THE RETURN OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL (AND THIS BLOG)!!!!!!

We are just days away from the start of college football and I can’t wait!! Since Desean Watson’s touchdown pass to beat Alabama in the last seconds of last year’s title game, I have been anxiously waiting for this day to arrive. College Football truly is one of the great things about sports and while there have been storylines to keep us entertained in the offseason, nothing is better than that first kickoff. New coaches in new places, and new expectations for teams all around. Who wins each conference? Does the SEC continue to slide? What sleepers are out there?  I take a look at it all now.

ACC

The ACC has proclaimed itself as the best conference in college football all offseason long and it’s tough to argue against it. They have winners of 2 of the last 4 national championships, and last year’s Heisman winner. They had 11 teams finish with a winning record, and were the only league with a winning record against Power 5 schools, among many other stats. I’ve been telling delusional SEC fans for 2 years that they were no longer the best conference. Maybe now it’s starting to settle in. As to my predictions for the ACC this year….

Winner – CLEMSON

To be the best, you have to be the best Even though Desean Watson, one of the best quarterbacks to ever play, is gone on to the NFL, that team is still extremely talented. Defense will be their calling card early on in the year as they groom a new starting quarterback in Kelly Bryant, but once the offense gets going, they will be tough to stop. Playing 2 of their first 3 games against the likes of Auburn, and then a road game at Louisville will definitely show us a lot early. If they get through that stretch, we could see Dabo dancing again in the playoff.

Sleeper- MIAMI              

Not just a sleeper to have a good year, Miami is a sleeper to win the entire conference. They finished last year on a 5 game winning streak including a blowout bowl win. They don’t have a shortage on talent at all, especially on defense. Mark Richt played a lot of young guys last year, which will surely help them this year.  Like Clemson, they will be grooming a new quarterback to take over for veteran leader Brad Kaaya. Malik Rosier gets the start and he appears ready to lead Miami to the ACC title game.

BIG 10

Another conference that can call itself one of the best in the country. Ohio State looks to be the cream of the crop in this conference, but Penn State, Michigan, and Wisconsin could all make a push. Jim Harbaugh still wants to unseat Urban Meyer as the King of the conference but that’s HIGHLY unlikely. Michigan State and head coach Mark Dantonio will be trying to bounce back from a horrendous 2016 season.

Winner – OHIO STATE

I tried talking myself into Penn State to win this conference this year, but the talent of the Buckeyes combined with the Penn State game being at home this year swayed me just enough. I still think JT Barrett is an awful quarterback who couldn’t make a play at the end of last season, but when you have this much talent, not even he can mess it up. They have to replace Mr. Do It All Curtis Samuels, as well as most of their secondary, but Urban Meyer has set this team up to reload since he stepped back in Columbus.

Sleeper – NORTHWESTERN

Yes, I know they were 3-10 a year ago but they have been building major buzz around the country for a reason. They return maybe the best running back in the conference in Justin Jackson, as well as great secondary. I’ve always liked Pat Fitzgerald and hopefully this is the year he earns some major success.

BIG 12

Winner – OKLAHOMA STATE

Talk about talent! At least offensively. The Cowboys return quarterback Mason Rudolph who is easily one of the best quarterbacks in the country, even though no one else seems to talk about him. He has gotten better every year, and is the kind of passing quarterback who is also mobile enough to give opposing defenses fits. They also have maybe the best receivers in the country as well as an established running game. If there defense can stop ANYONE, they can make a run to the playoff.

Sleeper – TCU

Kenny Hill is back under center and hoping to have a better year than he did last year. There’s no doubt that TCU has talent, it’s just about capitalizing on it. He just needs to use the weapons around him and get good offensive line protection, something he didn’t get in 2016. The defense should be solid. They can’t be much worse than they were last year. I just don’t think there’s many great teams in this league, and TCU should have no issues rising to the top.

PAC 12

Winner – WASHINGTON

They return Heisman contender Jake Browning and lots of talent at the skill positions, led by running back Myles Gaskin. The score may have not indicated it much, but they played Alabama really well last year. They are a physical team and can beat you in a multitude of ways. This is why Chris Petersen left Boise State, for the chance to be a perennial contender. It took a few years but here they are.

Sleeper - OREGON

Call me crazy, but I think Oregon will be a 9 win team this year at worst. They return a quarterback I REALLY like in Justin Herbert. He’s a tall quarterback who can make EVERY throw. He started a few games last year as a freshman, and made his share of mistakes but I really see him taking that next step this year. They have a new coach in Willie Taggart who has tried to make a big impact from his first day on campus establishing the standard he expects. With big time skill guys in Royce Freeman and Charles Nelson, I think this offense will be back to the Oregon offense we always knew. Of course with them, it will all come down to the other side of the ball.

SEC

Winner – LSU

I am not an LSU fan at all, but I do love the coaching staff and I’m honestly just trying to pick somebody, anybody other than Alabama. I’m a fan of the energy that Coach O has brought to the program, and an even bigger fan of the new offensive coordinator Matt Canada. The guy is a hell of a play caller and if anybody can utilize the serious talent LSU always seems to have, it’s him. There’s still that issue of playing quarterback which I will never trust about LSU, but if that position can just be decent and not turn the ball over, along with another year of dominating defense LSU can take back the West. Oh, one more thing. Darius Guice is better and has always been better than Leonard Fournette. This is the year he shows it.

Sleeper – MISSISSIPPI STATE

Crazy choice I know, but I had to pick what I think will be a decent team in a league full of decent teams. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald has a chance to be really good. He showed some flashes last year and after 1 year as the fulltime starter, I expect him to grow even more. He has enough guys on the outside who can make plays for him, as well as what should be a pretty solid defense. I expect the Bulldogs to get around 8 wins this season.

 

HEISMAN OUTLOOK

I could probably list 10 names to look for, as we have so many talented players across the country. But I’ll settle for 5 names and they might not be the names you think.

1.       Lamar Miller – Easy choice. The defending Heisman winner and explosive quarterback at Louisville. He literally won this award by week 7 last year but did fall off at the end of the season where he may have been exposed a little. I look forward to seeing what improvements he made this offseason.

2.       Mason Rudolph – As I stated earlier, I expect him to have a monster season as he leads Oklahoma State to the playoff. He may not be as quick as Jackson but he runs well and has a MUCH better arm.

3.       Darius Guice – The running back who is better than Fournette will be great this year. If LSU is going to have a suspect passing game as I suspect they will, it means he will get lots of touches and probably know what to do with it.

4.       Royce Freeman – Another great running back. He was in my top 5 last year and had a good year despite being banged up. If Oregon wants to return to elite program status, he will have to be a big part of it.

5.       Josh Rosen – Is this the year he finally puts it all together? He has shown us the talent, but his team has yet to get the wins needed. In the year before he can enter the draft, I expect him to finally show us why he was so heralded coming out of high school.

 

WEEK 1 PICKS

Opening weekend typically provides some pretty huge matchups and this weekend definitely gives us a few starting Thursday with Ohio State traveling to Indiana, and leading up to the HUGE top 3 showdown with Florida State and Alabama.

 

OSU 31 INDIANA 17

Though extremely talented, Ohio State has a tough week 1 matchup as they travel to Indiana. Indiana’s defense should slow the Buckeyes down, but by the time the 4^th quarter rolls around former IU coach, and new OSU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson should be able to have some plays to put this game to rest. The last time we saw Ohio State they were getting destroyed by Clemson in the playoff, so I would imagine Urban Meyer and JT Barrett are ready to redeem themselves.

MICHIGAN 24 FLORIDA 17

This should be a defensive battle. Each team has good weapons at the skill positions but neither have a solidified quarterback. Jim Harbaugh lost a lot of talent from last year’s team but followed up with a great year in recruiting. Florida has several talented players and a defensive I expect to be great. I would pick them to win this game but they have so many players who will be suspended for this game and I think it will make a difference. 

LSU 34 BYU 10

This is official start of the Ed Orgeron era, and I expect it to start off with a bang. This game was expected to be in Houston, but with the tragic Hurricane Harvey taking over the city, it has been moved to New Orleans which spells trouble for BYU. LSU will basically have a home game for the debut of Matt Canada’s offense. Guice should be big in this one and the Tiger defense shouldn’t have a ton of issues stopping BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum.

FLORIDA STATE 31 ALABAMA 27

And now, for the big one! I know exactly where I’ll be when 7 o’clock rolls around Saturday night. 2 of the top programs in the country, 2 of the top coaches in the country and tons of NFL talent on the field. Alabama is looking to bounce back from a last second lost in the title game, and Florida State is looking to get back to the playoff. Alabama lost a lot on defense but I would be an idiot if I thought Saban couldn’t rebuild that. I still have questions about Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts. I think each team will shut down the others ability to run the ball with much effectiveness. I’m sure that Bo Scarborough will have a few good runs but it will ultimately come down to which quarterback can throw the ball downfield. I think FSU quarterback Deondre Francois will do a better job of that. He will need his offensive line to keep him upright as we saw him get pummeled last year on play after play. If they can, the Seminoles win this game….close.

 

PRIMETIME TOPIC OF THE WEEK

Who’s Back?

Each week, I will pick a big story, random topic, or maybe something I saw on Twitter that day and give my thoughts on it. This week focuses on which former Powerhouse will return to greatness this season. The Miami Hurricanes were a dynasty for years before Larry Coker left the program and they have struggled to even make a conference championship game. Texas was great for years but have become a laughingstock the last several years. Last year they showed some progress, but still ended up firing head coach Charlie Strong. USC hasn’t been the same since Pete Carroll left. 

So what team will have the best season?

MIAMI

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m a Miami fan, always has been, always will be! And this may sound biased, but I genuinely think they will have the best season and challenge for the conference title. They have the talent on offense at the skill positions and what should be a GREAT defense. If new quarterback Rosier is as good as Coach Mark Richt says he is, then I expect them to be right there in the end. They have great running backs led by Mark Walton, and their back 7 on defense will be ELITE.  If they lose more than 2 games this year, I will  be shocked.

I like new Head Coach Tom Herman, but Texas is still about a year or 2 away from really being a BIG 12 contender, though they definitely have a lot of talent on offense. Their defense was truly tragic last year so it will take some time.

USC returns heralded quarterback Sam Darnold and they still have talent on both sides of the ball, but I’m not buying the hype yet.

 

So there’s my thoughts on this upcoming season. I can’t wait and am looking forward to seeing all of my predictions come true! This promises to be another great year and who knows who will take the title at the end of the year. The next 4 months will tell us!  Oh College Football, you were gone too long.