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!