Showing posts with label BYU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BYU. Show all posts

Sunday, September 28, 2008

The BCS Busters

After week 5 there are 4 teams that I feel can bust the BCS party. The usual suspects like BYU and Utah are still on my list but two new teams have risen. Here are my four teams, in order, that have the greatest shot at playing in a BCS game.


BYU


BYU is in control of their own destiny. If they can win the rest of their games they will play in a BCS game. Heck, with the way this season is going, if BYU wins all of their games they may just be playing for the National Championship. BYU has two obstacles on their way to a perfect season. The first being a road game against TCU which will be a tough game for them. The second is playing at Utah in what should be a fantastic rivalry game with BCS implications on the line. This game could mean more than ever this year. The main concern for BYU is if their defense can hold up. BYU has only three returning starters from last years 11-2 team. I think BYU will make it to a BCS game because they have such a great offense and a great quarterback in Max Hall.




Boise State


Boise State is known for busting into the BCS game in 2006 and taking down the powerful Sooners of Oklahoma. Last year they were 1 win away from playing in another BCS game. Boise State has been one of the most dominant programs during the last five years having the third most wins of any program. With this fairly young but talented group led by senior running back Ian Johnson, the Broncos have a good shot at playing in another BCS game. The possible obstacles are games At Southern Miss and a game against a tough WAC opponent Fresno State. If Boise State finishes the season unbeaten and BYU loses one game, they will most likely get in.




Utah


Utah is led by their senior quarterback Brian Johnson and senior running back Darrell Mack. They got out of September without a scratch but a closer than thought game with Weber State has me feeling skeptical about the Utes. They still must play TCU and BYU at home which will give them an advantage. They also must play the Beavers of Oregon State who are riding high after their upset of #1 USC. The Utes are rolling, winning their last 13 of 14 games but I feel that they will slip up against one of the three teams previously mentioned.




Ball State


This is a dark horse for a BCS buster but they may just have the talent, and the favorable schedule to go undefeated. The Cardinals should be 10-0 heading into their two final games against Central Michigan and Western Michigan. The loss of wide receiver Dante Love is a tough one to overcome but it may just inspire Ball State to try harder. Nate Davis is a phenomenal quarterback who possesses great leadership and qualities that NFL scouts love. I think Nate Davis can lead the Cardinals to an undefeated season but many things must fall into place for Ball State to have any shot at playing in a BCS game. Believe!




Photos Courtesy of Google

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Contenders and Pretenders

After week 3, there are some teams who have started off strong but can they keep it up throughout the season? I will give you six teams who I feel are either contenders or pretenders. Here we go:

Penn State Nittany Lions


Picked to finish 7th in the Big Ten by sporting news, the 'Lions have rallied over their new found superstar quarterback, Daryll Clark. JoePa has finally arrived in the 21st century with his play calling. The Nittany Lions run a type of spread offense which they like to call "Spread HD". With the dual threat capability of Clark, this offense if perfect for them. They have just steamrolled over their first three opponents this year. They have outscored their opponents 166-37. When the Big Ten season starts the Nittany Lions have to play at Ohio State and Wisconsin which can be trouble. But not to fear, Penn State has plenty of experience. They have 8 senior starters on offense. With this dynamic offense, Penn State may surprise a few people and win 10 or 11 games and find themselves playing in a BCS bowl.

Verdict: Contender


Utah Utes

Utah has quickly become a potential BCS buster this season. Many people feel that they have the talent to run the table and play in a BCS game. After starting the year 3-0 and upsetting Michigan, the only real challenges for Utah are Oregon State, BYU and TCU in which they play those three at home. In my opinion I think they will falter and lose at least two games. They are far too inconsistent to run the table. Remember that this is a team who beat UCLA 44-6 and then was blanked by UNLV 27-0 the following week. This is not a team that I would put my money on to run the table because of their inconsistency.

Verdict: Pretender


Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama started off the year at #24 in the AP poll. After beating Clemson, Tulane and Western Kentucky they suddenly leap-frogged ahead to #9 in the AP poll. Yes, they manhandled Clemson and yes, they do deserve to be ranked this high but I just dont feel that their success will continue. With a brutal schedule (@ Georgia, @ Tennessee, @ LSU and home to Auburn) and lack of experience on defense I would be surprised if Alabama finished the year with 8 wins. Alabama may be a title contender in the next few years but I doubt that they will be this year.

Verdict: Pretender

BYU Cougars

BYU has gotten through the hard part of their schedule already. They played two BCS conference teams in Washington and UCLA. Now, the only two games I could possibly see them losing would be at Utah and at TCU. But I feel that BYU will run the table and play in a BCS game. They have so much experience (the only starter not a Junior or Senior is star running back Harvey Unga) and are very motivated to finally play in a BCS game. Furthermore, they a sure-fire, consistent quarterback in Max Hall who, by the way, threw 7 touchdown passes against UCLA in a 59-0 win. Can you say BCS?

Verdict: Contender


North Carolina Tar Heels

UNC won only 4 games last year but many people, including me, feel that they are this year's Kansas. They return 10 starters on offense and return their entire secondary. This team has the talent to do big things. They must get over a few tough games in the schedule but overall their schedule is favorable to them (missing Clemson, Wake Forest and Florida State). In my opinion this team is capable of winning the ACC. With the conference down, it wouldn't be too much of a long shot if North Carolina shocked the world and made it to a BCS bowl. North Carolina is a team on the rise and I expect them to get better and better as time passes.

Verdict: Contender


East Carolina Pirates
East Carolina is 16th in the recent AP poll after beating Virgina Tech and West Virginia in consecutive weeks and winning a hard fought game over Tulane. It looks as if ECU is headed for a perfect season and a C-USA title. Before everyone starts talking BCS, remember that this team is notorious for losing winnable games late in the season against conference opponents. Last year they lost to Marshall 26-7 late in the season. They still must play at UCF, at Southern Miss, at NC State and at Virginia. Still convinced that they can run the table? I would be surprised if ECU can come out of the season with only 2 losses. As much as I want them to succeed, I still feel that they wont. Prove me wrong ECU!

Verdict: Pretender



Photos courtesy of Google.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Making it Work: Getting the Most out of what you got

In college football there are the traditional powerhouses that seem to have everything, large fan base, gigantic stadiums and blue chipper after blue chipper. Most of these teams come from the "loaded" states when it comes to recruiting. Some examples would be Florida, Texas, USC and Ohio State just to name a few.

But what about the teams that don't have the sufficient funds to travel the country and recruit these so called "blue chippers". How do these teams compete with the "big boys"? It's simple, they make the most out of what they got. These teams take the old saying "Work beats talent unless talent works" to heart. These teams cleverly develop gameplans and schemes and develop the little talent they have until they have a team that is mentally and physically strong enough to compete with the best. So getting into it, here are the teams that I picked in no particular order:

Wisconsin Badgers

The Badgers seem to always put a team that is able to compete with the best. They always find themselves near the top of the Big 10 at the end of the season. Wisconsin fields a team made up of mostly average players who excel in team roles and therefore are able to win as many games as they do. Over the last four years, the Badgers have won a "cool" 40 games. Not bad for a team who had only 7 four or five star recruits from 2002-2007 according to Scout.com. By the way, PJ Hill was only a 2 star prospect coming out of high school, now he is a Heisman candidate. This year, the Badgers return 19 starters and this is probably there best chance of finally playing in a BCS game.

Check out this sick video of Wisconsin's Jump Around.

BYU Cougars

BYU has found themselves a big advantage over other football programs. Most of their players have gone on two year Mormon missions and come back with the same eligibility. For example, if they recruited a 19 year old freshman and he decided to go on a Mormon mission, he would come back in two years as a 21 year old freshman and could therefore still be playing for BYU when he is 25. This maturity has proven to be effective on the gridiron. BYU, over the last three seasons have won 28 games with three bowl invitations and 2 conference titles. How can a Mormon school from Utah be able to compete with the rest of the Mountain West let alone be able to compete the way BYU does against BCS schools? According to Bronco Mendenhall, some of his starters for the past few seasons were 0 star prospects meaning that they shouldn't have been recruited. Period. The BYU recruiting staff must view game film of these guys and dissect it really well or BYU has just gotten lucky with all of these "hidden gems"

West Virginia Mountaineers

When watching West Virginia play, I get the impression that they are one of the college football powerhouses that bring in blue chipper time and time again. Such is not the case. From 2002-2007 the Mountaineers have brought in only 3 five star prospects according to Scout.com: Noel Devine, Durrell Robinson and Jason Gwaltney. I have only heard of one of those players. No one would think that over the past five seasons, the Mountaineers could win 49 games, 4 conference titles and appear in 4 BCS Bowls. The Mountaineers playing style suits their player's strengths. Take Pat White for instance, a 2 star prospect coming out of high school with no big expectations quickly became a Heisman contender by his junior year. That's what I call getting the most out of your players.

Photos courtesy of Flickr and Google

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Leo's Crystal Ball: BCS Bowl Projections

With most of Week 1 in the books, I will give you my BCS Bowl Projections.



Rose Bowl

Pac 10 Champ vs. Big 10 Champ

Ohio State vs. Oregon


With USC playing for the national championship, Oregon gets the honors to play in the Rose Bowl. The intriguing part of this matchup would be how Ohio State handles the spread offense that they have had trouble with in the past. No matter how tricky Oregon's spread is, it is not equally as effective as the spread offense that Florida implied on Ohio State in the national championship game 2 years ago. Ohio State wins handily on a solid dose of Chris 'Beanie' Wells.

Projected Score: 34-17 Ohio State



Fiesta Bowl

Big 12 Champ vs. At-Large

Oklahoma vs. BYU


BYU runs the table and completes its "Quest for perfection". Oklahoma wins the Big 12 and is hungry for redemption after losing their last 4 BCS bowls. In another 'David vs. Goliath' BCS matchup, Oklahoma routs BYU.

Projected Score: 41-17 Oklahoma



Orange Bowl

ACC Champ vs. At-Large

Clemson vs. West Virginia


After getting embarrassed by Alabama in the first week, Clemson goes on to win their next 10 out of 11 games and finds themselves in the Orange Bowl facing a scary West Virginia team. West Virginia has no answer for Clemson's James Davis and CJ Spiller as Clemson goes on to win a close game.

Projected Score: 35-28 Clemson



Sugar Bowl

SEC Champ vs. At-Large

Auburn vs. South Florida


Matt Grothe leads the Bulls to their first ever BCS game. They face the SEC runner up, Auburn. Auburn lost to Florida in the SEC championship but is fortunate to play in the Sugar Bowl because Florida plays in the National Championship. In a hard fought game, South Florida prevails and wins their first BCS game.

Projected Score: 20-17 South Florida



National Championship

#1 vs. #2

USC vs. Florida

This is an epic battle between two college football powerhouses. Florida's high octane offense vs. USC's loaded defense. Each team is stacked with future NFL all-stars. The game does not disappoint. In a very high scoring affair, Florida comes away with the win and their second national championship in three years.

Projected Score: 42-34 Florida


Phots courtesy of Flickr