College Football Preview: SEC too good for its own good

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Matt Barkley (pictured above) will have a special year in 2012 as he leads USC back to the pinnacle of college football and takes home the Heisman Trophy.

By Josh Kramer

Opening night for the 2012 edition of College Football is just a week away.  It seems like it was just yesterday that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide were celebrating on Bourbon Street.  In actuality, it was 227 days ago when Alabama clinched the SEC’s sixth consecutive national championship.  Don’t expect that streak to reach seven though.

Here are my predictions for the season ahead.

ACC Champion: Florida State Seminoles

I along with most people around the country jumped the gun and proclaimed Florida State’s greatness last season.  Will this finally be the year that the Seminoles and their outstanding recruiting classes live up to the hype?  Jimbo Fisher along with the entire city of Tallahassee certainly hope so.  A loaded defense led by Brandon Jenkins, Bjoern Werner, and Xavier Rhodes are ready to roll.  As is their experienced senior quarterback EJ Manuel.  A September 22nd showdown with the reigning ACC Champs Clemson and a visit to Blacksburg for a Thursday night tussle (November 8th) with the always dangerous Virginia Tech Hokies are the two dates to keep in mind at this time.

Big 12 Champion:  Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners are a definite contender to not only win the conference crown, but to take home the whole thing after a very disappointing and injury-riddled 2011. This will be a team that has a chip on its shoulder from start to finish in 2012.  Unfortunately for the Sooners, their schedule does not get serious until their final three games, which features road contests against Big 12 newcomers West Virginia and TCU, and a showdown with in-state rival Oklahoma State.  Also, keep an eye on the Red River Rivalry Game against a dangerous Texas team on October 13th.  Senior quarterback Landry Jones may face more media pressure than any other player in the country not named Matt Barkley.  I have a feeling that the very experienced senior will welcome it as he finishes his Sooner career with a bang.

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Super Early College Football Top Five

Photo courtesy of Louisianasportstalk.com. Les Miles (pictured above) did not prepare his team the way he should have for the National Championship Game. Expect his LSU Tigers to walk away with the National Championship in January of 2013.

By Josh Kramer

The late-great basketball coach Skip Prosser once told me, “If you can’t be on time, be early.”  Well in this case, I am going to be super early.  The big game, which unfortunately did not end up being “big” by any means, concluded the College Football season on Monday night.  And despite a very disappointing finish to what had been a magical season in Baton Rouge, good things are ahead for the Tigers.  Who really cares if the season just ended, Spring Ball is right around the corner as die-hard fans across the country pray their team will be “the” team in 2012 and early 2013.  Here is an early look ahead.

Top Five:

1.  LSU Tigers:  Do not let Monday’s game take away from what this team accomplished this past season.  Eight wins against ranked foes.  Five of those on the road.  Plus this team returns the majority of it’s vaunted defense, including the Honey Badger and Eric Reid.  In addition, find me a better stable of running backs.   LSU was the nation’s best team in 2011.  They just didn’t finish the job.  Also, next year, their schedule is much more favorable.  The Tide have to come to Baton Rouge and the non-conference slate is not exactly mind-boggling (N. Texas, Idaho, Washington, Towson).

College Football Bowl Picks Week 3

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. The top matchup this week has to be the Stanford vs Oklahoma State Fiesta Bowl date. I have a feeling Andrew Luck (pictured above) will play a large part in the outcome.

By Josh Kramer

Please somebody explain to me why it is called “Capital One Bowl Week?”  We are now entering Week 3 of bowl season.  Why isn’t it “Capital One Bowl Month?”  I would love to hear the reasoning.  12 bowls down, and 23 to go.  19 games will be played between now and next Thursday.  Strap in, because the beat will not stop until January 9th as we start to hit the “real” bowl games.

Thursday:

Florida State vs Notre Dame (CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL)

–Fighting Irish by 3

Headline:  Brian Kelly brings home a second straight bowl game victory to South Bend.

-Let’s just call this the “Year Away Bowl.”  Both of these teams had lofty expectations to play in BCS Bowl games this year.  Neither was ready.  Notre Dame is slightly closer to being ready in my opinion though.

College Football Bowl Picks Week 2

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Kellen Moore (pictured above) is looking to cap off his remarkable college career with his 50th victory.

By Josh Kramer

The first few college bowl games surprisingly went out with a bang. I will be the first to admit that the first week of bowl games were not half bad.  They were actually very good.  Granted the majority of America did not really care about the outcomes, but guys like Tyler Tettleton (OU QB) and Brett Baer (Louisiana-Lafeyette kicker) are now heroes in Athens (Ohio) and Ragin’ Caginville.  I think it is safe to say that Brett Baer might be more beloved than the “Waterboy,” Bobby Boucher (regardless of what mama says). in Lafayette. Two of the three games on Saturday came down to the wire.  The Monday evening game provided a very surprising outcome, as the Thundering Herd “scampered” their way past a decent Florida International team.  Now the fun really begins (sort of) with seven games between today and next Wednesday night.

Thursday:

Arizona State vs Boise State (MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS)

–Broncos by 14

Headline:  Kellen Moore vents his frustrations of missing the National Championship yet again on a struggling Arizona State team.

Week 14 went out with a bang

Photo courtesy of sportsgooru.com. The video game finally ended for Case Keenum (pictured above) and the Houston Cougars in yesterday's Conference USA Title Game.

By Josh Kramer

The final weekend is also commonly referred to as “Championship Weekend.”  Predominantly, the slate is full of conference championships and other games with heavy BCS implications.  Sadly, outside of the Big Ten Title Game in Indianapolis, most of the other games failed to live up to the hype. I know one thing for sure.  I am excited for bowl season.

Game over on the video game

-Yesterday’s Conference USA Title Game had much more BCS implications than normal.  With a victory, Houston would all but ensure a spot in a BCS Game.  The Cougars had simply been dominant all season long, heading into yesterday’s showdown with Southern Mississippi at 12 and 0.  On the year, Houston, led by their fearless quarterback had outscored their opponents an astonishing 632 to 251.  That is an average score of 53 to 21.  Granted, they had not played one ranked team all season long.  Well yesterday, Houston played a ranked foe, and their lack of experience showed.

College Football Week 14: This is it

Photo courtesy of thesportsbank.net. The Big Ten Championship Game is arguably the best matchup of the week. Can Russell Wilson (pictured above) help the Badgers exact revenge on a tough Michigan State team?

By Josh Kramer

At last it is time for the “official” final weekend of the College Football regular season.  Though we have learned a ton since the beginning of September, there are still plenty of questions in need of definitive answers.  These are as follows:

-Who will play in the BCS National Championship Game?

-Who will take home the prestigious Heisman Trophy Award?

-Where will all of the bowl bounds team be heading?

-When will the game of musical chairs in the College Football coaching world generate some solutions?

And I could go on and on..

Here are the marquee matchups.

UCLA at Oregon: Ducks by 31 (yes I expect them to beat the 30 point spread)

College Football Week 12: Don’t leave it on the shelve

Photo courtesy of kansas.com. Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein (pictured above) is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in College Football. Look for him to lead Kansas State to a big victory over Texas on Saturday.

By Josh Kramer

Kicking was the name of the game last week in College Football.  Sadly, many top teams did not get the memo, and paid the price in a big way.  The fiasco that is Penn State continues to get worse each day.  And the Stanford Cardinal finally ran out of “Luck” against a Oregon team that is playing outstanding football.  Week 11 was a wild one, but Week 12 is sure to be great in its own right.

Here are the marquee matchups.

Nebraska at Michigan:  Cornhuskers by 3

Headline:  Rex Burkhead turns the “Big House” into his house.

Week 9 was pretty fine

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Rex Burkhead (pictured above) had himself a huge day in leading the Cornhuskers over the Spartans.

By Josh Kramer

Despite the absence of the top two teams in the nation, Week 9 was pretty fine.  There was a major shakeup in the Big Ten.  A QB out West, who is definitely no “fluke,” continued his Heisman Campaign.  And another unbeaten from the ACC went down hard (Clemson).

Big Ten Bonanza

Food for Thought 10-25-2011

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Tim Tebow (pictured above) was the marquee storyline of Week 7 in the NFL.

By Josh Kramer

We are in the midst of arguably the best time of the year in the sporting world (along with March Madness).  Football is at full tilt at both the collegiate and the professional ranks. The NHL is back in action.  Plus we are coming up on the home stretch of the Fall Classic.  There is not enough time in a day to keep up with everything.

Here are the main items that have caught my attention.

Tebow Time

College Football Week 7: Is this heaven

Photo courtesy of yahoo.com. Baylor QB Robert Griffin III (pictured above) has been simply sensational through the first half of the season. Can he lead the Bears over the Aggies in a big time Big 12 matchup?

By Josh Kramer

It is no longer a new season of College Football.  We are at the midway point of the year, and conference play is in full force.  Grab your popcorn because the second half promises to be even more fun than the first half was.

Here are a few things we do know:

-The SEC West is as good as advertised, featuring two major National Championship contenders in LSU and Alabama.

-Andrew Luck was not just lucky in his first couple of seasons under center in Palo Alto.  He truly is the real deal.

-The Russell Wilson experiment appears to not only have major Big Ten Championship implications, but possible National Championship Game implications as well.

-Stephen Garcia is one of the biggest knuckleheads ever to play a snap at the Division 1 College Football level.

-The first official set of BCS Rankings will come out on Sunday.