College Football Rivals – RIVALS RUNDOWN

College Football Top 25: The Eye Test; Week 7 Edition or (How 24 Hours of College Football Blew my Mind)

October 5, 2014October 5, 2014 benchwarmer421 Comment

It’s a weekend that will live in College Football infamy forever. The weekend that 5 of the top 8 teams in the country fell in defeat. Let that really sink in for a minute… Now here is the questions, is that because of an absurd amount of upsets or did all the pundits get it wrong? I’m going to say, both! I know, that was a stretch but here’s why:

First, we have tons and tons of games as compared to the NFL, this leads to too many unknowns for even the most avid fan. Everyone is guessing on how good a team is based on what information they have been presented. The problem, we try to take the previous year, the program’s history, the coach’s history, the history of the two teams playing, etc. etc… This puts us in a position where College Football is all guessing until we see each team play each other, which doesn’t happen all the time, so then we’re back to where we started which is, the Eye Test.

Our First Top 25 Ranking for College Football of 2014 will be based on the Eye Test, we’re going forward based on what we can tell from what we’ve watched and what we think. Here is our “Eye Test” Top 25 or the Rundown:

1. Florida State
2. Mississippi State
3. Auburn
4. Baylor
5. Ole Miss
6. Notre Dame
7. TCU
8. Alabama
9. Oklahoma
10. Michigan St
11. Arizona
12. Oregon
13. Texas A&M
14. Georgia
15. Ohio St.
16. Oklahoma St.
17. Kansas St.
18. Georgia Tech
19. Arizona St.
20. Stanford
21. Virginia
22. East Carolina
23. Nebraska
24. Utah
25. USC

Just Outside: Marshall, BYU, Washington, Louisville, Wisconsin, Oregon St., Rutgers, West Virginia,

Rivals Rundown College Football Top 25 Week 2

September 3, 2013 benchwarmer42Leave a comment

Week 1 of the College Football Season provided us with everything that we’ve come to love about College Football. Here at the Rundown, our favorite game of the first week was still Fresno State and Rutgers but from a record number of FCS Teams upsetting some “Big Schools” to the high-scoring blowouts that we have come to expect in the early weeks, Week 1 had a little of it all. So now let’s adjust our Rivals Rundown Top 25:

Week 2

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Clemson Tigers
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Louisville Cardinals
6. Florida State Seminoles
7. Oklahoma State Cowboys
8. South Carolina Gamecocks
9. LSU Tigers
10. Texas Longhorns
11. Nebraska Cornhuskers
12. Georgia Bulldogs
13. Stanford Cardinal
14. Florida Gators
15. Oklahoma Sooners
16. Baylor Bears
17. Washington Huskies
18. Texas A&M Aggies
19. Fresno State Bulldogs
20. Michigan Wolverines
21. Northwestern Wildcats
22. TCU Horned Frogs
23. Arizona State Sun Devils
24. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
25. USC Trojans

NEXT 5-
26. UCLA Bruins
27. Northern Illinois Huskies
28. Cincinnati Bearcats
29 Miami Hurricanes
30. Wisconsin Badgers

OUT-
Oregon State Beavers (#17), Ohio Bobcats (#30), Boise State Broncos (#19)

2013 @The_Sun_Belt Conference Preseason Football Top 5 Rundown

August 29, 2013August 28, 2013 benchwarmer42Leave a comment

2013 @The_Sun_Belt Conference Preseason Football Top 5* Teams Rundown

The Sun Belt Conference is undergoing a makeover, from 2012 to 2014 the conference is having to adjust to realignment and during that adjustment period we get the 2013 8 team conference. Now, understand one thing, this conference is not a joke and depending on how good Troy is, the conference could be 5 deep of teams that could upset some of the big boys. With only 8 teams in the Sun Belt our Rundown will only be 4 teams, look back next season for a full Top 5 Rundown. So without anymore messing around let’s get to the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Rundown:

1. University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks 9-3

Last year had all the makings of a special season for the Warhawks. The began with an upset of Arkansas then ULM came within 7 points of beating Auburn and Baylor. Even with those tough losses it looked like they were going to be able to put together a 10 win season, until injuries took over some of the Warhawks best players and they finished limping to the finish line but still with a respectable 8-5 overall record. The 2013 Warhawks look poised and ready to capture a Sun Belt title returning 16 starters, 7 of which are seniors and most important to that senior QB Browning. We are taking the Warhawks to avenge losses to UL Lafayette and Arkansas State and bring home a title to Monroe. Also, look for an upset at Wake Forest on Sep. 14th…

2. University of Louisiana Lafayette Ragin‘ Cajuns 9-3

The Ragin‘ Cajuns are going to be one of the best offenses in the country. Last year they finished 29th overall in yards per game and 24th overall in scoring per game, this years model will be looking to improve on that number and they will since they have a defense that ranked in the bottom of all of FBS teams at 86 in yards per game. The defense isn’t getting much help from experience as they look to replace the majority of the starters which might not be a bad thing. But the story about the ULL is the offense and what QB Broadway and Running Back Harris will be able to do. We like the Ragin’ Cajuns to compete for a title but they are going to have to wait until 2014 to win it.

3. Arkansas State Red Wolves 8-4

In 2012 the Red Wolves from Jonesboro made a serious run down the stretch and finished on an 8 game winning streak, they were one of the hottest teams in the country down to the finish and like with most small schools that causes you to lose your coach. Going into 2013 Arkansas State will have to not only deal with a new coach, which they are growing used too but they will have to find a new QB, which they haven’t done for four season. Hopefully, with an extremely experienced offensive line and a solid running back it will be a plug and play scenario for the team. The other side of the ball is a different story, the defense last season was solid keeping opponents to 24.5 points on average but this year they will need to fill in 7 starting positions will either sophomores or juniors. The defense and lack of experience QB will keep the Red Wolves from repeating for a conference title but look for a solid 8 wins and a possible bowl.

4. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 7-5

The Hilltoppers made of the best coaching hires of the 2013 offseason and one that we think will bring them a very special season in a couple of years. Coach Bobby Petrino was climbing the coaching ladder to the top when it all came crumbling because of a personal scandal, here at the R&R we could careless about what happens off the field as long as it’s not illegal or abusive, so we are excited to see what Petrino can do in Bowling Green this season. If the previous three teams weren’t as strong as they are this season we might be jumping on the Petrino motorcycle too! We know, that was a cheap one, but in reality Western Kentucky scored a nice upset last year against Kentucky but couldn’t parlay that into a conference title after losses to UL Monroe, Middle Tennessee and UL Lafayette. The 2013 season will look similar, we think Kentucky will avenge it’s loss but the Hilltoppers might be able to upset Tennessee. Overall look for a 7-5 finish, a possible bowl game and for Petrino to get a couple of recruiting classes in and the Hilltoppers will be on top of the Sun Belt for…well, until Petrino leaves for one of those big schools again.

2013 @SECSportsUpdate Football Preseason Top 5* Rundown!

August 29, 2013August 28, 2013 benchwarmer42Leave a comment

2013 SEC Football Top 5* Teams Preview

So the saying goes that you save the best for last, so here we are on our last preview of the 2013 college football preseason and we find ourselves in the SouthEastern Conference where the BCS Trophy has now reigned for the past seven seasons. It’s a streak that has been over-talked about but not and can’t be overstated. In the modern era of college athletics it’s difficult to believe that one conference could completely dominate the landscape and it seems that 2013 will continue the streak and even more impressive, Alabama is on the verge of four titles in six years…yeah, let that soak in…Alabama with Nick Saban is setting the standard for modern day college football champions. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize when we are living during the greatest era of something and right now, if Alabama wins it’s forth title in six season and if Saban gets to 100 wins before he gets to 20 losses, that is domination and that is something that others will have a hard time to replicate. Now to clarify that last point, Saban is currently 68-13, over the last five years he is 66-6! On that current pace he could hit 100 before 20 but that is still a couple of years away. So here is our 2013 SEC Top5(maybe6 or7) Rundown:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide 11-1 (West Champions) (Conference Champions)

So after that whole rant about how dominant the SEC has has been and how impressive Alabama’s streak has been, here’s the problem: last year Alabama schedule was less then impressive. If you take out the three toughest games of the regular season, Michigan, LSU and Texas A&M, the combine record of the Crimson Tide’s opponents was 43-67, that’s nine teams…let that sink in for a moment. This year the schedule doesn’t change much, they have an opening day game against Virginia Tech, then like last year they have A&M and LSU, if Bama survives those three games they will play in the SEC title game again with an appearance in the final BCS game on the line. We like LSU to upset Alabama or a trap game on the road to Mississippi State as the only chances for a loss on the schedule. If LSU had Alabama’s schedule we would be picking them to play for the National Championship but they don’t and so we are taking the Tide to appear once again an in the SEC TItle game but we aren’t ready yet to say they’ll play for a National Title, that prediction is still to come…

2. Georgia Bulldogs 11-1 (East Champions)

Georgia will return with what we believe will be the best offense in the SEC, the question of if they can run the table or overcome Alabama in the title game will be if a young but talented defense can overcome an early and very tough schedule to help Georgia go into the Worlds Largest Cocktail party with only one loss. If that happens, which we think it will, Georgia will return to the SEC Title game and this time they will be ready to dethrone Alabama. Disclaimer: We will say this, we picked Alabama to win the conference again, but if this part of the prediction comes true and it’s Georgia vs Alabama we will take Georgia this time. Which should mean that we should have Georgia as the number one team…but we can’t unseat Alabama, Georgia will have to do it.

3. South Carolina Gamecocks 10-2

This is going to be a repeat of last year for the Gamecocks, meaning if South Carolina can get past two teams that could also find themselves in this position in Georgia and Florida they could be undefeated going into a season finally against Clemson. Last year, they fell pretty hard against Florida after coming off of a loss to LSU this year we like them against Florida but think Georgia will take a win away from the Gamecocks, also if Clemson can be in a position to play for a National Championship when they meet, we like Clemson. The schedule is easy enough and with a little luck South Carolina could be playing in the SEC Title game but this year we think it’s Georgia’s game to play in.

4. LSU Tigers 9-3

This is why the SEC is still the best conference is the nation, no other number four team in our conference Rundowns compare to the talent of LSU. LSU was seconds and a couple of scores away from playing in the SEC title game and maybe a National Championship. This year LSU has the toughest schedule of our top 4 teams in the SEC, they have a tough opening day road game against TCU, they also face Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Texas A&M. This is the only reason we don’t have LSU higher, we like everything about the team and think that they have what it takes to win a SEC title but the offense and defense will have to improve with losing some key pieces thus leading us to think that LSU will be in the National Championship talk next year after these players have another year of experience under their belt.

5. Texas A&M Aggies 9-3

Before all of the distractions that came in the offseason and before the half-game suspension imposed on Manziel we would’ve taken Texas A&M at 10-2 but now with all of that behind us we are looking at A&M not only to lose to Alabama and LSU but we think they might have a mental “loss” in there too and drop them to this position. On the field with Manziel leading the offense, the Aggies will have a chance to win any game, other the Alabama (they want blood). On the other side of the ball, the Aggies have some big holes to fill and that is not a good thing in the SEC. Look for the Aggies to take a step back in their second year of SEC play but it will be a small step and if Manziel returns next year look for A&M to be in the hunt for a National Championship

6. Florida Gators 9-3

We can’t say enough about the depth of the top 6 teams in the SEC, having Florida ranked as the sixth team in a conference is unreal. This team at one point last year was thought as the number one team in the country. For the 2013 campaign, like Texas A&M, (without the off field distractions) Florida will take a small step back as they gain some experience on both sides of the ball. The defense in Florida was one of the best, top 10 in both points allowed and rushing yards allowed, that’s impressive when playing in the SEC. This season the defense will need to catch up and while that’s occurring they will need to rely on the offense that ranked last year as on of the more average in the country. All the top teams in the SEC can beat each other on any given Saturday, Florida in 2013 will be in it but we don’t see them playing for a conference title.