College Football 2007-2008 Preview and Spring Training

[stoopid_idiot]

what do you guys think of NOTRE DAME?

Just for quick reference, here their schedule (home in bold

Sept.
1 Georgia Tech
8 Penn State
15 Michigan
22 Michigan State
28 Purdue

Oct.
6 UCLA
13 Boston College
20 USC

Nov.
3 Navy
10 Air Force
17 Duke
24 Stanford

I heard people say that the Irish will be lucky to come out of that schedule with 7 wins,and i tend to agree with them, but me and my dad were talking about the schedule, and he said that they could win 10 games. now before you say that he's nuts, remember this; Notre Dame's last national championship was won after they lost their starting quarterback, running back, and entire offensive line from the year before, and the Irish are kind of in that situation, only they have part of their offensive line, plus a pre-season
All-American at Tight End, and a head coach who can figure it all out on offense , so if only they can fix that problem at quarterback(i.e. who going to start the season opener) everything is going to be fine (hopefully). If they can get out if September 3-2 at the least, then there's USC and then they're home free (hopefully).

 

[JohnBM01]

Here's a prediction: Duke will upset Notre Dame! Just joking. ^_^ I've overrated Notre Dame a bit myself, I must admit. I remembered what Mark May said on ESPN's College Football Live on Friday. He thought Notre Dame wasn't going to win any more than perhaps two games for the first seven games. They could probaly beat Michigan State and Purdue. Maybe even Georgia Tech (JTSnooks doesn't want it to happen) as well. Pennsylvania State and Michigan will likely pull through over Notre Dame. I think they can also beat UCLA. But that game will be at the beautiful Rose Bowl. Boston College and USCal are both potent. USCal are usually more potent. Navy is the best football school among the service academies. Navy might keep the game close or even beat Notre Dame. Perhaps Navy can pretend Notre Dame was Army or Air Force... and take them down. * Air Force is a good team, but not as good as Navy. Notre Dame should get rid of Air Force pretty well. * Duke will beat Notre Dame in basketball (men or women), but their insignificant football team is likely going to fold in South Bend. But by the time this game takes place, college basketball season will see the Maui Invitational. It means that Duke can lose this game so they can focus on other sports they know how to win. Stanford is leagues better than Duke, but the San Francisco-area school is still a terrible team.

So therefore, I'm predicting Notre Dame to perhaps go 6-6 and play in some certain December Bowl Game. Notre Dame is told to be 50% Big Ten and 50% Big East. All or most sports for Notre Dame is in the Big East. Notre Dame would be a nice Big East team. I think if Notre Dame joined the Big Ten, then it means they'll have to go through a completely deep conference. Illinois (sorry dougiemeats!) and Indiana are the bottom feeders. Notre Dame would have to compete against teams like Ohio State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State... competition all around. I would have balanced the schedule more so that Notre Dame doesn't play big-name schools in consecutive weeks. We'll see if they can back up their schedule once this year's regular season is done.

 

[JohnBM01]

Now I'll preview my hometown's finest team- the Houston Cougars. The Coogs are without Kevin Kolb and most of the offensive and defensive stars. Can the new talent fill their shoes? Houston had one of their finest seasons in recent memory in winning over 10 games. They almost beat Miami (as in the Miami in Florida) by one point and lost to the team they eventually beaten in the title game- Southern Mississippi. Here is the schedule for the scarlet and albino white of Houston:

Houston Cougars 2007 Schedule
@ = away game
! = rivalry game
* = conference game or conference opponent

9/1 - @ Oregon
9/15 - @ Tulane*
9/22 - Colorado State
9/29 - East Carolina*

10/6 - @ Alabama
10/13 - Rice*! (RIVALRY GAME: Battle for the Bayou Bucket)
10/20 - @ Alabama-Birmingham* (UAB)
10/27 - @ Texas-El Paso* (UTEP)

11/4 - Southern Methodist*
11/10 - @ Tulsa
11/17 - Marshall
11/24 - Texas Southern (note: Houston and Texas Southern play on the same field for home games)


John's Preview
The Houston Cougars are a talented team. Houston can continue being a great team if they can win a great deal of their games. I'm not predicting a 10-win season, but I predict a winning season for them and getting Art Briles' (U. of Houston football head coach) team to yet antoher Bowl game.

* Oregon is going to be tough. Their uniforms may be laughable, but they can still mess you up real bad on the field. I'm predicting this to be an early setback for Houston, perhaps losing by more than 10 points. * Tulane is potent. Houston may use this game to level things back to the 0.500 mark. * This can go either way. It's a great match. Is Houston's offense good enough to beat Colorado State? This game may end up being an offensive shootout. * East Carolina's a slumping team. Houston could be able to win this game at home with little fail. * Alabama's a multi-time national champion. Let's assume Alabama is right at the .500 mark. This game would give make them one game over 0.500. Playing AT Alabama as the Away team is basically suicide. Alabama is sorry if they can't beat Houston. * {B]FoolKiller[/B], Houston vs. Rice is our version of Louisville vs. Kentucky. They aren't a direct comparison because neither school is an elite in the state of Texas. I think Houston will spank the Owls here. Hopefully, they can get a win here and renovate the Hoffheinz Pavillion or play basketball games at Toyota Center. * UAB is always a tough foe to go against. Houston could win this game. * UTEP has been somewhat of a rivalry. The best non-BCS school in Eastern Texas vs. the best (and only) non-BCS western school. This should be another shootout. Hopefully Houston will win once this firefight ends. * Southern Methodist is a pathetic football team in this day and age. Houston could get better competition if they played TCU. Houston wins, and not even close. * Tulsa will be a much different story. It may even be the non-BCS version of Texas vs. Oklahoma. Expect a close fight here. Perhaps Houston gets away with the "W." * Marshall has been a bottom feeder of late. Marshall's Thundering Herd doesn't know Houston all that well. The boys from Marshall wear green. And just like green, Houston will likely mow over the green of Marshall. * The final game is easy. Texas Southern is the worst school in Houston. TSU had a pretty good season last season, but the Tigers aren't the most dominant cats in Houston. The Cougars should win this game by at least two touchdowns.



So here are my predicted win-loss totals before the C-USA Championship game:

8-4 (lose to Oregon, Alabama, UTEP, and Tulsa)
10-2 (lose to Oregon and Alabama)
7-5 (lose to Oregon, Colorado State, Alabama, UTEP, and Tulsa)
9-3 (lose to Colorado State, Rice, and UTEP)

Longshot: 11-1 (lose to Alabama)



Though I'm very fond of the University of Houston (my brother is a UH grad), I love all three Houston schools. I think even (non-football) Houston Baptist University will be loved as they returned to NCAA Division 1 status apart from their NAIA tour of duty. I think they'll acheive a winning season. My only concern is the talent level both on offense and defense for the Cougars. Get a recap of the 2006 season for Houston here: < http://www.cusa-fans.com/articles/mahoney-uh-season-recap012207.html >. Go get 'em, Coogs!

 

[JohnBM01]

I picked up two RSS feeds from collegesportsinfo.com regarding football. Here are the two feeds:

* UNCC panel thinks 1-A right choice for football < http://collegesportsinfo.com/blog/2007/08/uncc-panel-thinks-i-right-choice-for.html >
* More C-USA Realignment Talk < http://collegesportsinfo.com/blog/2007/08/more-cusa-realignment-talk.html >

I'll get to the first one to start off. UNCC stands for the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Or its sports name, simply Charlotte. I still refer to them as North Carolina-Charlotte. Basketball types know that this former Conference USA non-football school joined the Atlantic 10 in... I want to say 2005 or 2006. This move for UNC-Charlotte would put Charlotte on the map in terms of a football market. There are still a number of favorable sports markets not represented in college fotoball. Two big cities not represented in 1-A are New York City and San Francisco. You may even go as far as St. Louis, Missouri or perhaps San Antonio, TX. Detroit isn't represented either. The 49ers of UNC-Charlotte actually surprised me here. I usually think of schools in former 1-AA/FCS conferences usually should remain there. But UNC-Charlotte wants to enter 1-A. Some of the in-state competition in 1-A would consist of Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and East Carolina among others. North Carolina-Charlotte claims the university is growing so much that it would be on par with a Division 1-A market and not 1-AA. I haven't read any plans on when UNCC plans to play their first season of NCAA football as of this moment. It won't be known what conference they would play in. Chances are, they might join either the Sun Belt or Conference USA. Those would be the logical choices for a university like this trying to break into 1-A. But if they end up going to 1-AA, they have some options to play with. The Atlantic 10 no longer sponsors football, so a new conference would be in order. Nice choices would include the following: the Southern Conference (SOCON) or even the new CAA football conference.

Now the other story. East Carolina says that they can't really compare with the Western Division of C-USA. The West Division consists of teams like Houston, UTEP, Rice, and SMU to name a few. ECU would like to work to perhaps make C-USA into a BCS conference. It probably isn't likely, though from my views. Conference USA is kind of like the MAC of the American Southeast. Teams full of potential, but not of any of the bigtime universities like in the Big Ten, Big XII, SEC, Big East, and the Pac-10. It would mean that schools would have to have some real money to upgrade universities into premier universities. I live in a Conference USA city- Houston. Maybe a reason why we're not in the Big XII and Baylor is... is probably because Baylor has more money. Baylor is a joke in just about every college sport except women's basketball.


What do people think about possible expansion of the Big Ten? Read here: < http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stories/080107aan.html >.

Just a few nice reads for you all that I wanted to share. College football 2007 begins (pretty much) on September 1st. So why not preview before opening day?

 

[JohnBM01]

According to ESPN2's "College Football Live," James Bryant will transfer from Louisville to the Miami Hurricanes. Not sure what position he plays, but it may be a blow for Louisville to perhaps remain a big-timer in the Big East and in the nation.

So allow me to talk about the team FoolKiller wants to go 0-12: Louisville.

John's Preview: Louisville

Synopsis: The Louisville Cardinals felt like they were a growing power in a number of their sports. And so rather stay in Conference USA, they ventured out to the Big East since they want that chance to play in a BCS Bowl game. They did just that against a surprising Wake Forest, beating them senseless in Miami. Now the Cardinals would like to work for something greater- a National Championship.


2007 Schedule
@ = road game
! = rivalry game
* = conference game or against conference opponents

8/30 - Murray State

9/6 - Middle Tennessee State
9/15 - @ Kentucky! (Battle of the Bluegrass)
9/22 - Syracuse*
9/29 - @ North Carolina State

10/5 - Utah
10/13 - @ Cincinatti*
10/19 - @ Connecticut*
10/27 - Pittsburgh* (homecoming)

11/8 - @ West Virginia*
11/17 - @ South Florida*
11/29 - Rutgers* (remember last year's result in New Jersey?)


Predictions
* Murray State could pull an upset in football, but the Racers' football team will probably be lunch to Louisville. Sheesh! I never thought Cardinals can be viscious creatures! * Middle Tennessee State will be "slightly" easier than Murray State. Louisville will be an easy 1-0 after Murray State, but may have to work a little harder against MTSU's Blue Raiders. * Ah... the FoolKiller special! Kentucky hopes to kill some Louisville fools on the football field. Commonwealth Stadium can seat about 64,300 people. You can very well bet that if the house is packed in Lexington, that all 64K will want to get the semester started by whacking Louisville at home, then let their men's basketball team mop up Louisville. I have a different prediction here. I think Kentucky will keep the game close, but Louisville will just eek out a victory. Chance of a Wildcat upset is about 60% possible. * North Carolina State could be a trap game, if not their next game. The Cardinals may still score in the 40s and leave NCSU's Wolfpack in the dust. * The 2004 Utah Utes could beat Louisville. How will 2007's Utah do? Urban Meyer's not there. He's busy winning championships for Florida (and I love Urban Meyer). Cardinals may clean house at home. * Interesting fact: Louisville will play against two former National Champions in both football and men's basketball. I always had respect for Cincinatti. Nippert Stadium is a lovely stadium, and the Bearcats that play there are pretty potent. Louisville is basically a reborn team looking to win the first National Championship in 1-A/FBS football team in Kentucky. This will begin a chain of Big East road games. Louisville may dominate at home, but you have to dominate on the road as well to be a true power. I say Cincinatti plays a good game, and possibly pulls an upset. * Syracuse's chances of upsetting Louisville is like the chances of the Arizona Cardinals winning a Super Bowl. Like the chances of the Detroit Lions going unbeaten. Snowball's chance in Hell. Louisville will raise plenty of Cardinal Red Hell on Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. * Pittsburgh marks homecoming for the Cards. But here's something I predict- Louisville goes down on homecoming! The blue and gold of Pittsburgh will go into Papa John's and push them to defeat. The Panthers are very likely to upset Louisville and prevent them from getting a good chance at a National Championship bid. * Louisville wanted a Black Thursday against West Virginia last year... and it worked. But instead of letting Louisville hand West Virginia their asses, here's what WVU agreed on- you think you're tough? Try beating us in Morgantown!" Louisville said they were game, and want to return the favor against the Mountaineers in Mountaineer country. I think West Virginia could knock off Louisville. It can be tough to play in West Virginia, and this is something Louisville will have to find out the hard way. Not a good start to November if you're a Louisville fan. * South Florida is a pretty good team. They were a tough unit in Conference USA. Now the Bulls want to run over Louisville like they did a few years ago. It could be the Running of the Bulls... Florida Style! But I still think Louisville can still win and probably will. * Louisville might have played for a National Championship if they didn't lose to Rutgers. I predict that Rutgers can pull an upset and really complicate Louisville's season some more.


Predicted Win/Loss Before Bowl Season:
8-4 (lose to Utah, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Rutgers)
11-1 (lose to Pittsburgh)
6-6 (lose to Kentucky, North Carolina State, Utah, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Rutgers)
9-3 (lose to Kentucky, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia)

LONGSHOT 1: 12-0; win National Championship or their designated BCS Bowl game
LONGSHOT 2: 5-7 (lose to Middle Tennessee State, Kentucky, Utah, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, South Florida, and Rutgers)



Louisville does have a pretty good schedule against some hungry teams (Syracuse doesn't count). They could very well have the 9 wins needed to be part of BCS action. They WILL go to a Bowl game because of their talent and their power-hungry offense.

-end Louisville Preview



How 'ya like this?

 

[FoolKiller]

Louisvilel is a bit of a wild card this year because a lot of their best players from last year are gone and they have a new coach, which is why some players are transferring out.

Coach Craigthorpe (sp?) did a press conference yesterday talking about how they don't have any huge standout players because they are all very good, so substitutions won't cause any loss to the team. This sounds like a good PR spin on 'I don't know who my starters are yet.' This would probably be why you and I both haven't a clue what position James Bryant plays.

These two things have me thinking Louisville might need a couple of years before we see them back in a BCS game. They will make a bowl, but I doubt it will be a BCS one. And with Kentucky in stride and Coach Brooks talking positive for the first time since he showed up I think we may see them give Louisville a good run for their money. Whatever the outcome is, Kentucky has traditionally managed to put more points on the board than most Louisville opponents. Even when Louisville loses it is because the other team keeps them from scoring, not because they run up the score.

The Battle for the Bluegrass should be an exciting game.

 

[JohnBM01]

And like bees to honey... here comes FoolKiller when I mention either Louisville or Kentucky. I also like to believe that Louisville is not yet a power team. (pardon the generalization) Anyone can make a BCS bowl. But it's the truly great teams that can get there consistently. Good scheduling by both Kentucky and Louisville. Both schools get two decent opponents before the blue (Kentucky) and the red (Louisville) tangle in Lexington. Both teams should have great momentum.

And by the way, I did a search... the 'Ville's new coach is Steve Kragthorpe.

 

[FoolKiller]

Good scheduling by both Kentucky and Louisville. Both schools get two decent opponents before the blue (Kentucky) and the red (Louisville) tangle in Lexington. Both teams should have great momentum.

This was, and still is, a topic of great debate for a few years. Kentucky wantedto schedule them third game so they could make the minor andjustmenet sand find their stride, whereas many, many of the rest of the state liked the Game One! because it led to a lot of hype for both programs all summer long. Now, we are all still hyping the game, but the first two have been forgotten.

I think the current agreement is when at Kentuckly it is game 3 and when at Louisville it is game 1.

As a fan at home I liked the whole game 1 thing, but since I can only get tickets to the less popular games I think I will prefer the game 3 set up because everyone is kind of overlooking the first two games and so I should be able to get some tickets.

And by the way, I did a search... the 'Ville's new coach is Steve Kragthorpe.

Am I the only one who pictures a viking or Germanic tribal warrior when reading that spelling?

 

[TwinTurbos94]

Ok I found this thread!

John what do you think avout these three teams

Florida (This year's champs after STOMPING the buckeyes)

Univ. of Miami (Brandon Shannon is going back to the old school ways of coaching)

South Carolina (I'm a Spurrier fan...)

 

[JohnBM01]

Okay.

Florida... I'm very fond of Urban Meyer. I call him a magician. His magic worked for Utah as they went to a BCS Bowl game and knocked off Pittsburgh in that BCS Bowl game. Can Florida be the of-the-moment school in college football again? Seems like the Gainesville Gators may well be able to get her done again this season. I'm predicting Florida will probably go 8-4 or 9-3. I don't think they may return to a BCS Bowl or play for the National Championship. For a while, Florida's kind of been one of the bottomfeeders among the bigtime SEC schools. Kind of like the relation of Texas A&M in the Big XII. Florida will need to keep up their potent offense and get some good defensive help if they want to place their flag atop the college football mountain again.

I think the Miami Hurricanes will likely do better this season. The lowest longshot is that Miami finishes with a losing season. Remember that Miami will play Florida International in this battle of two Miami-area schools. Miami is a football power for a reason. The Hurricanes will likely return to form. This is basically a rebuilding time for Miami in my view. I think Miami will still win enough games to make a Bowl game, but not yet at the national power status as they usually are. I think Miami will win seven or more games.

Now on to your beloved Gamecocks. It's usually tough to prepare ANYTHING about South Carolina because you never really know what kind of team you're going to get. They are full of surprises. Will you get a dominating SC unit? Or a team with immense potential, that ultimately fall apart and lose games? The boys of Columbia, SC will have a real up-and-down schedule including their final four games against extremely potent teams. * I don't like South Carolina's chances at Georgia, even if Georgia is a bit rebuilding. Sanford Stadium is tough to play at. * They do get the South Carolina Bulldogs, an HBCU (Historically-black colleges and universities) from Orangeburg, SC. Easy money there. * Then, your Gamecocks have to head to Baton Rouge to face those wickedly evil LSU Tigers. I would easily give South Carolina as "Biggest Win of the Week" if they take down either or both Georgia and LSU on the road. * Mississippi State is the sorriest school in SEC football. Even my hometown Houston Cougars took down MisSU a few years ago. South Carolina should be able to win this game. I have to go against FoolKiller here a moment in talking about Kentucky. I think the game against Kentucky will be close and could go either in South Carolina's favor or Kentucky's favor. I have no real favorites for this game. The two can batter each others' brains in Columbia all they like. Maybe do overtime. * South Carolina is an okay team in basketball, so they are quite familiar with Kentucky and North Carolina. I usually say North Carolina's the best basketball power in football. I think South Carolina will still be able to win by 10 points or more. * Vanderbilt willl be an interesting match as Vanderbilt is another okay football school. The Nashville boys will have to crank out a jam in their Columbia road trip. Even then, their chances of beating South Carolina could be like my "Dance Dance Revolution" skills- crap. The ol' ball coach will be rolling. * But then, it's time to earn that pay check at Tennessee, at Arkansas, against Florida, and against Clemson. At most, I can see SC only losing to Florida or even Tennessee. It's a tough stretch of games to close out the season, so SC will need to be on game all the way through if they want to play in a Bowl game. The Gamecocks are going to be pretty cocky so that they don't become fresh poultry to the other teams. I think South Carolina will win about seven games, or perhaps six. Some of their road games are really going to test USCar's character.



I don't know everything, but I'd like to be able to answer some of your questions. I mostly know 1-A/FBS teams. I may take a chance at 1-AA to 3 teams. Feel free to ask me, and I'll try to offer my comments. I also like to know some of your questions to show that I actually have some readers checking out my score reports and extras. So I hope my comments have been of interest, TwinTurbos94.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here are the preseason poll results for Division 1-A as of this past Friday. See if your favorite team is on this list:


Preseason 2007 Top 25; 1-A/FBS
01. Southern California
02. Louisiana State
03. Florida
04. Texas
05. Michigan
06. West Virginia
07. Wisconsin
08. Oklahoma
09. Virginia Tech
10. Ohio State
11. Louisville
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Auburn
15. Tennessee
16. Rutgers
17. UCLA
18. Pennsylvania State
19. Nebraska
20. Arkansas
21. Florida State
22. Texas Christian
23. Boise State
24. Hawaii
25. Texas A&M



Extra: North Dakota and South Dakota to Join Great West Football Conference
Division 1-AA/FCS will pick up two more schools from two states you don't hear much about. The Universities of North Dakota and South Dakota will join the Great West Football Conference and play in the 2008-2009 academic year. People who follow college hockey should be no strangers to North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux of North Dakota know what it takes to make magic happen in hockey. They do have pretty good football and basketball teams as well. And certainly with North Dakota State's mad run in basketball and even football, it will bring this Division 2 rivalry to the Division 1 forefront. By the way, North Dakota's colors are green and white.

The University of South Dakota is home of the Coyotes. The boys in Vermillion Red and White are looking to have their rivalry with South Dakota State on the 1-AA/FCS level. If anything, this gives the two Dakotas some Division 1 love. And believe me, there will be PLENTY.



I was going to do an extra in regards to admissions at the University of South Carolina and how Steve Spurrier may go to another school if conditions don't improve. But I didn't since I don't know too many of the specifics after watching ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" about USCar's situation with recruiting and admissions.

 

[Joey D]

Wow Ohio State is pretty low.

 

[JohnBM01]

Be sure to check out "NCAA 08 Football" if you are a college football video gamer. This deal is the only college football game on the market and continues the long-running NCAA Football series. The game doesn't look to have any real evolution outside of play-making and updated rosters. The same nutty commentary of Florida State's Lee Corso is still in the game. The blonde-haired former Ohio State QB, Kirk Herbstreit, also provides his commentary. And let's not forget the wonderful Brad Nessler. What's nice is that after a touchdown drive, you get a brief overview of how the drive unfolded. It shows yards in passing,

I still wish EA would showcase more 1-AA/FCS teams. One of the best in the division is the University of San Diego. The Toreros are a talented bunch. A lot of other teams from some other conferences aren't included. Most of them include MAAC (the few remaining MAAC teams), Patriot League teams, and some like that. EA will need to include Old Dominion and Campbell when the two schools reinstate their football programs sometime after this upcoming season. And how people like to say that the Gran Turismo series lacks any real evolution. Well, most EA games usually lack some evolution because some of the EA Sports games kind of feel the same in certain respects. EA Sports has an exclusive contract on life. It's the only college football game on the market unless 2K Sports (or someone) can make a quality college football product. In addition to more 1-AA/FCS teams, why not some less generic 1-AA/FCS stadiums? Here's an example... the University of Houston plays their football games at Robertson Stadium, but so does Texas Southern. Access Texas Southern in the game, and you get a generic-looking stadium. Makes you ask... since when did a flat city like Houston have hilly sections? See what I mean? Then too, why not the ability to play in 1-AA/FCS tournament play? Maybe I want to be Massachusetts or San Diego and try to upset Appalachian State. All 1-AA/FCS teams in this game series are there for is one reason- to be hammered by 1-A teams. EA needs to try to make 1-AA more interesting, or just simply don't include such teams.

Other than that, hope to do business with you all with college football's 2007 season. I'll try each Tuesday to make injury reports to try to expand my college football perspective on GTPlanet. All the injury reports that are available to me from news reports from sports shows will be stuff I'll use to inform you on players who may not be able to play for the next game. I do welcome any questions or comments you may have. I'm just a casual guy, so don't expect me to answer any challenging questions. Have a great day.

 

[JohnBM01]

Just a small announcement. I'm a bit concerned about the character limit on long posts. Anyone whom have seen my long score reports know how long they can be. I use WordPad to make my posts beforehand. I then copy and paste to make posts. As much as I put into my posts, this length deal could be a true problem. Something I COULD do is break up the four divisions of NCAA football. If it's still fine to make a completely long post with as much college football as possible, then I'll still go ahead with this deal. Just to test out this new character limit, I may do a score sample just to see how these new character limits will affect how I put up scores and reports. So don't think I'm making a real report in trying to test these limits and how it would affect my score reports.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here are some college football notes:

Hurricanes and Dolphins Can Get Along
The University of Miami will play their home games at Dolphin Stadium starting next season. The multiple-time national champion Hurricanes will play their home games at Dolphin Stadium aside from the beautiful view of South Beach.

Oklahoma Names Their QB Starter
...and his name is Sam Bradford. He is a redshirt freshman trying to make the Oklahoma Sooners a winner.

Oregon State
OrSU Wide Receiver Sammie Stroughter will leave the Beavers on an indefinite leave of abscence for personal reasons. I usually said that Oregon State was better than Oregon. Nowadays, Oregon's been getting the love while their Civil War rivals have been slumping. Is it possible for Oregon State to still perform even with this loss?


CSTV had a college football preview for the SEC last night. Here are the picks the cast on the show were making:


SEC Sleepers
Roland: South Carolina getting it done
Trev Alberts: Florida = overrated
Greg Amsinger: LSU won't make it


The following follows this legend:
* Who will win the SEC?
* Who will be SEC Player of the Year?
* Who will be SEC Coach of the Year?

Trev Alberts:
* LSU
* Matthew Stafford
* Mark Richt

Roland:
* LSU
* Glenn Dorsey
* ???

Greg Amsinger:
* Kentucky
* Andre Woodson
* Rich Brooks


FoolKiller, Greg Amsinger thinks your Wildcats will be SEC champions. You dig that? Can they top those in their division as well as overall in the SEC? We'll see. In my next report, I may preview a school that's been getting a lot of positive vibe by college football sports reporters. Plus, I'll see if that school can actually make some noise.

 

[FoolKiller]

Greg Amsinger:
* Kentucky
* Andre Woodson
* Rich Brooks


FoolKiller, Greg Amsinger thinks your Wildcats will be SEC champions. You dig that? Can they top those in their division as well as overall in the SEC? We'll see.

I don't know what he is smoking, but pass the pipe. Kentucky will be good, but taking out the whole SEC? So, does that mean that he thinks we will be BCS bound too? I mean, he basically just said that we will beat multiple top ten schools and would have to have no more than two losses, most likely only one.

 

[JohnBM01]

I have some more info on Miami's move to Dolphins Stadium. It's said that the University of Miami could earn more money in earnings by moving to this new stadium. It is a 25-year lease. The team has played at the Orange Bowl since 1937. Demolition of this classic stadium may be in the near future.


In other news, CSTV reported that Saint Vincent College will reinstate its football program and play in the Presidents Athletic Conference in Division 3. The Bearcats had a program back in the 1920s. Their football field has been known as the Summer home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, this will be home of St. Vincent Beatcats football. Current(?) members of the Presidents' Athletic Conference include the following:

Grove City {Wolverines}
Thiel {Tomcats}
Washington and Jefferson College {Presidents}
Waynesburg College {Yellow Jackets}
Westminster College {Titans}
Bethany {Bison}
Thomas More {Saints}

It looks like college football starts this Saturday... if you're a Division 2 fan. CSTV is set to air a football match between Texas A&M-Commerce and Pittsburg State this Saturday at 2:30 PM EDT. It is one of three Texas A&M facilities in Division 2 football. The other two are Texas A&M-Kingsville (home of the Javelinas) and West Texas A&M (home of the Buffaloes in Canyon, TX).



--- Trouble for South Carolina ---
Blake Mitchell was suspended for one game for not attending class- a violation of rules at USCar. He has been suspended along with two other Gamecocks. This isn't going to sit well with a certain Gamecocks fan here on GTPlanet. South Carolina will take on Louisiana-Lafayette in their first game.



--- Iowa Hawkeyes Talk ---
The Thursday edition of ESPNU's "College Football Live" stated that Jake Christensen could help put Iowa back into the national spotlight. Iowa coach, Kirk Ferentz, is confident in helping make sure that Christensen can make a name for himself at Iowa. One fan said that 10-2 is possible for the Hawkeyes. What are the chances this actually HAPPENS? They don't have to play Michigan or Ohio State. So maybe this can work for them. Then again, could they get to double-digit wins this season even if they had to play Michigan and Ohio State? I got my buddy, JNasty4G63 perhaps rooting on his Hawkeyes.



--- North Carolina: More Than a Basketball School? ---
Check out this schedule to see if you think North Carolina can be a tour de force (or at least have a breakout season):

* = conference game or conference opponent
@ = road game
! = rivalry game

9/1 - James Madison
9/8 - @ East Carolina
9/15 - Virginia*
9/22 - @ South Florida
9/29 - @ Virginia Tech

10/6 - Miami* (remember that UNC upset a few years ago in Chapel Hill?)
10/13 - South Carolina (Rivalry game?)
*** 10/20 - Bye Week ***
10/27 - @ Wake Forest*

11/3 - Maryland*
11/10 - @ North Carolina State!*
11/17 - @ Georgia Tech!*
11/24 - Duke!* (Battle for the Victory Bell; just like basketball... only not as competitive)


UNC's been getting some mad love from analysts. Could this be a great year for the Tar Heels? Could they be going to a Bowl Game? We'll see starting next Saturday.



I invite all college football fans to make their voices heard in my threads. I don't want this to all be about 1-A/FBS. Give me your 1-AA/FCS schools. Tell me about your Division 2 program. Let me know about any Division 3 action. Tell me about your NAIA or NJCAA schools. I'm mostly committed to NCAA football. But I am willing to touch up on non-NCAA schools. Think of NAIA schools like Georgetown College in Kentucky. I made the effort to try to focus on all divisions of NCAA football last season. I even mentioned schools that no longer or don't have full football teams. Like Vermont, for example. The Catamounts started their own club-level team. Maybe Vermont will work towards a full-fledged program if enough interest is generated.

Having said this, I'm going to try to cover the game between Texas A&M-Commerce and Pittsburg State. This is just to show off the new format I'm working with derived from my college hoops reports. There's also a game between North Carolina Central and Albany State (two historically-black schools). College football is here if you're a Division 2 fan.

 

[FoolKiller]

It is a 25-year lease. The team has played at the Orange Bowl since 1937. Demolition of this classic stadium may be in the near future.

I hope they didn't pay in advance.

 

[TwinTurbos94]

I have some more info on Miami's move to Dolphins Stadium. It's said that the University of Miami could earn more money in earnings by moving to this new stadium. It is a 25-year lease. The team has played at the Orange Bowl since 1937. Demolition of this classic stadium may be in the near future.
.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I love that stadium!!!!!!




I have a darkhorse Prediction.....


Hawai'i will make a name for itself with their heisman front runner Colt Brennan.

 

[JohnBM01]

And you know what? It's a safe pick. Hawaii may show that they can compete even if they are... and I quote... on an island all alone. The University of Hawaii is the only NCAA football school in Hawaii. No other programs from Hawaii in either 1-AA through Division 3. They are the only football hope for the Aloha State. And the Warriors (Rainbow Warriors in some other sports) will pull through on the heels of Colt Brennan. My key matches will be when they host Washington and when they host (gulp) Boise State. I don't know if Boise State will be as potent without Zared J. under center, so Hawaii may have a chance.

Consider this post as a sample of how I do scores under the new model. A game will be rated by division regarding who the home team is. I'll cover only one game in Division 2 even though North Carolina Central played at Albany State. All the fun begins August 30... if you're not in Division 2. So let's get it!


SATURDAY SYNOPSIS
Divisions 1 and 3(?) won't go to work until next week. School is in session for Division 2 as two schools went at it among some others. One game was among a Top 10 team while another was a good old game of black college football.



--- Scores for Aug. 25, 2007 ---

Division 1-A/FBS Games
-none reported-





Division 1-AA/FCS Games
-none reported-





--- Division 2 Games ---
SYNOPSIS: College football returns as Division 2 gets people excited about college football.

Call of the Wild! Lions do Commerce in Kansas
* Texas A&M-Commerce (Lions) at #7 Pittsburg State (Gorillas)
College football is back in session. The Texas A&M system is ready to show you what some of the other TAMU campuses can pull off. I can tell you that all the football Texas A&M schools in Division 2 are pretty potent. The Texas A&M outfit in Commerce, Texas are ready to throw down against a Top 10 team. The Lions know they're in for a fight against a more powerful opponent. Think of this match as "The Lion King" vs. "King Kong." I think The Gorillaz are a cool group. Pittsburgh State has their own brand of simeons. Southeastern Kansas is where you'll find the city of Pittsburgh, Kansas. It is about 100 east southeast of Wichita. The Gorillas of Pittsburg State are ready to deal some pain to the boys from Commerce. The Lions want to deal Pittsburg State a butt-whippin'. However, the Gorillas want to do the Lions one better- they want to offer Texas A&M-Commerce a loss to take back home to Texas. Pittsburg State had a harder sell as they dealt a big loss to the Lions. (28-14; #7 PITTSBURG STATE)


(I don't have a score for NCCU at Albany State)


EXTRA: Could a Historically-Black School Succeed in Division 1-A/FBS?
Most HBCU's in college sports don't really have glamourous universities or a lot of facilities to rival BCS football schools. Pretend an HBCU wanted to head all the way to Division 1-A and had the facilities to be qualified as a Division 1-A school. Could they succeed? Think about the region most HBCU's are in. Most, if not all of them, are in the American Southeast. You have schools from the ACC and SEC that reside in these regions among BCS conferences. In non-BCS conferences, you have Conference USA and the Sun Belt. Could Tennessee State beat a school like Middle Tennessee State, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, or any in-state school in Division 1-A/FBS? Do you think the Jaguars of Southern University could knock off Tulane, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisian-Monroe, or even LSU? Just something to think about...





--- Division 3 Games ---
-none reported-





At the end of each week, I make my picks for biggest win, most disappointing loss, upset of the week, and OWNAGE of the week. I'll provide sample reports to show what I qualify as the given section. I don't know all schedules, so I'll make up games and reports to show off how I do things. Just to school those new to my reports:

*** BIGGEST WIN(S) OF THE WEEK ***
Awarded by me for teams who do more than their share to win games. It may even go to teams on a losing skid until a big win invigorates the team.
SAMPLE BIGGEST WIN: North Carolina Puts Up 21 Unanswered Points to Stun Maryland and Snap 3-Game Losing Streak The work by the Tar Heels was simply amazing. It was featured on TV, and it was amazing. UNC is better known for basketball than football. However, it doesn't mean you can't have playmakers on the football side. UNC had plenty in their big win over the Terrapins.

*** MOST DISAPPOINTING LOSS(ES) OF THE WEEK ***
Awarded by me for teams who should have won, but shot themelves in the foot. This even includes easy opponents teams fail to defeat.
SAMPLE MOST DISAPPOINTING LOSS: Duke Loses to the Purple Raiders of Division 3's Mount Union College Duke sucks... but they don't suck this bad! Maybe Duke should just be the only non-football school in the ACC after a stupid loss like this. Those dopes in Durham, NC need plenty of help. Hell, make 53 clones of my grandmother, and they could still beat Duke. I don't know how the boys in Durham live with themselves losing football games. They are the Stanford of the East Coast.

*** UPSET(S) OF THE WEEK (if any) ***
Not every win is guaranteed. That's why you have upsets, player! Insurmountable odds... and the underdog wins. This is more significant with Top 25 teams. I look for rankings for all four NCAA Divisions. So don't be surprised if (for example) Ohio State lost as a #3 to Miami University (of Ohio)... and I choose #1 Grand Valley State losing to West Texas A&M. It would be boring if I just focused on Division 1-A. Expect me to mix things up like a Steve Spurrier or Charlie Weis offense.
SAMPLE UPSET: Houston Wins on a Game-Winning Touchdown in Austin Against #2 Texas Longhorn Nation is reeling after the Houston Cougars pulled a serious dupe against the Lone Star State's finest football team. Houston has had history in their illustrious past, but they got her done against the Burnt Orange crew. This could be sickening for the Longhorns as they could fall down the order.

*** OWNAGE OF THE WEEK ***
Not too many people say "OWNED!" anymore. I still do! It's my personal favorite to pick. This is awarded by me to the team who beats up the other team so bad. I look for the largest margin of victory either on Saturday or all week long. Some beatings may be so bad that I may put in more than one.
SAMPLE OWNAGE: Kentucky Hands Rice Their Asses in a 70-0 Thrashing FoolKiller's boys did a number on my hated Rice Owls. This was damned deplorable and the reason why I'm not a Rice guy. So in this case...

Rice = OWNED by Kentucky 70-0!



The first week of the new season is coming along with my first thread to start the season. It will be entitled "True Freshman." Check it out and let's begin a new season once I bring it up.

 

[Joey D]

Just a small announcement. I'm a bit concerned about the character limit on long posts.

Jordan fixed it so you'll be able to do all your long reports. I'll be waiting read them once the season gets into full swing.

 

[JohnBM01]

Well thank you, Joey D. I'm proud that I can grow an audience in covering college sports. I appreciate all of your support. I'll start on the deal soon. Since I'll be back in college, I may not be as accurate and recent with reports. I'll do my best, though.

College Football 2007 will begin on GTPlanet when I release the first week's thread. Each week will be between Sunday and Saturday. So any games played on Sunday will be part of a new week.