College Football 2008: Season Preview, Spring Training, and More

[JohnBM01]

I waited until after the Super Bowl to release this thread. It's time to start a new season of college football. My name is John B. Marine. This will be my... I want to say my fourth season covering college football on GTPlanet. This thread exists for you all to talk about the upcoming season. We're a long way away from the start of the 2008 season of college football. However, you all are free to discuss any nice recruits going to your favorite school, ask me questions about how I think a team will do or whatever, or anything to get us ready for the upcoming season.

As far as this date is concerned, National Signing Day is only a few days away. It will be interesting to see what some of the best high school players will commit. I recently heard that a pretty good quarterback committed to play at (of all schools), Duke. This may be a situation of "laugh now, cry later." Then again, I felt the same way two or three years ago when a good high school recruit committed to Kentucky. Kentucky's had back-to-back 7-5 seasons in football. They aren't sorry anymore. They turned the corner. A lot of current juniors and seniors will consider entering the NFL Draft in April. So time to hire Mel Kiper Jr. for all of that. It's also the opportunity for South Alabama to start football in the 2009 season, Campbell to reinstate football for 2008(?), Western Kentucky to join the Sun Belt in 2009, Old Dominion to reinstate football for 2009, and more.

It's the off-season for college football. Then again, college football isn't too important for most people because the run for March Madness continues this month. I have a new slogan/saying for college football on here. The old one was:

"The best years of your life in football are in college."

My new slogan/saying is:

"Never forget where you came from."

Time to look forward to college football season 2008. Feel free to kick this bad boy off whenever you want.

 

[JohnBM01]

Today is National Signing Day. It will be very interesting to see who signs their Letter of Intent to what school. If a very good quarterback recruit signed up to play at Duke, then imagine what other schools can turn around or improve teams. The big man who has yet to decide where he wants to play is Terrell(?) Pryor.

Did your favorite school pick up a good recruit? Feel free to discuss in this thread.

 

[JohnBM01]

Spring Training is getting underway for a Fall/Autumn of college football. Something I've learned is that Marist College will continue football by joining the Pioneer Football League. Marist College and Iona College (two New York state schools) are the only football schools that play most of their sports in the MAAC.

 

[bevo]

go bucks!!!! terrell pryor will be the man. really i just wanted to give you a post so you'll know at least someone likes you're thread.

 

[JohnBM01]

I have loyal readers. Too bad I can't get too many for my college basketball discussions. ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" had a story at how Ohio State's Jim Tressel took shots at new Michigan coach, Rich Rodriguez. Michigan and Ohio State plain don't like each other (just ask Joey D). Looks like Tressel and Rodriguez will be best friends (sarcasm) for as long as Rodriguez heads Michigan.

Stuff I will bring up in this thread will range from college football news to some random (but relevant) blabber. I don't want this to be all about BCS teams or even FBS teams. I try to bring up the non-BCS schools and even non-FBS programs. It's all in an effort to diversify my stuff.

 

[JohnBM01]

I speculated last year as to what basketball power would prevail in football. And as we seen this past season, it was Kansas in a no-contest. So who's next? It COULD be Baylor. I've ripped Baylor to shreds, but Art Briles (formerly of the U. of Houston) wants to try to make Baylor a winner. Could it happen? We shall see.

What other floundering team do you think can finish with a winning record this season?
* Duke
* North Carolina
* Syracuse
* Iowa
* Stanford
* (any team you choose)

 

[Joey D]

I'm hoping Notre Dame at least has a good season and, obviously, I am hoping for a better season from U of M. Although there have been a lot of changes within the team for the upcoming year so it could go either way, but I am sorry to say I just can't really see them being on their A game thing year.

 

[JohnBM01]

Mark Slive (SEC Commissioner) will meet with others to propose a plus-one playoff format to begin for the 2010 season. The opponents for this playoff proposal are the Big Ten and Pac-10. I still would like to see a 12-team playoff campaigned during Bowl Season. Don't know how my proposal works? Visit this thread: < https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=101514 >. If all goes well, then the four best teams in the nation will all battle among themselves to see who'll advance to the National Championship game to decide a National Champion.

Think a deal like this would truly materialize? Or are the non-BCS bowl authorities not really for this?

 

[JohnBM01]

The push for a playoff has basically died. Television contracts and such will allow the BCS to last until about 2014. So no playoff despite a great push for one. Perhaps the bowl system is so entrenched in college football that a playoff seems to ruin the balance according to some people. It's going to be VERY tough to get a playoff format working, even at the expense of killing off the bowl system.

No playoffs. It still doesn't mean that college football can't still be exciting.

 

[kjb]

It looks like LSU won't be repeating as National champs this year.

 

[JohnBM01]

Former LSU QB, Ryan Perilloux(?), will transfer to FCS school, Jacksonville State. Jacksonville State is trying to join the FBS in a few years or so. I'm not sure if they are still wanting to do that.

You all are free to chat about Spring games and some good football players we should keep note of.

 

[kjb]

As a Michigan fan I must say I am a little bit worried about how Rich Rodriguez is doing things. I have never heard of anyone transferring from Michigan to Ohio St. He seems to be ignoring the past which can be very dangerous. I predict a bad year for Michigan

 

[JohnBM01]

Careful, kjb... we got Joey D on GTPlanet who LOVES his blue and maize. May grow a little rivalry on here when football season kicks off again...

 

[JohnBM01]

Here is some college sports news according to collegesportsinfo.com:



Didn't They Just Get Here?
There's talk about the Mid-American Conference (MAC) expanding to include Temple and soon-to-be-FBS-school... Western Kentucky. The Owls of Temple are terrible in football while Western Kentucky could beat Temple 50,000 times over. It would be too early for the Sun Belt's Western Kentucky to consider going to a newer conference. I think the Hilltoppers will do a wonderful job in FBS against other mid-majors. They'll need to have an Appalachian State mentality in taking on some of the power teams.

North Alabama Coming to FCS?
It's said that Division 2's North Alabama will be heading to the Ohio Valley Conference to join other Alabama schools such as Samford University and Jacksonville State University. It would probably make sense for more Alabama teams to join the Ohio Valley Conference in FCS. But if any when North Alabama decides to join the FBS, and when South Alabama gets their football team together, expect an instant in-state rivalry between North and South Alabama.

We're Not in Gateway Anymore...
The Gateway Football Conference is considering a name change. It's been rumored that the Gateway Football Conference will relaunch itself as the Missouri Valley Conference. The MVC is best known as a conference with high-major schools that can take down some of the best college basketball teams. Schools such as the University of Houston and Oklahoma State were once part of this conference (and both used to be rivals). It would be interesting to see if any non-football MVC schools could think about returning to football or starting football. All of the non-football MVC schools include the following:

* Creighton University
* Wichita State University
* Evansville University
* Bradley University

I think this is good so that the Missouri Valley Conference could have representation in the only other major college sport than basketball. Football can be expensive, so I hope there's lots of representation for the MVC boys.



That's all from me. I'm just awaiting some more college football later this year. Care to speculate with me?

 

[Joey D]

My prediction is a bad year for Michigan, however I will stick with them.

 

[kjb]

I think they will win 7-8 games but they will lose to OSU again

 

[JohnBM01]

There was some very old news about the USCal Trojans perhaps playing their games in Long Beach, especially if an NFL team is going to play there. Long Beach is best known for the Long Beach Grand Prix (one of my personal favorite races), but could it also be home to Trojans' football in the future? It probably wouldn't sit well with me too much because I don't think you have to travel extremely far to play games. Then again, I think of UCLA playing their football at the beautiful Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. They do play their basketball at Pauley Pavillion. I just get into the presumption that USCal would probably travel too far just to play football.

Now let me talk Michigan football. I always try to play positive with things. Only thing I'm confident of is that I don't think they'll be playing in a BCS Bowl Game. My best-case for them would be for them to play in a January bowl... like their epic encounter with Florida this past season. The worst-case for me would be if Michigan goes to 3-8 and maybe beat some cupcakes in Big Ten play. If I get to review Michigan's 2008 schedule, I will envision how their season could go. Michigan football will still be the hard-hitting Michigan football of old. Something to remember- Michigan started out 0-2 after losing closely to Appalachian State (Ohio State must have been laughing thier butts off) and then getting creamed by Oregon. There is no playoff system (though many people would love to see such a system, myself included); all you need to do is win six or more games, and you're playing postseason football. Michigan is going to have a fairly average season to me. There's no state of emergency for Michigan football in my eyes. The thing I wonder about is if Michigan football under Rich Rodriguez could end up being like Tubby Smith in Kentucky men's basketball in the case of "if we don't consistently win, you're history." Good luck to Rich Rodriguez coaching at his alma mater. He made West Virginia a winner. Now he'll be stepping up to Michigan. I think he'll do justice. Have faith, Joey D.

Reviewing the Yahoo! Sports page on college football, there may be a contender to deal with this season- Brigham Young University. They don't have Jim McMahon, but they do have Max Hall trying to make a Cougar Comeback that could take them to being that non-BCS team to play in a BCS Bowl. This past season's big name was Hawaii (before getting creamed by Georgia). BYU took care of a struggling UCLA in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl. Maybe BYU has a chance. We'll see what happens when action begins later this year.




From Nobody to Somebody... Who's Next?
The Kansas Jayhawks are a basketball power... NOT a football power. Well, that's what many of us thought until the University of Kansas lost only ONE game. No, let me re-state that... one LOSS, not one win. The University of Kansas went from a bottom-dweller to a powerhouse in a magical season. It shows that ANY team can beat ANY team by playing hard and believing. Allow me to speculate what not-very-good team could be next to have that magical season. Consider the following teams:

--- BCS ---
* Baylor
* Duke
* North Carolina
* Indiana
* Arizona
* Vanderbilt
* Colorado
* Iowa State
* Syracuse
* Iowa
* Michigan State
* Notre Dame
* Minnesota

--- Non-BCS ---
* Army
* SMU
* New Mexico State
* Buffalo
* Temple
* Eastern Michigan
* Ball State
* Colorado State (poor season last season)
* San Diego State
* Florida International
* North Texas
* San Jose State
* UNLV



Why did I include these teams? It's because they haven't been very good either lately or at all. Any of these teams can all of a sudden rise up and have magical seasons. Here is who I think COULD have that magical season:

* I think Baylor can be the Kansas of the Big XII South. Why? Art Briles. He coached my hometown Houston Cougars to an amazing 10-win season two years ago and a respectable 8-5 record last season. If he could do this at a school with great football tradition, he could work wonders at the Baptist univerity in Waco. The Baylor Bears are terrible unless something changes right now in football there.

* Indiana and Iowa can improve, but especially Indiana. Indiana could return to Bowl action and show not to be a cupcake in the Big Ten. Imagine them taking down teams like Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Penn State. It's in the cards. Can they make magic again? I didn't want to include Iowa to this list, but the Hawkeyes have been on hard times lately. The black and gold attack can give Iowa City plenty to be proud of by dialing in amazing performances. Is there still reason to be excited to be a Hawkeye fan? Not if Iowa doesn't produce.



The worst of the non-BCS schools include Temple, San Diego State, Florida International, UNLV, Buffalo, Ball State, New Mexico State, North Texas, and SMU. If I had to pick a school to do much better this season out of these schools, I may be inclined to choose Southern Methodist. A game I saw on ESPN or CSTV (now CBS College Sports) from SMU noted that SMU has all the facilities and such to be a powerful team. SMU has had a great team back in the '80s. Whether or not the Dallas school can succeed this season lies mostly in taking on opposition from other schools including Conference USA action. They'll need to take down teams like Houston, UTEP, Tulane, Southern Miss, and Central Florida among others.



Are there any schools you think may rise up and become a power like Kansas this past season?

 

[kjb]

Rich Rodriguez was an alum of West Virginia. He has come in upset a lot of folks at UM with some of the things he has done. Michigan doesn't really have the players to run the spread. So that spells potential disaster. i think Michigan would have been hiring C.Michigan's coach.

 

[JohnBM01]

Always thought he was a Michigan man... Thanks for clarifying.

 

[kjb]

No problem. Personally I think I can deal with a losing season if they can OSU.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here's some college football news according to collegesportsinfo.com's RSS feed:



Lamar Reinstates Football for 2011
My former school, Lamar University, will be reinstating football to play in the Southland Conference. The Beaumont, TX school is home of the Cardinals and had their final season of football sometime in the 1980s. Now, the Cardinals will be one of a few Southland Conference schools to add football. Non-football Southland Conference schools include Lamar, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio (still going ahead with football plans), and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. That's funny. Texas is known as a football state, and all the Southland Conference schools without football are in Texas!

Bye, Gateway Football Conference... Hello, Missouri Valley Conference Football!
Confused about how a conference can be called the Gateway Football Conference when mostly Missouri Valley teams are featured? Well, welcome [back] the Missouri Valley Conference. Perhaps this will get more current MVC teams to come up with football programs if they like to. Only Wichita State, Evansville, Bradley, and Creighton don't have football. I've heard of reports that Wichita State and Evansville may consider non-scholarship football.

FBS Demotions?
Football schools that don't meet the attendance requirements will be subject to demotion to FCS, according to the NCAA. The Aggies of New Mexico State University are among some of the names that COULD be demoted to FCS because of not enough fans. The rules specify that home crowds need to have as many as 15,000 fans on average to remain an FBS school. New Mexico State could be demoted to FCS in football, but not lose any status in other sports. New Mexico State is usually a WAC doormat in football. The other two schools under fire for poor home attendance include Utah State and Idaho, also WAC schools. The Idaho Vandals have a mediocre football program while Utah State finds several ways to have stinky records in football. I'm surprised they haven't called up Duke or anybody for their nobody programs.



That's all from me. Take care of yourselves.

 

[JohnBM01]

Coach Mangino for Kansas got a contract extension good through 2012. We've witnessed the slow evolution of a Big XII doormat turn into a team that lost only one game. Mangino hopes to coach some more quality talent at Kansas University to best talent all over the nation and in the Big XII. Good coaches get extensions (unless they go elsewhere). That's why schools like Temple, Buffalo, Duke, and Stanford get stuck in neutral.

If you want to answer this one, go ahead... what usual doormat team has the best chance of becoming a successful team this season?

 

[JohnBM01]

ESPN will air the second season of "College Football Live" starting at 3:30 PM EDT.

Valedictorians of College Football: Class of 2008 College Football Hall of Fame
Among some of the many inductees are Joe Paterno, Ahmad Rashad, and Doug Flutie. Paterno is 81 years old and going to coach in his 43rd season. Truly the iron man of college football coaching. That's even including coaching so many years at one school. This means that he's had to put up with times when Pennsylvania State wasn't having winning seasons and not winning National Championships. He stayed with it because he knew he could coach Penn State to be among one of the most solid college football programs in the land. It's pretty cool when you can be remembered for one play. The modern version would be Jared Zabransky's Statue of Liberty to upset Oklahoma last year in the Fiesta Bowl. Doug Flutie was famous for his Hail Mary that took down the Miami Hurricanes playing at Miami.

I don't have a link that shows you all of the Class of 2008 Hall of Fame inductees. I may give out a link to you all if I can find one. Either look for an update to this post or a future post. We aren't far away from the 2008 season of college football!



[UPDATE] Here's a link that touches up on the Class of 2008 HOF inductees: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011670558

 

[JohnBM01]

There's going to be a new 40-second play clock in college football. Should be interesting. I think that's the same amount of time for plays in the NFL. It should be interesting to see how this affects play calling this season.

 

[JohnBM01]

Now it's time I do some team previews.



College Football Preview: Michigan
I'll be hoping to get some feedback from Joey D this season on his beloved Wolverines. Here's their schedule:

@ = road games

8/30 - Utah
9/6 - Miami University (not the University of Miami)
9/13 - @ Notre Dame <<< RIVALRY GAME
--- off week ---
9/27 - #24 Wisconsin
10/4 - #20 Illinois
10/11 - Toledo
10/18 - @ Penn State
10/25 - Michigan State <<< RIVALRY: Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy
11/1 - @ Purdue
11/8 - @ Minnesota <<< RIVALRY: The Little Brown Jug
11/15 - Northwestern
11/22 - @ #5 Ohio State <<< RIVALRY GAME


Crucial matches:
at Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and (especially) at Ohio State



Here are my predictions:

MICHIGAN WINS: Utah, Miami University, Notre Dame, Illinois, Toledo, Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern
MICHIGAN LOSES: Wisconsin
UNSURE: Ohio State


So I still think Michigan can still make a January bowl. But if Michigan loses to Ohio State, then the Big Blue faithful are going to have a hateful stare at Rich Rodriguez. This year's Michigan isn't going to be like the 2005 Wolverines or even the first two games the Wolverines lost (Appalachian State and Oregon). Michigan won't be the laughing stock most haters make them out to be. At best, I have them down for ten wins. This team will have a much better winning percentage than Michigan's men's basketball team. I think they'll win 8 games at worst. For Bowl action, I'm predicting either the Gator Bowl or the Rose Bowl. An unbeaten Michigan team means they'll be playing for a National Championship.


I'll have more previews of more teams in future posts. Feel free to comment at will.

 

[Joey D]

I don't know, I don't really have a great feeling about U of M this year. They are at Norte Dame, Penn State, Purdu, Minnesota, and Ohio State, which are all really tough teams. They are going to have their work cut out for them for sure. I think if they come out and do a good showing with Norte Dame then they will have a good chance of carrying the momentum thoughout the year. If they do this I would probably say Rose Bowl, but not National Championship.

The most important thing though is that they beat MSU and give 120% to beat Ohio State this year.

 

[JohnBM01]

This post is all about Kentucky.



College Football Preview: Kentucky
This will be about the third or fourth season I kept tabs on the University of Kentucky. Let's see how these surprising Wildcats

@ = road games

8/31- @ Louisville <<< RIVALRY: Battle of the Bluegrass (Louisville wants revenge)
9/6 - Norfolk State
9/13 - Middle Tennessee State
--- off week ---
9/27 - Western Kentucky (where's your loyalties, FoolKiller?)
10/4 - @ Alabama
10/11 - South Carolina
10/18 - Arkansas
10/25 - @ Florida
11/1 - @ Mississippi State
11/8 - #2 Georgia
11/15 - Vanderbilt
11/29 - @ #12 Tennessee

CRUCIAL MATCHES:
at Louisville, Alabama, at Florida, Georgia, and at Tennessee


Here are my predictions:
KENTUCKY WINS: Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Georgia (I picked this as an upset), and Vanderbilt
KENTUCKY LOSES: Alabama, Tennessee
UNSURE: Louisville

MAKE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP?: 60% chance



Kentucky doesn't have the services of Andre' Woodson anymore. They have a new guy named Curtis Pulley. I'm not sure if Rafael Little is around anymore, and I think Dicky Lyons Jr. is still around. Part of Kentucky's turnaround was predicated on the abilities of Andre' Woodson as well as his weapons on offense. The defense remained stout as well. Kentucky has been a surprise team in the SEC. However, not as much publicity as Kansas' improbable run. Maybe it's that ESPN mentality that Kentucky is a basketball school and not supposed to be loved and regarded for its football. I have Kentucky down for a 9-3 season. They have to continue to produce on the field and play disciplined football. At worst, I have them down for a 6-6 season or even a 5-7 season. Kentucky should do just fine.

 

[JohnBM01]

UGA VI (Georgia's live mascot bulldog) passed away. Georgia is projected as the presumptive favorite in the SEC. Maybe even the best in the SEC East.

LSU had Les Miles and Snoop Dogg in the house at a press conference. Let's just say that Les Miles isn't going to be rapping on tour with Snoop Dogg anytime soon. Not even in a "Best of Snoop Dogg" collection...



From the Collegesportsinfo.com archives, the Atlantic Sun may consider football. Some of the member schools include Jacksonville, Lipscomb, Mercer, Kennesaw State, East Tennessee State, and Stetson. Of the schools I mentioned, only Jacksonville has a football program. Other A-Sun teams include Belmont, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia State, North Florida, and South Carolina Upstate. This season will mark the return of football by another A-Sun school- Campbell. I know Kennesaw State was considering football and working hard to get football in Kennesaw, GA. I know Georgia State was thinking of a football program themselves as well. The Atlanta school will probably be the only other Division 1 football school other than Georgia Tech.

Finally, the Big East was extending invitations to Army and Navy. The two schools would be added for football only. Unfortunately, they declined the offer. Unless they REALLY want Syracuse to have a winning season for once, this wasn't going to work.



A Special Announcement
My start of college football will begin August 23rd as Division 2 kicks off the new season of college football. That Saturday game will pit Fort Valley State playing at defending Division 2 champions, Valdosta State. I'll be following Grand Valley State to see if they can bounce back from a disappointing exit from last season's tournament. For the first time, my college football reports will begin with Division 2 as FBS, FCS, and Division 3 will all kick off the weekend after. Are you excited? College football season is almost here!

 

[JohnBM01]

More college football chatter...


--- BIG TEN ---

A Look at Minnesota's New Stadium
Set to see opening kickoff in September 12, 2009; new TCF Bank Stadium is set to be unveiled and ready for play next year for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This campus stadium has had $288.5 million dollars invested in it. Minnesota is usually a competitive team year after year. However, the Golden Gophers have been mediocre of late. Rivals Minnesota and Iowa have fallen on tough times respectively. I think Iowa has a better chance of bouncing back, but I wouldn't count out Minnesota in Big Ten play.



What if Ohio State Can't Win the Big One for Three Successive Seasons?
If Ohio State makes the National Championship game and loses again, then I think Mr. Tressel could be on the hot seat while many people will call Ohio State as "can't win the big one." The school has over seven national championships in their history. Florida and Louisiana State (LSU) have knocked Ohio State's teeth out in the BCS National Championship games they've recently been in. Let's face it. Ohio State is a wonderful program. You can't, however, validify that if you can't win the BCS National Championship, especially in consecutive years. An SEC lover would say that Ohio State would even lose to Mississippi State or Kentucky (or maybe even South Carolina too) if Ohio State keeps losing to SEC teams. I love the SEC, don't get me wrong.


Illinois or Indiana?
The University of Illinois and Indiana University are more than just rivals. The two have been down-in-the-dumps teams until recently. The death of their late coach has inspired the Indiana Hoosiers to a very good season last season or so. I don't know too much about either team to proclaim which ever one will be better this coming season.



--- BIG EAST ---

Financial Woes at Rutgers
Why should you care about this? Rutgers University was where college football was born 135+ years ago. The birthplace of college football is having some financial troubles. Here is a direct quote:

Ever since Rutgers, New Jersey's largest state university, began its campaign several years ago to become a big-time football power, bad things have happened. Less-glamorous sports teams â&#8364;&#8221; tennis, swimming and fencing among them were downgraded to intramural status to save on the budget, and more and more money has gone to football rather than academics.

Check out this article in case you want to read more about this issue: < http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/opinion/08fri3.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin >



If you have the bandwidth and time, you can check out the latest on NCAA Conference Realignment news and notes by checking out this link: < http://collegesportsinfo.com/conference-realignment-grid >. The information mostly consists of football and basketball programs at colleges and universities. Here's all I know so far:

* Campbell (Rock Hill, South Carolina) reinstates football for this year.
* Old Dominion (Norfolk, Virginia) reinstates football for next year.
* South Alabama is still working out the bugs for their college football to start in maybe 2011. It will play along with fellow Sun Belt rivals, Western Kentucky (WKU and USA makes a great Sun Belt East rivalry in basketball)
* Georgia State, Texas-Arlington, and Texas-San Antonio are all working towards football. Not sure what deals are still being offered with these schools.
* Lamar (Beaumont, Texas) will reinstate football in a few years.





The week of August 23rd will be my first weekend of college football coverage. I want the start of college football to be consistent with other college football teams rather than only focus on Division 1 as the start of the season. So be sure to check this forum starting this Sunday for the start of college football 2008. You'll be here, right?

That's all. Continue to preview at will.


[UPDATE] I learned that the city of Atlanta will have TWO college football teams as Georgia State will begin tossing up the pigskin in the CAA in 2010.