I am at Texas Stadium, walking around the different tailgate parties, at the College Game Day, Corso, put on the Tigers Mascot hat today, so watch out, looks like the LSU Tigers already won. Ran into a LSU fan Mr. Adrian, will take a 1pt win tonight, so looks like it gonna be a close game, and go down to the wire. Its a joy to be here at Texas Stadium on the eve of the LSU vs Oregon game, big time expectations of whats going happen tonight….. last night I was at Rudy’s eating some famous Texas BBQ, ran into some TCU fans,decided to go to the TCU VS bAYLOR GAME, boy was that a close game as Baylor lead most of the game and won the game with 4 mins. to go on a 32 yrd field goal. Baylor looks a whole lot different this year. Promoted the website today, ran into alot of die hard LSU TIGER fans, everytime a Oregon crowd would walk by a crowd of tigers would scream tiger bait, tiger bait. The Oregon fans are very low key, I told them don’t take it personally the LSU fans treat everyone like that. Well tonight expect a defensive game, and not alot of points. EXpect LSU to slow down the game with the run, and keep the Oregon offense on the sidelines. Well, have a great weekend, I already spent the week driving from California to Texas, dropping off my friend Lucas at his house in New Brussells,Tx… and hanging out in Dallas tonight, oh Auburn squeak one out today against Utah State, the Auburn Tigers are like the stock market up one season down the next……. hope everyone has a great college football weekend.
Cougs Could Be This Year’s Surprise Team by Sam Obitz
Sam Obitz / August 29th, 2011 / No Comments »
One team that I feel has been overlooked as a potential turnaround team in the upcoming college football season is the team that calls Pullman, Washington home: The Washington State Cougars. Paul Wulff took over a moribund program when he arrived as the new head football coach at his alma-mater in 2008. The fact that he has just five wins under his belt in his first three seasons at WSU is of great concern to the fans of the program.
In fact, a very vocal fan base did not want him to return for a fourth year. Fortunately for him and his program, athletic director Bill Moos saw enough progress being made behind the scenes to bring him back for his fourth year. He will now have a chance to lead a team that is comprised of a majority of players he brought in.
The newly formed Pacific-12 conference did not do the Cougs any favors when they decided to split the divisions geographically into North and South, leaving them with two potential top five teams nationally (Oregon & Stanford) in their division. Still, despite all of the ‘expert’ prognosticators predicting that the Cougars will finish last in their division, with a losing record, I think this is the year that they turn the corner and win at least six games making them eligible for a bowl game.
The reason I feel optimistic about the Coug’s chances are as follows: Paul Wulff did not make the mistake of blindly going after the best players available, but rather looked for the best players he could find that possessed both the mental and physical characteristics he wanted to build a team around. The character of the team is not quite where he wants it to be yet, but I have seen positive changes in the direction they are heading.
I was shocked by the response I got when I was speaking with a couple of current players during the off-season. I mentioned that I looked at their schedule and that I could see them winning eight games this year if things fell right, and they looked at me like I was crazy and said “just eight?” That attitude has been missing from this program for several years, and the fact that they believe again should be a cause for celebration among Coug fans.
I also think their schedule is favorable this season. I often said it starts with belief and nothing helps belief more than a little momentum. Looking at their schedule, it’s not unrealistic to think that this team could be 5-0 heading into their game against Stanford. A top Pac-10 coach said to me years ago when USC was dominating the conference, “Every season, there’s USC on top and the next six teams are not that different; what separates them is who gets off to a fast start and begins to believe in themselves.” This could be the year that this benefits the Cougs.
Of course the Cougs are not without issues. The team is still short on the kind of depth necessary to sustain a number of injuries and still reach their potential. It would also be immensely helpful if WSU receives a waiver for defensive lineman Brandon Rankin, who is practicing but ineligible for game action after failing to meet ongoing NCAA eligibility requirements.
Despite those concerns I have few reservations in predicting a bowl game at the end of this season for the Cougs. Best of all, if that does happen I suspect the Coug fans’ belief will start to catch up with that of their team’s players.
College Football Rankings 2011: Is Florida State Overrated?
The Associated Press poll is officially out and the Florida State Seminoles are ranked sixth, immediately sparking the question: is that too high?
Boise State and Stanford might have a legitimate argument. Both teams return solid quarterbacks, and both teams are coming off of one loss seasons. Texas A&M is another team that has plenty to be excited about, but Florida State isn’t exactly a stretch pick.
The Seminoles return plenty of depth from their ten win team from a year ago, but Christian Ponder isn’t one of them. Instead, E.J. Manuel steps in, and while this will be his first year as a starter, Florida State fans have been waiting for this day for some time now.
Manuel has been praised a lot by the coaching staff and there’s good reason. In the games he’s played within the past three years, he’s produced on the field. He played good enough to win against South Carolina in last year’s bowl game and when Ponder was hurt, Manuel filled in nicely.
Now, this is Manuel’s team and there are very high expectations for him, but he’s not the only one who has to prove himself.
The defense last season slowly became one of the pleasant surprises in the country, and budding stars Greg Reid, Xavier Rhodes, Nigel Bradham and Brandon Jenkins had plenty to do with it, as did new defensive coordinator Mark Stoops.
The offense improved in the running game, but the passing game took a step back, which had a lot to do with Ponder’s injuries. However, those statistics should improve in 2011. Even if the passing attack doesn’t come around right away, Florida State has five reliable running backs to count on.
The offensive line will need revamping with the losses of Rodney Hudson and Ryan McMahon, but in case you forget, Rick Trickitt is arguably the best offensive line coach in the country, and he molded Hudson and McMahon into the players they have become.
Then there’s the recruiting class—the top recruiting class in the country, highlighted by James Wilder Jr., Karlos Williams, Kelvin Benjamin, Nick O’Leary and Nick Waisome. The class was a huge upgrade and a sign of things to come for Florida State.
Fisher has the ‘Noles going in the right direction; now the team on paper will need to translate on the field. Is Florida State overrated? It seems like they are right where they belong. Now it’s up to them to prove it.
Auburn who? These Tigers a forgotten cat in college football jungle
Holes to fill for Auburn
You’ll find a difficult time finding someone who doesn’t yell “War Eagle!” in public who thinks the Auburn Tigers will repeat as national champions. Or Southeastern Conference champions. Or even SEC West Division champions. SEC media members picked Auburn to finish fifth in their six-team division. The Tigers return only six starters. Among those lost were last season’s biggest playmakers: Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton and defensive tackle Nick Fairley. “I don’t know that you can replace a Cam Newton or Nick Fairley in terms of production right away,” coach Gene Chizik said. “I would say anybody would be hard-pressed to do that.”
Hurricanes Scandal Casts Cloud Over College Football
With the college football season due to begin in about a week, all eyes now rest on the University of Miami.
Some players on the Hurricanes football squad are under investigation for allegedly receiving lavish gifts from Nevin Shapiro, a Florida man sentenced this summer to 20 years in prison for overseeing an unrelated, $930 million Ponzi scheme linked to his purported wholesale grocery-distribution business. (Here’s a Dow Jones report on the Ponzi scheme.)
For months, NCAA officials have been investigating claims that Shapiro provided players with cars, money, and even prostitutes between 2002 and 2010, according to this AP report on the scandal. A grab bag of articles about the matter can be found here on Yahoo Sports, which broke the news of the investigation.
One interesting wrinkle to the case is that a bankruptcy trustee, who is attempting to pay back victims of the Shapiro Ponzi scheme, could seek claw backs against any players who received gifts from Shapiro, the Miami Herald reports.
Miami attorney Gary Freedman, who represents the trustee Joel Tabas, told the Herald he believes “many of these [gifts] fall within the definition of fraudulent transfers” and that his firm has “an obligation to investigate and seek their recovery” from the Miami players.
“Certainly, we do not desire to bring additional attention to these athletes through this process and would urge them to contact our office,” he said.
Monday, University of Miami president Donna Shalala released this video statement on the matter. “The past eight days have been difficult,” she said.
“The allegations leveled against current and former Miami coaches and student athletes are serious, and we are treating them with urgency,” Shalala said. “The NCAA has instructed us not to comment on specific details of the investigation.”