Sunday, August 12, 2007

The 2007 Pre-season College Football Top 25 Poll - Injustice at it's Finest

College football is the greatest sport, until the very end of the season and right before the season starts. The very end of the season because everybody is once again reminded how retarded the BCS system and how meaningless the bowls are in the grand scheme of things. Even the bowls are losing meaning because there are so many of them. Then there is the time right before the season starts when the pre-season polls are released. Pre-season polls either give a school a springboard advantage which it did not deserve or an extreme disadvantage because they have to win and count on everybody else losing in order to move up the poll. Because of the bias amongst media and the coaches, some schools' ranking makes no logical sense. Schools should start where they ended the season before, after all, it is the program that makes the players, not the players that make the program. Every year the media and coaches insist on putting the same teams in the top 25 that over promise and under deliver year in and year out. Yet, because they were once good, there is always that gleaming hope that "this year will be the year." Let's take a look at how the pre-season top 25 looks:

1. USC - No surprise here, Pete Carroll just wins regardless of who plays.
2. LSU - Loses starting QB as well as key players on the defensive side of the ball yet moves up from where they ended last year.
3. Florida - No surprise here, first time starter Tim Tebow must prove that he can win.
4. Texas - Up 9 spots from their 2006 finish, still riding on the coat tails of their 2005 National Championship.
5. Michigan - Did anybody else watch the Rose Bowl last year? Just checking.......
6. West Virginia - Jumped 4 spots from last year, even ahead of Louisville, who pasted them last year.
7. Wisconsin - One of only 2 schools that start where they finished.
8. Oklahoma - Loses to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, loses their team MVP, but moves up 3 spots.
9. Virginia Tech - I don't understand this one, up 10 spots from last year. Please don't tell me it's because of the VT massacre this past spring. Indeed that was awful, but let's not coddle the football team.
10. Ohio State - Dropped 8 spots, for reason. Let's see who steps up at QB first.
11. Louisville - Down from #6 at last seasons end, is Bobby Petrino's loss that bad?
12. California - No comment here.
13. Georgia - Once again, the Bulldogs debut in the top 15 after ending the previous season barely in the top 25. Who wants to wager they lose 3 games again??
14. Auburn - Always a solid top 25 selection. Deserved? Yeah, I guess.
15. Tennessee - See Auburn comment.
16. Rutgers - Rutgers has been a no-show when it comes to college football for years, then they have a decent year in 2006 and we expect it to be a norm. Expect them to stay high all season playing in the Big Least Conference.
17. UCLA - UCL eh? They ended last season without a single vote and start the season #17? Please, someone explain this one to me.
18. Penn State - See Auburn comment.
19. Nebraska - Nebraska ended the season #27, they have been the most overrated team for the past 10 years. No matter how many times they start in the top 25, they will never return to their once prominent past.
20. Arkansas - McFadden is the glue that has held this team in the top 25 for the past 3 seasons, expect that to change next year.
21. Florida State - The most underachieving school in college football the last 5 years ladies and gentleman. Bobby Bowden is not the coach he once was.
22. TCU - The second team that starts where they finished. They are the non-BCS darlings, this one is no surprise.
23. Boise State - See TCU comment (about being the non-BCS darlings).
24. Hawaii - The NEW non-BCS darlings.
25. Texas A&M - See Auburn comment.The BCS rankings are not released until mid-season to better reflect which schools are better.

Perhaps all polls should follow the same protocol. The bias in college football makes me sick. I have not mentioned the worst of them all yet, and that is BYU. The Cougars finished last year #15, with their coach winning the Western Region Coach of the Year, their offense ranked #2 in scoring, and their defense #10 in points allowed, yet they start 2007 down 19 spots at #34. TCU, one of the many teams BYU beat last season is 12 spots up. Get a research crew on this one, they will simply find that the Cougars got hosed.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

BYU 2007 Season Preview

Last year, BYU won it’s first Mountain West Conference Championship in five years and posted an 11-2 record. They ended the regular season with one of the best finishes in BYU history against Utah and capped the season off by destroying PAC-10 team Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl. BYU outdid many people’s expectations and was able to finish second in the NCAA in scoring offense and tenth in scoring defense. BYUs only two losses were by a total of 10 points. ’06 MWC Offensive Player of the Year John Beck moved into second place at BYU in passing yards and RB Curtis Brown was able to break the record for total rushing yards. ’06 MWC and Western Region Coach of the Year Bronco Mendenhall has his squad rekindling the rich BYU tradition of winning back to Cougartown, having the best scoring advantage in the NCAA at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Players to Watch This Season:
QB Max Hall, HB Fui Vakapuna, WR Austin Collie, TE Dennis Pitta, TE Vic So’oto, LB Kelly Poppinga, DB Ben Criddle

Offensive Strengths:
BYU has the heaviest and most experienced offense line in college football. BYU is also very deep and experienced in the backfield with two bruising runners in Manase Tonga and Fui Vakapuna. BYU is also very experienced at the wide receiver position with three returning starters, including MWC 2004 Freshman of the Year, Austin Collie, who has been on a LDS church service mission the past two years.

Offensive Weaknesses:
QB Max Hall is a potential weakness only because he has never taken a snap in Division 1 college football. Another weakness for the Cougars could be the TE spot, which is left vacant by All-American Senior Jonny Harline.

Defensive Strengths:
BYU is bringing back a strong defensive line and quick linebackers that are able to get to the quarterback. LB Bryan Kehl is assuming the position of captain for the BYU defense.

Defensive Weaknesses:
BYU has been hampered in their secondary with injuries and the loss of DB Justin Robinson. Recently, nose tackle Russell Tialavea has went down with a potential season ending injury. BYU must find a player to step up and fill some big shoes.

2007 Season Summary Projection:
BYU starts the season with three huge games that will set the tone for the rest of the year. They start with Arizona at home, whom they lost to in last season’s first game. Then the Cougars head to The Rose Bowl to play UCLA and then back on the road at Tulsa. If BYU wins two of those first three games then they may be on their way to another stellar year.

Arizona – W
@UCLA – L
@Tulsa – W
Air Force – W
@New Mexico – W
@UNLV – W
Eastern Washington – W
@ SDSU – W
Colorado St – W
TCU – W
@Wyoming – W
Utah – W


Big Games of the Year: @UCLA, TCU, and Utah.

2007 Projected Bowl: Las Vegas Bowl
BYU may have the chance to be a BCS-buster if they go unbeaten in ’07, but is more likely that they will lose a few and end up in the LV Bowl. The LV Bowl would love to see BYU back, as they have had record attendance the last two years in which BYU competed.