Ohio State Big Ten Favorite

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the big ten favorite and also a national champion favorite, but the other teams in the Big Ten aren't ready to hand the trophy to the Buckeyes just yet. Many teams could challenge the buckeyes in the Big Ten.

Michigan and the Buckeyes play the last game of the season and Lloyd carr's job could rely on a win against the Buckeyyes. Don't overlook Penn State who lost alot of players but you never count out Papa Joe Paterno. Iowa, Minnesota,Indiana have all gotten better and Illinois should improve this year under Ron Zook.

Michigan State is another team with talent who went on a losing streak last year after a meltdown against the Buckeyes. Look for them to turn it around this year. I still like the Buckeyes followed by Penn State and Michigan

Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska Big 12 Favorites?

The Big 12 this year could be a very competitive conference in the north and south divisions. Oklahoma will try to rebound from a sub-par season to dethrone the defending National Champion Texas Longhorns. Texas has lost Vince Young and if Adrian Peterson has a big year is a possibility. I like Oklahoma in the Big 12 South followed by Texas and than Texas Tech.

In the North it looks like Nebraska will be the king of football in the north. They closest team to them will be Iowa State. Colorado could sneak up as them always seem to play well in the big games. Nebraska has a really big game at USC early and should tell a lot about how they play against the elite. They may turn a few heads this year. We will have to see.

California Picked 2nd in Pac-10

This is from Bear Insider. Yes, I know USC's picked first. But I can't stand seeing USC noted!

Cal Picked 2nd in Pac-10

By: Cal Media Relations

Date: Jul 27, 2006

LOS ANGELES - The 2006 California football team has been picked to finish second in the Pac-10 Conference in a preseason poll of West Coast media members who regularly cover the league. It is the third consecutive year that the Golden Bears have been tabbed to finish second, which is the highest that Cal has ever been picked to finish in conference play, dating back to 1961.

"I am very excited about the season," Cal head coach Jeff Tedford said. "Obviously, we have a great opener at Tennessee. I feel our team has the potential to accomplish a lot. Our main goal is to make sure we reach our potential.

"We're all aware of the expectations," Tedford continued. "There are internal and external expectations. We focus on the internal ones. It's all up to us. We're going to concentrate on reaching our full potential each week. If we do that, we hope to put ourselves in position for a BCS bowl. Everything else will take care of itself."

Three-time defending Pac-10 champion USC has been picked to win the conference. USC garnered 18 of 29 first-place votes in the poll, but California, Oregon and Arizona State also received first-place support.

USC Still Preseason Pac-10 Favorite

For the past few years the USC Trojans were everyone's unanimous choice to win the Pac-10. This year though is a different story. Most people do think the Trojans will win the conference, but it will be a lot tougher as the conference has gotten better.

The California bears will be the primary challenger for the tracing this year. The Bears are picked to finish second while the Oregon Ducks are picked for third and Arizona State is picked for fourth. The Trojans are the cream of the crop but that doesn't mean they will run the conference like they have in the past.

The pac-10 could be alot more competitive than anyone has expected. I still like the Trojans to win it all, but the Trojans may not go undefeated through conference play like they have in the past.

Bowl Games Will Change

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- After Boston College finished 9-3 in its first season in the ACC last season and ended up playing Boise State in the MPC Computers Bowl in not-so-balmy Boise, the ACC spent the offseason reviewing how its teams would be selected for future bowl games.

The league is expected to announce a new bowl order Tuesday during its annual ACC Kickoff news conferences at Sawgrass Resort & Beach Club. According to bowl game officials familiar with the order, the lineup will go something like this: ACC champion to the Bowl Championship Series, No. 2 selection to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, No. 3 to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, No. 4 to the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, No. 5 to the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl in Nashville, No. 6 to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., No. 7 to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco and No. 8 to the MPC Computers Bowl.

Under the new agreement, the ACC championship game loser can't fall below the Music City Bowl, and a bowl game can bypass a team for another team with a lesser record only if the teams are within one game of each other in the ACC standings.

So if the new agreement were in place last season, for instance, the Music City and Meineke Car Care bowls couldn't have selected Virginia and NC State, which both finished with 3-5 ACC marks, over Boston College and Georgia Tech, which were both 5-3 in league play.

"Unfortunately, we were the guinea pigs that had to suffer going to a bowl that people didn't think we deserved to go to," Boston College guard Josh Beekman said. "Fortunately, the ACC is changing things so it won't happen again."

Mark Schlabach covers college football and men's college basketball for ESPN.com.

Texas Longhorns Lose One Of Its Horses

Texas Longhorn tailback Ramone Taylor has decided to transfer from Texas to another school as he has struggle academically and he also has a felony drug possession hanging over him in Texas. Taylor feels it's best for him to transfer and start new. He probably is right and it will afford him a chance to get his life straighten around.

Last Year Taylor scored 15 touchdowns for the Longhorns including one in the Rose Bowl. Taylor is a young man with a load of talent and wherever he goes they are getting a talented back. The Longhorns are deep at tailback and should be fine, but I like Taylor and what he can do. Taylor can also play wide receiver so he can help you out more ways than one. Hopefully Taylor can turn his life around and be a productive college football player and maybe one day an NFL player.

Top 25 recruiting Classes For The Fall

I found this the other day and thought I would post it. Below you will find a listing of the top 25 college football teams and how they did in the off-season getting high school players to sign with their programs. Florida was number one which was a surprise to me and the other surprises were Mississippi tied for 13th and Oklahoma State at 18. Check the list and see if your team made the top 25.


1. Florida (74)
2. Southern California (73)
3. Texas (67)
4. Georgia (66)
5. Notre Dame (60)
6. Florida State (57)
6. Penn State (57)
8. Louisiana State (56)
9. Oklahoma (54)
10. Auburn (47)
11. Michigan (44)
12. Ohio State (43)
13. Miami FL (33)
13. Mississippi (33)
15. Alabama (31)
16. Pittsburgh (30)
17. Clemson (29)
18. Oklahoma State (25)
19. UCLA (22)
20. Arizona (15)
21. Tennessee (11)
22. California (10)
23. Texas A&M (9)
23. Texas Tech (9)
25. Nebraska (6)

Charlie Weis Battles Jamie Cumbie In Press Over Recruiting Efforts

Associated Press
Posted: 3 days ago

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis on Thursday denied a player's accusation that the Irish staff criticized Clemson after the incoming freshman verbally committed to the Tigers.

"I find it quite amusing that a student-athlete already enrolled at another university has decided to be the team spokesman on Notre Dame recruiting practices," Weis said. "There is an obvious contradiction between how this was handled and what was stated. We do not use negative recruiting tactics."

Jamie Cumbie, a 6-foot-7, 255-pound tight end who attended Morris (Ill.) High School, is a native of South Carolina who had moved to an area about an hour west of Chicago during high school. He said his final choice of schools was between Clemson and Notre Dame.

He announced last June that he would attend Clemson. But he said Notre Dame continued to recruit him — the only school to do so.

"I'm not going to lie," Cumbie said, the Post and Courier newspaper in in Charleston, S.C., reported Wednesday. "The coaches at Notre Dame sent some bad letters ripping Clemson after I committed here."

Cumbie said the Irish coaching staff had a list of advantages and disadvantages, the newspaper reported. He said among the advantages they listed is that all Notre Dame football games are televised, according to the story.

"Then they said Clemson has a horrible education," he said, the newspaper reported.

Weis said all his coaching staff does is "represent what Notre Dame stands for."

"If supporting Notre Dame academics can be misconstrued as speaking down on another school's academics, call us guilty," he said.

College Football Video Game

College Football has come along way as their video games our some of the biggest sellers. Game players love it as you can be your favorite team and beat up teams you don't like if you can play the game well. Below you will find a commercial for the newest college football game. The graphics are so lifelike it's insane.

Charlie Weis Denies Any Wrongdoing

Charlie Weis is finding out that not everything is rosy in college football and recruiting. Weis and some of the Notre Dame coaches have been accused of still trying to recruit someone after they committed to a school already. Weis denies that anything like that happen. The player in question decided to go to Clemson and according to him Notre Dame still try to get him to come their.

The player also stated that Notre Dame try to influence him by telling how bad an education he would get at Clemson compared to Notre dame. Weis says it never happen and that Notre Dame doesn't use negative recruiting practices. We will see in the future how this all unfolds in the coming months.

Ted Ginn Jr Long Shot But You Never Know

Ted Ginn Jr has speed to burn and should be the feature big play threat for the Buckeyes this year. His Heisman hopes may depend alot on what kind of season the Buckeyes have and how many times he gets to touch the ball. Ginn has been returning punts and kickoffs for the Buckeyes and if he continues to do that he should garner so notice from the voters. Ginn has all the tools to be at the next level and a Heisman Trophy would not hurt his chances at all.

Now don't get me wrong I think Ginn is probably a longshot as Troy Smith is also a contender from the Heisman and may take votes away from each other. For Ginn to win it his numbers have to be outstanding and he has to leave his mark in the voters eyes.

Brady Quinn hesiman Hopeful

Brady Quinn has some advantages maybe the others who are seeking the Hesiman don't have. First and foremost it helps that everyone of your games are shown nationally on television. The exposure is worth a couple of votes at least. Secondly, having an offensive coach in Charlie Weiss can't hurt your chances as he will let you make plays and that's a key to winning the award. You have to win games and make plays, and Charlie Weiss will let Quinn do that.

Third and maybe the most important of all the things is he is the star on the team. Quinn won't have to take a back seat to anyone on the team. Like last year when USC had Leinert and Bush in the end they probably took votes away from each other. That won't happen in South bend as Brady Quinn is the star.

Heisman Trophy Hopefuls

The next few posts I'm going to take a look at this years heisman trophy hopefuls. First up is Troy Smith the quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Smith has a couple of advantages over most of his competition in that he has a lot of talent around him which should help his numbers out a lot. Throwing the ball to wideout Ted Ginn Jr will definitely help him.

The other main thing is he has been a starter for most of his college career and that will mean a lot in the big games. He is also a running back and will rack up some impressive rushing yards this year. Smith 's chance will have a lot to do with what the Buckeyes do. If they go undefeated than he will be the front runner, but if they lose than he could fall down the list and just be another name they invite to watch the ceremonies.

NCAA Foobtall - You May Need A Crystal Ball This Year

I can't wait until the college football season kicks of this year as it should be one of the most wide open years in a very long time. To be honest you can't really put your finger on one team and say that's the team to beat.

Many teams are coming off down years while others are at the top of there games. In fact you mat need a crystal ball to choose your winners this year. Parity is good in a way as more college football fans will stay around longer as their team has a better shot of winning with no really dominate teams around.

This season could see a one loss team winning the championship so don't get to upset with one loss. This year almost anyone in the top 25 has a chance or it could be an unknown this year. Let's enjoy the ride college football fans.

Auburn - Did They Cheat? ; Where Does It End?

When will in end in college football and academics? Today I read a story where some of the Auburn football team which finished ranked number two in 2004 may have got credit for courses they really didn't complete. According to the New York Times on of the players was Cadillac Williams of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

One of my questions is how many universities do this and is this just the tip of the iceberg. It seems cheating or not complete courses are becoming normal and it gets swept underneath the carpet. Makes me wonder what other things also get hidden until someone drops the ball and it's leaked out.

What A Catch

Many times you sit and wonder how these college football players make these catches. This Alabama wide out makes a catch that is unbelievable. I have noticed though is players who make great catches like this are usually never heard from again. it's like that's all they have in them. No matter this catch was one for the ages though. Check it out!!

Games Early Could Tell Alot

Three games in college football could shape the landscape of College Football really early. Florida State and The Miami Hurricanes hook up early in the season. The loser of this game could lose any chance of a National Championship bid. Both teams fans expect a National Championship every year so a loss early will hurt alot.

U.S.C. host a Nebraska team who wants to prove they are alot better than what people actually think. This is a showcase game for the Cornhuskers and how far Bill Callahan has brought this once college football powerhouse. The Trojans still stinging from the Rose Bowl loss to Texas wants to show people they haven't lost a step and will want to prove they are a team to watch out for.

Lastly the Ohio State Buckeyes must travel to Austin Texas to take on the Texas Longhorns. it won't be the same team without Vince Young, but it's never easy playing in Austin Texas. The Buckeyes need this win to keep their national Championship hopes alive and it could be their only real road test this year.

College football Mascots Take it A Step Further

This was the first time I've ever seen a video of this. Usually you see film of college football teams fighting each other or players jawing with each other on camera. I've never seen mascots get into it.

In a way it's comical, but the mascots didn't think so as they went at each other. Check it out a little different but an interesting view. Spirit runs deep when you talk college football.

Greg Jones Lays Out Defensive Player

I found this great video which shows just how tough it is anymore to be a defensive player. It use to be that a running back was so much smaller and defensive teams could just pound him all game long. Running backs have gotten bigger and stronger as the years have gone by and this video is a good indication that running backs are not a pushover anymore.

Or at least Greg Jones isn't!!

Notre Dame Football Video - Charlie Weis speaking at "The Shirt" Unveiling at Notre Dame Kicks Sand In Face of Ty Willingham

I post this video as a window into how Charlie Weis thinks, or more importantly how he doesn't think. In this speech, Weis constantly refers to "this time last year" -- and gets more digs in at Tyrone Willingham's tenure as coach at Notre Dame. He did this last year calling Notre Dame's game against Washington and Coach Willingham "The Tyde Bowl."

Weis interesting approach on offense to be is offset by his unwarranted arrogance. Toward the end of the year, the weakness of his squad, the same as before, speed, was shown. But there's something else, too.

You're not going to read this anywhere else: his offense is not so flexible. There's a pattern and if I'm a defensive coordinator, I'm going to make sure I blitz from various positions and mostly the safety and cornerbacks.

Why?

Because the very nature of their offensive design allows these plays to work. To be more specific, when ND lines up in a slot formation, blitz the slot corner from a press position, but call a 4 short, 3 deep zone. When they play their Ace two tight end sets, call some variation of a wide tackle six defense, but bring one defensive tackle over the center.

In other words, you have to be somewhat multiple in your defensive coverages and fronts and have the "look" of an agresssive attack, but fool them into making errors. I would vary between odd and even fronts, but stick with the odd front defenses more. I would also blitz about 20 times at the least.

Lou Holtz Speech to Notre Dame Football Players - Video

I don't know when this was recorded, but it's one of the best speeches I've ever listened to. It's a real stemwinder. Lou Holtz doesn't yell or swear, he just talks about Notre Dame and what it means to represent the university.

The video includes Coach Holtz's voice with clips.

Without any further ado, here's Lou Holtz:

Cal's Three OT Victory Over USC in 2003 - Video

This 10 minute YouTube video of highlights of Cal's remarkable 2003 three overtime victory over then third-ranked USC is worth the time to look at it.

I remember actually skipping the game because I was so sure Cal was going to lose to USC as the Trojans were third ranked and we had a new coach in his first season.

Boy what an error that was.

Great Runs In College Football History

I thought I would take a look at some of the greatest runs in college football. One of my favorites is Tommie Frazier and his run in the Fiesta Bowl. Frazier led a 95 Nebraska team which many consider one of the best ever. They rolled over people and this video is just and indication of it. One of the weirdest thing about Tommy frazier though is as great as a college football player he was it didn't transform into a NFL career.

He kicked around some in the CFL, but never really made it their either. I guess sometimes the college game is your Super Bowl and for Tommy Fraizer I guess this was true.

Enjoy the video as much as us Nebraska fans as we watched it live.

Our Second Ten Of The Super 10

6. Auburn= This is a team that has loads of talent and should be a team people are looking for to do big things. My real question is can they put it all together.

7. Texas= Losing Vince Young was a big loss for Longhorn fans and i'm sorry to say I don't see the Longhorns even winning the Big12 this year. Yes, the longhorns are loaded with talent but Young is a loss they can't replace.

8. Miami= Many people think I have them rated to high and maybe they are right, but their defense is one of the best in the country and after last years debacle in the Peach Bowl this is a hungry team.

9. Florida= Urban Meyer could have this team shock alot of people this year. The talent is their and should score alot of points. Senior quarterback Chris Leak has returned so watch out.

10. Oklahoma= Bob Stoops never has two many bad seasons in a row so look for the Sooners to recapture their form and be a team to watch.

That's our list let's hear who you think should be in the top 10.

kenneth

Our College Football Super 10

We have decided to release our pre-season Super 10 in college football. Every week during the season we will release our Super 10 and we will welcome your comments on the Super 10.

1. Ohio State= The Buckeyes are loaded on the offensive side of the ball. Their defense is what will determine how far they will go this season.

2. West Virginia= With Pat White and Steve Slaton back look for the Mountaineers to challenge for a national Championship

3. Notre Dame= With Brady Quinn returning and 17 others the Irish are loaded with talent for a change. Charlie weiss will get the most out of his talent and a championship isn't a stretch for them either.

4. USC= The Trojans have lost alot to the NFL, but it doesn't mean they won't be good. The Trojans had the best incoming class of any team so don't feel to bad for them.

5.LSU= The Tigers destroyed the Miami Hurricanes in the Peach Bowl and look to make a statement this year. The talent is there but will they be able to put it together in time for a title run?

Tomorrow we will look at the second five.

Northwestern Lost Year?

With the death of Randy Walker this past week the Northwestern football team is going to have a lost season in my opinion. You will hear everyone tell you they will be doing it for the coach, but in reality the season is really lost.

These young men can't be expected to compete like they would if they had their coach. Walker made impressions on these young men and that is something they will never forget. The season is secondary now the grieving process will take a long time and even though they will be on the football field the coach will be in the back of there minds.

The bad part is these kids will give it there all and you have to respect them for it as this will be one thing they never expected to happen and adjustment time needs to be given. As a whole the college football community should rally around the team and show their support for the effort they will give win or lose. As these kids reflect during the season they will realize football is just a game and randy Walker was their friend and coach and will be missed long after they leave the program.