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2015 College Football Thread


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I was going to go there, but I didn't want to harp on the obvious. I mean, Archie didn't even win the SEC, his greatest achievements were in the bedroom. Cade McNown went to the Rose Bowl, and finished THIRD for the Heisman, while Manning topped out at 4th. I mean, Archie Manning wasn't even a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Award, which, I would like to remind you, Cade won. I mean, c'mon!

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Sexy Rexy Grossman took them to a Super Bowl, I think he wins, hands down. Cade McNown is probably the best college player of the group, though. Chicago has drafted like, two QBs in their entire history worth a damn. 

Non Edit Edit: Make that three, they actually drafted George Blanda, too. So that makes Sid Luckman, George Blanda, Jim McMahon.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So since HTTK doesn't do his five-page college football preview anymore, I thought I'd throw up some predictions with a very little bit of my "insight".

So let's begin!

American Athletic Conference of America

Ze East

1. Cincinnati - Gunner Kiel would likely still be sitting on the bench if he would have stayed at Notre Dame. Instead he transferred to Cincy, who play in a division that doesn't believe in defense. Kiel will likely throw more than the 31 TD's he had last year, and the Bearcats should get to their conference championship.

2. Temple - Big things are happening in North Philly. Well, if finishing second is big (and in Philly, it is). Temple has easily the best defense in the AAC. If they can figure out a way to score even a couple touchdowns a game, they'll be right in the mix of every conference game. I'll be at the Notre Dame/Temple game in Lincoln Financial on Halloween. :D

3. UCF - They have their starting quarterback and running back returning, and in this league that equals wins. George O'Leary finds a way to get his players to overachieve. If Temple's offense is as putrid as it was last year, they'll be the team sitting behind Cincy in November.

4. East Carolina - Shane Carden, the star quarterback last year for the Pirates, is gone. But they do return 4/5's of their o-line from last year. They have a very tough out-of-conference schedule, but they'll win enough games to be bowl eligible.

5. UConn - This is more a sentimental pick. I think both UConn and USF are going to be the shits. But Diaco is going to have the Huskies playing defense. Their offense may not ever make it past the 50-yard line, but they'll be playing defense.

6. USF - The Bulls find themselves in a position where they have a returning 1000-yard rusher, but not a whole lot else. Willie Taggart really set this program back a few years with whatever the hell he was doing while in charge.

Da West

1. Memphis - Walkin' in Memphissssssssssssssssssss. Where the Hell did the Tigers come from? They have offensive power out the ying-yang, but their D-Coordinator left for the Mizzou Tigers D-Coordinator spot. Still, the West ain't all that great, so I can see them pulling a Cincy and outscoring their way to a conference championship match-up.

2. Navy - YVAN EHT NIOJ. Keenan Reynolds can run and throw and that's a terrifying combo in this offense. Just when the defense is lulled to sleep by the option being run forty times in a row, he'll throw a 50-yard bomb for six. Don't sleep on the Midshipmen. They could make a run for the West title (Annapolis, MD in the West folks) right away.

3. Houston - Tom Herman is their new head coach. For those of you unaware, he was the offensive coordinator for THE Ohio State University, under Urban Meyer. This guy knows how to put points on the board, and he's learned how to run a program. Houston should be competitive this year, but if Herman stays, the West will be theirs for years to come.

4. Tulsa - Speaking of former offensive coordinators, here's Philip Montgomery (or Phil-Monty we'll say) the former OC of Baylor taking over his own program. Tulsa is in fine recruiting territory, picking up the left-overs of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and the Texas schools.  They may not be anything special this year, but once Phil-Monty finds his RG3/Bryce Petty, the Golden Hurricane will be fun to watch.

5. SMU - And holy cow, it's another big name OC with his first big-boy job. Chad Morris, former Clemson OC, is running this show. Anyone remember when June Jones took SMU to their first bowl in like thirty years? I bet the fans in Dallas remember. Like Tulsa, SMU sits in fertile recruiting territory, but it's probably asking too much for him to take this team anywhere in the first year.

6. Tulane - Tulane brings back a somewhat decent defense. When you can't score in a division that is going to be as high-powered as this one though, you're kind of up shit creek.

Atlantic Coastal Conference of the Atlantic

Ze Atlantic

1. Florida State - So the flashy pick this off-season is Clemson. But those of us familiar with college football are well aware that Clemson just can't keep it together for all twelve games. I think people are so caught up in the fact that Jameis Winston is gone that they forget that Jimbo Fisher has put together like five straight Top-3 classes. These are still the most athletic kids in the ACC.

2. Clemson - Clemson had the lead on Florida State, in Tallahassee, last year when back-up Sean Maguire was leading the Noles. But they still blew the lead and lost. I'm not sure who will be leading the Noles at quarterback when they meet up with Clemson in Death Valley on November 7th, but they'll likely play much better than 2014 Sean Maguire. Clemson also hosts Georgia Tech at home, which should be a fun match-up between a very fun spread team against a surprisingly fun to watch option team.

3. North Carolina State - Jacoby Brissett is back for his last run. Their defense has eight returning starters. This team was a quiet 8-5 last year. They could challenge for double digit wins this year.

4. Louisville - There's just something about Bobby Petrino in Lou'vulle. They lost a looooooooot of players to the draft, which speaks well about the health of the program, but also curbs expectations for the 2015 season. 

5. Boston College - They lost quite a bit to graduation, but Steve Addazio has this program on a huge upswing. Upset alert: September 18th, FSU visits Chestnut Hill. I can see the Eagles knocking off the unsuspecting Noles.

6. Syracuse - I guess? Picking between them and Wake Forest is like choosing if you want to get kicked in the left testicle or the right testicle. I went with Syracuse because they host Wake Forest (September 18th, in case you want to watch, but no one will want to watch).

7. Wake Forest - See Syracuse. Wake had the very likeable Kevin Johnson (now seen on Hard Knocks with the Texans), but he was drafted in the first round by Houston. Now they have...other players...guys that aren't anywhere near as good.

Da Coastal

1. North Carolina - Wildcard, bitches! Georgia Tech is the easy pick. They looked awesome in the bowl game against Mississippi, but I also think Mississippi was way overrated. But enough about GT, let's talk UNC. They bring back almost everyone from one of the conference's best offenses. If you haven't watched Marquise Williams or Ryan Switzer, do yourself a favor and sit down to watch the Heels first game, September 3rd (a Thursday night) against South Carolina. They're a fun tandem and they're going to score a lot of points. Oh, and they hired Gene Chizik as their defensive coordinator. The guy is a bit of a joke as a head coach, but he's a fantastic D-Coordinator.

2. Georgia Tech - They return a good amount from a defense that ended 26% of their opponent's positions in a turnover. Think about that. One in four drives ending in turnover. That's an incredible stat. Oh and that Justin Thomas kid is a pretty gosh darn good option quarterback too. Their schedule is pretty favorable too, as they host UNC, FSU, Pitt, and Virginia Tech this year.

3. Virginia Tech - Frank Beamer was the only coach to defeat those pesky Buckeyes last year. They return eight starters to a very good defense, including Kendall Fuller. If you've not heard of him, you will this year. He's one of the best defensive players Beamer has had in his fantastic run in Blacksburg. Fuller will likely be a Top-15 pick if not this April's draft, then the following one.

4. Pittsburgh - Panthers have perhaps two of the best offensive weapons you've not heard of: running back James Connor, who ran for almost 1800 yards last year, and receiver Tyler Boyd, who almost caught 1300 yards, both return. Oh and they won the lottery when they were able to hire Pat Narduzzi as their head coach in place of Paul Chryst. If he can get the defense playing even close to the level that he's capable of coaching, this year could potentially sky-rocket up past GT or UNC.

5. Duke - Duke lost a looooooooooot of talent this past year. But David Cutcliffe is a hell of a head coach. He'll do what he always does and overachieve with what he has. But this conference is too good for the underdogs to power through too much. Look for Duke to finish near bowl eligibility (6-6/7-5), but not much better.

6. Miami - I really think Miami could do well. I think Brad Kaaya is the real deal, and Al Golden finally has depth that he didn't have with the sanctions in play. But like with Duke, there's just only so far they can go within this conference. And I'm not sure a 7-5 year will save Golden's job.

7. Virginia - Speaking of hot seats, hello Mike London. Virginia continues to improve, but not fast enough. They'll finish at the bottom of the league, despite being better than they were last year, and London is likely to be gone, meaning the Cavs will need to start all over again next year.

So there's my AAC and ACC thoughts. Next post will be the Big-10 (but really 12) and Big-12 (but really 10) preview.

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I'm trying to be somewhat different. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than predictions that just list the best teams from last year as being the best teams for this year. I think they'll still be very good, and I think it's entirely possible UNC won't pass them until next year or the next, since they still are lacking on talent on the defensive side. But I think Chizik can make them decent enough, and like I said, the Heels offense is going to put 40 points on the board every week. 

It should be fun when North Carolina goes to Tech. It'll be two very high-powered, but completely different offenses going at it. 

Also "second favorite"? What are you? A woman?!

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Hey Meacon, my friend bought tix for Temple/Notre Dame and I'm probably going with him.  He's a big Temple Owls fan, and casual Notre Dame fan, so he's gonna be winning either way.  Temple's D is good so the scoreline will probably be closer than the game actually is.

I'm biased but Navy could win the AAC.

I'm not buying into the Clemson hype, last year was legitimately their year and they blew it when it mattered most.  FSU will win that conference this year, next year, and probably all the way up until a recruiting scandal inevitably breaks.  Then it'll be Louisville who wins the conference because Bobby Petrino is a terrible human being but quite a football coach.

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I'm trying to be somewhat different. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than predictions that just list the best teams from last year as being the best teams for this year. I think they'll still be very good, and I think it's entirely possible UNC won't pass them until next year or the next, since they still are lacking on talent on the defensive side. But I think Chizik can make them decent enough, and like I said, the Heels offense is going to put 40 points on the board every week. 

It should be fun when North Carolina goes to Tech. It'll be two very high-powered, but completely different offenses going at it. 

Also "second favorite"? What are you? A woman?!

I can like more than one team. It lets me be happy more. I'd still be salty as FUCK if they ever beat Boise.

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Awesome! My best man is in his final year of Temple dental school, and he's also a ND fan. We were going to get seats in the student section on the cheap, realized we're thirty, and splurged for box seats so we don't have to be around annoying drunk college kids.

I think Navy could win the AAC too. That conference is going to be really fun to watch. At least the teams on top.

I was just teasing ya, Plubby. In a sport as big as college football, I can understand having a second team. I root for Delaware (though, it's 1-AA, so not quite the same). That doesn't bother me as much as the fans of a conference. I couldn't tell you the number of times I've heard someone say, "Well, I don't like one particular team, but I love the SEC." Fuck off with that.

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Big-Ten Conference

 

Ze East

1. Ohio State - This one kind of goes without saying. I think they're head and shoulders above everyone else in the conference, as much as it pains me to say. I expect JT Barrett to be the starter, not that it matters. They most likely will cruise through their schedule again this year.

2. Michigan State - I expect the Spartans to take a step back. Connor Cook is going to be a very good quarterback, and while they return seven starters on defense, I can't help but feel they're going to really miss the playcalling of Pat Narduzzi. He was an elite D-Coordinator and you usually don't replace a guy like that without a few hiccups. I still think they're the second best team in the conference, though.

3. Penn State - If James Franklin could just get his O-Line to block for Hackenburg just a little, tiny bit. It's a huge "if". Damshow could be a starting O-lineman at Penn State if he still had eligibility. Hackenburg spends more time on his back than Lisa Ann. Basically what I'm saying is this team is good, but their offensive lineman can prevent them from being Top-20.

4. Michigan - People are predicting Michigan to be a Top-10 team this year and I'm not seeing it. Harbaugh is an awesome coach. And I hate that he took the Michigan job, because he's going to turn them back into an annual Top-10 team. But not this year. He didn't turn Stanford around in his first year, and there's too much muck left over from Fred Flintstone's reign for him to fix them in just a few months. I hate to admit that the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry is going to become the rivalry again, once he gets his own players in there.

5. Rutgers - I guess. Rutgers/Maryland/Indiana is kind of a three-sided coin flip to me. Rutgers have recruited reasonably well, though, so I'll just say they avoid the bottom two spots.

6. Indiana - This is Kevin Wilson's "shit-or-get-off-the-pot" season, and unfortunately I don't think he shits. They have some offensive weapons, but tell me where you see conference wins: Do they win home against Ohio State? No. Do they win at Penn State or Michigan State? No. And they have Michigan at home, but it's at the end of the year, when they'll have had almost a full season under Harbaugh, so no. They play at Maryland which could be a win. And I guess I'm saying it will be since I have them picked to finish over...

7. Maryland - Maryland lost their star playmaker Stefon Diggs to the NFL. Their quarterback Caleb Rowe gets hurt when he farts. The only good thing I can come up with is their secondary is experienced and capable of taking a pick back for six at any moment. But they have Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, and Wisconsin on the slate. That's five losses right there. Another rough year for Maryland in the Big-10, and maybe an exit for head coach Randy Edsell.

Da West

1. Wisconsin - This was a tough choice. I didn't see anything during Paul Chryst's tenure at Pitt that leads me to believe he'll be a viable long-term head coach. But he's back at Wisconsin and though they lost All-American Melvin Gordon, they do have Corey Clement, who may not smash school records like MelGor, will be a darn fine replacement. The deciding game in the West is likely going to be on October 10th when the Badgers go to Huskerville to face their likely only challengers in...

2. Nebraska - The Cornhuskers bring in the nicest head coach in all of college football, in Mike Reilly. Reilly left what could have been a life-long job at Oregon State to try to run a big boy program. Is he too nice of a guy to succeed at a program that is going to demand 10+ wins every season. Ameer Abdullah is gone, but super-athlete/quarterback Tommy Armstrong returns with another year of experience under his belt. Seriously folks, circle October 10th, because Wisconsin/Nebraska is going to be a slugfest.

3. Minnesota - I love me some Jerry Kill. He's made the Golden Gophers a bowl team again, and you can't help but respect that. Minnesota returns a stout defense. The only issue is how they'll rebound when they inevitably lose to TCU in the opener. 

4. Iowa - Speaking of coaches I love, Kirk Ferentz. Kirk is the longest tenured coach in the Big-10, but his time may be running out. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, the last couple years have seen them ravaged by injuries. Fortunately for them, that means a lot of the guys they have suiting up this season have loads of experience.

5. Northwestern - The Wildcats have stunk the last couple of years, which means it's time for them to come out of nowhere with a good season. Northwestern is the typical "Suck for two years while everyone is a freshman/sophomore, and go bowling once they're juniors/seniors" program. And this year, almost everyone on offense and defense are juniors and seniors. They open home against Stanford, which should be a crazy physical match-up.

6. Illinois - They have a ton of returning starters, but none of those players are all that great. Experience can only take you so far, when you're out-matched at literally every position. It's a shame, but I think Tim Beckman's time to turn this program around is just about out.

7. Purdue - Darrell Hazell was in over his head when he took over this program. They can't play, they can't recruit, and they'll be lucky if they beat Indiana State. I don't see a single conference game on their schedule that they'll win. lol purdue

Big-12 Conference

 

1. TCU - Trevone Boykin. That's all I want or need to say. I think he'll win the Heisman this year. They host Baylor the last game of the season, which will see them going into undefeated as long as they can get past road games at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. 

2. Oklahoma State - Bet you thought I'd have Baylor here, didn't ya? Well Oklahoma State returns seven starters on defense, in a very offensive-minded conference. Plus I think Mason Rudolph is the real deal at quarterback. For years, the Cowboys have been a quarterback away from competing, and this year they've got one.

3. Baylor - The Bears are inevitably going to take a small step back. I think they lose at Oklahoma State and at TCU, but probably nowhere else.

4. Oklahoma - They have a lot of inexperience on their O-Line, but Samaje Perine is a potential Heisman contender anyway. He puts me to mind of Adrian Peterson, which means he'll get yards and touchdowns with or without people blocking for him.

5. Texas - I think they'll be better than they were, because Charlie Strong builds teams, not destroys them. But they're still a few years, or maybe even just one, from contending with the boys on top. How bizarre is the world when TCU, Oklahoma State, and Baylor are more likely to win the conference than OU or Texas?

6. West Virginia - They have an experience defense coming back, and Dana Holgorsen is almost always going to have an offense that puts up big points. They have a four game stretch though that see's them play at Oklahoma, home against Oklahoma State, then at Baylor, and at TCU. Good God. If they can find a way to get out of that stretch going 2-2, it'll be a sure sign that God loves him some Mountaineers.

7. Kansas State - Another team with a strong defense, as is the norm under Bill Snyder. But they lost way too much at the skill positions to be more than a 7-5/6-6 type team. But I've underestimated Bill Snyder before, so it wouldn't surprise me to see them go 8-4 or 9-3.

8. Texas Tech - It's another one of those three-sided coins. Well not really, Kansas is still easily the worst team in this conference. Kingsburry has recruited well enough on the offensive side of the ball that they'll score points. But this school has never played defense, not even during the Mike Leach days.

9. Iowa State - Meh.

10. Kansas - The only team in this conference that I think Kansas can beat is Iowa State, and they play them on the road, so I think it's not likely going to happen. Bring back Mark Mangino!

Next post will feature the Pac-12 and SEC. Head's up, DMN, you're likely not going to like my Pac-12 predictions. :shifty:  

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USA Today already released their rankings of all 128 college teams. They have Ohio State at #1. Alabama is #5....right behind Auburn. (Don't remember who 2 and 3 are)

There aren't a lot of SEC teams in the top 25 compared to last year. (Tennessee is #28, and I don't remember what rank LSU is. but its not top 25, which is outright bullshit) People are also calling bs on Cincinnati being ranked higher than Tennessee.

(Vanderbilt is ranked something like #121. That sounds about right....)

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