Five fearless predictions for the 2011 season

Maybe this is hypocritical- after all, I am one of the people that absolutely decries preseason polls. But this isn't about ranking the teams. These are just five bold predictions for next year's oh-so-far-away college football season. Hold onto your hats, folks.

1. The SEC East will have four of its teams in contention for the division title going into the last week of SEC games.

Week 7 rankings, or: The Florida Gators are not here. Steve Addazio, you need not be either.

1. Auburn- War Damn. These guys allowed a lot of points to a good Arkansas team (who have a surprisingly good backup), but they put up 65 points. Denard Robinson is out of the picture- Heisman's all yours, Cam Newton.

2. Oregon- The off week meant that another top team couldn't lose, but they did get knocked from the top spot.

3. LSU- They keep winning, even if it doesn't look good. Everyone else keeps losing. And really, that's all you need against competition like their.

4. Oklahoma- Lookin stronger every week. Enough so that the BCS (sham that it is) has them at #1.

5. Alabama- Not particularly impressive against Ole Miss, but a win is a win. If they keep rolling (pun intended), they can sill play for the MNC.

Week 6 rankings

Okay, I'm back in action, this time before any teams that are ranked take the field.
There are some major shakeups in this week's poll. I'm sure you can guess why. Anyways, here they are, without further ado.

1. Oregon- Yup. Bout that time. Not quite a point a minute, but still a scary offense. They can be stopped, though. Tennessee shut them down for a half, so if they end up playing an Ohio State or an LSU, they may be in trouble.

2. Ohio State- But only because Auburn wins oh so ugly. Not diminishing the Buckeyes though. They'll have a chance to show everyone what they're made of this weekend in Madison.

3. Auburn- How do you think Florida would be doing right now if Cam Newton had just asked for a new laptop? They would've given it to him...

4. LSU- No, really. Who else in this country has beaten six BCS teams? And say what you will, but even with Addazio's awful play calling, they won in the Swamp. It was the loudest I've ever heard it, and they came out with the W. They'll stay here until they lose.

5. Nebraska- Damn, Taylor Martinez. Watching him break off runs against K-State almost made me feel bad for Bill Snyder. Almost. These guys have a huge game against the Longhorns this weekend, and I fully expect that they show up- the defense is almost as nasty as their QB.

Week 5 rankings

I've been busy lately, but I do have my rankings. Unfortunately, Nebraska just scored. Still, I tried to get em up in time.

1. Alabama


2. Auburn

3. Ohio State

4. Boise State

5. Oregon

6. Oklahoma

7. LSU

8. Nebraska

9. TCU

10. Michigan

11. Arizona

12. Arkansas

13. South Carolina

14. Florida

15. Utah

16. Stanford

17. West Virginia

18. Michigan State

19. Kansas State

20. Iowa

21. Florida State

22. Miami

23. North Carolina State

24. Oklahoma State

25. Northwestern
 
No time for blurbs this week!

First rankings of the year

We have four weeks of football behind us. Most teams have gotten into their conference slate, and most teams have four games under their belt. My rankings don't look much like ESPN's, and the reason for that is I don't rank teams until they've actually, you know, played enough games for a decent sampling size.
This does a couple things. It keeps everything in perspective, it prevents poll inertia, and I can see who's actually played a good schedule.
So without further ado, here are my rankings.
*One quick note, Southern Cal won't be showing up in these rankings, because they are dirty rotten cheaters and cannot play in the postseason, so they won't be taking a poll spot from a team that can.
**Another quick note- no, I did not forget Texas. Texas sucks. They played and beat cupcakes in an unimpressive fashion, and then lost to a medicore UCLA team at home. Deal with it.

1. Alabama (4-0)
So much for these rankings not looking like ESPN's. The Tide have played well this year, and though Arkansas gave them all they could handle, they still managed to pull out a win on the road. However, they did show that they're mortal, and Florida finally seems to have found it's offense heading into Tuscaloosa.

2. Ohio State (4-0)
I swear, these are NOT the same rankings as the AP and Coaches' polls! Ohio State has played very well this year though. They were great against Miami, and none of the other teams they have faced have been able to slow them down much. As much as I hate to say it, the Buckeyes look like they're for real.

3. Auburn (4-0)
I told you that these we're the same as ESPN's rankings! Auburn has been great this year. Cam Newton is a large reason why. They're 4-0, and have already played two SEC teams, as well as Clemson. Nothing to sneeze at. If Alabama weren't playing like they didn't lose anyone to the draft, and Ohio State weren't cruising as well, the Tigers would be number one. And hell, they're close as it is. Their win against South Carolina showed that these guys are for real.

4. Boise State (3-0)
I hate Boise State. But when you've beaten two teams that are better than their combined 3-4 record indicates (VT and Oregon State) you deserve some props. That said, expect to see the Broncos fall as teams from larger conferences remain undefeated against tough conference opponents.

5. Florida (4-0)
The Gators have played a pretty tough schedule to this point (opponents record is 9-6), and while the defense has looked good, the offense has obviously struggled. Their performance against Kentucky and the emergence of Trey Burton snagged this spot for them. It's a good thing the Gators have found their groove too, with Alabama looming.

Who to cheer for this weekend

It's a big weekend in college football, with no shortage of marquee matchups.
I'm here to address the questions you may have about two of those games- specifically, the tilts between Florida State and Oklahoma and Miami (FL) and Ohio State.
As a Florida fan, it's easy to simply cheer against the Seminoles and Canes. We hate them. It's in our nature. However, I'll be the first to admit- in every game that Florida State plays against a team other than the Gators, I would prefer that they win. I do no actively cheer for them (that would be wrong) but as I tried to explain to my ex many times over, strength of schedule is important.
First thing's first-Miami visits Ohio State. Why should we care about this game? The Gators don't play either team this year, so why do we care about the outcome? It's simple- while we don't play either team, Florida State plays Miami. This is why I will be pulling for the Canes. It helps that I also hate Ohio State, but we need the Canes to win. Subsequently, we need the Seminoles to beat the Canes- you see where I'm going with this? The Canes, should they win against everyone other than the Noles, will be a highly ranked team- and if the Noles beat them, it just looks better when we beat the Noles.
By the same note, we want the Noles to beat the Sooners- they're a top ten team (according to the fools who think it's appropriate to rank teams so early in the year) and a win over them would make FSU soar in these same bogus rankings. Which is only good for us.
So swallow your pride- Pull for the Canes and the Noles this weekend. And while you're at it, cheer for the HBC to put up 50 on Georgia (or at least beat them) because to hell with Georgia!

Should Florida fans be worried about the offense?

I'm not an alarmist. I've read (and heard from a lot of friends and fellow fans) that it's time to hit the panic button.
Well, not so fast, I say.
While I didn't see the game until Breakfast with the Gators (I listened to it on the radio at work), it did sound ugly. And it was ugly. Mike Pouncey was not good. Deonte Thompson dropped a beautiful deep pass. Emanuel Moody couldn't get anything going on the ground.
So what? There were a lot of things going on Saturday that people seem ready to overlook, when they shouldn't overlook them. For many of the players, this was their first time starting a game in the Swamp. Yes, many of them have played in the Swamp before, but they played behind some fellows named Tim Tebow, Riley Cooper, Aaron Hernandez, Louis Murphy, Percy Harvin and Maurkice Pouncey. Not easy shoes to fill.
I'm not making excuses for our guys- even if there were nerves, they should've gotten it together after a quarter or so, right?
Well, maybe not. Keep in mind the offensive line was also heavily modified. There were three guys playing out of position, as well as one starter suspended for the game. You wonder why there were hardly any lanes for Moody and Demps to run through? That's why.
Also remember that Frankie Hammond Jr. and Andre Debose didn't play. Who knows when Hammond will be back, but expect to see Debose in the next game- it's their last chance to get him up to speed before the SEC slate begins.
On the bright side, the defense still looked good. I was pleased to hear Matt Elam's name being called a lot on the radio.
Don't hit the panic button just yet Gator fans. It was a fluke week. If this persists against USF, though, it may be a different story- both the result and the inclination to panic.

Five bold predictions for 2010

College football season is upon us! There's only about an hour left until Southern Miss takes on South Carolina (Go Gamecocks! No, I never said I would be impartial). Anyways, I thought I'd have a little fun and make some predictions about this season. Without further ado, here we go.

1) Boise State will lose at least two games.
Maybe even three. I believe firmly that Virginia Tech will dispatch them unceremoniously this weekend. I also believe that either Oregon State or Idaho will beat them. I used to drink the Boise State kool-aid, but I've since come around.

2) Florida will struggle mightily.
However, they will still be good enough to win the east. Yeah, really going out on a limb there. They've got a lot of young players, especially on defense. These fresh out of high school guys are going to be pushed around by experienced SEC linemen at times. However, I believe that there is enough depth and talent on that side of the ball to keep them fresh enough to compete at a high level week in and week out.


3) An SEC team will not play in the BCS championship game.
First of all, Alabama has lost more than many people realize. Luckily for them, they still have a killer backfield, but they lost playmakers like Terrence Cody, Ronaldo McClain, and Javier Arenas on defense. I also believe that they will loose to LSU, Auburn, or perhaps both.
Florida will probably have at least two loses going into the SEC Championship game. Where I expect them to defeat Alabama. Call me crazy, but I don't think that Urban Meyer loses to the same team twice in a year. Not to mention a young Gator football team will be playing much better in their 13th game of the season as opposed to their fifth game.
That parity will ultimately be the SEC's undoing this season.

4) Nebraska will play for the BCS Championship.
Sticking a gigantic middle finger up at the Big 12, the Huskers will win the Big 12 and the right to play in the BCS national championship game. The defense is stout, and Zac Lee is an experience quarterback. Their toughest game is at home against Texas, followed by their second toughest at Oklahoma State. I expect them to loose another close game to Texas at home before defeating them in the championship game.

5) Ohio State will win the BCS Championship.
Two of their three most difficult games (vs Miami (FL) and Penn State) will be in the Horseshoe. Miami plays... they haven't played very cleanly early in the season the past few years. That said, it could still be interesting, but Ohio State is VERY good defensively and Terelle Pryor will only be smarter with his decision making this year.
Their most difficult game may be against Wisconsin on the road, but we all know how Wisconsin fares when they play other top ranked teams later in the year.
With the SEC playing themselves out of a fifth straight championship, Ohio State will defeat Nebraska in the BCS National Championship game this year.

Ben Folds "Song of the Indeterminate Periord of Time" Pt 3

Today I'd like to feature three awesome new songs from Ben Folds' new collaboration album with British author Nick Hornsby. The duo are releasing an album called "The Foldsby: Levi Johnston's Blues." Tentative release date is sometime in Spring 2010, so hopefully this gem will be here soon. Hornsby wrote the lyrics, while Ben provided the music.

The first song is a cool, subdued little number title (appropriately enough) "Levi Johnston's Blues." It features some nifty understated piano riffs, a big drum sound, and perfectly biting lyrics (with a chorus straight off Johnston's myspace page- also, who the hell still uses myspace?). Check out the demo version on youtube.

Ben Folds "Song of the Week" part 2

Yes, this was originally intended to be a song of the day feature. However, I am notoriously bad at holding myself to deadlines, and it's a good thing I'm going to be a psychologist as opposed to a journalist.
However, I will try to make it up by featuring a few very different, but very cool, Ben Folds tunes.