Rivals Rundown – Page 4 – RIVALS RUNDOWN

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.

Our @MountainWest 2013 Preseason Top 5 Teams

August 24, 2013 benchwarmer42Leave a comment

2013 Mountain West Conference Top 5 Rundown

If there was ever a conference that couldn’t wait for the off-season to end and football begin, it’s the Mountain West. For a conference at times looked like it could fold, the Mountain West gathered it’s pieces, hit the delete button on some network called the “Mountain” and instead signed a huge (ok, nice or big) deal with ESPN, where it’s Cinderella, Boise State will be featured for all of their games. The deal will also allow the rest of the league to shine in multiple other games that will be shown throughout the season but enough talk about football, let’s talk TV, wait strike that, reverse it. Ok, so the storyline in the Mountain West for 2013 is can Boise State maintain it’s dominance and win the inaugural Championship Game or can Fresno State, finally, after years of preseason love, win the big games and take it’s talents to the BCS? Man, we really want to bet on Fresno but oh, #@&%* here’s the Rundown!!!

1. Fresno State 11-1

We hate this pick! There we said it, we hate this pick! Why? Fresno State has broken our hearts too many years when we thought they were going to return to being a Top 25 team every year and trade wins against Boise State like a good rival, instead they never did. Now, here we sit, with another Carr going into his senior season for the Bulldogs, we might have a different coach but we have a team, stacked of seniors, starters, playmakers. We have a team that lost to Tulsa by one point, they’re only other losses, to Oregon and Boise State, this year Fresno has no Oregon, now they have Colorado and they get Boise State at home. This might seem dramatic but their whole season is going to ride on a home game against Rutgers, if they win that opener, and they go into their game against Boise at 3-0, Fresno could have a special season, maybe undefeated. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, as we said early we hate the pick but all of our research says it’s the year. Urggh, we already want to take it back. PS, don’t be surprised if this season turns magical that Carr ends up in the Heisman talk…

2. Boise State 11-1

Ok, we really don’t want to say anything here other then, if Boise had the kind of returners that Fresno State had, we would be calling for a BCS return, instead we see Boise having a Boise year, winning all of their games but 1 and being shut out of a major bowl. They either lose one in the regular season or the Championship game but they will lose a game. Now, why is Fresno State ahead, because, we think that Boise might get the best of them during the regular season, but we see Fresno coming back and winning the Championship Game, giving them the outright title. Now, the team, has leadership all over the field on offense but the defense needs to learn and we don’t know if they will be together early enough. We like everything about Boise, they have built a program that plugs pieces into it’s system and then they go this Boise team will have to wait another year or two until they return to BCS not because they don’t belong because only one team from the Mountain West can make a major bowl and to do that they have to go undefeated. If we respected this conference, at the end of the year, if Boise sits with one loss and Fresno sits with one loss, they would both deserve a shot at any other one loss team in the country and we always like our money on the team with a chip on it’s shoulder.

3. Utah State Aggies 8-4

The Mountain West has a big drop off for the 2013 season after the first two teams, after Boise and Fresno, we have a couple of teams that overachieved in 2012 that are going to have a tough run if they want to match the win totals of the previous season. That group begins with Utah State. The Aggies last year came within 5 points of a perfect 13-0 season, one that led to it’s coach leaving for an opportunity at Wisconsin (one of the teams they lost to, pretty impressive statement). Now, in 2013 Utah State finds themselves in a new conference that features games against Boise State and Air Force rather then UTSA and Texas St. One thing we really like a bout Utah State is the offensive line, the line returns all of it’s starters and the QB, this fact could lead Utah St to a major upset against Boise St or USC but for now we like the Aggies to have a solid year, and maybe with some luck 9 regular season wins and 10 with a bowl victory.

4. San Diego State Aztecs 8-4

If you were to ask most college football fans how many wins the Aztecs had each of the last three season, we doubt that any of them would know that they have gone, 9,8,9 and that they had a share of the conference title for 2012. Moving towards the 2013 season, coach Rocky Long, has his players ready to compete with enough starters on both sides of the ball returning, San Deigo State might not win the conference but they should be able to keep the trend of having at least 8 wins a year. The Aztecs return a total of 16 starters but will have to solidify the right side of the offensive line to make sure that QB Dingwell has the time needed to run Bob Toledo’s offense. With tough game against Ohio State and Oregon State in weeks two and three, SDSU will have to stay healthy and learn from those teams so they can be ready for league play. If we had to pick a team other then Fresno to play in the title game and then to win in a huge upset against Boise, we like the idea of SDSU crashing the Bronco’s party in back to back years but that’s just crazy talk.

5. San Jose State Spartans 7-5

San Jose State, like SDSU and Utah St, overachieved last year, sometimes if happens when a perfect storm of experience, coaching, schedule and luck all come together for a program. The Spartens, had a schedule that featured only tough games against Stanford and Utah St with good games against BYU and LaTech. This year those same games are Stanford, Minnesota and Utah State, then we will add SDSU, Navy, and then Fresno State. San Jose State will have a winning season, just not a double digit one like last year.

@CONFERENCE_USA 2013 PRESEASON TOP 5!!!!

August 8, 2013August 11, 2013 benchwarmer421 Comment

Conference USA 2013 Preseason Top 5

The 2013 version of Conference USA, the 2012 version of Conference USA, and the 2014 Version of Conference USA will all be different. With the ever-changing landscape of college football still in motion, Conference USA will find itself in motion for one more year. The new conference welcomes a collection of teams from Sun Belt and WAC with only one of those six that will make an immediate impact, the rest will have to wait. Now in it’s 19th season, Conference USA is proving to be a conference where teams can take the next step in developing it’s football program. One of the newcomers that has caught our eye is the University of Texas San Antonio. In 2012 we predicted that UTSA would have a winning record, they proved us right. This year we’re not going to make the same prediction but we love what is happening with this program in San Antonio. Larry Coker might be the most disrespected coach with a National Championship in the recent history of college football. Coach Coker has found a new life with the Roadrunners in San Antonio, with a program that had never played a down of football the Roadrunners have posted a 12-10 record in two years. Now, it’s big boy football time for UTSA and waiting for them this year, they will have home games against Oklahoma St, Houston, and Rice. This will be an interesting test and pay attention to the Sep 7th game against the Cowboys, it’s going to tell us more then most people realize about future of Roadrunner Football. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s finally get to the Rivals Rundown of Conference USA 2013 Preseason Top 5. Here’s the Rundown…

1. Rice 9-3 (West Division Champion)

When pinning two programs head to head, normally we take the home team, in the case of Rice vs Tulsa, we are taking Rice which leaves us picking them as one of the surprise teams of college football for 2013. Last year RIce won six of it’s last 7 games finishing it off with a bowl victory against Air Force. The season and the finish was an important hurdle for a program trying to build a winning mentality with it’s players. Head Coach David Bailiff is going into his 7th year at Rice with his most experienced team on both offense and defense. We love the fact that they have 18 returning starters with 10 of those being seniors. The schedule will start off with it’s toughest team on the road at Texas A&M, from there they get 3 home games until their conference fate could be decided with a road game against Tulsa. No matter what will happen in the match ups with A&M and Tulsa, Rice has an extremely winnable schedule and we are looking for them to take the West Division and the overall Championship for Conference USA. We know our TV will be ready for that A&M game to see where Rice stacks up!

2. Tulsa 9-3

Tulsa is becoming a safe pick, that’s why the majority of preseason publications have them winning the West Division and winning the entire conference. We see problems with Tulsa and think this will be a little bit of a down year, unless there defense adopts early. The strength for Tulsa this year is found with their offense, they return a senior QB and their top WR’s to a solid which should show improvement on offensive production vs 2012. That production will make up for some of the losses on defense but not all. Tulsa lost all but two starters on a defense that by the end of the year ranked 25th overall in production. We see a drop in defense and tough games, against equal or superior offenses in Bowling Green, East Carolina, Oklahoma, and Rice. Not to mention tough match-ups with Iowa State and Marshall. We are calling for Tulsa to match the 9-3 regular season mark of 2012 but a loss to Rice will place them on the sidelines for the C-USA Championship.

3. East Carolina 8-4 (East Division Champions)

We have a problem at our number three pick on the C-USA Rundown, the problem is that we honestly think East Carolina is the third best team… We know that doesn’t sound like a problem, the problem is that Marshall could end up with a better record because of their schedule. East Carolina has a schedule that features away games against North Carolina and N.C. State while Marshall has Miami of Ohio and University of Ohio in the same non-conference two games. Both teams play Virginia Tech as an equalizer. So, for our Rundown we are going with the Pirates but by the slimmest of margins. East Carolina features 8 returning starters on both sides of the ball which should show solid improvements. The defense will have to adjust to a new coaching staff but have two very winnable games to start the schedule and get everyone on the same page. The offense showed it’s explosiveness in the last 6 regular season games winning 5 of 6 before stumbling in it’s bowl game. The match-up against Virginia Tech at home could spell for a special season if East Carolina can pull the major upset. Look for the Pirates to equal their win total from 2012 in the regular season and play for a conference title.

4. Marshall Thundering Herd 8-4

We mentioned the schedule in our preview for East Carolina and we mentioned the win total. We mentioned that we like the Pirates to win the conference but look for the Thundering Herd to be in the race until the final of the regular season on Nov. 30th against the Pirates in Huntington. Marshall is looking to finally return to it’s past glory and could easily trade a prediction for a 10 win season. They return leaders on both sides of the ball and coach Doc Holiday has put together an offense that ranked in the top 10 last season for scoring and number one overall for passing yards per game. If the Herd perform they could be 8-1 entering their finally three games of the season which features Tulsa and East Carolina. Again, we feel that East Carolina is the better team but the schedule could be the thing the propels Marshall to the top and playing for a title.

5. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 8-4

The new kid on the block gets no love as the Blue Raiders enter Conference USA from the Sun Belt playing a new slate of opponents and tough road games out of conference with North Carolina and BYU. They do get both Marshall and East Carolina at home which well help them in their toughest conference match-ups. The questions that leave them out of the talk of winning the division come on both sides of the ball where they must become more efficient against some better offenses then what they faced last season. We like the future of Middle Tennessee and expect a successful season ending in a much deserved bowl birth!