RIVALRY WEEK!

I am not convinced Clemson is #1. Yes there are very good, but like so many of my FSU teams, playing an ACC schedule can give you a bunch of wins but not too many real tests. Could they win out? Sure. I don’t see it. Bama would kick their butt…I think. Same for Notre Dame. They have the best of all worlds, they get the ACC schedule but do not have to abide by any “league” rules or expectations. The ACC should be ashamed, contributing to the Irish advantages…I am the BIGGEST STANFORD fan in the country this week.

Ohio State still has not beaten any ranked team this year, but somehow they are still # 8 after losing at home to a team with a back-up QB. Buckies are living on last year’s amazing run at the end, and it was amazing. Florida has a top 5 defense, but without Grier, a bottom 5 offense. FSU will spank them and then Bama will punish and embarrass them in Atlanta. Still, they were MUCH better this year than I ever expected. I like McElwain’s attitude! Has made me pull for UF more that FSU this year. I know it is bizarre and complicated… Tennessee has lost 4 oh so close games and could have (should?) won them all. Florida, Bama and Oklahoma are all top 10 with Tide and Sooners likely Playoff teams. Arkansas is that team that honestly could beat ANY team in the country now. Vol fans have to be over flowing with what could / should have been. Dobbs just isn’t consistent and Butch played afraid too often. Next year looks promising however, and they will get the Gators before Grier is back from suspension…

The big 12 needs to add 2 more teams and have a championship game…AND they need to learn to play a little defense. IF they get left out of the Playoff 4, that is what they get for not getting on board with the rest of the Power 5 conferences format. FSU has the best running back they have ever had in Dalvin Cook. If they had played Maguire all season, maybe they could have beat Clemson, but at least they would have hammered Ga Tech and still been relevant. I’m OK with Jimbo leaving for greener pastures. Not a fan of his “process”.

LSU is supposedly parting ways with Miles. He is a nut case, but a heck of a football coach. Be very careful Baton Rouge what you ask for… Navy has a huge showdown with Houston and may wind up in a really big bowl game. Oregon started slow, but nobody would really want to tangle with them now. Iowa is a fraud. Sure they are 11-0 and that is indeed no small feat. Their only non con win was against Pitt, which is an ACC so so at best. Iowa would have 3 losses if they played in Pac, Big 12 or SEC. Their side of the big 10 is like the SEC East…just not that good compared to the other side.

It is Thanksgiving/Rivalry week!! We get Egg Bowl, Iron Bowl, Apple Cup, Civil War, Sunshine Showdown, BEDLAM, Ohio State v Michigan, STANFORD v Notre Dame…SWEET!

Finally College Football :)

Well, the long awaited start of college football finally arrived!

Ohio State imposed their will on Va Tech last night to wrap up the action. Once Brewer got his collar bone busted, it was over. To be fair, it was over before then, but at least they had the chance to score with him tossing the ball. The half time locker room snippet where he said “it will take more than that to put me out” was creepy foreshadowing. Before I move on, it was a BRUTAL start for QB injuries (not just QB). Kid from BYU done for the season again! KState’s QB done as well. A few key RB’s also went down for the season, including the #1 at Notre Dame and Pitt. Kid from Clemson suffered broken vertebra…not good. South Carolina got things rolling on Thursday night, while I was at the Titan’s preseason game. They snuck by the Tarheels, who have a QB that threw it to USC 3 times… TCU beat the Gophers, but it was close and I thought it would be. TCU is good, but maybe a bit over rated. Gophers are very scrappy and well coached. Baylor won, but SMU didn’t make it easy for them. BYU beat Nebraska in Lincoln on a last play hail mary by their sub QB. Vandy lost to Western Kentucky in a surprising low scoring game. Vandy has a quality defense but nowhere close to an SEC offence or QB play. They will not likely win a conference game, unless it is Kentucky. Speaking of the hoops powerhouse, they nipped Louisiana Lafayette, and that is not a good sign for Stoops gang. The rest of the SEC won and mostly in a big way. How about the upsets? Washington State and Mike Leach fell to Portland…Penn State and James Franklin lost to Temple for the first time in 74 years! Kansas lost to one of the lower league Dakota’s, but that really isn’t an upset. KU is awful. Northwestern took down Stanford 

Louisville gave Auburn a good game and the J2 kid looked less than stellar in his debut. LSU got rained out, and the Tennessee game was delayed for 80 minutes because it looked like bad weather might come! That was seriously annoying. We left Nissan Stadium after about 45 minutes and still got home before play resumed. Vols offense was even better than I expected, but Bowling Green was able to complete a bunch of down field passes on the UT secondary. Oklahoma invades Neyland this week with probably a better passer and receivers… A&M probably had the best win of SEC teams. Taking down Arizona State was impressive, just remember they starter out last season by crushing South Carolina, before their defense was exposed in the subsequent weeks. Bama beat Wisconsin, but it wasn’t all that exciting. They are Alabama after all. FSU beat Texas State, but whoop. Guess it is good to open with a cupcake, but boring and really nothing to beat the chest about.

Gators spanked New Mexico something (another cupcake), but after 4 years of absolutely horrible offense, they looked GOOD! Both QB’s, Harris and Grier looked very SEC capable (again, against inferior foe). Another layup against East Carolina before SEC play against Kentucky and Tennessee… Josh Rosen the true freshman QB at UCLA looked good, but it was Virginia. ACC just isn’t deep. Some really good teams, but some weak ones as well (like say 6 Vandy’s). Notre Dame beat Texas, dang it. Gonna be a long season hearing all the Ohio State and Notre Dame crud… OK, what is on the docket for week 2? I’ll be in Knoxville for my first real game at Neyland, as Oklahoma comes to town! Oregon and Michigan State will host College Game Day and my pick is Sparty. It is a weak 2nd week  Kentucky and Gamecocks open SEC play as does LSU and Miss State (a good one!). Boise St and BYU is the only other quality tilt in my not so humble opinion.

2015 Preview SEC and ACC edition

My college football preview for 2015

So, today is August 17, 2015, which means we are less than a month away from the opening weekend. The next 3 weeks are full of trepidation for fans like me. A lot of time left for injuries and criminal behavior. Not just criminole…bunch of other thug teams out there. My daughter starts her freshman year of college at UT in Knoxville, where the Feds are conducting a big investigation into sexual misconduct….how is that for reassuring?

Back to football. Ohio State won it all last season, taking down Bama and Oregon on the CFB. The same buckie team that lost to Va Tech at home early, got on a serious roll and was simply the best team by far, in November, December and the Championship. I like the folks in Columbus, but I don’t like Urban Cryer. Problem is, they are stinking loaded. Everybody is back. The fact that they are poised to go back to back puts a serious bummer to my anticipation of the season! Add to that, the expectation that Notre Dame is supposed to be strong, and dang it… oh well I’ll have a couple of teams to root against all season long – nothing new there. I’ll close with my top whatever, but I want to start down south, where my roots are and where I completely biased, think we have the most fun with our football teams 

SEC West has been the beast for several years now and it appears they will continue to be much stronger than the East again in 2015. Alabama is loaded. Auburn is getting most of the preseason love. Ole Miss has all their chips in for this season, as half their roster will bolt for NFL come January. LSU is deep, and Arkansas was a team NOBODY wanted to see late last season. Miss State has the best returning QB, and Texas A&M can put up points on anybody. All 7 teams in the West are ranked in one of the preseason Top 25 polls. Auburn is the sexy pick, with promising QB and Muschamp calling the Defense. Me, I’m going with Alabama. Not exactly a high risk pick, but Saban is so stinking deep. Doesn’t matter who the QB is, they will be tough. I’m guessing Bama, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, A&M, LSU and Miss State. The Tide opens with Wisconsin and they better not take it lightly, the big10 (can’t count) is much improved…The other opener that the SEC West can’t sleep on is Auburn and Louisville. Cardinals are sneaky good. A&M plays Arizona State in another fantastic opening weekend Power 5 match up. Back to my projected order of finish, how crazy is it that I put the team with the best returning QB at the bottom, or LSU down at 6? Maybe it highlights how little I know about the upcoming season, or maybe it illustrates how competitive the SEC West really is. Other than laying some awful bowl game eggs last season, week in and week out, toughest division in the country. One other note on the East, Gus wears a visor all the time. He is the new offensive guru in a visor. Spurrier was the same in the 90’s down in the Swamp. The East. How many of us realize that Mizzou has owned the East for the last few seasons? For all the hype around Georgia, the Missouri Tigers have joined the SEC and DOMINATED the East. Well, dominated is over stating it, but not Georgia, or Florida or South Carolina or Tennessee, but the Tigers. And this season they have arguably the best returning QB in the East (Dobbs and that guy in Lexington may beg to differ). In 15, Georgia pulls Alabama and Auburn from the West. Ouch. The Vols get Bama and Arkansas, while Mizzu gets Miss St at home and closes the season at Arkansas. The good news for the East teams is that Vandy is horrible. It didn’t take long for the glow of the James Franklin revival to fade completely. Kentucky would be last in the West, although if they stay healthy, will likely embarrass one or two of the other East teams. Spoiler alert…

I’m picking Tennessee to win the East. Crazy I know, but who else? Georgia plays Alabama and then at Tennessee before coming back to Athens to host Mizzu. The winner of UT and UGA on 10/10 will win the East. Tennessee, Mizzu, Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina and Vandy. Spurrier will be so disappointed that he will call it quits at the end of the season. BTW, Vandy will win TWO games, IF they can get by Middle Tennessee in the Boro. Another nugget about the East. I have no clue what Florida will do. New coach, not much in the way of skill position fire power, but still some really good players on that roster. Pains me to put them down at 4th in the East, but I suspect they will be up and down. Probably beat a couple teams that they shouldn’t yet lose to a couple as well. The Gator’s best QB is starting for NC State…Butch Jones has 10 offensive starters back from last year, and 8 on the defense. Only Vandy has 18 starters returning and well, who cares. Sorry to be so harsh on the Dores, but Mason is not the answer, if last year’s fiasco is any indication. They went from strong and ascending under Franklin to last in the SEC by a WIDE margin in just one season. Oh how I digress. Vols open in Nashville against Bowling Green. Sounds like a cup cake, but it is not. BG is the top team in the MAC, so it will be an opener against a bowl team. Next week the Oklahoma Sooners come to Knoxville. Certainly one of the most formidable opening set of games in the conference. IF the Vols win those 2, I will feel good about my selecting them to win the East. They have to keep Dobbs healthy…BTW, the dangerous game for UT is Arkansas. Sandwiched between FLORIDA (their nemesis for 10 years straight) and the oh so important Georgia game, is the big physical Hogs. When we took Autumn to move into UT, we walked past the ROCK, which has high prized recruits painted on it. Butch is creative. While mom and daughter fixed up the dorm room, I went to watch the Vols practice – me and 40,000 others! Wow. ACC time. While not near as passionate as the SEC, the ACC is partly southern football. FSU, Clemson, Ga Tech, Louisville, kind of southern. Clemson has to beat FSU this year, if they are ever going to prevail in the Atlantic (admit it, you were not sure were you!). I think the Coastal is the SEC West in the ACC. FSU, Clemson, NC State and Louisville could all prevail in the Coastal, or at least have a great shot. Louisville lost a bunch, so maybe I should back off them giving War Beagles much of a game in the opener…NC State is the dangerous team from this side.

I love Florida State, but I am glad Jameis is gone. Terrific football player, but…The Noles get Miami and Louisville at home, but have to go to Ga Tech and of course to Clemson. They play in the Swamp, but honestly this schedule should NOT have more than 2 losses worst case. Now, if they let that Notre Dame transfer throw tons of interceptions, well that will be nauseating. Really hard to forecast the Coastal. Georgia Tech or Va Tech will likely come out on top, although the BEST coach in the entire conference is David Cutcliffe, so Duke has a shot. OK, another BTW. I loathe Notre Dame. Their pseudo affiliation with the ACC allows them to play UVA, Ga Tech, Pitt, Wake Forest, Boston College and at Clemson. Only the Death Valley game will have any drama….geez!

Finally a 2nd post

It is not that I don’t make time to watch and read and listen to football and all the associated hype and analysis, it is just hard to find the time to WRITE what about it. Opening weekend started with a BANG as Texas A&M took out South Carolina in dominating fashion. Didn’t see that coming. A&M scored a hundred and took their foot off the gas in the 4th… Georgia went to the half tied with Climpson 21-all, but then stomped on them with their boot heel, thanks to the Gurly man. Dogs get South Carolina this week in an elimination game for the East…maybe. Bama looked mediocre against West Va and then OK against FAU. Tide gave up some real passes to Clint Tricket, but they don’t play anybody until Florida in a few weeks and the jury is out on the Gators. UF had their game with Idaho called because of weather and it will not be rescheduled. The pounded Easter Michigan in week 2, but it was EM…Kentucky this week will be a much better test. FSU escaped Oklahoma State in Dallas. Cowboys were in it to the very end and their QB Walsh (now out for the season) was terrific. FSU has the horses, but it remains to be seen if they have the drive and discipline. UCLA was highly touted, but lucked out a W at UVA and then squeaked past MEMPHIS in LA…yikes. Oregon got in a groove late against Michigan St and pulled away. Likely the kings of the Pac12. USC has been good 1st 2 weeks.  Ohio St lost to Va Tech in the horseshoe  Way over rated and have a RB at QB. Wisconsin folded late against LSU and Nebraska had to have a miracle to beat McNeese State in Lincoln. Big10 is worse than I thought and I had a low opinion to start with. Penn State is rising under James Franklin. Big W with a FG as time expired against UCF. How crazy is that sentence?  Oklahoma and Baylor will duke it out for the big12. Sooners get Tennessee this week. Vols are improving, but Norman will probably be unpleasant. Vanderbilt has regressed to the bad old days. Temple crushed them and then Ole Miss had their way as well. Looking like Dores will replace Kentucky and Arkansas at the bottom of the SEC latrine. Auburn will be dangerous again. At this point I like them over Bama, but we have a few months for each team to evolve and grow.

On the prep side of 1FootIn football, Miami Washington has defeated 2 out of state powers and then beat Miami Central (who had beat 2 OOS powers as well). Looks like Tornados are near the top of the Fla pecking order. So is St Thomas Aquinas, who gets Don Bosco New Jersey this week. I watched the movie When the Game Stands Tall (or something like that) about Concord DeLaSalle. They play Byrnes, SC tomorrow night. I expect Byrnes to upset the wine trays in NoCal . My Crestview Bulldogs are sucking wind. Ensworth appears to be the alpha male of Tennessee, beating Louisville Trinity in the opener. Brentwood Academy hosts Cinci St X this week. St X is an Ohio power…Friendship Christian gets rival Trousdale County tomorrow night, looking forward to that one.

Football Time!

The Hap Hap Hap Happiest Time of the Year! I like Christmas too, but the start of football season is my equivalent of “happy days are here again”… Before I wax on about 2014 and make some predictions/guesses, let me spend a moment basking in the last game of the amateur (kind of) football season last year. Florida State beat Auburn in the final BCS Championship game. I predicted FSU 42-30. The Noles did win, but by a score of 34-31, scoring in the last seconds of the game. FSU was lucky to come back and win the game. Auburn is flat out dangerous under Gus. Sure they struggled early in the season, but by January they could have beaten anyone, FSU included –obviously. The Gators had the worst season in memory (which covers MANY years). Will is on thin ice. Hopefully the new OC from Duke will help UF score some points. Too much talent on that roster to stink like they did in 13. Overall, it was an amazing college football season. The two fantastic finishes by the war beagles against Georgia and the Bama in the Iron Bowl were the excitement peaking highlights for me and I don’t even like Awbie. So next Thursday the college football season kicks off. This weekend the high schools “Put toe to composite”. A monster inter state match up here in Music City has Ensworth hosting Trinity from Louisville. Hoover, the top of the food chain in Alabama hosts Miami Central, while Clay Chalkville completes the FLOR-BAMA double header against the Niceville FISHHEADS. Miami Washington goes to Virginia to take on top dog Oscar Smith, while 2 smaller school juggernauts Buford, Ga and Jax Trinity Christian tangle. There are some other state bragging rights goodies, but to bring it back to Tennessee, a Sunday TV game has Boro powers Blackman and Oakland slugging it out…IF the heat index stays below 104…Beech, with Jacob Jenkins opens with Station Camp, while MY Friendship Christian School Commanders go to Memphis to open with Harding Academy. NCAA – has to be a joke acronym out there somewhere… We now have a 4 team playoff, with a 13 member committee in place to decide which teams get the births in the mini mega bracket. It will not be boring. With all the CASH involved, it will expand to 8 before long – trust me. FSU is getting the nod for preseason #1 from a lot of the folks who get paid to give nods…Alabama is expected to be up there and well they should be. Nick’s squad is loaded and the schedule could not be any more favorable. The PAC has some high expectations for Oregon and UCLA, while Oklahoma’s thumping of the Tide in their bowl game, has the Sooners breathing thin air as far as expectations go, while Baylor should put up Arena offense numbers again. Ohio state and Michigan State are projected to rule the big 10 (that can’t count). Buckies lost over QB for the season this week, but their schedule is so pathetic that they should still coast to at least at 1-loss regular season – at worst. So, what does my crystal ball see this year?

SEC: Alabama and Auburn will decide the West, but Bama has a much more favorable schedule. Beagles could lose a couple of games and still have a better team than they did last year. Don’t count out luck as part of the equation and they had a good helpin in 13. LSU has this Fournette kid who sounds like he may dominate. The Mississippi schools are the ones that intrigue me. State has everybody back and if they are ever going to make noise in the West, this is Mullen’s chance. The Rebs have a better coach and a little more depth. A&M will be good, but the West is just so NASTY! Hogs … well somebody has to bring up the reat. Old Ball Coach will have the Gamecocks ready to rule the east. The USC of the south has to tangle with A&M and Auburn from the West, while Georgia gets Arkansas and Auburn. Slight advantage to Dawgs. Florida gets LSU and Bama. Disadvantage Gators. Mizzu won the East last year but are not getting much love this August. Tennessee, a “top 10 all time” college football program is still rising from the muck that Kiffin and Dooley buried them in. By 15 Butch will be a contender in the East. Vandy lost coach Franklin but will not be the patsy that some folks think. Some pretty good players on that roster. Kentucky is better in year 2 of Stoops, but man the SEC is NASTY tough. USC will take the East and I’m pullin like crazy for UF to win the cocktail party this go around. Hoping my take that UGA QB is a weak link or at least a significant drop off from Aaron Murray. Think Mizzu will beat UGA…Tennessee might too. OK 15 yards for piling on the Dawgs and coach Richt. FSU is loaded and deep. Clemson and Louisville are the challengers in the ACC. The opener next Sat night in Jerry World against Oklahoma State should be a fun shootout – cowboys and injuns style (I know I am totally insensitive and must be a racist too). OK, enough for tonight. Volleyball season is in FULL ON mode and I cheer hard for Autumn and the Lady Commanders!

Bowl Season and the fall out from Championship Saturday

Only the Bowl games left…and it FSU vs War Beagles for all the marbles !! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ What a conundrum on Saturday night. I loathe Ohio State and loved it when Sparty beat them. On the other hand, FSU would rout the buckies by 30 or 40 points, but Auburn is dangerously good, especially with Gus’ offense! Before I dive any deeper, I ready today where Todd Monken, coach at Southern Miss, personally bought each of his seniors a suit, so they are ready to interview and get jobs. Nice one coach! I think coach Monken was previously at Georgia Southern, where nephew Coach Baker is!

Back to the BCS Championship game… I, of course, will be pulling for FSU all the way. I would rather Winston NOT win the Heisman,but it looks like no one else has grabbed the prize. Auburn is scary explosive on offense and that is to Malzahn's credit. He does not have the best personnel (Mason is very good) but he is out in front of all the defenses with his scheme and his team's execution and confidence. FSU's defense is the closest to Alabama's that the war beagles will see, but in the end Auburn should be able to score somewhere around 30 points - my early guesstimation. Auburn's secondary is not elite, so the Noles will be able to pass with a lot of success. That should open holes for the 3 the best RB's FSU has had in a long time.

Got nearly a month to waffle, but I like FSU in the range of 42-30 ....It will not be a 6-3 defensive struggle! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Nothing short of ironic that Jason’s Tigers and my Noles are butting heads in the last BCS title game! I have already decorated his undefended office with FSU stuff!! 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mizzu matched Auburn’s offense for about 3 quarters, but it only took a slight slip up on offense and suddenly they were behind for good. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UCF was horrible. It was ridiculously cold in Dallas, but SMU? Baylor will lay 60 on them…it will be hard to watch. Oklahoma surprised me in Bedlam and now they get a date with Alabama as a reward  Stanford surprised me too. When they are on, they are BEAST. How did they lose to Utah and Arizona? Don’t get it. Of course South Carolina flopped in Knoxville somehow and the Gamecocks are the best team in the East, not Mizzu… Jadaveon got caught going over 100mph Saturday night...might he have received a little advance on his NFL fortune??? :)

Criminole or not? Playoff and SEC expansion

The long awaited decision to charge Jameis Winston with sexual assault will be announced at 1:00 my time today... **************************************************************************************** Now, college football’s last weekend before the Bowl games is here. A whole lot still to settle with conference Championship games for the ACC, SEC, big10 (w 12 teams), and the PAC12. Other conferences have Champ games too, CUSA, MAC, and even MW. Army Navy has their annual spectacle and in the big12, Bedlam is a biggie and the Texas – Baylor game is a biggie. FSU looks “in” the BCS Championship game in the final year of the BCS, barring the all time upset by Duke.

Next season we start the 4 team playoff. If we had it this season, we can play around with what it should be on Sunday, but I’ll take a swing: FSU LOCK SEC Champ LOCK Ohio State (if they win Sat) LOCK ????Alabama? 11-1 Oklahoma State? 11-1 Baylor??? A smoking red hot Arizona State? What will the criteria be for the selection committee? BEST TEAM or conf champs? The problem is that the March Madness selection INCLUDES strength of schedule, while football really doesn’t. FSU has played a weak schedule. ACC sucks and even UF was abysmal this year. Big 10 is pretty sucky too and the ohio state buckies did not play a decent non conference game. FSU looks like the real deal, but a selection committee might take battle tested teams from SEC, PAC and Big 12…

********************************************************************************** It is a good first step in my opinion, but has to get to 8 teams sooner than later. There are 5 “major” conferences – SEC, ACC, PAC 12, big10 and big12. There are 5 2nd tier football conferences – AAC, Mountain West, MAC, CUSA and Sunbelt. An 8 team playoff could allow each of the 5 major conferences to send their champion, plus 3 at large teams to be selected from all 10 conferences. Would it be heavily weighted to the 5 major conferences? Sure, but it would allow for that 12-0 Fresno, or NI, or Boise to slip in most years. Then other 2 slots would go to the 2nd most deserving teams in the “big 5”. This year it would look like this: 1. FSU 2. Ohio State or Mich State 3. Auburn or Mizzu 4. Oklahoma State (assuming they win Sat) 5. ASU/Stanford winner 6. At large Northern Ill (begrudgingly) 7. At large Alabama At large Ohio State if they lose Saturday, OR 2nd PAC team like Oregon, OR 12-1 Baylor if they beat Texas. The selection committee will seed them and we will have 4 amazing round 1 matchups, semi finals the next week, and then the championship game. Of course there would be much arguing about who deserves the at large, with this 8 team bracket all the big conferences get their big dog in the fight, and some years also their 2nd best team. A couple of other mandates/ rules I would like to see invoked: Each of the big 5 must have conference championship games. The big 12 (w 10 teams) does not currently, so they need to snag BYU and one more team to get to 12 and play a Champ game. ************************************************ ACC: make Notre Dame join completely or get their butts out. Don’t give me this partial in crap! Eliminate the Irish advantage pronto. ************************************************* SEC: the expectation is to move to 9 conference games. That will be tough with more “beating up on each other” resulting. Whether it is 8 to 9 conference games, the real need is to only have the conference games “IN DIVISION” count on the conference record. Spurrier is actually the one I heard suggest this approach and it is the only way to determine a true East and West champion. Over the last 4 or 5 seasons, Georgia made it to Atlanta over South Carolina and Florida, by virtue of skipping play dates with Alabama and LSU, the big dogs in the West. The Gamecocks or Gators would beat Georgia head to head, but their 2 losses to the west would cost them a berth in Atlanta. Just to illustrate this point, consider some of the cross over foes for SEC teams next season: • Mizzu, the defending East champs gets A&M and Arkansas from the West • Florida, coming off their first losing season since 79, gets ALABAMA AND LSU…ouch • South Carolina gets A&M and Auburn • Georgia plays Auburn and Arkansas • Tennessee has to deal with ALABAMA and Ole Miss • Vandy gets the 2 Mississippi teams…favorable draw • Kentucky gets Miss St and LSU And out West: • Arkansas plays Georgia and Mizzu • Alabama plays Florida and Tennessee • Auburn plays Georgia and Tennessee • A&M plays South Carolina and Mizzu • Ole Miss plays Vandy and Tennessee • Miss St gets Vandy and Kentucky – that could really help their SEC record in the current format ************************************************************************ The last item for my insightful ranting today is SEC alignment and expansion. They will go to 16. In a year or two, I see NC State and Va Tech bring the SEC all those TV eyeballs in North Carolina, Va and all the way up to DC. Then when that happens, the SEC EAST winner will not be further west than the WEST winner is. They can put Mizzu and Vandy in the West like this: EAST: Florida, Georgia, South Caro, Tennessee, NC State, Va Tech, Kentucky and AUBURN! WEST: Alabama, Mizz, Arkansas, A&M, Ole Miss, Miss State, LSU and VANDY!

December is here - Championship Saturday is coming

College Football is the best!

The Auburn win over Alabama was one of the most exciting football games I have ever watched. I really did not think the war beagles could hang with the Tide, but they did. And big bad Nick choked more than once in the game, or at least proved he is human after all. When he decided against a FG try from the 13 yard line I sent a text to Roger “what is he thinking?”. High school kickers everywhere make 30 yard FG’s. I know, you are Alabama and you should be able to gain a yard, but give Auburn credit for playing with MORE heart and passion than the tide. By the way, last year’s SEC Championship game between Bama and Georgia was right up there in the all-time great games. Back to the Iron Bowl, I am a sick puppy when it comes to football, but a 109 yard missed FG return with no time on the clock! Wow! Auburn gained ~300 yards on the ground against the vaunted Tide “D”. ON the ground! Gus is gonna be trouble in the already stupid good SEC for years to come. Jason will be hard to live with…unless the Noles get to hammer them  ************************************************************************************************************************** Mizzu beat A&M and johnny football to secure the SEC East top spot. Very impressed with Mizzu. Sure Georgia and Florida were down when they played the Tigers, but Mizzu got better every week. They will not lay down in Atlanta. In fact, I expect a terrific shoot out between the two TIGERS teams. ***************************************************************************************** South Carolina beat Climpsun but the Mizzu win eliminated them from Atlanta. I thought Carolina would be playing Alabama and I think South Carolina would have won that one…It boggles my mind that USC lost to Tennessee… Duke did it! They won their 10th game and will play in the ACC Champ game Saturday night in Charlotte. Sure, FSU should beat them but what an amazing job Cuttcliff has done. Up north the ohio state beat Michigan when the Maize and Blue failed on their 2-point conversion. So, at this point OSU looks to play FSU in the BCS game. I will be a huge Michigan State fan in the big10 (w 12 teams) champ game. The absolute worst case scenario for me will be that FSU plays the buckies without Jameis…makes my stomach hurt. Go Sparty! Arizona State hosts Stanford in the Pac 12 title game. I like the Devils who are smokin hot with a 8 game win streak going. Oregon eaked out a w over cross state rival Beavers… In addition to the conference championship games on Saturday, the Bedlam (I love games with names/titles) matchup of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is huge. The Cowboys win the big 12 (w 10 teams) if they prevail. If the Sooners win, Baylor gets the crown (assuming they beat Texas – not a sure thing). UCF played like dog crap against USF. Knights are gonna go BCS bowling, but NOBODY in that league deserves a bid, as much as I have sentimental feelings for the Orlando school. Don’t give me that North Illinois garbage either. They had their day in the sun last year and a weaker FSU team beat em by 21.

If I did this right, this pic is 3 of my cousins loving the season FSU is enjoying! ************************************************************************************************* Gators played hard in the 1st half, but as expected, FSU pulled away and won by 30. My dad and my mother in law are in mourning... So, Will fired his OC and another sacrificial assistant. With next year’s murderous schedule, Florida better be ready to score some points for a change.

November 24 Catch Up

Well, a couple of the high flying FAST offenses got slowed down yesterday. Oregon simply got pounded by Arizona. No fluke, no nothing, just a butt whippin. Back in October it looked like the Ducks were ready to topple the SEC. Ummm, not so much. Baylor, the other fast forward paced offense ran into Gundy's MEN in Stillwater. No undefeated out of the TEN big 12 teams..:) You know that pickle of a situation when you see your mother in law going over a cliff in your new car? Just kidding, I have a great mother in law. The point is a both good and bad situation. Yesterday Georgia Southern beat the Florida Gators in the Swamp without completing a single pass. The good is that nephew Nate, a coach at Georgia Southern experienced one of those lifetime thrills that he will always cherish. The bad, being a fan of the Gators, is that this is the lowest of the Gainesville low, since I was a teenager. I don't know if Muschamp survives this, especially since FSU will beat the crap out of them next week - I expect.

Speaking of FSU, this is the most complete team in a long time. All set to face Alabama for the national championship...except that the all world, Heisman front runner, QB could be charged with felony rape any day now. I have to repeat myself here. If he raped the girl, he deserves the full punishment of the law and frankly a linching. If he did not force himself on the accuser, than wow, he is the victim. What a mess. I feel for her father, no matter what really happened. FSU can beat Florida and win the ACC without Famous. They cannot beat Alabama without him, so we will see.

************************************************************************************************************** Vandy beat Tennessee in Knoxville in a defensive struggle. Tough call reversal for Vol fans, but it looked like the right adjustment by the zebras. Tennessee gets to stay home this bowl season, like the Gators...

Mizzu beat Ole Miss. Now, all they have to do is beat A&M and they get the winner of the Iron Bowl in the SEC Champ game! Mizzu is impressive. The Iron Bowl will be fun. Duke beat Wake and now only the Tarheels are in their way for an ACC Champ game seat! DUKE! Thanksgiving weekend football feast: Texas Tech at Texas and The Egg Bowl (Mississippi and Alabama have bowl names for their rivalry games - Florida kind of does - Sunshine Showdown). NFL has Packers at Lions, Raiders at Cowboys and Steelers at Ravens. Mucho football at Josey house. The other BIG games this coming weekend include: Wash vs Wash St, Oregon vs Oregon St., USF at UCF (Go Knights!). the ohio state u vs Meechigan. Duke vs UNC, Ga Tech and Georgia, Notre Dame vs Stanford (go Cardinal) South Carolina vs Clemson, Arizona vs Arizona State and UCLA vs USC. WOW!!

Last week's post...Auburn's momentum and luck

Wow, what a weekend of football  Friendship lost to St Georges so the season is over for the Commanders. They probably would have lost anyway, but Colton is out with Mono and prima donna QB did not show up for practice last week (according to sources). Not cool. A rematch of the Donnelson Christian Academy game would have been the prize for prevailing… The ending of the Auburn – Georgia game was one for the ages. Georgia’s gritty comeback in the 4th quarter was dramatically negated by the luckiest gift of a bounce on the 4th down desperation heave! We (me, Roger and Rita) went nuts and we didn’t really care who won the game! The hype for the Iron Bowl will be sick!

Having a good coach is huge in the SEC...duh. ********************* Florida played way better than I expected, until the frosh QB threw the one brain fart pass during the late game drive to win…Oh well…Muschamp is cracking under the pressure. Nate Baker and the Georgia Southern Eagles go down to the Swamp this week. Gators will have a losing season for the first time since 1979…ouch. Speaking of the Gators, Kasey Hill the frosh point guard who started for MDB varsity in the 7th grade, tore his ankle up last night. He will miss action until January at best. Glad that when I played against him, that I didn’t hurt him. ************************************************************************************ Tennessee opens as a 3 point fav against Vandy this week, which means that Vegas considers the two teams dead even. *********************************************************************************** UCF almost choked against Temple, but squeaked out a W at the buzzer. One of the best catches you will ever see in this one. Duke slapped the u  Go Duke! David Cutcliff is the coach of the year (with a close 2nd to Gus Malzhan). Duke will likely play FSU in the ACC Championship game. Wow. ********************************************************* Baylor is legit, at least a legit as Oregon is. Both would beat Ohio State. Stanford lost to an unranked team for the 2nd time this season, erasing the gain from beating the Ducks. The Patriots kind of got ripped by the zebras at the end of their game with Carolina last night…oh well… Went to the Might Men conference with Ben on Sunday night. Very uplifting time. Way better than the Promise Keepers, but along the same line – asking men to be men of God! I’m in. It is almost Thanksgiving! Get to have a houseful of family!!!

Peevish...

Should you start a blog post with pet peeves? Probably not, but I am a rebel. First, those half page adds they wrap around the front page of the newspaper is grounds for justifiable homicide! *&^*#@#  Second, I often hear radio announcers say this on a kick off “it an end over end kick”. I beg to differ with this assessment, even though it is close to universal. When a football is kicked off, or kicked for a PAT or field goal, the ball certainly does rotate if kicked properly, but it is actually END UNDER END. To me end over end implies top spin motion, which does not happen unless there is an onside kick attempt. Well, I’m glad I got that off my chest. I was able to spend a few minutes with Keith Quick on Tuesday night in Destin. We both grew up on Fort Walton and played in the same little leagues, and eventually married sisters. We caught some amazing Gator and Seminole games together as young men and had a few good hunting and fishing adventures which are now embellished “stories” for me. Now we talk about our adult children and his grandchildren… OK, football. Since my last input, Stanford beat Oregon and that is BIG news for FSU fans. Go Noles! Roger, who loves Alabama and Florida State is now known as “Nole Tide”. I add Clyde at the end – Nole Tide Clyde  Only close pals use middle names  I took Sharon and Autumn to their first Titans game and the home team managed to lose to winless Jax Jags. Colton went with us to the game and then on Monday he was diagnosed with Mono. He will not get to play sports for the next 6 weeks. Brutal, as he is the center for the FCS football team, in round 2 of the playoffs tonight. By the way, he also plays the entire game at D tackle. The Commanders are in trouble without him, over in Memphis tonight. Even when football ends, he will miss most of the basketball season as well. An extremely tough break for a good guy. MDB’s best season ever came to a close in the playoffs last week. They scored 54 points, but OCP scored more. Rocky Bayou won their “conference”. In the Friendship game against Harding last week, Roger and I were standing near the side line with Steven Hollis of FCS, did a full 360 at full speed while tip toeing down so close to out of bounds. Stellar run by a very good football player.

*** Florida got crushed by Vandy…in football…major bummer. I like Vandy but come on Will! Auburn spanked Tennessee and gets better each week. If they get by Jawja this week, the Iron Bowl matchup with Bama will be seriously hyped and for the SEC West crown. Mizzu and South Carolina fight it out for the East. The Gamecocks will not play nice for the Gators tomorrow night …  Mizzu still has A&M and Ole Miss to deal with in conference.

*** Duke keeps winning and that makes me smile. They are my 2nd fav team in the ACC, just like Vandy is in the SEC. Cmon Duke, beat the u 

*** Baylor looks like the real deal in the big 12 (w 10 teams), while in the big 10(w 12 teams) only Ohio St has a pulse (well Wisconsin is a good team and Mich St has a decent defense). Famous Jameis has been linked to an investigation of sexual assault, from back in December of 2012. If he did the crime, hope he gets put under the jail. If he did not, I hope SHE does. Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away!

Sunday Evening Post… We stayed home Friday night instead of going out to watch Friendship bully Ezel Harding. Handed out candy and watched Brentwood Academy beat mighty Ensworth on TV. Then when cousin Mark texted that Crestview was beating the FISHHEADS (Niceville High School Eagles for the uninformed), I found the game broadcast on my laptop. Niceville was ranked #6 in 7A but Crestview put them down. Crestview has not had a good season, but 3 of their losses were by less than 4 points. Now a 3 team shootout (plus Tate) on Monday night to see which 2 teams go to the playoffs.

Mt Dora Bible beat First Academy of Leesburg, to capture a play offs spot. A home game too! Way to go Ian Watson and team. On Saturday morning I went back over to Hendersonville to play touch football. Our Siding team took on the Logistics department at LP. Logistics guys were all young, and fast. Our team was young (except for me) but not as fast. My plan was to QB for our team and then go to the sideline when we were on defense. Well, we didn’t have any extra players (THANKS FRAZIER!) so I had to chase guys my son’s age around the field. That did not go well. On offense we scored almost every time, but we could not stop Logistics when they had the ball. Just too much speed and height. After an hour or so, we split teams up and my team won that one, but the bragging rights game did not go like we wanted it too…So much fun. I’m sore today. Duh. If you can’t run with the big dogs, sit on the porch. The porch has my rocker calling my name… After a “10 minutes of help” stop at church that turned into 2 hours, I finally got home in time to watch the Cocktail party from Jacksonville. Roger came over to help torment me as the Gators stunk it up early. They did make a game of it, but could not finish the comeback…Georgia has now won 3 in a row against UF.  FSU did not disappoint, as the trounced the u. This is the best Seminole squad since the 99 National championship team.

Other interesting moments: Nebraska gets a hail mary bounce to beat Northwestern on the last play of the game…boo. Minnesota keeps their win streak going, beating Indiana. Listened to the Titans beat the Rams as I worked in the yard after church. A good day. Next week we have 2 Thursday night showdowns between Stanford and Oregon, and Baylor and Oklahoma. Then Alabama hosts LSU on Saturday.

Last Football weekend of ROCKTOBER

I lament how quickly the season is flying by, but I also will feel less guilty about the time I spend watching football when it ends. I do not obsess like this with other sports. Friday night was very cold at the FCS game, and the opponent was not up to the challenge. One sided games are not really much fun for either team. Lest I forget, the Middle Tennessee finish against Marshall Thursday night was a thrilla. MTSU scored a TD on the last play of the game. Worth staying up a few minutes past my self imposed bed time. Saturday started out by PLAYING football (2 Saturdays in a row!) with guys from work. It was just foolin around playing 3 on 3 touch and 2 of the guys even had their sons out there with us. Still, the competitive nature in me produced an unkind me. I made critical comments about one guy that I should not have. He did not run – at all – or even try. So me and the other team mate were trying keep up with guys faster than us. I got frustrated, but I know most of the frustration is at my inability to run anymore. I was never super fast, but I could have certainly ran with these guys, even 5 or 6 years ago. Now I limp run. Anyway, I wasn’t nice and I feel bad. Somehow I will find a manly apology that spares both of us further embarrassment. On the way home from Hendersonville, I listened to Vandy get their teeth kicked in by A&M. I pull for Vandy and it was hard to listen too. The upset of Georgia last week did not help in College Station. When I got home and put ice bags on both knees, I watched Minnesota beat Nebraska. I’m not a big Gopher fan, but I do pull for conference under dogs, and I love to pull against Pellini’s Cornhuskers. The other very fun game to watch the end of, was Duke’s victory over Va Tech. David Cuttcliff is absolutely one of the best coaches that gets little credit. He does the most with the least. Duke does not have the talent in football, but they now compete well in the ACC. Miami pulled out a W against Wake. I saw it coming and it is fine with me, as it sets up the showdown next Saturday night in Tally, with Game Day stirring up the excitement. I saw the early line today at 21 points. That alone should indicated just how over rated the “U” is. FSU is smoking. They destroyed NC State, going 35-0 in the 1st quarter. Not fun to watch, but the Alabama beat down of Tennessee was equally one sided and over before everyone was comfortable in the seats. Texas Tech and coach Dreamy finally had their bubble burst, by the Sooners. Still a good story. Will be interesting to see how Baylor, OU and OK St resolve the big 12. Oregon had a tussle with UCLA for 3 quarters and then (as they do) opened the floodgates and pulled away big in the 4th. The best game of the day was South Carolina at Mizzu. Mizzu is good and they controlled the game for the 1st 3 quarters, until the ole ball coach put Conner Shaw in the game. Conner was en fuego and the game went to double OT before the Gamecocks came out on top. Mizzu will likely lose at least one more SEC game, so Carolina is back in the drivers seat for the East. Now IF Mizzu can beat A&M and Tennessee (and I think Ole Miss) then I will have to retract my position.

While South Carolina and Mizzu were playing free football, the World Series brought some high drama too. St Louis won the game (despite stranding a few hundred base runners) on an “obstruction” call that you don’t see very often. I’m glad. Our ticket stubs from August 10th will be quite the keepers when the Cards win it all. Florida had a bye this week. I hope like heck they found a little Offense because this Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville we have the Cocktail Party, and Georgia will not have any sympathy for the Gators. I read today where one of the bowl projections has Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. How is that for a turn-around under Gus! 0-8 in the SEC last season and possible BCS bowl this year… I’m killin it today in both my Fantasy leagues…yeh we bad...Megatron rocks. Matthew Stafford culminated the Lion comeback (Cowboy collapse) by sneaking the ball over the goal line when EVERYBODY thougt he was going to spike the ball to stop the clock. Way cool. Oh, and Crestview mercifully had a bye week…painful season for my Dawgs. Titans had a bye week too, and well, I missed them playing. Guess it is happening… Finally, my nephew Christian scored a touchdown for his flag football team! Way to go CDJ!

Crazy Day... It was a crazy day for me to miss watching college football yesterday, but I want to go back to Friday night first. Friendship Christian beat Donnelson Christian 52-49 on a cold night and another LONG high school football game. FCS must get the new scoreboard clock sorted out! The game was insane. On 4th and goal from outside the 20, AJ Long tossed up a desperation pass which Michael Hawk managed to come down with. 2 seconds were left on the clock...so exciting! On the way home from the game, I was able to listen to the end of UCF beating Louisville :) The Knights have given me two upset specials this season (Penn St). On to Saturday where I was off to Camp Taylor in the middle of beautiful no where Kentucky. It rained in the morning, but we played football for about an hour and a half. SO MUCH FUN! It is true that walking was not easy for me last night and a painful delicate process today. The knees, hips and lower back did not get to vote on my decision to play football with the youth group. They just had to deal with the pain and instability of the aftermath. I love the College Hills youth group. Johnny Markham is the best and Youthreach is examplary. After each session by Seth Madaris, and the subsequent discussion break out, I would slide out to the Veracruz and hit the XM radio. I was able to hear Tennessee finish off South Carolina, Vandy take down Georgia and Mizzu crush my Gators. Seth, by the way, grew up on Panama City and his uncle Chuck was a rock star counselor at Camp Wiregrass when I was a camper in the mid 70's! Seth is 30 and runs like Denton, which means super fast. He ran one team in the big football game and I led the other. Did I mention how much fun it was? Somebody help me up... In the afternoon, Auburn beat A&M at College Station. The War Beagles are way ahead of schedule this year. Gus has em improving every week. A&M's defense is like Florida's offense = HORRIBLE. Then, Ole Miss beats LSU. Something was out of whack yesterday!

THE GAME finally kicked off in Clemson. I was getting update texts from Roger and Cousin Mark. I was also guilty of checking my ESPN Score center app during Seth's night session. We FSU fans could not have written any better script for that game! WOW! So the new rankings/polls come out today. FSU bolts up to 3rd behind Alabama and Oregon. Mizzu is #5 in the AP. Wow. Ohio State is 4th, but WAY over rated. Miami is the other fraud. Undefeated yes, but seriously over rated. The Sunday Night NFL game is about to kick off. Peyton's return to Indy :) Still have Monday Night Football to go, but I'm way ahead in both my Fantasy match ups so far. I can't imagine next weekend being as exciting, but one can hope!

I crossed off another bucket list item yesterday. Jason and I visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. We were up there on business, but were able to find a couple of hours to do the tour. Excellent visit, although I am a “one foot in” guy, seeing all the pro’s from my childhood all the way through last year’s Super Bowl was a lot of fun. The BIG game this weekend is the ACC Championship. In the same way that the SEC Champ game last year was the actual national championship, the winner between FSU at Clemson, should spank whoever comes out of the other side of the ACC – probably the over rated Hurricanes or Va Tech. FSU is somehow favored by 3 AT Clemson. I have been trying all season not to get my hopes up, but Famous Jameous and the Noles have been outstanding. They have played up to their potential so far. Alas, I am Charlie Brown and will fall for Lucy’s promise not to jerk the ball away when I run up to kick it…FSU always seems to flop in a game they should not, under Jimbo. Beating Clemson at their place, at night is so hard. Georgia couldn’t do it when they were healthy. Don’t think anybody in the country could 99% of the time. Maybe Oregon or Alabama, but Clemson is very good and even better at home. I will not get to watch the game…as I will be a chaperone on a youth retreat with church…I’ll be pulling for Florida State in abstentia… Florida goes to Mizzu, who just roughed up Georgia. It continues to eat at me that UF wastes one of the nation’s finest defenses, but having a completely inept offense. Muschamp simply has to find someone who can generate some offense. The SEC (and FSU) are too good to just rely on defense alone! Auburn goes to Aggieville – should be a high scoring shoot out. I’m tempted to pick the war beagles, but JF at home w the 12th man…too much. The upset I am picking is tonight, as the Knights of UCF will take down Louisville. UCF is good. Louisville is very good, but also over rated. Gonna catch Friendship Christian vs DCA tonight, another crisp cool Friday night for football in Tennessee. Back home in the Panhandle, Crestview hosts Tate, for a playoff slot. Niceville will win the district and possibly the 7A championship in Florida, but a playoff game for the Bulldogs would be progress… I’m tied for 1st in the LP Fantasy Football league with Rick Frazier. We have a showdown this weekend, but he is projecting at 152! uh oh... Baseball is wrapping up the League Championship Series and I'm pulling for St Louis only because Johnny loves them so much.

Football season one fourth of the way over! Boo!

Slacker football blogger here... Florida beat Tennessee in one of the ugliest football games in history. Driskol broke his leg but Tyler Murphy may e an upgrade at the QB position. FSU played another nobody - I hate those games. Ohio State and Miami did too. This week has some good games. UCF HOSTS South Carolina at Brighthouse stadium. LSU visit Georgia. Ohio State plays somebody (Wisconsin) finally. Ole Miss is a great story, but Tuscaloosa can be a sad ending... Friendship has taken 2 lumps from Trousdale and Webb, but should get back on track this weekend. Crestview has found a way to lose the last 3...Miami Central trounced Don Bosco. I'm not a fan of Cental, but I really don't like Bosco. St Thomas from Ft Lauderdale beat John Curtis last week in a private school inter state game. I took in my first Titans game on Sunday. A beautiful chamber of commerce day in Music City and I was really closet to Philip Rivers as he warmed up. That was fun. The LP Corp Suite was SWEET too. Peyton Manning is the best QB ever. Jason sent me a text with that last night and frankly its true. The most cerebral signal caller who is the ultimate point guard with the ball. I did see him get beat in the Swamp :) That is about all the inspiration I have at the moment. I should add that Roger's first born will be hosting an NBA show starting in November, with Grant Hill. Way cool. Also, I took Autumn to the Taylor Swift show on Friday night. My daughter was jazzed! Great show. Not just a concert, but a SHOW, with at least 10 different sets and costumes. Good clean entertainment. 3-0 in the LP fantasy league but 1-2 in the Not as Good As I Once Was league back in Florida. JDJ

Titans

Sunday football is the kind that I watch when it fits into what ever I/we have going on. In other words, I don't plan my day around NFL games. I did for a short period in my life. The 3 years we lived in Kansas City, I couldn't help but get caught up in the "local" team. Now that I once again live in a NFL town, will I grow to Titan fandom? Maybe, probably...They are playing OK today :) Saturday Wrap:

Still stinging from the Gator debacle. 5 Turnovers. What I get for pledging to be a calmer fan and not get as mad when the Gators or FSU lay an egg...TESTED in week 2. At least Notre Dame lost and so did Southern cal and LAME KIFFIN. Some silver lining... Outlaw

ALL IN?

I named my football blog 1 Foot In because I favor football of the high school and college variety, where a pass may be completed with only one foot in bounds. In the NFL of course, the receiver must get both feet in bounds for a catch to be legit. I like the NFL, but I don't love it like I do the 1 Foot In versions. In high school, it still is a family and community event, and I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night. College football is the ultimate for me. Probably because I'm from the south and growing up my dad modeled a love for his Gators. NFL is the best football obviously, but the whole free agent thing and all the "business" decisions, take away from the "purity" of the game. I know that is naive of me, but I'm cool with it. So, at church we are doing a series about being ALL IN. This is convicting for me, because I know my spiritual life has mostly been like my preferred football - one foot in. I have usually had a foot in for the Lord, but rarely, if ever, have I been ALL IN. I think ALL IN will mean a lot less of me and more of others. This is not easy. A young sister (Robin Lashley) told me a couple of years ago that she hoped one day that I would have the same passion for Jesus and the lost, that I have for college football. That wasn't very nice of her, but it was loving and spot on. I have a reputation for being a walking reference book for meaningless football information. I know the Bible pretty well, but I don't have that same reputation for being a walking reference book for God's Word. Now the challenge is how to move to ALL IN. I have over and over again seen God work in my life and my family. Yet, I still struggle with doubt and fear. That whole "I believe - help me with my unbelief" is me so often. I know that fear is not from God. I know that worry is pathetic and a tool of the dark side. Still, my stomach churns at times and my finger nails go bye bye. God isn't through with me yet.

Famous Jameis and Turnovers

I have probably mentioned too many times that I have watched 4 Heisman trophy winning QB's play while they were in high school. I did not ever see Jameis Winston in his Hueytown days, but his first start for FSU was one for the ages! Wow, what a debut! It is too early, but FSU vs Clemson should be for the ACC. The Gators today turned the ball over 5 times against Miami and lost. When you turn it over 5 times, you lose in football. The announcers are acting like Miami was amazing, but Florida beat themselves, plain and simple. It wasn't raining or wet, but the did not protect the ball. Driskoll looked like a prep QB, not a 3rd year guy. He holds on to the ball WAY too long. UF defense played well enough to win, but the offense gave the game away. Bummed me out. Crestview made an amazing comeback last week to clip Milton 14-13. Last night the lost to Choctaw 14-13 when the PAT was blocked late in the game. Friendship trounced Kings Academy in a game that I felt sorry for the other team. Autumn was the Jr Homecoming attendant and was beautiful. FCS get Troutsdale County next week. Georgia and South Carolina are slugging it out in a typical SEC heavy weight battle. I have Peyton as my QB in the LP FF league. Sweet as his 7 TD's lit up the scoreboard. In my Florida league, Joe Mabry, who I play this week, has Peyton.

Football 2013

Well the old blog has been neglected for the past year or so. Had enough other stuff going on to feel uninspired on the football front. This season is my first in Tennessee however, so there is a good deal to ramble on about. Since I am a Friendship Christian dad, I will obviously be a fan and close observer of the 2 time defending state champs in 1A. This year the Commander’s jump up to DII A where the competition is likely to be tougher. I will be getting the inside scoop from Jeff Cherry Jr., Colton Craig and little Andrew Wood. Jeff and Colton are in the Sunday school class I teach and all three of these “in the trenches” guys hang out at our house from time to time. They opened by taking down Harding Academy from Memphis 35-6. Bye week and then Homecoming against King’s Academy. Friendship’s QB has committed to Syracuse. AJ Long is a good athlete and talented, but in my limited observations so far, not sure he will be a starting QB for the Orange. I watched Ty Detmer play in high school, Danny Wuerffal, Charlie Ward and Tim Tebow too. Those 4 Heisman winners I watched play before they suited up at BYU, UF, FSU and UF. Funny thing is, when I saw John Brantly play in high school, I thought he had more talent and potential for the next level than the eventual Trophy winners. Brantly did not fare well in Gainesville when Urban Myer tried to make him a running QB. Just admitting that while I’m good, I’m not perfect  Opening weekend of prep football featured some stellar inter-state match ups and some quality in state tilts on the ESPN family of networks. Washington of Miami throttled Norcross, Georgia 55-0. Byrnes from South Carolina put down Apopka and literally knocked out Blue Darter QB Zach Darlington. Lincoln from Tally beat South Gwinnet, while Station Camp fought hard but could not overcome Jalen Hurd and Beech. This weekend has some quality border wars as well. Hoover from the Birmingham area tackles Colquitt County, Georgia and former coach Russ Probst. St Thomas Aquinas from Ft Lauderdale plays Miami NW. Two top teams in Texas slug it out – Allan and South Lake Carroll. Finally, Tally Godby and coach Ronnie Cottrell go up to Maryland to play Hyattsville DeMatha. NEXT weekend features more cross state bragging rights games. Down in the Panhandle, Crestview opens against Milton. Who knows what to expect with new coach Tim Hatten. My friend and Russ King’s son in law, Nathan Daniel has joined the coaching staff at Fort Walton Beach High, the alma mater of my wife, her sister and her brother John Baker. The college season kicks off this week with Thursday night featuring North Carolina vs South Carolina, and Ole Miss coming to Nashville to tangle with Vandy. Since I live in Tennessee now, I am adopting Vandy (not the Vols) as my local team…except when they play the Gators. Georgia and Clemson is the highlight of the weekend, while LSU and TCU should be entertaining. Mississippi State at Oklahoma State might be a dandy. Labor Day evening features Florida State taking on Pitt Panthers. It is a GREAT time of the year. Did Johnny Football accept payment for autographs? Sure he did, but unless they have proof, he will be playing. I don’t like rule breakers, but the NCAA is the worst excuse for a governing body in the universe. Did Jadaveon take a lil cash for his signature? Probably. I would have too … As is always the case, I love the Gators and the Seminoles. Florida is talented, but there is zero margin for error in the SEC. Injuries have tainted their outlook, but every team has to deal with that. For what it is worth, I like South Carolina, Georgia, Florida to finish in that order in the East. I want the Gators to beat the Dawgs, but have little confidence in the offense. Alabama is still the king, but who knows, they could go down some week. I want Ohio State to lose every single game. My most unliked team by a large margin this year. FSU will be going with a freshman QB, so Clemson is getting the nod by experts to win the ACC. With their game being played at Clemson this year, that’s the logical choice. I would not be the least bit shocked to see FSU beat Clemson, but lose to an ACC team that they shouldn’t. Jimbo is one of the best recruiters in the nation, but I don’t think he is a great game day coach. My nephew Nate Baker is still on the coaching staff at Georgia Southern. I talked to him today and has been given the responsibility to recruit Tennessee. I am ready willing and able to help him scout the state! I will be more consistent this season, lots to share. Hey, my son got married and my daughter is killing it in volleyball! Outlaw