College Football: Spring Training and 2006-2007 Preview

[JohnBM01]

Sure, the gridiron clashes aren't until August. What better way to make more positive use of your summer than to anticipate the new season? Okay. Maybe something you can actually look forward to than personally meeting that celebrity in your Myspace account. Dig this, GTP.

Anytime a new season begins, a team gains players and loses players. College football is where many football fans have the time of their lives before (granted they have these ambitions) wanting to play on Sundays. You can play for any team in the land. Still, nothing like the college experience. No one can completely know what to expect in a new season. Who would have thought that Utah would make a BCS Bowl Game, beat Pittsburgh (okay, they finished 8-4 that season in 2004-2005), and finished undefeated in the 2004-2005 season? Who would have thought that Tennessee would not go a Bowl Game for the first time since maybe the 1980s last season? What about Michigan playing in DECEMBER with a 7-5 finish? How about in the Division 1-AA when Hampton went unbeaten in the regular season, and lose in the first round of the Division 1-AA playoffs? How about Texas State making their first 1-AA Tourney? What about in Division 3 where Ohio Northern upset the #1-ranked Mount Union Purple Raiders, shutting their LONG winning streak?

Good teams have to stay good. Can Texas do without Vince Young? Can the USoCal Trojans succeed without Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush? Can Ohio State rise again to become the team to beat in the Big Ten? Can Appalachian State win again in Division 1-AA, or will Texas State have a better tournament appearance? Can Grand Valley State's Lakers (Division 2, NCAA) win another title for the Michigan-based brand? Or will other talent like Arkansas-Monticello, West Texas A&M, or anyone like that be able to win? Can Mount Union continue to etch their markings into the Division 3 ranks? Or, could Linfield College, Mary Hardin-Baylor, and such get things done?


This coming season, I'll try to focus on all three divisions of NCAA football. I do this because Division 1 football isn't the only football most college sports fans like. I remember when I talked about Division 2 football standings, and Iowa fan "JNasty" complimented me for mentioning that Nebraska-Omaha was a Top 25 team in the Division 2 ranks. If you want to share some Spring Practice moments or share your thoughts on the forthcoming season, go right ahead. This is your thread.

Let's look forward to College Football 2006!

 

[m.piedgros]

Texas has some solid depth at quarterback (formerly behind Vince Young.) It'll be interesting to see what comes out of the camps and who becomes the next big man on campus. SoCal would like us all to believe that they are the dynasty in the new millenium. I don't see them being the dominant force they were with Leinhart and Bush. As for Ohio State, I can see them on top of the Big Ten.

m.piedgros

 

[JohnBM01]

Dare I say, Kentucky may be a surprise team in the SEC. Please note we're talking about football and not their classic basketball program. That's right. Kentucky MAY go to a Bowl Game this year. Not going to win the SEC title (especially considering Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Alabama, Florida, and all that), but they may have their best year because one of the best five high-schoolers on National Signing Day picked Kentucky. Just have to hope Kentucky won't flounder as usual.

Here are some of my early picks for who will win in conference, or at least who I hope will do well enough.

ACC: (tie) Florida State or Miami
Florida State came short of an Orange Bowl victory in a Triple-Overtime thriller with Penn State. The 1999 National Champs will likely deliver in this division. I think they'll finish no lower than a #15 rank. Miami still has to keep up the goofd work. I just hope they don't lose to LSU (or anyone else) in a 40-3 blowout. My surprise team would be either Clemson, Boston College, or Maryland.

Big Ten: (tie) Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State
Iowa slightly disappointed last year. Last year was all about Penn State. Michigan was thankful to even go to a Bowl Game, much less a December Bowl. Michigan isn't on the clock. It would be a shame to not see them play in January. Their Columbus rivals are usually a solid program every year. They haven't seen National Championship glory since 2002 when they beat Miami in another thrilling game. I'm going with Iowa again. Iowa is really a team capable of great things. I'm siding with my buddy JNasty on this one. My surprise team would be Northwestern. Randy Walker died recently, and I think this new coach will hopefully bring life to the Chicago-area unit in Evanston, IL.

Big XII: Texas
No question. No one's better than Texas. My Norman, OK types would disagree. I think Texas will still deliver even without their big gamebreaker Vince Young. I don't think Texas will replicate their success from last season, but Longhorn fans will still enjoy quality Texas football. My three Surprise teams are Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Kansas State. I'm still not sold on Kansas even though they made it to the Fort Worth Bowl and beat the crap out of Houston in that game.

Big East: West Virginia
West Virginia shocked America when they beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Mountaineers are for real. Still call it the "Big Least" if you like. At least you know there are some stars in this conference. Another good team is Louisville. The Cardinals didn't do too well in basketball, but Cardinal football will still be fun to watch. Only shocker is if Louisville loses to their Lexington rivals. My surprise team will be Pittsburgh, but only if they can get everything back into gear and not stink so bad.

Conference USA: (tie) Memphis or Southern Mississippi
Memphis will only be good if they can replace the talent of DeAngelo Williams. Memphis is still a great football team even if the Tigers don't continue their great run of success. Southern Mississippi has a VERY famous alum- Brett Favre. But can the Golden Eagles impress yet again? I think they have a great chance. There are a great number of surprise teams in this conference. First is UCF. The University of Central Florida. I'm not sure if they can impress yet again as they are the defending C-USA champions in the new conference championship arrangement. UTEP (University of Texas-El Paso) may not win a National Championship like (then) Texas Western College did in basketball, but they are still Bowl-bound if they can cash in another great season. I like Marshall in addition to some of the other solid talents. And now some hometown love. This could be a pivotal year for the University of Houston. The Cougars have been to two Bowl Games in three years under coach Art Briles. Kevin Kolb is a star looking to shine and maybe give Houston plenty of reason to be excited since Andre Ware won the Heisman almost 15 years ago. Surprise team? You bet. I also hope they can have 7 wins or more and not lose in a blowout to Kansas of all teams.

MAC: (tie) Bowling Green State or Miami University
First off, it's Miami University in Oxford, OH. The Florida school is the University of Miami. Don't get the two twisted. It's like in basketball where you have two Boston schools. One being (of course) Boston College, and the other is Boston University, who once had a football team. Bowling Green may be without Omar Jacobs. I don't know if he got drafted. Maybe their best game in a losing effort was when BGSU played at Wisconsin in a basketball-on-grass game. Surprise team may be the University of Toledo, Ohio, or maybe Buffalo if they can get it together. And I absolutely hope that newcomer Temple will not have a winless season in the MAC. Temple football is the Savannah State of Division 1-A football. They are horrible. Second worse would have to be Army.

Mountain West Conference: Texas Christian
Had it not been for a disappointing loss against rivals Southern Methodist, the Fort Worth, TX unit would have played in a BCS bowl. Now doesn't that remind you of a team from the MWC that played in a bigtime bowl? That's right! Utah smashing Pittsburgh. I think Texas Christian tries to be the next MWC sensation since Utah under Urban Meyer. Surprise teams would be Utah or Air Force. Air Force is America's second-best military academy school behind Navy. They should be solid. I also wouldn't count out Colorado State if I were you.

Pacific-10 Conference: (tie) Southern California or Oregon
This is actually tough to call. Part of me says that USoCal will do sweet again. Another part says that Washington knows how to win games for once and be ready to show signs of their 1990 or 1991 team. I also thought of Califorinia being a surprise team. I don't see Washington State or Stanford dominating. And I have my doubts about my Oregon pick because Oregon State (2006 College World Series champions) could be on their way to bigger and better things. A team who wins a National Title in one sport could impact other sports as well. So Oregon State may win 7 or 8 games. The long shot is if they win 9 or more and go into the Top 25.

In my next post, I'll talk about the SEC, Sun Belt, and WAC conferences. I'll end this post with one last note. 2006 will be the final year of Atlantic 10 football as the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association will sponsor football from the Atlantic 10 schools. It is also said that Old Dominion will revive their football team. Here's first the Wikipedia entry on the Colonial Athletic Association: { http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Athletic_Association }. The same site also talks about the possibilities of Old Dominion returning to football in 2009 for the CAA. They haven't had football since when Gonzaga had their football program. Coincidentally, both programs ended in 1941. I may even share Division 1-AA picks in my next post as well.

 

[JohnBM01]

As a little report, Campbell University will join the football ranks. The Campbell Fighting Camels are looking to stop being embarassments in basketball and maybe find success in football. Their program will begin in 2008. The Buies Creek, NC outfit is usually a member of the Big South Conference in basketball. You can look online for a picture of the conceptual helmet for the Campbell crew.

 

[JohnBM01]

I use this thread to talk about all sorts of college football issues. I was reading an article on i-aa.org and according to { http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=78478 }, there may be trouble with the Great West Football Conference. Members of this conference include North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, and San Diego(?) among others. The Mid-Continent Conference (a Division 1 non-football conference) may look to aid all members of the ailing Great West Football Conference. Some of you college basketball fans may be sad to know that the Chicago State Cougars have left the Mid-Continent Conference after a number of violations against Chicago State University.

Also reported on this website I posted is that the Southland Conference will welcome not one, but two newcoming schools to its lineup of schools. The University of Central Arkansas is looking to join Division 1 to become part of the Southland Conference. The UCA Bears operate of of Conway, AR, which is about 20 miles north northwest of Little Rock. They are a Division 2 unit looking to step up to Division 1 much like what non-football school New Jersey Tech wants to do in the basketball ranks. * The other school considering if a football program will be beneficial is Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is going to join the Southland Conference in basketball after becoming a solid basketball school. The Islanders are a hell of a team in basketball, being the best of all Independent schools. They notched up over 20 wins in 2004 beating teams like Maryland, UTEP, TCU, Florida State, and such. If they stage a football campaign as successful as their basketball program, they'll rise like how Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) became a solid power in such short time.

This link { http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=76516 } has tidbits that the University of North Dakota is considering a move to Division 1. The mascot is the Fighting Sioux. You may know about them if you follow NCAA Hockey. You may also know that they are among one of the many NCAA schools perhaps under fire for using names related to Native American Indian names (such as Braves, Indians, Tribe, Chippewas, etc.). A move from D2 to D1 could mean that existing D2 schools such as Minnesota's St. Cloud State, South Dakota, and Nebraska-Omaha (JNasty's school) may join along with North Dakota if North Dakota wants to step up to Division 1. This move would mean that North and South Dakota will have two of its own schools playing in the highest level of NCAA competition. We're talking about inter-state rivalries as well as the rivalry of North and South Dakota and even their state universities.

About the Campbell football tidbit, here's a link for you: { http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/college_football/20060407-1337-fbc-campbell-football.html }.

 

[JohnBM01]

Today was SEC Media day. The SEC is one of the most exciting and football-rich conferences in college football. I didn't get to see all of this, but this is what I believe will happen:

* Louisiana State University is pretty good in just about every sport they participate in. I say that they deliver yet another solid season and maybe finish in the Top 10 (at least).

* Tennessee football is rarely synonymous with losing seasons. I saw they come back and come back big. They should return to where they belong- Bowl Games. The long shot, however, will have to be a BCS Bowl. I think they'll win just enough to reverse the misfortunes of last season.

* Georgia Bulldog football. Nothing like it! I do hope they can remain solid and not lose to teams like West Virginia (I'm not taking away from the WVU Mountaineers). I still think they will have a wonderful season because Georgia is not a loser team. They may make it back to a BCS Bowl. But I have a 40% chance of that happen. Their first game is against Western Kentucky on September 2nd. Western Kentucky isn't a powerhouse, but I think WKU can make a game close if Georgia doesn't pound them early.

* Vanderbilt sucks. They have had about 23 consecutive losing seasons. They are well ahead in this department behind 15 for MAC newcomer Temple, and a tie of 13 for Duke and some other school. Vandy went about 4-0 until being upset by Middle Tennessee State of the Sun Belt. The Nashville, TN unit could have been bowl eligible had they not picked up a controversial penalty called in one of their games. Vandy's come close last year, and I say they get their first winning season in over 23 years. But they will have a LOT of work to do to get there.

* The Arkansas Razorbacks aren't on my radar at all. It doesn't mean that I think they'll flounder, however. Arkansas may not end up in a Bowl Game. They'll REALLY impress me if they can knock off their Golden Boot rivals in Baton Rouge (LSU). Then, it's their season to lose.

* Tubby Smith won't be there to help, but the Kentucky Wildcats may have a surprising season as one of the five best high school footballers will help to shock some people about Kentucky football. The 'Cats are more popular and better recognized for basketball at Rupp Arena. But is there a chance that Kentucky FOOTball can actually get people excited for Kentucky football? Kentucky hasn't been to a Bowl Game in less than 10 years. Will they return to the postseason in 2006-2007? The ultra-long shot would be a BCS game. Kentucky absolutely will NOT be the 2005 Utah Utes of the SEC. I think Kentucky will be one of the surprise teams this year. I think of them as one of the pure basketball schools that can be surprising in football. Kentucky will be up with non-SEC team North Carolina to perhaps be the two pure basketball schools to get it done in football. Their coach is 9-25 as head coach and used to be the head coach of (get ready, JFM Racer 92) the St. Louis Rams. They at Louisville on September 3rd as their season opener. That's right. Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, not Freedom Hall. Their worst loss last year was not to any SEC team, but to Indiana. Indiana isn't all that good, and they lose. I think the Kentucky kitties will have a great year. They have a LOT of work to make it happen.

* I'm going to put Mississippi (or Ole Miss) and Mississippi State into this bullet. Both of these teams are rivals. And I don't see either of these teams in the postseason. Mississippi State is a basketball school perhaps capable of upsets, but not really. Mississippi isn't basketball school, but not a pure football school either. At least not since Eli Manning got drafted to the NFL to the New York Giants.

* Auburn is football. The Tigers had little to celebrate in the basketball season, so it's time to return to Jordan-Hair Stadium for some quality gridiron action. I'd be foolish if I said that Auburn was a crappy team. Auburn's faithful will pack the house at Jordan-Hare and give rivals Georgia and Alabama plenty of boos and loud noise. Auburn is a no-brainer to return to the postseason and maybe in the BCS as well.

* Alabama had some renovations done to their stadium to have more people enjoy Crimson Tide football. All those 70K to 90K fans will have GREAT reason to cheer for the Tuscaloosa outfit because they will be a big contender for the SEC Championship.

* Florida is still celebrating their first-ever NCAA Basketball chmapionship. Now it's time for the Gators to return to knocking opposing teams on their bottoms. The Gators should be able to rack up about 8 or more wins. They may end up 7-5 or 8-4. They should come out fighting for the new season.

* South Carolina had a pretty nice run under Steve Spurrier. I think they may have an identical record under Spurrier this season. as they did last season. They are just one of those "I don't know" teams. I think they'll have a winning season, if anything. Winning teams go to Bowl Games. And that's right where South Carolina will end up.

There will be another day of SEC Media day this Thursday, but these are my SEC views.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Oklahoma Sooners were predicted as being the preseason #1 in the Big XII. The Sooners will have to look for some other form of motivation and support because QB Rhett Bomar was kicked off the team for NCAA violations. It's said that he was working for a car dealership and picked up improper payments from them. So he was booted off along with some other player that I don't remember. So Oklahoma will have to find someone to replace Bomar to hopefully have a chance to find the next Jason White for their program. By the way, Texas (defending National Champions) was voted 2nd in the preseason voting for the Big XII. I still think that Texas is the best team in this state. Better than Texas Christian, UTEP, Texas Tech, Texas A&M (I don't think they are as sorry as people say), and even up-and-coming Houston. I'm sorry, Baylor and SMU aren't great Texas football teams.

I had a Big Ten preview lined up, but I'll use my next post to post on that.

 

[JohnBM01]

Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett had been arrested AGAIN recently. This time for loaded weapons in his SUV and wearing a bullet proof vest. It's been said his bond is now at $1,1M, meaning Clarett's done big time unless he has Michael Jackson or Donald Trump money to get out. This is really a sad deal. He has had one hell of a freefall from his fame in beating Miami in the 2003 Orange or Fiesta Bowl (I forget which one). That game went into Triple Overtime as Ohio State pulled through to win the top honors. You go from fame to a complete freefall. What the hell happened to him? What was lost in translation from Ohio State to trying to break into the NFL? I'm still sure Ohio State will still do a great job any given Saturday. They will just have to be disappointed how one of their biggest recent stars has completely flip-flopped since his glorious performance with Oh-State.

If you want to offer up your own commentary for the upcoming season or whatever, then you are free to continue the train of thought here.

 

[FoolKiller]

* Tubby Smith won't be there to help, but the Kentucky Wildcats may have a surprising season as one of the five best high school footballers will help to shock some people about Kentucky football. The 'Cats are more popular and better recognized for basketball at Rupp Arena. But is there a chance that Kentucky FOOTball can actually get people excited for Kentucky football? Kentucky hasn't been to a Bowl Game in less than 10 years. Will they return to the postseason in 2006-2007? The ultra-long shot would be a BCS game. Kentucky absolutely will NOT be the 2005 Utah Utes of the SEC. I think Kentucky will be one of the surprise teams this year. I think of them as one of the pure basketball schools that can be surprising in football. Kentucky will be up with non-SEC team North Carolina to perhaps be the two pure basketball schools to get it done in football. Their coach is 9-25 as head coach and used to be the head coach of (get ready, JFM Racer 92) the St. Louis Rams. They at Louisville on September 3rd as their season opener. That's right. Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, not Freedom Hall. Their worst loss last year was not to any SEC team, but to Indiana. Indiana isn't all that good, and they lose. I think the Kentucky kitties will have a great year. They have a LOT of work to make it happen.

After their first full-contact full-pads practice earlier this week Coach Rich Brooks said that he hasn't seen anything so horrible in a long time. He said that if there isn't improvement by the end of the week he will be changing the lineup.

It was so bad that he didn't even let 1st and 2nd strings scrimmage. When asked about the 3rd team scrimmage he said that one guy had a decent hit.

I'll say this for Brooks, he might appear to be a horrible, overpaid coach but he tells it like it is.

I am hoping and praying that UK surprises, but.....yeah.

Oh well, I'll still catch a couple of games.

 

[JohnBM01]

I look at it like this. Mississippi (Ole Miss) and Mississippi State are also in the SEC. Both teams are horrible in football while Mississippi is pretty bad in basketball too (not as bad as the men's basketball team at Auburn). The only reason why we gave a crap about Mississippi football was because of Eli Manning under center. Now for the past few seasons, both teams are nothing, making Southern Mississippi as the best football team in the state of Mississippi. I'm going to be honest, FoolKiller, I think Kentucky will likely have a good season. The team just needs to bond together and execute in crucial times. Something that would make me happy about Kentucky is if they can upset LSU or Alabama. Hell, take the fight to the Georgia Bulldogs or the 2005-2006 Division 1 basketball champions, Florida Gators! I like to say that they have a chance to shock some people. They just need to have stellar performances to make something happen. Here is Kentucky's schedule courtesy of { http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=96 }:

2006 Kentucky Wildcats Football Schedule
09/03 at #13 Louisville 8:00 PM
09/09 Texas State 6:00 PM
09/16 Ole Miss 6:00 PM
09/23 at #7 Florida TBD
09/30 C Michigan 6:00 PM
10/07 S Carolina 7:00 PM
10/14 at #8 LSU 8:00 PM
10/28 at Miss St TBD
11/04 #15 Georgia 1:00 PM
11/11 Vanderbilt 1:00 PM
11/18 La Monroe 1:00 PM
11/25 at #23 Tennessee TBD
(all times Eastern Time)

I think the Wildcats will win against Texas State, Ole Miss, Central Michigan, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Louisiana-Monroe. That is a total of six wins- just enough to go to a Bowl Game. If I had to pick upsets, they could have big road wins against Louisville or (how about this...) Tennessee. But I'm telling you, two of the toughest places to play are in the SEC- Florida and Tennessee. They were #1 and #2 Toughest Places to Play in NCAA Football 2005. So the Tennessee game will be a TOUGH cookie for Kentucky. Tennessee usually isn't a losing team until last year. I don't think the Volunteers are going to win only less than six games for a second-straight season. I think Kentucky could be able to beat South Carolina. The University of Kentucky's motto is "Dream - Challenge- Succeed." That's EXACTLY what the blue and white will need to do to get her done. And I think they'll do it. I'm going to keep a close eye on Kentucky this season. I try to keep a close eye on as many teams as I can, including my hometown Houston Cougars.


Away from Kentucky football, I'll devote this section to HBCU football. We're talking about Historically-Black Colleges and Universities. Here is a list of HBCU schools courtesy of Wikipedia: { http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_black_colleges_and_universities }. Having said this, I think the teams to watch in Division 1-AA will be Florida A&M, Grambling State, Southern, (maybe) Howard, Bethune-Cookman College, and especially Hampton. The last HBCU to win the National Championship in 1-AA is Florida A&M back in the 1970s. The best of them will be Hampton. I'm hoping that Hampton doesn't lose in the first round of the 1-AA playoffs. Only team I know in Division 2 is the Golden Tigers of Tuskeegee University, the first HBCU to have a football stadium with Abbott Stadium. But unlike Hampton, I probably don't see Tuskeegee being king of the Division 2 ranks. That honor goes to Michigan's non-HBCU Grand Valley State University. The Lakers could be a strong force in the Division 2 ranks yet again.

As far as Division 3 goes, I likely think Mount Union of the Ohio Athletic Conference will succeed in the Division 3 ranks again. They'll have to get over their regular season loss to Ohio Northern. The significance of this is that Mount Union had a VERY long regular season game winning streak until they got upset by the Ohio Northern Polar Bears late last season.

This year, I'll try to get all all four divisions of football mentioned in my reports. If I can see it on TV and get some scores down, then I'll share them with you all. My buddy JNasty likes Iowa, but is a Nebraska-Omaha Maverick. Nebraska-Omaha is a Division 2 school which made it to the Division 2 playoffs last season. I'll try to bring up more college football action from the NCAA. I'm probably not going to follow the NAIA and NJCAA ranks since I don't usually follow them.

 

[FoolKiller]

The team just needs to bond together and execute in crucial times.

So, having an open quarterback competition going on until gameday at Louisville is probably a bad idea? My only hope here is that Louisville won't be completely prepared because they don't knwo which quarterback to prepare for.

If there is a huge upset it will be the Louisville game because there is nothing like a rivalry to bring out the best in a team.

It shoudl be easy to look at other teams and pick who Kentucky should beat, but there have been too many should have won, but didn't games the past few years. It gets depressing. I was at the Miss St. game last year and the only reason we won that was because Mississippi State played worse than we did. Just watching UK, I thought we would lose for sure until I realized that Miss St. couldn't do any better.

We lost to IU for the first time in years. They were always a guaranteed win. We don't even play them this year.

That all said, 2/3 of their games are played at home and should count for something. That combined with the fact that of Brooks can't pull a .500 season this year he will be gone.

I think the Wildcats will win against Texas State, Ole Miss, Central Michigan, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Louisiana-Monroe. That is a total of six wins- just enough to go to a Bowl Game.

You are right. These should be won, but I am losing confidence. I just wish that for once Brooks would come out and say that he fully expects to win over Louisville and make it to a bowl game, but he is too much of a straight shooter with the press. He comes out of practice and goes on about how horrible they are doing and then details what faults each player of interest has. He drains my hope with each game and every bad call and then he does it again in every press conference.

I feel that Brooks is part of the problem and until we get a decent coach it won't improve. The three games I went to last season I managed to see his bad call before the ball was ever hiked. If joe shmoe me can see that then you know the other teams are reading him loud and clear.

We had a joke last year that Rich Brooks should be made head of FEMA because no one else can evacuate 35,000 people in 15 minutes. After the first quarter of most games 3/4 of the crowd left, so I know this isn't just me. Unfortunately the biggest problem Kentucky has is still there.

Like you, I will watch close, but it is getting sad. Of course, I am able to buy decent tickets for the games because of this. So, there's a bonus.

 

[JohnBM01]

So who's probably under more fire to get to glory- Rich Brooks in football, or Tubby Smith in basketball? Or are they sort of equal in the two fields of play?

 

[FoolKiller]

So who's probably under more fire to get to glory- Rich Brooks in football, or Tubby Smith in basketball? Or are they sort of equal in the two fields of play?

Well, they have been calling for Brooks' head since day one.

Tubby has managed to keep churning out winning seasons. The only people calling for his head seem to be either racist (they don't hide why they want him fired) or the kind that think a final four appearance at least every other year and a championship at least every five is a requirement for the job. No matter how many times you point out to them that the team has been around for over 100 years and "only" has seven championships and that there have been much larger gaps, and even NIT tournaments they don't listen. When you point out that about 100 teams wish they could have Kentucky's record they respond with, "But this is Kentucky. We are better than that!"

Right now Brooks is the man looking at the chopping block from all fans. Tubby is still supported by the sensible fans. That said, if Tubby doesn't pull a Final Four appearance within another five years he might not have a job left. Basketball is what we pride ourselves on.

Combine that with the fact that the AD says that Rich Brooks is the crowning achievement of his career and keeps insulting Tubby's recruiting style publicly and I think that Tubby might be getting a little less leeway in how much the team has to improve in the next couple of years.

For now it is Brooks who is being called on to improve. However, you asked about getting to glory and in Big Blue Country the only glory worth having is basketball glory. If we won a NCAA championship we wouldn't care if football went 0-12. So, Tubby always has pressure for Glory, as does any basketball coach at Kentucky.

 

[JohnBM01]

All the talk for this season is for Notre Dame to be the new USoCal. People are saying that Notre Dame will win the National Championship and Brady Quinn will be the Heisman. What do you think are Notre Dame's chances of actually blowing away all the competition en route to the National Championship? Is Notre Dame overrated? Is Brady Quinn overrated?

Another name I've heard to win the National Championship could be (get ready SEC fans) Auburn. A few years ago, Auburn went undefeated and didn't play in the National Championship game. Could it be their year as well? Could we possibly see Notre Dame vs. Auburn for the ADT Championship Trophy? Now we're getting to some of the juicy material in this preview of college football.

Also, stay tune to this forum because I'm giving out a little bonus college football action when SIAC rivals (Division 2) Tuskgegee(?) and Stillman will go at it in their rivalry game this Saturday. The game will be on the ESPNU network if you have that channel.

 

[m.piedgros]

Notre Dame appear to be "The Super Team" this year. In Big 12 South country (my territory) I hate to say this (Longhorns fan right here.) Texas Tech will end up in the Big 12 Championship Game vs. Nebraska.

m.piedgros

 

[JohnBM01]

The College Gameday Season Preview had these as champions:

Cast: Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and Mark May


Who will be the...

A.) ...Big XII championship?
Lee: Texas
Kirk: Texas
Mark: Texas

B.) ...ACC Championship?
Lee: Virginia Tech
Kirk: Miami
Mark: Florida State

C.) ...Pacific-10 Championship?
Lee: California
Kirk: USC (Southern California)
Mark: USC (Southern California)

D.) ...SEC Championship?
Lee: Florida
Kirk: Auburn
Mark: Auburn

E.) ...Big Ten Championship?
Lee: Iowa
Kirk: Ohio State (he is an Ohio State alum)
Mark: Iowa


F.) ...National Championship? And who plays for it?
Lee: California vs. West Virginia; California wins
Kirk: Notre Dame vs. Miami (FL); Miami (FL) wins
Mark: Texas vs. West Virginia; Texas wins


Whoa! What do you think about this? And stay tuned for my Week 1 thread!