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.

Ben Folds "Song of the Day"

Ben Folds has recently announced new tour dates, and fortunately, Florida is the site of two shows, both of which I will be attending. The first show is on March 16th in Orlando at the House of Blues. I've never been, but I hear it's a nice, intimate venue. The second show is being hosted by my alma mater, the University of Florida on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th. If Ben's past shows are any indication, this should kick some serious ass.
I first saw Ben back in August 2007. He opened for John Mayer. I bought my ticket for one reason and one reason only: Ben Folds. I was at the front of the lawn rocking the fuck out in front of 60,000 teenage girls who had no idea who the dude playing the piano was. Once Ben was finished performing, I left before Mayer played. Because John Mayer sucks, and shame on you for supporting his greedy greedy ways.
The second time I had the pleasure of seeing Ben was in 2008 at Bonnaroo. He played on the What stage and debuted some songs from "Way to Normal," including Errant Dog, Hiroshima, and Free Coffee. I was in a bit of an altered state, but you can see me in the official video of "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces," (but more on that later). He told us that show he was retiring "Bitches Ain't Shit," but he lied.
The next time I saw Folds was in April 2009. I was literally the first one in line at UNF's arena, and when the doors opened, I was thrilled to see that it was a free for all- just a floor and a barrier in front of the stage. Naturally, I was front and center for that show, and even got to touch Ben during the "Frown Song," (note the emission of the "e").

So onto the purpose of this post- to demonstrate the sheer awesomeness that is Ben Folds. Each day from now until the concert, I will post a Ben Folds "Song of the Day." The songs will all be Ben Folds originals, unless his cover version is that much better than the original (they usually are). So where to start on day one?
Hiro's Song! This neat little ditty was release on the Japanese version of "Rockin the Suburbs" and later came to the US as part of the "Songs for Goldfish" album of b-sides and rarities. This song is even relatively new to me, I've probably only known it for 11 or so months. Still, it's an awesome song that shows us what Ben's about- taking some fun, simple riffs, and turning them into a kick-ass song. Enjoy!

Senior Bowl practice- South Team & Tebow watch

3:57 P.M.- Broadcast fo the practice is over. Wish I didn't have to work every day, I'd love to watch this all week. Oh well.

3:53 P.M.- Full on drills, whole teams on the field. Jarrett Brown up first. Complete to Andre Roberts on his first pass. Second play, Dexter McCluster just had a nice run up the middle, and would've taken it in were it not for the whistles.

3:49 P.M.- Just got to see one Tebow pass from his seven on seven, and he almost threw a pick to Darryl Sharpton (Miami). Also took awhile to get his feet set and still had that long wind-up.

3:45 P.M.- Terrence Cody is good enough to just punish some of the best senior O-linemen lining up against him. Two tries, two trips to the backfield for him. Jeff Byers (Southern Cal) keeps getting pushed around by the SEC linemen. If he can't handle SEC guys, he'll have a time trying to handle NFL guys.

3:42 P.M.- Linemen drills right now, Geno Atkins looking good, Brandon Lang (from Troy) had a nice pass rush as well. Ciron Black (LSU) is working like a beast keeping the D-Linemen out of the backfield. Chris Scott (Tennssee) not looking as good. Antonio Coleman (Auburn) just blew by him.

3:38 P.M.- Seven on seven drills, with Zac Robinson up first. Nice completion to Jeremy Williams from Tulane. Joe Webb finally made a catch, but wrapped up quick by Javy Arenas.

3:35 P.M.- Andre Roberts just beat Taylor Mays, ouch. Jarrett Brown throwing now. Terry Coleman just stopped Joe Webb from UAB- Don't think  he's helping himself too much. Cooper also just dropped a pass, followed right away by Dexter McCluster dropping one.

3:31 P.M.- Most of Tebow's incompletions were right on the money. Only completely missed one receiver (Cooper) cause he got tangled up with Taylor Mays. Every other incomplete pass was catchable or knocked out by the defender.

3:29 P.M.- Tebow keeps completing deep throws- Dropped one into Hodge over Trevard Lindley (Kentucky). Joe Webb keeps dropping passes right into his chest. Cooper just made a nice catch being ]covered from Patrick Robinson.

3:26 P.M.- Joe Webb (UAB) just dropped a nicely thrown Tebow passed. Myron Rolle knocked it out. Riley Cooper then beat Nate Allen from USF. Dexter McCluster just ran away from Javier Arenas, Tebow dropped it right into his hands. Cooper just beat Taylor Mays off the line, but got tangled up.

3:25 P.M.- Starting nine on seven drills- Lots of SEC running backs here. Jarrett Brown almost lost a faked handoff. Took it himself for a nice gain the next play.

3:23 P.M.- Tebow with a nice completion on a running throw to a Citadel receiver, name coming as soon as I look it up (Andre Roberts). Jarrett Brown also looking pretty impressive. Robinson has been the least impressive of the QBs thus far.

3:18 P.M.- Tim just threw a bullet to Shay Hodge from Ole Miss, but can we see some other QBs? And here we are, Robinson had a nice throw to Jimmy Graham.

3:16 P.M.- Tebow's back, offensive players practicing some throwing drills- made a nice completion to Staffon Johnson with a nice spiral. Tim just took about one and a half seconds longer to get his feet set to throw. And Cooper just dropped his pass.

3:13 P.M.- Linemen blocking against each other. George Sielve didn't let the O-lineman get to the second level- Terrence Cody did. C.J. Wilson from ECU just got pushed back pretty easily.

3:11 P.M.- Wide receivers/defensive backs practice. The WRs are working on blocking. Riley Cooper is about to go up against Patrick Robinson (from FSU), didn't do bad- held his block long enough for his man to get some yards.

3:08 P.M. - Been listening to the guys talk about Tebow not being an "accurate" quarterback since the broadcast started. Tebow still has a long windup, but it's not as bad. Contrary to yesterday's reports, Tebow looks fine taking snaps from under center. Zac Robinson was the worst out of the three QBs- sailed one pass over his receiever and underthrew one a little bit.

Urban Meyer is gone

That's not a typo. Urban Meyer, Florida's head football coach, has resigned. According to ESPN, he's citing health and family as major reasons for this decision. The Palm Beach Post says that the health reason may be an inoperable brain cyst that flares up due to stress.
Whatever the reason, this is not encouraging news for a program who is graduating a senior class that could have 48 wins, losing a large number of top juniors to the NFL draft, losing recruits, and losing coaches such as Charlie Strong and Billy Gonzalez.
Who could step in at Florida? Anything right now is pure speculation. Could we hire back Charlie Strong? What about Bud Foster? Tommy Tuberville, Tony Dungy, Mike Shannahan, maybe Bob Stoops? Could Steve Spurrier come back? Time will tell, but you know what? I'm sure a lot of Gator fans are crying like Tim Tebow.

Bowls galore! Part 4, featuring Exciting Bowls

With the first "Exciting Bowl" of the season set to kick off tonight, I figure it'd probably best that I take a break from Cafe World to come over here and update the ol' blog.
Also, haven't been too hot picking teams thus far... I'm 1-2, even though I really wanted to go with MTSU over Southern Miss. Oh well, shoulda, woulda, coulda. Onto the Exciting Bowls!

Macco Las Vegas Bowl, Tuesday, December 22, 8:00 P.M. on ESPN
Oregon State vs BYU
The first of the exciting bowl games features two high octane offenses. The running styles are different, as Jaquizz Rodgers will try and cut in and out of lanes, while Harvey Unga will just run you over. The Cougars also have Max Hall, which is an advantage at the quarterback position. Fortunatley, neither of these teams play outstanding defense, so we'll get to see the scoreboard light up. I think it's really tough to call this one, but I think that BYU may pull this one out and show people that the MWC really is better than some people are willing to accept.

Bowls galore! Part 3, featuring "Decent Bowls"

Today, we feature the second half of our decent bowl games, as well as a bonus "Boring" bowl, whose fate was decided with the outcome of the Army-Navy game yesterday. So, without futher ado, onto the next of the Decent bowls!

Texas Bowl, Thursday, December 31, 3:30 P.M. on ESPN
Navy vs Missouri
Navy has unsurprisingly been the best academy team this year. They have nine wins, and can get to double digits, and maybe a ranked finish, by beating Missouri. Things were looking good for the Tigers early, despite losing Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin to the draft, but the wheels fell off in Big 12 play, where they had to rebound big time to finish at .500 in the division. Missouri's spread against Navy's triple option should be fun to watch. I honestly can't say I believe either team will run away. Missouri may have a slight edge, but you can never count a team like Navy out.

Bowls galore! Part 2, featuring "Decent Bowls"

Okay, it's time for the second installment of Bowls Galore!
Today, we're going to take a look at the early "Decent" games, or games that you should watch if they're on and you're not doing anything better. However, if there's an "Exciting" bowl game on during the same time, swtich the damn channel! "Decent" bowl games can also be used as an excuse to ignore your drunken uncle, who was done after just a cup and a half of eggnog. Onto the first half of the decent bowls!

Bowls galore, featuring "Boring Bowls"

First and foremost, let's check out how I did when I tired to predict where some of the ranked teams would end up in my week 15 rankings.
Cincy/Florida- I said Sugar, and Sugar it is, though Sugar is supposed to be sweet and this is anything but as a Gator fan.
TCU- Nope. I thought Orange. Instead the Fiesta pit them against Boise. More on that subject later though.
Iowa/Penn State- Predicted a BCS berth for one, but got the bowl wrong (Orange, not Fiesta).
Miami (FL)- Champs Sports, boom!
Pittsburgh- Meineke Car Care Bowl FTW.
Brigham Young- Las Vegas Bowl bound indeed.
Stanford- I said Emerald or Holiday, but they got Brut Sun Bowl. Swing and a miss.
Arizona- Holiday Bowl, called it.
Central Michigan- I thought the Little Caesars got the MAC champs? Guess not. Wrong.
Wisconsin- I foresaw Champs Sports, and Champs Sports it is.
Utah- Pointsettia, done and done.
Oregon State- Not, in fact, playing in the Brut Sun Bowl. Another one in the wrong column.
Nebraska- At least I ended with a win (Holiday Bowl).
So what's that put me at, nine out of 14? Not too shabby, but I'm not going to start betting or anything.
Next up, I'd like to share with you a helpful guide. I've divided the bowls into three categories. The three categories are "Boring Bowls," "Decent Bowls," and "Exciting Bowls." Not the flashiest names, but hey, Occam's Razor. Not surprisingly, there's more "Decent" than "Boring" or "Exciting" bowls, probably due to simple rules of random distribution.
I've classified each bowl game into one of those three categories for various reasons. Right now, I'll start with the "Boring Bowls," or the bowls you shouldn't stress missing, and shouldn't go out of your way to watch unless your alma matter is involved or something. So without further ado, here we go.

Week 15 rankings

Well, if anything, we learned who the real best team in the country is. I can't say I'm too happy about it, but it is what it is. Here we go.

1. Alabama (13-0): Well, there's really no question left about it now, is there?
2. Texas Christian (12-0): They've played like the second best team in the country all year and deserve to play for the title.
3. Texas (13-0): That didn't look like a championship team. If not for a stupid horse-collar tackle by Nebraska, the Huskers are playing in Glendale, with Texas probably playing in the Orange.
4. Cincinnati (12-0): Are they better than the Longhorns as well? Probably not, but their one point win was arguably better than Texas'.
5. Florida (12-1): Alabama pretty much annihilated Florida. Without Dunlap to put pressre on McElroy, the Florida D couldn't get pressure to force the Tide into making mistakes. A date with Cincy probably awaits in the Sugar Bowl.

This week's previews: #19 Oregon State vs #7 Oregon

This one has the potential to be an instant classic. Both teams are pretty close to the middle of the pack defensively, raking #4 (Oregon State) and #5 (Oregon) in the Pac 10 defensively. Both also put up big numbers on offense, with Oregon in the top 10 nationally and Oregon State at #21.

Week 14 rankings

Not much to say this week- Les Miles remembered how to coach, and I grudgingly moved Southern Cal back into the rankings. The national semi-final is all set for the SEC Championship next week, and there's some small upheval in the top five.

1. Florida (12-0): They had the best performance of any of the three big contenders this weekend. Tim may have cried before the game, but the Gators dominated and never looked back. This team is starting to fire on all cylinders at just the right time.
2. Alabama (12-0): Going down 14 points on the road in a rivalry game isn;t the best way to start off, but Bama showed that even if that does happen, they are prepared to handle it and win the game.
3. Texas Christian (12-0): They just looked better than Texas this weekend. They dominated a very dominate-able team, but like I said, they've often looked better than Texas this season. Rivalry weekend was the straw that broke the camel's back.
4. Texas (12-0): Unlike Florida, they didn't dominate. Unlike Bama, they never seemed like they would need a big comeback. They just played a sloppy game against a rival. You can't do that this late in the season, especially with a very good Nebraska defense up next.
5. Cincinnati (11-0): Remember Tony Pike? He's back. Six TDs on the day makes you wonder, would he have been running away with the Heisman if he hadn't been hurt?