good athlete and will play permanently at the receiver position this year, expect for a few Wildcat type plays. Kentucky returns a fair amount of receptions this season, but the yards per catch totals are really low and if Kentucky wants to move the ball on SEC defenses they'll need receivers that can stretch the field. Chris Matthews will try to remedy that as he steps up from the junior college ranks and should be an immediate starter after averaging 15.4 ypc last season. Several returning receivers averaged less than 10 ypc last season and that won't get the job done. Mike Hartline needs to do a better job of getting receivers the ball downfield, but the receivers also need to get open too.

Key Game - 11/14/09 @Vanderbilt
The game versus Vanderbilt could determine Kentucky's bowl future. Kentucky should win games versus Miami (OH), Louisville, UL Monroe, Eastern Kentucky, and against SEC foe Mississippi State leaving only one more win necessary to gain bowl eligibility. This is a late season game and the quarterback situation should be clear for the Wildcats at this point. Hartline will either have stepped up in the QB role or Morgan Newton should take over by this point as Kentucky puts emphasis on the future of the position as they try to get a quarterback of the caliber of Andre Woodson again.

Key Player - Derrick Locke
Locke may not be at full strength at the beginning of the season and isn't penciled in as the starter anyway as the position belongs to Alphonso Smith. However, Smith hasn't been an All-American so far in his career and Locke provides speed not usually thought about when discussing Kentucky players. Locke was originally a track athlete and has incredible speed for a running back. He is coming off a knee injury, so it should be interesting to see how he recovers from it. Kentucky needs a dynamic player on offense if they want to compete in the SEC East, which is open this year with the exception of Florida.

Impact Freshman - Morgan Newton

Predicted SEC finish - 6th (East)

Top 5 Players
1. CB Trevard Lindley
2. LB Micah Johnson
3. DE Jeremy amon
4. DT Corey Peters
5. T Zipp Duncan

SEC - Vanderbilt

2009-07-12T14:44:00.002-04:00

Vanderbilt
Skinny - Vanderbilt has the same problem a lot of SEC teams do. Their defense is way ahead of their offense. The defense returns 9 starters from last years squad that was a respectable 21st in scoring defense. The problem was their offense was 117th in yards and 105th in scoring. Those numbers won't get you far, no matter what conference you're in. The offensive line returns intact but the numbers weren't very good last year and there's no clear indication of them getting better this season. Larry Smith and Mackenzie Adams will fight for the QB position with Adams having more experience but Smith being better suited for the role in a no-huddle offense. Smith got the start in the bowl game versus Boston College and he led the team to victory. Charlie Goro will be the darkhorse for the position. The wide receiver position could be real bad if UConn transfer Terence Jeffers doesn't step up and running back will be okay behind Jared Hawkins. Vanderbilt has a difficult road schedule and I expect them to take a step back from last season despite a wealth of returning starters.

Strength - Back 7
The linebacking corps will be solid behind a rising sophomore talent in Chris Marve and a strong senior Patrick Benoist. John Stokes will need to improve at the other position if he doesn't want his spot overtaken by another player. The secondary was solid last season finishing 15th in the country in terms of yards per game through the air but gone is D.J. Moore, one of the country's top defensive players. Myron Lewis returns though and may carry Moore's legacy as he had a handful of sacks in addition to his 5 INTs last season and is primed to build on that in his senior season. Ryan Hamilton had 4 INTs from one of the safety spots last season and eclipsed 100 tackles and should be another All-Conference caliber player in the backfield for the Commodores. A corner spot and the free safety spot are up for grabs and the team needs someone to step up so those players don't constantly get picked on as opponents avoid Lewis and Hamilton.

Weakness - Offense
Its hard to call out an entire offense, but Vanderbilt was truly sad on offense considering the managed to pull out 7 victories. The offensive line has no stars despite a wealth of returning starters and experienced players. Adams and Smith will battle for the quarterback position after a season in which three different players made starts at the quarterback position on a team that managed to go to a bowl. Jared Hawkins is probably the best player on the offense and he managed to average 4.3 yards a carry, but with a team struggling on offense as much as Vandy one would have thought Hawkins would have been more of a workhorse than 139 carries. The wide receivers return little production as the best returners are the tight end and Justin Wheeler, who won't play because of a spring time ACL injury. The team will rely on transfer Terence Jeffers for production.

Key Game - 10/24/09 @South Carolina
Expectations will be as high as they've been in recent seasons in Nashville, but Vanderbilt fans shouldn't get to hopeful as this year's schedule is harder and last year the team managed to win a few games they probably shouldn't have on paper. The Commodores are trying to go to for their first back to back bowl appearances ever and if they want to reach that goal they need to pull off a game at South Carolina. Unfortunately for Vanderbilt, this game is later in the season this year and that could hurt Vanderbilt's chances as USC has more time to recover from a lot of player departures. Playing away from home probably won't help the case either.

Key Player - Terence Jeffers
With the quarterback position a little unsettled and very little offensive production last season, the UConn transfer must step up and become a playmaker. He had a solid 582 yards in 2007, much more yardage than any current Vanderbilt player can account for. Playing in a no-huddle attack, a lot of passes should come his way and he needs to come up with All-SEC type numbers if Vanderbilt wants to return to a bowl game this season. Losing Justin Wheeler to injury only increased the importance of Jeffers this season, as he probably won't have anyone helping him on the other side.

Impact Freshman - Brady Brown

Predicted SEC finish - 5th (East)

Top 5 Players
1. CB Myron Lewis
2. S Ryan Hamilton
3. LB Chris Marve
4. LB Patrick Benoist
5. WR Terence Jeffers

SEC - South Carolina

2009-07-12T13:06:00.002-04:00

South Carolina
Skinny - Steve Spurrier enters his fifth season with the Gamecocks and there's no more room for excuses. The team is now full of players Spurrier recruited, so he can't blame anything on past coaches. Stephen Garcia will be the undisputed leader of the offense and he won't have to split time this season at the quarterback position, which I think hurt the team last season as neither Garcia nor Smelley was able to get into a rhythm. Smelley transferred and quit football and a lot of the offense graduated, so its rebuilding time for the Gamecocks. The running back situation has been a mess of recently with the exception of Cory Boyd. Spurrier brought in a highly regarded running back in Jarvis Giles this spring and he should have a very good chance of seizing the job as Eric Baker and Brian Maddox fight for playing time. Maddox battled an injury last season and should be the opening day starter. The defense loses two good ones in Emanuel Cook and Jasper Brinkley, but should be able to regroup behind senior backer Eric Norwood.

Strength - Linebacker
Eric Norwood is the clear best player on the team after recording 49 solo tackles (75 total) and 9 sacks last season. Norwood should end his career near the top of the school's all time sack list. Rodney Paulk returns this season after medically redshirting last season with a knee injury. Paulk was a two year starter before the injury and should fill in well for the loss of Jasper Brinkley. Darian Stewart would complete a solid linebacking corps, but Spurrier moved him back to his 2007 position at safety in the spring after one of the nation's top pass defense lost 3 starters and a vast amount of depth. Alonzo Winfield figures to take over his linebacker spot. Winfield is noted for his speed and should help the Gamecocks in third down situations. A couple of junior college transfers will provide depth for the starters (Tony Straughter and Josh Dickerson).

Weakness - Cornerback
Ultimately I think the cornerback situation will be fine, and the offensive line or running back unit will be the team's biggest weakness but the team may struggle in the early season versus the pass. True freshman Stephon Gilmore is highly regarded and will be called upon to start immediately with only a spring and summer of practice to prepare with. Sophomores Akeem Auguste and CC Whitlock should be the favorites to win the other job with competition coming from redshirt freshman Jay Spearman. The pass defense was second in the country in yards per game last season and the safeties should be all right. Chris Culliver returns at safety and Darian Stewart returns to the other saftey spot from linebacker as Emanuel Cook moves on to the next level. True freshmen DeVonte Holloman and DaMario Jeffery should push for playing team as highly regarded talents. The corners may struggle at first going up against Russell Wilson in week one and than having to defend AJ Green in week 2, but I expect them to be fine in time.

Key Game - 9/12/09 @Georgia
The team will have 9 days to analyze their performance against NC State and prepare for Georgia after the opener. South Carolina always manages to play a close game with the Bulldogs and this year shouldn't be much different as both team have to recover from important personnel losses in the early part of the season. Being in Athens won't make the game easier, but the Gamecocks did win last time the game was there in 2007. Although AJ Green will provide problems for the young Gamecock corners, Georgia will be playing with a new QB and one that won't be quite as good as last year's, Matt Stafford, well at least not immediately. This game will set the tone for the rest of the season in a very difficult schedule.

Key Player - Jarvis Giles
Giles should be given every opportunity to seize the starting job in the first few weeks of the season. Maddox and Baker aren't exactly game breakers and Giles has been in the system for a few months now, getting a pivotal head start in the spring. Giles has the speed dimension needed in the SEC that Maddox and Baker don't have. The running game has been terrible recently for the Gamecocks and for Carolina to improve on a miserable amount of interceptions from a year ago, the running game must help take the pressure off the need to pass. Kenny McKinley isn't there anymore, so it is even more important this year that the running game takes off.

Impact Freshman - Jarvis Giles/Stephon Gilmore

Predicted SEC finish - 4th (East)

Top 5 Players
1. LB Eric Norwood
2. S Darian Stewart
3. S Chris Culliver
4. TE Weslye Saunders
5. DE Cliff Matthews

SEC - Tennessee

2009-07-12T12:15:00.003-04:00

Tennessee
Skinny - Its time to put up or shut up for Lane Kiffin. Kiffin was the most publicized coach this off-season for all his minor violations and poking at the coaches of conference foes. Although Kiffin failed as the Raiders' coach, he was a very successful coordinator at USC and proved in his short recruiting time frame that he could bring in the talent. He managed to land one of the nation's crown jewels in running back Bryce Brown. Although they may be a year or two away from making some serious noise in the SEC, Kiffin seems to have the talent coming in to push the conference's big boys pending Kiffin manages to stay out of trouble with the NCAA. Tennessee finally ran off Phil Fulmer last season after a rocky last few seasons will the Vols. The Volunteers could surprise some people this year, but the key will be how Jonathan Crompton responds to Kiffin and if he can improve dramatically from last season. Kiffin was unable to bring in any quarterbacks, so he's stuck with what Fulmer left in the cupboard. Tennessee had one of the best defenses in the nation last season and Eric Berry, one of the best players in the country, returns to lead the unit. Berry is a dynamic player that should be a top 10 player in next year's draft.

Strength - Running Back Talent
Montario Hardesty should start the season as the starter and he'll be solid, as he has been in relief to Arian Foster the last few years but its the talent of the two incoming freshman that will be scary for years to come for SEC foes. Bryce Brown is considered by many to be the best and most explosive running back prospect in the class. Already 215 pounds, he looks physically ready to compete right off the bat and could reach 1000 yards his freshman season. He will be complemented by fellow true freshman David Oku, another highly touted running back prospect, who could play more of a third down back role. Tennessee fans watched Foster struggle in his last season in Knoxville and are ready for the duo of Brown and Oku to lead the team.

Weakness - Quarterback
Jonathan Crompton was a big time recruit coming out of high school and Vol fans, accustomed to good quarterbacking play, expected good things last season out of Crompton but he failed to live up to any expectations. Nick Stephens got a chance to prove his worth during mid-season, but he failed too at giving Tennessee fans hope and the Volunteers hit rock bottom losing to Wyoming by scoring only 7 points after scoring single digits the previous two weeks to Alabama and South Carolina. They did win the last two games but it wasn't good enough to make them bowl eligible. The quarterbacks had just a 8-9 TD-INT ratio last season, which wasn't going to cut it when running back Arian Foster fell apart in his senior season. Crompton has one last chance to prove himself and his hype this season and his only competition will be Nick Stephens, so there won't be much pressure on his back.

Key Game - 10/10/09 Georgia
The Vols only have 4 away games this year although they got unlucky and three of those games feature Florida, Alabama, and Ole Miss. The Volunteers should aim to steal one of those games and win all their home games. Georgia will also be rebuilding their offense this season, so Tennessee needs to steal one from the Bulldogs at home in a matchup that precedes pivotal games @Alabama and versus South Carolina. Tennessee's freshman should have gained some valuable experience at this point in the season and their impact could define this game and the rest of Tennessee's season.

Key Player - Jonathan Crompton
This team is going to live and die on quarterback play. Crompton had only a 51.5 completion percentage last season with a 4-5 TD-INT ratio. He split time with Stephens and was held to 889 passing yards, but the two of them combine for less than 1800 yards. Crompton should get a lot of coaching help from Kiffin, considering he was a quarterback himself and had a very successful run as offensive coordinator at USC. Kiffin will work on showcasing Crompton's strengths, but how much will last season stick in Crompton's mind. Crompton was constantly bashed last season and there was a story this offseason of him receiving death threats through his struggles last season. Will he be able to put the past behind him and thrive with a better supporting cast?

Impact Freshman - Bryce Brown

Predicted SEC finish - 3rd (East)

Top 5 Players
1. SS Eric Berry
2. C Josh McNeil
3. DT Dan Williams
4. LB Rico McCoy
5. RB Bryce Brown

SEC - Mississippi State

2009-07-09T21:44:00.003-04:00

Mississippi State
Skinny - Mississippi State will begin their transition period this year to the spread offense Dan Mullen operated coaching at the University of Florida. The problem is Mullen doesn't have the personnel he needs right now for the offense to succeed especially in the SEC. Tyson Lee is the incumbent at the quarterback position, but don't be surprised if freshman Tyler Russell snags the job when the season starts to spiral downhill, so the Bulldogs can begin building for the future. In the Sylvester Croom era, the defense was always better than the consistently inept offense but this year the defense must regroup with heavy personnel losses. The addition of several junior college transfers, headlined by Pernell McPhee, should relieve the strain of a new defense. The future may be brighter in Starkville, but that future may be a couple years down the road. Mississippi State just doesn't have the players to compete in one of the strongest divisions in college football.

Strength - Linebackers
The linebacking corps is led by senior Jamar Chaney and Junior K.J. Wright. Chaney had to redshirt last season after breaking his leg in the opener last season, but the previous season he had 89 tackles for the Bulldogs. Wright is the leading returning tackler for the Bulldogs with 72 last season in addition to a team leading 4 sacks. Chris White is a junior college transfer and should lock down the other outside spot. Several sophomore backers with experience wait behind the first three ready to fill in at a moments notice. The linebacking corps will have to do double duty for the defense. The defensive line struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks last season, so its up to the linebackers to push the line of scrimmage. The secondary also lost two proven safeties and the linebackers must make sure the play stays in front of them.

Weakness - Line Play
The offensive line returns 4 of 5 starters, which on paper seems like a good thing. However, it doesn't really matter how many starters return if they're not very good. Anthony Dixon has had a solid career at Mississippi State and could return to the 1000 yard level that he reached his sophomore season if the line gives him some holes. The defensive line isn't much better and they have to start four new players, although Sean Ferguson does have some starting experience from last season. There isn't a single lineman returning that can say he had 3 sacks last season. A lot of teams have backups that rake up at least 3 sacks and its not like the ends they lost were world beaters last season. This team must learn to win the trench battles before they expect to win the games.

Key Game - 9/12/09 @Auburn
Both teams enter this early season matchup with new coaches in Gene Chizik and Dan Mullen, so the question mark is what team will have have had better prep going into the game. Both teams have incumbent quarterbacks, but neither have shown much in game action. Both also have proven running backs that aren't gamechangers but they get the job done. Mississippi State has the advantage at receiver, while Auburn's defense will have the early season advantage. The game could be another 3-2 grudge match like last season and the game's loser could prove to be the cellar dweller in the SEC West.

Key Player - Pernell McPhee
Pernell McPhee is a junior college transfer and will need to make an immediate impact on the defensive line for the Bulldogs if Mississippi State wants to have any chance at winning games. He is a consensus top 10 junior college player after receiving All-American accolades at the level. Mississippi State struggled to generate sacks last season and their leading sack man was a linebacker who had 4 sacks. The line must create more pressure on the quarterback if they want to improve on their turnover margin that ranked 81st in the country from a season ago. McPhee isn't the biggest player at 275 pounds, so he must what he's got to clog the middle and hope the ends use the relieved pressure to get to the quarterback.

Impact Freshman - Chad Bumphis

Predicted SEC finish - 6th (West)

Top 5 Players
1. WR Brandon McRae
2. LB Jamar Chaney
3. RB Anthony Dixon
4. LB K.J. Wright
5. DT Pernell McPhee

SEC - Auburn

2009-07-08T18:20:00.002-04:00

Auburn
Skinny - Tommy Tuberville is out and Gene Chizik is in. Despite winning just 5 games last season, Tuberville led the team to 42 victories in a four season stretch before that and Chizik only won 5 games in two seasons at Iowa State. Chizik was a very successful coordinator, but getting an SEC job after proving nothing in the Big 12 isn't very logical especially since that was his first head coaching gig. To make things worse, Auburn is coming off a terrible year on the offensive side of the ball. They ranked 104th in total offense and 110th in scoring offense. Hiring a defensive coach won't help here either. On the brightside, the Auburn defense should be legit despite Sen'Derrick Marks leaving early. Auburn will be led by former Duke Head Coach and Minnesota coordinator Ted Roof, who vastly improved the Minnesota defense in his short stint there, and they return 7 starters from a team that managed to win a game 3-2.

Strength - The back 7
The linebackers and secondary should keep the team in games this season, as the offense attempts to put points on the board. Craig Stevens and Josh Bynes return at linebacker and highly touted junior college transfer Eltoro Freeman should provide an immediate spark. The secondary ranked 19th in the country in yardage last season, but did struggle in keeping the opposing team out of the endzone through the year. The brightside of last year's struggles were that they came as a result of injuries and inexperienced freshman. With 3 starters back and a de-facto fourth in Aairon Savage, the projected starter last season before a season ender, and a deep experienced group expect the secondary to finish in the top 15 yardage and keep the TD-INT ratio down much farther than last season.

Weakness - Quarterback
Does anyone want the starting job, because whoever seems to audition for the job seems to fall flat on their face. Kodi Burns will be the assumed started but not because he separated himself from the pack last season. Burns adds another dimension to the offense, as he can run evidenced by his 150+ yard performance last season versus UT-Martin but he had a 2-7 TD-INT ratio. He battled Chris Todd last season for the job and the pocket passer failed to stay healthy or keep a positive TD-INT ratio either (5-6). Neil Caudle will only further the uncertainty for the job, but he's never proven himself in a game environment. Auburn badly needs a quarterback to step up or they will see themselves at the bottom of the SEC

Key Game - October 10 @Arkansas
Auburn is lucky and dodges Florida from the East and gets to play Kentucky. Their SEC schedule really gets started the week before this game at Tennessee, but this game at Arkansas could really begin a downward spiral for the Tigers if they were to lose. Besides Furman and Kentucky, Auburn will be the underdog in their remaining games. The SEC West is one of the top 2 divisions in college football and Auburn, despite having a favorable schedule with teams, is unfortunate in the location of their games.

Key Player - Ben Tate
Tate has proved over the years that he has a lot of ability, but he only had 159 carries last season. Auburn has a good history lately with running backs with Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, Kenny Irons, and Brad Lester but Tate must show why he was solid his first two seasons in his final season at Auburn by finally rushing for 1000 yards. Pending no unexpected injuries, he will run behind a solid line and 1000 yards is not out of any realm of possibility. The passing game will probably struggle, but Tate has the ability to take the game into his own hands if the defense can play like they did last season. It doesn't take many points to win at Auburn, but Tate only had 3 TDs last season and thats unacceptable.

Impact Freshman - Emory Blake

Predicted SEC finish - 5th (West)

Top 5 Players
1. DE Antonio Coleman
2. RB Ben Tate
3. P Clinton Durst
4. CB Walter McFadden
5. T Lee Ziemba

Big Ten All Conference

2009-07-05T15:00:00.004-04:00

All Conference
1st Team
QB Daryll Clark, Penn State
RB Evan Royster, Penn State
RB John Clay, Wisconsin
WR Eric Decker, Minnesota
WR Arrelious Benn, Illinois
TE Garrett Graham, Wisconsin
OL Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State
OL Bryan Bulaga, Iowa
OL Justin Boren, Ohio State
OL Dennis Landolt, Penn State
OL Stephen Schilling, Michigan
K Brett Swenson, Michigan State

DE Corey Wooten, Northwestern
DE Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DT Jared Odrick, Penn State
DT Mike Neal, Purdue
LB Sean Lee, Penn State
LB Navorro Bowman, Penn State
LB Greg Jones, Michigan State
CB Sherrick McManis, Northwestern
CB Traye Simmons, Minnesota
S Kurt Coleman, Ohio State
S Tyler Sash, Iowa
P Zoltan Mesko, Michigan

2nd Team
QB Adam Weber, Minnesota
RB Brandon Minor, Michigan
RB Duane Bennett, Minnesota
WR David Gilreath, Wisconsin
WR Mark Dell, Michigan State
TE Mike Hoomanawanui, Illinois
OL Kyle Calloway, Iowa
OL Joel Foreman, Michigan State
OL Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
OL Jon Asamoah, Illinois
OL Mike Brewster, Ohio State
K Aaron Pettrey, Ohio State

DE Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DE Brandon Graham, Michigan
DT Josh Brent, Illinois
DT Karl Klug, Iowa
LB Pat Angerer, Iowa
LB Martez Wilson, Illinois
LB Jeremiha Hunter, Iowa
CB Amari Spievey, Iowa
CB Chimdi Chekwa, Ohio State
S Anderson Russell, Ohio State
S Brendan Smith, Northwestern
P Jeremy Boone, Penn State

Conference Predictions

2009-07-03T16:19:00.004-04:00

So I've been doing predictions for a little while now and if it isn't obvious I'm going in order while skipping around conferences. Today I decided to sit down and go through all the major conferences and pick all the teams in order. Some conferences were harder than others with the hardest probably being the top of the Big East and the easiest being the Big 12 South. (Note: one or two placements may not match the prediction, because I changed my mind.)

Big 10
1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Iowa
4. Michigan State
5. Northwestern
6. Illinois
7. Minnesota
8. Michigan
9. Wisconsin
10. Indiana
11. Purdue

SEC
1. Florida 1. Alabama
2. Georgia 2. LSU
3. Tennessee 3. Ole Miss
4. South Carolina 4. Arkansas
5. Vanderbilt 5. Auburn
6. Kentucky 6. Mississippi State

ACC
1. Georgia Tech 1. NC State
2. Virginia Tech 2. Clemson
3. North Carolina 3. Florida State
4. Miami 4. Wake Forest
5. Duke 5. Boston College
6. Virginia 6. Maryland

Big Twelve
1. Oklahoma 1. Kansas
2. Texas 2. Nebraska
3. Oklahoma State 3. Missouri
4. Baylor 4. Colorado
5. Texas Tech 5. Kansas State
6. Texas A&M 6. Iowa State

Pac-10
1. USC
2. Oregon
3. California
4. Oregon State
5. Arizona
6. UCLA
7. Arizona State
8. Stanford
9. Washington
10. Washington State

Big East
1. West Virginia
2. Cincinnati
3. South Florida
4. Rutgers
5. Pittsburgh
6. Connecticut
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse

I'm going to continue to do the previews for the teams but I'm also working on my All-Conference, All-American, and Top 25 so expect those to be sprinkled in between.