After a long hiatus due to scheduling conflicts and being a straight-up lazy ass, I decided it was time for a come back. But don't call it that. I've been here for years.
I felt obligated after the solid round of college and pro football games last weekend to deliver a complete and unadultered early-season football preview/review/whatever-the-hell-else-comes-into-my-head-throughout-the-next-couple-hours post.
Tidbits:1. As a former Mountain West journalist, it's nice to see the conference finally getting some love from the national media. ESPN's Mark Schlabach (I think anyways) wrote on Monday that the Mountain West is the fifth best conference in the country and he couldn't have been more spot on. It went SEC, Big-12, Big-10, Pac-10, MWC, ACC, Big East. I've been arguing for at least the last two or three years that the MWC is on the same playing field as the ACC and Big East and they proved to be more than that last week. Conference teams combined to go 4-0 against the PAC-10 last Saturday. The MWC is 10-4 against BCS teams this season, better than any conference but the SEC and Big-12.
2. Is Notre Dame football ever going to figure its shit out? And no, narrow wins over San Diego State and Michigan don't mean count. On top of being a second-rate squad, the Fightin' Clovers' head coach suffered a nasty hit last week. Is that karma for all of his years as a New England Patriot?
3. USC-Ohio State. The Big-10 has gotten a lot of guff over the past three or four years for being weak and the Buckeyes have justified that argument time and time again. How many times can they get to the big stage, then shrivel in the national spotlight? I don't care if they would've had Beanie Wells, they still would have gotten their ass kicked.
4. I was one of the suckers who got drawn in by the BYU 9.5-point spread last Saturday. Needless to say, my parlay didn't work out. I learned a valuable lesson though. Never bet against a team that lives morally right on and off the field. Jesus is on its side…I'm just kidding.
5. I've made it known on several occasions that I love flamboyant wide receivers. Being a journalist, you always get the same mundane and lukewarm personalities so it's extremely entertaining when you finally get a personality. That being said, Philly's DeSean Jackson is a moron. Last Monday night's one-yard line gaffe wasn't even his first either. Does this guy have some kind of sociological problem?
6. Tavaris Jackson is pathetic. He deserves to be benched. Oh, thank God, he did get benched.
7. Growing up in Wisconsin, Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, cheese curds and beer are engrained in me. Just because Brett now plays for another team doesn't mean I don't want him to kick ass. As for the Pack, Aaron Rodgers needs to grow his mustache out again. If he grows that back out, good things will happen this year.
8. I've always had respect for referee Ed Hochuli, but he blew that call last weekend. Now that they can't do anything about it though, why does everyone insist on continuing their bitching? What, do they want a do-over for the last 30 seconds?
My college rankings for the three people who read this blog:1. USC- I don't think this is debatable.
2. Georgia-The Dogs dropped in other polls despite beating a tough Cock squad last week. Yup, I just said Cock squad.
3. Oklahoma- Looking solid with Ryan Reynolds at quarterback.
4. Florida- The Gators head into the meat of their schedule.
5. Missouri- Tigers posted 69 points Nevada last week.
6. Texas- McCoy won't be able to do it all forever.
7. LSU- The Tigers are overrated to begin with and now they play at Auburn, Mississippi State, at Florida, at South Carolina and at Georgia.
8. Alabama-Will drop one of its next two games to Arkansas or Georgia.
9. Texas Tech-It's rumored that Michael Crabtree can cure cancer with his tears.
10. Wisconsin- Badgers can prove a lot of the next three weeks against Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State
11. Brigham Young- Most 10 year olds have more facial hair than Max Hall.
12. Auburn- 3-2? Does Auburn think it's playing baseball?
13. Oregon- Nice comeback win over a solid Purdumpy team.
14. East Carolina- Solid wins in the first two weeks over Top-20 teams could be nullified by letdown
15. Penn State- Joe Pa's degenerate squad has beaten teams by an average of 43 so far this year. They also average two drug/assault NCAA rules violations per hour--tops in the country.
16. South Florida- The Bulls get a much-needed break over the next few weeks.
17. Ohio State- These guys suck.
18. Utah-BJ and Co. are looking solid, but have struggled against a more disciplined Air Force team the last two years
19. Kansas- Todd Reesing did everything he could to bring the Jayhawks back against South Florida. It wasn't enough.
20. Florida State- A win over Wake Forest this weekend could go a long way towards legitimizing this team.
21. West Virginia- Pat White's production has dropped off considerably since Rodriguez left. So has national interest in the Mountaineers.
22. Illinois- Next week's clash against Penn State will be a high-scoring one.
23. Wake Forest- Nothing on earth could make me care less about this team.
24. TCU- Horned Frogs can do a lot for the Mountain West with a win at Oklahoma next week.
25. Boise State- Knocking off Oregon this weekend would be huge for all of those hillbillies in Idaho.
Four not-so-bold predictions:1.
USC will make and win the national championshipThe last few years, I've had a feeling that USC was going to tank it against a lesser team sometime during the regular season. Turns out I've been right. This season though, the Trojans are going to break out of their slump and make the national championship game. They've got a metric ass ton of talent¬ (big surprise), don't have any serious challenges left on their schedule (barring a home clash against Oregon on Oct. 4) and Mark "Dirty" Sanchez is playing out of his dirty little mind. Oh yeah, and Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga scare the shit out of me.
2.
At least two non-BCS schools will finish this season undefeatedThis hasn't happened to date, but I have a feeling we're going to see it this year. South Florida, Brigham Young, East Carolina and Utah are all ranked in the Top-25 and TCU is waiting just outside. South Florida doesn't play anybody until West Virginia the last week of the season, East Carolina toughest game left is Southern Miss and Utah and BYU could both be undefeated heading into the Holy War on November 22nd. If it happens, shit is going to hit the fan and the whole post-season playoff debate will spark up again.
3.
All Big-12 and SEC teams will finish with at least one lossI realize the scope of this prediction is pretty big considering we're talking about the best two college football conferences in the nation, but I don't see a way that any of the teams will get through the season unscathed. Florida plays against LSU and at Georgia and Florida State. Georgia plays Alabama, at LSU, Florida and at Auburn. Texas goes to Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Kansas and plays Missouri. Oklahoma probably has the best chance, playing Kansas, Texas Tech, TCU and Texas at home, but I still don't think they'll get through.
4.
I will want to kill myself from living with my brother's psychotic girlfriend before the year is outOk, this has absolutely nothing to do with football, but I thought it was pertinent. Seriously, the woman is insane. I call her Psycho Sid, but that doesn't tell half the story.
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