After taking the second half of the summer off, I decided what better day to get back into blogging than September 1st. Regardless of the 90 degree heat that is still sweeping the South and the East Coast, I contend once the calendar hits September, Summer Is Over! This, of course, means FOOTBALL is here.
I thought I'd put some of my random college football thoughts in writing before the season officially kicks off Thursday night with Murray State at Kent State! Ok, that's actually not the marquee game of the night, but I need to expand my readership and why not start with the Golden Flashes of Kent State fan base.
> My interest Thursday night clearly lies with the USC Trojans heading out West (not often you get to say that) to take on the Hawaii Warriors. That game kicks off 11:00 PM Eastern and Bahamas time (which is where I'll be Thursday night). Trojan fans can't even get East coast writers to pop a 5-hour energy drink for the regular 10:00 PM Pac-10 games on FSN during the season, so I doubt many will be awake to catch Lane Kiffin's debut as a head coach for the men of Troy. Although the few that are awake will sadly be rooting for him to fail.
> Looking around the rest of the nation, I'm obviously intrigued by any program that has to defend it's national championship. Ask any coach at a big time program how tough it is to win back-to-back titles in college football. The Crimson Tide will start the season without their Heisman Trophy running back, Mark Ingram.
> I'm curious to see how year three goes for Paul Johnson at Georgia Tech. ACC coaches now have had a few years of film to sift through to plot and plan for the YellowJacket's unique spead-option offense. Saturday's are made for quarterbacks like Josh Nesbitt. Tough as nails and the perfect leader for this team.
> Will Georgia, led by former Plant High School stud out of Tampa, Aaron Murray be able to give the Gators a run in the SEC East this year? Will All-World wide receiver AJ Green be good enough to put his team on his back for an extra win or two this year? The 'Dawgs may need it!
> Can the Wisconsin Badgers return to the glory days under Barry Alvarez and get back to the Rose Bowl? That may be determined on October 16th when the Buckeyes come to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison for a season-changing showdown.
> Speaking of the Rose Bowl, who is going to step up and claim the other invitation from the Pac10? The conference is loaded at quarterback, the question is will there be enough pieces on the defensive side of the ball for guys like Jake Locker at Washington or Andrew Luck at Stanford? Will the running game at Oregon State be enough to keep the Beavers in the conference title hunt and is QB Nate Costa at Oregon going to win games for the Ducks or just manage them?
Other quick hits:
Les Miles seat is hot.
Bob Stoops has a big mouth.
What will the BCS computers think of Boise State if they run the table?
Rich Rodriguez better not lose to UCONN to start the season.
Are expectations high or low for Derek Dooley at Tennessee?
Will an ACC team emerge as a national title contender?
The Denver Broncos have a BYE Week November 7th....will Tim Tebow use that time to visit the Gators and bless them for the 2nd of half of their season?
I still contend Saturday's are more exciting then Sundays during football season. There are more meaningful games and better bitter rivalries. Although my alma mater (USC) is on probabtion for the next two seasons, college football will still provide me with enough storylines to keep me intrigued until the very end.
If Va Tech diesnt get them, Wyoming beats Boise. Bet it.
ReplyDeleteI like how wide open the SEc is. My alma mater has a lot to replace in their Nat Title defense. They have two tough SEC road games and they may lose at least one of them.
Ohio State has it all layed out for them. Amazing talent, terrelle Pryor Heisman hype, easy schedule. I bet they mess it up.