Teams that Impressed me the Most:
1) Alabama - At this point it's tough to tell whether Bama is that good or Clemson is that bad but they dismantled a team I thought was Top 10 coming into the season. The defense was suffocating and the offense was very balanced. Wilson made a couple bad throws but he kept his composure and managed the game well. This game will definitely get the attention of other teams around the SEC.
2) Missouri - Illinois was looking for revenge coming into this game but Missouri was having none of that. Missouri's defense needs to improve but the offense was amazing all night. This looks like a Top 10, maybe Top 5 team, and with that schedule an undefeated regular season is not a huge stretch. Keep an eye on the injury to star playmaker Jeremy Maclin. With a couple cupcakes on the schedule look for his playing time to be limited in the coming weeks.
3) Southern Cal - Virginia is not a top team by any means but USC deserves credit for actually scheduling a team with a pulse in Week 1. Southern Cal dominated from the opening kickoff and showcased the caliber of talent on this team. Sanchez appeared to have no lingering affects from his knee injury but he also never really got hit either. McKnight is as good as advertised and the defense is stout. With 2 weeks to prepare for OSU, they will be tough to beat in the Coliseum when the Buckeyes come to town.
Teams that Should be Embarrassed:
1) Virginia Tech - Beamer Ball gets the tables turned on it when a blocked punt for a TD results in Tech losing their opener. Poor offense, poor defense, Tech was bad across the board. Wake Forest appears to be the class of the conference at this point after Clemson and Tech losses this weekend.
2) Clemson - Their is too much talent on this team for that kind of result. I question the coaching staff for never working to establish the run and for having a true freshman in the game at RB early on with Davis and Spiller on the team. If Bowden doesn't right the ship fast, then this will be the beginning of the end of his tenure in Death Valley.
3) Miss State, UNC, and Arkansas - Miss St. lost to La. Tech, UNC did everything they could to lose to McNeese State, and Arkansas struggled with Western Illinois. I know the gap has narrowed in college football but this is inexcusable. Reigning SEC coach of the year Slyvester Groom undid a lot of the ground he gained last year with this one. UNC has yet to turn the corner with Butch Davis and they need to be improving quicker than this. Petrino's debut was almost soured by a 1-AA team and Nutt left more talent than that in Fayetteville.
4) Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Arizona State, South Florida, and Penn State - No excuse for playing the caliber of team these teams played to start the season. Of note Oklahoma played a 1-AA team that won 2 games last season and Texas Tech's "improved" defense gave up 17 second quarter points to Eastern Washington.
I'd include Pitt on this list but they had no business being ranked in the Top 25 to begin with. The long weekend means we aren't done with Week 1 just yet and we still have some great games on tap.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
New World Order of College Football
After last season I think it is evident that college football finally has some parity to it that can save it from itself. In this money grubbing world of no playoffs, it looks bad when you have this "any given saturday" scenario playing out every week and the bcs bowls basically prove nothing. I love it. No longer can 1AA's be completely overlooked. No longer can teams like Stanford and LA Monroe be given no chance in games against major opponents. I hope that this is a trend and not a blip in the history of CFB. If anything can get us to a playoff it is upsets, upsets, upsets. The more the merrier, even if it is against a team I like or have "wagered" on. The ends would definitely justify the means. So now more than ever if you are a playoff proponent you need to root for the underdog whenever possible. They (the powers that be in CFB) can't ignore them forever.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Week 1 is here...
Finally GAMETIME!!! I know everybody is pumped. Here's a look at how some games from Week 1 will turn out.
Thursay, August 28
Oregon State (-3) at Stanford: Opening against a conference foe, on the road no less, can be a tricky thing. Unless of course, you get to play Stanford. I expect Harbaugh will have his boys ready to play. Stanford will start Tavita Pritchard of "2007 USC upset" fame at quarterback; and the D can't be any worse than last year can it?. But Oregon State returns a D that was top 10 in the country last year in Total D. And two expereinced QBs to choose from. Oregon State 31 Stanford 20.
NCState (+14) at South Carolina: I don't think USC is very good, but I think NC State is worse. After a summer of figuring out who will be the QB, NC State felt RFr Russell Wilson was a better option over returning starter Daniel Evans. Yikes!! USC ended the 2007 season with a 5 game losing streak, so expect Spurrier to run it up in the home opener. The ' Cocks will have a little more experience to work with, as junior QB Timmy Beeceher will be locked in to Kevin McKinley (77 catches in 2007) all night. 'Cocks 31, Wolves 14
Wake Forest (-12) at Baylor: This game has a chance to be more interesting than people think. The Bears return 9 on offense, including QB Blake Szymanski (2844 yards, 22 TDs). New head coach Art Briles ran a similar spread at Houston, as Baylor did last year. So don't expect many glitches. Wake returns QB Riley Skinner, who could emerge as the best QB in the ACC this year. Expect a few points to be put on the board in this one. Wake 38, Bears 30
Saturday, August 30
Michigan State at Cal (-5): Sparty will put up some points behind senior Bryan Hoyer, and the D is led by LB Greg Jones. MSU also returns RB Javon Ringer (1447 yards, 6 TDs in 2007) Cal sophomore Kevin Riley bumped 2 year starter Nate Longshore of the QB duties. Probably a good thing for the Bears. But with the losses of DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins, and Justin Forsett it may not matter who is playing QB. Cal also returns one of the better LB cores in the country, but it won't be enough. I'm taking the road upset. Sparty 35, Tree hugging Bears 24
Utah (+3.5) at Michigan: Let the Rich Rodriguez era begin! Everybody in Ann Arbor will be pumped to see a new offense on the field for the Wolverines. And on this day, it's going to suck. But the D will be one of the better in the Big 10, if not the country. Expect the Wolverine D to keep the Utes in check, and the O to find a way to make just enough plays. Michigan 24, Utah 21.
Missouri (-9) versus Illinois at St.Louis: Last season Mizzou ran up a big lead, only to see the Illini get back in the game, but eventually held on. I know Missouri has all the hype behind QB Chase Daniel and WR Jeremy Maclin. But Illinois remembers last year's game and will be looking to build upon last season' Rose Bowl appearance. Expect the Illini to pull the upset behind Juice Williams' legs and Arrelious Benn's playmaking. Illinois 30, Mizzou 28
Alabama versus Clemson (-4.5) at Atlanta: Another OOC neutral site, made for TV matchup...another upset. As I said in my pre-season write up, I ain't buying Clemson. And Tommy Bowden, simply put, sucks. If his last name was Smith he wouldn't have a job. I expect BAMA under Saban to make a nice leap in year two, much like his team did at LSU. They probably aren't going to the Sugar Bowl, but you get the point. Expect a Julio Jones coming out party in this one. Alabama 28 Clemson 20
Monday, September 1
Tennessee (-7) at UCLA: Tennessee will come out West for the second straight year, and expect a better showing than last season at Cal. The Jonathan Crompton era will take center stage finally (Wasn't Ainge in school longer than Jason White??) and S Eric Berry will make plays on D. As for UCLA, they have no QB thanks to an atrocious O-Line. Good grief, they couldn't even block in practice. They have no shot in an actual game. Expect this one to get ugly. Tennessee 35, UCLA 13.
Thursay, August 28
Oregon State (-3) at Stanford: Opening against a conference foe, on the road no less, can be a tricky thing. Unless of course, you get to play Stanford. I expect Harbaugh will have his boys ready to play. Stanford will start Tavita Pritchard of "2007 USC upset" fame at quarterback; and the D can't be any worse than last year can it?. But Oregon State returns a D that was top 10 in the country last year in Total D. And two expereinced QBs to choose from. Oregon State 31 Stanford 20.
NCState (+14) at South Carolina: I don't think USC is very good, but I think NC State is worse. After a summer of figuring out who will be the QB, NC State felt RFr Russell Wilson was a better option over returning starter Daniel Evans. Yikes!! USC ended the 2007 season with a 5 game losing streak, so expect Spurrier to run it up in the home opener. The ' Cocks will have a little more experience to work with, as junior QB Timmy Beeceher will be locked in to Kevin McKinley (77 catches in 2007) all night. 'Cocks 31, Wolves 14
Wake Forest (-12) at Baylor: This game has a chance to be more interesting than people think. The Bears return 9 on offense, including QB Blake Szymanski (2844 yards, 22 TDs). New head coach Art Briles ran a similar spread at Houston, as Baylor did last year. So don't expect many glitches. Wake returns QB Riley Skinner, who could emerge as the best QB in the ACC this year. Expect a few points to be put on the board in this one. Wake 38, Bears 30
Saturday, August 30
Michigan State at Cal (-5): Sparty will put up some points behind senior Bryan Hoyer, and the D is led by LB Greg Jones. MSU also returns RB Javon Ringer (1447 yards, 6 TDs in 2007) Cal sophomore Kevin Riley bumped 2 year starter Nate Longshore of the QB duties. Probably a good thing for the Bears. But with the losses of DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins, and Justin Forsett it may not matter who is playing QB. Cal also returns one of the better LB cores in the country, but it won't be enough. I'm taking the road upset. Sparty 35, Tree hugging Bears 24
Utah (+3.5) at Michigan: Let the Rich Rodriguez era begin! Everybody in Ann Arbor will be pumped to see a new offense on the field for the Wolverines. And on this day, it's going to suck. But the D will be one of the better in the Big 10, if not the country. Expect the Wolverine D to keep the Utes in check, and the O to find a way to make just enough plays. Michigan 24, Utah 21.
Missouri (-9) versus Illinois at St.Louis: Last season Mizzou ran up a big lead, only to see the Illini get back in the game, but eventually held on. I know Missouri has all the hype behind QB Chase Daniel and WR Jeremy Maclin. But Illinois remembers last year's game and will be looking to build upon last season' Rose Bowl appearance. Expect the Illini to pull the upset behind Juice Williams' legs and Arrelious Benn's playmaking. Illinois 30, Mizzou 28
Alabama versus Clemson (-4.5) at Atlanta: Another OOC neutral site, made for TV matchup...another upset. As I said in my pre-season write up, I ain't buying Clemson. And Tommy Bowden, simply put, sucks. If his last name was Smith he wouldn't have a job. I expect BAMA under Saban to make a nice leap in year two, much like his team did at LSU. They probably aren't going to the Sugar Bowl, but you get the point. Expect a Julio Jones coming out party in this one. Alabama 28 Clemson 20
Monday, September 1
Tennessee (-7) at UCLA: Tennessee will come out West for the second straight year, and expect a better showing than last season at Cal. The Jonathan Crompton era will take center stage finally (Wasn't Ainge in school longer than Jason White??) and S Eric Berry will make plays on D. As for UCLA, they have no QB thanks to an atrocious O-Line. Good grief, they couldn't even block in practice. They have no shot in an actual game. Expect this one to get ugly. Tennessee 35, UCLA 13.
Monday, August 18, 2008
The end of the Who Beat Who Argument
The 2007/2008 football season provided an interesting opportunity to once and for all put the Who Beat Who argument to an end courtesy of a certain early season football game. So here goes my demonstration why this argument never works....
During last season, Liberty beat Tusculum, who beat Catawba, who beat Carson Newman, who beat Tennessee-Chattanooga, who beat Georgia Southern, who beat Wofford, who beat Appalachian State, who beat Michigan, who beat Florida, who beat Tennessee, who beat Georgia, who beat Oklahoma State, who beat Kansas State, who beat Colorado, who beat Oklahoma, who beat Missouri, who beat Arkansas, who beat South Carolina, who beat Kentucky, who beat LSU.
There you have it. A D-2 school could have beaten LSU for the national championship last year. I could have wound around D-1AA and D-2 some more and even back up into D-1 but I think the illustration is complete enough. Remember this the next time you start to say...."Yeah but that team lost to...."
During last season, Liberty beat Tusculum, who beat Catawba, who beat Carson Newman, who beat Tennessee-Chattanooga, who beat Georgia Southern, who beat Wofford, who beat Appalachian State, who beat Michigan, who beat Florida, who beat Tennessee, who beat Georgia, who beat Oklahoma State, who beat Kansas State, who beat Colorado, who beat Oklahoma, who beat Missouri, who beat Arkansas, who beat South Carolina, who beat Kentucky, who beat LSU.
There you have it. A D-2 school could have beaten LSU for the national championship last year. I could have wound around D-1AA and D-2 some more and even back up into D-1 but I think the illustration is complete enough. Remember this the next time you start to say...."Yeah but that team lost to...."
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Pre-Season Top 25
1) Oklahoma (5)
2) Southern Cal (1)
3) Georgia (5)
4) Ohio State (1)
5) Florida (1)
6) Missouri
7) West Virginia
8) LSU
9) Texas
10) Auburn
11) Wisconsin
12) Clemson
13) Arizona State
14) BYU
15) Texas Tech
16) Tennessee
17) Kansas
18) Virginia Tech
19) Penn State
20) Oregon
21) Illinois
22) South Florida
23) Pittsburgh
24) Cal
25) Wake Forest
Others receiving votes: Utah 24, Fresno State 21, Boston College 16, Virginia 13, South Carolina 13, Rutgers 12, South Carolina 11, Boise State 7, Michigan 6, Florida State 6, Texas A&M 4, UCLA 4, UConn 4, Michigan State 3, Maryland 1
Friday, August 8, 2008
CFB Paradise Pre-season radio show
Listen Live Saturday, August 9, 2008 from 10 am - 12 pm CST as we broadcast live from Danville, Illinois. We'll dissect out pre-season top 25 (to be posted later today) as well as discuss the latest CFB issues and make our conference and BCS predictions.
To listen:
- Go to www.1490wdan.com
- Click on "Listen LIVE On-line"
We'll also have downloadable link up later, Saturday afternoon.
To listen:
- Go to www.1490wdan.com
- Click on "Listen LIVE On-line"
We'll also have downloadable link up later, Saturday afternoon.
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