College Football Week 1 Preview - Harbaugh, Harbaugh Never Changes

Liking college football is a lot like being in a bad relationship. You know the relationship will end in sadness and despair and yet each time it comes back you promise that this time will be different, that this time you won't take it for granted.

CFB Weekend Preview #1 - In which I talk at length about the importance of running backs

#21 Texas A&M @ #9 South Carolina

You're the man now, dawg.

The most interesting thing about this game isn't necessarily who will be on the field but rather who isn't. The two most obvious being now in Cleveland and the other in Houston. Yes, the post Manziel A&M era is upon the Aggies and to start with... It might not be that good. Vegas has Gamecocks has 10 1/2 point favorites in this one and I'm inclined to agree they will win but maybe by not that big a margin. For one SC has a fifth year senior taking over at quarterback while A&M's Kenny Hill is a sophomore albeit one who saw limited playing time in relief of Manziel last season. While A&M would like to enter the season with a win in conference play for the first time since entering the SEC they will find it extraordinarily difficult since SC has gone 18-0 in home games. Interestingly enough though, A&M is very good away, going 10-2 under Kevin Sumlin.

Another reason SC will win this game is due to their running game. Mike Davis put up seven games last season when he ran for at least 100 yards. In the ninth game last year his season came to an end due to injury however he still managed to finish fourth all time for rushing in Gamecock's history. This bodes extremely well for QB Dylan Thompson as a good running game is a inexperienced quarterbacks best friend.

Behind a no doubt raucous home crowd, solid running, and a quarterback who hopefully won't make mistakes SC should be able to put this one away. A&M almost always scores first so it will be important for SC to maintain their composure when that inevitably happens. I expect this to be a relatively low scoring game as the college football season shakes the rust off.

A&M 17 - SC 24

Boise State @ #18 Ole Miss

Having your eyes match the field you play on is a tactical advantage.

Everyone's favorite BCS buster travels to Atlanta to take on the Rebs. I admit I was pretty surprised to see that Vegas only has Ole Miss up by 10 1/2, I was expecting it to be quite a bit higher. Like 20 points even. For starters Boise State has an extremely weak offensive line, none of players were there lat year. Also, their head coach is new as Chris Petersen is now in Washington.

Elsewhere though Boise State is actually solid. They have productive receivers, a veteran quarterback who doesn't turn it over ( five interceptions in 242 attempts) but where they really shine is their running back. Jay Ajayi is definitely the best offensive option the Broncos have. Here I go about the running game again! When you're on the road in such a hostile place as the SEC I'd think being able to rely on your running game could be a huge benefit! Anyway...

That being said, remember what happened the last time the Broncos traveled to Atlanta to play an SEC game? And that team was miles better than this one with a Heisman contending quarterback at the helm. Oh yeah, they won. OK bad example. However, this Ole Miss team is not without their own set of weapons which starts with another seasoned veteran in quarterback Bo Wallace. Ole Miss is a lot people's sleeper for the SEC West and it all starts there. The one weakness for Ole Miss might be their running game however Boise's even more inexperienced defensive line probably outweaknesses it.

I expect Ole Miss to pretty comfortably win this one as I said above. I'm still confused by that line. If Ole Miss is as good as we are lead to believe, even going so far as to win the SEC West surely they are more than 10 points better than an inexperienced Boise team. Maybe Vegas knows something we don't? *queue X-Files music*.

Boise State 21- Ole Miss 35

#16 Clemson @ #12 Georgia

ayy lmao

Clemson and Georgia have certainly had interesting off-seasons but finally on Saturday we'll get to see these teams take out their aggression on each other!

Right now the lines are favoring Georgia by 9 but I expect this to come down before the weekend; Some places already have it at 7 1/2.

Now before I go any further there's one thing I really need to discuss. Running! Specifically the Georgia tandem of Gurley and Marshall, one of which could be a Heisman winner when it's all said and done. Having such decorated and dependable backs should make new Georgia quarterback Huston Mason's job feel much easier. 

I'm really feeling Clemson in this one. For one thing Mark Richt is up there with Bob "Big Game" Stoops as having a reputation for not being able to win the big ones including last year against this very team. If Georgia found it difficult to go up against Clemson last year they should find it even more so this year especially since Clemson returns virtually all of its defensive players. Indeed the key match up will have to be Clemson's front seven against those Georgia backs I already mentioned. Hopefully this game will be another high scoring shootout like last season. (Vegas has the total points at between 54-60)

Clemson 34 - Georgia 31

#14 Wisconsin @ #13 LSU

No kidding this is like the 2nd or 3rd guy who when I searched for their picture the first thing was a mug shot.

The age old battle of SEC vs. Big 10 picks up again this weekend as the Badgers travel down to Baton Rouge to take on the Tigers and Les "Grazing" Miles. If there's one thing we know for sure it's that the Badgers know who their quarterback is. It's complicated with the Tigers. LSU appears to be trying their hand at a dual quarterback system with both Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris splitting snaps.

Preface: More running back talk a.... Fuck it. You know what this is. Wisconsin will rely heavily on their star running back Melvin Gordon who was the second best in the Big 10 last year. LSU will also rely heavily on their own back, Terrence Magee. Expect to also see a bit of Kenny Hilliard as well as Leonard Fournette who was one of the best backs coming to college.

This game will be very close. Despite the fact that Wisconsin has lost its biggest non conference games each of the last two seasons while LSU has the record for longest non conference winning streak at 45, I really think the Badgers have a good shot at turning the corner. I just feel like like LSU is coming into this game with too many unanswered questions at quarterback as well as running back. In these huge games like this one having an good running game or even knowing for sure who is going to be doing it could be the edge. 

Wisconsin 24 - LSU 21

#5 Ohio State @ Navy

...

Despite all my negativity and pessimism Vegas still has the Buckeyes beating Navy by no less than 15 points. But it should be closer to 20! OK, I'll stop.

Obviously, all eyes on this game are going to be on JT Barett who hasn't played in a football game since high school. That combined with the fact that the Buckeyes have questions at a couple other positions and that said redshirt QB will be playing on the road have turned what was once a glorified warm up into an actual football game. 

In times like this you basically have to rely on your head coach and trust that he has everything under control. Thankfully the Buckeyes have one of the best in the business to do just that. 

The Buckeyes will look to ease Barett into the game through a heavy dose of *running* and overall limiting Barett's playbook. Think quick screens and slants. Navy's triple option attack will provide the highly questioned OSU defense with a good challenge. 

Overall this game will come down to not making mistakes and running the ball. Here's where Ohio State has a huge edge... And it's mathematical! Navy's starting defensive linemen weigh an average of about 250 pounds while OSU's weigh in at 300 pounds. That's a giant advantage for the Buckeyes. With the space that will be created I could run through there! Maybe not. But even an inexperienced back like Ezekiel Elliott should have no problem. 

The Buckeyes will still this one though again not as comfortably as many would like. I think even more than not making mistakes will be how they handles mistakes when they do happen. Starting a redshirt freshmen on the road is a recipe for mistakes and it will be incumbent on Meyer and the leaders on the team to not let Barrett completely lose his head when he throws a pick.

Ohio State 42 - Navy 28

For the first time since noted CFL star, Chris Leak, Uran Meyer has a question at quarterback

Miller was one of a long line of solid QB starters for Meyer.

Braxton Miller's injury and subsequent absence from the entire 2014-15 season of college football has created turmoil not only in the Big 10, where OSU was expected to roll to an easy conference title and spot in the playoffs, but also nationally. Questions arise like would a one loss Michigan State team be able to make it into the playoff? Most likely a close loss to Oregon in the second week wouldn't hurt that much, but losing in-conference where the best player in it is on the sideline would probably be too damaging. Indeed, it's not that out of the question that Miller's injury could leave the entire Big 10 out of the playoff. Ohio State's easy walk through the Big 10 is also of course much more interesting. I think their schedule is to a degree already a bit overlooked. Night games at Penn State have always been challenging for the Buckeyes, the MSU game of course, and a scrappy Terrapin team could all be potential landmines. Whereas before you could give close games the benefit of the doubt because of Miller's dyanmic-ness those games will now need to be played much more closer to the vest. (It is a Tressel joke).

This year will be interesting for another reason as well, how will Meyer handle not having an experienced veteran at quarterback? For about as far back as you care to go Meyer has enjoyed this rare luxury. Going back to Meyer's days at Utah where he first became known nationally, Meyer had a young quarterback named Alex Smith, better known as the career and indeed embodiment of the "game manager". 

The Game Manager, managing a game.

I don't use that term negatively, mind you. Alex Smith has shown flashes of greatness. He's sort of gotten a raw deal in my opinion. Before being benched by the 49ers (after an injury) for Colin Kaepernick he had 104 QB rating. Oh, and he also managed the Utes to a 21-1 record, ableit against the power-house Mountain West Conference.

Following his success at Utah, Urban Meyer took his talents to Gainsville where he had another spot of success. When Meyer arrived the quarterback at Florida was one Chris Leak who wasn't exactly a household name. While he had enjoyed some success under Ron Zook, Meyer and new OC Dan Mullen managed to transform Chris Leak into a national title winner. 

41-14, never forget. 

Urban Meyer's offense consists of three receivers and the quarterback in the shotgun. Motion in the backfield creates an option to keep defenses guessing. Seeing that Leak was struggling as he was more of a traditional drop back passer, Meyer changed certain aspects of his offense to suit him. He also inserted one Tim Tebow in certain situations. This if nothing else should give Buckeye fans hope that not all is lost. Meyer has demonstrated ability to make the most of even mediocre quarterbacks as well as a willingness to alter his scheme to suit a particular quarterbacks skill set.

With Leak gone to pursue a fulfilling career in the CFL as well as the Arena Football League, Meyer gave Tim Tebow the starting job. 

Tebow quickly became Meyers' waifu. 

Tebow highlighted how lethal Meyer's offense can be when he has a quarterback seemingly tailor made for the role. Tebow's combination of arm strength and size made even SEC defenses at times seem vulnerable. For the next 2 years Meyer and Tebow dominated the SEC, oh except that one year they lost to Alabama and Tebow cried like a bitch. But other than that, they had a fruitful career together including another national title and a Heisman.

Finally, Meyer followed his destiny and became coach at Ohio State where he was lucky enough to have another player perfectly suited for his offense fall into his lap in Braxton Miller. The duo took Ohio State to nearly two undefeated seasons however Miller has been shown to be injury prone. 

That leads us to today where for the first time since Chris Leak Meyer has an unproven starter at quarterback. This is arguably even more dire of a situation because JT Barett has literally never played a down at the collegiate level. However for all the reasons I've said I think not all is lost. Barrett is a Meyer recruit so obviously he fits into the system Meyer runs. He is a natural leader, according to reports, I don't know what that means exactly but I'm sure it's good. However he also lacks the size of Miller or even the other option at QB, Cardale Jones. It will be important for Meyer to ease Barret into the game, limit his access to the playbook and establish a solid running game which all reports are the Buckeyes should have one. There is speculation that Barrett's ceiling could be higher than Guiton's which is great news, but lower than Miller's. 

The Buckeyes should be able to easily get to a 10 win season. But when national title hopes were a legitimate hope for Buckeye fans that is still sort of a bummer. However, if we get a quarterback who is better than Guiton and just a hint of Miller I know I at least will be content. Even a "game manager" at quarterback under this offense can do great things. Meyer has proven if nothing else he can develop a quarterback as good as anyone else in the game.

Former Ohio State receiver Brian Hartline gives perspective on Paul George injury

Brian Hartline suffered a nearly identical injury to Paul George his senior year in high school shortly after committing to Ohio State.

When I first saw Georges' injury I thought it could very well be career ending based on how gruesome it looked but after hearing this and other experts' opinions I'm starting to feel optimistic.

"I was reading everybody saying, 'Ah, his career might be over.' His career is not anywhere near over,"..."He'll be fine. He's a freak athlete. He'll do awesome, he'll work hard. That's my perspective."

Hartline, who sustained his injury was out for roughly 6 to 8 weeks but was up and running the following Spring, winning two hurdling championships.

I guess the human body is pretty amazing in what kind of punishment it can take. Maybe Hartline is right and the leg heal and be stronger than before.

scrimmages are getting more expensive

Original work, pls don't steal.

So, how much is it worth to pad your schedule? Apparently $3 million dollars as that's how much Ohio State is paying it's first three schedule padding scrimmages. (To be fair I think SDSU and FAMU are good teams).

The fighting Buffaloes get one million, SDSU gets $1.2 million and FAMU only gets a cool $900,000.

meyer's story about turtle biting dick false, sources say

Earlier today an interesting news item came out with Urban Meyer telling a story about Woody Hayes at a coaches meeting regarding toughness:

game by game look at ohio state's 2013 schedule

 Looking through OSU's 2013 schedule, I'm cautiously optimistic... Let's look game by game and see where there could be trouble:

buckeyes give michigan first loss of the season

I'm filing this under the "shit I don't know anything about" category as I admittedly only follow college basketball in March but I have to mention this.

Meyer holds meeting with OSU D... With sexy results?

When people think about Ohio State they usually think first about tattoos, then getting owned by the SEC, then sweater vests, and then a stout defense... In no particular order. This year however OSU has been getting torched on D to the tune of 38 to Nebraska and then 49 to Indiana... INDIANA?!?