Steve and the Tank! - College Football Preview

Saturday, September 01, 2007

This weekend marks the beginning of one of the best weekends of the year -- college football. Boo yeah!

Don't get me wrong, I love pro football too but the rivalries make college football great. Army-Navy, Michigan-Ohio State, Notre Dame-USC, and the list goes on and on. The alumni stoke the flames of passion for each team and pass the torch from one generation to the next. Pro football has rivalries but free agency and teams moving, i.e. Colts from Baltimore to Indy and Browns became Ravens has dimmed those flames. The great Cleveland fans had to wait for years for a team to reclaim the Browns name. Former Browns owner Art Modell's safety is not a certainty within Cleveland city limits.

Back to college football. There are many exciting storylines. Will Florida repeat? No. Can Ohio State reload? Yes but has to close at Michigan and plays Wisconsin. Will Notre Dame contend for a national championship? Not yet, they need another season or two for Coach Charlie Weiss to get the players he wants. Notre Dame has one of the toughest if not the toughtest schedules in the country. I am not sure how they are going to do until they face Penn State. How is their defensive speed? Next is Michigan. USC visits in October. You never know about the luck of the Irish. JH will throw a parade if the Irish win.

Local Outlook:

Through prayer and deep thought in the past year or so, I have let most of my anti-Jersey feelings go. (I am still upset about the Jets moving to the Meadowlands but understand the business that is the NFL.). Steve's girlfriend Kathleen has asked for coverage of Rutgers. Since Steve is like a brother to me, I am adopting Kathleen as the little sister that I never had. Shhhh! Don't tell her yet because she says she doesn't read the blog. I'll break the news to her when I stop by Studio 86 for our next podcast. :-) Anyhoo, here goes:

Rutgers: The stars may line up for an undefeated season for the Scarlet Knights. They win their first seven games. Beware of the Maryland trap game on September 29. They get a chance to avenge last year's 41-39 defeat at Morgantown. (BTW, I picked the Mountaineers to win because of home field advantage.). The Scarlet Knights will try to return the favor. The Scarlet Knights should run the table until they finish the regular season on November 29 at Louisville. Revenge is on the Scarlet Knights mind but Louisville is at home so I give them the edge. But check back in late November for the ending. If he stays healthy, RB Ray Rice will finish in the top five of the Heisman Trophy balloting.

Syracuse: As rosy as the outlook is for Rutgers, the opposite is true for my beloved Orangemen. Third year coach Greg Robinson is starting to get the players for his West Coast set. We'll see what QB Andrew Robinson has. At best, I hope to save face with five or six wins but probably more like three or four. Keep the faith! Let's Go Orange!

BTW, if West Virginia, Louisville, or Rutgers survive without a loss, their BCS ranking may not be as high as other conferences but will get a Dark Horse chance if Big Ten, SEC, or other major conferences all have one or two losses.

Other Conferences:

Speaking of the SEC, who will win it? Wow! That's a tough one because it's the best football conference in the country no doubt about it. Florida is defending champs but LSU has home field advantage on October 6. But can they win the SEC Championship Game against Florida on a neutral site? No.

National Championship: I think Florida's basketball/football/Dancing With the Stars Championship Magic strikes midnight. Heisman Trophy favorite QB John David Booty and USC end the Gators dreams 27 to 20. (Disclosure: While travelling in Hawai'i for San Diego Rich's wedding on July 7, one of the guys in the wedding party ran into USC Coach Pete Carroll at a local hangout and was a pretty cool guy. I was unfortunately battling severe sun burn/poisoning -- all in less than an hour with SPF 30 on my fair skin to meet Coach Carroll. Darn it!)

Enjoy the magic of college football!

Written by an excited and traveling Tank and posted by Steve.