Yes, the title represents my favorite cheer that I chant so proudly when UF beats FSU - especially when it's in my favorite sport (college basketball). Nice try, FSU. The Seminoles were successful in setting the pace of yesterday's basketball game in the first half, but not so much in the second half. Young and Beal had enough foolishness from the fools at FSU, and that was the game. GO GATORS!!
So I know I've been bad about updating lately - but my semester at NYU is finally over. All I have to say is: Santa got my letter. No more Brantley, no more Weis. THANK YOU.
It's not fair that Florida has to play Ohio State in the Gator Bowl because of the stupid publicity over Urban Liar. This game has nothing to do with the players and it's not fair to them. But GO GATORS - make me proud!!!!! I'm picking LSU in the title game for reasons I've stated all season. Unfortunately there is really no reason to discuss any other bowl games because this year .....there is a serious lack of talented teams. Houston disappointed me. Oklahoma State-Stanford might be exciting. But none of these games matter.
The LSU SEC Championship Celebration! (Yes, I went to watch Georgia lose)
More importantly....it is basketball season. Right now the Gators look like Memphis in 2008. They're a serious threat, but they can't hit free throws. Billy, focus on this in the coming weeks, and Florida could be a serious threat in the tournament.
For now, I couldn't be more excited. Usually I talk about Gator games like they're these foreign events, but I will actually be at the next Florida Gator basketball game. The downside? They play my home team - the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Sorry Scarlet - I'm all about the orange and blue on Thursday. Florida Basketball - FANTASTIC!!
GO GATORS!! (Maybe after the game I can hit up the Grease Trucks and invent the Fat Tebow? We shall see!)
The BCS is a disaster - and that's an understatement. Oklahoma State lost. Oklahoma lost again. Oregon lost again. Stanford easily could have lost. Virginia Tech could very well lost to Clemson....it's a disaster. But the BCS has one thing right at the moment - the top 3 teams are in the SEC.
I just want to remind all Gator fans that no matter what happens this weekend, one thing will always be true:
This is the back of the shirt I'll wear Saturday
I have never respected FSU, and I won't start now. The Gator football team may be pathetic (seriously, who trails FURMAN 22-7 in the first quarter in the Swamp? No excuse for that.), but I always stand behind my team. And let us all rejoice: IT IS BRANTLEY'S LAST GAME IN THE SWAMP!
Beyond that, I would love to see Penn State beat Wisconsin 36-33 - just like the awful basketball game last season in the Big Ten Tournament.
I have recently had a lot of questions about how the BCS system works. Beyond that, I've had macho guys screaming at me that I'm not allowed to talk about the BCS because I haven't endured the "pain and sacrifice" of playing football. Clearly that's a moronic statement. This should help those of you who are confused.
Basically, I told someone that if Houston wins out, the Cougars will go to a BCS bowl game. And I'm right. He told me they can't. At the time, Houston was ranked 11 and Boise State was ranked 10. He told me Boise State would get in, Houston would not. His rationale, of course, was that there are 10 teams invited to the BCS, and Houston was not one of the "top 10" teams. My response, of course, was that he has no idea what he's talking about. I asked him where UConn was ranked last year when the Huskies were invited to a BCS bowl game. (Hint: UConn was not ranked in the top 25)
The fact is, if Houston wins two more games, Case Keenum & Co. will get an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game. Boise State will not. With TCU's win last week, Boise State now cannot win the MWC. Don't get me wrong, Boise State has had a great season. Only one loss, and by just one point. But until they play in a BCS conference, this doesn't mean much to the BCS selection committee.
Also, fans need to remember...as good as the SEC is, they'll probably only have 2 teams playing in BCS bowl games (most likely LSU in the championship and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl). I believe there is a BCS provision in which a 3rd team could be invited to play in a BCS bowl (most likely the Sugar Bowl) if the BCS Championship features 2 SEC teams. But honestly, I don't want to see a rematch of Alabama-LSU, and I'm not sure why so many people do.
With that said, please refer to the handbook I linked to before you come at me with dumb/sexist comments. For the most part, I know what I'm talking about.
A side note: Many rumors have been swirling about Urban Meyer returning to coaching - and going to the school I love to hate: Ohio State. WHY?! Seriously, Urban, what are you thinking? You leave Florida to go to a team of liars and cheaters? That's brilliant. But I guess if you're gonna lie to Gator Nation about not being able to coach anymore, you'll fit right in. Urban, if all of this is true, you are dead to me. I'll await further reports before I lose all respect for Meyer, but I don't like what I've heard so far.
On to basketball....
6 games I'm looking forward to:
Duke vs. Kansas tonight at 10pm
Jacksonville at Florida (Friday at 7pm)
South Carolina vs North Carolina (Friday at 10pm)
Xavier at Vanderbilt (Monday at 7pm)
Stetson vs. Florida (Monday at 7pm)
Duke vs Ohio State (Tuesday at 9:30pm)
...I know I usually do 5, but I threw in South Carolina/North Carolina because I want to see how our SEC East competition matches up against a quality opponent.
Nebraska better beat Iowa Friday night and Rutgers better beat UConn Saturday to - yes, this is possible - keep hope alive for a BCS bid. Rah Rah!
GO GATORS!!!!!! BEAT THE SEMINOLES!!!! (Can't wait to do my "UF Rejects!" cheer!!)
Finally, it's college basketball season. I'm watching UNC beat Michigan State right now, and I'm loving every minute of it. Florida (not surprisingly) destroyed Jackson State. Florida has a ton of scoring options this year, and I'm so excited about it. Tuesday will be a big road test. Usually the Gators aren't warmed up enough by the second season of the game. But PLEASE guys. I'm begging. PLEASE beat Ohio State in Columbus. It would make me a very, very happy person.
5 games I'm looking forward to in the next week:
FLORIDA @ Ohio State
Kentucky vs Kansas
Duke vs Michigan State
San Diego State @ Baylor
St. John's vs. Arizona
...and of course I'm excited for North Florida @ Florida. Beal and Rosario are great additions for Florida. Can't wait to see what the Gators can do against ranked opponents!
Ah, the glory days...
Speaking of the past, Florida Football faces Spurrier tomorrow in South Carolina. Muschamp - don't disappoint us. A win tomorrow = bowl eligibility! Nebraska plays Penn State tomorrow. Sadly, no one in Happy Valley is focused on football right now. I keep saying the Gators should recruit Paterno as a coach. I still like him. I just (obviously) have no respect for Sandusky. Sidenote: I still can't believe Nebraska lost to Northwestern. Rutgers plays Army tomorrow in New York. Rah Rah!
TCU and Boise State meet in Boise tomorrow. This is a big game. And not just for the Broncos and Horned Frogs. The Houston Cougars are pulling for TCU tomorrow. Last night, Keenum & company beat Tulane 73-17 to remain undefeated. A TCU win tomorrow would put Houston into the BCS bowl discussion.
Oregon @ Stanford is another big one. Oregon could knock Stanford out of the championship discussion. This should be a good one. Stanford has home advantage, but I'm gonna pick Oregon over Stanford as my upset of the week - Even if Stanford has Luck on its side. Unrelated note: Let's go Iowa! Beat Michigan State so Nebraska can be back on track for Indianapolis!
The Bad: The Florida football team still looks awful.
The Ugly: Mark Richt. Seriously, dude. THREE RBs fail a drug test BEFORE the Florida-Georgia game, and you suspend them for New Mexico State? That is not okay.
Anyway, Florida DESTROYED Catholic in its opening exhibition basketball game. And Billy D got to see his son, so that was nice. More to come on basketball in the coming weeks!
So today we have the "GAME OF THE CENTURY." I hear strong arguments for both sides. But I'm picking LSU over Alabama. Partly because I hate Alabama more. Partly because I think the honey badger is better than Richardson. And well, mostly because Les Miles is the luckiest man in college football, and LSU always seems to shine in years when the National Championship game is in Louisiana. So as a Gator, it pains me to say this, but "Geaux Tigers." ::sigh::
More importantly in the world of Gators, it's homecoming! I wish that mean Brantley was going home. He was supposed to be a psychological help last week. That didn't work out. He made me want to throw things at the tv and pull my hair out. Throwing the ball out of bounds immediately when no one is rushing you is NOT a game strategy. And I can't even blame Weis for that. That was just Brantley doing his best impression of Dan Werner. Brantley, you've had your chance. It's time for one of the freshman to take over and prepare for next season. Come on Gators, win for homecoming!!!
A few picks today:
Rutgers over USF (Rah! Rah!)
Nebraska over Northwestern (Go Big Red!)
Oklahoma State over Kansas State
Random upset pick: South Carolina over Arkansas
and of course, LSU over Alabama
Not too many high-profile games this week. LSU-Alabama is in a league of its own (other than the obvious that they're both in the SEC West, they're obviously the best 2 teams in the country - this is the actual national championship game.)
The Florida game is at 12:21pm on the SEC Network - so I'm off to a Gator bar early to celebrate Gator homecoming.
So, I didn't see that Oklahoma loss coming - but they better be careful this weekend, or it could be 2 in a row. Kansas State has looked pretty good! I still think Oklahoma State is winning the Big 12, though. Can't say I was surprised about Wisconsin losing. After all, that was the one upset I mentioned in my last post. Houston is still undefeated and still getting no respect - but then again, the Cougars might be the only team in the BCS top 25 with an easier schedule than Wisconsin's. They're gonna need TCU to beat Boise State to even make a case for deserving a BCS bid. And even then, it would be a tough sell.
Typical Georgia fans....no description needed.
So the Gators had a week off. Hopefully they did something productive with the bye week. Our new coach will square off against his alma mater for the first time as Florida's head coach. Muschamp, don't disappoint us. Georgia has lost 18 of the last 21 meetings, just remember that. Let's make that 19 of 22, okay? Thanks.
This game is widely known as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party." What always amazes me are the crisp lines splitting the crowd. One half - red and black. The better half - orange and blue. Now, anyone who knows me well knows I'm not a big fan of the state of Georgia in general. And so, each year during Florida-Georgia week, I repeatedly sing a catchy tune. In fact, it is currently my ringtone. Have a listen:
Versions of this song exist for South Carolina and Georgia Tech as well. No one likes Georgia. And those who do...well...they secretly like the Gators better anyway, and when given the opportunity, they'll switch over to support the Gators. Right, Will Muschamp?
Florida-Georgia 2009
The Gators MUST win this weekend. Seriously. They must. Fourth ranked opponent in a row. I know the SEC West is tough, but I'd like to keep hope that Florida can at least beat all the teams in the SEC East. And they will have a psychological advantage this week: Brantley is expected to return! Hopefully he'll give the Gators the boost they need to win this game. I'm hearing Demps is at full speed, too. Muschamp, if you want to establish hope for the program under your reign as coach, you MUST beat Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. You took care of Tennessee on the road. Beat your alma mater in neutral territory. Worry about the Seminoles next month.
In other news, Rutgers-West Virginia is on ABC at 3:30pm (at least where I'll be watching). It's nice when Rutgers gets attention from ABC - even if the regionalization of games is very lopsided. Nova, I know you're a freshman - but no late game interceptions this week. Harrison, if Nova throws you a pass that even I would catch 99 out of 100 times, you need to catch that ball!! And Te, you're better than this. No more missed field goals that we all know you could make in your sleep. Got it??? Thanks. Talking about Rutgers has put me in the mood for a fat sandwich from the Grease Trucks.... I expect Nebraska won't let me down in its 12 noon game against the Spartans on ESPN.
My trouble this weekend? I might miss the end of the Nebraska game to catch the Florida kickoff (3:30pm on CBS!), and I can only watch Rutgers during commercials, in picture-in-picture or on split screen. Oh, the troubles of a football fan....
GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (To hell with Georgia!!)
Right after Florida beat Georgia in 2009. Notice the sky is orange and blue!
This bye week couldn't come at a better time for the Gators. Nothing about this team makes sense anymore. The offense looks confused. The defense looks lazy. The coaching staff has no clue who to put in or what plays to run. It just doesn't look good. The good news is the Gators can't lose this weekend! I'll continue to support the Gators no matter what, though. "In all kinds of weather..."
I'm watching Rutgers play Louisville right now, and I really hope the Scarlet Knights can pull out a win on the road. Can Syracuse beat West Virginia to help give Rutgers a cushion? Nebraska should have no trouble with Minnesota tomorrow. LSU's suspensions could give Auburn an advantage, but I still think the winning Tigers will be from LSU. I don't see too many big upsets happening this weekend, but I think the best chance would be Michigan State shocking Wisconsin. Anyone else remember last year?
Anyway, let's talk about what Gator fans REALLY care about this weekend (other than hoping Maryland beats FSU!).
Sunday the Dolphins are hosting "Gator Day" to honor the Florida Gators 2008 National Championship football team when Miami takes on Denver. Could there be a better time for Tim Tebow to take over as the starting QB for the Broncos? Probably not.
What will Merril Hoge say after the game? Tebow has a great chance to lead the Broncos to victory, but unfortunately, they play arguably the worst team in the NFL. The Dolphins haven't won a game this season. The Broncos have only won a single game, but they almost won a second when Tebow stepped in for Orton. I am sure that Hoge will downplay whatever Tebow does simply because it will be against the Dolphins. Tebow could score 100 points by himself this game and Hoge would still say he "can't play." Hoge sound jealous to anyone else? Tebow stays out of trouble, helps people in need and works harder than anyone else, but he'll always have haters.
But Tebow - don't worry about the haters. Focus on the Gators - we'll always appreciate you.
So the Gators had another disappointing week - but come on. They've lost to the top 2 teams in the country. That's better than losing to Oklahoma, Clemson and Wake Forest. Yes, FSU, that's a shot at you. Nebraska didn't show up until the 2nd half against Ohio State. I keep hyping Martinez, and everyone says I'm out of my mind. But FINALLY. Second half against Ohio State. Martinez and Burkhead showed me what Nebraska is all about. And how about my other team in Red? Big win over Pitt! Way to go RU!!
I was not at all surprised with Arkansas's performance over Auburn. Kansas State continues to build confidence. Purdue and Minnesota continue to be awful. Against all odds, Ron Zook is undefeated. As expected, Alabama crushed Vanderbilt and Oklahoma destroyed overrated Texas. Question: Why is Texas A&M ranked? Seriously though, I know it will sound biased coming from me, but: how are losses to Oklahoma State and Arkansas better than losses to the TOP TWO teams in the country? The media bias never ceases to amaze me....
Week 7 picks:
Wisconsin will beat Indiana. Real tough schedule, Badgers. Part of me wants to see Wisconsin stay undefeated and get destroyed by an SEC team in the national championship. This is simply because my brother is a Badger, and he does not understand that the SEC is far superior to the Big Ten, and that being the "best" in the Big Ten means absolutely nothing. Can't wait for Zook to beat Ohio State. 0-3 start for the Buckeyes in conference! I really don't care who wins the Michigan-Michigan State game, but I'll pick the Spartans because there is absolutely no reason for the Wolverines to be ranked No. 11. Penn State and Paterno pound Purdue. (How's that for alliteration?)
In the Big 12: Oklahoma State will handle Texas with ease. Baylor at Texas A&M should be a good one, and even if the Aggies have home advantage, I'm picking the Bears. I like Baylor's QB, and I think the Bears are angry after last week's letdown. I think Kansas State will ride its confidence high to a win at Texas Tech, and Oklahoma will have no trouble beating Kansas.
Credit my brother for the picture of ducks
Pac 12: Arizona State will keep things interesting at Oregon, but I have to pick the Ducks at home. Do I even have to pick the Stanford game? Blowout city. Washington State isn't good. Washington beats Colorado.
ACC: UNC beats Miami. FSU should end the losing streak at Duke. But let me say this...if Duke pulls the upset, every person who votes for the AP Poll and USA Today Poll will get a personal letter from me about redefining the word "overrated" for the Seminoles. Georgia Tech should beat Virginia. Virginia Tech is better than FSU, so I'll pick the Hokies over Wake Forest. Clemson will continue to be overrated with a win at Maryland. Hint: Winning at Maryland does not mean you're good.
It's really hard for me to pick Big East games right now because the conference games are not easy to watch. Does anyone really care about UConn-USF? I know I don't. Rutgers is out of conference this week. Guaranteed win over Navy. West Virginia looks like the Scarlet Knights' competition for the Big East title. Come on boys, this is "R" year.
The last time I went to a Florida-Auburn game (2007)
In the beSt confErenCe: LSU should blow out Tennessee. Spurrier beats Dan Mullen. Gotta pick former Gator head coach over former Gator offensive coordinator. Alabama beats Ole Miss. Surprise, surprise, I'm picking FLORIDA over Auburn. This is the one team in the SEC Urban Meyer never beat. But you know what? Meyer is gone. Muschamp can make us all proud this weekend with a long overdue win over Auburn. The only question is: who will start at quarterback? I keep saying since this game doesn't matter, let's let Tebow and Newton come back and settle the debate on who was a better college quarterback...
GO GATORS!!!!!!! (And Go Scarlet Knights! Nebraska is off this week...so they can't lose!)
Last weekend was not a good weekend for me. Yes, Ohio State lost and I smiled - ok, maybe I pointed and laughed. Yes, Rutgers came through over Syracuse, but that was an early game - and it was all downhill from there. Florida and Nebraska both started strong and forgot to finish. And to make matters worse, the Jets didn't show up Sunday!
Kansas State pulled off a late-game drive to upset Baylor. Arkansas came back and beat Texas A&M. That's 2 weeks in a row Texas A&M blew a significant lead. Clemson continues its lucky run. South Carolina couldn't beat Auburn even with home advantage - so I have hope for the Gators when they face Spurrier on November 12.
So John Brantley actually had a decent start against Alabama, but once he threw a pick, he lost all confidence and choked. Then he got hurt. And then the game was just...awful. Also, I now have major doubts about Charlie Weis's ability to coach against an SEC defense. Seriously, Weis, you can't run Demps or Rainey up the middle into the brick wall that is Alabama's defense. The way to win that game would have been throwing down the field. I hope Weis doesn't try the same thing against LSU. LSU is so far the best college football team in the country this season. The only thing working in the Gators' favor is that LSU - much like all Gator fans - has no idea what to expect. I can't say much about the Nebraska game because I didn't see much of it. The Huskers and Gators played at the same time, and well, the Gators come first in my world.
On to Week 6 picks...
Cal loses at Oregon. Boise State won't lose at Fresno State Friday - but the Broncos may be caught off guard with a tougher game than they expect. Georgia Tech rolls over Maryland. West Virginia beats UConn. UNC beats Louisville. Purdue will beat Minnesota in a battle to see who is the worst team in the Big Ten.
Go Gators!
Oklahoma wins the Red River Rivalry. Kentucky loses again (*shock*) at South Carolina. Kansas isn't pulling an upset - Oklahoma State wins. Missouri has a chance at Kansas State, but I think Kansas State built a lot of confidence last week, and they'll likely win again. Miami loses at Virginia Tech. Arizona State wins at Utah.
Florida better put up a fight at LSU, to say the least. I will pick the Gators to win because I always do, but let it be known that I think LSU will win the SEC, and that LSU has the best chance of going undefeated in the SEC. The Tigers are talented, and Les Miles is the luckiest man alive. In another 3:30pm game, I will pick Rutgers over Pitt.
Later in the day....Arkansas over Auburn. Nebraska beats Ohio State. Let me say this, if the Huskers somehow forget the basics of football and lose to an awful Ohio State team, I will not pick Nebraska in any games for the rest of the season. Now, considering Martinez is about 1000 times better than Miller/Bauserman, I'm forced to say GO BIG RED. Huskers win this one in Lincoln. And big, I hope.
GO GATORS!!!!!!!!! Go Scarlet Knights! Go Huskers!
Okay, so I was right about my random upset pick of Toledo over Syracuse, but apparently a referee had money on the game. Congrats to the Rockets on their 30-29 win at Syracuse. Also, I'm very happy Kiffin lost. FSU really did struggle and they lost at Clemson. Rutgers beat Ohio. Nebraska beat Wyoming. And well, my Gators destroyed Kentucky in Lexington.
Desmond Howard, what were you thinking? Picking Kentucky over Florida? Give me a break. My upset picks were much better. Yeah, I get it - you wanted to go out on a limb. But Florida hasn't lost to Kentucky since 1986. As you pointed out yourself, Kentucky is not good this year. The Wildcats have not looked impressive in any game yet. They lost to Louisville. Louisville lost to FIU. Need I go on? That was not your best pick, Mr. Howard.
So, my three favorite college teams won last weekend, but what will happen this weekend? There are some very big games this weekend. Rutgers plays Syracuse who apparently has worked out a deal with the referees. More importantly, Nebraska plays in Madison where it is very tough to win. And most importantly, Florida is playing Alabama at home.
But I'll get to those picks shortly.
Pittsburgh showed me last week how bad they are by losing to Notre Dame. South Florida beat Notre Dame. But for some reason, I'm leaning toward Pitt tomorrow night. Houston stays undefeated at UTEP. Go Cougars! BYU beats Utah State on Friday.
Arkansas will give Texas A&M a taste of SEC life Saturday - the Razorbacks win this one. Minnesota falls at Michigan. Zook beats Northwestern. Georgia will play a closer game with an SEC West opponent this week. I'll pick Dan Mullen in a close one. If Kentucky thought last weekend was bad at home, the Wildcats really should not be looking forward to this weekend. LSU wins big. South Carolina will win a close game over Auburn. I'm still not overly impressed with Spurrier's Gamecocks this season. Once upon a time I had hope for Nevada, but I think Boise State is winning this one. SMU has a better chance at TCU than people think, but that doesn't mean I think June Jones will pull off the upset.
Georgia Tech wins on the road. Baylor wins at Kansas State. Even though I think Michigan State is terribly overrated, I'm picking the Spartans over the Buckeyes this weekend. Yes, Miller is better than Bauserman. But Ohio State is just not good. Clemson is overrated. Virginia Tech isn't good, but the Hokies should beat Clemson. Texas beats Iowa State. Stanford beats awful UCLA. Arizona State beats Oregon State.
And the most important games of the week..... I think Rutgers will beat Syracuse - as long as the refs aren't blind. I think the Huskers have yet to play to their potential. This could be a very high scoring game. Nebraska's defense hasn't impressed me, and Wisconsin has quite an offense. The question that will determine the outcome is this: Can the Badgers stop Taylor Martinez? Both teams have potentially deadly offenses, and neither has shown me any defense. Also, neither team has played anyone yet. So this is a tough game to pick. It's hard to win in Madison, but I want to pick Nebraska. Would be great to see Nebraska win its first conference game in the Big Ten. I'll say this - if Nebraska can shut down Wisconsin's run game, they've got a good shot. If the Husker defense doesn't show up, this game could get ugly in a hurry.
And the most important game of the week....well, it's in the Swamp. Well, Florida started the season with easy games against FAU and UAB. No one expected trouble from either team, and the Gators coasted. Then they played 2 SEC East opponents. Tennessee and Kentucky...not exactly the toughest competition in the Southeast. And Florida prevailed in both games. The offense has been decent, but I'm still not sold on Brantley or Thompson. This would be a good week to impress me. The defense has looked lazy, but I wonder if the defense has just been playing to the level of its competition. Alabama played well against a good Arkansas team. I was not impressed with the Crimson Tide's performance in Happy Valley. I thought they should have won that game by 100 points. But they didn't. So now, I'm tempted to believe if the Gator defense comes to play and shuts down Trent Richardson, Florida has a great chance to upset Alabama. I bleed orange and blue. I'm picking the upset. I pick F-L-O-R-I-D-A!
Remember when I said week 3 would be more interesting? Well, it was awesome. Any weekend where both Ohio State and Florida State lose and the Gators win, I'm a happy girl. It's about time Ohio State dropped out of the top 25!
Auburn should have won at Clemson, but I guess they ran out of miracles. Either way, neither team of Tigers will go too far this season. The LSU Tigers on the other hand...beware. I was very glad to see Michigan State fall out of the rankings after losing to awful Notre Dame. How long before the fighting Irish are back in the rankings?
South Carolina did not impress me against Navy. Nebraska had a slow start, but the Huskers beat the Huskies. I'm not appreciating the lack of respect for Houston. Texas beat UCLA and moved up to 19. Granted, Houston's schedule is much easier than Texas's. But the Cougars did beat UCLA too, and they remain undefeated and ranked. This is my main grudge against early season rankings. They show NOTHING. They're based purely on rumors, biases and media hype. Shouldn't they be based on which team has the best chance of getting to the national championship? Well, statistically, the teams who are undefeated would have the best chance at this point, no? And yet, three one-loss teams remain ranked in the AP Poll, and four in the USA Today Poll. This is why I don't make my picks based on rankings. This is why I picked a winless, unranked Miami team to beat "ranked" Ohio State last week. I watched them play football. I just didn't think Ohio State stood a chance. (Yes, I may be biased - but remember...Gators don't like Hurricanes either!)
So, Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC? UConn and Rutgers rumors circulating? Not sure how I feel about this. I think eventually college football will evolve to a point where there are two conferences: East and West. The Big 12 and Big East are in trouble for now, though. Texas and Oklahoma staying in the Big 12 for now though will help the Big 12 last a bit longer. Texas A&M is not smart for joining the SEC. In all likelihood, the team will end up in the SEC West, and will end up being beaten repeatedly by the likes of LSU, Auburn, Alabama... I suppose it will help keep up the rivalry with Arkansas (who I believe is the better team).
Anyway, on to Week 4 picks...
Tomorrow night I will take Cincinnati at home. Friday - UCF loses to BYU. I think San Diego State is gonna give Michigan a good fight. I think Michigan wins a close one. North Carolina turnovers lead to a Georgia Tech victory. Random pick: Toledo upsets Syracuse. Toldeo played well in Columbus and Syracuse didn't impress me. Maybe I'm just mad at Syracuse for not beating Lane Kiffin - even if I did pick USC...
Notre Dame starts 1-3 when they lose at Pitt. Georgia will make a stand for the SEC East against the SEC West this weekend and win at Ole Miss (not that a win means Georgia is good). Rutgers will definitely beat Ohio. I believe Alabama is beating Arkansas at home, but I do think Alabama is a bit overhyped. I still think Lucky Les and LSU will win the SEC West. I think Oklahoma State will win at Texas A&M. Wisconsin will beat South Dakota.
I think FSU will struggle at Clemson. Go Tigers! Washington rebounds after last weekend and beats Cal. Vanderbilt is losing to Spurrier & Co. Kansas St-Miami will be a close game between two bad teams. Rice may have beaten awful Purdue (yeah, the big ten is fantastic!), but the Owls are not beating Baylor. South Florida will beat UTEP and they'll stay ranked - maybe even move up for it.
No one on Florida's current team was alive the last time Kentucky beat Florida (1986). Gators win their first road game of the season. Nebraska will destroy Wyoming. LSU will beat West Virginia (who apparently no one wants to play with!). Arizona may put up a fight early, or may try to crawl back late, but I don't think Oregon is falling this week. Arizona State beats USC. Hawaii beats UC-Davis.
Charlie Strong is in big trouble. I was so close on my BYU-Texas pick, and if they played again, I'd make the same pick again. BYU apparently left at halftime. Rutgers came SO close. I was very disappointed with the ending. But I guess if UNC didn't turn the ball over so much, the game wouldn't have been as close as it was.
The Gators shut out the Blazers, but I still wasn't impressed. The defense looked lazy. Deonte Thompson still can't hold onto a ball. Too many stupid penalties. They have a lot to work on before Alabama. And SEC play starts this week. Haven't lost to UT since 2004, and I don't want to see a loss this weekend.
Nebraska struggled early with a sub-par team...I guess they really have embraced being a Big Ten team. But they were no where near as pathetic as Ohio State. Every player on Toledo would have gotten a handwritten fan letter from me if they had beaten Ohio State. I was very disappointed they didn't pull out the win, but I was happy Ohio State was exposed. Although, they're exposed every year, and it never seems to affect the rankings very much...
Miss St and Auburn played a good game, and Auburn's home advantage helped them beat Dan Mullen. Both teams will have competitive seasons. Georgia hung in with South Carolina for a while, but come on - Spurrier had that locked up from the start. Everyone wants to talk about how great the Notre Dame-Michigan game was. I would call it competitive, not great. It was a battle of two awful teams. I was SHOCKED Michigan wasn't ranked after beating a winless team though, simply because the Big Ten gets so much praise. I thought Alabama would beat Penn State by more, but other than that, I wasn't surprised by too much in week 2.
Week 3 should be more interesting...my picks:
Miss State falls at home to LSU. Boise State beats Toledo by more than Ohio State did. Oklahoma wins at FSU. What do both teams have in common? Florida beat both in national championships. Stanford should beat Arizona. Washington isn't beating Taylor Martinez. The Huskies were embarrassed last year in Seattle - they're not beating Nebraska in Lincoln. Notre Dame will start 0-3. Michigan State will continue to be overrated for beating a winless team that gets its only praise from Lou Holtz.
Clearly I'm picking the Gators to beat the Vols. And I'll ask one of my favorite questions that I was asked in college - Why does Tennessee have checkerboards in the end zone? ...Because they can't spell Tennessee! I will pick Miami to win the "Ineligibowl" this weekend. Don't get me wrong - Miami and Ohio State are both bad. But Miami is at home. And Ohio State looked awful against Toledo. Auburn beats Clemson. SEC > ACC. Can Texas handle UCLA this time around? I'm picking the Bruins. I'm not sure why Texas is ranked. Arizona State has a decent QB...I'd like to pick Zook, but I think this game will be a good one.
I'll pick Kentucky over Louisville in the battle of "which team from Kentucky sucks less?" Syracuse loses to USC for sure. I pick Utah over BYU. Oklahoma State beats Tulsa. Alabama bets North Texas. Hawaii beats UNLV. None of these games even matter. Rutgers can't lose this weekend!
For the first time this season, I'll say it: To hell with Georgia. I guess they're just used to losing to teams in orange and blue... but what a disappointing display for the SEC. Now we'll hear about Boise State all season unless Nevada comes through again or if TCU can pull off an upset. Both the Nevada and TCU games are on the smurf turf, so you can expect to see Boise State in a BCS bowl this year -- but not the national championship game. Not too many big surprises last week though. I expected a close game between Notre Dame and USF, but I figured with home advantage Notre Dame would come out on top. But wow. That was just embarrassing. I expect an awful season from the Irish this year - if even Lou Holtz picked against them, you know it's not looking good. (though to be fair, he admitted his wife made him pick his son, and he still said he thought Notre Dame was a better team than USF)
Wisconsin played well at home and won big. What I neglected to mention in my blog last week was that I picked UNLV +35 in that game. My brother (a Wisconsin alum) kept teasing me before and throughout the game about my "stupid" pick. Didn't look so stupid when the badgers won by 34. Auburn was a disgrace. I know they lost a lot from last year's national championship team, but no SEC team - not even Vanderbilt - should come close to losing to Utah State. And that's not to discredit Utah State. I just have that much respect for SEC football. Sidenote: What is Texas A&M thinking? They want to leave the Big 12 to get beat up by the SEC? Bring it on. Texas was up 13-6 at halftime over Rice. Someone explain to me how they entered this week's top 25? Once again, preseason/early season rankings mean nothing and are based on nothing. These rankings are based on general perceptions of schools based on the past at this point, and absolutely nothing more. There is no other information available to help formulate rankings, so at this point it is frustrating, but understandable.
The Gators looked fine against the Owls. Brantley looked a little more confident than last year. That's a plus. But he still threw two interceptions, and that's not cool. Nebraska looked good. Taylor Martinez looked fast. But it was a game against Chattanooga, so I'm not sure what I can deduce. Rutgers looked good against North Carolina Central, but we'll see how they do against a better school in North Carolina this week.
Picks for week 2.... Tonight I'll take Oklahoma State. Tomorrow I'll take Louisville and Missouri in close games. Both weren't great last week, but they should be able to handle FAU and Arizona State. AZ St is at home though...so we'll see. And I gotta pull for Charlie Strong - until he plays Rutgers, of course. Saturday - Badgers over Beavers. Ohio State wins another easy game over Toledo. Michigan State will score under 30 again against FAU, but the Spartans will win. Iowa beats Iowa State in an in-state rivalry game no one cares about. Kentucky will hopefully put on a better show for the SEC against Central Michigan. Auburn will play better this week, but I have to side with Dan Mullen in this game - even if the Tigers are at home.
Call me crazy, but I'm taking the Scarlet Knights on the road at UNC. I just have to. West Virginia and Pittsburgh should have no problems - so the Big East should have a good afternoon. Alabama wins big in Happy Valley. Sorry, Joe Paterno! Stanford beats Duke - and no one will care. East Carolina will give Virginia Tech a fight, but the Hokies will come out on top. Nevada will come in confident, but they won't accomplish much. Oregon has too much offense - Ducks win big. Much higher score than last week. TCU will begin climbing back up the rankings with a win over Air Force. I think Hawaii is winning in Seattle. Another rough week for the Huskies ahead next week...
Cincinnati may have had a nice offensive showing last week, but I don't think they can handle the SEC. Spurrier is winning at Georgia. UNLV will lose its second in a row. FSU wins another cupcake game this week and all the unnecessary hype continues. Ole Miss beats the Salukis. Nebrakasa will crush Fresno State. Arkansas will destroy New Mexico. USF should beat Ball State - but don't tell David Letterman. My upset special of the week: BYU wins at Texas. Gotta pick June Jones over UTEP. Florida will beat UAB. Driskel will hopefully be in early and often and will gain confidence - no interceptions this week! I want to see more from Debose this week. And no turnovers for the team. ::Ahem, Brantley:: I'll pick USC over Utah even though I despise Kiffin. Houston will beat North Texas on the road - Case Keenum is too good. Michigan should beat Notre Dame - sorry Lou Holtz! And of course, to state the obvious, LSU will humiliate Northwestern State.
GO GATORS!!! R-U! Rah! Rah! Go Big Red! (Husk 'em corns?)
Finally - it's college football season!! Of course, as always, the preseason rankings mean absolutely nothing. The only thing worth recognizing is the fact that the SEC has the most ranked teams in the top 25 of any conference - and that's the way it should be. The SEC is still far superior to the other college football conferences.
Because I obviously haven't seen any teams play yet, this week I will make predictions based on a combination of last season's performances, gut feelings and just plain biases. With that said, I don't think too much will shake up in the first week because most ranked teams do not play tough games the first week.
And here are some of my predictions for week 1....
The Big East may not be good, but I will pick Louisville over Murray State and UConn over Fordham. I'll pick the Chippewas over SCSU. Still not impressed with the ACC as of late, but Georgia Tech will beat WCU. My Scarlet Knights will have no trouble embarrassing North Carolina Central. UNLV will play Wisconsin tough, but the crowd in Madison will jump around as Wisconsin starts the season 1-0. Mississippi State will beat Memphis - CUSA can't handle the SEC and Dan Mullen. Wake Forest should beat Syracuse - but does it mean anything for either team? Utah over Montana State. Kentucky over the Hilltoppers.
Friday I'll take Mich St and TCU. When Mich St beats Youngstown State they'll start climbing the rankings - because we'll all be very impressed with such a high quality win.... or something like that. TCU shouldn't have a problem with Baylor - but it might be closer than they think. Important: GO ZIPS! I'd love to see the Buckeyes lose. Unfortunately, Ohio State will win this one - even if they have to vacate the W later. Dirty cheaters. Missouri beats the Redhawks. Defending national champs Auburn keep the undefeated streak alive with a win over Utah State. ACC might be weak, but Boston College beats Northwestern. Penn State wins in Happy Valley. Alabama will humiliate Kent State. Iowa beats the great Tenn Tech. Appalachian State won't pull off a miracle this year like in 2007 - I just hope they can locate Virginia Tech on a map. Not sure one notable alum can....
FSU will win this weekend, unfortunately. Nebraska will blow out Chattanooga and scare the hell out of the Big Ten. Notre Dame will squeak past USF. USC beats Minnesota. Michigan won't start strong - may have a closer game this weekend than people expect. But they'll win. James Madison isn't beating the ACC again this year. North Carolina will win this week, but lose next week to the Big East! (Not that I'm biased on that one...) Clemson will beat Troy. Houston should beat UCLA. Watch out for Case Keenum!!! Zook will beat Arkansas State. Ole Miss will beat BYU. Oklahoma State will win. Tennessee will win. Arkansas will win.
The FLORIDA GATORS will beat the FAU Owls. Gators eat owls for breakfast - even John Brantley. And he better impress me this weekend. I want a HUGE victory. No 20-14 nonsense against Florida Atlantic.
Washington will win even without Jake Locker. Ball State could beat the Big Ten. Cincinnati, Kansas and Kansas State will all win their cupcake games. Texas Tech and Vanderbilt will have no problems. Tulsa will go down in flames to Oklahoma. I think even with the suspensions LSU is beating Oregon. Too much talent in the SEC. Also think Georgia is upsetting Boise State. When Georgia sees all that orange and blue, they're just gonna flip out. I'd like to see Hawaii beat Colorado. West Virginia will spare itself embarrassment this season and beat Marshall by double digits. Would LOVE to see June Jones beat Texas A&M, but I don't see it happening. Does Miami have anyone eligible to play Monday night? -- I'll pick Maryland.
Not many surprises here. A ton of meaningless games. Oregon-LSU and Boise State-Georgia are the obvious highlights. I care most about Florida, Rutgers and Nebraska as usual.
Okay, I know I said I'd come back...and I meant to right away...but I just have not had the time.
Well, my blogging project for my Social Media class at NYU went well. Very well, in fact. Thank you to those who took the time to read my more-academic-than-usual blog.
I won't get into too much today, but I have missed too much, and there is too much going on for me to say nothing at all. So a few key points from recent weeks and days...
1) Congratulations once again to the Florida women's tennis team on winning the national championship! The Gators beat Stanford AT STANFORD 4-3 to take the title. And for those who don't know, Stanford hadn't lost a game at home in over 12 years, and they were undefeated this season until the national championship.
2) Congratulations to the Florida softball team on another tremendous season.
3) Liar, Liar, Vest on Fire - Jim Tressel is gone. Urban Meyer - don't even think about. If you do, I won't be surprised if we see "Liar, Meyer, House on Fire." You've told us you don't want to coach right now. Just don't do it. Gators > Buckeyes. Why would you give up winners to be with losers?
4) Pryor is gone too. Thank you Terrelle Pryor for backing up and justifying every comment I have ever made about you. Have fun playing in the CFL or UFL....I hear the Omaha Nighthawks could really use a wide receiver. Pryor is surely not pro QB material. Hell, he wasn't even college QB material. He just played in a weak conference and rarely threw the ball, so enough people were actually fooled. Not me, though. I'm too smart. Everyone welcome Taylor Martinez as your new Heisman frontrunner. I love the kid, don't get me wrong. Tremendous athlete. But it's not his athletic abilities that will put him in the spotlight. It's the fact that Nebraska joined the Big Ten, and without Pryor in the mix, the media will need someone else to over-hype. I like the huskers - so I might enjoy this if it goes as I suspect it will go.
SEC Champs, baby. Even if Bama beats Georgia and if Vandy gets lucky against the Gators, the head to head (extremely convincing) win tonight over Alabama (78-51) proved the Gators are the true SEC champs. Congrats to Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyus, Vernon Macklin and Adam Allen. Tremendous step-up on senior night, and nice touch for Billy D to let Allen dribble out the remaining seconds of the game. Secretly Anthony Grant is elated the Gators won.
I know my blog is suffering lately...and sadly, it likely will continue to suffer. I will be writing a similar blog for a class project over the next couple months. Feel free to check that one out for now!
Okay...so the latest hype is that Ohio State is the unanimous #1 team in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. Don't buy into it!!! Sadly they have no one on their regular season schedule to prove it, but they're really not that good. The only way this team is winning the national championship is if they're given a bracket as easy as Duke's last year. And even then I think they'd have to slip the refs a few extra bucks. Anyone remember the last basketball championship for the Buckeyes? 1960? Yeah, they just don't matter. Sidenote: I wasn't impressed with Texas yet, but the win over Kansas has helped shape my opinion. They're moving up in my Big 12 rankings, but I still think Kansas is the best in the conference. Let's not forget Texas lost 73-56 to USC. The same USC who lost to Bradley (6-14 record). (yeah yeah, some of you may remind me that Kansas only beat USC by 2 - but at least they did beat USC.)
More importantly, the Gators are back in the top 25 after an impressive win over Arkansas! That game against South Carolina was most disappointing. Unfortunately the Gators only felt like playing for the last 5 minutes of the game, and it was too little too late. A focus on defense made the Florida-Auburn game reminiscent of a Big Ten match-up, and thus was nearly unwatchable. 45-40? No, that wasn't the halftime score. But a win is a win. Gators have a big one at Georgia tonight. GO GATORS!! Also, as much as I think Purdue is overrated...Go Boilermakers. Beat the buckeyes!!!
Before Florida found its identity as a team this season, the Gators beat FSU on the road. Because the Gators did not seem ready for the season yet and still won the game, I didn't see FSU as a threat to many teams. I knew the ACC was down this year, but I originally said that did not apply to Duke. I guess Duke didn't get the memo, because they played like an ACC team last night. Congrats to Derwin Kitchen and Chris Singleton on strong individual performances. As thrilling as it is to see the #1 team fall in college basketball, I am upset for 2 reasons this morning. 1: FSU won a game last night. 2: Ohio State will likely be #1 in the next poll. So on Saturday...come on, Nittany Lions....you got this!!! And I was actually slightly excited to see the next set of polls because as many of you saw Tuesday, the Gators won a thriller in overtime on the road, and some are projecting the Gators to creep back into the top 25. Wisconsin should drop out after its choke at Michigan State, but the polls just seem to love the Big Ten so much this season, I wouldn't even be surprised if they and the Spartans both jump. Illinois, too. Still waiting for an explanation on how Purdue is ranked ahead of UConn. Anyway, Gators have another tough East game Saturday (the SEC East is for real in basketball this season! gotta make up for football somewhere, I guess...) Go Gators! Beat the gamecocks!
Worst group of BCS Bowls in the history of the BCS - hands down. Oklahoma beat an unranked team. Stanford beat a team who even James Madison beat. TCU showed that even the "best" of the big ten is just not good. Ohio State paid Arkansas to lose at the end of the Sugar Bowl. Seriously...no one was near the guy who recovered the blocked punt...easy run in for the score...and first interception of the game coming in the last minute for Arkansas? I'm not buying it. Hope it was worth the money, Tressel. Especially since 5 of your guys shouldn't have been playing in that game anyway. Bunch of dirty cheaters, if you ask me. And last night's game? What happened to the explosive offenses I heard about for over a month? Game almost put me to sleep. That game showed that football was just not very good this season...but even in a down year, the SEC came out on top. 5 years in a row. Congrats to Gator Gene Chizik on the national championship!
On to more important things, the Gators play at Tennessee tonight. This would be a big road win against the insanely inconsistent Vols. Really not sure how a team can beat Pitt and Villanova but lose to CofC, Oakland and Charleston. Rutgers has a very tough game tonight at UConn. Not at all excited for Wisconsin-Michigan State. Not sure why Michigan State is still ranked in one poll. Pitt-Georgetown and Louisville-Villanova tomorrow will be some good Big East matchups. I'm interested to see how 13-2 Nebraska will hold up against Missouri. Missouri-Texas A&M this weekend should be a good one. Purdue vs Minnesota will get no hype from me. Purdue is hanging on to a top-10 ranking despite having played absolutely no one. Oh, the overhyped big ten...what would college basketball (or football) be without you? ...good, maybe? The big east should dominate basketball this season. Kansas and Duke should make some noise. Still waiting for Ohio State to play someone and prove itself. Oh wait, what's that? They only have their weak conference games left until the NCAA tournament? Not surprised...
Well, my bowl picks may not be great - but I was right about one thing I said all season: the big ten is an embarrassment. I mean really. Terrible and overrated Iowa & Zook's fighting Illini were able to pull off wins over mediocre Big 12 teams. Also, for all you haters and buckeye fans...remember when I guaranteed Pryor wouldn't win the Heisman and Ohio State wouldn't win the national championship? I think I forgot to say "told you so" - but better late than never. so I'm saying it now. The biggest disappointment so far in a bowl game was Nebraska. I mean, come on, Bo. I know you don't care about the Big 12 anymore...but the Huskers had absolutely no energy in that game and it was pathetic - especially since they really should have been playing UConn in the Fiesta Bowl. But to lose on a neutral field to a team you already embarrassed on their home field? Not cool, Nebraska. But in fairness to the Huskers, they probably want to fit in with the teams in their new conference, and well, the big ten is embarrassing itself. So maybe the Huskers just wanted to follow suit. As some of you know, my brother is a Wisconsin alum. Because of this, he is always telling me how any and every team in the big ten could beat any and every team in the SEC. Well, Florida beat Penn State. Mississippi State beat Michigan. Alabama beat Michigan State. ...I'm just not seeing my brother's logic. I'm still sticking with my pick of Arkansas over Ohio State. Let's face it, the SEC is better than the Big Ten. (And the SEC is the best conference in the country)
As far as the Gator coaching situation, I'm still not sure how I feel about Muschamp. And Charlie Weis? Well, I've never been a big fan. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised. But he can't be worse than Addazio! And hopefully Brantley won't set foot on the field. Thanks again to Urban Meyer for the 2 national championships!
Gator Men's basketball had a nice outing at Xavier. Don't let us down tonight boys!! Looking forward to another win over the Atlantic 10. Other than tonight's Gator game, other upcoming games I'm looking forward to are UConn-Notre Dame, Arkansas-Texas, BYU-UNLV, UConn-Texas and Minnesota-Ohio State. (Let's go Golden Gophers!) Duke has looked good early with a couple of impressive wins. Ohio State has yet to play a competitive team, so I stand by my belief that the buckeyes are overrated as usual. Kansas hasn't played many tough games yet either, but they look pretty good. I'm undecided on the Big 12 so far, but the Huskers are off to a nice start at 10-2 even though they've played no one. We'll see how they play against Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri...the Big 12 may be the 2nd best conference this year behind the Big East. The Big East in general is looking strong. Definitely stronger than any other conference this year. The ACC is largely disappointing for hoops this season. The Big Ten, as with every sport, is overrated. None of their "fantastic" teams have played anyone yet. Except Michigan State. And they lost to UConn, Duke, Syracuse and Texas. And what gets me is this...later in the season, they will be credited for their fantastic out-of-conference schedule strength even though they lost every tough game. Their most impressive out-of-conference win so far was over no-longer-ranked Washington from the still-down Pac 10 who has zero ranked teams. I'll repeat what I said the last 2 years: Michigan State is overrated. I'm sorry, but if you can't beat Dan Werner, you don't belong in the final four. End of story. The Big East remains my favorite basketball conference. Rutgers was off to a decent start before playing UNC and then beginning its Big East schedule. Pitt, UConn, Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Louisville are all looking competitive. Although Louisville couldn't quite handle the SEC on New Year's Eve! The SEC seems extremely inconsistent, and I cannot explain the Tennessee Volunteers at all. They can beat Pitt and Villanova, but can't handle Oakland, CofC or Charlotte? I want to credit San Diego State for its 15-0 start, but the toughest team SDSU played is awful Gonzaga. I'm not saying SDSU is bad - I'm just saying I'll withhold my judgment till later in the season. So happy it's basketball season!!
