Tag: SEC Football

Week 5 College Football Games to Watch

benchwarmer42Leave a comment

 

Aaron Murray Georgia BulldogsThank you Baby Jesus that we made it to Week 5 of the College Football Season!  With no major match-ups and with the best game of the weekend over with on Friday night between Fresno State and Boise State, we have made it back to a weekend of real games, most importantly, Conference Games!  For the most part this weekend marks the beginning of Conference play, which marks the beginning of “who’s real and who’s faking it!”

As we found out last week, Arizona State is questionable Top 30 material, while Stanford proved they are Top 5 material.  Look Wisconsin the week before, while the ran for 200+ yards on the Devils, if you subtract one home-run run of 70, ASU held Wisconsin to 130ish yards, statistically they are the best rushing team in the whole country.  Stanford had no problems running, passing or causing disruption all over the field, this brings us to Week 5, so who this week will prove to be the Stanford and who will be the Sun Devils?

First, one note on the Fresno State vs Boise State Match-up:  These two teams are Top 25 teams, no questions asked, Boise State might be the best two loss team in the Country, right in-front of Utah State.  Derek Carr is a legit Heisman Candidate, he has proven himself as an NFL passer and clutch in two prime time games on ESPN.  Fresno and Colorado have to make up their missed game and let’s hope the two (Boise, Fresno) teams win out the season and play for the Mountain West Title and a possible BCS birth.  Think of it, Fresno State could finish with a better strength of schedule over Louisville, one big problem, they don’t have the ranking yet but we’ll see.  Anyways, on to week 5 games!

 

We stay in the Mountain West!

Utah State at San Jose State

Normally we like home dogs on Thursday or Friday nights, something about the upset and national tv just works!  Look up the numbers!  This time, we think Utah State is finally licking their chops after losing very close games to Utah and USC, we think that the Aggies are going to come into Spartan Stadium ready to unload what some are calling, “The Poor Man’s Manziel” in QB Chuckie Keeton all over the field on an over-matched Spartans Defense.  In a rare one, we are taking Utah State to Cover on a Friday Night!

 

Moving East

East Carolina at North Carolina

This is a must win for the North Carolina Tar Heels.  After losing by 8 to a very tricking and tough to read Georgia Tech team, North Carolina enters this match-up at 1-2 and still the Tar Heels have to get through the heart of their ACC schedule before things get easier.  For East Carolina, it’s not a must win as they still have to get into the depth of conference play but we like the Pirates to keep things close.  Let’s take East Carolina and the points.  Also the over deserves a second look.

 

Now for some Big Boys!

LSU at Georgia

These two teams are National Champions in the waiting, the stakes couldn’t be higher, blah blah, yada yada yada.  Look, we know what’s going on here, this game is to take claim for a solid top 5 spot and for Georgia, it’s a must win to keep their outside shot of being the only one loss team with National Championship hopes alive.  The main factors that we are all going to be watching fall to Georgia’s defense and LSU’s offense.  The major difference we feel is that Georgia’s defense has been tested and has gained quick and important experience by already playing two top ten teams.  They have the help of playing at home, which strengthens the defense and they have an offense that can keep up with anyone in the country.  For LSU this is their first major test, yes we all felt going into the TCU game that that would provide the test but comparing TCU and Georgia isn’t fair, TCU has fallen short of our preseason hype, while Georgia is fitting into the mold we expected.  We’re not buying the Tigers yet over the Bulldogs so we’re taking Georgia to cover.

 

And our Final Game:

Ball State vs Toledo

Bet you didn’t see that one coming!  Look there are great games this weekend, Wisconsin vs Ohio State, Oklahoma vs Notre Dame and Ole Miss vs Alabama but everyone is talking about those.  We want to talk about a game between two rising programs in the MAC that need some love.  The importance of this game? The winner has a fast-tracked chance at competing against Northern Illinois for the MAC West Title.   The key is that both of these teams can do it!  We recommend that if you want to watch two teams put everything on the line in week 5, check this one out.  We like Ball State in this one!

 

Side notes:

We like Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio State.  We think that all three teams are going to come out with something to prove, all for different reasons.  Look for Ohio State to expose the weak secondary of Wisconsin with a balanced run, option, throw attack.  Look for Oklahoma to do the same actually to Notre Dame.  Alabama and Ole Miss might be close at halftime but we see the Tide pulling away in the 4th Quarter.

 

Final Note-

Because we were late with this post, we had a chance to watch the Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech game.  Virginia Tech’s defense is getting better every week and is going to give this Hokies team a chance in every football game from here til the end of the season.  We’re standing by our prediction for Virginia Tech, for now, although we need that QB to step up the way that he should be in this season.

2013 @SECSportsUpdate Football Preseason Top 5* Rundown!

benchwarmer42Leave a comment

SEC_new_logo

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.

BCS National Championship 2013-2014 Odds

benchwarmer42Leave a comment

ImageSo as you will learn the more I blog, I am regular watcher of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report…  There are a couple of notable things within both of these shows or regular “nicknames” they use for people within the media, my favorite being Stephen Colbert’s use of “Papa Bear” for Fox News host of The Factor with Bill O’Reilly.  So in that tradition, I will be using the name Godfather in reference for Phil Steele.  Incase you are unaware, Godfather, publishes a novel about pre-season college football every year around June, he also runs a website, blog and is active within social media.  Godfather is legit!  So to start our blog for the New Year here is a write up he did about the odds for winning the 2013-14 National Championship from Vegas, or as we will call it going forward, the Homeland (also an avid viewer of the show)-

Phil Steele

A couple of days ago, several casinos released their odds for the 2013-14 BCS National Championship. While PhilSteele.com does not affiliate itself with gambling, I do think it is interesting to see how Vegas is examining the upcoming season.

Here are the Top 10 Favorites to win the title this upcoming year courtesy of Bovada.

1. Alabama                  Odds: 4/1

Tough to go against a program that has won three out of the last four national championships including winning one this year with a team that many thought were a year away including its head coach Nick Saban. Next year’s team will return quarterback AJ McCarron, linebacker CJ Mosely and a boatload of other talented players. The schedule is manageable with two weeks to prepare for an early road trip to Texas A&M and they also have a home date against LSU. Also noteworthy is the fact that for a second straight year, the Crimson Tide avoid Florida, Georgia and South Carolina from the SEC East.

2. Ohio State               Odds: 8.5/1

At Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, Urban Meyer’s 2nd season was better than his first and the only thing that can top a 12-0 season, which the Buckeyes achieved in 2012 is to take home the crystal ball in 2013. Offensively, it starts with the return of quarterback Braxton Miller who figures to be one of the Heisman favorites and while they do lose their entire defensive line from last year, keep in mind Meyer’s top recruits last year were all on the DL. The schedule sets up nicely as the non-conference schedule is rather weak and in Big 10 play they get Wisconsin and Penn State at home while avoiding Nebraska and Michigan St. The biggest landmines are road trips to Northwestern and Michigan.

2. Oregon                    Odds: 8.5/1

The Ducks are off back-to-back BCS bowl wins and will return as many as 15 starters from last year’s 12-1 team that basically came one play away from playing in the national title game. The biggest return is head coach Chip Kelly who after yet another flirtation with the NFL looks to be here for the time being.  On offense quarterback Marcus Mariota and De’Anthony Thomas return and while the defense loses Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso, defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti has proven to be one of the more underrated coordinators in the country. The schedule features a road test against Stanford which will probably not only decide the Pac-12 North but possibly who goes to Pasadena to play an SEC team for the national title.

4. Texas A&M              Odds: 10/1

The Aggies had arguably one of their best seasons in school history on and off the field in 2012 with a move to the SEC, a Heisman trophy winner, an upset of #1 Alabama on the road and won 11 games capped off by a dominating Cotton Bowl performance over Oklahoma. Next year’s team naturally will see the return of quarterback Johnny Manziel but they will lose several key players including wide receiver Ryan Swope and defensive end Damontre Moore. The schedule is manageable as the two games are a September 14th home game vs Alabama and a November 23rd road game at LSU, which the Aggies have two weeks to prepare for.

5. LSU                         Odds: 12:1

The Las Vegas odds for the Tigers here at least for now have to be based on their recent success of being a consistent top 5 program as they certainly have had a tough couple of weeks starting with the bowl loss to Clemson then followed by a max exodus of key players declaring early for the NFL Draft. Next year will see the return of quarterback Zach Mettenberger who figures to be improved in his second year and he will have several talented running backs to hand off too and a great wide receiver in Odell Beckham. Defense could be the bigger issue with the loss of arguably their six best players and the schedule is no walk in the park as they start with basically a road trip to TCU in the opener and they also have SEC road games at Alabama and at Georgia.

Early Odds To Win
2013-14 BCS National Championship

Rk Team Odds Rk Team Odds
1 Alabama 4/1 23 TCU 66/1
2 Ohio St 8.5/1 23 Virginia Tech 66/1
2 Oregon 8.5/1 26 Boise St 75/1
4 Texas A&M 10/1 26 Michigan St 75/1
5 LSU 12/1 26 North Carolina 75/1
6 Clemson 16/1 26 Oregon St 75/1
6 Florida 16/1 30 Arizona 100/1
6 Florida St 16/1 30 Arkansas 100/1
9 Georgia 20/1 30 Kansas St 100/1
10 Louisville 25/1 30 Rutgers 100/1
10 Notre Dame 25/1 30 Tennessee 100/1
10 Oklahoma 25/1 30 Washington 100/1
13 Miami, Fl 28/1 36 BYU 150/1
13 South Carolina 28/1 36 Cincinnati 150/1
13 Stanford 28/1 36 Pittsburgh 150/1
16 Texas 30/1 36 West Virginia 150/1
17 Michigan 33/1 40 Auburn 200/1
17 Nebraska 33/1 40 Georgia Tech 200/1
19 USC 35/1 40 Iowa 200/1
20 Oklahoma St 40/1 43 Missouri 250/1
21 UCLA 50/1 44 Boston College 300/1
21 Wisconsin 50/1 44 California 300/1
23 Mississippi St 66/1 44 USF 300/1

I will be reviewing and releasing my own list in the coming weeks as an out of the gate before spring practices begin.