My blog has been hard to prioritize the last few years, and the sad thing is that I am now in the “empty nest” stage. It is reasonable to assume that this stage provides me with MORE time to hammer out some narrative and predictions around high school and college football. I guess it always comes down to what we really feel is most worthy of our time…

With that precursor, I am excited about football season. This past weekend, there were several big inter-state high school games, and a couple of real live college games. Most of the televised prep games involved the big name private schools like IMG, St Thomas Aquinas, the one in Vegas, and the Cinci catholic powers. Here in Tennessee, we are already on week 3 of regular season prep football and after 5 years that is still “different” (early) to me. Thanks to this internet thingy, I can watch my Crestview Bulldogs on my computer. They routed PC Bay 38-2 to open the season and this week host Ocean Springs out of Mississippi. Should be a good one. Last November I was able to go back "home" and take my dad to the game against the Niceville Eagles (fishheads!) for the district championship. It wound up being in my top 5 football experiences of all time and I'm really glad dad got to go. He absolutely played a big role in me developing this rediculous love for football and it is something we still share at this stage in life. One of my earliest memories of live football (well 2) was uncle Harold playing for the Bulldogs against Niceville (who he later coached for). Last week I watched his grandson play for Brentwood Academy. The other earliest memory of live football was Choctaw and it was their band that was unforgettable. LONG indian headresses make an impression on a kid! When we moved to Lebanon, Friendship Christian became my team because my daughter was a “Commander”. They are off to a 2-0 start, while the school/team closest to my home, the Lebanon Blue Devils, is likely going to suffer through another abysmal campaign…Cousin Bryan has moved from the Borro, to Brentwood, so that football prodigy Noah could join the Brentwood Academy juggernaut. He is only a freshman, but Noah Josey is already the size Bryan was as a senior at Tate (Pensacola). Back in Mt Dora, the “Bible School” as it was called for decades has been renamed Mt Dora Christian Academy. They added football after Denton graduated, but this off season they constructed a very nice stadium, in a setting that is perfect for football (or soccer as it was back in the day). The big private school recruiting schools are intriguing to watch for the inter or cross state competition, as well as the collection of sick size and talent. But my heart will ALWAYS belong to the small towns where there is just a single high school and the “whole” town shuts down on Friday night to support their boys. I know it is fading like and old Norman Rockwell, but THAT is what made me fall in love with high school football. I’m so thankful that Okaloosa County did it so well, heck the panhandle did it well! Nice set up to transition to college. My passion for high school football is still sort of rare or at least a niche, and I’m cool with that. It keeps me talking to myself, as I provide narration through my days and my “story”. **** My college 2-team disorder (bi polar) is still in play and will always be. I guess it is kind of 2.5 team disease for another couple of years, as I do hope the Vols do well while Autumn is one of the VFL’s! Predicting football is silly unless you are a TV network trying to build hype, but it is also fun and tests one’s research, insights and prejudices. So here I go: The ACC unseated the SEC at the end of last season with Clemson beating Alabama, AND with FSU, Louisville, Miami, Va Tech and Miami playing really good football. It is no longer the Noles and the dwarfs, which was an apt description for a good 20 years. It is good for college football for the ACC to rise up, for the big11 to have more good teams than just Ohio State. It is good for the game when Oklahoma has some competition in the big12 (it still slays me that these conferences with such academic acclaim can’t count!). And it is good for the Pac boys to have some parity as well.

My projections for the ACC: Atlantic (and who knows the Atlantic vs Coastal lineup?) Clemson – Dabo has this program clicking. Destroyed Ohio State before the thriller v Bama FSU – loaded on defense, but will stumble a couple times when they shouldn’t. I’m sorry to say. Louisville – A bit like A&M, open the season like the Patriots and then fade down the stretch LAMAR… NC State – have a shot at really making a splash…IF they can get by South Carolina this weekend BC, Wake and Syracuse are not worth the typing. Coastal Miami – I don’t like the Canes, but Mark Richt will make Georgia regret it Va Tech – don’t think they are ready this season, but I like this coach. Pitt, Ga Tech and Duke. Will win some and even upset some, but not consistent enough. UVA… *** *** SEC, SEC, SEC East Who do you take? Not Tennessee. Maybe Florida and maybe Georgia with an outside maybe KENTUCKY. I’m leaning towards Georgia because of the schedule and the QB situation. Eason is better than any of the 3 that UF might trot out. UGA gets Auburn and Miss State from the West. IF they win in South Bend, I think it propels them to a momentum season. 10 starters on defense back. The Gators (ones not suspended) will beat some of the good teams, but until I see a real offense, I’m reserved at best. On the schedule side, if Michigan over powers them (my fear) I think we have a negative momentum situation. They get LSU and A&M from the West and that is tougher than Georgia’s draw, so even if they beat the dogs, could still be looking up in the standings. Kentucky plays with a LOT OF GRIT. Nowhere near the talent in Athens or Gainesville, but I just keep thinking they are going to rain on the parade in the East. They get Ole Miss and Miss St from the West, which might be the most favorable draw of all. Tennessee will be what? Better, the same? With Alabama as their every year West foe, the deck is stacked against them. I think last year was their shot and do not see them making it to the SEC CG anytime soon. Vandy and SC will be up one week and down the next and Mizzu will be down most weeks.

West Alabama is so deep and so well coached that they have to be at the top. Other teams have questions, even the good teams, Bama just doesn’t. Then it is this crazy free for all of really strong teams – Auburn, A&M, LSU and Arkansas. I guess Auburn will be the biggest threat to Bama and LSU has the talent, and there will be at least one game where Arkansas up and destroys a really good team and you just think “how do they do that every year but play so inconsistently the following weeks”? Ole Miss will be spoiler while Miss St just doesn’t have the depth to survive the gauntlet that is the SEC West. Bama vs Georgia is my guess. Hope it is as good as that same game 4 or 5 years ago! *** *** National picture Playoff teams – Alabama, Clemson, Washington and Ohio State Where are Oklahoma and Southern Cal you ask? Maybe in the playoff, perhaps probably USC, but I like that coach at Washington…and Lincoln Riley is so inexperienced…Penn State and Oklahoma State could find their way into the final four, as could Georgia if the breaks fall their way. I don’t spend time on the NFL. I watch when nothing else is going on and I try to be a fan of the Titans. After resisting for 10 years or so, I started doing fantasy football and while I don’t love it, I don’t want to stop either. There is so much more parity in professional football, AND it is so much more QB dependent at this stage in the evolution. That is why my picks look like this: Packers to win the NFC over the Seahawks, Falcons and Cowboys (maybe the Panthers). Patriots (shocking) should emerge out of the weaker AFC, over Steelers, Raiders and hopefully Titans (really not sure that they are all that yet, but they are in a weak division). Maybe Aaron Rogers will get to raise the trophy this time. *** *** Ed Cunningham. He up and quit his job this week as a college football broadcaster. Says the brain injuries that football is causing, is just too much for me to continue to “glorify the game” (my words). Very interesting. I guess I had at least a half dozen concussions playing football and I didn’t play past high school! I wanted my sons to play because I loved it so much and because I learned so much about myself. Now, I’m not so sure I will want my grandsons (if I ever have any) playing tackle football. Heck if heading a soccer ball is bad for you, big boy football is dangerous! *** *** My nephew Christian is 12 and plays for the Durham Firebirds. We plan to go watch him play in October. He LOVES football 

*** *** My goal is to hit this blog at least every other week this season. We will see. Go Gators (the ones that are not suspended) and Go Noles!