College Football Wire

New Number One

2009-10-13T19:57:00.002-06:00

Top 25 (CFW points in parenthesis):

1. Alabama (2.5)
2. Iowa (2.5)
3. Virginia Tech (2.5)
4. Cincinnati (2)
5. Florida (1.5)
6. Oregon (1.5)
7. Texas (1)
8. Miami (1)
9. USC (1)
10. Boise State (1)
11. Nebraska (.5)
12. Ohio State (.5)
13. Houston (.5)
14. Kansas (0)
15. South Florida (0)
16. TCU (0)
17. Wisconsin (0)
18. Auburn (0)
19. Pittsburgh (0)
20. Georgia Tech (-.5)
21. Oklahoma State (.-5)
22. South Carolina (-.5)
23. Arkansas (-.5)
24. Penn State (-1)
25. Rutgers (-1)

Week 6 Bowl Projections

2009-10-06T22:50:00.003-06:00

We look at the bowl projections a little different here. These are based on if the season ended today.

BCS: Florida vs Texas
Orange: Virginia Tech vs Ohio State
Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Boise State
Sugar: LSU vs Cincinnati
Rose: Wisconsin vs Stanford
GMAC: Central Michigan vs Kansas State*
Alamo: Oklahoma vs Michigan
Liberty: Tulsa vs Ole Miss
Cotton: Oklahoma State vs Auburn
Papajohns.com: West Virginia vs Baylor*
International: Rutgers vs Toledo
Gator: Georgia Tech vs South Florida
Capital One: Iowa vs Alabama
Outback: Penn State vs Georgia
Chick-fil-A: Miami vs South Carolina
Insight: Kansas vs Northwestern
Sun: Arizona vs Texas A&M
Armed Forces: SMU vs Colorado State
Holiday: USC vs Missouri
Texas: Texas Tech vs Navy
Humanitarian: Idaho vs Wyoming
Champs Sports: Boston College vs Minnesota
EagleBank: Marshall vs Ohio*
Independence: Nebraska vs Kentucky
Music City: North Carolina vs Arkansas
Emerald: Wake Forest vs Oregon
Car Care: NC State vs Pittsburgh
Pizza: Temple vs Indiana
Hawaii: Houston vs Hawaii
Poinsettia: Oregon State vs BYU
Las Vegas: UCLA vs TCU
St. Petersburg: UConn vs Southern Miss
New Mexico: Utah vs Louisiana Tech

*teams that are filling in due to conference tie-in not having a team eligible

Top 25 Rankings

2009-10-05T07:56:00.003-06:00

1. Iowa
2. Alabama
3. Auburn
4. Cincinnati
5. Virginia Tech
6. Boise State
7. LSU
8. Wisconsin
9. Miami
10. Oregon
11. South Carolina
12. Florida
13. Texas
14. TCU
15. Kansas
16. South Florida
17. Missouri
18. Stanford
19. USC
20. Houston
21. Oklahoma State
22. Nebraska
23. Arizona
24. Penn State
25. West Virginia

As noted last week, each team gets a point for a quality win and loses a point for a loss. Rankings from week to week are not related. No sliding up and sliding down in this poll.

Bet the House, Week 5

2009-10-02T08:00:00.002-06:00

We were this close last week to hitting it big, as we went 4 for 5. We narrowly missed the Oregon/Cal game, as the Bears lost in a heart-breaker, 42-3. No worries though, as we feel very confident the Ducks will make it up to us this this week.

Utah State @ BYU -24 (9pm ET, mtn.): Aggie head coach Gary Anderson was the defensive coordinator at Utah and always had a solid game plan when he faced BYU. The Aggies might not ever be within ten points, but they won't lose by more than 20.

Virginia @ North Carolina -13.5 (noon ET, Raycom & espn360.com): The Cavs are just a bad football team. This game is as simple as that. UNC should not have any trouble putting away this game early and coasting to a 20 point victory.

LSU @ Georgia -3.5 (3:30 ET, CBS): This could end up being the best game of the day. The Bulldogs have already been tested by solid teams this season, while LSU had their hands full last week against Mississippi State. Georgia wins on a late touchdown.

Oklahoma -8.5 @ Miami (8pm, ABC): People seem to be quick to jump on, then off, the Hurricane bandwagon. Those same people should have never gotten back for OU. The same Sooner team that was embarrassed against BYU will not be able to keep up with Jacory Harris and the Miami offense. Canes win the game outright.

Washington State @ Oregon -35.5 (9:15 ET, CSN NW): We usually stay away from schizo teams like the Ducks, but just couldn't resist this one. Oregon will win this game without any question, but they will have a hard time getting started, as they will still be living the Cal game. Cougars keep it just close enough.

CFW Top 25 Rankings

2009-09-30T09:02:00.003-06:00

Our rankings are very simple. We just ask one question: who did you beat? If you have a win over a quality opponent, you get a point. If you lose a game, you lose a point. Simple.

We are, and have always been, the only Top 25 poll that looks at every game a team plays each week. For example, Iowa has a win over Arizona. It is the only loss the Wildcats have so far. Because of that, the Hawkeyes get a point. But if Arizona tanks the rest of the season, Iowa will lose that point. Also, where a team is ranked in a given week has no bearing on the following week. We don't just "slide" teams up and down.

Make sense? Good. Here is our first Top 25 of the season:

1. Iowa
2. Houston
3. Alabama
4. Virginia Tech
5. Cincinnati
6. Kansas
7. Auburn
8. Michigan
9. Boise State
10. South Carolina
11. Oregon
12. Florida
13. USC
14. Oklahoma State
15. Georgia
16. BYU
17. Texas
18. LSU
19. TCU
20. Wisconsin
21. South Florida
22. UCLA
23. Missouri
24. Texas A&M
25. Miami

Bet the House Picks, Week 4

2009-09-24T20:12:00.002-06:00

The games this week are a sure bet. You can feel very comfortable placing your life savings on this action.

Washington @ Stanford -7: The Huskies pulled off a stunner last week against USC, and now they have to carry that win and a national ranking into Palo Alto. They will not come close to matching the emotion from the Trojan win, and the Cardinal will win by at least 2 touchdowns.

TCU @ Clemson-2.5: Wait, aren't the Frogs the unbeaten, ranked team? They will prove their ranking correct as they continue on their path to a BCS bowl with a win in Death Valley.

Minnesota @ Northwestern -1.5: Just like last week, the Wildcats are the favorite when they shouldn't be. The Gophers will bounce back from their loss against Cal with a conference win on the road.

Boise State -16.5 @ Bowling Green: The Broncos continue their exhibition schedule, this time on the road on Ohio. Bowling Green will be lucky to keep this game within 30 points.

California -5.5 @ Oregon: The Bears are just beginning to hit their stride. They picked up a tough win on the road at Minnesota last week and won't have much of a challenge from Oregon. The Ducks are a few bounces away from being 0-3 and can't move the ball through the air at all.

Sark Steals Spotlight

2009-09-21T21:13:00.001-06:00

A former USC assistant coach, in his first year as head coach, taking over a storied program fallen on hard times, comes up huge to stun the college football world. Too bad for Lane Kiffin we aren’t talking about him. While everyone seemed to be focused on how badly Urban Meyer and Florida would beat down the Vols, Steve Sarkisian willed his Washington Huskies to a shocking upset win over third ranked USC.

Sark took over a Husky program that didn’t win a single game last year, including losing to the Trojans 56-0, and made them believe they had a chance to knock off USC. Husky Stadium was rocking like it used to in the ‘90’s and now we will see what they can do for an encore, beginning with a tough road game on Saturday against Stanford.

Other musings from last Saturday:

Best player in the country you have never heard of: Eric Decker, a receiver at Minnesota. CFW has seen all three Gopher games this season, and this kid is unbelievable. Every person in the stadium knows the ball will be thrown in his direction and he still makes the play. If you love to watch great receivers, make sure and watch a Minnesota game this season.

Maybe We Spoke Too Soon: After all the talking the Mountain West Conference did this offseason about deserving to be in the BCS, they came right out of the gate with a huge win against Oklahoma. But all their momentum might be gone now, as seventh ranked BYU got crushed at home by unranked Florida State and 18th ranked Utah was dreadful against an Oregon team that will be lucky to win four Pac 10 games. TCU is the lone hope for this league to crash the party and the Frogs will have to play their best against Clemson on Saturday to keep the dream alive.

The Game is Boring Compared to this: Just about everyone thought Florida would crush Tennessee on Saturday. But after a 23-13 yawn-fest, coaches Meyer and Kiffin are still providing fireworks. After the game, Urb claimed the Vols weren’t playing to win, and now Lane has countered by saying they will just blame an uninspired performance on the flu. How about you two just shut your mouths and coach your teams.

Newsflash! Boise Beats WAC Opponent! And in other news, scientists discover the earth is round: The Broncos once again beat (alleged) conference challenger Fresno State. They have now won 8 out of the last 9 against the Bulldogs. Bad news for Houston, TCU, Southern Miss, and any other wannabe BCS crasher: Boise continues their exhibition schedule the next two weeks against Bowling Green and UC Davis. Does anyone outside of Idaho really think the Broncos are one of the ten best teams in the country?

Bet the House Picks- Week 3

2009-09-18T07:37:00.001-06:00

After going 4 for 5 last week, we feel like we redeemed ourselves from an average 2-3 first week. Some weeks are just better overall than others, and last week we really would have bet the house on the Virginia Tech/Marshall and BYU/Tulane games. This week is a much tougher week, with no games that truly stand out. But if you have to have some action, here are the five best:

Cincinnati @ Oregon State -1.5- The Beavers lucked out last week with a win against UNLV, and while the Rebels aren't as bad as in years past, they shouldn't have given them that much trouble. Bearcat Tony Pike will dissect the Oregon State defense in the upset win on the road.

Texas Tech @ Texas -17- Not a day went by in the off-season in Austin without a Texas player thinking about the game they had won last year against the Raiders. A dropped interception later, and the Longhorn national title hopes ended. They will roll tomorrow, winning by at least three touchdowns.

Nevada -3 @ Colorado State- The Wolf Pack have had two weeks to figure out what happened against Notre Dame and have been aching to get back on the field. They should win by ten points against a Ram team that was nearly upset by Weber State last week.

Northwestern -3 @ Syracuse- The Greg Paulus story continues and this will be the first positive chapter for Orange fans. They played tough last week against Penn State, and the Wildcats will not be ready for the physical play in the Dome.

San Diego State -3.5 @ Idaho- Another hunch game for you. We don't know a lot about Idaho, except they are usually really bad. The Aztecs have more players in the NFL than any other Mountain West team. They should beat they Vandals by at least a touchdown/

USC-Ohio State Sets ESPN Viewing Record

2009-09-16T22:47:00.002-06:00

More people watched the Trojans and Buckeyes square off on Saturday night than any other regular or post season college football game in ESPN history, as the game averaged over 7 million viewers during the telecast.

The Michigan/Notre Dame game also did well in the ratings, averaging over 4 million viewers. To give you an idea of how that compares to the almighty NFL, the Redskins/Giants game on Sunday nearly tripled that number.

Announcing line-up for Week 3 is out.

Thoughts from Week 2

2009-09-14T21:40:00.003-06:00

Before we get completely enveloped in Urban vs Lane coming up this Saturday, let's take a look back at the action from week 2.

USC once again did what they needed to do to knock off a team from the Big Ten and Matt Barkley stole the show from Terrelle Pryor. At home, in his second year, it should have been Pryor to lead his team to victory on the final drive. But conservative play-calling all game long in typically Buckeye fashion doomed the athletic QB. At least it wasn't a blowout this time. Maybe the Big Ten is gaining some ground on the Mighty Trojans!

Notre Dame vs Michigan actually lived up to the hype, and the game was crazy exciting also. The aftermath, especially for the losing team is always interesting. This time around, Irish coach Charlie Weis began by blaming the officials instead of himself for the loss. Many in South Bend are questioning his clock management on their last drive and with good reason. On the other end, RichRod kept the wolves at bay, at least until their first loss of the season. Which will come when? At Michigan State? At Iowa? The way QB Tate Forcier played, the Wolverines thrust themselves into the Rose Bowl picture.

Speaking of the Big Ten, the league didn't do much to bolster its national reputation on Saturday. The worst offender was Michigan State, as the Spartans lost at home to Central Michigan in one of the wackiest finishes that state has ever seen.

Colorado got off to the worst start possible in an already tenuous situation for head coach Dan Hawkins, who was already feeling the heat going into the season. It's hard to believe after getting stunned at home by rival Colorado State, that the Buffs would get trounced by Toledo. After playing at home on Saturday, they have back to back road games against West Virginia and Texas. Will Hawkins even last the season? To make matters worse, the starting QB is his own son and he has struggled mightily.

As predicted here on CFW, the Houston Cougars upset Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Many were singing the praises of the Cowboys after they beat Georgia. But maybe the Bulldogs aren't that good. Oklahoma State will bounce back, as they have plenty of time to get ready for their next big game on Halloween against Texas.

And last but not least, how about what went down in Knoxville, with UCLA stunning the Volunteers just a week before they have to travel to Florida to take on the defending champs. The Bruins snuck into Neyland Stadium without many even paying attention to them and again derailed the Tennessee season. UCLA lost their QB for a few weeks with a broken jaw, but still might have enough talent to challenge for second or third in the Pac 10 this year.

Week 2 Diary

2009-09-13T09:19:00.003-06:00

I’m going to channel my inner-Bill Simmons today and keep a running diary of all the football watching, since I will be in my “office” with four TV’s tuned to college football.

10:00 am- We are ready to roll, with Penn State/Syracuse on the big screen and Fresno State/Wisconsin, Wake/Stanford, and Pitt/Buffalo on the other screens.

10:10- Shocker. The Lions march right down the field and score on the Orange. This game might not be on the big screen.

10:22- Fresno State always starts fast against BCS teams and they just scored first on Wisconsin. The Big Ten can’t afford to lose at home to the WAC today.

10:35- Syracuse just held Penn State to no points after the Lions had six plays inside the Orange five yard line. Any chance they can make a game of this? Will Paulus do something special?

10:37- The Orange send their backup QB in to hand it off three times on their own one yard line? What the crap? The announcers didn’t even notice the switch until third down, nice effort Big Ten Network.

10:42- I walk away for two seconds and Fresno completes a long pass for a 14-0 lead. With the Lions struggling early, it’s not a good start to the day for the Big Ten.

11:01- Syracuse is now alternating QB’s on every play. As analyst Glen Mason pointed out “if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have any.” Neither QB is making very good throws, including Nassib massively overthrowing his open receiver. Hard to get in a rhythm taking every other snap.

11:05- Just saw the Dr. Dre ad where he turns the party around by drinking Dr. Pepper. Pretty sure the stuff Dre uses to get the party started is green and you smoke it.

11:16- Big Ten analyst Glen Mason is just hammering the Syracuse coaching staff for their horrible clock management at the end of the first half. Kind of refreshing to hear from a former coach.

11:29- Most games are at halftime, so Iowa State/Iowa is on the big screen. Do the Cyclones know that a little school out west named USC has been wearing their uniforms for about 100 years? Did they think no one would notice when they redesigned the uni’s a couple years ago?

12:23- Guess what ESPN showed when they came back from the end of the third quarter commercial break. If you guessed the stadium “jumping around” you are right.

12:27- Hope you put big money down on our picks. Virginia Tech just went up 21-0 in the first quarter over Marshall.

12:59- Did you know in college football the clock stops on first downs? Bob Griese and Chris Speilman just let us know that little known football rule. Thanks guys.

1:10- Heartbreaking loss for Jim Harbaugh and Stanford at Wake Forest. The Cardinal had a 17-3 lead at halftime, but just lost the game 24-17. Not exactly sure how that happened yet because Fresno/Wisconsin just went into overtime and have been watching that game.

1:14- Did Central Michigan really just go for two against Michigan State? Gutsy call, but it didn’t work out. Going for two in this situation will likely be debated for a while.

1:21- Strike that entry above. CMU just recovered an on-side kick and are setting up for the game winning field goal. And put not being able to advance an on-side kick down as one of the stupid rules in college football.

1:25- CMU missed a 47 yard field, but the Spartans were offside. Wow, what an ending…all with the Fresno/Wisconsin game heading into a second overtime. The Big Ten really needs both of these wins.

1:27- CMU nailed it! Just inside the goal post. I love when the winning coach doesn’t even celebrate, he just freaks out on his own kids to stay off the field. Relax dude, you just beat Michigan State in East Lansing. What a finish!

1:40- First group of games are over and the Big Ten got off to an above-average start on their big day. Only Michigan State slipped up. Penn State looked good, not great, against Syracuse and Wisconsin outlasted a tough Fresno team.

2:14- Sean McDonough on the Notre Dame touchdown that was just called back: “I guess you could say it was definitive proof, probably.” Irish just got hosed on that call.

2:41- McDonough, trying to be clever on the trivia question, said he won’t “volunteer” to help the viewers with the answer. Good one, since the answer is Tennessee. I actually really like McDonough. He is just bringing his game down to the level of his broadcast partner, Matt Millen.

2:55- Houston, already up 17-7 late in the first half at Oklahoma State, just recovered a ricocheted kick-off. That also happened in an earlier game, I think Fresno/Wisconsin. Can’t say I’ve seen that twice in a day before. We are feeling pretty good about our bet the house picks, with Houston and BYU leading going into halftime.

2:58- Matt Millen says Tennessee plays in “a big stadium.” 102,000 seats, ya think?

3:01- At almost exactly the same time, Houston scored again to go up 24-7 over Oklahoma State and Wyoming blocked a punt to take a 10-6 lead over Texas. Is the Big 12 in trouble today?

3:19- Virginia Tech crushed Marshall 52-10. We are one for one today on our bet the house picks, and looking good on the next three. It might all come down to Mississippi State tonight against Auburn.

3:41- Matt Millen just said “shank you very much” when Michigan missed a field goal. How was he ever the number two guy for the NFL coverage on FOX before his miserable stint with the Detroit Lions?

4:14- the Pacific Life ad with the whales flapping around in the water to music just came on. Anyone else think that is the weirdest ad ever? What do musically inclined whales have to do with insurance and investments?

4:24- BYU is now up 54-3 over Tulane and Houston is up 31-28. I’m feeling like those games are locked up. 3 down, 2 to go!

4:27- UCLA just got away with a defender using his helmet as a weapon, while Houston earlier was penalized for the same thing when they shouldn’t have. That is a tough call, but seems to be so inconsistent from game to game.

4:51- Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd just skinned his knee on the Michigan Stadium cement just past the end zone and you could see the chunk of skin hanging off his leg. Maybe as a part of the stadium renovation they could replace the gravel that is one yard away from the field.

4:53- Yes! Houston just sealed the deal against Oklahoma State for the outright win. This outcome isn’t good for those SEC fans that had to watch Georgia get manhandled last week in Stillwater.

4:54- Notre Dame takes the lead against Michigan using the Statue of Liberty on the two point conversion. Guess the Wolverines didn’t watch the Fiesta Bowl a few years ago.

5:09- I don’t think Charlie Weiss could be more arrogant and/or stupid. What the Irish were doing throwing the ball on back to back downs when they could have forced Michigan to burn their timeouts, I’ll never know. Now the Wolverines have the ball with plenty of time and two timeouts left.

5:17- What a great finish in the Notre Dame/Michigan game. Wolverine QB Tate Forcier had an incredible game, making play after play. Huge win for RichRod, bad news for Charlie Weis.

5:20- Can Lane Kiffin say 1-2 to open the season? Because the Vols just got upset at home by UCLA and they have to travel to the Swamp next week.

5:55- I guess the Big Ten officials working the Air Force/Minnesota game didn’t get the memo that they aren’t supposed to call any penalties on Air Force. That’s how it is when they play in the Mountain West anyway. The refs just wiped a 25 yard gain away and forced the Falcons to punt.

6:09- National Anthem just finished at the ‘Shoe in Columbus. Not a better setting in the country for college football than 102,000 people in red cheering inside Ohio Stadium. With Michigan upsetting Notre Dame, a Buckeye win would seal a great day for the Big Ten, even with Michigan State losing at home.

6:19- So all the talk about USC QB Matt Barkley being a true freshman, and Buckeye QB Terrelle Pryor makes the first huge mistake of the game by throwing an awful pass to a Trojan linebacker that gets returned to the one, and SC scores. Pryor better start living up to his billing real quick.

6:23- Trojan safety Taylor Mays just made a huge hit and of course jumps up like he just won the Super Bowl. Is it possible to make a great play without acting like a fool right after it? Is it possible I have asked 100 rhetorical questions during this diary?

6:58- Dennis Leary, in some DirecTV ad, talks about not having three TV’s in one room to watch all the action. You’re right Dennis, CFW has four.

7:12- Over nine hours into this day of football action. This is a tough job, but somebody has to watch all these games. Right now it’s USC/Ohio State on the big screen and Air Force/Minnesota, South Carolina/Georgia, and Mississippi State/Auburn on the other three.

7:20- For about the thousandth time today, a play is under review. The NFL gives the coaches, and only the coaches the ability to ask for a review, instead of a ref in the booth. College football absolutely needs to switch to that format. Even Uncle Brent just said it’s taking forever. Oh, shocker, the call on the field stands. Glad we wasted five minutes on looking at the tape over and over.

7:35- Mississippi State is down by 11 to Auburn and it’s not looking good. I have a bad feeling the Bulldogs are going to blow it for my bet the house picks this week.

7:54- Yep, picking the Bulldogs was a bad idea. Not sure where Auburn is getting all this offense from, but they are up 42-17. They haven’t scored this many points in a SEC game since going for 49 against Kentucky in 2005.

8:44- I didn’t know ESPNU was actually run by the same people that operate the MTN. Horrible camera work and a scoreboard graphic that is never correct with the down and distance. At least the announcers are decent. It’s strange to see anything affiliated with ESPN not be first class.

9:04- The ONLY negative to watching football all day is having to sit through the same promo again and again. If I have to see the Wolverine X through the screen with Hugh Jackman all roided up one more time, I will put an X through each of my own eyes.

9:35- USC does it again. Matt Barkley just grew up right before our eyes on that game-winning drive. As for the Buckeyes, they need to figure out how to open up their offense.

11:04- Utah might actually be in trouble in this game against San Jose State. Dick Tomey always seems to have a tough defense, and it looks like this year is no different.

12:15am- Another great day of college football is in the books. Oregon State just nailed a long field goal at the buzzer to beat UNLV, and the Utes just did enough to beat San Jose. What a great day! 14 straight hours of college football…is it Saturday yet?

Week 1 TV Ratings and Announcer Rankings

2009-09-10T17:38:00.000-06:00

College football scored big on opening weekend in the TV ratings game. Alabama/Virginia Tech on ABC drew just over 7 million viewers, good enough to tie as the 14th most-watched show last week. That game also tied for 3rd overall in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demo. College football also accounted for 3 of the 6 most-watched cable shows in week one. BYU/Oklahoma drew nearly 6 million viewers, 5.5 million people saw Oregon melt down against Boise State, and 5.2 million stayed up late to watch LSU/Washington. The weekend ended with Miami/Florida State jumping 24% over the Labor Day night game last year.

It was a busy first week for new announcer pairings, with our week one rankings being led by a new duo on ESPN:

1. Brad Nessler & Todd Blackledge, ESPN (BYU/Oklahoma & Miami/Florida State)- the best play-by-play guy is now teamed with the best analyst. It will tough to knock these two from the top this season.

2. Brent Musburger & Kirk Herbsteit, ABC (Virginia Tech/Alabama)- Uncle Brent and Herbie did their usual solid job, but aren't helped much by Lisa Salters on the sideline.

3. Joel Myers, Dave Lapham, Joel Klatt, FSN (Colorado/Colorado State)- While Myers is solid, Lapham is real hit or miss. But Klatt showed some big-time promise calling this game.

4. Dave Pasch, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman, ESPN (Navy/Ohio State)- Pasch is adequate, but Griese and Spielman are great. It remains to be seen if they can be great together.

5. Mark Jones, Bob Davie, Heather Cox, ESPN (Oregon/Boise State)- This spot is all because of Cox. She didn't back down from asking tough questions to Oregon coach Chip Kelly at half-time, including asking him if he was going to scream the team down. She also handled the interview with Bronco coach Chris Peterson perfectly after a Duck player punched one of his own.

Announcer pairings have been released for Week 2.

Bet the House Picks- Week 2

2009-09-09T20:55:00.007-06:00

Ok. So you would've lost your house last week if you listened to CFW. You didn't like that house anyway. We went 2-3 last week, but in our defense how were we supposed to know BYU had a defense? You can have total confidence in us this week. We love these picks (listed in order of best bet).

Marshall @ Virginia Tech -20 (1:30 ET, ESPN360.com): The Herd is 0-11 against BCS teams and was outscored 111-27 last year in their three games against Wisconsin, West Virginia and Cincinnati. Plus, the Hokies will be ready to play after losing to Alabama.

Mississippi State @ Auburn -15 (7 ET, ESPN360.com): The bottom of the SEC West might be up for grabs in this game. Both teams looked decent last week dealing with coaching debuts. Last year, the Tigers won 3-2 and it will be close again this season. The last time they played at Auburn, it was a five point win for the Tigers. Dan Mullen will not get blown out in his first SEC game as a head coach.

BYU -17.5 @ Tulane (3:30, ESPN2): So we learned our lesson last week about the Cougars. And we are picking on the Green Wave a bit, as we got their game right. Tulane barely hung with Tulsa and won't be able to stay with BYU, especially if star running back Harvey Unga plays. The Cougs won't have big heads after beating Oklahoma, right? Na, they never get over-confident.

Houston @ Oklahoma State -16 (3:30 ET, FSN): These teams met last year and combined for 93 points in the Cowboy win. It should be another high-scoring game, but watch out for Oklahoma State to get a little ahead of themselves, especially with the spotlight squarely on them in the Sooner state. Houston will make a game of it.

Oregon State -7 @ UNLV (11pm ET, CBS CS): We don't really have a bunch of stats to back this pick up, only a hunch. The Rebels are usually tough at home against BCS teams. They covered against Iowa State last year and against Wisconsin in 2008. They have enough speed to keep up with the Beavers, if they can score some points, they might actually win the game outright.

Mountain West Does It Again

2009-09-09T07:04:00.000-06:00

The opening weekend in college football took another turn on Saturday, as Sam Bradford and his shoulder stole much of the attention away from the Blount fiasco in Boise. But the real story should be yet another top five BCS team got worked by a team from the Mountain West.

The fact that Oklahoma looked terrible against BYU before Bradford went down has been swept under the rug. He didn’t get hurt on the first drive or in the first quarter. He went down with seconds left on the clock in the first half and had only managed 96 yards of offense against a defense that was maligned all last season for not having any speed. Yet the Sooners never really tested the BYU defensive backfield.

BCS apologists love to talk about the depth of the teams in the Big 12 and SEC. That the difference between the Oklahoma’s and BYU’s is on the two-deep roster. Really? Then stop with all the talk about Bradford going down. If that was true, then backup QB Landry Jones should have come in a not missed a beat. The Sooners were a 21 point favorite. Bradford was the single player worth all those points? Don’t forget, the Cougars were missing their best player, running back Harvey Unga, for the ENTIRE game. It was his backup that didn’t miss a beat.

So where to go from here? Will BYU be the BCS buster of 2009? Will they make a run at the national title? When the Cougars won the national championship in 1984, the knocked off number 3 ranked Pitt on the road to open the season. That Pitt team finished with a losing record. While the Sooners aren’t headed for a bowl-less season, they didn’t look like a national title contender either even with Bradford. With games against Miami, Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Kansas, and Nebraska, the Sooners could easily be heading for 8-4 or 7-5. That will not help BYU get to the title game.

When TCU knocked off seventh ranked Oklahoma in 2005, the Frogs finished 11-1. Their one loss? The next week against SMU, a team that finished 5-6 that season. Will that happen to the Cougars? While it’s hard to see them losing at Tulane on Saturday, they still have to play Florida State, TCU, and Utah, although those game are all at home. Also, the Mountain West looks a lot tougher after Colorado State and Air Force look to be better than originally predicted.

Speaking of the Mountain West, it just gets more ridiculous as the weeks go by that the Big East gets a bid to the BCS and the Mountain West is shut out. Can you imagine Pittsburgh and Cincinnati doing to Alabama and Oklahoma what Utah and BYU have done? Uh, no and no. What frustrates fans of the Mountain West more than not being included is the teams that are. To think that Rutgers could take the beating they did on Monday, yet still wake up Tuesday with a shot to get it together, win their league, and head off to the Orange Bowl while BYU has to remain perfect with a much harder schedule will keep Mountain West fans delirious with anger until they are recognized as a league that plays good football.

Boise Clinches BCS Berth, Gets Punched For It

2009-09-04T01:09:00.003-06:00

The Boise State Broncos clinched their second BCS berth on Thursday with an ugly 19-8 win over Oregon, locking up another bid to the Fiesta Bowl, to face an opponent to be named later. While the 2009 season has just begun, since the Broncos compete in the WAC they only have exhibition games remaining against club teams such as Idaho and New Mexico State.

Seriously though, Boise only has one possible hiccup in the way with 12 games left. They play at Tulsa on October 14th and maybe, just maybe, the Golden Hurricane will have a little somethin', somethin' in store that Wednesday night on ESPN.

In the victory over Oregon on Thursday, the Broncos showed they have plenty to work on in their exhibition games between now and the Tulsa match-up, as they left plenty of points on the board and turned the ball over far too many times. Sophomore quarterback Kellen Clemens looked poised under pressure early, but couldn't seem to convert when needed, especially as they moved closer to the end zone. The Broncos sure looked physical and fast, however. Maybe they are the Pac 10 team and the Ducks are in the WAC?

While the story should be all about BCS Busting, what happened at the end of the game will certainly overshadow that now. Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount only furthered the notion that the Ducks are far too arrogant for anything they have ever accomplished on the field. Before the season, Blount was quoted as saying Oregon was going to lay an *** whooping on the Broncos. Well, zero first downs in the first 35 minutes of the game for the Ducks doesn't exactly qualify as that. Maybe in Eugene getting tackled in the end zone for a safety is laying an *** whooping, but not in the rest of the country. Oh, Blount also finished with negative six rushing yards. Not exactly putting your money where your mouth is. How about putting your fist in someone else's mouth, because that must be how Blount rolls.

After the game, as if the Duck performance wasn't horrific enough, Blount sucker punched a Bronco in the face right in front of Boise State head coach Chris Peterson. He also went after his own teammates and some Bronco fans, needing police and assistant coaches to restrain him. All on ESPN. It almost had an Artest going into the stands feel to it as it was unfolding.

Brand new Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, hired for his offensive prowess, dropped a big fat piece of crap for an offensive showing in his debut and now has to deal with his star running back drilling a guy in the face after a game on national TV. The Ducks also play top 20 teams Utah and Cal in the next three weeks. Good luck figuring this mess out, coach.

Maybe its time Oregon focused on winning games and conference titles before they run their mouths and cheap shot opposing players.

Regardless of this mess of a game, college football is back! Finally!

Bet the House Picks- Week 1

2009-09-02T21:00:00.003-06:00

Each week this season CFW will give you, the loyal reader, our five best games for action, for purely entertainment purposes of course. We will track how well we do and see if we have any knack at all for picking against the spread. So, Bet the House on these five games (we like the teams in bold):

Tulsa -13.5 @ Tulane (Fri, 6pm MT, ESPN): Tulsa has won the last four games between these two by an average of 33 points.

Georgia @ Oklahoma State -5.5 (1:30 MT, ABC): If the Bulldogs can put some points on the board, they will not only beat the spread, they will win outright.

Oklahoma -22.5 vs BYU (in Dallas, 5pm MT, ESPN): Sooners have too much speed on offense for this to be a close game. Central Michigan @ Arizona -14.5 (8pm MT, Tucson local TV): Wildcats will win this game, but they won't be emotionally ready to face such a great quarterback in Dan LeVevour. Plus, Arizona will be breaking in a new QB.
Rice @ UAB -6.5 (2pm MT, CSS): We understand UAB has 11 returning starters on offense, but they just don't know how to win. The Owls are coming off a ten win season and will keep it going.

RichRod, Greg Paulus, and More- Week 1 Links

2009-09-01T20:09:00.003-06:00

Could the 2009 season be getting off to any worse of a start for Rich Rodriguez at Michigan? How weird is it to have an opening game against Western Michigan be such a must-win? Remember, the Wolverines have dropped the last two season openers. Everyone by now has heard about the NCAA rule violation allegations, but did you also know he just got hit with a huge lawsuit? When it rains, it pours...

USA Today had a fascinating article detailing the "golden years" for every football program in the country, from Vandy living the life in the late 1920's to Utah and Texas Tech being in the middle of theirs right now.

If you have never read the Forde Yard Dash on ESPN during the football season, you need to start, it is one of our favorites.

While some teams like Utah continue to delay naming a starting quarterback, others have named theirs, including Michigan State going with sophomore Kirk Cousins, Kansas State naming junior Carson Coffman, and Colorado State giving senior Grant Stucker his shot.

So Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford are all back for another season. They are so 2008. Much more interesting than those three will be Greg Paulus taking snaps for Syracuse instead of three pointers for Duke. The Orange host Minnesota at 10 am MT on ESPN2 on Saturday, turning a very pedestrian game into must-see TV.

Other intriguing QB's include Joe Cox beginning the post-Matthew Stafford era at Georgia by taking on Oklahoma State in Stillwater (1:30 MT, ABC), Greg McElroy taking over for John Parker Wilson in leading Alabama into the Georgia Dome against Virginia Tech (6 MT, ABC), and Blaine Gabbort trying to keep it rolling for Missouri as the Tigers take on favored Illinois in St. Louis (1:40 MT, ESPN).

Team Previews 1-4

2009-08-31T21:33:00.002-06:00

#4- Tennessee Volunteers (101,448)

1. Best player? Eric Berry, Jr, SS

2. Coach seat? Hot (Lane Kiffin, first year)

3. Must win? vs Georgia, 10/10

4. Bowl? Chick-Fil-A

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, SEC East

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Lame

#3- Ohio State Buckeyes (104,976)

1. Best player? Terrelle Pryor, So, QB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Jim Tressel, 9th year, 83-19)

3. Must win? @ Penn State, 11/7

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 1st, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Ok

#2- Penn State Nittany Lions (108,254)

1. Best player? Daryll Clark, Sr, QB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Joe Paterno, 44th year, 383-127-3)

3. Must win? vs Ohio State, 11/7

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 12

7. Helmet? Very Cool

#1- Michigan Wolverines (108,571)

1. Best player? Brandon Graham, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? On Fire (Rich Rodriguez, 2nd year, 3-9)

3. Must win? @ Michigan State, 10/3

4. Bowl? Insight

5. Predicted finish? 7th, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Lame

Goal Line Stand- Week 1

2009-08-31T07:25:00.004-06:00

First Down: Is this finally the year USC doesn’t win the Pac 10?
Pete Carroll has been the coach in Troy for eight seasons of football. The last seven they have captured the Pac 10 title. The 2009 season represents the opportunity for Southern California to win a record eighth straight championship. But are they up to the task? With only three returning starters on defense and a true freshman starting at quarterback, the door is open ever so slightly for a team like California or Oregon to finally break through and smell the roses. The Trojans have to face both those challengers on the road, and they finish the season at home against up and comers UCLA and Arizona. CFW predicts no record-setting year for USC. The Golden Bears from Cal will play in their first Rose Bowl in 50 years. Mark it down.

Second Down: Wire to Wire for the Gators?
Not only is Florida trying to repeat as national champions, but they will be striving to accomplish the feat by going wire to wire as the number one team in the country. Only USC has done that this decade, back in 2004 with a couple of guys named Leinart and Bush. Facing only two ranked teams that year made the task easier than expected and the Gators might have a similar schedule situation. Urban Meyer knows he has a three game slate: LSU, Georgia, and Florida State. Win those and off to another BCS Championship Game the Gators will go.

Third Down: Big Ten in the Mix Again
Since the Gators received 58 of the 60 first place votes in the AP poll, and the polls are always accurate, we only need to figure out who Mighty Florida will be facing in Pasadena in early January. Remember that conference that has just a bunch of slow, non-athletes running around? Well the Big Ten could very well find itself with a representative in the big game once again. Have you looked at who Penn State is playing this year? They are currently ranked ninth in the AP Poll and will only move up as they dominate the likes of Akron and Temple each week. If Florida has a three game schedule, then the Lions have a one game slate: Ohio State in Happy Valley on November seventh. Win that game, play above average the other 11 and Penn State will find itself in the national title game.

Fourth Down: Making Noise During the Season
The non-automatic qualifying teams made a ton of noise during the off-season about their situation related to the BCS. Now they find themselves in the position of backing up their big mouths. Only once since 2004 has a bowl season passed without a BCS Buster, but this could be another of those years. Four teams stand in great position beginning the season, with Boise State, TCU, Utah, and BYU all ranked in the top 20. But they all face heavy challenges in reaching BCS land. The Mountain West has been compared favorably to the Big East the past two seasons and will look to continue to ascend beyond the league known better for its basketball. But starting with BYU facing Oklahoma and ending with the possibility of the top three teams beating up on each other, the Mountain West will likely fall short in its goal of crashing the BCS once again.

Team Previews 5-8

2009-08-30T20:16:00.004-06:00

#8- Alabama Crimson Tide (92,138)

1. Best player? Terrence Cody, Sr, NG

2. Coach seat? Cold (Nick Saban, 3rd year, 19-8)

3. Must win? @ Ole Miss, 10/10

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 1st, SEC West

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Cool

#7- LSU Tigers (92,383)

1. Best player? Charles Scott, Sr, RB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Les Miles, 5th year, 42-11)

3. Must win? @ Alabama, 11/7

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, SEC West

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Ok

#6- Georgia Bulldogs (92,746)

1. Best player? Geno Atkins, Sr, DT

2. Coach seat? Cold (Mark Richt, 9th year, 82-22)

3. Must win? vs Florida, 10/31

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, SEC East

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Cool

#5- Texas Longhorns (98,046)

1. Best player? Colt McCoy, Sr, QB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Mack Brown, 12th year, 115-26)

3. Must win? vs Oklahoma, 10/17

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 1st, Big 12 South

6. Wins expected? 12

7. Helmet? Very Cool

Team Previews 9-12

2009-08-30T09:50:00.003-06:00

#12- Oklahoma Sooners (85,075)

1. Best player? Sam Bradford, Jr, QB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Bob Stoops, 11th year, 109-24)

3. Must win? vs Texas, 10/17

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted? 2nd, Big 12 South

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Ok

#11- USC Trojans (86,793)

1. Best player? Jeff Byers, Sr, OG

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Pete Carroll, 9th year, 88-15)

3. Must win? @ Cal, 10/3

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 1st, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Cool

#10- Auburn Tigers (86,915)

1. Best player? Antonio Coleman, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? Warm (Gene Chizik, 1st year)

3. Must win? vs Kentucky, 10/17

4. Bowl? Independence

5. Predicted finish? 5th, SEC West

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

#9- Florida Gators (90,544)

1. Best player? Tim Tebow, Sr, QB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Urban Meyer, 5th year, 44-9)

3. Must win? vs Georgia, 10/31

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 1st, SEC East

6. Wins expected? 12

7. Helmet? Lame

Team Previews 13-16

2009-08-29T07:16:00.003-06:00

#16- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (80,797)

1. Best player? Golden Tate, Jr, WR

2. Coach seat? Hot (Charlie Weis, 5th year, 29-21)

3. Must win? vs Boston College, 10/24

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? NA

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Very Cool

#15- Wisconsin Badgers (81,088)

1. Best player? Garrett Graham, Sr TE

2. Coach seat? Warm (Bret Bielema, 4th year, 28-11)

3. Must win? vs Michigan, 11/14

4. Bowl? Alamo

5. Predicted finish? 6th, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

#14- Texas A&M Aggies (82,193)

1. Best player? Ryan Tannehill, So, WR/QB

2. Coach seat? Warm (Mike Sherman, 2nd year, 4-8)

3. Must win? @ Kansas State, 10/17

4. Bowl? Texas

5. Predicted finish? 6th, Big 12 South

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Ok

#13- Nebraska Cornhuskers (85,071)

1. Best player? Ndamukong Suh, Sr, DT

2. Coach seat? Cool (Bo Pelini, 2nd year, 10-4)

3. Must win? @ Kansas, 11/14

4. Bowl? Cotton

5. Predicted finish? 1st, Big 12 North

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Ok

17-20 Team Previews

2009-08-28T06:52:00.003-06:00

#20- Michigan State Spartans (74,858)

1. Best player? Greg Jones, Jr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Mark Dantonio, 3rd year, 34-27)

3. Must win? vs Michigan, 10/3

4. Bowl? Rose

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Cool

#19- Florida State Seminoles (77,986)

1. Best player? Rodney Hudson, Jr, OG

2. Coach seat? Warm (Bobby Bowden, 34th year, 309-91-4)

3. Must win? @ Clemson, 11/7

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? 1st, ACC Atlantic

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Ok

#18- Clemson Tigers (79,164)

1. Best player? Thomas Austin, Sr, OG

2. Coach seat? Warm (Dabo Swinney, 2nd year, 4-3)

3. Must win? @ Miami, 10/24

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, ACC Atlantic

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Cool

#17- South Carolina Gamecocks (80,529)

1. Best player? Eric Norwood, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Steve Spurrier, 5th year, 28-22)

3. Must win? @ Arkansas, 11/7

4. Bowl? Music City

5. Predicted finish? 4th, SEC East

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Cool

Team Previews 21-24

2009-08-26T21:41:00.002-06:00

#24- Arkansas Razorbacks (66,784)

1. Best player? DJ Williams, Jr, TE

2. Coach seat? Warm (Bobby Petrino, 2nd year, 5-7)

3. Must win? vs South Carolina, 11/7

4. Bowl? Liberty

5. Predicted finish? 4th, SEC West
6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

#23- Kentucky Wildcats (69,434)

1. Best player? Trevard Lindley, Sr, CB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Rich Brooks, 7th year, 32-41)

3. Must win? @ Vanderbilt, 11/14

4. Bowl? Independence

5. Predicted finish? 6th, SEC East

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Ok

#22- Iowa Hawkeyes (70,169)

1. Best player? Bryan Bulaga, Jr, OT

2. Coach seat? Cold (Kirk Ferentz, 11th year, 70-53)

3. Must win? @ Wisconsin, 10/17

4. Bowl? Capital One
5. Predicted finish? 4th, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Cool

#21- UCLA Bruins (72,795)

1. Best player? Brian Price, Jr, DT

2. Coach seat? Warm (Rick Neuheisel, 2nd year, 4-8)

3. Must win? @ Arizona, 10/24

4. Bowl? Sun

5. Predicted finish? 5th, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Very cool

Team Previews 25-28

2009-08-25T21:22:00.004-06:00

#28- Arizona State Sun Devils (63,837)
1. Best player? Dexter Davis, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? Warm (Dennis Erickson, 3rd year, 15-10)

3. Must win? @ UCLA, 11/21

4. Bowl? Insight

5. Predicted finish? 7th, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Very Cool

#27- BYU Cougars (64,102)

1. Best player? Harvey Unga, Jr, RB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Bronco Mendenhall, 5th year, 38-13)

3. Must win? vs Utah, 11/28

4. Bowl? Las Vegas

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Cool

#26- Missouri Tigers (64,520)

1. Best player? Sean Weatherspoon, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Gary Pinkel, 9th year, 59-41)

3. Must win? @ Kansas State, 11/14

4. Bowl? Insight

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, Big 12 North

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

#25- Virginia Tech Hokies (66,233)

1. Best player? Jason Worilds, Jr, DE

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Frank Beamer, 23rd year, 177-89-2)

3. Must win? vs Alabama, 9/5

4. Bowl? BCS Championship

5. Predicted finish? 1st, ACC Coastal

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Cool

What Happens in the Mountain West, Stays in the Mountain West

2009-08-25T20:11:00.004-06:00

Shhh! The Mountain West is trying to keep its champion as hidden from the rest of the college football world during the bowl season as possible. They have agreed to a contract extension with the MAACO Bowl (formerly the Las Vegas Bowl) to send their number one team to face off against the Pac 10 number five pick.

With all the movement in the bowl landscape over the past few weeks, many in the MWC footprint were hoping for either a better match-up in Vegas, or a higher profile bowl. But in the end, the league was once again punished for not having more than two teams that travel well.

Some members of the media in MWC cities have suggested this is the fault of the commissioner, Craig Thompson. One Salt Lake City radio host went as far as to put forward the notion that Thompson should have approached bowls with Big East ties such as the Gator Bowl. That is laughable. BYU is the only true travelling school in the conference. Utah is getting there. But none of the others even remotely come close to bringing bowl games what they want: butts in the seats.

Cougar fans better get ready for more holiday fun in Las Vegas

Others in the media have discussed how unfair this is to be sending their best team each year to face an unranked and usually unmotivated (read: UCLA) Pac 10 team. Since when has college football postseason been about fairness? It's about one thing and one thing only: money. If your conference has fans that travel, you get better bowls. Just look at the Big Ten. They have three teams in the preseason top 25 and are constantly getting hammered about how overrated they are, but they have a tie-in with five major bowl games.

So stop with the whining already. Either figure out a way for the Vegas...sorry, MAACO bowl to payout more money or bust the BCS each year. Besides, Conference USA sends its champ to the Liberty Bowl to face the 7th pick from the SEC. The WAC and Sun Belt situations are even worse. This is what the bowls are all about!

Team Previews 29-32

2009-08-24T20:56:00.003-06:00

#32- Oregon Ducks (58,444)

1. Best player? Will Tukuafu, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? Cool (Chip Kelly, first year)

3. Must win? vs Arizona State, 11/14

4. Bowl? Sun

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Ok

#31- California Golden Bears (61,634)

1. Best player? Jahvid Best, Jr, RB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Jeff Tedford, 8th year, 59-30)

3. Must win? vs USC, 10/3

4. Bowl? Rose

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Ok

#30- Illinois Fighting Illini (61,707)

1. Best player? Juice Williams, Sr, QB

2. Coach seat? Warm (Ron Zook, 5th year, 18-30)

3. Must win? vs Michigan State, 10/10

4. Bowl? Capital One

5. Predicted finish? 5th, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Ok

#29- Washington Huskies (63,640)

1. Best player? Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? Cold (Steve Sarkisian, first year)

3. Must win? @ Stanford, 9/26

4. Bowl? Poinsettia

5. Predicted finish? 9th, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 4

7. Helmet? Cool

33-36 Team Previews

2009-08-23T11:18:00.002-06:00

#36- N.C. State Wolfpack (56,665)

1. Best player? Russell Wilson, So QB

2. Coach seat? Warm (Tom O'Brien, 3rd year, 11/14)

3. Must win? @ Florida State, 10/31

4. Bowl? Gator

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, ACC Atlantic

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Cool

#35- Purdue Boilermakers (56,702)

1. Best player? Torri Williams, Sr FS

2. Coach seat? Cool (Danny Hope, first year)

3. Must win? @ Minnesota, 10/10

4. Bowl? Motor City

5. Predicted finish? 10th, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Cool

#34- North Carolina Tar Heels (57,829)

1. Best player? Kendric Brown, Jr, CB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Butch Davis, 3rd year, 12-13)

3. Must win? @ Virginia Tech, 10/29

4. Bowl? Gator

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, ACC Coastal

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Cool

#33- West Virginia Mountaineers (58,085)

1. Best player? Noel Devine, Jr, RB

2. Coach seat? Warm (Bill Stewart, 2nd year, 10-4)

3. Must win? @ Rutgers, 12/5

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? 1st, Big East

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Cool

37-40 Team Previews

2009-08-22T18:56:00.002-06:00

#40- Arizona Wildcats (52,440)

1. Best player? Rob Gronkowski, Jr, TE

2. Coach seat? Warm (Mike Stoops, 6th year, 25-34)

3. Must win? vs Oregon, 11/21

4. Bowl? Holiday

5. Predicted finish? 6th, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

#39- Ole Miss Rebels (53,005)

1. Best player? Jevan Snead, Jr, QB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Houston Nutt, 2nd year, 9-4)

3. Must win? vs Alabama, 10/10

4. Bowl? Sugar

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, SEC West

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Cool

#38- Texas Tech Red Raiders (53,625)

1. Best player? Brandon Carter, Sr, OT

2. Coach seat? Cold (Mike Leach, 10th year, 76-39)

3. Must win? vs Kansas, 10/31

4. Bowl? Alamo

5. Predicted finish? 4th, Big 12 South

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Ok

#37- Virginia Cavaliers (53,815)

1. Best player? Ras-I Dowling, Jr, CB

2. Coach seat? Hot (Al Groh, 9th year, 56-44)

3. Must win? @ Maryland, 10/17

4. Bowl? GMAC

5. Predicted finish? 5th, ACC Coastal

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Lame

AP Poll is Released

2009-08-22T11:51:00.001-06:00

No surprise who number one is, as the Florida Gators claimed 58 of the 60 first place votes. Texas captured the other two. Oklahoma, USC and Alabama round out the top 5.

2009 Preseason AP Top 25
1. Florida (58) 1,498
2. Texas (2) 1,424
3. Oklahoma 1,370
4. USC 1,313
5. Alabama 1,156
6. Ohio State 1,113
7. Virginia Tech 1,054
8. Mississippi 1,047
9. Oklahoma State 989
9. Penn State 0 989
11. LSU 914
12. California 746
13. Georgia 714
14. Boise State 659
15. Georgia Tech 593
16. Oregon 587
17. TCU 521
18. Florida State 307
19. Utah 289
20. Brigham Young 267
21. North Carolina 261
22. Iowa 229
23. Notre Dame 225
24. Nebraska 207
25. Kansas 134

Others Receiving Votes
Oregon State 122, Illinois 105, Pittsburgh 103, Michigan State 100, Rutgers 83, Texas Tech 76, West Virginia 57, Cincinnati 44, Clemson 42, Miami (FL) 40, East Carolina 30, Tennessee 15, Arizona 13, North Carolina State 10, Boston College 9, Central Michigan 7, Auburn 7, UCLA 7, Northwestern 5, South Florida 3, Southern Miss 3, Vanderbilt 3, Missouri 3, South Carolina 2, Nevada 1, Arkansas 1, Houston 1, Troy 1, Tulsa 1.

41-44 Team Previews

2009-08-21T21:09:00.003-06:00

#44- Colorado Buffaloes (49,476)

1. Best player? Cha'pelle Brown, Sr, CB

2. Coach seat? Hot (Dan Hawkins, 4th year, 13-24)

3. Must win? vs Kansas, 10/17

4. Bowl? Alamo

5. Predicted finish? 4th, Big 12 North

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Cool

#43- South Florida Bulls (49,690)

1. Best player? Matt Grothe, Sr, QB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Jim Leavitt, 13th year, 60-35)

3. Must win? vs West Virginia, 10/30

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? 5th, Big East

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

#42- Minnesota Golden Gophers (49,958)

1. Best player? Eric Decker, Sr, WR

2. Coach seat? Warm (Tim Brewster, 3rd year, 8-17)

3. Must win? vs Michigan State, 10/31

4. Bowl? Champs Sports

5. Predicted finish? 9th, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Cool

#41- Kansas Jayhawks (50,907)

1. Best player? Todd Reesing, Sr, QB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Mark Mangino, 8th year, 45-41)

3. Must win? vs Nebraska, 11/14

4. Bowl? Holiday

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, Big 12 North

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

Conference QB Rankings

2009-08-21T07:29:00.004-06:00

It seems every year the best quarterbacks in the country are found in the SEC and Pac 10. The SEC has the best athletes and the Pac 10 has the wide open offenses. But 2009 will be a different story.

We looked at every quarterback situation in the country and placed each in one of three categories: Returning Good (RG), Returning Average (RA), or New. Regardless of scheme, a good QB will have at least a 2-1 touchdown to interception ratio and will complete at least 60% of his passes. Using this method, here are our rankings:

1. Big 12- Everyone knows this league has Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, but they have four others that fall into the RG category. Todd Reesing of Kansas and Zac Robinson of Oklahoma State would be the headliners in any other conference. But the most interesting QB's in this league are Robert Griffin at Baylor and Jerrod Johnson at Texas A&M. Both have the ability to up the total wins for their team by a game or two and reach a bowl. Plus, they are underclassmen so they will just continue to get better. Mark the calendar for November 21st when the Bears travel to College Station.

2. ACC- Five really good QB's are coming back, with only 2 teams debuting new guys. This group might not have the headline grabbing ability of the Big 12, but are still very solid. Riley Skinner at Wake Forest and Russell Wilson at N.C. State lead the way and are joined by Josh Nesbit running the option at Georgia Tech. Wilson might be the best of the bunch, as he only threw one pick last year as a freshman. Thaddeus Lewis at Duke and TJ Yates at North Carolina don't get much press, but they combined for 26 touchdowns and only ten interceptions last season. Not included in the RG grouping is Christian Ponder at Florida State and Jacory Harris at Miami. Both have the talent to improve upon their 2008 seasons, and will need to if their respective teams are going to get better.

3. Big Ten- For a conference that gets ripped all the time for not having any athletes, they sure have some athletic QB's. Terrelle Pryor at Ohio State was a rare freshman that didn't make many mistakes, as he had a 3-1 TD/interception ratio. He was also the Buckeyes second leading rusher. Amazingly, he might only be the 3rd best QB in the league, as Daryll Clark at Penn State and Juice Williams at Illinois are back for their senior seasons. If Williams improves his TD/interception ratio, he could end up having the best year of the three. Adam Weber at Minnesota is almost forgotten about, but he also finished second on his team in rushing and completed 62% of his passes. Junior Ricky Stanzi at Iowa will also continue to get better.

4. Mountain West- Yet another reason why this conference feels like they deserve a seat at the BCS table, they boast four outstanding QB's this year. Max Hall at BYU gets most of the press, as he threw 35 touchdowns last year and completed nearly 70% of his passes. But don't forget about Andy Dalton at TCU. He doesn't throw near as much as Hall, but he is still very efficient and he also runs well. He was the Frogs third leading rusher last year. This league has two other QB's ready for breakout years in Omar Clayton at UNLV and Tim Jefferson at Air Force. As a sophomore last year, Clayton had an amazing 4.5-1 TD/interception ratio and Jefferson was the conference freshman of the year.

5. C-USA- Ever heard of Case Keenum? All he did last year for Houston was complete 67% of his passes and throw 44 touchdowns...as a sophomore. He and seven other starters return for the Cougars. Trevor Vittatoe at UTEP threw 33 touchdowns last year and didn't even make the first three all-conference teams. He is back, along with Austin Davis at Southern Miss and Patrick Pinkney at East Carolina. This league also brings back six RA QB's who should all improve. Watch out for Bo Levi Mitchell at SMU and Joe Webb at UAB.

6. SEC- So this conference has a guy named Tim Tebow. Remember him? All he did last year was finish with a 7.5 to 1 TD/interception ratio. That is ridiculous. But the only other QB in the league coming back that is RG is Jevan Snead at Ole Miss, and he only had a completion rate of 56%, so we are being generous. Seven are RA and three are new. If the SEC wants to move up this list, than Jonathan Crompton at Tennessee, Kodi Burns at Auburn, Mike Hartline at Kentucky and others are going to have to play much better this year.

7. Big East- Half of this league will be starting new QB's in 2009 and only two are RG. Matt Grothe at South Florida is heading into his 8th year with the Bulls. Ok, it only feels that way, but he is in his last year there. Other than Grothe, the only other RG is Tony Pike at Cincinnati. Big shoes will need to be filled at West Virginia, as Pat White is gone and Bill Stull at Pitt needs to cut down on the picks if the Panthers are going to finally win a conference title under Dave Wannstedt.

8. WAC- Always seeming to have a bunch of gunslingers, this season will be no different out west. Boise State brings back Kellen Moore for this sophomore season. All he did as a freshman was compete 69% of his passes in guiding the Broncos to a unbeaten regular season. But he wasn't even the WAC player of the year last year. Colin Kaepernick at Nevada became just the 5th player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards. And he was just a sophomore. Greg Alexander at Hawaii had a 3-1 ratio and is the other RG QB in this league, but the rest of the group isn't much to get excited about.

9. Pac 10- It is a rare sight for this league to be at the bottom of a QB list. But based on returning players they have nowhere to go but up. Only two are RG, Jake Locker at Washinton and Jeremiah Masoli at Oregon. At least four teams will be breaking in new QB's and four others have RA. Guys like Kevin Riley at Cal and Canfield or Moevao at Oregon State need to limit the interceptions if the Pac 10 is going to return to the top. Oh, and USC will be breaking in their next big thing as well. Since they play at Ohio State in the second game, he better get broken in fast.

Team Previews 45-48

2009-08-20T21:59:00.004-06:00

#48- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (47,489)

1. Best player? Jonathan Dwyer, Jr, RB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Paul Johnson, 2nd year, 9-4)

3. Must win? vs Virginia Tech, 10/17

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, ACC Coastal

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Cool

#47- Maryland Terrapins (47,954)

1. Best player? Alex Wujciak, Jr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Ralph Friedgen, 9th year, 64-36)

3. Must win? @ N.C. State, 11/7

4. Bowl?EagleBank

5. Predicted finish? 6th, ACC Atlantic

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

#46- Oklahoma State Cowboys (48,261)

1. Best player? Dez Bryant, Jr, WR

2. Coach seat? Cold (Mike Gundy, 5th year, 27-23)

3. Must win? vs Texas, 10/31

4. Bowl? Fiesta

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, Big 12 South

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Ok

#45- Pittsburgh Panthers (49,352)

1. Best player? Greg Romeus, Jr, DE

2. Coach seat? Warm (Dave Wannstedt, 5th year, 25-23)

3. Must win? @ West Virginia, 11/27

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, Big East

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Awful

49-52 Team Previews

2009-08-19T21:04:00.003-06:00

#52- Kansas State Wildcats (45,190)

1. Best player? Joshua Moore, Jr, CB

2. Coach seat? Warm (Bill Snyder, 18th year, 136-68-1)

3. Must win? vs Kansas, 11/7

4. Bowl? Independence

5. Predicted finish? 5th, Big 12 North

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Ok

#51- Utah Utes (45,542)

1. Best player? Zane Beadles, Sr, OL

2. Coach seat? Cold (Kyle Whittingham, 5th year, 37-14)

3. Must win? vs Air Force, 10/24

4. Bowl? Las Vegas

5. Predicted finish? 1st, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Cool

#50- Miami Hurricanes (46,299)

1. Best player? Jason Fox, Sr, OT

2. Coach seat? Warm (Randy Shannon, 3rd year, 12-13)

3. Must win? vs Georgia Tech, 9/17

4. Bowl? Gator

5. Predicted finish? 4th, ACC Coastal

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Cool

#49- Iowa State Cyclones (47,429)

1. Best player? Reggie Stephens, Sr, OG

2. Coach seat? Cool (Paul Rhoads, first year)

3. Must win? vs Baylor, 10/17

4. Bowl? Texas

5. Predicted finish? 6th, Big 12 North

6. Wins expected? 5

7. Helmet? Lame

53-56 Team Previews

2009-08-18T21:07:00.003-06:00

#56- East Carolina Pirates (42,016)

1. Best player? Van Eskridge, Sr, FS

2. Coach seat? Cold (Skip Holtz, 5th year, 29-22)

3. Must win? vs Southern Miss, 11/28

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? 1st, C-USA East

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Cool

#55- Rutgers Scarlet Knights (42,378)

1. Best player? Anthony Davis, Jr, T

2. Coach seat? Cool (Greg Schiano, 9th year, 46-51)

3. Must win? vs West Virginia, 12/5

4. Bowl? Orange

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, Big East

6. Wins expected? 10

7. Helmet? Ok

#54- Mississippi State Bulldogs (43,453)

1. Best player? Brandon McRae, Sr, WR

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Dan Mullen, first year)

3. Must win? @ Vanderbilt, 9/19

4. Bowl? Independence

5. Predicted finish? 6th, SEC West

6. Wins expected? 5

7. Helmet? Lame

#53- Oregon State Beavers (44,931)

1. Best player? Jacquizz Rodgers, So, RB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Mike Riley, 9th year, 56-42)

3. Must win? vs UCLA, 10/31

4. Bowl? Holiday

5. Predicted finish? 4th, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Ok

Big Opening Game: Help or Hurt?

2009-08-18T07:03:00.004-06:00

The non automatic qualifying teams are coming off one of their best seasons ever, as Utah went undefeated and crushed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and finished ranked number two in the AP poll. The question now is, can these teams continue to close the gap?

That picture might get more clear after opening day, as BYU travels to Dallas to take on Oklahoma. But win or lose that game, will it help or hurt the Cougars for the remainder of the season?

We looked at the last 11 season openers for BYU, Utah, and TCU and singled out the years when each team opened with a big-name BCS team. We then looked at where they were predicted to finish in the conference (thanks to Stassen) and then where they ended up. Do they have a better season because they prepared harder during camp for that first game? Here is what we discovered:

The Cougars have had three of these games since '98. In '04 they opened with Notre Dame and went from 5th in the pre-season to finishing 3rd. In '00 they played Florida State and had no change, staying in 3rd place. In '98 they went to Alabama and improved from 2nd to 1st.

Utah opened at Michigan in '08 and went from 2nd to 1st, going unbeaten in the process. In '06 they played on the road against UCLA and fell from 2nd to 3rd. In '04 they hosted Texas A&M and stayed in first, but also went unbeaten and won the Fiesta Bowl.

The Frogs kicked off their 2005 season by upsetting Oklahoma

TCU went to Oklahoma in '05, beat the Sooners and climbed from a pre-season pick of 5th place to winning the Mountain West. They played Nebraska in '01 and slipped from a 5th place prediction to actually finishing in 6th.

Certainly, a more extensive look at other Non-AQ teams might tell us more, but in looking at these 3 teams it would appear that playing a big time opponent does help your chance for success later on in the year. Out of the 8 examples, only twice did the team actually finish worse than predicted.

Team Previews 57-60

2009-08-17T21:53:00.002-06:00

#60- Central Florida Knights (39,596)

1. Best player? Torrell Troup, Sr, DT

2. Coach seat? Warm (George O'Leary, 6th year, 26-36)

3. Must win? vs Memphis, 10/3

4. Bowl? St. Petersburg

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, C-USA East

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

#59- Louisville Cardinals (39,680)

1. Best player? Doug Beaumont, Jr, WR

2. Coach seat? Burning (Steve Kragthorpe, 3rd year, 11-13)

3. Must win? vs Southern Miss, 10/10

4. Bowl? International

5. Predicted finish? 7th, Big East

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Lame

#58- Hawaii Warriors (41,010)

1. Best player? John Estes, Sr, C

2. Coach seat? Warm (Greg McMackin, 2nd year, 7-7)

3. Must win? @ Louisiana Tech, 9/30

4. Bowl? Hawaii

5. Predicted finish? 5th, WAC

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Cool

#57- Boston College Eagles (41,037)
1. Best player? Mark Herzlich, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Frank Spaziani, 1st year)

3. Must win? vs Florida State, 10/3

4. Bowl? Gator

5. Predicted finish? 5th, ACC Atlantic

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Very Cool

61-64 Team Previews

2009-08-15T13:48:00.003-06:00

#64- Fresno State Bulldogs (37,864)

1. Best player? Andrew Jackson, Jr, G

2. Coach seat? Warm (Pat Hill, 13th year, 92-61)

3. Must win? @ Nevada, 11/14

4. Bowl? Hawaii

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, WAC

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

#63- Air Force Falcons (38,134)

1. Best player? Nick Charles, Sr, G

2. Coach seat? Cold (Troy Calhoun, 3rd year, 17-9)

3. Must win? @ Utah, 10/24

4. Bowl? Poinsettia

5. Predicted finish? 4th, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Very cool

#62- Vanderbilt Commodores (38,294)

1. Best player? Patrick Benoist, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Bobby Johnson, 8th year, 27-56)

3. Must win? @ South Carolina, 10/24

4. Bowl? Liberty

5. Predicted finish? 5th, SEC East

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Cool

#61- Connecticut Huskies (39,331)

1. Best player? Scott Lutrus, Jr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Randy Edsall, 11th year, 54-53)

3. Must win? vs Syracuse, 11/28

4. Bowl? Papajohns.com

5. Predicted finish? 6th, Big East

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Cool

65-68 Team Previews

2009-08-15T09:56:00.002-06:00

# 68- Baylor Bears (34,124)

1. Best player? Joe Pawelek, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Art Briles, 2nd year, 4-8)

3. Must win? @ Texas A&M, 11/21

4. Bowl? Texas

5. Predicted finish? 5th, Big 12 South

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Very cool

#67- Stanford Cardinal (34,258)

1. Best player? Toby Gerhart, Sr, RB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Jim Harbaugh, 3rd year, 9-15)

3. Must win? @ Arizona, 10/17

4. Bowl? Emerald

5. Predicted finish? 7th, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

#66- Navy Midshipmen (34,775)

1. Best player? Ross Pospisil, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Ken Niumatalolo, 2nd year, 8-6)

3. Must win? vs Wake Forest, 10/24

4. Bowl? Texas

5. Predicted finish? NA (independent)

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Cool

#65- UTEP Miners (37,296)

1. Best player Trevor Vittatoe, Jr, QB

2. Coach seat? Warm (Mike Price, 6th year, 30-30)

3. Must win? vs Tulsa, 10/21

4. Bowl? Liberty

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, C-USA West

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Ok

69-72 Team Previews

2009-08-14T22:36:00.003-06:00

#72- Indiana Hoosiers (31,782)

1. Best Player? Jammie Kirlew, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? Warm (Bill Lynch, 3rd year, 10-15)

3. Must win? @ Northwestern, 10/24

4. Bowl? Motor City

5. Predicted finish? 11th, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Cool

#71- Cincinnati Bearcats (31,965)

1. Best player? Mardy Gilyard, Sr WR

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Brian Kelly, 3rd year, 22-6)

3. Must win? @ Pittsburgh, 12/5

4. Bowl? Gator

5. Predicted finish? 4th, Big East

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Cool

#70- Boise State Broncos (32,275)

1. Best player? Kellen Moore, So, QB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Chris Peterson, 4th year, 35-4)

3. Must win? vs Oregon, 9/3

4. Bowl? Fiesta

5. Predicted finish? 1st, WAC

6. Wins expected? 13

7. Helmet? Lame

#69- Syracuse Orange (33,474)

1. Best player? Arthur Jones, Sr, NT

2. Coach seat? Cold (Doug Marrone, first year)

3. Must win? vs Northwestern, 9/19

4. Bowl? International

5. Predicted finish? 8th, Big East

6. Wins expected? 5

7. Helmet? Cool

Bowl Changes Are In Motion

2009-08-14T11:25:00.002-06:00

Looks like the changes between which conference teams go to certain bowls after the 2010 season is already taking place. The Big Ten is on the verge of announcing an agreement with the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, replacing the Alamo Bowl in their conference lineup. That has created an opening for the Alamo to have the same Pac 10/Big 12 match-up the Holiday Bowl has had since the late 90's.

The Holiday Bowl is reeling a bit, as they will likely keep the same conference affiliation, but will move down the pecking order in teams they select. The driving factor in all of this? Money, of course.

It is also being speculated that the Big Ten will pull out of the Champs Sports Bowl and will be replaced by the Big East number two selection, which also includes Notre Dame.

Team Previews 73-76

2009-08-13T19:37:00.002-06:00

#76- Southern Miss Golden Eagles (30,079)

1. Best player? Damion Fletcher, Sr, RB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Larry Fedora, 2nd year, 7-6)

3. Must win? @ East Carolina, 11/28

4. Bowl? Liberty

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, C-USA East

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

#75- TCU Horned Frogs (30,389)

1. Best player? Jerry Hughes, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Gary Patterson, 9th year, 73-27)

3. Must win? @ BYU, 10/24

4. Bowl? Fiesta

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 11

7. Helmet? Cool

#74- Washington State Cougars (30,719)

1. Best player? Kenny Alfred, Sr, C

2. Coach seat? Warm (Paul Wulff, 2nd year, 2-11)

3. Must win? vs Stanford, 9/5

4. Bowl? Poinsettia

5. Predicted finish? 10th, Pac 10

6. Wins expected? 4

7. Helmet? Cool

#73- Wake Forest Demon Deacons (31,666)

1. Best player? Boo Robinson, Sr, DL

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Jim Grobe, 9th year, 54-44)

3. Must win? @ Georgia Tech, 11/7

4. Bowl? Music City

5. Predicted finish? 4th, ACC Atlantic

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Lame

Early Spreads

2009-08-13T14:12:00.005-06:00

A few of the Vegas Books have already posted spreads for the opening week of the season (games begin 3 weeks from today!) and for pure entertainment purposes only, here are the games that jumped off the page to CFW, listed in order of best bet with team that will cover in red:

Tulsa -13.5 @ Tulane: The Hurricane will win by three touchdowns on the road.
BYU vs Oklahoma -21.5: No way do the Cougars have the team speed to stay in this one. OU 48-24.
Central Michigan @ Arizona -13.5: CMU has a great QB, and the Wildcats won't quite be ready for this one, winning by 10.
Stanford -15.5 @ Washington State: The Cougars are bad, no doubt. But two touchdowns bad on opening day at home?
LSU -15 @ Washington: The future looks bright for the Huskies, just not the first week.
Rice @ UAB-4.5: Rice lost a ton of starters, but they will still open with a win on the road.
Georgia @ Oklahoma State -6: The Bulldogs will be ready to play, and will upset the Cowboys.
Nevada @ Notre Dame -14: We get it, the Irish are back. But they won't win by two touchdowns against a good Wolfpack team.

77-80 Team Previews

2009-08-12T20:40:00.002-06:00

#80- Army Black Knights (27,752)

1. Best player? Joshua McNary, Jr, DE

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Rich Ellerson, first year)

3. Must win? @ Eastern Michigan, 9/5

4. Bowl? EagleBank

5. Predicted Finish? NA

6. Wins expected? 5

7. Helmet? Cool

#79- Northwestern Wildcats (28,590)

1. Best player? Corey Wootton, Sr DE

2. Coach seat? Cold (Pat Fitzgerald, 4th year, 19-18)

3. Must win? @ Michigan State, 10/17

4. Bowl? Champs Sports

5. Predicted finish? 8th, Big Ten

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Lame

#78- Duke Blue Devils (28,727)

1. Best player? Vincent Rey, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (David Cutcliffe, 2nd year, 4-8)

3. Must win? vs Maryland, 10/24

4. Bowl? GMAC

5. Predicted finish? 6th, ACC Coastal

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Ok

#77- New Mexico Lobos (29,713)

1. Best player? Eric Cook, Sr, C

2. Coach seat? Cool (Mike Locksley, first year)

3. Must win? vs UNLV, 10/24

4. Bowl? New Mexico

5. Predicted finish? 7th, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Lame

81-84 Team Previews

2009-08-11T19:02:00.003-06:00

#84- Tulsa Golden Hurricane (24,368)

1. Best player? Mike Bryan, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Todd Graham, 3rd year, 21-7)

3. Must win? @ UTEP, 10/21

4. Bowl? Liberty

5. Predicted finish? 1st, MAC West

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

#83- San Diego State Aztecs (24,376)

1. Best player? BJ Williams, Jr, DE

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Brady Hoke, 1st year)

3. Must win? vs New Mexico, 10/31

4. Bowl? New Mexico

5. Predicted finish? 8th, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 4

7. Helmet? Cool

#82- Marshall Thundering Herd (24,766)

1. Best player? Albert McClellan, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? On fire (Mark Snyder, 5th year, 16-31)

3. Must win? vs UAB, 10/24

4. Bowl? St. Petersburg

5. Predicted finish? 5th, C-USA East

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Cool

#81- Memphis Tigers (25,003)

1. Best player? Curtis Steele, Sr, RB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Tommy West, 9th year, 47-51)

3. Must win? vs UAB, 11/14

4. Bowl? Armed Forces

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, C-USA East

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Ok

Who Does Conference Expansion Benefit?

2009-08-10T22:41:00.009-06:00

Ever since the ACC raided the Big East in 2003 and Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College joined the proud basketball-centric league, many have wondered what conference would be next to expand. And schools on the outside looking in on the money filled pastures of the BCS, such as Utah, TCU, and Boise State have wondered if they might be the next one chosen. But would that really be the smartest move in relation to on the field performance?

CFW went back and looked at every major school since 1978 that has left a league or independent status to join a "bigger and better" conference. We looked just at football results, since that is what pays the majority of the bills.

Arizona and Arizona State were the first in the modern era to jump leagues, leaving the WAC in 1978 for the Pac 10 and the allure of the Rose Bowl. In the ten years leading up to the move, ASU won seven conference championships. U of A only had one to their credit, but they also had two 9 win seasons in addition. In the 31 years since, they have combined to nail four titles and only two were outright. The Sun Devils smelled Roses in 1986 and '96. Arizona is still searching for its first Rose Bowl season, as they are the only Pac 10 member to never participate.

The success of ASU football in the WAC helped build Sun Devil Stadium

The next big expansion wave hit in the early '90's, with the SEC leading the way. They added South Carolina from independent status and poached Arkansas from the SWC. With college football the way it is now, it's hard to imagine the Gamecocks receiving that invitation. From 1980 until they began playing in the SEC in '91 they only had three seasons of eight wins or more and played in four bowl games. In the SEC, they have had three eight wins seasons and five bowl games. They were very average before and things haven't changed much, even with legends Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier coaching. Arkansas, on the other hand, was a major player in the SWC, just behind Texas. From 1975 until joining they won four conference titles. They have won zero SEC titles.

Arkansas used to battle Texas for conference titles. Now they battle for SEC mediocrity.

After the SEC went to 12 teams, the Big Ten grabbed perennially power Penn State, a dominant national force belonging to no conference. They had four top 5 final rankings in the '70's, four more in the '80's and one in the early '90's for a total of nine final season top 5 rankings from 1970 until joining the Big Ten. They have had just two since joining in '94 and three conference titles.

The final team to highlight is Miami. The Hurricanes have actually made a conference change twice since the '70's. They were dominant in the '80's as an independent and then things didn't change much when they joined the Big East in the early '90's. They won seven conference titles from '94-'03. They began play in the ACC in '04 and haven't won a league title yet.

Other teams, of course, have switched leagues during this time. Florida State left independent status to join the ACC in the early '90's and dominated the league for the first ten years. Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech made conference switches, as well.

But in most cases, when a team left a situation they were successful in for a "better" conference scenario, on field performance suffered. Utah might be the prime example going forward, as expansion teams are speculated about. They have won two BCS bowl games in the last five years. If they were in the Pac 10, as some fans wish for, would they have been to any? Remember, Arizona State was a national program when they left the WAC for the Pac 10 30 years ago. They haven't been one since.

85-88

2009-08-10T22:22:00.002-06:00

#88- Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (21,468)

1. Best player? Chris Fisher, Sr, C

2. Coach seat? Hot (Rickey Bustle, 8th year, 32-50)

3. Must win? @ Florida Atlantic, 10/31

4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 6th, Sun Belt

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Lame

#87- Houston Cougars (21,518)

1. Best player? Case Keenum, Jr, QB

2. Coach seat? Cold (Kevin Sumlin, 2nd year, 8-5)

3. Must win? @ Tulsa, 11/7

4. Bowl? Liberty

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, C-USA West

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Cool

#86- Central Michigan Chippewas (22,659)

1. Best player? Dan LeFevour, Sr, QB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Butch Jones, 3rd year, 16-11)

3. Must win? @ Western Michigan, 10/17

4. Bowl? GMAC

5. Predicted finish? 1st, MAC West

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

#86- Tulane Green Wave (22,750)

1. Best player? Reggie Scott, Sr, DT

2. Coach seat? Warm (Bob Toledo, 3rd year, 6-18)

3. Must win? vs Marshall, 10/10

4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 6th, C-USA West

6. Wins expected? 5

7. Helmet? Lame

89-92

2009-08-08T16:38:00.004-06:00

# 92- UNLV Rebels (20,849)

1. Best player? Jason Beauchamp, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Hot (Mike Sanford, 5th year, 11-36)

3. Must win? @ New Mexico, 10/24

4. Bowl? Poinsettia

5. Predicted finish? 6th, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Ok

#91- San Jose State Spartans (20,952)

1. Best player? Duke Ihenacho, Jr, DB/LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Dick Tomey, 5th year, 23-25)

3. Must win? @ Louisiana Tech, 12/5

4. Bowl? New Mexico

5. Predicted finish? 6th, WAC

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Lame

#90- Colorado State Rams (21,008)

1. Best player? Rashaun Green, Sr, WR

2. Coach seat? Cold (Steve Fairchild, second year, 7-6)

3. Must win? vs Air Force, 10/31

4. Bowl? Humanitarian

5. Predicted finish? 5th, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Cool

#89- Arkansas State Red Wolves (21,105)

1. Best player? Alex Carrington, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? Warm (21,105)

3. Must win? @ Florida Atlantic, 11/14

4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, Sun Belt

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Lame, worst in FBS

2009 Saturday Guide

2009-08-06T20:40:00.010-06:00

Many football fans across the country face the dilemma. While they would love to park on the couch every Saturday from the beginning of College Gameday to the conclusion of the final game, that just isn't reality (unless covering the sport is your job and you have to watch 14 straight hours because of duty to the football watching public...like CFW).

So CFW is here to help. We want all of our loyal readers to have happy and healthy relationships with their family and friends during the fall. Stick close to the following guide and you will get the most out of this coming season, while retaining in your life those that you love.

Cancel all plans and refuse to move off the couch

September 19th
The best day of the season, with games highlighting every college football angle. Don't go anywhere.
You want an interesting inter-sectional game? Take your pick:
Cal @ Minnesota (11, ESPN), Nebraska @ Virginia Tech (3:30, ABC), Arizona @ Iowa (3:30, ESPN), Cincinnati @ Oregon State (6:45, FSN), West Virginia @ Auburn (7:45, ESPN), and Kansas State @ UCLA (10:15, FSN).
You like big, early season conference games? Boston College @ Clemson, Georgia @ Arkansas (7:30, ESPN), and Texas Tech @ Texas (8, ABC).
What about the schools banging on the BCS door? They can make a big statement with East Carolina @ North Carolina (12, ESPN), Tulsa @ Oklahoma (3:30, FSN), Utah @ Oregon (3:30, ESPN), and Florida State @ BYU (7, Versus).
The day wouldn't be complete without a big-time SEC game and Tennessee @ Florida (3:30, CBS) will do the trick. Everyone in the south can't wait to see Lane Kiffin take his big mouth to the Swamp.

November 27 & 28
Since this is Thanksgiving weekend, we allowed games played on days other than Saturday to count. You will want a 2 day pass with this slate as many games are rivalries that make college football so great:
Alabama @ Auburn (2:30, CBS), Nebraska @ Colorado (3:30, ABC), Pitt @ West Virginia, Florida State @ Florida (3:30, CBS), Utah @ BYU (5, CBSC), UCLA @ USC (10pm, FSN), Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma, Kansas vs Missouri, UNC @ NC State, and Arizona @ Arizona State

You can go grab a very quick bite

October 10
Conference and division titles all over the country could be decided, so maybe you should hit the Taco Bell drive thru instead of Applebee's. Alabama @ Ole Miss (3:30 CBS) and Florida @ LSU (8, CBS), along with Georgia @ Tennessee will keep SEC fans very busy all day. Wisconsin @ Ohio State, Colorado @ Texas, Boston College @ Virginia Tech, and UCLA @ Oregon will also have league title implications.

November 7
It's hard to get bigger games than LSU @ Alabama (3:30, CBS), Ohio State @ Penn State, and Oklahoma @ Nebraska. Better make sure you hit Olive Garden early, when you won't have to wait. Ask for the check early and head home and catch Florida State @ Clemson and Oregon State @ Cal.

You can sneak away for a few hours and go to dinner and a movie

September 12th
The game of the year (USC @ Ohio State) is at 8 on ABC, so make sure you get out to dinner early and rent a movie for after the game. Other intriguing match-ups include Notre Dame @ Michigan, UCLA @ Tennessee, TCU @ Virginia (3:30, ESPNU), South Carolina @ Georgia (7:45, ESPN2), and Purdue @ Oregon (10:15, FSN). But if the Trojans and Buckeyes weren't facing off, this day would be much lower on the list.

October 3rd
An otherwise average day is spiced up with two huge conference games: LSU @ Georgia (3:30, CBS) and USC @ Cal (8, ABC). Other games such as Auburn @ Tennessee, Penn State @ Illinois, Oklahoma @ Miami, and Oregon State @ Arizona State will help you keep your dinner and movie short.

October 17th
Oklahoma @ Texas is the game of the month and kicks off at noon on ABC, so you can still keep the spouse happy with a date in the evening. It would be great if USC @ Notre Dame (3:30 NBC) is interesting this year as well. Iowa @ Wisconsin (12, ESPN), Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech, and Cal @ UCLA should also be fun to watch.

October 31
Halloween will be very scary for the losers of Georgia vs Florida (3:30 CBS) and USC @ Oregon (8 ABC). You could always volunteer to stay home and give out candy while watching Ole Miss @ Auburn, Texas @ Oklahoma State, and Cal @ Arizona State.

You can feign excitement about running errands some of the day, while not missing much action

September 5
The first full day of the season is always great, if only because football is back. But with not much besides Georgia @ Oklahoma State (3:30, ABC) and Alabama vs Virginia Tech (8, ABC) you can afford to be away from the television for a few hours in order to build equity for future couch potatoeing. Illinois vs Missouri (3:30, ESPN) and BYU vs Oklahoma (7, ESPN) are also on the slate.

September 26
With Cal @ Oregon (3:30, ABC) being the marquee game of the day, don't be afraid to clean out the garage for a few hours. When you are done, you can catch Illinois @ Ohio State, TCU @ Clemson, and Miami @ Virginia Tech.

October 24
Been putting off some projects around the house? Now is the day to get them done. The most interesting game will be the Trojans looking for revenge (Oregon State @ USC, 8 ABC), but other than that not a whole lot is going on. TCU @ BYU (7:30, Versus) could decide the BCS buster for 2009, the Big East title could be settled (South Florida @ Pittsburgh) and the Big 12 North picture will clear up (Oklahoma @ Kansas, Colorado @ Kansas State).

November 21
Formerly rivalry day and now a shell of itself, maybe some early holiday shopping would be a good idea. Just make sure you are back in time to catch LSU @ Ole Miss and Ohio State @ Michigan. If you find some good deals quickly you could also keep up on North Carolina @ Boston College and Cal @ Stanford.

Go away for the weekend. Cabin, beach house, whatever.

November 7
Just when you think you might not get away with sitting on the couch any longer in 2009, this day comes along and saves you. Set the DVR for the match-up between the two best non-AQ teams from 2008 (Utah @ TCU, 7:30 CBSC) and earn some much needed brownie points. If you are a true die hard, you can risk everything with Florida @ South Carolina, Iowa @ Ohio State, and Miami @ North Carolina.

This has been a public service announcement from CFW (all times listed are eastern, all times not listed are TBA).

93-96 Caps

2009-08-06T20:26:00.003-06:00

#96- Western Michigan Broncos (19,683)
1. Best player? Austin Pritchard, Sr, LB
2. Coach seat? Cold (Bill Cubit, 5th year, 29-20)
3. Must win? vs Central Michigan, 10/17
4. Bowl? Motor City
5. Predicted finish? 2nd, MAC West
6. Wins expected? 9
7. Helmet? Lame

#95- SMU Mustangs (19,780)
1. Best player? Emmanuel Sanders, Sr, WR
2. Coach seat? Cool (June Jones, 2nd year, 1-11)
3. Must win? @ UAB, 9/12
4. Bowl? Armed Forces
5. Predicted finish? 4th, C-USA West
6. Wins expected? 4
7. Helmet? Cool

#94- Rice Owls (20,179)
1. Best player? Scott Solomon, Jr, DE
2. Coach seat? Cold (David Bailiff, 3rd year, 13-12)
3. Must win? @ East Carolina, 10/17
4. Bowl? Hawaii
5. Predicted finish? 3rd, C-USA West
6. Wins expected? 8
7. Helmet? Lame

#93- Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (20,227)
1. Best player? Jamal Lewis, Jr, G
2. Coach seat? Warm (Rick Stockstill, 4th year, 17-20)
3. Must win? @ Florida Atlantic, 10/31
4. Bowl? New Orleans
5. Predicted finish? 3rd, Sun Belt
6. Wins expected? 7
7. Helmet? Cool

97-100 Caps

2009-08-06T07:19:00.004-06:00

#100- UAB Blazers (19,062)

1. Best player? Terrence Edge, Jr, T

2. Coach seat? Warm (Neil Callaway, 3rd year, 6-18)

3. Must win? @ Marshall, 10/24

4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 6th, C-USA East

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Cool

#99- Ball State Cardinals (19,201)

1. Best player? MiQuale Lewis, Sr, RB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Stan Parrish, first year)

3. Must win? @ Northern Illinois, 11/12

4. Bowl? Motor City

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, MAC West

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Lame

#98- Troy Trojans (19,231)

1. Best player? Brandon Lang, Sr, DE

2. Coach seat? Cold (Larry Blakeney, 19th year, 52-44)

3. Must win? vs Florida Atlantic, 11/21

4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 1st, Sun Belt

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Lame

#97- Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (19,519)

1. Best player? Cardia Jackson, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Hot (Charlie Weatherbie, 7th year, 25-45)

3. Must win? @ North Texas, 11/7

4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 7th, Sun Belt

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

101-104 Caps

2009-08-05T18:39:00.005-06:00

#104- Northern Illinois Huskies (18,185)

1. Best player? Jason Onyebuagu, Sr, G

2. Coach seat? Cold (Jerry Kill, 2nd year, 6-7)

3. Must win? @ Central Michigan, 11/27

4. Bowl? Motor City

5. Predicted finish? 4th, MAC West

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Ok

#103- Wyoming Cowboys (18,234)

1. Best player? John Fletcher, Sr, DT

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Dave Christensen, first year)

3. Must win? vs. UNLV, 9/26

4. Bowl? New Mexico

5. Predicted finish? 9th, Mountain West

6. Wins expected? 5

7. Helmet? Cool

#102- Eastern Michigan Eagles (18,951)

1. Best player? Jacory Stone, Sr, WR

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Ron English, first year)

3. Must win? vs Western Michigan, 11/14

4. Bowl? International

5. Predicted finish? 6th, MAC West

6. Wins expected? 4

7. Helmet? Cool

#101- Nevada Wolf Pack (19,043)

1. Best player? Colin Kaepernick, Jr, QB
2. Coach seat? Cold (Chris Ault, 25th year, 60-38)

3. Must win? @ Boise State, 11/27

4. Bowl? Hawaii

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, WAC

6. Wins expected? 9

7. Helmet? Cool

105-108 Capsules

2009-08-04T18:32:00.006-06:00

#108- North Texas Mean Green (16,956)

1. Best player? Toby Nwigwe, Sr, LB

2. Coach Seat? Hot (Todd Dodge, 3rd year, 3-21)

3. Must Win? @ Louisiana, 10/10
4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 8th, Sun Belt

6. Wins expected? 5

7. Helmet? Lame

#107- Toledo Rockets (17,008)

1. Best player? Barry Church, Sr, S

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Tim Beckman, first year)

3. Must win? @ Ball State, 10/3

4. Bowl? International

5. Predicted finish? 5th MAC West

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Ok

#106- New Mexico State Aggies (17,756)

1. Best player? Nick Paden, Sr, LB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Dwayne Walker, first year)

3. Must win? vs Utah State, 10/10

4. Bowl? New Mexico

5. Predicted finish? 8th, WAC

6. Wins expected? 5

7. Helmet? Lame

#105- Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (18,020)

1. Best player? Antonio Baker, Sr, S

2. Coach seat? Cold (Derek Dooley, 3rd year, 13-12)

3. Must win? @ Nevada, 10/9

4. Bowl? Hawaii

5. Predicted finish? 4th, WAC

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

Top Ten of the Decade

2009-08-03T21:24:00.003-06:00

CBSSports.com recently came out with a ranking of every FBS football program for this decade. The top of list? No surprise, it's USC. Also not surprising and in keeping with our theory of the college football elite not changing over time is the rest of the top five. The Trojans are followed by Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and LSU.

The one team sneaking into the top ten that isn't among the Big Boys? Utah, coming in at number ten. At the beginning of this decade, not one Ute fan would have ever dreamed they would be on this list with two BCS bowl wins (Fiesta, Sugar) under their belt. Notable programs that didn't get two of those this decade include Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Penn State, and Michigan.

Another interesting aspect of this list is where the top five started from in 2000. USC went 5-7 that year and only won more than six games once from '96-99. The Sooners were even worse than that, as they had a losing record in '96, '97, and '98. They of course kicked the decade off by going 12-0 and winning the national championship. Texas lost at least three games from '96-'99 and LSU entered the decade with just seven wins total in '98 & '99.

The Gators were the only team out of the top five to really roll into the 2000's. They won the national title in '96 and won at least nine games the rest of that decade and only slowed down during the Ron Zook era.

Danny Wuerffel was part of the Gator dominance of the late '90's.

So what does this tell us about the future? Maybe the Sunshine state will be sunny again and Florida State and Miami will wake up. Or could Nebraska and Colorado bring the Big 12 North some much needed respect? Alabama has already seemed to be turning it around, will Michigan be right behind them?

The one thing CFW is willing to bet on in the next ten years? The same power teams will be fighting it out at the top.

109-112

2009-08-03T07:03:00.006-06:00

#112- Bowling Green Falcons (15,701)

1. Best Player? PJ Mahone, Sr, SS

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Dave Clawson, first year)

3. Must win? @ Buffalo, 11/3

4. Bowl? International

5. Predicted finish? 2nd, MAC East

6. Wins expected? 7

7. Helmet? Cool

#111- Florida Atlantic Owls (16,126)

1. Best Player? Cortez Gent, Sr, WR

2. Coach Seat? Freezing (Howard Schnellenberger, 9th year, 31-30)

3. Must win? @ Troy, 11/21

4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, Sun Belt

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Cool

#110- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (16,697)

1. Best player? Blake Boyd, Sr, LB
2. Coach seat? Cold (David Elson, 7th year, 39-32)

3. Must win? vs Louisiana, 10/17

4. Bowl? New Orleans

5. Predicted finish? 9th, Sun Belt

6. Wins expected? 4

7. Helmet? Ok

#109- Buffalo Bulls (16,924)

1. Best player? Naaman Roosevelt, Sr, WR
2. Coach seat? Freezing (Turner Gill, 4th year, 15-23)

3. Must win? vs Ohio, 11/10

4. Bowl? Motor City

5. Predicted finish? 1st, MAC East

6. Wins expected? 8

7. Helmet? Cool

113-116

2009-08-01T23:24:00.006-06:00

#116- Ohio Bobcats (15,276)

1. Best player? Noah Keller, Jr, LB

2. Coach seat? Cool (Frank Solich, 5th year, 23-26)

3. Must win? vs Miami, 10/17

4. Bowl? GMAC

5. Predicted finish? 3rd, MAC East

6. Wins Expected? 7

7. Helmet? Lame

#115- Idaho Vandals (15,340)

1. Best player? Mike Iupati, Sr, G

2. Coach seat? Warm (Robb Akey, 3rd year, 3-21)

3. Must win? @ New Mexico State, 9/5

4. Bowl? New Mexico (one bowl in school history, '98)

5. Predicted finish? 9th, WAC

6. Wins expected? 3

7. Helmet? Cool

#114- Miami Redhawks (15,435)

1. Best player? Caleb Bostic, Sr, CB

2. Coach seat? Freezing (Mike Haywood, first year)

3. Must win? @ Temple, 11/5

4. Bowl? GMAC

5. Predicted finish? 7th, MAC East

6. Wins expected? 4

7. Helmet? Cool

#113- Temple Owls (15,582)

1. Best Player? Andre Neblett, Sr, NT

2. Coach seat? Warm (Al Golden, 4th year, 10-26)

3. Must win? vs Buffalo, 9/26

4. Bowl? International

5. Predicted finish? 5th, MAC East

6. Wins expected? 6

7. Helmet? Lame

120-117 Team Capsules

2009-08-01T14:04:00.005-06:00

#120- Kent State Golden Flashes (10,609)
1. Best player? Sam Frist, Sr, NT
2. Coach seat? Very hot (Doug Martin, 6th year, 19-39)
3. Must win? @ Akron, 11/7
4. Bowl? GMAC (last bowl game was 1972)
5. Predicted finish? 6th, Mac East
6. Wins expected? 5
7. Helmet? Ok

#119- Florida International Panthers (13,852)
1. Best player? T.Y. Hilton, So, WR/KR
2. Coach seat? Cool (Mario Christobal, 3rd year, 6-18)
3. Must Win? vs Toledo, 9/26
4. Bowl? New Orleans (have never been)
5. Predicted finish? 5th, Sun Belt
6. Wins expected? 7
7. Helmet? Ok

#118- Akron Zips (14,342)
1. Best player? Almondo Sewell, Jr, DE
2. Coach seat? Hot (JD Brookhart, 6th year, 27-33)
3. Must win? vs Ohio, 10/10
4. Bowl? GMAC (one appearance in school history)
5. Predicted finish? 3rd, MAC East
6. Wins expected? 7
7. Helmet? Lame

#117- Utah State Aggies (14,736)
1. Best player? Paul Igboeli, Sr, LB
2. Coach seat? Freezing (Gary Anderson, first year)
3. Must win? vs. Louisiana Tech, 10/24
4. Bowl? New Mexico
5. Predicted finish? 7th, WAC
6. Wins expected? 4
7. Helmet? Lame

Longhorn Football Makes A Ton Of $$

2009-07-31T14:51:00.003-06:00

According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel the Texas athletic program earned over $120 million in revenue in 2007-08. That is a staggering amount when compared to other programs such as UCLA, Arkansas, and Clemson, as they only pulled in half that much. Also, the Longhorns four non-conference football opponents in 2009 generated a total of $84 million.

The highest non AQ school on the list was TCU, which came in at number 57, earning a little over $43 million. The lowest AQ school was Mississippi State, at 75th and $30 million.

The top conferences? The SEC and Big Ten, of course. 12 of the top 16 schools come from those two leagues.

New Pac 10 Commish

2009-07-31T07:30:00.004-06:00

The new commissioner of the Pac 10, Larry Scott, had some very interesting comments in this article about the direction he wants to take the conference. Scott comes to the league after being at the helm of the Women's Tennis Association and has a heavy background in marketing. He is going to need that experience to help the Pac 10 bolster its national reputation.

On the issue of expansion, Scott said, "I do know the conference has looked at it from time to time, but not seriously very recently." In the past it seems the league has always been quick to dismiss adding schools, but he called it a complex issue that will be looked at as they near the expiration of TV contracts in a couple years.

One of the biggest complaints the league hears from fans involves the bowl tie-ins. Scott didn't have much to say on the issue, but that has got to be something he is focusing on. Just take a look at where the other BCS leagues send their number three bowl pick:

SEC-Outback or Cotton (New Years Day)
Big Ten-Outback (New Years Day)
ACC-Gator (New Years Day)
Big 12-Holiday

How about the Pac 10? They send their 3rd pick to the popular tourist destination of El Paso to play against the 5th pick from the Big Ten in the Sun Bowl. Their 4th and 5th teams go to the Las Vegas and Emerald Bowls.

Maybe Larry Scott will finally be the difference on some of these issues that make the much needed impact on a national scale for the Pac 10.

Big 12 Commish Not Happy With MWC

2009-07-28T20:39:00.002-06:00

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe had some pointed comments about the Mountain West Conference and their push to gain access into the BCS this off-season. He told the Dallas Morning News in this article that he was "very disturbed about any of our conferences that are a part of the BCS coming out after we negotiated with television and then proposing drastic changes to the system."

So wait, the MWC is a part of the BCS? Technically, all 11 FBS conferences are included in the BCS, since they all earn a portion of the payout. Of course, it isn't an equal payout.

More than anything else, might the comments made by Beebe show just a little touch of stress and annoyance at this entire situation?

Cinderella Pushing Real Issue Aside

2009-07-25T18:51:00.005-06:00

We get it. Utah got hosed by the BCS last season. The little guy has no legitimate shot at the national title in college football. Cinderella can peer into the ballroom from the courtyard, but she isn’t getting in. Blah, blah, blah.

Amazingly, the non-BCS schools have received more attention from the national media this off-season with the Utes finishing undefeated than the schools that really are getting slighted. Very little has been said about Texas and USC also deserving a shot at the championship, relative to the clamoring about the little guys. “Give us access,” they say. It seems every day this summer another member of Congress is blasting the BCS, blowing their horns about possible anti-trust issues and the inherent unfairness to the non-AQ schools. This could be the only time a team from the Mountain West beats out the Mighty Longhorns and Trojans for attention. The BCS is screwing its own members and none of them seem to care enough about it to do anything.

It seems anytime the current system of the BCS is defended, college basketball is used as the crucial reminder of what will immediately happen to the “greatest and most meaningful regular season” in sports. This is something CFW has never understood. Basketball and football have FUNDAMENTALY different schedules and they can not be compared. College football needs to be compared to the NFL, college basketball to the NBA. In professional basketball the regular season is just as meaningless when speaking in the context of the post-season as college basketball. But the NFL, as TV ratings would strongly suggest, has kept the intrigue and passion for the regular season very much alive.

Out of 32 teams in the NFL, only 12 make it to the playoffs. In college football two teams out of 120 reach any type of playoff game. If anything, that should be reversed. The NFL teams play enough common opponents that they could more easily decide the top two teams and just send them to the Super Bowl. College football rarely has any common opponents from teams in the top 10. Talking heads can blather and computers can process data, but we will never know if Florida would have defeated USC , Texas, or Utah last year.

So why not more of an outcry from USC last year? Are they afraid of rocking the multi-million dollar boat they ride on? Were they too embarrassed that their lone loss came at the hands of Oregon State? What about Georgia at the end of the 2007 season? Auburn going unbeaten in the SEC in 2004 and not getting a sniff has been all but forgotten.

Shhh, don't complain about playing in another meaningless Rose Bowl. We make too much money from this BCS deal.

Yes, the Utah’s and Boise State’s of the college football world don’t even begin the season with a realistic shot at the national title. But even more confusing, and frustrating, is that at the end of the “greatest and most meaningful regular season in all of the sporting world” the fact remains the season doesn’t matter to most of the BCS schools either. Just ask USC how meaningful their 2008 campaign was.

One More Scheduling Note

2009-07-24T09:50:00.003-06:00

Curious to know if your favorite team is a big-time football program? The surest way to tell these days is not by ranking or wins, but by how many home games are on the schedule. And eight is the magic number.

Only seven out of 120 FBS schools play eight home games in 2009 and a couple of them might surprise you. Tennessee, Auburn, Penn State, Michigan, Oklahoma State, NC State, and Syracuse won't have to worry about a long road trip this season. How crazy is it to see the Orange on that list? They haven't had a winning season since 2001.

Ten more teams only have four road games, but play just seven at home because of a neutral site game on the schedule. The Florida Gators are one of those teams. The Gators have only had five road games in a season once in the last 12 years, when they went all the way to Miami in 2003 to play the Hurricanes.

College football skews unfair in many ways, but the home/road mix for schools not being equal could be the most glaring. Just imagine the Dallas Cowboys or Pittsburgh Steelers demanding they play ten home games and only six on the road.

Georgia Coach Doesn't Like 2009 Slate

2009-07-21T16:06:00.003-06:00

An interesting follow up to our earlier column giving Georgia an A grade for their non-conference schedule is this article in the Athens Banner Herald quoting Bulldog head coach Mark Richt saying he "is not that thrilled about it" and some public disagreement between himself and the AD.

Richt certainly has a right to feel upset about, but only because no one else in the SEC is playing even close to that type of schedule, especially arch-rival Florida. At least college football fans have one SEC team they can get behind this year. CFW is officially rooting for the Bulldogs to win the SEC East.

Worst Schedules

2009-07-21T07:52:00.005-06:00

When looking for the weakest non-conference schedule in the country, one doesn't usually have to look much further than the SEC. But while that league is represented well on this short list, the Big Ten is actually trying to give them a run for biggest pansies. The following are the five weakest schedules in the country this year. Joe Pa will be asleep, like the fans, during non-conference games this year.

1. Penn State Nittany Lions-Akron, Temple, Syracuse, and Eastern Illinois, all games at home, are who JoePa will lead his team against in 2009. Those 4 teams went 18-30 last year against some very average competition. Nice to hear the Penn State captain doesn't think the schedule is soft though.

The Lions actually had a run of nice schedules in the late 90's, even playing Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Miami all in the same season. But they haven't played even a C graded schedule since 2002.

2. Northwestern Wildcats-Their schedule might actually be worse than Penn State, but since they are Northwestern and not exactly contending for a national title every year, it dropped them to 2nd. Home games against Towson, Eastern Michigan and Miami OH and a road game against Syracuse should mean all the Wildcats need to be bowl eligible will be to win 2 conference games.

Penn State and Northwestern have the worst schedules in the country and it's not even close. Every other team plays at least one worthy opponent. These two schools should be embarrassed.

3. Michigan Wolverines-Coming off their worst season in decades, the Wolverines might need this horribly easy schedule to get back on track. They do host the Irish, but with Notre Dame not being what they used to be, the rest of their games against Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Delaware State lands them in this spot.

4. Boston College Eagles-Much like Michigan, the Eagles find themselves here because of Notre Dame being down, but even if the Irish were a top 10 team it would still be a weak schedule with home games against Northeastern, Kent State, and Central Michigan. At least they travel to Sound Bend for that game.

5. Most of the SEC, led by Auburn-The Georgia Bulldogs have a great schedule by any standard, but when compared to the rest of their own league, they are in another galaxy. Auburn, Florida, and Kentucky play all 4 non-conference games at home and each has one fairly decent opponent and the rest is filled with crap like Furman, Eastern Kentucky, and Charleston Southern (isn't that a candy bar). Everyone give a hand for the "toughest" league in America!

The More Things Change...The More They Stay The Same

2009-07-18T16:08:00.003-06:00

One loyal CFW reader has suggested that the landscape of college football has changed so much over the last 40 or 50 years that the traditional powers are not the same as they used to be. So I thought it would be interesting to look at the top five teams in the seasons ending 1948, '58, '68, '78, '88, '98, and '08.

1948
1. Michigan
2. Notre Dame
3. North Carolina
4. California
5. Oklahoma

1958
1. LSU
2. Iowa
3. Army
4. Auburn
5. Oklahoma

1968
1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Notre Dame

1978
1. Alabama
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. Penn State
5. Michigan

1988
1. Notre Dame
2. Miami
3. Florida State
4. Michigan
5. West Virginia

1998
1. Tennessee
2. Ohio State
3. Florida State
4. Arizona
5. Florida

2008
1. Florida
2. Utah
3. USC
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma

33 out of the 35 teams listed are currently in a BCS conference. Only 6 of the 35 are not traditional powers: North Carolina, California, Iowa, Army, Arizona, and Utah. Watch for a more extensively researched article in the coming weeks on this subject, but basically for the last 60 years teams like Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State, USC, and maybe 15 others will compete for the top 5 spots.

What About the Non-AQ Schools?

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The criteria for schools from non-AQ leagues is a bit different. Since the ultimate goal for each school is the crack into a BCS bowl, the schedule has to have a lot of name recognition, not be too difficult and only have one easy win to earn an A from CFW.

New Mexico Lobos-The lone representative from the Mountain West on this list, the Lobos enter the Mike Locksley era with a great slate of non-conference opponents, but likely not enough talent on the roster to do anything with it. Road games against Texas A&M and Texas Tech are balanced with home games against Tulsa and rival New Mexico State.

Houston Cougars-After opening the season with FCS opponent Northwestern State, the Cougars travel to Stillwater to face an Oklahoma State team that will be bouncing back from a meeting with Georgia. A perfect opportunity to make a statement. Games against Texas Tech and Mississippi State follow and are both very winnable. Will Houston be the first C-USA team to earn a BCS bowl berth?

The Houston Chronicle thinks now is the time for Cougar athletics to shine.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles-Seemingly always willing to play anyone, anywhere, the Eagles once again have big-name opponents, if not big-time. In the last five years, they have played road games against Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama, and Nebraska.

This season brings Virginia to Hattiesburg, while they hit the road to face Kansas and Louisville. 3 very winnable games against BCS teams, a perfect example of giving yourself a shot to win needed publicity.

East Carolina Pirates-Jumping onto the national scene last year with wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia to open the season, the Pirates will again have the chance to make noise. Early road games against the Mountaineers and North Carolina, along with a home game against VA Tech will give ECU plenty of opportunity to make amends for fading last season.

Head coach Skip Holtz tells the Charlotte Observer in this article “There are a lot of people who play nobody and then beat their chest and go ‘Look at us, we're 11-1.”

More Gutsy Teams

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Florida State Seminoles- For just the second time in 6 years, the Noles will have 6 road games as two of their 4 non-conference games are not in Tallahassee. Games at BYU and at Florida, along with a home game against South Florida mean they will be facing teams with a combined 2008 record of 31-9. A home game against Jacksonville State balances it out.

According to the end of this article, the game against the Bulls might have been in Jacksonville, but things didn't work out.

Virginia Tech Hokies-Kicking off the season with a neutral site game against Alabama that everyone is looking forward to takes guts, but so does playing on the road late in the season against East Carolina, a team that began last season by upsetting the Hokies. A home game against Nebraska isn't as sexy as it used to be, but the name still carries a lot of weight. They also play a home game against their neighbor from West Virginia, Marshall.

USC Trojans- Teams in the Pac 10 only have to look for 3 non-conference games, potentially making it easier to avoid scheduling cupcakes. USC has done just that, as they travel to the midwest twice in 2009. Once to face powerhouse Ohio State and again to face former powerhouse Notre Dame. In-state foe San Jose State is their opening game.

UCLA Bruins- The second year for coach Rick Neuheisel gets underway with games against opponents that have bigger names than they deserve. But as we have stated, a big part of scheduling smart is playing teams that fall in that category. After opening at home against San Diego State, the Bruins travel to Tennessee and then play Kansas State in Pasadena.

These two crosstown rivals have ended the regular season by playing each other every year since 2003, but Fox Sports Net getting involved meant the Trojans will finish up against Arizona.

Oregon Ducks- Only playing against one team from another BCS conference (Purdue) will rarely earn you this recognition. But the Ducks are showing they are not afraid to go up against the "little guys", as they open the season in Idaho against Boise State and two weeks later host the two-time BCS busting and defending Sugar Bowl champion Utah Utes.

The game against the Broncos was discussed as being a much longer road trip.

2009 Schedule Rankings-Part 1

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Some major college football programs have no guts when it comes to scheduling (SEC), others seem to have no fear. CFW will expose some and congratulate others as we rank the 2009 schedule.

First we focus on those that get an A grade for the perfect mix of schedule balance: playing opponents to earn respect, while also picking up some important wins. Keep in mind we are only looking at non-conference games, as teams have no say in who they play within their own league.

A Grade

Georgia Bulldogs- What is this? An SEC team that actually plays other BCS conference teams? And leaves their home state? What has gotten into Mark Richt? Doesn't he know that since his team has to run the SEC "gauntlet" he just needs to schedule home games against FCS teams?

UGA opens on the road for just the second time in 12 years (at Clemson, 2003), as they travel to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State. Other non-conference games include Arizona State at home and their annual rivalry game with Georgia Tech, this year in Atlanta. They only have one "scheduled" win, a home game against Tennessee Tech. If only other SEC teams were more like Georgia...

Illinois Fighting Illini-With many games scheduled five to ten years in advance, the Illini probably didn't realize 2009 would end up being this difficult. They begin the season in St. Louis against Missouri and end it with a road game at Cincinnati, the defending Big East champ and a home game against giant-killer Fresno State.

Their only "scheduled" win is against in-state foe Illinois State. Every team has to have at least one easy non-conference game on the slate and CFW awards special points for playing a regional team. Also, keep in mind Fresno has defeated 3 BCS teams on the road in the last five years. But QB Juice Williams isn't ready to back down to anyone.

Oklahoma Sooners-The Sooners just slip into this category. At first glance, it might not seem that impressive, but it has just the right mix of competition. Remember, half the battle in scheduling is perception and OU hopes to take advantage of that when they travel to Miami to face a Hurricane program that isn't what it used to be in a game that almost didn't happen.

They also have a home game against Tulsa, a team they have handled in the past, but is still a high-level non BCS program. They open the season in Dallas against a BYU team that will likley be ranked in the top 20 when they play and once again has their eyes set on a BCS bowl berth.