Bowl Games & More

My bowl predictions...

BYU over UTEP. Fresno State over No. Illinois. Troy over Ohio. Louisville over So. Miss. Boise State over Utah. Navy over SDSU. Hawaii over Tulsa. Toledo over FIU. Air Force over Georgia Tech. NC State over West Virginia. Missouri over Iowa. Maryland over ECU. Baylor over Illinois. Oklahoma State over Arizona. SMU over Army. Go June Jones! Kansas State over Syracuse. Tennessee over UNC. Nebraska over Washington - they already played in Washington, and Nebraska dominated. Come on T-Magic! Enough with the injuries - scare the hell out of the big ten for next season!! Clemson over USF. Miami over Notre Dame. Georgia over UCF. South Carolina over FSU. Texas Tech over Northwestern. FLORIDA OVER PENN STATE. GO GATORS!!! Alabama over Michigan State. Miss State over Michigan. Wisconsin over TCU. Oklahoma over UConn. Stanford over VA Tech. Arkansas over Ohio State. Miami (OH) over Middle Tennessee. LSU over Texas A&M. Kentucky over Pitt. Nevada over BC. On a bright note, Rutgers can't lose a bowl game this year. And of course, Auburn over Oregon. Let's make it 5 straight national titles for the SEC!! You may notice I picked every SEC team. No one said I'm not biased. And I only picked one Big Ten team...and that's because they're playing a team from a non-BCS conference. And anyone who wants to tell me TCU is in the Big East so I'm wrong...well - look at a calendar. It's not 2012 yet. A Pac-10 alumnus for some strange reason believes the Pac-10 is the strongest conference this year, so we have a bet on the national championship game. The SEC is by far the strongest conference. I will make my final ranking after the bowl games, but right now I would say SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10, ACC, Big East. I'm putting the Big Ten ahead of the Pac-10 because they have more bowl eligible teams. But really...the SEC is so far ahead of every other conference. Don't let me down, Auburn!

I feel I should mention something about Urban's replacement. I will say I am surprised. I'm also disappointed that he's a Georgia alum. But at least that's one less bulldog fan in the world... I heard Brantley might leave. Seriously dude - couldn't you have done that last year? And as long as Addazio's gone...Gators are in better shape. I do hope Foley knows something I don't know, because Muschamp would not have been my first choice. Anyway, welcome to Gator Nation Will Muschamp! Make us proud!

The Gators have a big basketball game this weekend - against Kansas State in Sunrise. Gators, if you are good, now would be the time to show that. Gators are 7-2. If they lose this game, they can say goodbye to the top 25 next week. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see South Carolina beat Ohio State. Excited to see Baylor beat Gonzaga. Not overly excited for UNC-Texas or USC-Kansas, but hey, I just love watching college basketball. Not many high-profile games coming up, but those would be my top 5 for the week. Huskers are 8-2. Rutgers is 7-2. Was happy to see the cheating Lady Vols lose to Griner and company. Although Griner still scares the hell out of me. Lady Knights had a tough loss to BC and they're now 6-4 to open the season. Lady Huskers are 8-1. The Lady Gators are 8-3 after a loss to Hampton.

GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!

Urban Meyer Resigns

The legend is over. I posted Monday that if the Gators lose to Penn State I would be all for firing Coach Meyer. Apparently that will not be an issue now that he has stepped down. Let me clarify that I love what Urban Meyer has done for Gator Nation. I just don't think he is himself anymore. I personally don't need to see Urban Meyer on the sideline as a figurehead while the Gators have mediocre/disappointing seasons (think Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden). Certainly Meyer has done a great job with coaching and recruiting. But I think his best days are behind him. Thank you for the championships, Urban. I, and all other Gators, appreciate what you've done for the team.

Who will replace Urban Meyer? Much speculation has surfaced about the possibility of Dan Mullen's return to Gainesville. I, for one, believe this would be the obvious choice. Remember the days when Florida had an awesome offense? Aka the days of Dan Mullen... I believe it would be wise not only because Mullen is very familiar with the program, but also because there is no way Addazio would be offensive coordinator under Dan Mullen. There are also rumors of Charlie Strong returning to Gainesville after leaving UF for Lousiville. I respect Dan Mullen. I respect Charlie Strong. Now, if the Gators should have some complete breakdown and hire Steve Addazio as head coach of the Gators, I will take a leave of absence from Gator fanhood. This season was hard enough to watch... Jeremy Foley, I beg you. Don't make next year harder. Apparently there is also talk of Bob Stoops, Bobby Petrino, Kyle Whittingham and Gary Patterson. Only time will tell - but I have a feeling we won't be waiting very long.

Anyone else have a feeling Urban Meyer wants to go to Denver because of a certain former HE15MAN winner?

Go Gators!!!

Week 13

Well, a disappointing season for Rutgers came to a close. The bowl streak is no more. And despite having lost to Rutgers, UConn won the Big East and will play Oklahoma in a Fiesta Bowl that won't be very exciting. Neither team is particularly good. Nebraska proved that it has a better team than Oklahoma, but that it also has a more careless and accident-prone team. Really, what was with all those turnovers? Oregon and Auburn kept their undefeated seasons alive, and not surprisingly they will meet in Arizona for the national championship game. Stanford will play, and most likely dominate, Virginia Tech from the way-down ACC in this year's Orange Bowl. Wisconsin should be able to handle TCU in the Rose Bowl. The Sugar Bowl must hate Ohio State, because I just can't see Pryor and gang beating Arkansas. I thought the BCS would work things out to ensure an easy game for Ohio State against UConn.

The full bowl schedule was released last night. The strongest conference (the SEC) has 10 teams playing in bowl games this season. After a terribly disappointing and depressing season for the Gators, they will play Penn State in the Outback Bowl. Not quite the same stage as the 2 National Championship games they played for (and won) in the last 4 years or the Sugar Bowl victory last year. If Florida loses to a big ten school, I will be all for firing Urban Meyer. Yes, Steve Addazio is predictable and not up to par. Yes, Brantley is not a good fit for an SEC football team. But I can't continue to put the entire blame on Addazio and Brantley if Urban is still allowing the reign of terror to continue. If losing the game would ensure the departure of Addazio and Brantley, I would actually cheer for the Nittany Lions. Besides - I do like peachy Paterno ice cream. Anyway, GO GATORS. I will hold off on making all of my bowl selections. But for this week, I see Navy beating Army.

On to basketball. Well, the Gators fell to UCF - but come on. They have Michael Jordan's son! Winning is in his blood. And the Gators rebounded yesterday with a road-win at American. I'm looking forward to the rematch of the 2008 National Championship game tomorrow night, and I once again expect Kansas to beat Memphis. Kansas almost gave me a heart attack that night, but Mario Chalmers did make sure I won my pool. Also looking forward to Michigan State-Syracuse. Sorry Spartans, but I don't think the Big Ten can hang with the Big East in basketball. Michigan State isn't terrible, but I have tremendous respect for Big East basketball. Vanderbilt at Missouri on Wednesday might actually be a good game. Tenn at Pitt should be good. Not surprisingly, I also look forward to seeing the Gators play (and hopefully beat) Kent State. The Scarlet Knights are not off to a great start under their new coach, but the season is still young - and they did lose their top scorer to the Gators. After a close game with in-state rival Creighton, the Huskers are 6-2. The Lady Knights rebounded nicely after a tough loss to Temple with a 73-32 victory over Central Connecticut State. A win at Georgetown this week would be great! The Lady Huskers suffered their first loss yesterday at Indiana. The Lady Gators are off to a 7-2 start.

Go Gators! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!

Week 13

Sucks to be Texas! They went from way overrated and going to the national championship only to get crushed by a team from the best conference to showing their true colors and not making a bowl game. Unfortunately Rutgers ended its bowl streak too. Auburn over Alabama was my lock of the year. When Alabama went up 24-0, all I said was "Remember the Georgia-Auburn game? Auburn will come back." Nevada pulled off a great upset. TCU played another awful team. Oregon played a terrible first half against mediocre Arizona. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State all played bad teams (really, what else is there in the big ten?) and won. Lucky Les almost did get lucky. At the end of the game he must have been saying "I want my money back" ...someone must have paid someone to mess with the clocks. But the better team won, and Arkansas should expect a Sugar Bowl bid after Auburn beats South Carolina again. Miss State won a close game over Ole Miss. Remember when I said Iowa shouldn't be ranked at all? And that they are the most overrated team of the season? Point proven. My old high school football team could beat Minnesota. Pathetic! South Carolina dominated Clemson from the awful ACC. Unfortunately, the Gators did not show up for their match against an ACC foe. I guess in all true rivalries, each team must win at some point. Better to let FSU win in a year when it means nothing. But if Urban doesn't rethink his decision to start Brantley next year...many Gator fans will stop watching. Brantley and Addazio do not belong in the SEC. They are embarrassing our school, and Meyer is just as guilty for allowing it to happen. At least Nebraska showed up and dominated Colorado - and without any help from Martinez!

Auburn is back at number 1 in the BCS Standings. Probably has something to do with the fact Alabama is a lot better than Arizona. But who cares? The Championship game has almost definitely already been decided. Auburn and Oregon fans, go ahead - buy your tickets. It's safe. And I don't care about geography. No one can convince me that Oregon will win because it's closer to Arizona than Auburn is. It should be a high-scoring game because neither team has any defense, but they both have enough offense to make up for it. I will also add that I think it will be funny if TCU beats Wisconsin, and that I'm SO happy Ohio State didn't jump Wisconsin. They probably won't put Ohio State against Arkansas because they want Ohio State to lose, so I expect to see something awful like Ohio State-UConn or Ohio State-Virginia Tech. History has taught us that Ohio State cannot beat the SEC in football. Also, congratulations to TCU on joining a BCS conference. Unlike Boise State, TCU and Utah have taken steps to solve their problems. Boise State is apparently joining the Mountain West Conference. Really not sure what the point of that is. Should be joining the Pac 10 or Big 12, but I guess it's not my decision!

The Gators beat the Seminoles in basketball - and I cheered "UF Rejects!" because I have no respect for FSU. I've gotta say, UNLV is looking good. UNC is not doing anything this year. Duke looks good. Kansas State still looks good. Michigan State is overrated as usual - once again, Spartans will not win the national championship - calling that now. Pitt and Kansas look good. Still not impressed with Ohio State. Waiting for them to play a team with a defense. Illinois looks ok, but I question the loss to Texas because I don't know if Texas is good yet. Can't be worse than the UT football team though, right? I'm mad Gonzaga beat Marquette. This week Florida State plays Ohio State. This is the game where I cheer for a natural disaster because I hate both teams so much and love to watch both of them lose. 5 games I look forward to - Georgetown-Missouri. UNC-Illinois - A rematch of the 2005 National Championship game. Mich St-Duke. Duke will win. Butler vs Duke - Can Butler avenge last year's game? I doubt it, but we'll see. And I'll add Florida-American. Just because I'm a Gator fan.

Football predictions....Arizona over Arizona State. Scarlet Knights win in Morgantown, I hope - though the season is over for Rutgers. I'll pick Pitt at Cincy. But who cares. Boise State beats Utah State. Nevada beats Louisiana Tech. UConn over USF. Hawaii over UNLV. Virginia Tech over FSU. Auburn over South Carolina. Oregon wins the Civil War. Huskers should beat inconsistent Oklahoma - especially if Martinez plays. Looking forward to seeing all the bowl announcements.

GO GATORS! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!

Week 12

Lucky Les's luck continues. Close one! I was glad to see Jake Locker get the win on senior night. Boise State had a slow start but a nice finish. Wisconsin was tested for a little, but they did win. Now they just have to stay ahead of Ohio State in the BCS... Michigan State should have lost. Ohio State should have lost. Wisconsin deserves the big ten title this year. Ohio State does not deserve a spot in a BCS bowl game - but I am sure they will get one, even if they lose to Michigan. Nebraska once again proved the huskers are nothing without Martinez. If he is healthy, they can dominate the big ten next year. Otherwise, I'm prepared to see many games that will put me to sleep like the one this weekend did. That late roughing the passer call was completely bogus, though. Should have gone to overtime 6-6. I thought Pelini was going to murder someone. He was LIVID. But I can't blame him. Refs appeared to be paid off... And Zook became bowl eligible in one of the strangest games I've ever seen. Rutgers showed some promise on offense, but the defense didnt show up. Still a slight chance at bowl eligibility...

Anyway, the top of the BCS stayed the same. I guess that's what happens when 1, 2 and 3 have bye weeks. Nebraska dropped after losing...but does it matter? That game meant as much as Arkansas beating South Carolina. As long as Nebraska beats Colorado, they go to the Big 12 championship. Ohio State is creeping up the rankings despite unimpressive wins over overrated teams. And what a freaking joke that Iowa is still ranked. I actually hope Florida gets to play Iowa in a bowl game now. Everyone thinks the Gators are awful this year. Well, with all of Iowa's undeserved hype, suddenly the Gators could gain respect by beating them in a bowl game.

The Gator basketball team is inconsistent so far this season. Apparently they only showed up for one half the Ohio State game. It upsets me because I know the Gators could have, and should have, won that game. More so, it upsets me because now Ohio State will continue its reign of overratedness. The SEC East is going to be very competitive this year. Vanderbilt looked decent against UNC yesterday - though I don't think UNC belonged in the top 10 to start the season. Living off its name entirely. Oh well. Lots of basketball left to be played this season! Rutgers beat the ACC's weak link Miami this weekend. Rah! Rah! The Gators have a big one this weekend against FSU. GO GATORS! Illinois is looking better than I expected. I hope they are as good as they were in 2004. They actually made for some watchable big ten games. That's the last big ten team I respected...the 2004-05 Fighting Illini. Everyone since has been overrated trash (ie: Michigan State the last 2 years, Ohio State in 2006-07). When I watched Nebraska play Vanderbilt...I could have sworn the Huskers were already in the big ten. So slow I almost fell asleep in my chair at work. They will be a perfect fit next year. Oh well. I'm more concerned about the Gators beating FSU in both football and basketball. Five games I look forward to this week: UF vs FSU (naturally), Duke vs Marquette (I always respect the Golden Eagles), Kansas State vs Gonzaga (because I love seeing the Zags lose), Butler vs Siena, UCLA vs Villanova (want to see if UCLA is any good this year!).

As far as week 13 football predictions... I will take Texas A&M over Texas. Sorry Texas - no bowl game for you this year! Rutgers over Louisville. Upstream, red team! Picking Auburn at Alabama. Everyone else thinks Auburn will fall. Well, prepare for loss #3, Bama. Would love to see Arizona and Nevada win. But I dont think either will happen. I think Auburn, Oregon and Boise State will all remain undefeated. Cheering for Michigan and Penn State. Michigan State and Ohio State are both insanely lucky, though. But I'd like to see Michigan upset Ohio State. LSU will play a close game with Arkansas, but Lucky Les will get lucky. LSU by a touchdown or less. Iowa shouldn't be ranked at all, but they'll at least beat Minnesota. Wisconsin may struggle with Northwestern because of the pressure, but I'm cheering for the badgers. South Carolina should have no problem with Clemson. Miss State-Ole Miss should be a close one. I'll take Miss State by a field goal. I'll pick Nebraska over Colorado. Huskers win the Big 12 North. Go big red! And of course, I will pick the Gators to win the 7th straight game against the Seminoles. I don't care about records or stats. The Gators better show up and own the Seminoles. And the basketball team better do the same on Sunday.

Go Gators!!!!! Go Scarlet Knights!! Go Huskers!!

Week 11

Cal, you need a better kicker. Oregon, where was this 70-point performance you had everyone anticipating? Did you switch offenses with Wisconsin?? Sure looked that way. Iowa, I'm not sure how you did it, but you have managed to officially become the most overrated team of this season. Now, some may argue Texas was more overrated - and preseason/early season I'd agree, but for Iowa to be #13 and deserve to lose to an Indiana team that lost by 63 points to usually half-asleep Wisconsin and then lose (yet again) to Northwestern... Iowa has become the most overrated team of the season. They never deserved a ranking higher than 20. Not at ANY point this season. Don't get me wrong though - Ohio State is still incredibly overrated, and I hope Iowa's overratedness will lure Ohio State into a false confidence, and I hope Iowa will beat Ohio State like Penn State should have. Pittsburgh...you have the easiest road to a BCS bowl game. How did you lose to UConn? Louisville should have beaten USF. Missouri was able to regroup, but it will not matter. Nebraska is one game away from clinching the Big 12 North after its win over Kansas. Go big red! Utah clearly doesn't deserve to be ranked. I think my high school football team could beat Notre Shame. Alabama's game didn't surprise me at all. Texas lost yet again. They went from undeservedly being in the national championship game in January to soon-to-be-not-bowl-eligible this year. And to make me smile, Colt McCoy fell apart in overtime against gang green. J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets! I needed to see that win yesterday after the pathetic performances by my home team Rutgers and my alma mater Florida. I stated last week what the Gators needed to do to win that game. I begged Addazio to prove me wrong with what I predicted he would actually do. Unfortunately, I was right. ATTENTION FLORIDA COACHING STAFF: John Brantley does not have what it takes to be a quarterback in the SEC. END OF STORY. As a Gator fan, I am so tired of seeing coaches play favorites with sub-par players simply because of their good behavior. Honestly, if you're gonna play one criminal, you may as well play them all. Just put the best players on the field! Put Moody and Brantley on the bench, and win some games!

As for the BCS this week...I once again ask: What is the point? Boise State is obviously better than TCU. San Diego State should have won that game. Dalton and crew got lucky. And Auburn is clearly the best team in the country with a very tough schedule. Cam Newton should be a shoe-in for the Heisman. He is obviously the best player in the country, and definitely the most valuable to his team. How can you compare Oregon's schedule to any SEC West schedule? Answer: You can't. Playing Washington without the team's best player and actually struggling through the first half...beating 5-4 (now 5-5) Cal by 2 points because Cal missed a field goal...and out of conference: a win over 4-6 Tennessee (where they were tied at the half), 1-9 New Mexico, and 3-8 Portland State. Okay. Auburn's out of conference schedule with wins over 6-4 Chattanooga, 4-6 Arkansas State, 5-5 Clemson, and 4-6 Louisiana-Monroe may not be much better - but I would argue that it is better. When you look at Auburn's conference schedule, though, there is absolutely no comparison. Games against #12 South Carolina, # 6 LSU, #12 Arkansas and a game coming up against defending national champion, #11 Alabama in Tuscaloosa the day after Thanksgiving. One home game vs. #9 Stanford and a game at never-should-have-been-ranked, ineligible-for-post-season, #24 USC prove nothing. No one can clearly explain to me why Arizona is ranked, but I'd almost like to see the #22 Wildcats win this weekend. In Liz's poll, this week's top 4 are 1) Auburn 2) Oregon 3) Boise State 4) TCU. The AP got it right with Boise State jumping TCU. After Utah lost to awful Notre Dame, the hype from TCU's performance last weekend should have calmed down. But this isn't the first time the BCS got it wrong. Not even the first time they underrated Auburn. My real question is...who is the genius watching TCU struggle against SDSU who gave them a first place vote this week in the AP Poll?

On to week 12 predictions...Alabama has an easy one Thursday night. I'm more interested in seeing Washington beat UCLA. Go Huskies! Would LOVE to see Fresno State beat Boise State. But on the smurf turf, I've learned to pick the Broncos. I still believe Hawaii will beat Boise State next year in Hawaii. Wisconsin may be tested this week. Michigan can be tough at home. But I will pick the badgers after they scored more points in football against Indiana than I think their basketball team will score all season. Oklahoma State will get by Kansas no problem. Michigan State will continue to be overrated after they beat Purdue. Florida WILL beat Appalachian State. They will NOT have a Michigan moment. LSU will beat Ole Miss. I'm cheering for the hawkeyes, and I expect the buckeyes to struggle, but I also expect the refs will be paid off. If Oregon loses or Auburn loses, I fully expect Ohio State to suddenly be the highest ranked one-loss team. If a one-loss team gets into the national championship, it will be Ohio State. Due purely to bias. They are most certainly not the best one-loss team even now, and I hope they lose to both Iowa and Michigan.

Speaking of Ohio State...The Gators have their first basketball test tomorrow night (6pm ET, ESPN) against the Buckeyes. The game is in Gainesville. As usual, Ohio State is overrated. I can say this without knowing whether or not they're actually good just because Ohio State is ALWAYS overrated. My only question is: Is Florida good this year? Florida finally shed the worst player in its history, gained a few good prospects, and suddenly went from unranked to #11/#9 in preseason rankings. Mind you, this all happened with the subtraction of Dan Werner, and the addition of people voters have not yet seen play in a college environment. Ohio State is #4/#5. No matter the outcome of this game, Florida will forever own Ohio State. But still, I am begging the Gators not to screw this up. Gator fans are disappointed by the football team, and a win over Ohio State would surely remind Gator fans of better times (ie: a 41-14 national championship victory in football or an 84-75 national championship victory in basketball...) The last time Ohio State played Florida in basketball in Gainesville, the Gators won 86-60. And in anticipation of the national championship football game that had already been set between the 2 schools, the crowd chanted "overrated" and "just like football." It was December 23, 2006. I remember it like it was yesterday. But I digress. I am very excited for the basketball tip-off marathon as a whole, because those who know me well know I will watch college basketball no matter who the participating teams may be. Yesterday I watched Chicago State vs DePaul.

Five basketball games I am most excited for this week: Ohio State at Florida (obviously), Virginia Tech at Kansas State (think the Wildcats will have a great season), Butler at Louisville, Maryland at Pitt and Wisconsin at UNLV. You may ask why "ranked vs. ranked" Illinois vs. Texas didn't make my list....but I'd just tell you that big ten basketball bores me to sleep (watch the aforementioned Wisconsin game and you'll see what I mean) and that I have no interest in Texas based on pre-season hype. Last year they were overrated because they were living off football hype. We'll see if they can make a name for themselves this year, but I believe the Big 12 will be dominated by Kansas and Kansas State this year. Rutgers Lady Knights had a rough start against two great opponents from the west coast, but hopefully they will gain confidence Thursday with a win over Princeton and have a great season. The Rutgers men did not fair so well against the Princeton Tigers. I don't expect as much from Mike Rice as I did from Ray Rice, though. Hopefully they can beat Fairfield tonight. Huskers play Arkansas Pine-Bluff tonight. Lady Huskers had an impressive opening game against Vermont. Looking forward to wins this week over Miami and St. Mary's.

GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Scarlet Knights!!! Go Huskers!!!

Week 10

Thanks, LSU! Everyone thought the Gators were done for the season...and that Alabama still had a chance to get the National Championship. Well, not anymore. Alabama won't even make it to Atlanta. But the Gators are one win away from the SEC Championship game. Rutgers broke my heart. It looked like Schiano took advice from Addazio in the 4th quarter. Terrible. Knights should have won by 2. Wisconsin actually did struggle with Purdue in the first half. Oklahoma State played better than I expected against Baylor. Hawaii did not show up. For some reason I thought that was an 8pm ET game. Why on earth would they have a game when its effectively 9:30am for the Warriors? Either way, they didn't have the high-powered offense I'm used to seeing. They played much too conservatively and it was atrocious. The Huskers got very lucky. Without Martinez, they fall apart. Arkansas beat South Carolina by a lot more than I expected, but I guess South Carolina has a tendency to fall apart at the end of the season. Oklahoma once again proved to be inconsistent, and Texas once again proved to be awful. Indiana should have beaten Iowa. Michigan got lucky. Stanford looked good - but their only tough game this year was against Oregon. Does anyone know if the Cardinal is good? Utah was the biggest disappointment of the week. Way to bring new meaning to the word "overrated," Utes.

BCS...The Gators are back in the rankings!! #22...only ranked team in Florida. Ohio State in the top 10? Don't make me vomit. Nebraska will jump back up in the BCS once Martinez is playing again. Not sure why Stanford jumped after beating overrated Arizona. LSU deserved the jump, but they're not going to the national championship anyway - they need Georgia to beat Auburn, and that's just not gonna happen. I believe there are 7 SEC teams ranked in the top 25. 5 from the West, 2 from the East. One East team will drop off next week, but that's fine. Hopefully it will be the Gamecocks.

Week 11 picks... Pittsburgh will beat UConn. But again, the Big East doesn't matter. Pittsburgh will probably get destroyed by Boise State or TCU in a bowl game. Boise State has another *tough* game at Idaho. Seriously, Boise State. Either join a real conference or shut up. Take a lesson from Utah. Wisconsin should beat Indiana. I think Iowa will have a challenge at Northwestern. I think Iowa will win a close one. Louisville should beat USF. Missouri should regroup and beat Kansas State. If Utah can't beat Notre Dame, the Utes should not be in the top 25. I'm hoping for a crazy upset and cheering for the Nittany Lions in Columbus. Beat the crap out of the Buckeyes. Please, Paterno, I'm begging you!! San Diego State...can you pull off a big upset? Please take TCU out of the title talk. I'm sick of it! If the horned frogs don't want to join the Big 12, they need to just be quiet. Play respectable teams, or just go away. Alabama should have too much offense for Mississippi State - but I have to laugh at this game because people in Alabama are just uneducated. Seriously, who is in charge of proofreading the tickets?? If you can't spell Mississippi, the game should automatically count as a loss. But Mississippi isn't much smarter. Oklahoma State should beat Texas. Stanford should beat Arizona State. Rutgers: You better beat Syracuse. Nebraska should not have a problem with Kansas. And Gators...it's now or never. You better show up Saturday and beat South Carolina!!!!! Spurrier doesn't like to see the Gators lose at home. Can we just take out Brantley and Moody? Brantley is too timid - and this game has too much on the line to take a risk with him when he's afraid of his own shadow. Sure, he can throw...but he has not proven himself in high-pressure situations. I think the best idea for this weekend is a 2-quarterback system with Burton and Reed. But I'm sure Addazio will call for Brantley in for 90% of the snaps, overuse of Moody and some other stupid calls. I am begging for him to prove me wrong this week. I would love to book a flight to Atlanta after this weekend.

LET'S GO GATORS!!!! Make it to Atlanta!!! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!

Also, Gator basketball (men's) tips off Friday night vs. UNC-Wilmington. Start strong, boys!

Week 9

I knew Iowa would beat Michigan State...but I didn't expect the game to be so one-sided. Boise State almost got a challenge for a little while with Louisiana Tech. When the Broncos don't cover the spread, people are not impressed. THANK YOU NC State! I love to see Florida State lose. Was not surprised to see the cowboys beat the wildcats. Miami, are you serious? When I said the game might be close....I meant with Miami winning. It took 19 points in the 4th quarter to avoid getting shut out by Virginia. Zook destroyed the boilermakers. I guess Lane Kiffin didn't have enough money for the refs. Clearly Oregon is the best team in the Pac-10. Mississippi State's offense actually showed up this week, and I guess the west proved to be better than the east in the SEC once again this season. Oklahoma played better than I expected against Colorado, but I still think they're inconsistent, and I still think they'll lose at least one more game this season (whether it be to Oklahoma State, Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship or someone else). Huskers looked great. Still can't figure out how they lost to awful Texas! Best thing of all this weekend: Florida beat Georgia. The SEC dream is still alive after that overtime game that almost gave me a heart attack. I'm really happy for Chas Henry - it still shouldn't be his responsibility to win a game that way, but I'm glad he got to have that moment. He deserved it after people jumped down his throat in the Miss State game, and I repeat: it was not Henry's fault the Gators lost that game. Also, I'm glad Chris Rainey had a good first game back.

So Oregon jumped Auburn in the BCS Standings. One word comes to mind: why? Just because Oregon beat always-overrated, ineligible-for-postseason USC? I'm pretty sure Ole Miss would beat USC, but whatever. Way to go BCS...make your system even more meaningless. And TCU jumped Boise State. What is the point of all this? Utah finally moved up to the top 5 after a game that was much closer than it should have been. Air Force is so inconsistent. I think it's a little pathetic that teams 3, 4 and 5 in the BCS have what could be confused with high school football schedules. They are making a mockery of the BCS. But obviously at least one (I'm hoping 2) of these teams will fall this week with #3 visiting #5 this weekend. Ohio State is still 11 and still a joke. I hope they lose at Iowa. Nebraska rightfully moved up from 14 to 7. Bo is probably still kicking himself for benching Martinez in the Texas game. It just didn't make sense to put Lee in as a running QB when you have one of the best running QBs in college football.

Week 10... Rutgers is going to beat South Florida in Tampa. Their records are about even, and USF has home advantage, but why would I pick against my home team when they're playing someone I don't respect? Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are both pretty bad. Virginia Tech has home advantage, but they're both coming off bye weeks. We'll see who is more prepared...but I'll pick the hokies in a close game. Wisconsin should have no trouble with Purdue. Michigan State will probably climb back up the rankings after they beat terrible Minnesota because the current system loves the terrible Big Ten. I can't wait to see Nebraska own that conference next year. I think Oklahoma State will beat Baylor. The Huskers will dominate Iowa State. I think TCU will fall at Utah this weekend. My upset special of the week, that I have been telling friends and co-workers about for a month: I am picking Hawaii over Boise State on the smurf turf. It's crazy, and no one sees it coming...but I like the Warriors. Arkansas-South Carolina should be a good game - I'm picking Arkansas. Not so much because I think they'll win, but because the more South Carolina loses, the less pressure there will be on my Gators. Oklahoma should beat Texas A&M...but Oklahoma is incredibly inconsistent and is dealing with a few injuries. Sooners win a close one. Arizona-Stanford should be a good one. Arizona hasn't impressed me much. I think the only win over a ranked opponent for the Wildcats was vs overrated Iowa. I pick the Cardinal. Auburn will beat Chattanooga to advance to 10-0. Alabama-LSU isn't quite as big of a game as it was last year, but it is still a very big game. LSU rarely loses home games on Saturday nights and Les Miles is a very lucky man. But Alabama is a better team. If the tigers can make this a defensive battle and keep it a low-scoring game, LSU will win. If it's a high-scoring game, LSU may get blown out at home. Both teams are coming off bye weeks. I'm going to give a very slight advantage to LSU solely because of its record in Saturday night home games. It may not be a night game - but it will go into the night, and I have a feeling Les has some luck left. More importantly, I'm picking the Gators to beat the Commodores.

GO GATORS!!! Go Scarlet Knights!! Go Huskers!!

Week 8

Like I said: Oklahoma, really? I knew they wouldn't go undefeated. And I still think Nebraska is winning the Big 12 to go out with a bang. UCLA was embarrassed at Oregon. USF caught a break when Cincy had to put in a backup QB for its attempt at a game-tying drive. Northwestern DID come to play like I expected, but Michigan State came away with a win. West Virginia is apparently as bad as everyone though they were during the Marshall game. Rutgers got my hopes up in the first half, but they apparently left Pittsburgh at halftime. Arkansas beat Ole Miss - no surprise there. Wisconsin got lucky. I thought they'd win, but I didn't think it would be because of Iowa's inability to manage timeouts. Lucky Les couldn't handle the other SEC West Tigers. Martinez got his act together for Oklahoma State's homecoming and spoiled the party for the Cowboys. After seeing Texas lose to Iowa State, I really can't figure out how Martinez froze up like that against the Longhorns. Nebraska should be undefeated. It's a shame, really. Spurrier beat Vandy, as expected, and Alabama beat Tennessee. And hopefully Georgia's victory over Kentucky will leave them overconfident and unprepared for this weekend.

BCS...Week 2. After Auburn won on Saturday, I texted my father and said, "Auburn number 1" ...he wrote back "No way, Oregon." Last night I texted him, "told you so. SEC is too good." Let's be honest. The Ducks look great. But who have they played other than Stanford? Auburn is playing in the SEC West. The SEC West is the best division in this country. If you're 8-0 playing in that league, you deserve to be number 1. End of story. I still don't get why the BCS looks at Ohio State so favorably. Number 11? Seriously? I'd put them at 20, maybe. They're definitely not better than Arkansas, Stanford, Nebraska or LSU. But the BCS loves to put Ohio State in title games it can't win...so if there are no undefeated teams left at the end of the season, I won't be at all surprised if Ohio State magically jumps to number 1 in the BCS.

Week 9. Well, Boise State has another oh-so-challenging game in Boise. Somehow I don't see 3-4 Louisiana Tech matching up well with the Broncos on the smurf turf. Also, who plays games on Tuesdays? Thursday I'm obviously pulling for the Wolfpack over those dirty Seminoles. I expect the Oklahoma State-Kansas State game to be close because neither team has any defense, but I think the Cowboys have more offense. Miami will beat Virginia, but because it's in Virginia, I think it will be close. Gotta pick Zook over Purdue. I'm picking Iowa over Michigan State. Michigan State has not proven anything to me yet. The only game that surprised me was when they beat slow Wisconsin. Iowa isn't that good, but they're mad after they lost to the badgers. They'll be back with a vengeance this weekend. Plus they have home advantage. I think Washington will give Stanford a fight, but the Cardinal will probably win. Luck vs. Locker should be interesting, though. Arkansas will beat Vandy. Miss State may be surprised by Kentucky - depending which Kentucky team shows up. Kentucky has a better offense than Miss State, so I'm tempted to pick the Wildcats in this one. Ohio State will beat Minnesota. I hate Lane Kiffin, but I think USC is ready for this one. Part of me wants to see Oregon lose. But another part of me wants to smack Lane Kiffin's face off of his face. Oregon is clearly the better team, but Kiffin just might cheat enough for the Trojans to win. Michigan-Penn State - I will not be watching because I'm pretty sure that game would put me to sleep. Oklahoma beats Colorado. Nevada beats Utah State. TCU beats UNLV. Hawaii beats Idaho. Sidenote: I want Hawaii to be the team to upset Boise State this year. As for my teams... Rutgers is off this weekend. I'm picking T-Magic and Nebraska to beat Missouri. And at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party...of course I'm picking the Gators.

GO GATORS!! Go Huskers!! And Rutgers - be prepared to beat the Bulls next week!

Week 7...BCS Rankings Join the Party...

All I can say about Pryor is, "I told you so." Wisconsin forced him to throw, and that is why Ohio State lost. That's exactly why I picked Wisconsin to win that game. Pryor's running game is about 97% of Ohio State's offense. Take that away...and BAM - they're not good. LIKE I SAID. Terribly overrated, as usual. On, Wisconsin! Spartans stayed undefeated - but really? I still don't think Michigan State is good. Pitt won. West Virginia won. Does anyone care about the Big East anymore, though? Rutgers beat Army. My thoughts are with the LeGrand family. That awful play reminded us all that football can be very, very dangerous. FSU was pathetic, but got lucky. Jake Locker and the Huskies beat the Beavers in double overtime. Not sure why the Beavers went for 2 in double overtime to win instead of going for the tie, but the weird part is: during the first overtime, I predicted that's how the game would end. Michigan isn't good. There were some big disappointments this week. Clearly, the Gators were the biggest disappointment for me. So much talent going to waste. And there are FIVE players on the roster listed as Kickers. So Sturgis is hurt. Where are the other 4? If any of these guys are on scholarship, they need to leave. If your position only requires you to kick field goals and extra points and you are so terrible that your coach would rather let a PUNTER kick field goals instead of you, you should not be a part of Gator football. I feel awful for Chas Henry. Field goals are not his responsibility, and the loss is not his fault. It's a matter of coaching. Don't get me wrong - Urban Meyer has done great things in Gainesville and I certainly appreciate his contributions to Gator Nation. But right now it's getting hard to support him. Brantley is obviously injured. Stop making him play with a broken thumb. Moody is AWFUL. Bench him. Addazio is out of his mind. Let him go back to coaching just the offensive line - he didn't do much damage then. It's just getting pathetic. In reality, the Gators are 2 plays away from being 6-1. But they're 4-3. And it's getting really sad to watch. They better use this bye week to regroup and get ready to win out... Taylor Martinez also had a disappointing Saturday. Sure, he's a freshman. He has lots of time to develop his game. But it was still disappointing to see him freeze up and lose to a bad Texas team. And then to put Lee in as a running QB in the second half? If you're gonna run the ball, put Martinez back in the game! Not really sure what happened with South Carolina, but I do know Trey Burton ran all over the same Kentucky team. What is up with the SEC East?! Is Missouri any good? What about Oklahoma State? It's hard to tell. Oklahoma State still hasn't played anyone, and really, neither has Missouri. But they're creeping up the polls with perfect records... Lucky Les actually needed some luck to get past McNeese State. It was a close game for a little while. His undefeated streak will end very, very soon. Favorite game of the weekend? Ohio State losing to Wisconsin, of course. Best game of the weekend? Auburn-Arkansas. Auburn gave up 43 points and STILL won by 3 touchdowns. That game should shut up anyone who says the SEC is all defense, no offense. Gator fans are more upset than ever about Newton leaving....but I guess that's the price we pay for having Tebow for 4 years.


So the first BCS rankings came out, and Boise State is not number one. I'm glad Ohio State fans aren't whining about not being number one in the rankings. But Oklahoma, really? Number 1? Just a hunch, but if Oregon had played this weekend, I think they'd be number 1. Sure, Oklahoma had a good game. But it was against Iowa State. Did we already forget about their tight wins over Air Force, Cincinnati, Texas and Utah State? And somehow undefeated Missouri is at 11 and undefeated Oklahoma State is at 14. Correct me if I'm wrong...but aren't all 3 teams in the Big 12? So it can't be all about schedule strength since they play a lot of the same teams. I'm gonna go ahead and assume this is based on previous season hype. In other words, they're still living off Sam Bradford-hype. And remember what happened when the oh-so-great Bradford went up against a real team? Oh yeah. Oklahoma lost to the Gators. Oklahoma is not staying undefeated. So I guess it won't matter. Boise State is not better than Auburn. Schedule strength alone should put Auburn at #1 right now. They play in the SEC West. There is no part of any conference better than the SEC West right now. Five of the six teams in the SEC West are ranked in the BCS top 25. I believe these BCS rankings will shake up a lot over the next few weeks, so I won't get too worked up. There are plenty of upsets to come in the coming weeks.

On to week 8... UCLA doesn't have a prayer at Oregon. Cincy should beat USF - but really, does it matter? Northwestern isn't good, but I think they'll come to play for the Mich St game. But Michigan State will continue to get lucky and win despite not being that good. It's okay, Spartan fans. Don't be mad. You still have a great shot at winning the Big Ten and being blown out by Oregon in the Rose Bowl. West Virginia beats the Orange. Rutgers has a challenge this weekend. But I never pick against my teams. I see Scarlet. Arkansas beats Ole Miss. Les's luck runs out this weekend. Auburn moves to 8-0. Wisconsin-Iowa will be a close game. I'll pick the badgers simply because I'm happy they didn't disappoint me against the buckeyes. Nebraska will regroup. Martinez will get his act together. Should be a close game, but I'm hoping Nebraska pulls off the victory at Oklahoma State's homecoming. Missouri will give Oklahoma a fight. I'd love to see the tigers win, but I have no idea if Missouri is good, and Oklahoma is way too inconsistent. But I'll pick the Sooners. South Carolina will beat Vanderbilt. Alabama will beat Tennessee. Georgia-Kentucky? Who knows. The SEC East is a disaster. I just hope Georgia is overconfident in Jacksonville and it leads to a Gator victory. Well, if there's on thing I can be happy about it's this: The Gators can't lose this weekend.

Get your act together Gators! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!

Week 6

Well, one Gator got his revenge on Alabama. Way to go, Steve Spurrier! I'm happy Bama lost - but what surprises me most? Lou Holtz was right! Nebraska looked great on Thursday, and they even got 2 first-place votes in the USA Today poll. Maybe Kansas State isn't that great, but they were undefeated, and it was a road game for Nebraska. Taylor Martinez had 4 rushing touchdowns. The refs didn't let UConn cheat, and Rutgers won! I think I like Dodd more than Savage already. Wisconsin beat Minnesota, but they better be ready for next week. Denard Robinson had a disappointing day, and the Spartans surprised me. I'm not sure how much longer their winning streak will last, though. I haven't been impressed yet. TCU and Boise State continued to beat what looked like high-school teams. (Sorry, Wyoming and Toledo...) Arkansas won in Texas. Oregon still looks pretty good. Kentucky gave Cam Newton a run for his money, but Auburn pulled it out in the end. Oregon State put up quite the fight with Arizona and ended up beating the Wildcats. This may help Boise State more than anyone... Miami looked pathetic. The Gators looked very inconsistent and young, but seriously, this game came down to coaching. Meyer and Addazio just HAD to know that was a fake. It's freaking Les Miles. He always does that. Even if they kid was gonna go for the field goal...let him go for it. Not only has he never made a field goal that long, but it was for the TIE, not the WIN. Also, I'm pretty sure they botched that trick play. That was definitely a forward pass, and it was not supposed to hit the ground. But Lucky Les got lucky again. Too bad he still has to face Arkansas, Auburn and Alabama. And if Florida wins out in the SEC, they can still go to Atlanta and maybe ruin someone else's season. Mark my words, LSU will not be undefeated at the end of the season. Les's luck will run out. Again, I would have been very upset...but I changed the channel and watched Lane Kiffin lose AGAIN. Thanks, Stanford!!

So, Ohio State is number one again. I think it will be very short-lived this time, though. In 2003 Ohio State went to Madison undefeated, and I believe ranked #3. My brother, a badger, rushed the field after the game. I'm calling for another upset. Badgers win this one. On, Wisconsin! I'm pulling for Zook at Michigan State, but I think the Spartans will go 8-0, create a false identity of being a good team, and then they will crumble at Iowa. FSU has no challenge this weekend with Boston College. Good, let the Seminoles get overconfident in a terrible conference before the Gators eat them for lunch. Pittsburgh should win at Syracuse. West Virginia will beat South Florida and the Big East will continue to have a single team ranked in the top 25. The Big East has proven to be worse than the ACC, sadly. I'm picking Jake Locker and the Huskies over the Beavers. I think Iowa-Michigan will be a shootout. Michigan wins if Denard has a big day. South Carolina beats Kentucky. Nebraska beats Texas. I see a close game with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, but with home advantage Texas Tech has a good chance. Though the cowboys keep getting lucky... Calling Texas A&M over Missouri. The Aggies hung in there with a great SEC opponent. This will be Missouri's toughest game so far. Gators beat Mississippi State for homecoming. Lucky Les beats McNeese State. Sooners beat Iowa State. Rutgers should play a close game with Army in East Rutherford - of course I'm pulling for the SCARLET Knights in this one. Miami should be able to beat Duke and build some confidence for the rest of its (weak) ACC schedule. Georgia will beat Vanderbilt and build some confidence after an awful start. But I think the best game of the weekend will be Arkansas at Auburn. In the quarterback battle - Newton wins. I pick Auburn by a field goal.

Go Gators! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!

Week 5

Ron Zook, you were so close. Miami found the one team who could turn the ball over more than Harris - that's the only reason they won. Northwestern remains undefeated! TCU and Boise State keep winning...and I'm still not impressed. Especially with TCU. 59-0 is more impressive than 27-0. TCU should not be ranked ahead of Oklahoma or Nebraska. There is no justification for that other than trying to make the little guy feel good about himself. Texas may not be great, but they're better than Colorado State - and they were still ranked every week up until now. Oklahoma beat a ranked team for the 2nd time this season. TCU hasn't played a ranked team since the first week of the season, when they won 30-21 over then 24th ranked Oregon State. Wisconsin was very disappointing. After a 70-point offensive performance the week before, I expected Wisconsin to come out with momentum. Instead, I saw a team with no offense, no defense and no special teams. In other words, they came out playing like a big ten team, and I almost fell asleep watching them. The game definitely reminded me of Wisconsin basketball. Les Miles continues to be the luckiest coach in the world. Tennessee's inability to count strengthened my belief that secondary education in the south needs a lot of help. 13 men on the field? Really, Vols? As expected, Iowa beat Penn State. Oregon played impressively at home. Florida looked pathetic. They are much more talented than they appeared Saturday night. They lost all momentum on their first drive with the intercepted jump pass. Trey Burton will be a tremendous player for Florida in time, but at the moment, Urban Meyer and Steve Addazio need to understand one thing: Trey Burton is NOT Tim Tebow. If we're gonna compare any Gator to a former Gator, let it be this: Emmanuel Moody is the Dan Werner of football. In other words, he is not good enough to play for Florida. This guy has been in school long enough - he better be graduating this year and moving on to a dream other than football. I'm sorry, Moody, but there is a reason you didn't play at USC, and you shouldn't be playing so much at Florida. Like I've said, though, this is a rebuilding year for Florida, so I can handle losing in Tuscaloosa to the #1 team in the country. What I can't handle is Rutgers losing its homecoming game to Tulane. This one really broke my heart. I was upset about Florida, distraught over Rutgers...and then I changed the channel on my tv to watch the end of the Washington-USC game, and suddenly I could not help but smile. Lane Kiffin, I love to watch you lose. You looked so mad. It made me so happy. And Pete Carroll...I'm not sure if you had anything to do with how the Huskies played since you're up in Seattle with the Seahawks now...but if you did anything to inspire them...thanks.

On to week 6...Thursday night: Nebraska heads to Manhattan! ....Kansas, that is. But I'll still be watching. Huskers win this one. I'd like to pick Rutgers over Connecticut Friday, but even if Rutgers can regroup after the Tulane game, we all know UConn cheats. Oklahoma State will beat Louisiana-Lafayette on the road. Wisconsin should beat Minnesota in a game played for a piece of bacon or an axe...or whatever crazy thing they made up. I'm not sure which game will put me to sleep faster...that or Michigan State-Michigan. I'll pick Michigan to win because they're at home and they've got a good quarterback. Alabama will beat South Carolina, but with home advantage, the Gamecocks will look better than the Gators did against the Tide. TCU will beat Wyoming. I still won't be impressed. Boise State will blow out Toledo. Arkansas-Texas A&M may actually be a good game in Arlington, but I think the razorbacks win the Southwest Classic this year. Oregon will have no problem with Washington State. Oregon State may put up a fight with Arizona, but I think the Wildcats will win. Auburn wins at Kentucky. Miami beats Free Shoes University. How many Seminoles does it take to change a lightbulb? ...Just one, but he gets 4 credits for doing it. Kiffin loses again at Stanford. The Gators will hopefully rebound and beat LSU in Gainesville. Florida still has a great chance to win the SEC East...so work hard, Gators!

Go Gators! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!

Week 4

Like I said, Texas was overrated. I thought they could at least handle UCLA before falling to Oklahoma, but I guess not. Miami played better against Pitt, and I'm starting to see that the Big East may be as bad as the ACC if not worse. TCU did beat SMU, but June Jones hung in there for a while! Wisconsin covered the spread and more against Austin Peay. I did not think Wisconsin would score 70 points in any game this season. I was taken by surprise! Michigan played better against Bowling Green...but come on, its Bowling Green. And if Robinson gets hurt, Michigan is done for the season. Penn State almost lost at home to Temple. Alabama should have lost at Arkansas, but Mallett couldn't finish the job. Notre Dame is pathetic and I am so tired of listening Lou Holtz talk about how amazing they are. Does he know what year it is? Oklahoma got lucky in Cincinnati, and LSU should have scored more against West Virginia. Unfortunately Rutgers did struggle with UNC like we all knew they would, and though they kept it close, they were unable to pull away with the win. Florida looked better against Kentucky. Defense continued to play well. Brantley looked more comfortable - probably since he played against Kentucky last year after the now-famous Tebow concussion incident, and Trey Burton ran wild.

I was not surprised to see Boise State beat Oregon State. But what now? The WAC is not exactly a strong conference. Unless Nevada can pull off an upset on November 26th, Boise State will likely go undefeated yet again. Clearly Boise State is a strong competitor. But if the Broncos were to play, for example, an SEC team in the national title game...could they hold their own? Or would it be something like the horrific Hawaii-Georgia Sugar Bowl after the 2007 season? Unfortunately for Boise State, the BCS system does not look kindly upon such a weak schedule. Just remember...Hawaii was undefeated before the Sugar Bowl. And a 2-loss LSU team won the national championship that season.

As for week 5 predictions.... Oklahoma State should beat Texas A&M. Ohio State should beat Illinois - but I'm cheering for Ron Zook. Miami is a better team than Clemson in my opinion, but again, you never know who's showing up. Will Harris have no interceptions? or 4? No one knows. Northwestern vs. Minnesota....does anyone care about this game? I know its at noon, but come on ESPN, you couldn't find a better game? I'll pick the Wildcats. TCU will run over Colorado State. Boise State will destroy New Mexico State. Oklahoma is definitely better than Texas, so I'll pick the Sooners in the Red River Rivalry. I'm picking Wisconsin to win at Michigan State because Michigan State hasn't played any good teams yet. A 3-point overtime victory over awful Notre Dame does not impress me. On, Wisconsin. LSU will beat Tennessee, but for some reason I think Tenn will put up a fight in this game. LSU's offense has not impressed me yet. I think Penn State is losing at Iowa. I may not think Iowa is good, but they've just got to be better at home than Temple is on the road. Stanford vs. Oregon...I could toss a coin. I will pick Oregon because they're at home. But I still have my doubts about Oregon because of the first half of the Ducks-Vols game. I would love to see Locker beat Kiffin's trojans, but I have a feeling Washington will lose at USC. Rutgers will beat Tulane. Nebraska will take the week off to regroup after that unimpressive victory over South Dakota State. Don't worry, the Huskers will be prepared for Kansas State next week and Texas the following weekend. And the biggest game of all this weekend: the battle of the last 2 national champions. Well, if Alabama plays how they played last weekend, and the Gators play how they played last weekend...the Gators will win. But its a new week. And for each team, this is the hardest game on the schedule so far. Be prepared, Gators! With that said, I can't pick a team over the Gators - regardless of rankings, experience and stats. This rematch of the last 2 SEC championships should be a good one.

Go Gators! Go Scarlet Knights! And practice hard, Huskers!

Rufus vs. Brutus

Ohio State beat Ohio, but the Ohio mascot (or now former mascot) is having the last laugh. I have so much respect for this guy. Brandon Hanning, you are my hero. I would have done the same thing. Does anyone know where I can send Hanning some fan mail?

Week 3

Okay, so just like last year, Iowa can't back up all the hype! Michigan was lucky to get past UMass. Nebraska was awesome. Texas got lucky. I think Texas Tech forgot there are 2 halves in a football game. Wisconsin got VERY lucky. I may have spoken too soon about Oklahoma. Evidently the ACC is really just THAT bad and FSU made Oklahoma look awesome. Air Force could have easily won that game. West Virginia did not need to play extra hard to prove anything because Maryland is not good. Another disappointment in a bad conference. The ACC has one ranked team right now. And at 1-1, I haven't seen anything impressive from Miami. Baylor is worse than I thought, and TCU looked better than I expected. Auburn got lucky. Arkansas earned its win. LSU had no problem.

I do believe it's a down year for college football, but the SEC still looks most impressive of all conferences. It may only be 3 weeks in, but the SEC has 6 ranked and 7 undefeated teams after 3 weeks. The Big 12 looks second best in my opinion, having 7 undefeated and 3 ranked teams. I haven't yet decided on the Pac-10 & Big Ten, but I can tell you the ACC is surely the 6th best of the BCS Conferences and I would put the Big East at 5th.

My Florida Gators are still not where they need to be, but they are getting better each week, and they've played a tougher opponent each week. The bottom line is they've won all their games by double digits, but they continue to drop in the USA Today Rankings. Texas struggles with Wyoming in the first half last week and barely comes out of Lubbock with a double digit victory, and they continue to get that single first-place vote. Seriously? Voter bias at its best. Can anyone tell me which AP Poll voter is a UT Alum? The Longhorns should beat UCLA no problem, but then they have 2 tough games in a row against Oklahoma and Nebraska. I will be shocked if Texas starts the season 6-0. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. As for a team in Texas who I believe has a better quarterback than Gilbert, Houston is out of luck. Without Keenum, they will struggle this season. He is a star. And the cougars can't catch a break. Not only did they lose their star for the season, they lost his backup. Tough break, but good news for Terrance Broadway.

As for Week 4 Predictions...Miami vs. Pittsburgh...all depends on which Miami team comes to play. Flip a coin. If Harris still wants to throw all those interceptions, the crowd will get into it early and Pittsburgh will win. In my opinion, neither team is great so this game does not matter. TCU will beat SMU. But don't sleep on June Jones! I hope SMU comes to play. Wisconsin will beat Austin Peay, but they may not cover the spread. Michigan will likely play another close game to get past Bowling Green. I don't think Bowling Green is a tough competitor, I just don't understand why Michigan is ranked other than for fan hype and ticket sales. Michigan State will beat Northern Colorado. Ohio State will beat Eastern Michigan. Penn State will beat Temple. Austin Peay, Bowling Green, Northern Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Temple....all playing ranked Big Ten teams. And people wonder why I say voters have no idea what they're talking about when they discuss the Big Ten's "quality out-of-conference victories." I'll believe it when I see it. The Alabama-Arkansas game should be a good game with Arkansas having the home-field advantage, but I don't think Alabama is ready to surrender its top spot in the polls just yet. Stanford should win on the road. Notre Dame is still preoccupied trying to figure out what happened in OT against Michigan State. Oklahoma will beat Cincinnati. LSU has another home game on a Saturday night. West Virginia lost all credibility with me in the Marshall game. LSU's home record on Saturday nights is too strong. Tigers win this one. Nebraska will have no problem with South Dakota State. Rutgers will struggle with UNC, but I hope the Scarlet Knights walk away with a win. Florida will hopefully extend its win streak over Kentucky. The Wildcats haven't beaten the Gators in football since 1986. Keep the streak going, Gators! And perhaps the game most anticipated game of this week...Oregon State @ Boise State. I think the Broncos win this one on the Smurf Turf. This is Boise State's toughest game of the season, and no one knows if the Beavers are any good yet. But no matter who wins, I feel good about picking the team in orange and blue!

Go Gators! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!

Week 2

What did I tell you about Virginia Tech? Not good. In fact, I think the ACC has become the new Pac-10. That is to say, the ACC is likely to be the worst conference this year. FSU was embarrassed (yes!) by Oklahoma, Georgia Tech lost to unranked Kansas, and Jacory Harris did exactly what I didn't want him to do. If Harris hadn't thrown all those interceptions, Miami definitely would have won that game. My random upset pick of Tennessee over Oregon actually looked pretty good at halftime! ...but I guess their youth kicked in, and Oregon got a few lucky breaks...and then the game just kinda spiraled out of control. Georgia looked bad. Rutgers was lucky to walk away from the FIU game with a victory. Nebraska looked fine. Gators looked awful in the first half, decent in the second half.

I am glad to see Virginia Tech is no longer ranked, but I once again fail to see the point of early season rankings if Oregon State is currently ranked at 0-1. I understand people THINK they will be good...but at this point in the season, it is my feeling that ANY 2-0 team should be given credit and ranked ahead of teams who have lost. When it's later in the season if Oregon State is 9-1 or something, fine, go ahead, rank them. But they haven't even won a game. This applies to Miami and Penn State as well. For all I know the national championship game could be between 2 of these 3 schools - I'll bet it won't be - but I still don't think these teams have any business in the week 2 rankings. Just my opinion.

As for some predictions....Ohio State will beat Ohio. Remind me, why do people think Ohio State has a tough schedule? Michigan will beat UMass in a game that will be almost as impressive as that intrastate Ohio game. Penn State will beat Kent State. Minnesota will lose at home to a sub-par USC team. Nebraska will escape Washington with a victory. Alabama will destroy Duke. Oklahoma will beat Air Force. Oklahoma is starting to earn their ranking, in my mind. Early feeling...Oklahoma-Nebraska for the Big 12. Still not impressed with Texas after the way they struggled early with Wyoming. I would LOVE to see Texas Tech win this weekend over Texas, and I'm hoping that will be a good game. I hope to see Florida win at Tennessee. Florida certainly has more talent than Tenneseee. But as usual, the team has a number of off-the-field distractions. I think Case Keenum and Houston will win at UCLA if Keenum can play. Boise State should have no problem with Wyoming. TCU may be tested by Baylor, but I think home-field advantage will give them the edge they need to win. I think Arkansas will beat Georgia, but I'm not sure how good Arkansas is yet. South Carolina will beat Furman. Former Gator Cameron Newton will lead the Auburn Tigers past the Clemson Tigers. Playing a night game at home, LSU should have no problem handling Miss State. Random upset of the week? I'll pick Maryland over West Virginia. Neither team has impressed me, but West Virginia almost embarrassed themselves last week. I think West Virginia will work hard to prove the Marshall game was a fluke, but who knows, maybe Maryland isn't bad. Oh, and Rutgers won't lose this weekend.

Go Gators!! Go Huskers! And practice hard Scarlet Knights!!

Week 1

I'm not impressed yet. No one looked good yet! My Gators looked pathetic. Pouncey and the receivers better step it up this week for USF. Rutgers looked atrocious against awful Norfolk State in the first half. I mean, 6-0 at halftime? Huskers looked decent.

Ohio State played Marshall, and even though it was a blowout, I was not impressed. Of course I was back and forth with other games at the time, but when I turned on the game, the first three things I saw were....1) Pryor fumbled a snap 2) Pryor threw an awful pass that was nearly intercepted 3) A field goal was blocked and Marshall returned it for a touchdown to make it a 14-7 game. Seriously, if Marshall had any offense at all, Ohio State could have lost that game. I expect Miami to beat Ohio State unless Harris feels like throwing a bunch of interceptions or the Buckeyes pay off the refs.

I've said it the past few years, and I'll say it again. Virginia Tech is not that good. Boise State might be, but no one will ever know. Boise State needs to make its case to join the Big 12 or Pac 10 or something. Winning the WAC conference proves nothing. Beating a mediocre Virginia Tech team in the last minute of a game proves nothing. If they beat Oregon State, a team from what I believe will remain the worst conference this year, that will prove nothing. If 3 teams go undefeated this year, and one is Boise State, and 2 are from BCS conferences - who do you think will be left out of the title game? Well, why don't you ask TCU and Boise State how good they think Alabama and Texas were last year. The Broncos and Horned Frogs can whine all they want about not getting any respect, but the fact is, no one will know if either team is good until they play multiple good teams. I'd like to see TCU and Boise State join BCS conferences to settle the debate.

As for right now, I think the Gators have a lot of work to do, but I know it's a rebuilding year. Texas has proven nothing, and they are entirely overrated. I don't understand why Oklahoma is ranked so high either. I don't think Virginia Tech should be ranked at all. I don't care if they played a close game with Boise State - the fact is, they are currently winless and should not be in the top 25. Ah, voter bias. This week I believe Alabama will beat Penn State with or without Ingram. I believe Miami will (or at least should) beat Ohio State. I think Oklahoma will beat FSU. I think Georgia will lose at South Carolina without Green. Texas will beat Wyoming - and I will be oh-so-impressed. Rutgers will beat FIU. Nebraska will beat Idaho. And the Gators should beat the Bulls from that inferior university in Florida. Random upset pick of the week? Tennessee over Oregon. Gotta support the SEC, whether I'm right or wrong. Let's see what happens!

Go Gators!! (Go Scarlet Knights, Go Huskers!)

College Football Season Kickoff 2010

Finally...college football season kicks off this weekend.

Predictions: 1) The Gators will be awesome (more like a fact than a prediction...I'm not biased or anything!) 2) Terrelle Pryor will not win the Heisman. 3) Ohio State will not win the National Championship.

Anyone who disagrees with me....find me at the end of the season and I would love to hit you with a very loud, "TOLD YA SO."

Let's recap last season...

Big East: Not impressive. The best team in the conference was absolutely destroyed in the Sugar Bowl.

ACC: Also not impressive. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech weren't terrible, but I wouldn't call this a power conference.

Pac-10: Terrible. USC is typically the star of this conference. The trojans were so bad their coach abandoned them. The conference didn't have one team finish in the top ten! Good luck to the Pac-10 (especially USC) this year after inheriting the worst possible coach.

Big 12: Overrated. Texas was lucky to escape Nebraska, and Colt McCoy knew he couldn't handle an SEC team - so he faked an injury to avoid being blamed for the national championship loss. The NFL saw right through his act...and he barely got drafted. Good luck in the pros, Colt.

SEC: Totally dominant. Now, you may say I'm biased because I'm a UF alumna, but I will state a fact for you: The SEC has won the last four national championships. Alabama rightfully finished number 1. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how voters put Texas ahead of Florida. It was pretty clear to me that Texas would not have been able to handle any of the top 5 teams in the SEC, but such is voter bias. Boise State, perhaps, could have argued for a spot at #2. Unfortunately for the Broncos, playing an overrated (but still decent) TCU team didn't quite qualify them for a second place finish.

Last...(and probably least...)
Big Ten: What a joke of a conference. Granted, they were better than the Pac-10 and Big East, maybe even the ACC....but I still can't figure out why this conference gets so much hype. Everyone wanted to talk about Iowa all season. Was I the only person watching their first game of the season last year? They just BARELY beat Northern Iowa. This isn't basketball, so I just can't respect that. Did anyone see their fifth game last year? With their narrow victory over Arkansas State? Absolutely pathetic. And they went to a BCS game. Had they played anyone in the SEC or even Big 12, they would have been destroyed. They were lucky Georgia Tech was as overrated as they were. Unfortunately for college football fans, the voters continued to have a significant bias toward the big ten. After a win over Western Michigan and a tight victory over also-overrated Notre Dame, Michigan broke into the top 25 in week 2. Seriously, voters, what potential did you see there?? My guess: NONE. Voters just love to put big names in the top 25 to excite fans. Especially at the start of season when rankings mean absolutely nothing. The Big Ten has a lot of fans, so I guess they're looking for viewership. But these so-called "experts" ranked Michigan in multiple weeks. What was their final record - 5 and 7? Penn State had a decent season, but I'm not sure how they were considered a top ten team with such a weak schedule. I won't bash them too much because I do love Peachy Paterno ice cream. And then of course, there is the biggest offender of them all. The devil of all college sports. The ALWAYS OVERRATED Ohio State Buckeyes. Seriously. I've had enough with the Buckeyes. We get the point: They spend a lot of money on athletic programs, recruit a FEW good athletes, and have a very good public relations team. Please, stop giving them so much credit for their ancient history. They played no one last year. The whole conference has been down for a few years now, so I can't call them a good team based on shutting out Illinois or barely beating Iowa (and wasn't Stanzi out that game?). But in their non-conference schedule...should I really be impressed with a 45-0 victory over New Mexico State? I'm pretty sure New Mexico State only won 3 games last year - and I think they were all by a margin of 3 points. Navy almost beat Ohio State in the opening game. USC, who was terrible, DID beat Ohio State in a game that almost put me to sleep. And they had a not-so-impressive win over Oregon, another team from last year's worst conference. Congratulations Ohio State on being repeatedly rewarded for doing absolutely nothing besides having a huge fan base. And to rank them a preseason #2 this year? Were they just distracted by Terrelle Pryor's jersey when they did the rankings? I will say this: Terrelle Pryor is a great athlete. But he's not a quarterback. He is a glorified running back, and I'm not sure he could throw a ball well if his life depended on it. For his sake, I hope he learns to throw before entering the NFL draft because he could be a great player. Sidenote: I also hope he learns what school he goes to. I will never forget that he announced he'd be attending "The University of Ohio State."

Can you tell I hate Ohio State? They are good at nothing, overrated at everything. Quite frankly, I'm sick of hearing it. I don't want to hear all the "experts" predicting Ohio State will beat Alabama in the national championship. These are the same experts who predicted the Buckeyes would beat my Gators in the national championship a few short years ago. You would think the 41-14 BLOWOUT followed by a pounding from the LSU Tigers the following year would shut up these "experts," but apparently they won't stop saying Ohio State will win the championship until they're right. Looks like we'll be listening to this nonsense for a while!

Wow, felt good to get all that Ohio State hate off my chest! I won't sit here and tell you who I think will win each conference, each bowl game, or even each game. My only 3 predictions thus far are listed at the top of this blog post. The season has not started yet, so every "expect prediction" is simply speculation.

With all that said....Go Gators!! (Go Scarlet Knights & Go Huskers!)