NCAA Football

[richyb83]

I still respect Ohio State regardless, it's still an accomplishment what they did. I'm stoked about the Ohio State/USC being so EARLY in the season too! What a "titanic" match-up that could vault the winner as probable front-runner for the NCG. The Big 10 may be a little down, but they are still producing some "big-time" NFL Draft picks! And USC has become a NFL Factory.

Those Ohio State/Texas match-up's were great early season indicators.

Last year LSU trouncing a strong non-conference team like Va. Tech was one of deciding factors in helping them advance to the Title game. But this year's schedule may take a little heat; but not a fault of their own with Arizona dropping from the schedule and Texas Tech not willing to play in BR to open the season. Theyinstead had to take defending 1-AA Champ Appalachain St. ; who shocked Michigan in the big-house. So that should hopefully not count against LSU.

BTW LSU's projected starting QB Ryan Perrilloux(SEC Champ Game MVP) who was dismissed from the team in the Spring; has transfered to 1-AA Jacksonville St.(Alabama). They will face Georgia Tech on National TV in a season opener. LSU has two inexperienced QB's Jarrett Lee and Andrew Hatch battling to start in Fall; incoming freshman Jordan Jefferson will be added to the mix. LSU's Offense will still be loaded around them with RB's; O-Line; WR's and TE(need back-up).

[egrguy]

USC needs to watch out; they play a pretty tough schedule. Their toughest games are all at home: OSU, Oregon, ASU, ND (they'll be dramatically improved). However, playing UVA and UCLA on the road will be tough. An 11-1 USC team will definetly be in the BCS hunt but can they do that with all the talent they lost in this year's draft?

[dgreco]

USC needs to watch out; they play a pretty tough schedule. Their toughest games are all at home: OSU, Oregon, ASU, ND (they'll be dramatically improved). However, playing UVA and UCLA on the road will be tough. An 11-1 USC team will definetly be in the BCS hunt but can they do that with all the talent they lost in this year's draft?

Every year they lose alot but are always so deep. I have a feeling we may see a few surprises, and that is South Carolina out of the SEC. IF they can finish strong, because they always start out great they have a chance for a major bowl. Also, I think the year of the mid-major is over. The Big East will be a conference to fear again this year. All the teams are greatly improved and will have a chance much like last year to battle for the BCS title game.

So far the SEC and ACC have signed off on the playoff/+1 format I wish the other conferences would do that too. I think the Big East would benefit, the Big 12 could use it also, because besides Texas they have a tough time getting teams in. With Nebraska, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and Texas all looking strong it could really help them. Also, I can see why the PAC10 and Big Ten are delaying this, but it should be done.

[Spartan]

I have a feeling we may see a few surprises, and that is South Carolina out of the SEC. IF they can finish strong, because they always start out great they have a chance for a major bowl.

I hear lots of people saying that about Carolina dgreco. As much as I like thinking that we have a chance to finish strong, I think that there is too much uncertainty regarding the quarterback. If by chance Carolina can get a reliable quarterback worked out early in the season, then there is a good chance this could happen. Of course, we do have a great one... he just prefers to get arrested over playing football. If a reliable quarterback doesn't emerge, then its going to be yet another rough season. Finishing strong also means beating at least 3 of these: LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, and Clemson. If thats not a killer half of a season I don't know what is.

[richyb83]

No doubt the SEC schedule is brutal itself; then throw in the good non-conference opponets and it can definetly wear on a team as the year progresses. Another example Lindy's pre-season publication has Georgia #1 despite their scary schedule: away games vs. So.Carolina; LSU; Arizona State and Auburn; Home games vs. Alabama; Tennessee; Ga.Tech; and a "neutral" steel-cage match vs. Florida!! If they can go undefeated w/ that killer schedule they deserve to be #1!

A few of the Pre-Season College Football books are already out! Good reading material if nothing else. Here are the rankings:

Lindy's

#1 Georgia

#2 USC

#3 Ohio State

#4 Oklahoma

#5 Missouri

#6 Florida

#7 LSU

#8 Texas

#9 Clemson

#10 West Virginia

Athlon's

#1 Florida

#2 Ohio State

#3 Oklahoma

#4 USC

#5 Georgia

#6 Missouri

#7 West Virginia

#8 Auburn

#9 LSU

#10 Clemson

[dgreco]

^surprised Oklahoma is getting so much love, and I am surprised that Athlon has Georgia at #5 they seem a top #3 team to me at least until a game is played.

[Spartan]

^ Agreed

[dgreco]

^ Agreed

I know you are a gamecock fan and I think Carolina finishes second in the SEC east this year and its the year the ole' ball coach makes a name and really begins the turn around in columbia.

[richyb83]

It's that time of year again....already!!! The SEC looks really strong with 3 of the Top 6 teams and 7 of the Top 27!! Georgia Bulldogs gets the nod as the pre-season #1 favorite. They will have a brutal that includes 5th ranked Florida; 6th ranked LSU; 11th ranked Auburn; 18th Tennessee; and out of confrence at #16 Arizona State!!!

The Best non-conference game is early(Sept. 13th) with #2 USC hosting #3 Ohio State!!!

The Big 12 has three teams in the Top 10.

Should be another exciting college football season!!!

USA Today Coaches Poll

RANK TEAM RECORD PTS PVS

1. Georgia (22) 0-0 1438 3

2. USC (14) 0-0 1430 2

3. Ohio State (14) 0-0 1392 4

4. Oklahoma (3) 0-0 1329 8

5. Florida (5) 0-0 1293 16

6. LSU (3) 0-0 1163 1

7. Missouri 0-0 1143 5

8. West Virginia 0-0 1008 6

9. Clemson 0-0 999 22

10. Texas 0-0 979 10

11. Auburn 0-0 888 14

12. Wisconsin 0-0 747 21

13. Kansas 0-0 714 7

14. Texas Tech 0-0 644 23

15. Virginia Tech 0-0 568 9

16. Arizona State 0-0 560 13

17. Brigham Young 0-0 547 14

18. Tennessee 0-0 506 12

19. Illinois 0-0 422 18

20. Oregon 0-0 399 24

21. South Florida 0-0 350 NR

22. Penn State 0-0 313 25

23. Wake Forest 0-0 203 NR

24. Michigan 0-0 112 19

25. Fresno State 0-0 91 NR

Others Receiving Votes

Alabama 83, South Carolina 64, Utah 60, Rutgers 53, Florida State 53, Boston College 47, California 41, Pittsburgh 34, Boise State 25, Oregon State 23, Nebraska 17, Cincinnati 13, Virginia 12, Connecticut 9, Michigan State 9, Mississippi State 6, Kentucky 5, Notre Dame 5, TCU 5, Maryland 4, Texas A&M 3, UCLA 3, North Carolina 3, Louisville 2, Georgia Tech 2, UCF 2, Tulsa 1, Oklahoma State 1, Arizona 1, Colorado 1.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankings?pol...seasonYear=2008

[egrguy]

It's that time of year again....already!!! The SEC looks really strong with 3 of the Top 6 teams and 7 of the Top 27!! Georgia Bulldogs gets the nod as the pre-season #1 favorite. They will have a brutal that includes 5th ranked Florida; 6th ranked LSU; 11th ranked Auburn; 18th Tennessee; and out of confrence at #16 Arizona State!!!

The Best non-conference game is early(Sept. 13th) with #2 USC hosting #3 Ohio State!!!

The Big 12 has three teams in the Top 10.

Should be another exciting college football season!!!

USA Today Coaches Poll

RANK TEAM RECORD PTS PVS

1. Georgia (22) 0-0 1438 3

2. USC (14) 0-0 1430 2

3. Ohio State (14) 0-0 1392 4

4. Oklahoma (3) 0-0 1329 8

5. Florida (5) 0-0 1293 16

6. LSU (3) 0-0 1163 1

7. Missouri 0-0 1143 5

8. West Virginia 0-0 1008 6

9. Clemson 0-0 999 22

10. Texas 0-0 979 10

11. Auburn 0-0 888 14

12. Wisconsin 0-0 747 21

13. Kansas 0-0 714 7

14. Texas Tech 0-0 644 23

15. Virginia Tech 0-0 568 9

16. Arizona State 0-0 560 13

17. Brigham Young 0-0 547 14

18. Tennessee 0-0 506 12

19. Illinois 0-0 422 18

20. Oregon 0-0 399 24

21. South Florida 0-0 350 NR

22. Penn State 0-0 313 25

23. Wake Forest 0-0 203 NR

24. Michigan 0-0 112 19

25. Fresno State 0-0 91 NR

Others Receiving Votes

Alabama 83, South Carolina 64, Utah 60, Rutgers 53, Florida State 53, Boston College 47, California 41, Pittsburgh 34, Boise State 25, Oregon State 23, Nebraska 17, Cincinnati 13, Virginia 12, Connecticut 9, Michigan State 9, Mississippi State 6, Kentucky 5, Notre Dame 5, TCU 5, Maryland 4, Texas A&M 3, UCLA 3, North Carolina 3, Louisville 2, Georgia Tech 2, UCF 2, Tulsa 1, Oklahoma State 1, Arizona 1, Colorado 1.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankings?pol...seasonYear=2008

I love college football and I can't wait for it to start.

Its interesting seeing several "traditional" powers unranked like Alabama, Florida St, Notre Dame, Nebraska, etc.

Do any of those teams end the year ranked? I don't think FSU will make a resurgance until Bowden finally retires.

[richyb83]

Yeah jdkacz; I have noticed that too. Funny how the big dogs are down after so many strong years. Alabama is ranked #23 in the new AP Poll; still not quite ready to join the elite. Florida State can hope to finish as high as #14 at the end. Notre Dame needs some serious redemption after last years embarassment. Not sure about Nebraka, they seem like they have a ways to go.

The anticipation leading up to the College Football season is a great time of the year!

Edited August 22, 2008 by richyb83

[satalac]

all i'm gonna say is that the vols are flying under the radar right now and are going to suprise a lot of people this year. i'm thinkin 13-0. ok ok, so maybe not 13-0 but hey, let a vol fan bask in the glow that was 1998. haha. but seriously, i don't see more than 2 losses this year.

and georgia, i can only wish you the best of luck in your gaunlet of a schedule(except for the ut game or a game that helps decide who wins the sec east haha). good lord. if ya'll go undefeated this year, they should give you 2 or 3 consecutive championships. haha.

[Mith242]

How about that tv deal the SEC made with ESPN?

[satalac]

How about that tv deal the SEC made with ESPN?

two words. cha. ching.

[torgo]

Soo...any thoughts on opening weekend? USC (Southern Cal) sure looked sharp in their complete dismantling of Virginia, and subsequently rose to #1 in both polls. This USC-OSU is gonna be a classic!

[satalac]

Soo...any thoughts on opening weekend?

yeah....it's gonna be a loooong year for tennessee

[The Voice of Reason]

yeah....it's gonna be a loooong year for tennessee

I find it interesting as powerhouses fade (Notre Dame), and new teams rise to prominence as we saw last year with UCONN and that Florida school.

I could not pick another cinderella, because college football is not basketball, but I do like to see programs develop.

Related to TENN, and ND, and UCONN.... This year UCONN signed deals to play something like 10 games against ND in neutral site non confrence games, and just yesterday signed a 2 game series to play TENN in 2014-2015. As a new D1A team, UCONN is building a serious program pretty quickly. I know playing against teams like ND and TENN help recruiting and exposure greatly. The school also is going to build a new training facility on par with any of the powerhouse teams.

the most interesting thing to me is how Football can cach hold in the North East. This school used to pull something like 8000 fans a game before they built their new stadium in 2003, now UCONN sells out Rentschler field regularly at 40,000. I know its nothing compared to the big house in michigan, or even most average teams in the South, but for New England its damn impressive.

I would really like UCONN to become a regular fixture in NCAA D1.

[richyb83]

Hey wait for me.... Sorry I'm late; I just got my power back earlier today thanks to hurricane Gustav. It is fun to see UConn and South Florida rise to their current status!

I see USC jumped Georgia in the polls for #1 after the smack-down they put on Virginia 52-7. #7Mizzou outscored Illinios 52-42; and #24 Alabama suprised me easily beating #9 Clemson 34-10. Is Bama that good or was Clemson overrated??

Many of the other top teams simply overmatched the inferior teams; including state match-up's Georgia over Ga.Southern 48-20; Ohio State beating Youngstown St. 43-0. Florida whipped Hawaii 56-10; Oklahoma clobbered Chattanooga 57-2; no contest as LSU beat D-2A(FCS?)champ Appalachain St. 41-13; etc...

>>This weekend the #5 Florida vs. Miami really has my attention!!!

[richyb83]

***WEEK #2

Looking for an upstart?? How bout them East Carolina Pirates?? 2-0 now BOTH Wins vs. Top 25 teams; the latest victim #8 West Virgina; beating them 24-3!!! NOW RANKED 20th & 14th in the polls!!!

Some other thrillers were BYU edging Washington 28-27; with the controversial ending! And #20 Wake Forest barely beating Ole Miss 30-28 on a last second FG. South Florida beat Central Florida in OT!!

>>New USA TODAY Poll<<

#1 USC (1-0) Bye Week; NEXT vs. Ohio State!!!

#2 Georgia (2-0) beat Cent. Michigan 56-17; NEXT @So.Carolina

#3 Oklahoma (2-0) trounced Cincinnati 52-26; NEXT @ Washington

#4 Florida (2-0) tough game for 3 quarters vs. Miami; pulled away in the 4th; 26-3

#5 Ohio State(2-0) dropped 2 spots; looking ahead to USC or not looked bad vs. Ohio U.; won 26-14

#6 Missouri (2-0) beat SE Missouri St. 52-3; NEXT vs. Nevada

#7 LSU (1-0) No Game(hurricane Gustav); NEXT vs. No.Texas St.

#8 Texas (2-0) beat UTEP 42-13; NEXT Arkansas

#9 Auburn (2-0) beat So.Miss 27-13; NEXT at Miss.State

#10 Wisconsin (2-0) beat Marshall 51-14; NEXT @ Fresno St.

Edited September 9, 2008 by richyb83

[dgreco]

Ohio St looked bad last week. I think USC takes this game. I am really excited for the Mid Majors again this year.

Utah, BYU, East Carolina. I hope they can make good runs.

[dgreco]

good game happening between UNC and Rutgers tonight. Rutgers is having a tough start to their season. Going 0-2 vs. Fresno St. and UNC could be tough on the Big East and on Rutgers.

[richyb83]

Wow! UNC took Rutgers to the wood-shed for a beating 44-12!!! New HC Butch Davis has the Tar Heels playin' ball!!!

Friday night's game should be an interesting contest with #13 Kansas traveling down south to play #19 USF.

[dgreco]

Wow! UNC took Rutgers to the wood-shed for a beating 44-12!!! New HC Butch Davis has the Tar Heels playin' ball!!!

Friday night's game should be an interesting contest with #13 Kansas traveling down south to play #19 USF.

I am really excited for the game tonight it should be a good one.

I am surprised though that the Big East is 3-8 in OOC games and 0-6 vs. other BCS schools. Just when the Big East was turning around it seems to have fallen flat on its face.

[richyb83]

I am really excited for the game tonight it should be a good one.

I am surprised though that the Big East is 3-8 in OOC games and 0-6 vs. other BCS schools. Just when the Big East was turning around it seems to have fallen flat on its face.

What a game tonight huh!!!!! USF wins on a FG as time expires 37-34!!! Just what the Big East needed!

>>>Week #3 should be a good one!!! USC/Ohio State game has been marked on everybody's calendar! Too bad RB-Beanie Wells probably won't play.

Another "Mid-Major" WATCH >> #21 Fresno State gets it's BIG chance vs. #10 Wisconsin....the WAC has had Boise St; Hawaii; and now Fresno St.??? They can join the talks with East Carolina.

Michigan takes on Notre Dame in the Respect Bowl for the once storied/struggling programs.

#2 Georgia travels to So.Carolina in the SEC Game of the Week; UCLA/BYU could be a good one; Texas/Arkansas was postponed til Sept 27th due to hurricane Ike.

Edited September 13, 2008 by richyb83

[torgo]

Michigan looked horrible against ND, fumbling seven times and giving up 21 in the first quarter.

#1 USC crushed #5 Ohio State, 35-3. USC remains #1, Ohio State fell to #15/15 in AP/Coaches polls.