Unrelated Chatter: Today was the first day of classes and a time honored tradition was upheld; a serious lack of hot girls in my class. For those of you who are unaware, I attend the University of Florida, which is basically hot girl heaven. You would think that by sheer accident that my class would at least have a handful of hot girls but no such luck. Out of a class of 40 there are about 8 girls and only one of which could be deemed as “hot.” It’s times like this that I regret being a history major…I’d be remiss if I didn’t give my thoughts on Summerslam. It was very blah with Flair/Foley obviously stealing the show. Yes it was rushed but I am kind of glad in a way because I don’t know if I could’ve handled watching two old men treat their bodies like that for much longer…Yesterday was just an all-around good news day for Mets’ fans. First Tom Glavine turned out to be okay, then they acquired Shawn Green and capped it all off with a come from behind walk-off victory. Green’s contract bothers me for next year but I will worry about that when the time comes. All he has to do this year is basically not ground into double plays and they should be alright…I bought Madden 2007 yesterday for the XBOX 360 and let me just say, wow. The graphics are insane but does anyone else think the quarters take way too long?
Quarterback Controversies: The Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck charade out in the desert has finally come to an end. Just a day after Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter named Sam Keller the starting quarterback, he changed his mind and instead elected to go with Rudy Carpenter. Since then, Keller has decided to transfer and has enrolled at the University of Nebraska where he will have to sit out the year. To me both Koetter and Keller handled the situation all wrong. It was wrong of Koetter to publicly name Keller the quarterback and then renege on his word just a day later. On the other hand, Keller comes away looking like a crybaby because he couldn’t stand sitting on the bench. Had Keller stayed at Arizona State then it shows that he is a good teammate and also would have only been a bad Carpenter game away from getting his job back…Arkansas has decided to go with Dick Johnson as their guy instead of super recruit Mitch Mustain. Arkansas went so out of their way to get Mustain that they hired his high school coach as their new offensive coordinator. Is anyone else very excited at the fact that Mustain’s former coach Gus Malzahn’s first game is against USC? An inexperienced coordinator going against a very good and experienced defense; that should be fun for the whole family…Much like Arkansas, fellow SEC foe Georgia has decided to go with experience over hype. Joe Tereshinski is the guy for Mark Richt and company but I don’t see it lasting for very long. Tereshinki will probably just take the snaps for the first few weeks until the staff feels Matt Stafford is ready for prime time.
Top 10 Continued….
5. Oklahoma Sooners: Obviously the voting was done before the Rhett Bomar scandal but I really don’t think there will be that much of a dropoff. Word is that Bomar wasn’t nearly as respected as his replacement, Paul Thompson, and that Thompson is much more of a leader. The two hardest games of the year both take place on the road (Sept. 21st @ Oregon & Oct. 7th vs. Texas in Dallas) but other than that the schedule favors Oklahoma. Even with the loss of Bomar, a conference title isn’t out of the picture and I think Thompson will be good enough to even keep them in the national title race. If Adrian Peterson can regain his freshman form than this is a team that I would not want to play.
Question marks: Can Thompson get the job done at quarterback? Which Adrian Peterson will show up this season?
National Title Odds: 13-1
(tie) 3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Ah, Notre Dame. Anyone who read my debut entry here at the Pulse knows my feelings on Notre Dame, all bark no bite. The schedule is brutal and I don’t see them stopping anyone on defense. The first 4 games on the schedule are rough, even if they do get Penn State and Michigan at home. By the time October rolls around we should know if this team is for real or not and unless Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija can play defense as well as offense, I am going to go with not.
Question marks: What will their record be come Sept. 24th? Will the offense score enough points?
National Title Odds: 15-1
(tie) 3. USC Trojans: When flirting with the NFL a few years ago, a reporter asked Pete Carroll why he prefers the college game to the NFL. In so many words Carroll replied that each year in the NFL you sign maybe one big free agent but in college you can bring in dozens of key signings each year. After losing a boatload to the NFL, this year more than ever will test Carroll’s ability to recruit. Tons of holes must be patched up and it is now time for many of those recruits to step up. The quarterback and halfback situation are still somewhat up in the air but the team shouldn’t regress all that much. Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush left such a lasting impact at USC that in a roundabout way their replacements don’t have that many expectations surrounding them. When you are replacing arguably the two best players in school history, the leash tends to be a little longer. On a side note, the Trojans play five preseason ranked teams and are lucky enough to have all five come to Los Angeles.
Question marks: Who emerges as the replacements in many key positions? Can they survive a three game stretch vs. Oregon, California and Notre Dame?
National Title Odds: 8-1
2. Texas Longhorns: Much like USC, Texas is forced to replace arguably the best player in school history in Vince Young. The defense took somewhat of a hit as well but should still be solid. Whether UT settles on Colt McCoy or Jevan Snead at quarterback, it is asking way too much for either to lead Texas to back to back national titles. Ohio State comes to town on Sept. 9th in what could be a baptism under fire for whoever wins the job. If Jamaal Charles can continue to emerge as a premier running back than it should take a ton of pressure off of whichever quarterback wins the starting job.
Question marks: Who is the quarterback? Will they be able to use the home crowd to will them past Ohio State?
National Title Odds: 15-1
1. Ohio State Buckeyes: Sometimes in life people are just born winners and Jim Tressel is one of them. Talent-wise this is perhaps Tressel’s best chance to win a national title since he brought one back to Columbus in 2002. The defense lost a ton to the draft but don’t expect the Buckeyes to miss a beat. Troy Smith and Ted Ginn are as exciting as a duo as any other tandem in America. Trips to Texas and Iowa loom large but they do get Michigan at home.
Question marks: How many special teams touchdowns does Ted Ginn have in him? Can they replace the 5 defensive starters lost in the draft?
National Title Odds: 4-1
National Title Sleepers: California, Louisville, Michigan
National Title Prediction: It pains me to write it but the two schools that I detest the most, Ohio State and Florida State, will lock horns in whatever the BCS decides to call this year’s new national title game. Ohio State wins in a close one, 27-21.
