And also of note..LSU was considered the team to beat for the NC last season..They went 10-2 and were favored by at least 7 points in every game they played, and because of the high expectations ended up with just a 4-7-1 ATS record. On the other hand the team they beat for the title Ohio State, wasn't in anybody's top 5 at the beginning of last season. In fact Phil Steele had them picked to finish third in the Big 10..So the high expectations weren't really there, and they ended up going a respectable 7-4 ATS. Beating the line is all about public perception of teams according to the media, both before and during the season. As for Florida, I would have to see a line before I made any attempt to bet that game..If Florida manhandles Hawaii in their first game, then the line will be set very high against Miami..I know Miami doesn't have many starters back..But they are still Miami. They have a second year coach. They've still had some great player drafts in the last couple of years, and always have some good athletes on that team. I also think it is a huge get for Shannon to be able to get DC Bill Young from Kansas..I consider him to be on the same level as Texas getting Muschamp...I'm betting we'll see instant improvement from this team on defense.
i'm going to wait a few games, but i can see myself playing miami a lot this year... they are in a similar situation as penn st in that they are finally done with their qbs who were awful the last few years... marve is athletic and the ball zips out of his hands... i think he will be a huge upgrade, even as a 1st yr starter... they also might rotate in jacory harris just to show a different look with a dual threat qb... they have a deep talented rb corps and some young wrs who a reminiscient to canes wrs from years ago
their front 7 looks to be should be solid and they are experienced in the secondary (phillips, ponder, reddick, johnson, grant and van dyke all have had multiple starts)... plus they play in a weak conference where getting points is a bonus
their front 7 looks to be should be solid and they are experienced in the secondary (phillips, ponder, reddick, johnson, grant and van dyke all have had multiple starts)... plus they play in a weak conference where getting points is a bonus
I also think Miami will have a much different attitude on that team this year..Shannon is a strict disciplinarian, and he didn't tolerate alot of the bullshit that went on last year with some of the players from this team..I heard it resulted in a couple suspensions and a generally bad attitude and a mutiny of sorts from some of this team..I think it all came to a head when they lost to Virginia 48-0 at home and then got killed by VT the next week. These types of things usually get straightened out in a coach's second year after he's gotten rid of the bad blood..So in this case only having half his starters back may be a good thing. This will also be the second year of OC Nix's system. They averaged scoring only a bit over 2 TD's a game last year..So they have nowhere to go but up. I'll also be keeping an eye on this team, because if their defense improves the way I think they will, they could be covering more games..Especially in conference, where they are picked very low. Only third in their own division..
SoonerBS - the CMU-Georgia game is at Georgia. I will be one of the ones on CMU, depending on the line. Georgia is not known to blow out teams, and CMU should be able to score some. Last year's blowouts were at the beginning of the season while the new coaching staff was getting acclimated.
Great writeups.
Great writeups.
LOVE LOVE Auburn to take the Georgia Bulldogs out. Marked this one early as this will be the 4th straight road game for UGA. The Fla-Ga game @ Jax is a road game for UGA as they have to fly to the site. The women and children will be barred from the WLOCP game.
Huge revenge game for the Gators after the Dawgs entire team stormed the field after scoring their first TD of the game. Mark Richt learned at the knee of Bob Blowden. LT:finger:
Huge revenge game for the Gators after the Dawgs entire team stormed the field after scoring their first TD of the game. Mark Richt learned at the knee of Bob Blowden. LT:finger:
Coach...I remember that Georgia-FL game..And I remember the Gators and their fans didn't take to kindly to that outburst..Personally, I've never seen anything like it..And I know it had to be planned right down to the last detail..Revenge will definitely be on the Gators minds...As much as I like Georgia, I really think they'll have their work cut out for them this year..SEC teams with tough in conference road schedules are not long for this earth..Auburn could be a good "play on" team this season..But the only thing that makes me unsure about them is their QB situation..
GS, The Sporting News CFB annual is now out. In it there is an interview with UGA coach Mark Richt. At first he denies planning the stunt. Later he admits to planning the stunt but the players misunderstood what he really meant. He says that he only wanted the offensive team to celebrate and get the penalty and NOT the whole team.
UGA will get UF'S best shot. UGA also has to play@ LSU the week before playing UF in Jax. UF plays Kentucky @ home the week before the UGA game.
I agree with you on Auburn to be a surprise team. Come On CFB! LT
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arty:
You have South Carolina beating Tennessee....then getting beat pretty good by Ole Miss?
I like most of your plays....the two above I don't understand. I'm not overly impressed with Houston Nutt and I just don't see him kicking Spurrier's ass. Also, I can see the Arkansas game being closer than your prediction (the Ole Miss at Arkansas game). I think Petrino is a much, much, much better coach than Nutt.....
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I like most of your plays....the two above I don't understand. I'm not overly impressed with Houston Nutt and I just don't see him kicking Spurrier's ass. Also, I can see the Arkansas game being closer than your prediction (the Ole Miss at Arkansas game). I think Petrino is a much, much, much better coach than Nutt.....
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South Carolina gets a bye-week before they play Tennessee, Coach. Tennessee will be in a sandwich between a home game against Alabama the week before and a home game against Wyoming the next week. I like Spurrier getting two weeks to game-plan for Tennessee here.
South Carolina has lost 5 in a row to Ole Miss in this series, so it's more a trends play than anything. I'm not much of a trends player, but when I play a trend, I play on it, not against it. Ole Miss is going to be good defensively this season, and if Snead turns out to be decent, they might just be a complete team for the first time in a long time. A lot will depend on how well or not their game goes against Florida the week before. If they lose SU and it's not too close, I like them in this game against S. Carolina and that is what I am expecting. If they play Florida in a close emotional game, or even win SU, I may be fading them here.
But, Coach, you probably know more about the SEC than I do. This is just the way I am seeing things play out and we both know it's early.
