I Beat Biddle and McGrotha

I Beat McGrotha! I did. Way back when in Tallahassee when Bill McGrotha was the institutional Sports Editor for the Democrat. Got my young man mug in the mullet wrapper in late 1988 when I was not yet 30 years old. Had 3 jobs and two sons. LOVED Tally back then!

 Last week I Beat Biddle. Biddle is a Sports something another for a Nashville TV station and he has a contest that I stumbled upon. So, I’m a pretty big deal!  For all the picking I’ve done (for a while I was in a snail mail “league”) and all the contests I’ve been in, I have never gambled on football. Well, I have bet on specific games with friends and family, but I have never stepped into the world of putting my money on the line, against the spread and all that good stuff. I think I would do pretty well, but I don’t want to mess up my enjoyment of the game worrying about a late pick six or field goal …

Rough start to ROCKTOBER Florida botched a PAT hold and fell to LSU by one in the Swamp. Boy do they miss Luke Del Rio. The tribute to Tom Petty was solid. If I were a gambler, I'd take A&M this weekend...sadly. Florida State came roaring back to take the lead over Miami with just over a minute to go, only to let the Canes zip down the field and win with 6 seconds left. They also dearly miss their QB Francios. No tears for UF or FSU, as programs at their level are expected to have depth at every position, including QB. Noles are 1-3…1 and 3…dang. The best news for me over the weekend was that Crestview steamrolled Milton Friday night. Spotted them 7 and then dominated. The FWB Vikings are next, before a bye week and then NICEVILLE!

Titans, also without their starting QB (theme right now isn’t it!) only put of 10 and lost to Fins 16-10. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Watched nephew Nate Baker coach up the GMC Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Austin Peay. GMC pulled away from Hocking College thanks to a couple of pick 6es late. Way to go coach! Here is Nate coaching up his Offensive line!

No report from Durham on the Firebirds, but rumors of player suspensions have been floating…Will get to catch them this Saturday, supposedly TWO games! Can't wait. Me and the Noles invade Durham...my 1-3 Noles... Oklahoma goes down to Iowa State…wow. Michigan goes down to in state rival Sparty, and Washington State straight up beats Oregon on the road. South Carolina looks to have found their mojo, just in time for a trip to Tennessee. Kentucky escaped Mizzu, in part thanks to a ref who WALKED to get the ball as the clock wound down… that was weird and ugly for Mizzu. JJ Watt and Odell Beckham Jr went down with season ending injuries… OBJ was my best fantasy player…toast!

Rocktober is here!

Rocktober is here! It was an awful weekend for football in the state of Tennessee. UT, Vandy, MTSU and Memphis got smoked on Saturday and on Sunday, the TITANS gave up 57 points to division rival TEXANS. I was in Texas all weekend, so while I flinched for the state, I was surrounded by Baylor and Texas fans in Waco. I heard the Durham Firebird won on Saturday (X2 according to brother).

Driving from Dallas to Waco, I was able to listen to Crestview High School again on Friday night. My Bulldogs beat up on Choctaw. I’m 56 and it is still fairly rare that we beat the big green Indians. The once feared Milton Panthers are next on the schedule. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ The Gators were in a battle with Vandy, but managed to pull away. WE lost Luke Del Rio for the season, dang it. He was our best chance, not from an athletic perspective, but from an understanding of the game. Now, we go back to Franks. LSU comes to the Swamp on Saturday afternoon, reeling from losing to TROY…yep.

Florida State sucked up the field most of the day, but somehow squeaked out a W vs Wake Forest. Noles looked pitiful. Can’t blame it all on the rookie QB, because the running game was lame. Up next, the CANES come to town! Miami beat Duke in Durham, so look out…I simply don’t have confidence in this Jimbo lead bunch.

On the National scene, it is still Clemson and Alabama at the top of the heap. Nobody in the ACC is close to Clemson, as they showed in Blacksburg. In the SEC, Auburn and Georgia are the closest to Alabama, but not really. The Tide is SO much stronger, deeper and better coached…

Southern Cal lost to Coach Leach’s Washington State Cougars, so drop them and Sam Darnald. In the big12 (with 10 teams) Oklahoma and TCU are the unblemished. The PAC now boasts only Washington (very well coached), while the big 10 (with 12 teams) has Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin still undefeated and Ohio State with a strong 1 loss roster. My opinion is that Wisconsin is good but not great, but will be in the Championship game (conference). Which coach gets fired first? Butch or Ed? @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ On a rare Sunday college game, I will go to Clarksville, TN (campus of Austin Peay) to watch Georgia Military play Hocking College. Go Coach Baker!!

Anchor Down and FSU out of Top 25 Vandy poked the bear and got flat out demolished. I expected a better game than that…

FSU just got whipped at home by a good but not great NC State team. And, while bummed, I was not at all surprised. Sad but true... Florida continues to be the luckiest team in the country and I feel a little bad for Kentucky fans…At least Del Rio will get the start against Vandy. Probably not as strong an arm as Franks, but a much more confident QB. Vandy will be tough Saturday, despite how awful Bama made them look. The suspended players now have felony charges...oh boy... Empty stadiums in some college football venues, as we fans are indeed fair weather at times, not just the climate of course.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* The real issue to address is the NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. When Kapernick did it, it angered me because I considered it a publicity stunt. I will have a hard time not thinking of him as a punk and do not think he is good enough to be a NFL QB, but I’m not a GM. Then the CHIEF EXECUTIVE TWEETER got involved. NEVER has democracy had a leader determined to polarize a country than this. I guess Mr. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation riled up some folks, but good for Abe. After the tweets, I’m all for the NFL folks to do what they want, just to spite this Tweeting Donald. I’m a patriot and I sure wish they would find another way to make their point, other than “defiling” the national anthem. But, they have the right, as long as their employer(s) allows it. I long for leadership that UNITES this country, and it appears that we are at least 3 ½ years away from the possibility. Use terms like “SOB” in private if you must, but don’t tweet that crap. This from a man who says “punch her in the pu***”. And somehow has so many of the far right worshiping him…God help us. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& In prep ball Mater Dei continues to roll and hold onto the MaxPreps top spot. If they run the table with that schedule, they get my vote. The IMG all star team is #2 and have just as impressive a resume. St Thomas Aquinas and Grayson out of Atlanta also have #1 caliber schedules and resumes. Crestview beat West Florida, who was ranked higher and favored, so at this point, it sure looks like my Dawgs are one of the better teams in north Florida (Navarre and Niceville will have their say eventually). Speaking of Dogs, Georgia showed Miss State who the big dogs are in the SEC. A trip to Neyland will not likely be fun for the Vols, who barely escaped UMASS… in football. The Firebirds won big!

Also in Durham, the Dukies beat rival UNC over the weekend and now they get MIAMI on a Friday night special. Trip to Tejas on the weekend agenda!

Vols and their Achilles BOOT OR: POOR OLE ROCKY TOP…

Years ago in this blog, I would make fun of UT coach Fulmer (Fat Phil), and his replacement Lame Kiffin. At the heart of my ridicule was a rivalry, between the Vols and the Gators. UT was strong under Fulmer and not only beat the Gators from time to time to claim the East, but even beat the Noles in the national championship game (without Weinke!). Over time, Tennessee started sliding, starting with Kiffin’s short stay and then Derrick Dooley. Butch Jones came in and has recruited very well, every year. With the East down for at least the last 5 years, UT could and should made their way to Atlanta – at least the last 2 seasons. Even with Josh Dobbs on point, they could not get to the SEC championship game. Instead, we had Mizzu twice, South Carolina and the Gators the last 2 years.

I’m more familiar with the UT program now, having lived in Tennessee for 5 years. I admire and respect their fans and even have a VOL in the family, as my Autumn is a junior in Knoxville. So, it was OK when UT beat the Gators last year in Neyland, to get the oh for Eleven monkey off their back. I don’t have the same disdain that I used to have for the reasons stated above – they are not as formidable a rival and I really love many of their fans. I’ve been following college football for nearly 50 years and I can’t think of another series where one team (UT) just finds ways to lost to the other (UF), year after year. The beauty of football is that one play can make one coach the hero and the other, “burned in effigy”. No way Tennessee should have let the Gators heave a game winning 63 yard bomb on the last play of the game, but they did. Now, the VOLS have to beat Georgia in 2 weeks, or Butch is likely gone. Their schedule is rough, with Bama coming up, and both Kentucky and Vandy playing much better this season. Throw in a wounded LSU and it is going to be tough for UT… Florida got lucky, again. They are not a good offensive team, not be SEC or even CUSA standards. Jim is hard to figure, came into Gainesville with offensive guru reputation, but has not shown it at all so far. Florida fans want electric offense! We also want as clean a program as we can get, but it feels like weak control at best. 9 players suspended and possible felony charges on the way…ugly. Georgia is on the rise and FSU is not looking to slip anytime soon. An uphill climb for UF.

A trip to Lexington Saturday night is up next. The Gators are 30 and zero against the Cats in the last 30 tries…but I don’t think they can get to 31. Kentucky is better coached, even if they are not quite as talented. Vandy beat KState and it was what we expected. A defensive slug fest and a close game. Dores are impressing me with their fight and discipline, but the TIDE comes rolling in on Saturday…yikes. Clemson throttled Louisville and even without DeShaun Watson, I have them as my #1 team, right there with Bama. Oklahoma, Penn State, Michigan, Ok State and USC are all in the mix for a playoff spot, as is Washington.

Texas played very well in LA against the Trojans, so the future really will be bright again in Austin in a year or 2. Miami and FSU was postponed, so we still don’t know enough about either team in term of Top 10 worthiness…stupid Irma! Noles get NC State this weekend and better bring their A game.

Colorado and Washington and USC and Cal highlight the west coast action. Cal could be trouble… Arkansas and A&M play to see which coach can rival Butch for the hottest seat in the SEC… Mississippi State embarrassed LSU with a beat down and now get to test themselves in Athens against Georgia. Should be a dandy! TCU and Oklahoma State will be the premier match up in the big12… Michigan will have its hand full with Purdue, at least for 2-3 quarters.

IRMAgeddon and fantastic inter conference match ups

Stupid hurricane looked like it might wipe out my home state, so many games were cancelled, even in the areas that were dry and beautiful all weekend. No Crestview vs Navarre showdown, No Gator game (and they needed it) and no Noles game. Even this weekend’s FSU vs Miami game has been postponed…Disappointing but as a “Native” you can’t afford to take hurricanes lightly. I will say that I am OVER the media and their FEAR and HYPE machine… ********************** Weather permiting, Crestview goes all the way to Tampa to play T Catholic. That one should be a shootout of Arena football proportions! UPDATE: Cancelled  At least Concord DelaSalle and Bishop Gorman paly a good one. ************************************************************************ ********************************** *************************** Georgia pulled off the win at Notre Dame. Oklahoma crushed Ohio State at the horseshoe and Clemson showed that their “D” is playoff caliber. USC battered Stanford and South Carolina shut down the Mizzu offensive juggernaut.

After all that excitement, Week 3 is a letdown. Game Day will be in Louisville for Clemson’s visit. Was a great game at Death Valley last season… Tennessee going to the Swamp is easily my top game and it does not carry near the excitement it has over the years. Florida is simply weak and they needed to play that No Colorado in a big way. I don’t think UT is very strong either, but I see the Vols as a 10 point favorite on the road. That is how pitiful the Gator offense appears to be. Now, it could be that Michigan is Alabama in Maize & Blue and I do think there is some truth to that…Hope the rowdy reptiles are civil to Autumn and Clayton. The SWAMP is not known for being civil to visitors…

Kansas State and Vandy might be a dandy! Kentucky and South Carolina will absolutely have impact on the SEC East race. I’m also interested in the MTSU game against the Minnesota Gophers. After getting bullied by Vandy, the Blue Raiders won AT Syracuse…Texas is gonna get “laid” by the Trojans (as clean as I could word it) and Ole Miss going to Cal should be entertaining. Other than that, Power 5 vs sisters of the poor slate. ############################################################################################### The Durham Firebirds played last week, but nephew Christian was in New York for a wedding, so NO UPDATE :) My Top 12 on September 12th: Alabama Clemson Oklahoma Michigan Southern Cal Penn State Washington Louisville Oklahoma St Ohio State Georgia LSU

Great Weekend for College Football

That title applies to the past weekend and the upcoming one. Even though the Gators looked even worse than I was afraid of, and the Noles lost a really terrific young QB for the season, it was still an amazing weekend of football, capped off by the thrilling 2OT win by the VOLS over Ga Tech late last night.

There were ridiculous upsets – Liberty over Baylor, Howard over UNLV and Maryland beating Texas in Austin. Western Michigan gave USC all it could handle and so did Purdue to Louisville! There was the “one of all time” comeback with UCLA overcoming 34 point deficit to beat A&M! which I missed because I went on to bed… Alabama was Alabama. They are deep, disciplined and never panic. They don’t beat themselves. FSU played very well for 3 quarters and then got very sloppy. Special teams and make or break you! Ohio State looked human in the 1st half but pulled away from Indiana. Clemson may have lost the “once in a lifetime” Deshawn Watson, but that PROGRAM may be the 2nd best in the nation now. Oklahoma looks good, as does Oklahoma State. Michigan is going to have a say in the big10. They destroyed Florida, flat out destroyed them.

One of the best games of the weekend was South Carolina and NC State. Gamecocks held on, but both teams will have good seasons. Muschamp has a great young QB and I have to elevate them as a contender in the East. Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee, heck in Florida and Vandy. And Mizzu has the best offense in the East…

A quick high school paragraph. Crestview beat St Martin out of Mississippi and it wasn’t even close. Navarre this week, so it gets REAL! Mater Dei (sp?) beat the team in Vegas (Bishop Gorman) that won the last 2 national championships, so it is a shame that one wasn’t on national TV. IMG beat a strong team out of Cali. $$ $$ This week in college we get some more fantastic intersectional and big conference games. Auburn and Clemson is the big one for me, while Oklahoma goes to the horseshoe to play Ohio State. USC and Stanford is a dandy, as is Oregon and Nebraska. Pitt and Penn St, Arkansas vs TCU and Georgia goes to Notre Dame (I have to be Dawg fan this week).

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!

Football 2016 

Not counting the Cal vs Hawaii game down under last weekend, the college football season kicks off in a big way this Labor Day weekend. High School football has been going for a couple of weeks (depending on the state) and the NFL will start its regular season the week after college’s debut. Alabama is the kind of the hill, given their run over the last 5-6 years. Ohio State and Michigan are legit in a conference that really isn’t. The Big 12 has Oklahoma, but not much else (nationally). The Pac 12 has some good teams, but not one that is expected to stomp the rest. Notre Dame still gets preferential treatment and that stinks. The ACC may actually be the 2nd best conference this season and I have not been able to suggest that in an awful long time, if ever. With Clemson, FSU, Louisville, North Carolina and maybe Miami, the basketball conference has 4-5 teams that probably stack up really well with all the other conferences, except the SEC… Here is my take as the season gets ready to start (finally). ACC Clemson has Watson, who came oh so close to beating Alabama in the championship game last year. He is special. But they lost a bunch of quality players too. Dabo is proving he is the real deal, but if FSU’s QB is mediocre, I like the Noles in the big match up in Tally in October. Dalvin Cook is the best running back I have seen in Tallahassee in a long long time. Neither the Tigers or the Noles can afford to sleep on Louisville. They are dangerous. So are the Tarheels. IF UNC plays even a little bit of defense they should win their bracket of the ACC. Mark Richt and the Canes might be their toughest challenge, if that heralded QB throws to HIS team. Va Tech hired a bright young coach, but don’t expect him to be able to be too magical in year 1. Opening weekend we get UNC vs Georgia and FSU vs Ole Miss. SWEET!

SEC West: Alabama has a new QB and that does not bode well, but they have Saban and are 5 deep at every position. Every position. LSU is getting a bunch of hype, but I am not buying the Bengal Tigers. Les is on the hot seat and they do not have a proven QB. Fournette is amazing, but you still have to be able to complete a pass… I like Ole Miss and Auburn to give Bama the closest run for the SEC West. Alabama Ole Miss Auburn Arkansas LSU Texas A&M Miss State East: Tennessee is getting all the love as their opener with App State approaches on Thursday night. Georgia with Kirby Smart is getting some love and the Gators hope to be in the mix in the East. The Vols hype is legit. I think they are the deepest team in the league outside of Tuscaloosa. IF Dobbs is decent passing on 3rd down, I think Tennessee can win the East … and the SEC Championship. If Saban had Butch’s roster, he WOULD win the national championship. So, while Dobbs if my biggest question mark, Butch is the 2nd biggest. He really got tight in big games last year, and it cost the Vols, big time. Georgia has talent, as Richt did not leave the cupboard bare. Can the rookie head coach work magic? I’m a little skeptical, especially if they go with the true frosh QB.

Last year, UF surprised everyone by winning the East in Jim McElwain’s first year. They spanked Ole Miss and got lucky and upset Tennessee on a desperate 4th and 17…as the time was winding down. They the golden boy QB was disqualified for illegal substances. The Gators sucked after that, getting embarrassed by FSU, Alabama in Atlanta and then Michigan in the bowl game. A decent QB can make ALL the difference. BTW, the Gators have beaten Tennessee ELEVEN years in a row. ELEVEN. I only say that to remind the Big Orange to be careful. Neyland will be insane on September 24th! I don’t think Vandy, South Carolina or Mizzu will make much noise. I keep waiting for Kentucky to break through and close a season with a decent finish. Maybe this year. The SEC West continues to be much stronger than the East, primarily because the weakest teams in the conference are in the East. TENNESSEE Florida Georgia Kentucky Mizzu Vandy SC Tennessee will beat Alabama in the regular season, but then lose to them in the SEC Championship game. Coaching makes a big difference in college football, and there are none better than Nick. Big10 Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State are legit, although Dantonio lost a lot of his better Spartans. Nobody on the other side is that good, although Iowa will have a fantastic regular season record…because they play a weak schedule. It would be good if Nebraska became good again, but I have come to like the Gophers…

Big 12 Oklahoma has a chance to have a special season with Baker Mayfield slinging it around. Opening with Houston is not a layup and then the Buckeyes come to Norman. Kudo’s to Stoops for maybe the best nonconference schedule of all. TCU and Baylor will be decent, as will the Cowboys and Red Raiders. The question is what will the Longhorns do? Beat Notre Dame…please! Playoffs: Alabama vs Michigan FSU vs Tennessee Tennessee over Michigan…???? it could happen How about some High School football conversation? Opening weekend was fun, with a lot of interstate match ups. The all-star team in Vegas (GORMAN) is amazing. The rising allstar team in Bradenton “IMG Academy” is LOADED. They beat the #1 team in Georgia (Grayson) in a game billed as FL vs GA. Kind of bogus, as half of the IMG roster is from out of state. Mikee Jones played freshman and sophomore seasons at Friendship Christian here in Lebanon, but now is in boarding school down in Florida. I get it, but I don’t like it. I LOVE my town’s best against your town’s best. That is what I was raised and that is “pure”. Once we start letting kids go where ever they want, the innocence is lost. Oh well, the athletes are incredible, but we have lost something special with these all star institutions. The top teams in Tennessee have taken it on the chin against teams from Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia. Hey, Tennessee is a baseball state anyway. Just cheer for Goodlettesville little league!

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!