A good read in SI.com

Andy Staples put together a nice column on the Fort Campbell, Kentucky high school football team. If this link works...it will be amazing.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/09/15/fort.campbell.military.children/index.html

Good stuff.

I loathe the Yankees...Go Rays!

Nebraska is over rated. South Carolina at Auburn might be a great game... My son Denton and I are going to attempt a double header on Saturday, as we will go to Tallahassee and visit Josh, tailgate with my bud Roger and catch the FSU game against Wake Forest. IF all goes well, we plan to slide out when the Noles have a big lead and see if we can work our way into the Swamp, where the Gators are hosting Kentucky! Wish us luck, or send us tickets to both games :)

College Football Sunday mornin

The Gators beat Tennessee, but they need to move Pouncy to guard and get somebody to snap the ball to Brantley. More importantly they need an offensive identity. Don't think Adazio had a clue.

FSU beat BYU. They looked pretty good, I'm just not sure which team will show up week to week. Some boneheads on defense...Oh by the way Air Force almost beat Oklahoma. Think any of the Falcons would start for the Noles? Nope.

Arkansas beat Jawja tween the hedges. Vandy beat Ole Miss...

Best game of the day was Auburn and Clemson. Clemson had their shot in OT, but the pass went off the finger tips. Kyle Parker got killed in this game and played in misery in the 2nd half and OT. Very impressive. Would not want FSU to play Clemson or Boston College next week.

I kind of like Notre Dame now (KINDA) and they went into overtime at Michigan State. The Spartans faked a long FG to tie it and threw a touchdown pass! Ballsiest call by a coach I've seen in a LONG time. Its after midnight and my eyes are burning, but Arizona and Iowa are tanglin in the desert. I visited Tuscon a few times and well, I don't like the big ten plus 1.

Southern Cal is not very good and that pleases me. Lame Kiffin is a punk.

Locally, Dr Phillips crushed a good Olympia team. Apopka lost to Edgewater, and my Crestview Bulldogs lost to Tate :(

Decided to put Ronnie Brown on the bench and go with Jonathan Stewart tomorrow. Any RB going against the Bucs will have a good day.

Outlaw is OUT.

Texas vs Florida continues

Tonight we have Tampa Plant out in Abilene, Texas taking on the Ahigh Eagles at Shotwell stadium. I don't think there has ever been near as many great interstate high school football match ups. The TV coverage has been increasing each year as well. Again, a team winning from one state does not correlate to that state having better football, but lets face it, braggin rights are fun. Florida has had a very good performance against out of state competition, especially against Texas, and I personally think Texas prep football is the best in all the land. The logo at the top of this post is for FlVarsity, a subset or Rivals and they do a great job of covering Florida high school football. A lot of the top coaches in the state frequent their forums. Good stuff.

NC State is hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats so we do have the college weekend kicking off. The Wolfpack were fortunate to escape UCF last Saturday night.

Another week of college football news and as usual the lead stories are not pretty. Reggie Bush gave his Heisman Trophy up. I wonder how many would be returned if we really knew how many of the winners took money while they were in college...AND Gator speedster Chris Rainy was arrested for stalking his girlfriend. The Slantinel is making a big deal about the # of arrests under Urban Meyer. The problem is that if you want to have the most talented football players on your team, you recruit ...well...thugs, not choirboys. WE cheer them on to unadulterated violence on the field. We expect them to pump their bodies up to monster size and to be testosterone filled gladiators ON THE FIELD. So, it should not shock us when the top college football teams have trouble not breaking the law.

Rainy's Gators go to Knoxville to play the Rocky Tops without him. I think Florida continues to work out the kinks and improve incrementally on offense. Their Defense is the real deal already.

FSU hosts the BYU Cougars and hope to put the CRUSHING that Oklahoma put on them, in the rear view. If you can't play defense, you cannot win championships in football. We had planned to got to Tally for this one, but are waiting a week and will catch the Wake Forest game instead.

Iowa at Arizona is a good non conference battle this weekend. Georgia tries to bounce back from the L at South Carolina, against Arkansas and Ryan Mallet. Notre Dame and Michigan State should be good.



Derrick Jeter is a CHEATER! Go Rays!

FOOTBALL Weekend!

So much going on so fast.

Cocoa High, the lil 2A school has defeated power teams from Miss, Penn and now Texas on successive weekends. The win over Abilene is remarkable. In fact, the 4 game FL vs TX challenge has Texas winning only 1 game, as DeSota beat Miramar 42-41 in OT when Miramar caught the 2pt conversion out of the end zone.

South Carolina started the college action yesterday by man handling Georiga. The Gamecocks appear to be the biggest threat to unseat the Gators in the SEC East. True fresh Marcus Lattimore is real and may turn Spurrier into a run oriented coach...nah :)

South Florida gave the Gators fits early, in the heat stroke waiting to happen at the Swamp. Florida's defense is special and that will give them a chance to win a lot of football games. If you can't stop the other team, you are in trouble, because you can't always outscore them. UF goes to Rocky top next Saturday.

The 3:30 slot had 3 supposedly good games. One was. Notre Dame and Michigan played a classic, and it took a TD by Dennard Robinson with 27 seconds to pull out the W for the Maize and Blue. Miami actually could play with Ohio State, but Jacory Harris completed about as many passes to the Buckeyes as he did to his Canes...over rated!
And the lowlight of my day was the woodshed beating the Noles got from Oklahoma. Bob Stoops actually held his team back in the 2nd half, or the 30 point W could have been 50. As mentioned in the paragraph above, if you can't stop the other team YOU ARE IN TROUBLE. FSU has not covered a Sooner receiver yet, and the game was yesterday. Folks are picking on Ponder, but while he was not awesome, he did not allow 47 points...There will be some empty seats at Doak Campbell on Saturday when BYU comes to Tally. The Mormon Cougars got spanked by Air Force.

The biggest trend of the weekend was how bad the ACC must be. Noles clobbered. Canes lost by 12. Georgia Tech lost to Kansas (and it wasn't basketball). Virginia Tech lost to James Madison. Wow. NC State beat UCF, but barely. Duke scored 48 points but lost to Wake, and Duke's reward is a visit from Alabama next weekend...ouch.

Speaking of the Tide, they could have poured 40 or 50 on Penn State if they wanted to. Trent Richardson made the folks in Tuscaloosa forget about Mark Ingram. Trent is from Escambia High in Pensacola, the same school that Emmit Smith carried the ball for back in the day. Tennessee played Oregon very well in the first half, before the Ducks started running downhill and piled up points.

I don't know who the best teams in the country are or will be at the end of the season, but Alabama looks like they could be in a category all alone. No one else looks close. Oklahoma (at least yesterday), Ohio State, Texas might be worthy as the games go on. I think Florida will be very good by December. Nebraska...still not sold. Southern Cal barely beat Virginia...not good. By the way, one of the best shirts from Saturday was on an Oregon fan and it said "I don't like Lane Kiffin either". That is good.

Georgia Southern lost to Navy by 6 or 7. A very good sign for GSU. We plan on going up to Stateboro for a game in October.

Tired...

The Saints are comin...

So, hard to beat a Thursday night with SEC football AND the NFL opener featuring the Saints and the Vikings!

Auburn will probably win, but Dan Mullen is a good coach, the Gators and Urban Meyer miss him a lot more than they realize!

I don't have a fav team in the NFL, but I do like the Saints and I read Drew Brees book this summer and became more of a fan. I'm giving fantasy football a try this year, so I guess that season starts tonight too :)

Some good high school football this weekend, with the Cocoa, FL vs Abilene, TX game, being the one I'm most looking forward too.

Excitement is building for the great college games on Saturday. The day gets started with Georgia visiting South Carolina in a big game in the SEC East. I liked South Carolina, even before I heard AJ Green was suspended. At 12:20, we get to see of the Gators will have improved the shotgun snap, catching the football by their receivers, and avoiding fumbles. They better, or the highly motivated Bulls will make them pay. UF by 17...
The 3:30 slot requires deft remote control, picture in picture, and or both. FSU goes to Norman, OK to upset the Sooners, Michigan and Notre Dame play (and win) on the Notre Dame network (NBC), and Miami will be in the Horseshoe to play Ohio State. I don't like Miami, they have crushed my spirit so many times. But I'm starting to hate all the hype Ohio State gets. Can I pull for a tie?
Penn State will get pummeled by the Crimson Tide that night, and I say run the score up Nick :)

With all this football bliss upon us, my HD TV died last night. I rushed it to the repair man but have not heard whether or not a need a 2nd mortgage to fix it. In the mean time, Gary brought his Olevia HD over to fill that gap in the living room. sniff...

Labor Day weekend!

Before I get into the football, I'll mention that I spent most of the weekend at SonQuest, a big youth rally in Orlando (as a chaperone). Young people show a spirituality that is so genuine and sincere, I am always encouraged by events like that.

OK, I was able to watch most of the Gator game. Sloppy is the best word for it. Offense always starts with the center - QB exchange and in the shotgun it can get a little hairy. UF's offense is based so much on timing, that poor snaps are a dream come true for the opposition. I concede that Miami of Ohio played their tails off. Some of the Gator's struggles can be corrected, maybe even most. What concerns me is not John Brantley, or Pouncey's poor snaps (OK they do). What concerns me about Florida is that I don't see good offensive adjustments under Adazzio that I did under Dan Mullen. Florida better make some serious improvements between now and Saturday, or the USF Bulls will be trouble in the Swamp. South Florida is MUCH better than Miami, OH.

Thanks to the Sun replay on Sunday nights, I was able to watch the Noles win over Samford. Jimbo's debut was successful and there is reason for optimism in Tallahassee, especially since FSU has struggled against these "warm up" teams over the last few seasons. The Noles better get better in every phase of the game before Saturday, as they take their "chop" to Norman, OK to play the Sooners.

LSU is lucky. TCU prevailed against Oregon State. East Carolina beat Tulsa on a hail mary on the last play of the game. Georgia and South Carolina is a huge SEC game this week, and Ole Miss lost to Jacksonville State. Notre Dame looked good against Purdue and Michigan looked much improved in their win over UCONN.

Now, a little catch up on the high school games. Georgia got two signature wins on Friday night. North Gwinnett beat Crenshaw from LA California and Camden County beat Miami Central 45-42. Other than the Central loss, the Florida teams have had another good weekend so far. Cocoa went to Pennsylvania and beat power Thomas Jefferson like a DRUM. Manattee beat Woodland Hills PA, like a DRUM too. At this moment, PB Dwyer has opened pretty sloppy against Cleveland OH Glenville and are down 6-0. My son went to Texas for the long weekend and was able to watch Abilene High beat Frankinton, LA at Shotwell. Next week Cocoa plays Abilene in the big Texas/Florida challenge. Trinity (Euless) Texas is beating Arkansas power Shiloh Christian 21-7 over on Fox sports. Locally, Dr Phillips crushed Edgewater and Apopak handled Lake Brantley.

Gonna have my first Fantasy Football draft tonight, so we will see how this goes!

Labor Day weekend!

Before I get into the football, I'll mention that I spent most of the weekend at SonQuest, a big youth rally in Orlando (as a chaperone). Young people show a spirituality that is so genuine and sincere, I am always encouraged by events like that.

OK, I was able to watch most of the Gator game. Sloppy is the best word for it. Offense always starts with the center - QB exchange and in the shotgun it can get a little hairy. UF's offense is based so much on timing, that poor snaps are a dream come true for the opposition. I concede that Miami of Ohio played their tails off. Some of the Gator's struggles can be corrected, maybe even most. What concerns me is not John Brantley, or Pouncey's poor snaps (OK they do). What concerns me about Florida is that I don't see good offensive adjustments under Adazzio that I did under Dan Mullen. Florida better make some serious improvements between now and Saturday, or the USF Bulls will be trouble in the Swamp. South Florida is MUCH better than Miami, OH.

Thanks to the Sun replay on Sunday nights, I was able to watch the Noles win over Samford. Jimbo's debut was successful and there is reason for optimism in Tallahassee, especially since FSU has struggled against these "warm up" teams over the last few seasons. The Noles better get better in every phase of the game before Saturday, as they take their "chop" to Norman, OK to play the Sooners.

LSU is lucky. TCU prevailed against Oregon State. East Carolina beat Tulsa on a hail mary on the last play of the game. Georgia and South Carolina is a huge SEC game this week, and Ole Miss lost to Jacksonville State. Notre Dame looked good against Purdue and Michigan looked much improved in their win over UCONN.

Now, a little catch up on the high school games. Georgia got two signature wins on Friday night. North Gwinnett beat Crenshaw from LA California and Camden County beat Miami Central 45-42. Other than the Central loss, the Florida teams have had another good weekend so far. Cocoa went to Pennsylvania and beat power Thomas Jefferson like a DRUM. Manattee beat Woodland Hills PA, like a DRUM too. At this moment, PB Dwyer has opened pretty sloppy against Cleveland OH Glenville and are down 6-0. My son went to Texas for the long weekend and was able to watch Abilene High beat Frankinton, LA at Shotwell. Next week Cocoa plays Abilene in the big Texas/Florida challenge. Trinity (Euless) Texas is beating Arkansas power Shiloh Christian 21-7 over on Fox sports. Locally, Dr Phillips crushed Edgewater and Apopak handled Lake Brantley.

Gonna have my first Fantasy Football draft tonight, so we will see how this goes!

Yes its college opening weekend, but the PREPS!

Both college and high school football have some exciting games to open the season (and a boat load of cream puffs too) then they get down to conference play and the excitement builds again in November. This holiday weekend has some sick inter state match ups for the prep "programs".

LA Crenshaw goes to Georgia to play North Gwinnett

Miami Central (an uber athletic team) takes its undisciplined squad to face Georgia power Camden County.

Defending 4A Florida champ goes to Ohio to play Glenville (Cleveland)

Little 2A Cocoa FL goes up to Pennsylvania this week to take on power Thomas Jefferson, while Bradenton Manatee completes the FL vs PA set, by playing Woodland Hills.

Abilene, TX plays defending Louisiana champ Franklinton, before back to back games the next 2 weeks against Florida teams. Odessa Permian (THE Friday Night Lights team) plays a power from Washington state - Bethel.

ESPN and the Fox networks are broadcasting many of these games, especially on Monday.

Virginia power Oscar Smith takes on Ohio Central Pickerington

Shiloh Christian from Springdale, Arkansas takes on #1 Trinity from Euless, Texas at Cowboy stadium as part of a festival of games, which includes Fort Lauderdale St Thomas Aquinas smacking Dallas Skyline and then some quality Texas teams battling each other. Next weekend has the Texas vs Florida challenge, but more on that after THIS weekend :)

To quote Dicke V, ITS GONNA BE AWESOME BABY! :)

While it is not one of the titanic inter-state match ups, Crestview plays Baker on Friday night in the Bulletin Bowl. Smell those boiled peanuts...

Toe to Leather (or composite) Time!

Thursday, Sept. 2 Network Time (ET)
Southern Miss at South Carolina ESPN 7:30 p.m.
Marshall at Ohio St. Big Ten 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at MTSU ESPNU 7:30 p.m.
N. Illinois at Iowa St. FSN 7:30 p.m.
Towson at Indiana Big Ten 7:30 p.m.
Pitt at Utah Versus 8:30 p.m.
USC at Hawaii ESPN 11 p.m.

Opening night of the college football season, tears in my eyes…

South Carolina better bring their A game or Southern Miss be their nightmare.

Ohio State will start their much over hyped season by thrashing Marshall.

Minnesota at MTSU is interesting because a big 11 team is playing in Murfreesboro, Tennessee…

Skipping on down to Pitt and Utah match up. This should be a fantastic game. Utah is well coached and has that “no AQ” chip on their shoulder, but Pitt is really strong and will likely be the Big East champ (or UCONN). At altitude is the difference, so I go with the Utes.

Friday has Arizona and Toledo, but folks Friday Nights are for high school football.

Saturday’s top games:

Gators and Noles play at Noon against Miami, Oh and Samford. Should be nice warm ups.
UConn at Michigan – Huskies will ruin the crowd at the big house’s day 
Illinois and Mizzu is a quality opener but the Tigers will prevail.
UCLA at K State could be a shootout, but I like the Bruins
Kentucky and Louisville are state rivals with new coaches. Think SEC…
Purdue at Notre Dame is another cross state rival opener. Irish start their resurgence.
Washington at BYU is a great opener. Will not be a 6-3 boring game. BYU at home can be tough, but I’m taking Locker and the Huskies
Northwestern & Vandy in the brainbowl, but Vandy is the anti SEC team.
Oregon State at TCU. Great game at Cowboys stadium. TCU all the way.
LSU vs North Carolina in Atlanta. LSU is poorly coached, but better than UNC.
Cincinnati at Fresno State should be another shoot out, with the Bearcats winning

Sunday has a couple of games with SMU and Texas Tech being the interesting one. Tech better not take the ponies lightly, but Tubberville should get his first “W” in Lubbock.

Monday:
Maryland vs Navy will be an illustration of how good Navy is these days and how sad the Terps are.
The capper is the Boise State – Virginia Tech battle that night. Va Tech is so good on defense and special teams and so well coached, but I like the BRONCOS to rule.

I Love the "bers"

The “ber” months are finally here. September, October, November and December are the “ber” months and they represent A) FOOTBALL SEASON B) cooler weather. It is too dang hot in central Florida, we need some relief! I never fully appreciated Spring, until I lived in Kansas for a few years. After all that cold, cloudy and dreary weather, the sun finally breaks through one day in March or April and people up north just go nuts with excitement. A lot of employees are suddenly “sick” that day. Well, it is kind of like that in reverse down here. That first cool breeze when you can open the windows and even consider wearing a long sleeve shirt, signals the best time to live in my home state.

Wow, what a tangent that was. My pal Mark played for Cocoa Beach high school back in the 70s. He was a running back and on the last play of one game, at the bottom of the pile (against Monroe HS), an opposing player actually bit the wart off of Mark’s leg. Let that sink in for a moment. The guy had to raise his helmet to be able to reach the target and bit it off and growled as he showed it pinched between his teeth. Now female readers may find this somewhat socially unacceptable, but guys who played football will laugh and try to remember situations that can “one up” this true story.

In case I have not set the record straight (lately), I am a fan of both the Florida State Seminole and the Florida Gators. This is not well received by a lot of folks and most cannot even comprehend the concept. They assume that I am not a “real” fan of either, but they are mistaken. My dad is a Gator fan and the SEC is without question the best and most exciting conference, when it comes to rivalries or “border wars”. Now to really appreciate the SEC, you need to realize that while they HATE each other, when one of em plays somebody out west or god forbid “up north”, there is a cease fire and a solidarity as everyone pulls together to chant “SEC, SEC, SEC!”. FSU is the school closest to my hometown in the Panhandle and I really started pulling for the Noles when Bobby got there in the mid 70s. The run he took them on was so much fun to be a part of. I was lucky enough to know some of the coaches when I lived in Tally and had the pleasure of being in the locker rooms and even sat in on a couple of pre-game speeches and presentations to recruits. So, with that precursor, I have to also mention that I enjoy the rivalry between the Noles and Gators and enjoy the ragging and teasing that goes back and forth. So, when my Garnet and Gold cousin Tyler bagged a couple of gators on his recent legal hunt and captioned the kill picture with “gator bait my a$$”, I had to share!

Pac 10

The guys out west tried to make the bold move by grabbing Texas and Oklahoma and making the first mega conference. It didn't pan out, but that sort of realignment is bound to happen in the next year or two.

USC is in a pile of trouble with the NCAA and they hired Lame Kiffin to replace Pete Carrol. The Trojans are stockpiled with talent and have Lame's dad running their defense, but the NCAA sanctions will keep them from being ranked or playing in a bowl game this season. They MAY have the best team, but since they are disqualified, lets take a look at the real contenders. Oregon repped the Rose Bowl last time, and lost to Ohio St. They have a lot of kids back, but lost the QB. The Ducks have to be the front runner, but cross state rivals, the Beavers of Oregon State have the Rogers brothers back. The thing I like about the Pac 10 is that they play exciting offense, and you have to have good QB play for that. The Pac has Barkley at USC, Andrew Luck at Stanford, Jake Locker at Washington and the kid from Arizona is pretty good too (Nick something). Stanford and Washington have to be in the PAC conversation, because of their great QB's and great young coaches. This may be the hardest conference to pick in 10. Oregon is so well coached that they will overcome the loss of Massoli. Stanford and Oregon State will fight it out for 2nd, while Arizona could surprise. Don't think Wash has enough around Locker, Wash St is hopeless and Cal will down IMO. UCLA and Arizona State are the interesting teams. UCLA is improving, but it is a tough conference and they play at Texas. Arizona State seems to take 2 steps forward and one back under Dennis Erickson.

Big games out of conference include:

USC vs Notre Dame
Arizona hosts Iowa (upset alert?)
Oregon State opens this weekend against TCU in Dallas Cowboys stadium
Washington plays at BYU to open the season and hosts Nebraska on 9/18
UCLA plays K St, Houston and Texas...
The Sun Devils go to Wisconsin

prep recap

A great weekend of high school football action. My oldest son and I went to Daytona Friday night and watched West Point, Mississippi beat DB Mainland. Mainland is over rated and the 14-0 score could have been much worse. While we were at that game, on ESPN Tampa Plant played Bradenton Manatee in what was expected to be a great game between nationally ranked squads. Well Plant (ranked as high as #2 nationally) lost 18 starters from last years FL 5A title team, and got the snot beat out of them 48-10, on ESPN...yikes!

Last night, we went back to Daytona and took pals Mark and Gary with us. Little 2A Cocoa, FL beat another 6A Mississippi power, Olive Branch. It was a great game and could have gone either way, but the smaller Tigers just scrapped all game long. Cocoa plays Thomas Jefferson, PA next week and goes to Abilene, Texas on Sept 16th. Talk about not dodging anyone!

The games in Daytona were part of a "Florida vs USA Gridiron Challenge" and the Florida teams went 3-1. Better than I expected.

Hoover, Alabama beat Byrnes, South Carolina 14-0. Good Counsel, MD beat St X of Cincinnati 21-6. South Panola, MS beat Colquitt County, Ga like a DRUM!

For Florida teams, games against out of state teams count on their record, even if it was this weekend, which is reserved for the Kickoff Classic games, which do not count. Next weekend, everybody plays for keeps! The Boys of Fall :)

More College Previews

The Big 12 will be interesting because it will be Nebraska's swan song. Next season they will move over to the Big 10 (which has 11 teams now, and will have 12...). The Cornhuskers have a classy group of fans and have been known to give an ovation to the opponents who play well and courageously. I like that. I don't like Nebraska however. May be because of the extreme beat down they put on the Gators in the national championship of 95. But I digress.

The South has ruled the Big 12, with Texas and Oklahoma taking turns winning the title. Last season Nebraska came within 1 second of upsetting the Horns, but it was not to be. This season it appears Nebraska's momentum may take them back to the top of the North, while the Red River Shootout should again determine the South representative. Most predictors are taking Oklahoma and Kirk Herbstreit is picking the Sooners to lose the BCS championship to his Buckeyes. I like Texas. Mack Brown does a great job and it may just be a hunch (or indigestion), but I'm going with the Hookem bunch. Texas actually plays AT Nebraska during the season, so if it goes like I think, they will have a rematch (see SEC for another similar situation). Of course, if Oklahoma does win the South, it will be pretty cool to have Oklahoma vs Nebraska in the Huskers last season in the conference. Growing up, Oklahoma vs Nebraska was one of those handful of great games each season, that we watched. We only got one or two games per weekend...in black and white :)

Missouri is a good team and could upend the Nebraska party. Kansas hired Turner Gill, but will need a few years. K State and Iowa State are just not legit enough. Colorado has decided to bolt to the Pac 10, but I hear they may delay that until 2012 now. Back down south, Tommy Tuberville has replaced Mike Leach at Texas Tech and while he may upgrade their defense, I expect him to down grade their offense. Oklahoma State may get a 3rd tier bowl and A&M might too, but I'm not buying Aggie stock. Baylor is weak, but has a great QB. Not the most exciting conference, but when I lived in Kansas, I did enjoy their basketball conference tournament :)

The Boys of Fall lyrics

The Boys of Fall Lyrics

When I feel that chill, smell that fresh cut grass/
I'm back in my helmet, cleats and shoulder pads/
Standing in the huddle listening to the call/
Fans going crazy for the boys of fall/
They didn't let just anybody in that club/
Took every ounce of heart and sweat and blood/
To get to wear those game day jerseys down the hall/
Kings of the school man, we're the boys of fall/

(Chorus:)
Well it's turn and face the Stars and Stripes/
It's fighting back them butterflies/
It's call it in the air, alright yes sir we want the ball/
And it's knocking heads and talking trash/
It's slinging mud and dirt and grass/
It's I got your number, I got your back when your back's against the wall/
You mess with one man you got us all/
The boys of fall/

In little towns like mine that's all they got/
Newspaper clippings fill the coffee shops/
The old men will always think they know it all/
Young girls will dream about the boys of fall/

(Chorus:)
Well it's turn and face the Stars and Stripes/
It's fighting back them butterflies/
It's call it in the air, alright yes sir we want the ball/
And it's knocking heads and talking trash/
It's slinging mud and dirt and grass/
It's I got your number, I got your back when your back's against the wall/
You mess with one man you got us all/

The boys of fall/

(Chorus:)
Well it's turn and face the Stars and Stripes/
It's fighting back them butterflies/
It's call it in the air, alright yes sir we want the ball/
And it's knocking heads and talking trash/
It's slinging mud and dirt and grass/
It's I got your number, I got your back when your back's against the wall/
You mess with one man you got us all/
The boys of fall/

We're the boys of fall

We're the boys of fall

ACC Preview 2010

The ACC preview is next, not because it is the 2nd strongest conference (not even close), but because my Seminoles reside in the Atlantic division. There are some really good teams in the ACC, but first let me weigh in on the Bobby Bowden situation. Maybe I can get it out of the way and not have to “go there” anymore this season. Bobby is whining to the media that he was pushed out as head coach last December. Duh! He should have been pushed out about 5 years ago, before he let the program slip to mediocrity. He always said he would quit when the losses piled up, but he just stuck around and embarrassed himself. Kudos to T K Wetherel for having the nads to give Bobby the pink slip. Now Jimbo Fisher has a chance to make FSU relevant again. Don’t know if he will do it, but it is his chance.

In the same way that the Gators benefit from being in the weaker side of the SEC, the Noles are in the weaker side of the ACC. The Coastal will be a knock down drag out brawl between Va Tech, Georgia Tech, Miami and maybe North Carolina. Frank Beamer is a terrific coach. He has built the Hokies into a national program. They were not on the map before he arrived in Blacksburg. Georiga Tech’s Paul Johnson is another terrific coach. His option oriented offense is scoffed at by pundits, but it works. Miami has sick (really hip term) athletes and Randy Shannon has instilled discipline in Coral Gables (a small miracle). Shannon is tapping into the south Florida talent pool, which has no equal, and landed loaded recruiting classes. The problem is that I don’t think Randy is a good game day coach and I expect the Canes to lose a game or two that they should not. I will add that his OC (Whipple) is a serious play caller! The Tarheels are stocked with NFL defensive players, but I’m not “buying” UNC stock. Butch has built them into a contender, but I don’t see them elbowing the Jackets, Hockies or Canes out of the picture. I should mention that David Cutcliff is a great coach and Duke should be thrilled to have him. He just has an uphill battle to get football players to Durham. NC State has disappointed me in that they progress has been slower than I expected when Tom O’Brien took over. Virginia is a mess and now Mike London gets a chance to try to build them back up.

Miami and Va Tech have the horses and the hype, but I just get the feeling that Paul Johnson will find a way to win the Coastal! No real crystal ball, but my gut. Miami and Va Tech could clearly win the coastal and probably should…

Now for the Atlantic, since Tallahassee is right on the ocean . Boston College is solid and well coached. Clemson got a gift when Kyle Parker put off MLB to play another season of football, and Wake Forest may have one of the best coaches in the country. Maryland started off great under Ralph Friedgen, but have regressed for several seasons now! Even with great coaching, I don’t expect Wake to make noise, so it comes down to BC, FSU and Clemson. I think it is FSU’s division to lose. I know “homer” rides again, but the Noles get BC and Clemson in Tally. If they have ANY defense to go with what I expect to be a potent offense, then FSU should find a way into the poorly attended ACC championship game.

Key non conference games for ACC teams include:

Virginia Tech opens with Boise State on Labor Day night.
Miami goes to the Horse Shoe to play Ohio State in week 2, and like the Gators, play South Florida’s Bulls this year.
North Carolina opens with LSU in Hotlanta and plays Rutgers later in September
Georgia Tech plays at Kansas in week 2 and closes with Jawja
Duke plays Alabama and Virginia plays Southern Cal. They should call in sick…
Florida State goes to Oklahoma in week 2 and then hosts BYU the following week, and of course closes with the Gators at Doak the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Boston College hosts a revived Notre Dame team on Oct 2.
Clemson tackles two SEC teams, at Auburn and hosting rival South Carolina.
Wake Forest plays Stanford (great QB) and Navy.
The NC State Wolfpack come to Orlando to visit UCF at Brighthouse stadium and then host the offensive minded Cincinnati Bearcats.

College Football - SEC Preview :)

My 2010 College preview will start with the kings of the mountain, the SEC. Over the last 4 seasons, Florida, LSU, Florida and Alabama have won the BCS national championships. Certainly conference power can be cyclical, but the SEC is building upon the momentum they have and I just don’t see them backing off anytime soon.

The West appears to be the division with the stronger teams to challenge Alabama. Arkansas, Auburn and LSU have legitimate shots, and with Jerimiah Massoli now chunkin it for Ole Miss, they will be a tough out. Dan Mullen is building Mississippi State, but he just doesn’t have the “dogs” for the SEC West fights yet. I have seen some experts pick Auburn and Arkansas to upset the Tide to represent the West in the SEC title game. Auburn under Chizik is really improving and former Gator Cam Newton should shine in Gus Malzon’s rapid fire offense. Arkansas has future NFL QB Ryan Mallet and so they will score a bunch of points and have a chance to win any game. LSU is super talented, but I have zero confidence in Les Miles. So, while the Hogs and the War Beagles are getting some love, I can’t not pick Alabama. Saban is a top shelf coach and has all his offense back from last year’s championship team. The D lost quite a bit, but the shelves are stocked with serious ball players ready for their turn. Not sure if Bamer runs the table, but I sure see them in Atlanta…playing…the Gators…again.

The East may not be as strong as the West this season. Florida, Georgia and South Carolina should duke it out for a spot in Hotlanta, but Kentucky will be pretty good too. Much is being written about replacing Tebow, one of college football’s most decorated celebrity’s. I honestly expect the Florida offense to be MUCH better with John Brantley taking the snaps. I’m not hating on Tebow, but he was always an unconventional QB, who did not distribute the ball enough for me. He sure carried the team on short yardage situations, but he does not throw the ball as well as John Brantley and he failed to get the ball to the guys who make the Gators special – the speed burners. Like Tebow, I was able to watch Brantley while he was in high school and he has all the tools then so it is a certainty that he has improved in his years at UF waiting his turn. UF lost some good players, but they have been stocking up on 5 star recruits and have Urban Meyer running the show. Just cannot see Georgia or South Carolina unseating them. A regular season road trip to Tuscaloosa will be a dandy and may blemish the Gator season, but it shouldn’t keep them out of a rematch of Orange & Blue vs Crimson & White. It is such a homer thing to do, but I’ll pick Alabama to win the game in October, but the Gators to claim the championship in December  The interesting battle will be between Georgia and South Carolina, who just happen to knock heads in week two in Columbia. Schedules are obviously a key factor, as each SEC team plays all the teams in their division, plus three teams from the other side of the conference. Georgia plays Arkansas, Miss St and Auburn. South Carolina gets Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas. The Gamecocks would trade the Tide for Miss St. if they could. That means that South Carolina has to beat Georgia head to head. The problem is that under Spurrier you never know what to expect from SC. They have had great DEFENSES (go figure) under Steve, but no real offense. Mark Richt has been very solid and steady at Georgia, but also hard to predict. One writer picked Georgia to win the national championship. I sure don’t see that, but expect them to have a decent season. I am taking Kentucky to finish 3rd or 4th in the East, with Tennessee and Vandy bringing up the rear. Vandy is where my cousin Bryan played in the early 90’s and I admire their courage, but they are the one SEC team that really is not an SEC team…CUSA facilities and no athletic department. Repeat, no athletic department! During the inevitable mega conference alignment that will happen in the next year or two, the SEC should find a way to put the Dores on waivers.

One more point of discussion with the SEC and that is the non conference games of note. Alabama hosts Penn State and plays Duke (bully report!). LSU opens with North Carolina in Atlanta and also has a game with West Virginia. Florida still plays FSU and this season they also have the now dangerous South Florida Bulls coming to the Swamp. Auburn plays Clemson. Ole Miss plays Fresno St. Georgia always has the now dangerous Ramblin Wreck at the end of the season, but they also go to Boulder to play Colorado this season. Not that Colorado is awesome or anything, but it is quite scenic out there and pretty high altitude. Tennessee plays Oregon and if the Vols weren’t down, that would be a good one as the Ducks will bring serious offense to Neyland stadium.

High School Kickoff 2010

Right out of the gate, the big news for this season is the increasing amount of stellar inter-state match ups by the power teams. Also the television coverage of these games is on the rise as well. We could debate the pros and cons of the high school level “going big time”, but I’ll save that for another day. For the most part it is very exciting.

I’ll go into more depth regarding the upcoming season within Florida in a week or so, but for tonight let’s take a look at who the power teams are across the country and what the marquee matchups will be.

Folks will passionately fight for their own state and make a case for supremacy. I have been around the country and while I still have some bias, really try to be objective at some level. Without using absolutes, the best high school football is played in Texas, Florida, California, Ohio and Pennsylvania. There are also some amazing teams from Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Arizona and lately Utah. Texas, Florida and California have sheer numbers (high populations) and are well known for the athleticism of so many skill position players. Ohio has some Catholic league teams that are some of the best in the USA every year (primarily Cincinnati and Cleveland). Pennsylvania is highly regarded for a tough nosed brand of football.

In Texas, you have your Trinity (Euless), SouthLake Carrol, Abilene, Katy and Judson as the names that always seem to be near the top, year in and year out. Most polls have Trinity and Abilene in the national top 10 for 2010.
Florida’s top teams do not always come from the highest classification. There are always 2 or 3 giant schools in Miami who are over loaded with inhuman athletes. The Tampa area has Lakeland, Plant, Jefferson and Armwood, with Bradenton Manatee a few miles down the Gulf coast as well. F.L. St Thomas Aquinas is one of the largest private schools in the state, and drawing from the Dade and Broward talent pool, gives them a small college caliber lineup most season. Class 4A has had some teams that may be better than the 5A and 6A boys, with Palm Beach Dwyer, Niceville, Pine Forest, Lincoln and Nease among the teams that can take on anybody.
In South Carolina, Byrnes and Dorman are the elite teams.
Georgia boasts Lowndes County, Camden County, North Gwinnet and Warner Robbins as some of their annual big dogs.
In Alabama, it us usually either Hoover or Prattville that rule the prep world.
Next door in Mississippi, South Panola, Olive Branch and West Point are some of the power programs.
Louisiana has some good teams, but nationally, it is usually John Curtis River Ridge or Evangel Christian, private schools willing to take on powers across state lines.
Ohio boasts St Xavier, Moeller, Colerain from Cinci, Glenville and St Ignatious from Cleveland, and these guys can play with anybody, period.
California is so big that there are lots of great teams. Concorde DeLaSalle is the most famous, going several years with out losing. Servite, Matre Dei, Grant, Long Beach Poly are big schools that dominate, and Oaks Christian is the lil private school with sons of famous fathers all over the roster.
Oklahoma often comes down to Union vs Jenks.
In Kansas, Olathe North and a couple of the Wichita schools have had some notoriety, while in Missouri the top squads are often Blue Springs and Rockhurst.

Tennessee has some decent public school teams (Maryville went a few years without a loss) but it is the private schools that are more renowned, like Brentwood Academy, MUS, and Montgomery Bell Academy..

I get carried away sometimes, but I really do follow football in these states and several more…

OK, the biggest interstate match ups for 2010 are only a few weeks away.

The weekend of August 28th, we have a big event in Daytona! That Friday night Daytona Beach Mainland will play West Point, Mississippi and the on Saturday it is Cocoa, Fl against Olive Branch, Mississippi. Cocoa is a small school, but have been on a roll the last few seasons, and in addition to this match up against a 6A power from the Magnolia state, Cocoa also goes out to Texas to play Abilene in September! Mainland is a solid 6A team, but not a top 10 Florida kind of team. They could change my mind this year however, if they beat West Point, and Miami NorthWestern! That same Saturday, Glades Central, another small school power from Florida, will go out to Texas and play Dallas Skyline. I like GC in this one, but have to editorialize that while the best football athletes may come out of south Florida, the teams down there are not usually well coached. In fact, the Miami Northwestern vs Miami Central contest last year was embarrassingly sloppy, despite the fact that some 20+ D1 players were on the field.

Again on that opening weekend, the top team from Mississippi, South Panola – Batesville will take on Colquitt County in Moultrie, Georgia. Colquitt is coached by Russ Probst, famous for his days at Hoover in Birmingham and infamous for his scandalous personal life.


Big interstate match ups opening weekend:

Fri Aug 27: DB Mainland vs West Point, Miss
South Panola, Miss @ Colquitt County, Georgia

Sat Aug 28: St X (Cinci) vs Good Council Maryland
Cocoa, Fl vs Olive Branch, Miss
Hoover, AL vs Byrnes, SC
Glenville, Ohio vs Warren Central, Indiana
Tulsa Union, OK vs Evangel Christian, La

Key Kickoff Classic games in the sunshine state:

Plant vs Manatee
Nease @ Deland

Boys of Fall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlXDo5WhQXI

IF this link works, great. If it doesn't, just go to YouTube and search for Boys of Fall and select the 8 minute version. It does a nice job of explaining why I love high school football so much.

I am way too swamped at work the next few days, but I am determined to start waxing eloquent on the upcoming season. Some fantastic inter state match ups at the prep level and of course the college season is less than 4 weeks away!

Could we PLEASE just fast forward to September!!!

It would sure be nice to treat the month of August like I do commercials with my DVR!

Saw today where Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher is gonna sue Lame Kiffin for hiring one of his assistant coaches away who was under contract. I already like Fisher, but now I am more of a fan :)

A new facility has opened in Mount Dora - Champions Training Academy. Located very near Marshall Financial Group (or Zellies for you blue bloods out there), they have an impressive staff of former pro athletes to help train you or your child.

I am trying to be patient and wait until August before I start previewing the upcoming college and prep season. The good news is that August arrives on Sunday!

Nigel Carr, the best linebacker for the Noles was arrested last night. Another reason to hate July and August, the arrest report always takes a toll on the Noles and the Gators.

Hey, it is time for the annual "bug hunt" down in the Keys. The Nichols family will be down there chasing the lobsters and good times. Lucky dogs...

Outlaw

Counting down...

Summer in Florida is HOT and "not cool" :). The World Cup was fun and Spain rules. The BoMar softball team is starting to gel, but that is the only thing keeping me sane until football season finally gets here!

Still time to see who else gets arrested or injured before making bold but well researched college and high school football prognostications :)

One thing is for sure, but the Noles and the Gators will be OFFENSIVELY minded this season with Ponder and Brantley tossing the ball around like laser guided orbs.

I'll be back in August with amusing insights (at least they will amuse me). 2010 will be the best year yet for inter state high school football matchups!

Outlaw