The season is finally here. The offseason of chaos involving Penn State and the rest of the non sense can be put on the backburner for now. Its all about watching the games on Saturdays from noon to midnight and following the road to the BCS Championship on January 7, 2013 in Miami, Florida.
The predictions of the 2012-12 college football season from Kevin, Alex and myself are below in the table.
The BCS was just released and it was what we all expected. LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State are the top 5 teams right now and I could not disagree. Is that how things will stand on Sunday, December 4th for the Bowl Selection Show? Since current #1 LSU will play #2 Alabama on November 5th, and #3 Oklahoma will travel to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State for Bedlam on December 3rd, we know for sure that two of the top five will lose at least one game. Here is how I think it will unfold from here along with a review and player/team awards. For the record those of you who saw my picks in July I had Alabama over Oklahoma in the BCS Title Game.
Midseason Awards:
Epic Fail Award for a team: Florida State Seminoles
This team made me look stupid again this season but they pretty much made everybody look stupid this year.
Epic Fail Award for a player: Steven Garcia, QB, South Carolina
He is trash and always has been trash. It is a shame that it took Spurrier four years to kick him off the team.
"I am the Legend"
Surprise Team Award: Kansas State Wildcats
Bill Synder is doing it again. He is a legend
Surprise Player Award: Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU
The “Honey Badger” is the new Charles Woodson of CFB
National Freshman of the Year: Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
This kid is going to win the ACC MVP as a freshman. He is could be one of the best players in ACC history when it is all said and done.
National Defensive Player of Year: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina
I think he has more touchdowns than WR and teammate Alshon Jeffery lol
"Either run with me, or run from me, or get ran OVER!"F
Orange: Clemson Tigers vs West Virginia Mountaineers
Fiesta: Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Boise State Broncos
BCS National Championship Game: Alabama Crimson Tide vs Oklahoma Sooners
Sticking with my prediction from July. To all the gamblers out there I would recommend putting some money on Oklahoma State to win it all. They were 15-1 yesterday on a few sites and they control their own destiny.
As the college football world turns…….the Big 12 needs to just get it together! With all the “will they stay” and “will they go” drama going on the Pac-12 made the decision for the four Big 12 teams that have been speculated in joining the conference, “After careful review we have determined that it is in the best interests of our member institutions, student-athletes and fans to remain a 12-team conference,” straight from Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott’s mouth. Their are many issues in regards of the revenue sharing between the other 15 supposed Pac-12 schools and the University of Texas’s “Longhorn Network.” The top issue was: Texas was not going to share any revenue with the other schools.
Now the Big 12 is still in need of adding one team to three teams, and that is if it can keep Missouri who has been rumored to being the SEC’s 14th school. Not to mention, Texas can still leave to the ACC or go independent. Texas and Oklahoma officials are supposed to meet this week to discuss a possible five-year commitment from all the current Big 12 teams. Oklahoma wants the Big 12 to put regulations on Texas and their Longhorn Network, and also is calling for the ousting of current Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe. Oklahoma believes Beebe is not a functional commissioner especially with the Big 12 losing Nebraska and Texas A&M under his watch. In order to change the commissioner though, a majority vote has to be reached by the nine Big 12 school presidents.
"Well that is a $997,000 question!"
If the Big 12 stays together the major changes that were to happen to college football will be delayed, while the minor changes will have some effect. But mainly in basketball. While in football it is rumored that BYU will be the school that replaces A&M in the conference, but it wants to be assured that the Big 12 conference will remain intact before they begin the application process. If the Big 12 loses Missouri to the SEC as well, Southern Methodist University or the University of Houston would replace Missouri in the Big 12. If somehow the Big 12 can convince TCU to renege on the Big East and join the Big 12 that would be a great benefit to the conference as well. In fact add in Rice as well. Bring back all the old Texas rivalries!!
"Only in Texas do people get excited about Rice vs Houston!!!"
On September 17th it was announced that Pittsburgh and Syracuse would be bolting the Big East for the ACC. Texas A&M has already announced that they are leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, now the college football world waits for Texas to make a decision. The “Texas decision” has the teams in the rest of the Big 12 flying a holding pattern right now. Oklahoma is almost ready to bolt for the Pac 12, and Oklahoma State is going along for the ride. Texas Tech would like to join those two for the Pac 12 party but it will only be invited if Texas answers their invitation. Texas is still mulling over their options which are: remain in the Big 12 which would keep the other three schools from bolting, leave to the ACC which would further improve that conference in both football and basketball, or go independent and live off the 20 year $300 million deal that ESPN paid for the Longhorn network. Talk about options!? With Texas on the fence where do the remaining Big 12 schools land? With the ACC upping their exit buyout fee to $20 million from $10-13 million last week, Florida State or any ACC school for that matter, does not look like a candidate for the SEC’s 14th team slot. Missouri though does! Missouri which has been rumored for years that it would defect from the Big 12 for the Big 10 seems to be the best candidate at the moment for the illustrious SEC. A move to the SEC would mean a move that would earn Missouri over $18 million in the SEC’s television deal alone. Which would be a pretty nice size pay increase. Currently the Big 12 teams make between $9-11 million each school. How about the remaining Big 12 schools?
"Future looks very BLEAK!"
Their have been talks recently of a Big 12/Big East merger which could possibly save those large checks that the BCS hands out at the end of their bowl games. Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, and Iowa State all will have to leave the Big 12 to join the Big East football schools. TCU also joins the conference next year as well, making the conference a little better than what it seems on paper. TCU did beat Wisconsin last year. What little fanfare the Big12/Big East merger would create for football, basketball season will be buzzing! Kansas, Baylor, and Kansas State all playing Georgetown, Villanova, Notre Dame, and Louisville! Now that is a powerful basketball conference! The ACC though has two more things in mind as well, and that is UCONN and Rutgers.
"Move!!! The bank stole some new teams!"
The current Big East football champion UCONN Huskies and the university of Rutgers are rumored to be defecting from the Big East to join the ACC. While the move does absolutely nothing for the ACC in regards to football, basketball just became a whole lot more interesting in the ACC. The ACC has always been known for great basketball, but recently it seems as if the conference is only top heavy. UNC and Duke always field a great team, Florida State has been solid recently, and Maryland, Clemson, and North Carolina State will pop up on the national radar from time to time. Pittsburgh and Syracuse have been added to the ACC recently, and with the addition of UCONN(Rutgers is just trash in basketball) the ACC will have the past three national champions in their conference. Now that’s a party! Syracuse vs UNC, Coach K vs Jim Calhoun! The ACC will be full of story lines once the merger is finalized! But, for the Big East/Big 12 merger to happen, Texas needs to make a final decision. If Texas does not make a move, nothing moves. The future of college football landscape is all in the hands of Texas!
"Even with his eyes on Floyd, Ortiz still couldn't stop his punch!"
The mega-fight on September 17 between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Victor Ortiz has came and went. The result? A typical Floyd Mayweather beat down with a very entertaining exchange between Mayweather and HBO career-long analyst the 80 year-old Larry Merchant. Mayweather knocked out Ortiz in the fourth round after the two exchanged hugs over the intentional headbutt that Ortiz used on Mayweather. The first three rounds were typical Mayweather rounds; counter-punching everything Ortiz threw and landing clean right hands to Ortiz jaw. It was getting to the point where Ortiz was not really sure if he was fighting a man, or a ghost, with punches hitting Ortiz from all angles. Mayweather at one time actually put his left hand on Ortiz head and hit Ortiz with a clean right hand in the third round. In the fourth round Ortiz tried the usual strategy that former Mayweather opponents have tried to use in the past, which is to bully Floyd, rough him up and mug him in the ring. Ortiz began to use this strategy in the fourth, “trying” to mug Mayweather and force him on the ropes. Ortiz forced Mayweather on the ropes and began to swing wildly at Mayweather with most of his punches going “wide left” and “wide right.” Frustrated with his inability to hit Mayweather, Ortiz launched his head forward into Mayweather’s jaw. Which was Ortiz first mistake. The referee Joe Cortez immediately stopped the fight and docked a point away from Ortiz. Ortiz, seeming very apologetic, until he “kissed” Mayweather on the cheek and said “sorry.” Second mistake because now you are making fun of Floyd, it seemed as if Ortiz was trying to make Floyd feel inferior by kissing him on his cheek. Remember their is a fight going on?! Kissing Floyd and then laughing about the whole thing was also very disrespectful because this was not a “incidental” headbutt, Ortiz intentionally headbutted Floyd.
"And Floyd is the dirty fighter?!"
What occurred next to Ortiz, he deserved. After the referee Cortez docked a point away from Ortiz cause of the headbutt, he brought the two fighters together and stepped away, which prompted Ortiz to want to hug Floyd, again! This had to be the third time that Ortiz apologized and hugged Mayweather, how many times does he need to apologize? Its over lets move on. What Ortiz did next was something that boxing coaches teach early in the sport, “never take your eyes off your opponent!” In the beginning of the fight the referee also explains to both boxers that they must “protect yourself at all times.” Ortiz though took his eyes off Floyd after the break and looked at the ref as if the ref was supposed to say something.
"I'm over here"
"Twice"
Floyd took advantage of a situation. A situation many of us would do after being disrespected in front of millions of viewers around the world. With Ortiz looking at the ref, Floyd threw a left hook, followed by a straight right which knocked Ortiz onto the floor unable to get up before the ref’s 10-count expired.
Many boxing fans are split by the end result last night. Many fans claim that Floyd is “dirty” because he hit Ortiz when Ortiz was not looking. Many other boxing fans see the ending justified with the ref’s directions of “protect yourself at all times”, which Joe Cortez himself explained that the punch was legal. In the end its just fans that hate Mayweather and will never give Money the respect he earned and deserved. Saturday night Floyd fought a fighter that out weighed him by 14 pounds and Floyd handled him easily. Ortiz was the idiot. If Ortiz never headbutted Mayweather, Ortiz would have never been in a position to get “clocked,” intentionally, by Mayweather. Ortiz was the idiot that took his eyes off of Mayweather to begin with! The Ortiz camp claimed Mayweather was a dirty fighter, so wouldn’t the smart thing for Ortiz to do is “pay attention to Mayweather, who you are fighting, and not the ref!?” Ortiz tried to blame everyone but himself after the fight. It was Ortiz fault, and he needs to man up. Hopefully a rematch will not be structured and the next fight Mayweather has is against Manny Pacquiao. Or maybe a fight against Larry Merchant who told Mayweather at the end of the fight “if I was 50 years younger I would kick your ass!” Sure Larry, PPV anyone?!!
With the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University announcing that they are applying for entry into the ACC the second major domino has fell in college football. Let the reshuffling begin!! All week their has been speculation of Oklahoma joining the Pac 12, and Texas either joining the Pac 12, ACC, or going independent. The ACC though made the big grab which benefits…..basketball. Without any disrespect to Syracuse and Pittsburgh football, those programs suck. Now in basketball Pitt and Syracuse help the ACC tremendously! Syracuse and Pittsburgh basketball programs are both elite, as Syracuse won the national title in 2003, Pittsburgh naturally chokes up in the tournament both during the regular season they are a force. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim is a hall of fame coach who joins a conference which already features future hall of famers Roy Williams from UNC and Coach K from Duke. With the additions of Syracuse and Pittsburgh the ACC would feature 4 teams that have property in the land of top 10 teams in the nation. The two additions don’t really offer much in football though. Pittsburgh is a “ehhh” program, they did win the Big East last year, but only won 8 games in the process. Syracuse has improved some, but their recruiting needs to step up tremendously if they are going to be contending for an ACC division crown. In the ACC they are rarely going to challenge ACC powers VA Tech and FSU, Pitt will be one of those second to fourth place teams in either division of the ACC. Syracuse will contend with Duke and Wake Forest for the bottom of the basement. The Big East rules state that a team must give the conference 27 months notice that it is leaving the conference, so the change would not take place for another two years. Two teams that have been rumored to joining the Big East are Baylor and Iowa State who are looking for a home once the Big 12 falls apart. It seems that the Big East is becoming the scrape heap of mid-tier teams of college football. The Big East features West Virginia and South Florida, two good programs that will never contend for a national title. If the Big East wants to keep that BCS money they are receiving, its going to need West Virginia and South Florida step its game up ASAP. TCU also joins the Big East next year and are an up-and-coming big time program and should dominate the conference from the word “go.” Can they make some noise on the national level? Check out what TCU did to Wisconsin last year in the Rose Bowl and afterwards the answer will by “yes.”
"Future Conference Game??!
The real question though is, “Will Florida State leave the ACC for the SEC?” FSU is a football school period. The ACC is trying to desperately save the conference when it comes to football and with the addition of Texas(speculation) its will become both a football and basketball conference. The ACC Presidents unanimously voted that the buyout for a team to leave the conference be increased from $13 million to $20 million, making it a lot harder for a team to leave. The Big East buyout is currently at $5 million making it a lot easier to leave the conference. Florida State may have to stay with a buyout that large, although for the right price anything is possible. Other teams that are speculated in leaving: Missouri to the Big 10 or Big East, Oklahoma St to the Pac 12, Texas Tech to the Pac 12, West Virginia to the Big 10 or ACC, Rutgers to the ACC. So who is next???
According to TMZ, McAlister is now living at home with his parents getting financial assistance from them. He says:
I live in my parent’s home. My parents provide me with my basic living expenses as I do not have the funds to do so.
Now, in this economy it may sound like just another person hit by the recession. The twist to this story is that Chris was drafted in the first round of the 1999 NFL. You know first rounders demand top dollar, and he did to the tune of $55 million, and went on to play for 10 years, achieving pro bowl honors, and part of the 2001 Super bowl winning Ravens squad.
McAlisters financials are now in the media because he is attempting to lower his monthly child support payments of $11,000 PER MONTH to his ex wife. His complaint is that since he has been unemployed since 2009…He has no income…which led to him living off of his parents…after blowing $55M+…
Now I can see just not wanting to pay $11,000 a month, but living with your parents and depending on them for basic living expenses…
In 2008 ESPN released a list of the top 25 greatest college football players of all-time. In 2008 I felt that the list was full of inaccuracies, especially at #1. ESPN ranked the running back, Red Grange, as the greatest collegiate off all time. Why is this inaccurate? Because no one was, and is better than Herschel Walker. Period. Red Grange, Doak Walker, and Sammy Baugh are all one of the greatest players to ever play college football. They won championships, won awards, and could not be stopped by the common man. Who was the common man though? Well during this time period(1910s – 1960s), the all so famous “Jim Crow Laws” did not allow African-Americans to attend predominately White universities, let alone play football for them! The common man, the man that was in newspapers and in the media, was the white man. Red Grange, Sammy Baugh, and Doak Walker played football against other white men. Not Black men. Could this then mean that the level of competition was not as good as that of Herschel Walker? I’m going with “of course.” African-Americans did not just become good at football overnight, they have been excellent at football. The most athletic players in the United States have always been African-Americans, but they were not allowed to play sports against White Americans. So that in turn means that during the era of Red Grange the best players were not allowed on the field because of good Ol’ Jim Crow. After segregation was deemed illegal, and Black athletes were allowed to play with White athletes, sports has taken a whole new look which has the Black athlete dominating the major sports. Herschel Walker was one of those athletes, and the dominant player in college football history.
"Unstoppable"
On September 7th, ESPN released its newest documentary “Herschel” which explained the rise of Herschel Walker and who he was as a person. Herschel explains how it felt to be picked on at school, to be bullied, and isolated from the students, teachers, and society. How one fight changed his life forever. Herschel became dedicated to his body and developed a warrior’s mentality to beat any obstacle that stood in his way. After a storied high school career where he rushed for over 3,000 yards as a senior, he went to the University of Georgia where he helped the team win a national championship, and won the Heisman trophy during his time in college. Herschel Walker rushed for over 5,200 yards and 49 rushing touchdowns. Herschel Walker was a stud from the moment he touched the ball in college. From their he went on to become a Legend. People were amazed at how big and strong(6-2 225lbs) and fast(4.3 forty time) he was. It was a Man playing among boys. The way Herschel man-handled defenders was un-real. It was not just the powerful stiff arm that was impressive, it was the way he would toy with defenders, tease them a little and then blow past them with his next gear. Herschel should have won the Heisman as both a freshman and a sophomore. 1,616 yards and 1,891 yards in both his freshman and sophomore years, but the voters would not give it to a sophomore, let alone a freshman. A freshman that helped his team win the national title his first year, and as a sophomore that helped win the second of three straight SEC titles.
Red Grange or Herschel Walker?
Red Grange may have put football on the map during the 1920s, but that does not garner him “best ever” status. Their is no way that with the talent that was barred from the field Red would have enjoyed a spectacular career. These players that played football before integration should never be regarded as “best ever.” It is insulting to think that over 90 years of college football after Grange, that no one is greater than him. Football has been dominated by African-Americans once they were allowed to play football in a predominately White university. Their inclusion forced other schools to recruit African-Americans because if not, they would eventually become a losing program. The field changed then, more and more Black athletes began littering football fields taking the spots of once White athletes that all of a sudden were “not good enough” for an athletic scholarship. Thus Red Grange, Doak Walker, Sammy Baugh never did play against the best competition, as the best were not allowed to play. Herschel Walker did though, and destroyed it.
ESPN should be ashamed for putting not just Red Grange, but also Barry Sanders ahead of Herschel Walker. Barry may have rushed for the most yards in a season, but he did not run the ball like Herschel. Violent, fast, and destructive describes the way that Herschel ran the football. Barry was fast, and could move like a ping pong ball, but he did not win. His team may have been awful, but Georgia without Herschel would have been bad as well. Herschel Walker was the first football player to leave school early and enter the pros(United States Football League). If he was allowed he may have also been the ONLY player that would have been successful going from high school to the pros. Herschel was already physically and mentally prepared for the NFL, college was just a new toy for him to play with.
The possibility of Texas A&M bolting from the Big 12 to the SEC is now a reality, once Baylor University stops acting like a HATER!!! With Texas A&M leaving the Big 12, the landscape of college football will be changed completely next summer, so enjoy the current-state the conferences are in today. Baylor comes into play because they are blocking, legally, the move by Texas A&M to the SEC. Earlier this week the Big 12 issued a letter to the SEC allowing A&M to leave the Big 12 to the SEC without any legal troubles. Now Baylor University is threatening legal action if A&M tries to leave the Big 12 for the SEC! Why?! Well once Texas A&M leaves that is when the dominoes of college football will begin to fall. The SEC has to take a 14th or expand to 16 teams in order to continue its money-grabbing SEC Title Game. The possible departure of A&M has Oklahoma University also exploring its possible defection to another conference as well. OU has been rumored to be flirting with the idea of joining the PAC-12. If OU leaves to the Pac-12 it is sure that Oklahoma St, Texas Tech, and possibly Texas may follow(more on that later). That would then be the end of the Big 12 football conference, and the end of Baylor football receiving BCS bowl game money. The PAC-12 could possibly have the first “Super Conference!?!” The SEC would almost certainly follow suit as they would love to add three more schools including Texas A&M. The Big 12 would just die.
But who would the SEC raid for teams? The ACC is prime for its conference to become picked of its schools. Florida State, Clemson, and NC State all have been rumored to being “salivated at the mouth” when mentioned as a possible SEC invitee. Virginia Tech has been rumored as well, but the Virginia Tech faithful have denied any interest in joining the SEC.
Virginia Tech is exceedingly pleased with our membership in the ACC. It is the perfect conference for us. The university administration has no interest in any discussion concerning affiliation with any conference other than the ACC.
Quoted from the Virginia Tech President, Charles Steger. Fans have also jumped on board as many have mentioned on the message boards that VA Tech is the perfect conference for them, easy to win. Which for the past 5 years the ACC has been very simple to win as no other major school has challenged their dominance. The other three schools mentioned would join the SEC in an instant! Creating another super conference.
"Show me that SEC money, I'm ready for it!"
The Big 10 would not stand still though as teams were being gobbled up by other conferences. Missouri has been rumored for years of “listening” to the Big 10 as far as becoming a member in that conference. Missouri’s addition would bring the number up to 13, which school would be 14? That is where the Big East comes in, again. Six years ago the Big East lost Boston College, Virginia Tech, and Miami all to the ACC so the ACC could expand to 12 teams and host an ACC Title game. This time it seems as only Rutgers would leave the Big East and go to the Big 10. Thus giving the Big 10 fourteen teams in its conference. The only other schools the Big 10 would pick up would be Notre Dame, and then BYU. As usual though, Notre Dame will not be joining ANY conference in the near future, it does not have to because of the $15 million a season NBC pays Notre Dame to broadcast all their home games.
Speaking of Notre Dame; on the football field it is an independent school, free to play whomever it chooses to and is not affiliated with any conference in regards to football. On the basketball court Notre Dame plays in the Big East conference which has been recognized as either the top basketball conference or second. The ACC is also known for basketball and could actually win on the basketball court, while lose on the football field. Football is king, but the ACC knows that it cannot compete with the SEC or Big 10 when it involves MONEY! Those two conferences demand the top dollar from the different broadcast companies in order to broadcast their football games. The SEC alone receives $2.25 billion dollars from ESPN for the next 13 years, while also racking in the $825 million deal with CBS. So what could the ACC have in mind?? Basketball. The ACC may not be as top to bottom stacked in basketball compared to the Big East, but it does have UNC/Duke. Two of the most famous basketball schools in the country. The ACC could invite Syracuse, Conn, and Pitt to all leave the Big East and join their conference. This would continue the ACC title game as it would still have 12 teams, but also make the ACC one of, if not, the top basketball conference in the nation.
These new alignments would be great for college football as this would inch the nation even closer to a college football playoffs. It would also spell the end of the NCAA, as these very same conferences could(and would) leave the NCAA to play in the BCS division of football. The BCS already dominates college football with its BCS big money bowl games. Instead of schools electing to play in a playoff for the NCAA, the schools elect to play in bowl games which could earn them millions of dollars. The PAC-12 would feature teams like Oklahoma, USC, Oregon, and Oklahoma State. The Big 10 would feature Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State. The ACC would pit Va Tech and…..maybe Miami if they ever become good. The SEC would field Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida State, Florida, South Carolina, and Arkansas. It would be insane! All the best teams would play each other, and a national champion may actually be decided on the field! The driving factor behind all this????? MONEY! The television stations: ESPN, ABC, CBS, and Fox would all have to draw up new contracts with the conferences, which in turn would drive up the price! These very same schools would also be the schools that “jump-ship” from the NCAA to the BCS, and the fans would not care too much as long as it resembles a playoff! But what about the Big 12??
With all this money and ship jumping the Big 12 and the Big East would actually sink. Texas would not stay in the Big 12, they would turn independent because of the new 20 year $300,000 tv contract to create the Longhorn Network through ESPN. Which leaves teams like Baylor, Kansas, and Kansas State speaking very loud about blocking A&M’s move to the SEC and threatening to use legal action against the school. Smart decision on their part. Unfortunately schools that can make some noise, Oklahoma and Texas, have become mum about the situation. Texas though has joined the other eight schools, minus Oklahoma, to block A&M’s defection to the SEC. At the end, it is just a matter of time that A&M gets what it wants and leaves. Money rules college football, and as the saying goes: Little Money(Baylor, small schools) never tells Big Money(the BCS and its mega schools) what to do! Enjoy the final year of the current state of college football, cause next year will be a completely new ball game! Unless Baylor some how gets its wish?!
"Why are those damn Baylor Bears being so difficult!"
"Wow, coach didn't show me this on the recruiting visit!?"
On Monday night the University of Md unveiled the ugliest uniforms ever in college football history! This monstrosity of different colors was so awful that it blinded their opponent, the Miami Hurricanes, for much of the game as the Terps won 32-24. The talk of the game was not how the Terps beat the Hurricanes who were missing a boat load of starters cause of the Nevin Shapiro bonus to a Miami athletic football scholarship. It was the awful jerseys that the Terps wore during the game! Who ever came up with the design, style, and audacity to even create this type of jersey, should have resigned the moment the jerseys were printed. Really has anyone seen a worst jersey?? If so please comment below!
