The college bowl season has arrived! Today, the first course will be served up in the form of Bulldogs, Cowboys, Knights, and um, Scarlet Knights. While no one expects the Nielsen ratings to jump through the roof, some good football ought to be played today. Here’s some things to look for in today’s games.
New Mexico Bowl. 1:30pm PST. Fresno State vs. Wyoming
Who Will Be Watching: 1.5 million people. Fresno State dominates the Fresno area, which is populated by about 1,000,000 people, but there’s not much of a following throughout the rest of California, with the exception of alumni. Wyoming, however, is the predominant university in the state, which has a population of a little over 500,000.
Who To Watch: Ryan Matthews. The Bulldogs’ RB was quietly one of the best in the nation, leading the country in yards per game at 151 per contest. He’ll be playing for a draft slot, as many people will be seeing him play for the first time.
Who Will Win: Fresno State. The Bulldogs finished the season 8-4, but they played a slightly tougher conference schedule, and also put up a better fight in their losses at Wisconsin and at Cincinnati, and their other two losses were to undefeated Boise State and a pretty underrated Nevada team in Reno. Wyoming, on the other hand, finished 6-6. Of their six losses, four were against ranked teams, and the other two were on the road at tough opponents’ stadiums. They were shut out by Colorado, Air Force, and BYU, and were only able to muster a total of 30 combined points in losses to Texas, Utah, and TCU. Expect Wyoming to put a few more points on the board, but they likely won’t have the resources to contain Matthews.
St. Petersburg Bowl. 5:00pm PST. Rutgers vs. Central Florida
Who Will Be Watching. 750,000 people. Don’t expect anyone outside of Northern New Jersey and the Orlando area to care much about this one. Although, there may be a few scattered fans throughout the country just looking for a football fix.
Who To Watch: Brynn Harvey, UCF, and Tim Brown, Rutgers. Harvey carried the ball 248 times for 1,077 yards and 14 TDs. What’s more impressive? 0 fumbles. As for Brown, while donning a great receiver’s name, he pulled in 51 catches for an average of 20.6 per reception. He’s only 5’8″ 165 lbs, so expect to see a couple deep passes and possibly some fireworks.
Who Will Win: Rutgers. The two teams have identical 8-4 records, but Rutgers plays in a better conference. Although it will be a virtual home game for UCF, the Scarlet Knights are the better team.
Consider this my Christmas wish list for the world of sports. Here’s a few things I’d like to see happen. They’re not necessarily the most pressing issues, but they just seem to make sense in my head.
College Football Playoff System – Let’s start with the obvious. This topic has been beaten to death, and is destined to sit at its current impasse. 95% of the population wants a playoff, while the BCS and a few others do not. It’s been said that the point of the BCS is only to ensure the top two teams are playing for the National Championship. However, this year, we’ve got an unprecedented THREE undefeated teams NOT playing for the Title. If Cincinnati beats Florida, they’ll have a pretty convincing argument. At the same time, the winner of the Fiesta Bowl, either TCU or Boise State, will also have the right to consider themselves co-champions.
Likelihood of this happening: Slim to none.
Realignment of MLB Divisions – It’s been 12 years since the Milwaukee Brewers jumped to the National League, yet we’re still sitting here with 6 teams in the NL Central and 4 teams in the AL West. The solution is simple, click here for my proposal.
Likelihood of this happening: Doubtful, at least as far as my plan specifically. Realignment as a result of expansion or contraction might be a more likely scenario.
Eliminate NBA Referees’ Biases – Even though the NBA has been in denial for years, we all know they have a problem. Over the course of the last 15 years, the game has evolved into a whistle blowing exhibition. Either cut the crap or start selling referees’ jerseys at the NBA Team Store. I can’t stand watching my favorite sport get ruined more and more each year.
Likelihood of this happening: Not on Stern’s watch.
Chris Cohan To Sell The Warriors – I’m not entirely convinced it’s this guy’s fault. I’m pretty sure it’s a collective effort driving the franchise into the ground. If I had to choose someone to blame, it’d be team President, Bobby Rowell. However, since he appears married to Cohan, it’s going to take a change in ownership to revive this thing. The W’s fan base is the best in basketball; they need an owner who shares the same sentiment.
Likelihood of this happening: It’s probably more a matter of a buyer willing to spend the money than Cohan’s willingness to sell.
Sacramento to Build and Arena HERE – I know there’s a lot more to it – for example, money – but sometimes logic only slaps you in the face so often. The downtown railyards are just sitting there, practically begging for an arena. Meanwhile, the more favored location is not. If money is such an issue, why not scale back arena plans a little? Basketball in Sacramento has never been about the amenities, just build an arena that keeps up with the Joneses, put a quality team on the floor, and watch your money grow.
Likelihood of this happening: Wake me when it’s over.
Matt’s Pick: GMAC Bowl. Central Michigan vs. Troy in Mobile, AL. Jan. 6 4:00pm PST
This game makes every year’s list of worst bowl games, due in large part to the timing. The GMAC Bowl is always the second to last bowl game, played the night before the BCS National Championship Game. This year’s installment features a pretty decent 11-2 Central Michigan team, who provided one of the most exciting games I watched this season when they beat Michigan State. They also have QB Dan LeFevour, who led the nation is completion percentage (71.1%) and was 20th in passing yards with 3,043. Troy, on the other hand, did go undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play, but failed to put up a fight against nonconference opponents, Florida, Bowling Green, and Arkansas.
Andre’s Pick: R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Southern Mississippi vs. Middle Tennessee in New Orleans, LA. Dec. 20 5:30pm PST
I don’t think this game deserves ESPN’s attention, shouldn’t Versus or TBS be on this one?? 10 bonus points if you can name the mascot for both teams. Tick-tock… ok, times up: you might know SoMiss are the Golden Eagles, but MidTenn is the toughy, the Blue Raiders. But even they might be better than the Silver and Black Raiders. Ok low-blow. If you do catch this snoozer on a Sunday afternoon, watch for the battle of two strengths as Damion Fletcher of the Golden Eagles, one of the most prolific and underrated RBs in the country, goes up against the very strong front 7 of the Blue Raiders D.
Tony’s Pick: Little Caesars Bowl. Ohio vs. Marshall in Detroit, MI. Dec. 26 10:00am PST
I hate Little Caesars Pizza, so it’s fitting I hate there bowl game as well. In fact I’d rather eat tofu than a Little Caesars medium cheese pizza, but that’s neither here nor there. When I wake up Saturday morning the day after Christmas I can honestly say the last thing I will do is tune into Marshall and Ohio. These are two mediocre mid-conference football teams with no real standout players of note either. In fact, Marshall’s coach Mark Snyder resigned at the end of the regular rather than have to coach his team in this bowl (well, I might have made that part up). With two other quality games later in the day, pass on the Mini Caesars Bowl, and get some family time in…..you won’t be missing anything.
I’m far from a college football expert, or could really even tell you much about many of the teams, but I am pretty pumped to see the obvious Bama and Gators match up, and one of my all time favorite rivalries the Civil War Oregon vs. Oregon State! MCeezy wrote about how rivalry week is somewhat deceiving, but these two games are about as heated as rivalries can get! Hopefully they will play out that way! Same with my NFL picks the home teams are in bold.
Oregon State (+9.5) Over Oregon
I don’t think the Beavers will win this game, but Moevao has said that they are looking for revenge from last years upset. I didn’t feel it was a big upset last year, but what do I know! I feel they will pull out all the tricks they have in the playbook to keep this one close, and hopefully it ends up like 2007’s double OT battle. I understand that the Ducks are the more talented team, but in a rivalry anything can happen. Also besides the Beavers having to contain Lamichael James and Jeremiah Masoli they should see a small dose of Legarrette Blount in his first game back from the suspension. He should give them that big back to pound the football on the ground, which they haven’t had most of this season. MCeezy predicted he’d be back for their most important game, and it looks like he was right! I can’t figure out why this line is so high since the Beavers ARE at home, and ARE a good team!
Me trying to curse the Gators by chomping on one!
Alabama (+6) Over Florida
I guess I’m writing about this game because I was in Florida last week, and it seems like it was all I really heard about for most of the week! After hearing the hype over there I’ve decided to pick my second straight underdog! I think that in college football the home field makes much more of a difference than it does in the pros. I’m not confident that Bama can actually pull this one out, but since they are the #2 team in the country they deserve to be at least within a FG on the spread at home! Florida and their 22 straight wins will probably win this game, but I like many others love to see an upset. I don’t dislike Tebow especially since he has proven that he is an amazing leader, but i don’t have quite the same type of love as Sportsguyby has for him! Losing Dunlap to the DUI, should make it a little easier for Bama to move the ball, and should give them a little more time to throw. I see this one ending closer than last years SEC title game!
Today is the day the U ofs meet the States. That’s right, all the rivalry games go down this week. USC – UCLA, Florida – Florida State, BYU – Utah, Clemson – South Carolina, Oklahoma – Oklahoma State, TCU – New Mexico… wait, what? How did that game get in there? Now, it’s not mandatory that all rivalry games take place this weekend, but how did some of these games sneak into the schedule? Sure, Mississippi – Mississippi State makes sense, but where did LSU – Arkansas come from? Are they really rivals? How about last night’s matchup of Cincinnati and Illinois? Some of these games don’t make sense. Nonetheless, there are plenty of rivalry games on the docket today. Along with the aformentioned games, we’ll also be treated to Georgia Tech – Georgia, Virginia – Virginia Tech, and Arizona – Arizona State. At the same time, nonsensical games like Navy – Hawaii, Syracuse – Connecticut, and Southern Miss – East Carolina will take place. Is it rivalry week or not? Regardless of the meaningless, pointless matchups, there will still be plenty worthwhile games on the schedule today. Here are the upsets I’m predicting today….
Oklahoma over Oklahoma State
South Carolina over Clemson
Arizona State over Arizona
Utah over BYU
And…. I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing Stanford roll over Notre Dame in Charlie Weis’ farewell game.
While the top teams are busy playing the likes of Mississippi State, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Oregon State, #8 TCU and #16 BYU are squaring off in Provo. Being a pretty devout USC fan, my Saturdays usually revolve around the Trojans. However, with about 7 minutes until kickoff, my TV figures to remain on the much-maligned Versus channel. As much as I want to watch Jacquiz Rogers run circles around the men of Troy, I’d rather see Harvey Unga running through a sea of Horned Frogs. Now, at the time of writing this, TCU has just scored their second TD jumping out to a 14-0 lead. They clearly have the edge right now, but don’t count out the Cougars just yet. If they can get the crowd at Lavell Edwards back in the game, we could be in for a finish that could rival Utah-Air Force and Clemson-Miami. Expect some signature plays from guys like Jeremy Kerley, Jerry Hughes, Max Hall, and Unga, that we’ll probably be seeing next spring during ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft.
Is TCU-BYU the biggest game of the day? The only other matchup of ranked teams was #24 Oklahoma vs. #25 Kansas. Weigh in below….
UPDATE: BYU is listless, and the first play I saw after switching to USC-OSU was a Jacquiz Rogers fumble. On second thought….
If you are a new coach at any level, whether it’s high school, college, or professional athletics, boy do I have a treat for you this week! With the rash of poor decisions being made by high profile coaches across the country, I have compiled four excellent examples of how not to behave as a person in such a position. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are several others out there, but these seemed to be the highest profile cases.
Each of these individuals is well versed in dealing with the media and speaking in front of large crowds. It pretty much comes with the position, because even at the high school level coaches are asked to make speeches for groups like Booster Clubs, local Rotary chapters, or Pop Warner/Little League/etc. to encourage young athletes. By the time coaches reach college and the pros, they are used to speaking in front of thousands and at times millions via broadcast. Whether they are in front of 10 media members, 100 club members, several thousand students, or on TV, coaches are asked to be a leader of their community and a positive influence in all facets of life.
This week I will present the case of each “Coach Gone Wild” starting in chronological order of events from the summer and early fall. We’ll examine exactly what they did and where they went wrong, and believe me it won’t be very difficult to find.
Brah, bathroom is that way!
07/30/09 – Hawai’i football coach Greg McMackin makes a huge blunder at the WAC media football preview for the 2009 season. Coach McMackin described how Notre Dame, their opponent and guest at the 2009 Hawai’i Bowl, had done “this little (gay slur beginning with f-) dance” at a celebration the night before. He used the term not once but three times while explaining why Notre Dame might have been so fired up to play Hawai’i in the 2008 Hawai’i Bowl. At the banquet the night before, as the Fighting Irish finished their version of a “ha’a”, an intense Polynesian war dance and chant performed by the Warrior’s before each game, Coach McMackin had his boys show up the Irish with a dramatic performance of their own. Needless to say this made quite the impression on the entire banquet, and the next day’s game was won handily by Notre Dame 49-21, giving them their first post-season victory in the past 15 years.
Not so cool Coach, not so cool
Here is Coach McMackin’s explanation of what happened and why: “What I was trying to do was be funny and it wasn’t funny,” he said, according to a recording of the conversation posted on the Idaho Statesman’s Web site (provided below, with full graphic language of original statements). “It’s not funny. Even more, it isn’t funny to me. I was trying to make a joke and it was a bad choice of words. And I really, really feel bad about it. … It was really stupid.”
Bravo Coach, hindsight is 20/20, but the damage has been done because you’ve made it apparent the word rests on the tip of your tongue as an insult. We the general public understands a word like that is used a hundred times a day on the field and in the weight room all across the country. It’s not right there as it’s not right anywhere, but those are your places and you do as you please. The WAC 2009 Preview event is definitely the last place you want to use a word like that. Thank you for bringing your locker-room mentality and verbiage out to for show and tell so the public can fear and pity the sad state of affairs in athletics today.
The debate picking up steam in northern Florida, specifically Jacksonville-metro and all of Florida Gator territory, is the state of the Jaguar franchise and the timing of their native son entering the NFL. I use the word timing because at no time has the Jaguar’s franchise been in worse shape off the field, having lost over 17,000 season ticket holders over the past two seasons. Yet their collegiate counterpart has seen nothing but the greatest success winning multiple National Championships and compiling players that could probably run the Jags right off the field head-to-head (speed and talent wise, perhaps not the professional skill level of course).
The unequivocal leader of this team the past four years has been The Christian Soldier, he who can do no wrong, Tim Tebow. He showed the nation something special his freshman year when he displayed pure heart and determination each time he touched the ball. He gave up his body and ego all year long as they used him much less as a quarterback and much more as a fullback/battering ram. None of that has changed over the past four years; not after winning two national championships, not since becoming the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, and not since becoming a celebrity with a cult following all around the world, where several of his missionary trips have taken him. He is the perfect role model for our youth, a consummate team player and a beaming light of what used to be the norm and now is the exception.
Definitely NOT according to Mel Kiper Jr.
The critics want to poke at the fact that he is not a true QB, lacking pocket presence, a strong arm, proper mechanics, and the vision required to succeed in the NFL. While this may be true for now, Tebow has taken these criticisms to heart and devoted his Senior year as much to becoming a better NFL prospect at QB as he will concentrate on the ultimate prize of winning a third BCS Championship during his tenure. This past Spring I listened to Tebow go one-on-one with Mel Kiper, Jr., the NFL Draft guru whose word is believed to be as close to truth as there is in evaluating collegiate talent. Kiper Jr. respectfully examined for Tebow the knocks on him (those listed above), and Tebow humbly took those suggestions as part of a debate on Kiper Jr. incorrect opinion. As Kiper Jr. suggested Tebow would make a better split-end/tight-end in the NFL, Tebow disagreed outright and stated he will work hard to ensure he is a QB at the next level. Again the passion and determination showed up in his voice during the healthy debate.
Failure sees Tebow and runs the other way
So why is this coming up now all of a sudden? Why are we discussing the draft position of a questionable QB in September, seven months ahead of the 2010 NFL Draft? Simple economics, that’s why. As mentioned earlier, Tebow happens to be from a city whose franchise is falling apart at the seams. Reports of players quitting on coach Jack Del Rio last year, added to the already diminishing season ticket holders and overall attendance figures, have led to reports that all of the 2009 season home games will be blacked out. I would appear the novelty of being a new NFL team as long worn off by now, especially after expectations were set so high at the franchise’s inception when they made the playoffs 5 years in a row after their inaugural season in 1995. With David Gerrard’s flashes of brilliance diminishing and an aged defensive unit starting to break down, the horizon seems bleak at the moment.
Yo Lebron call me!
Upon further review, the Jags could be in such desperate times that they may reach a bit and pay extra attention to the “value added” aspect of gambling a first round pick on a middle-to-late round prospect. There are enough first round busts floating around to argue that this wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to begin with, and perhaps by the end of the season it won’t be a stretch at all. The Jags passed up on taking a QB in this year’s draft, but who’s to say they shouldn’t next year? The real stretch is trying to compare this to the Cleveland Cavaliers drafting Lebron James, who is a once in a lifetime talent. In no way is Tebow in James’ league amongst his peers entering the professional ranks; LeBron was (and still is) head and shoulders above his draft class. But in terms of regional marketing ability in the northern Florida region, he definitely has the same cult following and mass appeal that could alter the state of the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise.
***My verdict: Jags, go ahead and take Tebow with an early pick… because if you don’t, someone else will!
All I kept reading about after Week One of the new season was how star freshman QB Matt Barkley played loose and stayed under control at all times while guiding the Trojans for 3 quarters. How the 5-headed Trojan RB monster (yes, we shall include Marc Tyler, who would be starting at half the Pac-10 schools) ran all over the SJSU defense, pulling away in the second quarter with 4 touchdowns alone after slow start. How the Heisman Watch should begin for Joe McKnight, who – if you haven’t heard already – is really, really good.
Joe McKnight gained 105 yards vs OSU in '08, but did not score aTD.
Was any of this really a surprise? Of course not. But this week we will get to see what the Trojans are really made of after losing several first and second rounder’s to the NFL including, including 3 talented veteran players at the Linebacker position. The real story will be how the USC Defense reacts to stiff competition against the best team year after year in Big10 this decade.
Perhaps their toughest challenge of the year,the Trojan Defense will face Terrelle Pryor, the 6 foot 6, 235 pounder with a canon arm and speed in the 4.3s. Navy seemed to have a great formula to at least contain Pryor, and USC is hard at work studying that game film. But let’s be real here, Navy’s defense doesn’t have the size, speed or talent level that USC has on its second team let alone the starters.
Don't be surprised if you see this scenario a few times on Saturday.
The Secondary, led by All-American Taylor Mays and Josh Pinkard who moves back to CB from Safety, will make it tough on Pryor to find one of his young receivers. The speedy LB corp will be the main difference here as the new crop seems faster than last year and able to disrupt plays at will. We know Pete will be bringing the pressure early and often, and the Trojan Offense will be in full hand-off mode to take the playmakers in the Buckeye Secondary out of the game.
I’ll admit, I did. The day after college football’s opening punch, the University of Oregon – or as first year head coach, Chip Kelly, called it on national TV, Oregon University – announced that starting RB LeGarrette Blount had been suspended for the entire season. It seemed legit at the time, but now, only two days removed from the disciplinary action, I’m going on the record saying there’s no way the suspension is upheld. Oregon football has underachieved more often than they have overachieved since the 2001 campaign. They needed a successful year in 2009 more than any. But, instead, they started off on a losing track and then kicking their best player of the team. Keep in mind the suspension was Oregon’s idea, not the Pac-10, and not the NCAA. Had they handed him a less severe punishment, they would’ve risked the Pac-10 or NCAA stepping in and making it more severe. This way, Oregon did not have to worry about that. The reason I see this suspension getting lifted, oh, let’s say 6-8 games into the season is because A) they need him, a B) he is still with the team, allowed to practice, just not play in games. It got me thinking, why, as a senior, would you continue to practice with the team if you weren’t going to play for the remainder of the season? Call it a hunch, but I think LeGarrette Blount, Chip Kelly, and Mike Belotti have a trick up their sleeve. Oregon hosts USC in Week 10 which will be their 9th game of the season. I look for him to be reinstated just in time for that game. If the dust hasn’t settled by then, I can see the Ducks settling for their regular season finale against Oregon State in the Civil War.
The college football season got off to a lackluster start last night – with the exception of LeGarrette Blount’s performance during the extra period. What’s sad is Blount was in the shadow of Jeremiah Johnson last year, and this was to be his year in the spotlight. Unfortunately, he wanted all of his spotlight on the first night, and because of that, he will be all but forgotten in our memories after the weekend is over. That game, paired with the earlier game, South Carolina vs. NC State, left a lot of us wanting more. Tulsa and Tulane didn’t exactly deliver Friday night either. So, Saturday marks our best chance to see some real college football barn-burners. Week 1 is typically reserved for the powerhouses beating up on some lowly D-1, and sometimes, D-2 schools, but there are a few games that stand out this weekend. Here, we’ll list the three types of Season Opening games and how they might play out.
The Blowouts
These are the games that are so lopsided Vegas doesn’t even bother with spreads. They’re the games that are built solely to ensure a team gets off to a 1-0 start and get them off on the right foot in they’re national or conference championship campaign. You know the type, big school at home versus a small school with little to no national following. Need some examples?
Akron @ #9 Penn State, Navy @ #6 Ohio State, Jacksonville St. @ #15 Georgia Tech, Montana St. @ Michigan St., The Citadel @ #21 North Carolina, Louisian-Monroe @ #2 Texas, Florida Atlantic @ #24 Nebraska, Charleston Southern @ #1 Florida, and as much as I hate to include them since they don’t typically schedule easy games, #4 USC hosting San Jose State.
The Blowouts Gone Wrong
These games have the same intention as those previously mentioned, however, they can backfire, much as Michigan’s upset loss to Appalachian State. There aren’t many of them, but at least one is sure to end in heartbreak for a hopeful team. Here’s our pool of potential upset games.
#22 Iowa vs. Northern Iowa, Auburn vs. Lousiana Tech, #25 Kansas vs. Northern Colorado, #12 California vs. Maryland, UCLA vs. San Diego State, and my pick for the most likely upset, #23 Notre Dame vs. Nevada.
The Legit Matchups
These games are the exception. They don’t always end in a competitive game, but you have to give the schools credit for diving right into the fray and not scheduling a pushover to kick their season off. Much like the Boise State – Oregon matchup Thursday night, they can make or break your season.
#13 Georgia @ #9 Oklahoma State, #20 BYU @ #3 Oklahoma, and Week 1’s main event, #5 Alabama vs. #7 Virgina Tech at the Georgia Dome.
College football season is here, and not a day too soon! Nine games are on the docket, but one is clearly the main attraction. #16 Oregon will visit the blue turf to take on the #14 Boise State Broncos in a west coast showdown. Both teams are known for their electric offense, not to mention their vibrant color schemes. It will be a test of wills on the field, and a test of retinas on the TV screen. Oregon is coming off a 9-3 season and looks to challenge USC and Cal for the Pac-10 title this year. Boise State, a perennial WAC favorite, is coming off what seemed like another ho-hum undefeated season. Fans can expect fireworks as these two teams duke it out in front of a national audience. Thursday night’s matchup should have a bowl game feel to it.
On the Ducks’ side, the main story is the departure of 14 year head coach, Mike Belotti. Belotti made the jump to the Athletic Director’s office, leaving former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly at the helm. The player to watch will be RB LeGarrette Blount, who gained 1,000+ yards last season splitting carries with Jeremiah Johnson. With Johnson gone, Blount figures to be the feature back for Oregon.
For the Broncos, the key to their attack will likely be the passing game. Kellen Moore returns at QB and has two weapons at the wideout spots in Austin Pettis and Titus Young, who was suspended for the majority of last season, but figures to be a deep threat for the Boise State offense. It will be on the defensive side of the ball where Boise’s fate will lie. If the Broncos can stifle the Oregon offensive attack, they should find a way to put enough points on the board to outlast the Ducks.
This is a huge season opener for both teams, as one loss typically will take a team out of the national championship picture. The winner, on the other hand, will likely vault into the top twelve, on the strength of the season’s biggest victory of Week 1. Grab your popcorn, as T.O. would say, because these two teams from the Northwest are sure to put on a show!
The college football season kicks off with a colorful combination of Oregon’s always intense jerseys and Boise State’s blue field. This should be one wildly entertaining game, provided the High-Def broadcast isn’t too much on the retinas.
Sep 5, Maryland @ Cal
This is a pretty interesting season opening matchup for both programs, and I must say I’m surprised Maryland would make the trek to Berkeley so soon out of the gates. On the flipside, I guess when your yearly goal is to be bowl eligible at seasons end, taking a tough road game early on makes sense as barometer of where you stand. Neither team talent wise looks to have any serious influence on a conference title challenge this year (or any year for that matter). Gut feeling, Cal feeds off the home crowd, and its slightly better athleticism runs out to a two TD win.
Sep 5, Nevada @ Notre Dame
This game has upset written all over it. Notre Dame always likes to schedule a lightweight before they get into the Michigan – Michigan State thing, but this year they might’ve picked the wrong opponent. The game has shades of last year’s matchup with San Diego State, but I think the Wolfpack can execute at the right time and make the plays they need to take this game. There’s also a strong likelihood that Jimmy Claussen could pick apart this defense in a blowout, but until then, I’ll be keeping a close eye on this score.
Sep 5, Georgia @ Oklahoma State
Georgia was great last year….Oklahoma St. was decent. Georgia’s coach is not quite as crazy as Oklahoma St. Coach. SEC Teams always destroy in these matchups. It’s the first big non-conference game of the year, but I still have Georgia by 21.
Sept. 5, Brigham Young vs. Oklahoma.*
It’s pretty tough to pick against the Sooners. With a seasoned duo of Bradford and Gresham passing up millions in the NFL to come back and play, they must be out to prove something. I think this will be close for a half at most. I hope we see a battle, but to be honest with you I think this one’s going to be a blowout on neutral ground.
Sep 5, Alabama vs. Virginia Tech.*
A great early season match-up of two highly talented and ranked teams with realistic goals of winning their respective conferences. Alabama is coming off a banner conference season that ended with a terrible stumble to the finish line. They lost their conference championship game to eventual National Champions Florida, then lost the Sugar Bowl to a serious underdog in Utah. The underclassmen left over from last year will be aiming to correct their painful losing streak after starting the season 12-0. The Hokies are by far the overwhelming favorites to win the ACC-Coastal over Georgia Tech as well as the overall Conference title this year. The Hokies will begin as a preseason top-10 team due to a perennially strong defense and the emergence of QB Tyrod Taylor. Should be interesting to see where these teams start the season in the polls, as each has been ranked as high as #6 in preseason polls.
Sep 6, Colorado State @ Colorado
These in-state rivals will again kick-off the season for bragging rights, and Colorado will be looking to extend their series win streak to three. The Buffs will be looking to get off to a strong start to their season, after a disappointing 2-6 finish in conference capped by a 58-0 loss at Mizzu and a seat at home during bowl season. For the Rams it was an up and down season as they showed great fortitude to win their final three games and finish above .500. They won the New Mexico Bowl by scoring 3 times in the 4th quarter to win a shootout by 5 over Fresno St., mainly behind Gartrell Johnson’s record setting 285 rushing yards, 375 combined yards, and two TDs… both of which came in the fourth quarter.
Sept. 7, Miami @ Florida State
The Seminoles look to win their third consecutive against their ACC rivals. The Canes have a very rough first month, and they don’t start things off easy for them as they face a rowdy labor day crowd. Florida State should be able to continue their win streak capping off the three day weekend.
Who Will Be Watching: 1.5 million people. Fresno State dominates the Fresno area, which is populated by about 1,000,000 people, but there’s not much of a following throughout the rest of California, with the exception of alumni. Wyoming, however, is the predominant university in the state, which has a population of a little over 500,000.
Who Will Be Watching. 750,000 people. Don’t expect anyone outside of Northern New Jersey and the Orlando area to care much about this one. Although, there may be a few scattered fans throughout the country just looking for a football fix.
On the Ducks’ side, the main story is the departure of 14 year head coach, Mike Belotti. Belotti made the jump to the Athletic Director’s office, leaving former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly at the helm. The player to watch will be RB LeGarrette Blount, who gained 1,000+ yards last season splitting carries with Jeremiah Johnson. With Johnson gone, Blount figures to be the feature back for Oregon.
For the Broncos, the key to their attack will likely be the passing game. Kellen Moore returns at QB and has two weapons at the wideout spots in Austin Pettis and Titus Young, who was suspended for the majority of last season, but figures to be a deep threat for the Boise State offense. It will be on the defensive side of the ball where Boise’s fate will lie. If the Broncos can stifle the Oregon offensive attack, they should find a way to put enough points on the board to outlast the Ducks.
Sep 3, Oregon @ Boise State
A great early season match-up of two highly talented and ranked teams with realistic goals of winning their respective conferences. Alabama is coming off a banner conference season that ended with a terrible stumble to the finish line. They lost their conference championship game to eventual National Champions Florida, then lost the Sugar Bowl to a serious underdog in Utah. The underclassmen left over from last year will be aiming to correct their painful losing streak after starting the season 12-0. The Hokies are by far the overwhelming favorites to win the ACC-Coastal over Georgia Tech as well as the overall Conference title this year. The Hokies will begin as a preseason top-10 team due to a perennially strong defense and the emergence of QB Tyrod Taylor. Should be interesting to see where these teams start the season in the polls, as each has been ranked as high as #6 in preseason polls.
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
Coaches Gone Wild, Part I: The Hawai’ian Rainbow
Isaiah: poster boy for coaches with issues...
If you are a new coach at any level, whether it’s high school, college, or professional athletics, boy do I have a treat for you this week! With the rash of poor decisions being made by high profile coaches across the country, I have compiled four excellent examples of how not to behave as a person in such a position. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are several others out there, but these seemed to be the highest profile cases.
Each of these individuals is well versed in dealing with the media and speaking in front of large crowds. It pretty much comes with the position, because even at the high school level coaches are asked to make speeches for groups like Booster Clubs, local Rotary chapters, or Pop Warner/Little League/etc. to encourage young athletes. By the time coaches reach college and the pros, they are used to speaking in front of thousands and at times millions via broadcast. Whether they are in front of 10 media members, 100 club members, several thousand students, or on TV, coaches are asked to be a leader of their community and a positive influence in all facets of life.
This week I will present the case of each “Coach Gone Wild” starting in chronological order of events from the summer and early fall. We’ll examine exactly what they did and where they went wrong, and believe me it won’t be very difficult to find.
Brah, bathroom is that way!
07/30/09 – Hawai’i football coach Greg McMackin makes a huge blunder at the WAC media football preview for the 2009 season. Coach McMackin described how Notre Dame, their opponent and guest at the 2009 Hawai’i Bowl, had done “this little (gay slur beginning with f-) dance” at a celebration the night before. He used the term not once but three times while explaining why Notre Dame might have been so fired up to play Hawai’i in the 2008 Hawai’i Bowl. At the banquet the night before, as the Fighting Irish finished their version of a “ha’a”, an intense Polynesian war dance and chant performed by the Warrior’s before each game, Coach McMackin had his boys show up the Irish with a dramatic performance of their own. Needless to say this made quite the impression on the entire banquet, and the next day’s game was won handily by Notre Dame 49-21, giving them their first post-season victory in the past 15 years.
Not so cool Coach, not so cool
Here is Coach McMackin’s explanation of what happened and why: “What I was trying to do was be funny and it wasn’t funny,” he said, according to a recording of the conversation posted on the Idaho Statesman’s Web site (provided below, with full graphic language of original statements). “It’s not funny. Even more, it isn’t funny to me. I was trying to make a joke and it was a bad choice of words. And I really, really feel bad about it. … It was really stupid.”
http://voices.idahostatesman.com/node/20709 article –Idahostatesman.com
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1412/story/666185.html article – tri-cityherald.com
1 Comment | tags: apology, Coach, Coaches Gone Wild, college football, dance, fighting, football, gay comment, gay slur, Hawaii, NCAA, notre dame, warriors | posted in Sports