I always wanted to make a ridiculously early top 10 list before anybody knows exactly who is staying and who is going. Here goes.
1. Florida
I thought the championship game would be the last time Percy Harvin and Brandon Spikes suited up for the Gators. I am not so sure now. Even if they don't come back, the Gators have a bunch of guys ready to step in. The defense might be even better next year than it was this year.
2. Texas
Texas was a young team this past season. Most thought they were a year away. With McCoy coming back they will be in good shape for a title run.
3. Oklahoma
They lose a lot on the offensive line, but the Big 12's defensive lines are pretty terrible so it shouldn't matter. If Bradford comes back, the Texas/OU game will probably be for a spot in the national championship game.
4. USC
Their whole defense is gone, but we all know USC's reserves are better than most team's starters. Sanchez will be back and the Pac 10 will still be bad. That said, USC will once again lose a game they shouldn't and be locked out of the title game.
5. Ohio State
Beanie and most of the defense will be playing in the NFL next season. That probably won't matter much. Tressel owns the Big 10 and that will continue. Pryor will be a much better player next season. I don't know if he'll ever develop into an elite passing QB, but his current skill set is still good enough to terrorize most of the Big 10. They'll probably make a BCS bowl and lose to either USC or the Texas/OU loser.
6. Virginia Tech
The ACC champs were supposed to be rebuilding this season. They lose a great CB in Victor Harris but not much else. If they can get passed 'Bama at the beginning of the season, they could go on a run similar to Penn State's this year.
7. Oklahoma State
Zach Robinson and Kendall Hunter will be coming back. Points will be scored. Lots of them.
8. Utah
They don't really belong here because they lose a lot of important seniors. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, I guess.
9. LSU
I really don't know what to make of this team. They could go undefeated or they could lose five games again. The defense will be much better under John Chavis, but they need to find someone who can make plays at the QB position.
10. Mississippii
Could Ole Miss be the best team in the SEC West? They return a lot of starters and they finished the season with a lot of momentum. Alabama loses a lot of senior leadership. See above for LSU. Auburn will be better but not by much. The combonation of Ed Orgeron's players and Houston Nutt's coaching ability is tough to beat.
Other teams that will probably appear in the top 10 at some point in the season: Penn State, Boise State, Alabama, TCU, Georgia Tech, Oregon.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Champs
Pretty strange game last night. I didn't think either defense would play as well as they did. Here's my observations:
1. The Gators used a simple formula to slow down the OU offense. They lined up correctly and they tackled well. OU's offense had been feasting all season on defenses that could not keep up with their fast pace, but with a month to prepare Florida's defense adjusted just fine. OU even slowed their offense down when they realized that they weren't going to be able to outpace the Gator defense. I think Oklahoma averaged something like 90 plays a game, but managed just 76 in this game. Watching replays of the game, it's kind of funny because Fox obviously had this whole thing setup with a clock to show how fast OU gets their plays off. I don't think we saw that clock again after half time.
2. What a monster play by Torrey Davis on that fourth and goal play. He shed TWO blockers AND made the tackle. That was about as good a play as you will ever see out of the DT position. Ahmad Black's interception was also outstanding. Black was a third string corner back going into spring practice, and now he is one of the best safeties in the nation.
3. The game ball has to go to Percy Harvin. He was maybe 80%-85%. Percy usually glides all over the field, but even on his long runs you could tell that the ankle was bothering him. Tebow will get most of the offensive credit, and he did pick up some key first downs, but the Gators don't win the game last night without Percy Harvin.
4. The refs were terrible in this game. Florida's defense was ready for OU's fast paced offense; the refs were not. Half the time they could not get the ball set on time and they continually had problems with the game clock. The excessive celebration/taunting penalties in college football are getting out of hand. It's not that they're calling too many of them, it's that there is no consistency. Louis Murphy gets flagged for making a first down signal, but there is no flag when Tebow is running and jumping all over the field while waving his hands up and down? This is like foul calls in the NBA. If you're a well known player you can celebrate all you want and not get penalized, but the other guys get flagged for the smallest things. It's been like this all season for every team, though, not just last night.
5. The Sooners really missed DeMarco Murray. I thought it was ridiculous when the media tried to act like him not being in the lineup was no big deal. His replacement, Chris Brown, had a very good game, but Brown is not the type of back that can get you points against this defense. Brown is a grind-it-out, move the chains kind of running back. The only way to score on this defense is with big plays. DeMarco Murray is OU's best playmaker. You can't methodically drive down the field on the Gator defense because they will eventually force a turnover or get you in a third and long situation. I believe the Gators are the best defense in terms of stopping teams on third down. If they're not #1 they're in the top 5.
6. Tebow is not ready for the NFL. He played his worst or second worst half (first half of Auburn 2007 being the other stinker) of football to open the game. The only reason he was effective in the second half was because he decided if his primary receiver wasn't open he was just going to tuck it and run. This works great in college (Vince Young did the same thing against USC a few years ago), but it's not going to fly in the NFL.
On a side note, Nic Harris is a total douche bag. What an embarrassment. He intentionally used Tebow's head as a stepping stool to get off the ground once. There was no doubt that he did this on purpose. He also held on to Harvin's legs on the play Harvin tweaked his ankle. I don't think it had anything to do with the injury, but it was still a bush league move. You know he must have been playing dirty for Tebow to taunt him at the end the way he did. I don't think Tebow is as saintly as everyone makes him out to be, but Tebow would not do what he did unless Harris really deserved it.
1. The Gators used a simple formula to slow down the OU offense. They lined up correctly and they tackled well. OU's offense had been feasting all season on defenses that could not keep up with their fast pace, but with a month to prepare Florida's defense adjusted just fine. OU even slowed their offense down when they realized that they weren't going to be able to outpace the Gator defense. I think Oklahoma averaged something like 90 plays a game, but managed just 76 in this game. Watching replays of the game, it's kind of funny because Fox obviously had this whole thing setup with a clock to show how fast OU gets their plays off. I don't think we saw that clock again after half time.
2. What a monster play by Torrey Davis on that fourth and goal play. He shed TWO blockers AND made the tackle. That was about as good a play as you will ever see out of the DT position. Ahmad Black's interception was also outstanding. Black was a third string corner back going into spring practice, and now he is one of the best safeties in the nation.
3. The game ball has to go to Percy Harvin. He was maybe 80%-85%. Percy usually glides all over the field, but even on his long runs you could tell that the ankle was bothering him. Tebow will get most of the offensive credit, and he did pick up some key first downs, but the Gators don't win the game last night without Percy Harvin.
4. The refs were terrible in this game. Florida's defense was ready for OU's fast paced offense; the refs were not. Half the time they could not get the ball set on time and they continually had problems with the game clock. The excessive celebration/taunting penalties in college football are getting out of hand. It's not that they're calling too many of them, it's that there is no consistency. Louis Murphy gets flagged for making a first down signal, but there is no flag when Tebow is running and jumping all over the field while waving his hands up and down? This is like foul calls in the NBA. If you're a well known player you can celebrate all you want and not get penalized, but the other guys get flagged for the smallest things. It's been like this all season for every team, though, not just last night.
5. The Sooners really missed DeMarco Murray. I thought it was ridiculous when the media tried to act like him not being in the lineup was no big deal. His replacement, Chris Brown, had a very good game, but Brown is not the type of back that can get you points against this defense. Brown is a grind-it-out, move the chains kind of running back. The only way to score on this defense is with big plays. DeMarco Murray is OU's best playmaker. You can't methodically drive down the field on the Gator defense because they will eventually force a turnover or get you in a third and long situation. I believe the Gators are the best defense in terms of stopping teams on third down. If they're not #1 they're in the top 5.
6. Tebow is not ready for the NFL. He played his worst or second worst half (first half of Auburn 2007 being the other stinker) of football to open the game. The only reason he was effective in the second half was because he decided if his primary receiver wasn't open he was just going to tuck it and run. This works great in college (Vince Young did the same thing against USC a few years ago), but it's not going to fly in the NFL.
On a side note, Nic Harris is a total douche bag. What an embarrassment. He intentionally used Tebow's head as a stepping stool to get off the ground once. There was no doubt that he did this on purpose. He also held on to Harvin's legs on the play Harvin tweaked his ankle. I don't think it had anything to do with the injury, but it was still a bush league move. You know he must have been playing dirty for Tebow to taunt him at the end the way he did. I don't think Tebow is as saintly as everyone makes him out to be, but Tebow would not do what he did unless Harris really deserved it.
Monday, January 5, 2009
STOP IT
Just noticed Terelle Pryor is sporting the initials on the back of his arms. THIS ISN'T COOL NOW AND IT'S NOT GOING TO BE COOL 40 YEARS FROM NOW.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
One Week To Go
I decided to start posting my thoughts on the 'ship since we are officially just a week away and Iowa is turning this Outback Bowl into a yawner.
This post was inspired by this Bill Simmons column.
Basically, the 2008 Oklahoma Sooners are college football's version of the Mike D'Antoni/Steve Nash led Phoenix Suns from the middle of this decade. They score a lot of points. They're fun to watch. They never made it to the NBA Finals.
Yes, this Sooner team made it to the college football equivalent of the NBA Finals, but only because they played in a conference full of other Suns type teams.
Most NBA fans are familiar with those Suns teams. They won 55-60 games while scoring a bajilion points, but then ran into the defensive minded San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs. The Spurs slowed the game down and Phoenix's inability to play a slow tempo, half court game became their undoing.
No doubt, the Florida Gators are going to slow the game down. They're going to run. And run. And run. And run. Oklahoma is down a defensive tackle and might have to start their third string middle line backer. If Urban Meyer has his way, Tim Tebow will put the ball in the air 15 times at the most.
The ingenious part of this strategy is it takes OU's biggest offensive advantage (their fast paced offense) and turns it against them. If Florida is going on 12 play, seven minute scoring drives, can OU afford to run the up tempo offense and risk putting the OU defense back out on the field? Oklahoma is going to have to slow down to give their defense time to rest.
Most people believe that the OU offense vs. the UF defense is the key matchup, but in reality this game will be decided by how well OU defends UF's rushing attack.
This post was inspired by this Bill Simmons column.
Basically, the 2008 Oklahoma Sooners are college football's version of the Mike D'Antoni/Steve Nash led Phoenix Suns from the middle of this decade. They score a lot of points. They're fun to watch. They never made it to the NBA Finals.
Yes, this Sooner team made it to the college football equivalent of the NBA Finals, but only because they played in a conference full of other Suns type teams.
Most NBA fans are familiar with those Suns teams. They won 55-60 games while scoring a bajilion points, but then ran into the defensive minded San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs. The Spurs slowed the game down and Phoenix's inability to play a slow tempo, half court game became their undoing.
No doubt, the Florida Gators are going to slow the game down. They're going to run. And run. And run. And run. Oklahoma is down a defensive tackle and might have to start their third string middle line backer. If Urban Meyer has his way, Tim Tebow will put the ball in the air 15 times at the most.
The ingenious part of this strategy is it takes OU's biggest offensive advantage (their fast paced offense) and turns it against them. If Florida is going on 12 play, seven minute scoring drives, can OU afford to run the up tempo offense and risk putting the OU defense back out on the field? Oklahoma is going to have to slow down to give their defense time to rest.
Most people believe that the OU offense vs. the UF defense is the key matchup, but in reality this game will be decided by how well OU defends UF's rushing attack.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Team Marve vs. Randy Shannon, Round One
Starting (kind of) University of Miami quarterback Robert Marve has decided to transfer from Da U.
It seems like the main reason for the transfer is Randy Shannon's refusal to promise Marve the starting job for the 2009 season. And you know what? Shannon has every right to do that. Marve did not exactly separate himself from backup QB Jacory Harris. The two were rotated all season and Harris finished with more TDs, less INTs, and a higher QB rating.
The only thing that really makes this transfer noteworthy is the Marve family's questioning of Shannon's character. They were upset that Shannon decided to wait 8 months to suspend Marve for the 2008 season opener. No one knows where Marve will transfer to because Shannon has pretty much barred him from playing anywhere in the Southeast.
Here are the Marve family quotes:
"(Randy Shannon) is preventing Robert from playing for any team in the ACC and also trying to prevent him from playing for any SEC team and any team in Florida, all the teams," said Marve's father, Eugene. "It's vindictive. If he's that worried about the talent of Robert Marve he would have treated him with better respect.
"I had to get out," Marve told the AP from his family's home in Tampa. "I just decided that I can't play for Coach Shannon."
``Shannon gave him the release with that stipulation. I've never heard of that before. The ACC [ban] is reasonable. The SEC is ridiculous. There are a lot of schools in the SEC that never see Miami. This has gone to a personal attack against my son, and it will not go without challenge. This is a shameful day that Shannon has brought to the University of Miami. This is a shameful day for Randy Shannon and what he represents, and every recruit should watch out for what you're seeing happening to Robert Marve."
Some quotes from Marve's coach, including his vow that no player of his will ever play for UM again, can be found here:
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/83434-tampa-high-school-coach-rips-miamis-shannon
So what does this all mean? Probably nothing. I can't really see UM's offense ever reaching a championship level under Randy Shannon no matter who he benches, promotes, whatever. Shannon is a defensive guy and it seems like he doesn't have any idea how to run an offense.
When he took over the UM job he tried to get Mike Shula and Dirk Koetter to run his offense. They both turned him down and he had to settle for Patrick Nix. Of course, Nix was a complete flop and now Shannon will have to go through a couple more candidates who will most likely turn him down before he settles on another offensive coach no one else really wants.
It seems like the main reason for the transfer is Randy Shannon's refusal to promise Marve the starting job for the 2009 season. And you know what? Shannon has every right to do that. Marve did not exactly separate himself from backup QB Jacory Harris. The two were rotated all season and Harris finished with more TDs, less INTs, and a higher QB rating.
The only thing that really makes this transfer noteworthy is the Marve family's questioning of Shannon's character. They were upset that Shannon decided to wait 8 months to suspend Marve for the 2008 season opener. No one knows where Marve will transfer to because Shannon has pretty much barred him from playing anywhere in the Southeast.
Here are the Marve family quotes:
"(Randy Shannon) is preventing Robert from playing for any team in the ACC and also trying to prevent him from playing for any SEC team and any team in Florida, all the teams," said Marve's father, Eugene. "It's vindictive. If he's that worried about the talent of Robert Marve he would have treated him with better respect.
"I had to get out," Marve told the AP from his family's home in Tampa. "I just decided that I can't play for Coach Shannon."
``Shannon gave him the release with that stipulation. I've never heard of that before. The ACC [ban] is reasonable. The SEC is ridiculous. There are a lot of schools in the SEC that never see Miami. This has gone to a personal attack against my son, and it will not go without challenge. This is a shameful day that Shannon has brought to the University of Miami. This is a shameful day for Randy Shannon and what he represents, and every recruit should watch out for what you're seeing happening to Robert Marve."
Some quotes from Marve's coach, including his vow that no player of his will ever play for UM again, can be found here:
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/83434-tampa-high-school-coach-rips-miamis-shannon
So what does this all mean? Probably nothing. I can't really see UM's offense ever reaching a championship level under Randy Shannon no matter who he benches, promotes, whatever. Shannon is a defensive guy and it seems like he doesn't have any idea how to run an offense.
When he took over the UM job he tried to get Mike Shula and Dirk Koetter to run his offense. They both turned him down and he had to settle for Patrick Nix. Of course, Nix was a complete flop and now Shannon will have to go through a couple more candidates who will most likely turn him down before he settles on another offensive coach no one else really wants.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Excuse me sir, I could use your assistance.
Looks like we have some coordinator moves to go over.
#1 - Gus Malzahn / Auburn OC
Love the pick here. Malzahn was the OC for Arkansas when they went to the SEC Championship game in 2006 and he called the plays for a Tulsa team that ranked second in the nation in points and yardage per game this season.
He is one of those guys who can adjust his system to the talent that he has. This should setup some interesting Malzahn vs. Houston Nutt battles in the future. I didn't think it was going to happen, but if Urban Meyer wanted to hire him as UF's OC I wouldn't have complained. Speaking of that job...
#2 - Steve Addazio / Florida OC
Not a new hire, but a promotion. Addazio serves as the offensive line coach and will now be the head play caller also. Really, Meyer could have hired my dog as the new OC and I wouldn't be able to argue with the selection. His track record is pristine. Every OC Meyer has had has gone on to a head coaching position. Considering Addazio was already in consideration for some head coaching spots (Syracuse most notably) I think Addazio will do just fine.
#3 - THE CHIEF John Chavis / LSU DC
This is either going to be a great or disastrous hire. LSU flourished under Bo Pelini's aggressive defensive game plans, but then everything went to hell this year when they tried to run Pelini's (Pelini is now the head coach at Nebraska) scheme using a co-coordinator system.
Chavis is the opposite of Pelini, he'd rather sit back in a zone and eliminate the possibility of the big play. Chavis has been very successful when he had dominant defensive lineman like Albert Haynesworth at Tennessee, but his defenses have become very average when he has lineman who can't get in the backfield.
You'd think Chavis would be a great fit for LSU with the recent talent LSU has had on the defensive line, but unfortunately it seems like the talent well is drying up. Les Miles has had some highly ranked recruiting classes, but so far they have not lived up to their ranking. If LSU can find itself another Glenn Dorsey or two they'll be ok, if not... Chavis and Miles will both probably be out of a job in the next two years.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
PLAYOFFS
I know this is a college football blog but I have to acknowledge what the Dolphins did this year. From 1-15 to 11-5 and AFC East champs. Chad Pennington goes into Jersey and whoops up on Favre and the Jets.
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