LSU Facing More Roadblocks on Road to New Orleans

A lot of big name teams ease their way into the college football season.  Fans are used to the sight of a schedule littered with FCS teams travelling for a payday to an FBS school.  That is the norm at most schools.

As fans have learned over the years Les Miles and the LSU Tigers are anything but the norm in the college football world.

Tiger Stadium will look like this for the rest of September.

As a result LSU has already played one high profile game (a prime time shellacking of Oregon in Dallas) on the opening Saturday of the season and now enters a crucial two game road stretch against a pair of ranked opponents.  Tomorrow night the Tigers will be in Starkville for a nationally televised Thursday night matchup with #25 Mississippi State.  That game will be followed by a trip to Morgantown for a date with the #18 Mountaineers of West Virginia.

That means the Tigers will have played three ranked opponents (one an SEC West foe in MSU) in the first four weeks of the season.  On top of that all three of the games will have been away from Tiger Stadium.  If they are 4-0 come the morning of September 25 I don't know how anyone could argue against them being the #1 team in the nation.

The good news is that the schedule seems them playing 5 of their final 8 games in Tiger Stadium, including matchups with Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas.  One of the three games away from Baton Rouge is a November showdown with Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  The hope is that this tough early stretch will pay dividends for that game as it very well could determine the SEC West champion and a spot in Atlanta a month later.

The Tigers will be dealing with an angry Mississippi State team tomorrow night and cannot afford to look ahead.  The Bulldogs were hoping to stake their claim as a legitimate contender in the West this season but saw their SEC campaign get off to a rocky start Saturday at Auburn.  MSU was stopped at the goal line in the final seconds and suffered a disappointing 41-34 defeat.  Dan Mullen and his team know that another loss would most likely eliminate them from contention in the West and will most likely pull out all the stops against the Tigers.

The game should be a strength vs strength affair.  Mississippi State has rushed for 642 in its first two games of the season while LSU has only allowed a total of 91 yards in its pair of victories.  Mullen will look to attack with his spread option led by quarterback Chris Relf and tailback Vick Ballard.  The pair combined for 241 yards rushing against Auburn last weekend.

The Bulldogs should be aware that things are about to get much tougher though.  LSU has already held Oregon's vaunted attack to less than 100 yards rushing and made the Ducks one dimensional.  They shut down LaMichael James and forced Darron Thomas to throw the ball 54 times.  If they can do something similar to Mississippi State then LSU could be looking at another impressive victory.

Of course the Tigers would like to see their offense continue to develop under the leadership of Jarrett Lee.  Lee is coming off of a 9-10 performance against Northwestern State that saw him throw for 133 yards and a touchdown.  Rueben Randle continued to impress hauling in 5 passes for 121 yards, while Michael Ford and Spencer Ware combined for 4 touchdown runs in the rout.  If they can get through MSU things should continue to look up as Russell Shepard returns from suspension for the West Virginia matchup.

Les Miles and company have a tough opening month of the season but hope that it will aid them as they get into the meat of their SEC schedule.  If they can continue to navigate their murderer's row schedule successfully they could be looking at a potential BCS knockout game in Tuscaloosa in November.  A trip to Alabama is a daunting task for most teams, but LSU should be used to hostile environments by then.

An undefeated season in the SEC is hard enough with a cupcake non-conference schedule, but leave it to Les Miles to add some degree of difficulty to the task.  Something tells me the Mad Hatter and his Tigers may just be up to the task.

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Football Friday, Vol. 2

This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania.  It seems hard for me to believe that it has been a decade since that infamous day.

I was a junior in high school when the attacks occurred.  I still can recall sitting in Mr. Autio's French III class in second period when the president of the school announced over the intercom what had happened.   It was tough to comprehend what had happened at the time, especially without seeing any of it.  As the school day wore on a lot of teachers tried to continue with normal classes, but it was anything but a normal day.  Several teachers put television coverage on in their rooms and this is where many of us were first introduced to the now famous images of that day.

All after school activities were cancelled for the day.  Usually I would have been out at football practice but instead I took the bus to my mother's work then was home for the afternoon.  Any attempt at doing my homework was useless because I was glued to the television.  People didn't want to see it but at the same time couldn't take their eyes off of it.

It seemed like life would never be the same again.  The concept of normalcy became foreign.  Going to school in Dorchester it was strange not to have planes flying overhead on their descents to Logan Airport.  Normalcy did eventually return, or at least a new normal emerged.  The American spirit shone through both on September 11 and in the days and weeks that followed. 

One of the most striking moments of the week occurred the Friday after the attacks.  I was at the BC High football game that afternoon and all of a sudden we heard a plane.  When people are in that area consistently the noise of planes becomes an afterthough.  People get so used to the constant flow of air traffic to and from Logan that they don't even notice the noise after a while.  On this day though everyone took notice of the plane making its approach to the airport.  Eventually we would go back to not noticing the planes like before but on that particular day you couldn't help but take notice.

Joe Andruzzi and his brothers

Sports played a role in the recovery effort.  They allowed people an outlet to forget, at least for a few hours, all that had happened to the United States on that day.  It was right not to have games the weekend immediately after the attacks but eventually people needed to begin the healing process and sports helped to facilitate that.  I am sure most people have some image in their minds of their particular team doing something special that first weekend that football returned.  I still remember the goosebumps when Joe Andruzzi, an offensive lineman for the Patriots, came running out to the field with an American flag in each hand.  He also participated in the opening coin toss before the Patriots' game with the Jets.  Andruzzi's brothers, New York firefighters who were at the Twin Towers, were present for the coin toss.  The emotion on the field and in that stadium was palpable.

It will be great to have a full day of football again on Sunday, but we should all take some time to reflect and remember that day.

*******************************************************************************

SEC in the Spotlight Again

Just like last week the conference with the highest profile games will be the SEC.  #2 Alabama will travel to Happy Valley to take on the 20th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in the premier non-conference tilt on Saturday.

There are also some conference games that will begin to shape the SEC race.  Two ranked teams will have road tests this weekend in their quest to get to Atlanta in December.  #16 Mississippi State will get its first opportunity to make a statement when it travels to Auburn Saturday afternoon.   Auburn extended their winning streak last weekend in unimpressive fashion against Utah State.  The Tigers were forced to score twice and recover an onside kick in the final 2:07 to avoid the upset.  I think Dan Mullen and MSU will put an end to the streak come Saturday.

I wonder why Clay Travis calls Athens the "cleavage capital of the South"

Later in the day #12 South Carolina will head to Athens to face the Georgia Bulldogs.  This will be South Carolina's first test in the East and a big challenge for Stephen Garcia since there are a lot of "distractions" (scroll down to just under the first image in the article) around campus on gameday in Athens.  Both teams were less than overwhelming in week 1, with Georgia losing convincingly to Boise State and South Carolina having to overcome a large deficit to defeat East Carolina.  I think South Carolina has too much firepower for the 'Dawgs as long as Garcia doesn't let his eyes wander into the stands.

The Alabama-Penn State matchup will be intriguing as neither team has settled on one quarterback yet.  Alabama split time between sophomore A.J. McCarron and freshman Phillip Sims.  The pair combined for 4 interceptions against Kent State, but the general feeling was that McCarron created some separation in that game.  It will be interesting to see how Nick Saban manages the pair in a hostile road environment.  The Nittany Lions started sophomore Rob Bolden against Indiana State last week, but also allowed junior Matt McGloin to see some action.  The pair was not asked to do much against the FCS Sycamores, as Penn State rushed for 245 yards, but that should change against the Crimson Tide.  Joe Paterno, who will likely be coaching from the press box for a second consecutive week, and Saban should have a much clearer idea about their teams, and their quarterback situations, after Saturday.  Whichever team gets the steadier play from their signal callers should win, and I think McCarron makes a statement Saturday.

Predictions (Home Teams in CAPS): 
Alabama (-10) over PENN STATE
South Carolina (-3) over GEORGIA
Mississippi State (-5.5) over AUBURN
Utah (+9) over SOUTHERN CAL
Brigham Young (+7) over TEXAS
VANDERBILT (-2) over Connecticut
Boston College (+7.5) over CENTRAL FLORIDA
MICHIGAN (+3) over Notre Dame
EAST CAROLINA (+17.5) over Virginia Tech
TENNESSEE (-4.5) over Cincinnati

Last Week: 5-4-1
Season: 5-4-1


Back in a Big Way

The NFL returned officially last night as the league kicked off its 2011 season in Green Bay with its annual Thursday night game.  The Packers and Saints put on a show and challenged the notion of defenses being ahead of offenses early in the season.  The teams combined for 76 points, but the game was decided by a goal line stand by the Packers defense to end the game, thus ruining the Saints chance to cover!

Fans can only hope that last night's game set a tone for how this season will go.  If the rest of the season can match last night's excitement and drama then we should be in for one hell of a season.

On to the picks...

RAVENS (-1.5) over Steelers
This is my favorite current NFL rivalry.  The two teams have a respect for each other as they both play a physical brand of football that gets elevated even further when they match up.  Baltimore's offense will be able to do a little more in this game I believe and Lee Evans is an interesting addition to the lineup.

BUCS (-1.5) over Lions
There seems to be a history with these "sleeper:" picks each season.  One team always gets pumped up by everyone to the point that they can't be a "sleeper" anymore because everyone is talking about them.  The Bucs took a step forward last season and look to continue to develop under Raheem Morris.  The Lions still may contend for a playoff spot in the NFC but so will Tampa and I give them the edge in Week 1.

BEARS (+2.5) over Falcons
Jay Cutler in a big game at home, what could go wrong?

CHIEFS (-6) over Bills
The Chiefs may fall back a bit and the Bills may take a small step forward in 2011, but I still don't think the gap is closed to the point that I could take the Bills on the road at Arrowhead.

Colts (+8.5) over TEXANS
This line jumped 2 points since yesterday when it was revealed that Peyton Manning would likely miss the entire season.  Not sure why that affected things so much when it was already known he wasn't playing in this game.  I still think this game will be close since the Texans still need to prove that they can stop someone on defense.

RAMS (+4) over Eagles
Rams offense should put up points with Josh McDaniels coming on board as coordinator.  Also I want to see the Eagles continue their Heat comparisons by flopping out of the gate.

BROWNS (-6.5) over Bengals
Does Ohio even care about this game?

Titans (+2) over JAGUARS
Luke McCown, who attempted 15 preseason passes, will get the start at QB for the Jags.  Tom Jackson is prepping his "they hate their coach" speech for Countdown next weekend.

Giants (-3) over REDSKINS
Eli gets the treat of looking across the field at Rex Grossman and knowing he is the superior quarterback.  Listening to his quotes regarding how he stacks up with Brady I'm sure he does this every week, but this week he will actually be right.

CARDINALS (-7) over Panthers
Cam Newton gets his first loss as a paid quarterback, ending his 14 game winning streak.

49ERS (-5.5) over Seahawks
The race to finish behind the Rams should be riveting television.

CHARGERS (-8.5) over Vikings
Couldn't decide between a Donovan joke or a Metrodome joke so let's move on...

JETS (-5) over Cowboys
The Jets at home on the anniversary of 9/11 should lead to an amazing atmosphere.  With both Ryan brothers probably getting a lot of face time NBC might have to rate the telecast TV-14.

PATRIOTS (-7) over Dolphins
Crazy things seem to happen to the Pats in Miami, sometimes good and mostly bad, but Chad Henne leading the Dolphins to a season opening win on MNF would probably rank pretty high up there on the list.


BRONCOS (-3) over Raiders
Al Davis thinks this is the year.  He also thinks that it's 1978.

Last night: 0-1-0
Season: 0-1-0

One final note, I am going to a wedding this weekend so I probably won't have anything posted again until Monday.  Have a great weekend!

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LSU Looks More Prepped for Primetime

The Cowboys Classic last night at "Jerry's World" in Dallas was billed as a showdown between two potential BCS Championship contenders.

Only one team left Dallas actually looking like a contender though.

That team was the LSU Tigers, who pulled away in the second half for a 40-27 statement win over the Oregon Ducks.

The Tigers took control late in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns in a 3:20 span after recovering two De'Anthony Thomas fumbles.  That stretched a 16-13 halftime lead to a much more comfortable 30-13 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

That stretch of the game epitomized the entire night: Oregon made countless mistakes while LSU remained poised and capitalized on Oregon's miscues.

Thomas' two fumbles were part of a four turnover night for the Ducks (compared to only one for LSU).  They also committed 12 penalties for 95 yards, including 4 in the return game.  The majority of their penalties seemed to be momentum and drive killers.

LSU also showed to have superior depth to Oregon.  When LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner were forced to leave with cramps the Ducks had to turn to the freshman Thomas.  LSU on the other hand was able to rotate in different players on both sides of the ball, and also effectively used both Spencer Ware and Michael Ford in the running game.  LSU also got a solid, if unspectacular, night from backup quarterback Jarrett Lee, playing for the suspended Jordan Jefferson.

A big question entering the game was how LSU's defense would handle the speed of Oregon's attack.  Instead Oregon couldn't handle LSU's lines on either side of the ball.  LSU wore down the Ducks defense in the second half, rushing for well more than half of their 175 yards on the ground after halftime.  They also shut down LaMichael James and the Ducks ground game, holding them to 95 yards rushing and only 3.4 yards per carry.  That forced Darron Thomas to throw the ball 54 times which is not Oregon's preference.

Both teams entered the game amid controversy, though LSU definitely had the greater distractions, yet it was the Tigers who entered the game focused and determined to play through adversity.  LSU proved that they are legitimate SEC and BCS contenders.  Oregon has to regroup, focus on winning the Pac 12, and hope for some help.  After tonight though it looks like they are a lot further away than people thought.

But if they can correct things and get some good fortune they could have a return date with the Tigers in the SuperDome come January.

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No Midas Touch for Golden Domers

Just as in previous years Notre Dame entered the 2011 season with lofty expectations that were at least partially unfounded.

The Irish were anointed a top 20 team in the preseason polls and there were some whispers that they could make a run to a BCS bowl game in head coach Brian Kelly's second season.

Usually another team lays a smack down on the Irish and exposes them, but that was not the case this time.  Instead the Irish themselves were the team that de-railed the season.

If someone wants to see an example of a team beating themselves, yesterday's marathon, twice delayed, 23-20 home loss to South Florida would be a perfect place to start.

The Irish doubled up USF in total yards (508-254) but turned the ball over 5 times while the Bulls were turnover free.

The red zone was better off avoided for Notre Dame.  Three of the five turnovers occurred in scoring position and they also added a missed field goal from close range.  

The first drive of the game set the tone for the day for the Irish.  They moved the ball down the field with relative ease and got inside USF's 5 yard line but saw short yardage back Jonas Grey cough up a fumble trying to get into the end zone and USF returned it 96 yards for a touchdown.  The other red zone turnovers were the result of ugly interceptions.  Starter Dayne Crist under threw a ball badly into the end zone that was intercepted in the second quarter, followed by 2nd half replacement Tommy Rees getting picked off inside the 5 yard line in the third quarter when the ball ricocheted off a lackadaisical T.J. Jones.

It all contributed to an extremely frustrating day in South Bend, as evidenced by Brian Kelly's red faced and enraged rants at anyone in his path (Notre Dame telecasts on NBC may need to become TV-14 if yesterday is any indication).  The loss was almost harder to take than ones like the Michigan beatdown in 2006 because the Irish were clearly the better team but completely beat themselves.

Despite everything there are still positives to be taken out of the loss.  Michael Floyd reasserted himself as one of the best receivers in the country and looks like a matchup nightmare for just about any corner in the country.  Cierre Wood broke the 100 yard mark and scored a touchdown and showed some good burst and Tommy Rees looked very effective in his 2nd half relief duty.

No one should write off the Irish just yet.  The defense looked improved and only gave up 1 offensive touchdown to the Bulls and the offense moved the ball with ease at times.  If they can clean up the turnovers they could still attain the goals and expectations that were set for them in the preseason.

The problem is that at Notre Dame the expectations come almost automatically but so does the criticism when they slip up.  They have a high profile opportunity Saturday night in Michigan Stadium to redeem themselves.

Another performance like yesterday's would leave them scrambling though and put any hope of a BCS berth on life support.

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Familiar Position Now for Boise State

Boise State is attempting to crash the BCS Championship game with the same formula from 2010.

Win a high profile opener against a strong non-conference opponent and then run the table against inferior opponents for the rest of the season.

Last season the Broncos won a thriller over Virginia Tech in Landover, MD in a virtual road game on Labor Day Night.  Their plan moved along smoothly until Thanksgiving weekend when they were stunned on the road by Nevada on a Friday night.

Last night Chris Peterson, Kellen Moore, and company took care of business in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta against the Georgia Bulldogs 35-21.  Step 1 is now complete for Boise, but it's the rest of the plan that will have Broncos fans on the edge of their seats because it depends on more than just Boise.

The Broncos will now need to take care of their own business but also root for the other teams on their schedule to have successful seasons.  Virginia Tech obliged last season, stumbling the week after their loss to Boise but rallying to finish 10-2.

This year's schedule might not be as helpful.

Boise State's move to the Mountain West was supposed to help, at least for this year, since TCU is not departing for the Big East until next season.  That may not be the case though after TCU's upset loss to Baylor on Friday night.  TCU's defense, which was supposed to be a strength, got lit up by Baylor and if they do not fix things it could be a long season, much to Boise's chagrin.

The other problem for Boise is that Georgia does not look to be anywhere near as strong as Virginia Tech was last season.  For starters they have to go through the SEC, which is light years above the ACC slate the Hokies encountered.  Georgia also has a lot more questions to answer.  Aaron Murray's numbers were lackluster prior to a couple of late touchdown drives, and the rushing game struggled outside of Brandon Boykin's 80 yard run.  Since Boykin is a starter on the defense they probably shouldn't be counting on him to deliver on a regular basis.

In Boise's favor is the fact that they will be favored for the rest of their games this season.  There will obviously be mounting pressure with each passing game but they encountered the same thing last season, so it is not unfamiliar territory.

The Broncos should also be pleased with the performance of Kellen Moore's supporting cast last night.  Doug Martin and D.J. Harper paced the running game, which was effective and provided balance.  Freshman receiver Matt Miller led the team in receiving yards and caught a touchdown pass.  The defense was stingy against the run outside of Boykin's long touchdown and held Aaron Murray under 200 yards passing until he padded his stats in what was essentially garbage time.

All the dominos are in place for Boise State.  They took care of business in an hostile environment and shook the notion that they can't beat an SEC team.  Their offense looks to be picking up where it left off even despite several key departures and the defense continues to be a strength.

Their season began in Atlanta in SEC territory and the hope in Boise is that it will end in SEC territory, in New Orleans for the BCS Championship game.

If they take care of their business, and get some help, they could be crashing the BCS party on Bourbon Street come January.

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Football Friday, Vol. 1

Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year: the first full day of the college football season!!!  Life doesn't get much better than non-stop football from noon until midnight.  The first week of the 2011 season should not disappoint either.  Even though they are becoming more rare, Saturday night will feature two mega matchups with national title implications.  So as fans from Chestnut Hill, MA to Eugene, OR prepare for a new season, let's dive in and take a closer look at week 1 of the football season!

One Moore Chance for Boise State

#5 Boise State begins their 2011 campaign with another trip east for a high profile season opener.  This year the Broncos travel to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to tangle with the #19 Georgia Bulldogs.  A year ago Boise State embarked on what they hoped would be a championship season in Landover, Maryland against the Virginia Tech Hokies.  The Broncos got the high profile victory they had been looking for, but their championship hopes fizzled on Thanksgiving weekend at Nevada in overtime. 

In an attempt to help their standing a bit nationally Boise State has jumped from the WAC into the Mountain West Conference this season.  Their strength of schedule should be helped since fellow upstart TCU remains in the league for this season before heading to the Big East in 2012.  If they can get by Georgia, the Broncos would be in good shape once again to make a run for an undefeated season.  They get a rematch with last year's spoiler, and former WAC rival, Nevada at home, and also get Air Force and TCU on the blue turf in Boise.  Those three appear to be their toughest hurdles following Saturday night.

The Broncos return quarterback Kellen Moore for his senior season (cue Mark Richt shaking his head).  Moore has had an outstanding career in Boise and hopes to cap it off with another BCS berth.  He loses his top 2 targets from 2010 in Austin Pettis and Titus Young, but does return 2010 All-WAC running back Doug Martin.  With Martin and three returning offensive linemen some of the pressure should be removed from Moore's shoulders as he tries to work in a new group of receivers.  Mitch Burroughs and Tyler Shoemaker (38 combined receptions in 2010) will look to step up and freshman Matt Miller will join them in the starting lineup.  The defense returns 7 starters to a unit that has become a strength over the last couple of seasons.

The Bronco defense will be charged with stopping Aaron Murray and company.  Murray, a sophomore, will have a lot of pressure on him in 2011.  The season is critical for Mark Richt as he resides in the SEC's hot seat this season.  The Dawgs are coming off of a 6-7 2010 campaign.  They have an opportunity to make a big statement in the first two weeks of the season and remove some of the pressure off of their head coach.  After their trip to The Dome tomorrow, Georgia returns home next Saturday to host #12 South Carolina.

The Bulldogs will need to answer a lot of questions to make that statement though.  Their running game is in flux right now.  Their top two rushers from 2010 are gone and junior Carlton Thompson has been suspended for the opener.  Projected starter Richard Samuel IV (not to be confused with the future Uga IX) has been battling a quad injury and freshman Isaiah Crowell could be thrust into the spotlight immediately.  Crowell has the Georgia faithful extremely excited as he was the number one rated high school running back last year.  Receiver Tavarres King and tight end Orson Charles (preseason All-SEC along with Murray) return to aid the passing attack.  The defense returns eight starters and field position should be constantly in their favor as they return Drew Butler at punter and Blair Walsh at kicker, both of whom could be All-Americans this season.

Prediction: Boise State (+3) over Georgia

Controversy Bowl I

#4 LSU and #3 Oregon will play in the other prime time matchup Saturday night in Texas at Cowboy Stadium.  I have dubbed this game Controversy Bowl I, which will be followed by Controversy Bowl II in two weeks in Miami (Miami-Ohio State), because both of these teams have made headlines for the wrong reasons this offseason.

Both teams were implicated in the Willie Lyles recruiting saga and they have both made recent headlines for run-ins with the law.  Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris will not play in the game due to a suspension stemming from a June traffic stop.  He was pulled over by police for driving 118 MPH and was questioned about marijuana.  Quarterback Darron Thomas was a passenger in the car but was determined to have done nothing wrong and will play against the Tigers.  Thomas hopes the Tiger defense doesn't find him as easily as weed does, as he was also in the car with former quarterback Jeremiah Masoli when he was pulled over with marijuana.

LSU's quarterback was not as fortunate in his dealings with law enforcement.  Jordan Jefferson is out against Oregon and suspended indefinitely after his role in a Baton Rouge bar brawl.  Jefferson and teammate Josh Johns were arrested for their role in the fight.  Details have been sketchy, but Jefferson has been rumored to have kicked a man on the ground in the head during the fracas.  His apartment was searched and he and Johns turned themselves in to police soon after. 

Stepping in to fill the void left by Jefferson will be former starter Jarrett Lee.  Lee struggled mightily as a freshman, including having 7  interceptions returned for touchdowns.  He has only started once since that season but came on in relief several times last season.  He showed some promise in those appearances, including throwing the winning touchdown pass in The Swamp against Florida.  The Tigers now need him to step up and play a complete game.

The LSU defense will also face a tough task in stopping Thomas and running back LaMichael James.  James ran for over 1,700 yards last season and scored 21 touchdowns.  He was stymied by an SEC defense in the national championship game though.  Auburn held James to 49 yards on 13 carries in that game.  Auburn's defensive line, led by Nick Fairley, dominated that game up front and LSU hopes to do the same thing.  LSU is fairly young inside on the defensive line this season and they will have to step up quickly to slow down Oregon's high speed attack.

Prediction: LSU (-3) over Oregon 


True Dedication

I have to give a quick tip of the cap to The Ohio State Buckeyes.  Controversy Bowl II was already shaping up to be one for the ages, but that wasn't enough for Ohio State.  The university has suspended three players, running back Jordan Hall and defensive backs Corey Brown and Travis Howard, for their opener against Akron for  receiving impermissible benefits at a charity function.  Ohio State is still waiting for a ruling from the NCAA COI investigation stemming from the Terrelle Pryor, Jim Tressel, tattoo parlor mess, and it remains to be seen if these infractions could have any effect on that.  With two weeks before their matchup with the Hurricanes in Miami it will be interesting to see if The U finds a way to step up and add a little more spice to the matchup (paging Yahoo Sports...).

Weekly Quick Picks (Home team in CAPS)

Northwestern (+10) over BOSTON COLLEGE
Texas Christian (-10) over  BAYLOR
OLE MISS (+1) over Brigham Young
NOTRE DAME (-7) over South Florida
Minnesota (+16.5) over SOUTHERN CAL
CAL (-4.5) over Fresno St.
Colorado (+11) over HAWAII
Ucla (+3) over HOUSTON

Record for 2011: 0-0


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Welcome to Football Season!

Sorry for the absence, but Irene decided to sidetrack me by knocking out our power from Sunday morning until late Tuesday night.  That ruined my plan of posting a running diary of last Sunday's Little League World Series championship game.  I am ready to bounce back and get back into the swing of things though, especially now that it is finally football season!

There were originally some plans to make this entire a week about the new college football season that begins tonight.  Unfortunately the weather and some plans fell through so instead tomorrow will be my first official post of the football season.  I plan to write a weekly entry titled "Football Friday" each and every (you guessed it!) Friday of the season.  Tomorrow's will be all about college football since the NFL season does not begin until next Thursday night.

The plan for "Football Friday" will be to look at some of the high profile matchups each weekend.  I also will choose 10 college games each week to pick against the spread and will do the same for all of the NFL matchups each week.  Tomorrow's will probably be just a one part entry but after this week they will probably consist of two parts, one covering college and the other looking at the NFL.

It's been a long summer waiting for football to arrive but finally it is here!  Football is my biggest passion and I think that will come through over the next several months because I am going to write as much as possible.  I have some other ideas for later in the season as well but we will see how things play out.

For now I am going to post the links to all of my summer football preview articles to help get people in the right mindset and remember to check back tomorrow for the first edition of "Football Friday"!

"Risk vs Reward": A look at the decrease in high profile non-conference games in college football and why it is probably more beneficial for championship-driven teams  http://leneman1585.blogspot.com/2011/07/risk-vs-reward.html

"ACC Football and the Battle for Respect": The seemingly annual column on the ACC and their quest to regain some national relevance.  If 2011 is going to the the year for it to happen they will have to depend on Florida State and Virginia Tech to do it http://leneman1585.blogspot.com/2011/07/acc-football-and-battle-for-respect.html

"SEC East=SEC Least?": The first part of my two part SEC preview focused on the SEC East.  It looks like 2011 could be a down year for the division as on South Carolina looks primed for big things this season http://leneman1585.blogspot.com/2011/07/sec-eastsec-least.html

"SEC West: Heavyweight Division": The second part of my SEC preview looked at the West and how loaded it is this season.  It also included me picking LSU to win the BCS this season before the bar brawl and suspension of Jordan Jefferson  http://leneman1585.blogspot.com/2011/07/sec-west-heavyweight-division.html

"In With the New in the Big Ten":  My look at the transformed Big Ten conference.  Lots of new things with the league, including a championship game that could come down to last year's co-champ and the league's newest addition  http://leneman1585.blogspot.com/2011/08/in-with-new-in-big-ten.html

"Desire or Desperation": My argument against the notion that Bill Belichick was getting "desperate" after trading for Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco http://leneman1585.blogspot.com/2011/07/desire-or-desperation.html

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