The Art Of Choking

I haven't posted in years....blah,blah,blah. I am back so chill out.
After watching this upsetting #2 Oklahoma St. @ Iowa St. game, I got very mad. One, because I thought I had made an easy $5 with my obviously better Oklahoma St. pick. But no leaving it to a friggin' kicker to ruin the game, ruin Oklahoma St's BCS dreams, and ruin my night. I am so tired of kickers inabilities to kick field goals. It's like college coaches forget to tell them that they would have to make a couple field goals in their career.
-Maybe not, maybe coaches just go into kicker's houses and say, "Hey you seem like you got a good leg. You can hit a 45 yarder no problem right? And you won't shit your pants when I put you in with 5 seconds left to win the game?"
"No Coach I am a little girl and can only hit extra points, and what no one told me I would have to be able to kick in the clutch!!
"Ay son its okay, just look good, put a helmet on and kick it as hard as you can into that little net on the sideline, and when you miss the real thing in the game act confused, and blame the wind and we will be good."
"Sounds good coach."
It just irritates me, and if I was a position player on a team, were my kicker f'd up our chances of winning I would be so irritated. The kicker has one job make field goals, you don't have to run up and down the field all game long, or march up the field to get into field goal position, all you need to do is hit the damn field goal. Make the damn field goal and call it a day. Every other player has been busting his ass off on the field in order to win this game, and it comes down to you to take 5 seconds out of your "hectic, popular" kicker life and kick one field goal. If the national championship is decided by a missed field goal, I will lose the small respect I still have for kickers. Get your s**t together kickers, seriously.
-This is aimed at Leigh Tiffin (Bama's kicker who missed 100 field goals in the Game of the Century), Dan Goodale (Boise's kicker who couldn't get it done to win the game from 39 yards!?!!), and to the most recent choker Oklahoma St's Quinn Sharp who missed a short 37 yarder. I could hit that.)

Show Some Respect

• We All have heard about the disgusting Penn. St. scandal, and I have a few reactions to it. Yes, I believe Penn St. had the right to fire Joe Pa, but they should have let him finish out the damn season. He has 409 wins, he is the face of the Penn. St. community, he has devoted 60 years of his life to that school, he has donated numerous amounts of money, but you can fire him through a phone call 2 days before senior day?! Show some respect Penn St. BOT. A genuine man like Paterno deserved an upright firing, one to his face. They are a bunch of p****ies for doing it in that matter.

• Now back to the main topic, yes Joe should have been fired. He’s a good man. Joe Paterno did inform a university official that a graduate assistant had told him in 2002 about witnessing former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky with a young boy in the showers. But that’s all he did. He didn't take it to the police or do anything morally. He did his legal part, which is good enough for me. The other thing that really throws me off is assistant coach Mike McQueary is the guy who reportedly walked into the Penn State locker room and saw Jerry Sandusky raping a young boy, and did not do anything to stop it. But Penn St. will fire the legend, the great Joe Paterno, and Mike McQueary can continue to be the receivers coach at Penn State, and may take a PAID absence of leave.

• Now The Big Ten has decided to remove Joe Paterno's name on the trophy awarded to the conference champion. This is a true slap in the face to Joe. I find that very disrespectful to Joe Pa. The man BUILT Penn State's legacy, and gave them a name for themselves. He coached for half a decade, he did so much for the sport of college football. He doesn't deserve this BS. It's like Joe Paterno raped this boys....he didn't. He did his job and that's that.

• On a closing note, nobody really knows all of the facts. The media has really jumbled up what is going on. What do we know? Basically nothing. Where does it say "Joe Paterno should have been fired and shunned from society," please let me know, because it will be a major advancement in this case. No one has all of the facts, so please just think before you bash a great, hard working man.

• And lastly someone should have told Joe Pa he had to be the AD, the campus police, and the detectives. I'm sure most 80 year olds do all of that in their sleep. What a bad person that Joe is....not. P.S. The poor man was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier today. I'll be praying for you Joe. Stay Strong.

Pre-Season Top 25

Most people look at preseason rankings and think they are a big joke..... I am one of those people. However, I love when they come out because they are just another reminder college football is close ahead.

• As most predicted including me Oklahoma starts the poll off at #1. The sooners road to the national championship is equivalent to the road to hell. There 2nd non-conference game is @ Florida St. Then they start the big 12 with Missouri. They also have to travel to Texas and Oklahoma St. Lastly they have a middle of the season trip up game with Texas A&M. If Oklahoma stays perfect this year they could be remembered as one of the greatest teams.
• Alabama and Oregon make another top 10 preseason mark.
• LSU is starting the season by playing Oregon an they also play in an extremely talented SEC life doesn't get much tougher. Good luck les.
• Playing Oklahoma and Florida during the the non conference part of your schedule is going to be rough,but life gets much easier during the acc. With one maybe two real tough games in Clemson and Miami life will be good for the Seminoles. Fl St has the potential to win a national championship.
• Forget the rest of the season but Saturday November 12th. Oregon comes to town which is destine to be epic.
• The whole season is based on the first week @ Georgia. If the broncos lose that we all know it's game over for them. If they get passed November 12th is there date with TCU. God I love this sport.
• Two big 12 foes will be tested every week with a top heavy league. Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri along with Texas A&M and Oklahoma St will be fighting for that Big 12 championship.
• #10 is the first Big 10 team wow. All I can say is when Nebraska comes to town October 1st Madison will be rocking.
• I love what South Carolina brings to the table. I really really like them to make some noise in the SEC.
• Tyrod Taylor will be tough to replace, so I am unsure if the same success as last year will be seen again. Frank Beamer always outs s good team on the field so it will be interesting to see what is to come this year.
• It will be interesting to see how the razorbacks perform without stud Ryan Mallett. I think at #14 they are way overrated.....just saying.
• Besides that November 12th matchup against Boise St. TCU should have an extremely easy year.
• I really don't know what to except out of Ohio St. This year will be really new no sweater vests or pre madonna quarterbacks.
• Life could not get any tougher for Michigan St. They have a real non conference test against notre shame. Then listen to there first 4 games in the Big 10, @Ohio St, V. scUM, V. Wisconsin, and @Nebraska. The Spartans also have Iowa later in the season. Good luck sparty.
• I am a little skeptical On the morals at ND, after they reinstated wr Michael Floyd. The irish play a pretty hard schedule so pressure is on BK to produce. Will this be notre dame's year? Well no
• No $Cam no problem....just kidding Auburn is in a heap of trouble football wise. I feel a big sophomore slump coming from the tigers.
• The bulldogs really intrigue me as a team. Will they perform well enough to be at the top of the SEC or will they completely stink? We shall see.
• Without Gabbert life will be tough. The tigers could be special this year and they will be tested early as their first Big 12 game is @Oklahoma.
• Texas back what?! Texas always has talent and this might be their big year 12 wins? A Big 12 crown? A BCS berth? A National Championship? I am way over my head Texas should easily finish top 4 in conference and should get 8-9 wins nothing big just yet.
• Penn St grabs my attention for this upcoming year. I really like them to surprise a few people and compete for a Big 10 crown. I the what Joe Pa brings to the table. He brings weapons on both sides of the ball, so it will be interesting to see if something comes out of it.

SEC-8
Big 12- 5
Big 10- 5
Other- 3
ACC- 2
PAC 10- 2

Awards:
Most Underrated: Iowa
Most Overrated: Auburn
Toughest Place To Play: Alabama or Nebraska
Best Campus: Stanford
Best Coach: Wisconsin
Best QB: Kellan Moore
Most To Prove: Georgia, Michigan, and Texas
Most Pressure: Arizona St, Oklahoma
Easiest Schedule: TCU
Hardest Schedule: LSU
Toughest Stretch Of Games: Michigan St.
One Player To Watch: Andre Ellington RB Clemson
Player With Most Hype: Denard Robinson QB Michigan
Early Championship Pick: Oregon V. Alabama
Heisman: LaMichael James

1 Oklahoma (42)
2 Alabama (13)
3 Oregon (2)
4 LSU (2)
5 Florida State
6 Stanford
7 Boise State
8 Oklahoma State
9 Texas A&M
10 Wisconsin
11 Nebraska
12 South Carolina
13 Virginia Tech
14 Arkansas
15 TCU
16 Ohio State
17 Michigan State
18 Notre Dame
19 Auburn
20 Mississippi State
21 Missouri
22 Georgia
23 Florida
24 Texas
25 Penn State

Coaches On The Hot Seat

I think there are several coaches that could be out of a job soon if they do not perform well. I am going to list my top 10 of coaches who need to do major work to keep their position alive.

1. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA (15-22, Three Seasons)
Rick took over the UCLA job looking great on paper going 33-14 at Colorado and 33-16 at Washington. Now he does not look so great. A lot of pressure is on Rick and his coaching staff this year. With a new Pac 10 in place people expect UCLA to finish in the top half. Another losing season and you can say goodbye Rick Neuheisel!

Will he be here at this time next year? I think he will. What will ultimately keep his job at the least is a bowl game. What will keep it for sure is if the Bruins are 3 to 4 games above 500.

2. Paul Wulff, Wash. St. (5-32, Three Seasons)
Paul is another Pac 10 coach who is fighting for his job. The chances of his Wash. St. Cougars finishing above 500 are slim to none. In this case Paul took over a horrible Wash. St. team and well he did not do much to improve it. If Wash. St. was looking for a coach to take 5-7 years to rebuild a team Paul would be in that position, but there not. Wash. St. wants wins and they want them now.

Will he be here at this time next year? Lets be honest there is the smallest chance Paul will be here come next year. Yes there is a chance he could still be the coach next year but that is only if he reaches a bowl game. I just don't see it happening.

3. Neil Callaway, UAB (15-33, Four Seasons)
UAB is truly one of the toughest jobs in college football, but sooner or later enough is enough. Conference USA is filled with a lot of mediocre football teams. With that said I think UAB could possibly pull a surprising 6 or 7 win season.

Will he be here at this time next year? I am about %80 sure that Neil will be coaching the blazers next year. He hasn't produced the greatest results in 4 years, but he has posted improvement. Maybe this wont be his big coming out year but soon enough UAB will be hitting the 6 and 7 win seasons more routinely.

4. Mike Locksley, New Mexico (2-22, Two Seasons)
Mike was one of the most pursued coaches in all of football 2 years ago. He was one of the main reasons a struggling Illinois team got to the Rose Bowl. The only difference between that coaching job and this one is that Mike was an Offensive Coordinator at Illinois not a head coach.

Will he be here at this time next year? He most likely will. I think New Mexico is willing to let him coach for 2 or 3 more years. The problem is that he does not realize he would be MUCH better off as a coordinator again. Clearly he would be taking less pay, but would you rather get payed less and see success on the field or get payed more, see no success, and have every fan wanting you fired.

5. Steve Fairchild, Colorado St. (13-24, Three Seasons)
Maybe not a huge concern, but it is something to think about. The former Ram has gone 3-9 over the past two seasons. In the MWC that is unacceptable. Steve's chair may not be extremely hot this year but it will be on FIRE next year if no improvement is shown.

Will he be here at this time next year? Again it depends what happens, if a improvement to 5 maybe 6 wins is produced then yes he will be coaching next year, but if another lousy 3 win season happens again then maybe he will be sent packing. Only time will tell.

6. Ron Zook, Illinois (28-45, Six Seasons)
Zook is so hard to understand. He led an Illinois team to a rose bowl appearance, but the two years after that he produced losing seasons. Clearly Zook would not even be coaching Illinois today if it wasn't for his amazing 7-6 record last season. He exceeded expectations. Now as his 7th season approaches those expectations start to raise. With 8 games at home Illinois should EASILY be eligible for a bowl. A 8-10 win season really is not out of the picture.

Will he be here at this time next year? I think he will. I think with the plus size of home games on the schedule Illinois will cruise to 6-7 wins. Anything less then a 6 win season should be reason enough to fire Ron. Once again don't be surprised if you see Illinois at 8-4, 9-3, or even possibly 10-2. This year could be terrible, around expectations, or truly amazing for ron zook and co.

7. Dennis Erickson, Arizona St. (25-24, Four Seasons)
The pressure on Dennis this year will be enormous. His Sun Devils are a veteran team and are expected to produce a lot of wins. A preseason top 25 spot for Arizona St. is not out of the picture. People really believe Arizona St. will be successful this year. That just puts more pressure on Dennis.

Will he be here at this time next year? He most likely will be. Arizona St. looks like a really good team coming into next year. I personally think they could surprise a lot of people with a top 3 Pac 10 finish. They are a talented group and if they do not go to a bowl game next year Dennis should be gone in a heartbeat. What would keep his job at the bare minimum is a 7 win season. There is a lot of work cut out for Dennis and his Sun Devils.

8. Bob Toledo, Tulane (13-35, Four Seasons)
I think this is the last year Tulane will keep Bob if a losing season is seen yet again. The need for improvement is needed NOW! There will be a lot of pressure down there in Tulane, and there is no reason there shouldn't be. The time in has come to either part ways with Mr. Toledo or see an improvement.

Will he be here at this time next year? I personally don't see it. I cant see Tulane winning more than 5 games this year. If they do then congrats to them, but I just don't see it happening. I think its time for Tulane to move on and get back on track for 6 win seasons and bowl games.

9. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss (22-16 Three Seasons)
Coaching is tough, but it is even tougher in the SEC. There will be a lot of pressure building on Nutt this year. The key for Houston to keep his job is to beat his rival Miss. St. If he can do that and produce a decent 6 win season I see no reason to fire him. On the other hand if he can't beat rivals, or can't produce enough wins to get to a bowl game he has to be canned.

Will he be here at this time next year? I would say this is a 50/50 chance on whether or not he will be here next year. Like I stated above it all depends on how many wins he produces this season, and which teams he beats. If I had to come to a final verdict I think I would say no he will not be coaching Miss. St. next year.

10. Mike Price, UTEP (40-45, Seven Seasons)
Mike has been at UTEP long enough to improve that team. He has done a pretty good job taking a constent losing team and bringing them to where they are now. The downside is that there still not where everyone wants them to be. The chair is pretty hot, but it is not an inferno yet.

Will he be here at this time next year? I think he will. A bowl game should be easily reached and I think you could see him with UTEP for a couple more years.

Seats that are heating up
Mark Richt, Georgia (96-34, Ten Seasons)
You may think I'm crazy for thinking this but Mark Richt should be on the hot seat. The likely hood of him being fired is a very low chance, but it could happen....soon. If Georgia wants to be looked at as a top SEC team then they can't go 6-7 and lose in the Liberty Bowl. Richt's time wont be up after this year, but if another losing season is produced you can bet he will be in some warm water come next year.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson (19-15, Two+ Seasons)
Is it just me or is 19-15 not the great of a record? The cards have fallen in place for Dabo to have a great year. On NSD he got recruits left and right, but can he produce with them? I think he will but just like Mark Richt if another losing season is seen, maybe his time should be up. I like Clemson this year, not to win the ACC, but to definitely finish in the top 3.

Mike Sherman, Texas A&M (19-19, Three Seasons)
Sure Texas A&M had a sort of surprising 9-4 year last year, but that is no reason to not be thinking about a future firing. I think what boosters and the AD is looking for is another bowl game appearance, but this time a Win must be in place. They will definitely have to beat rivals Texas and Texas Tech again, and maybe pull another big upset on Oklahoma. I think Sherman will be fine, but this is an intriguing story.

Jeff Tedford, California (72-42, Nine Seasons)
If another losing season comes out of this year, maybe it will be time to let Jeff go. The big problem is that over the last 4 years the highest the bears finished in the Pac 10 was 4th. They need to get back to a bowl game this year, and if a win comes out of that then I think Jeff will have nothing to worry about.

What To Come (Blogging Wise)

I am so sorry about the huge delay in posts. I have not been able to post since National Signing Day. After my first year of Blogging I have realized what needs to be improved and what needs to be added. I expect big things for next year on this blog. First I want to start putting up "Video Blogs" each week. These video blogs will either be a look ahead to the future week of college football, a recap on the past week of college football, or a recap of breaking news stories around the world of college football. I plan on also posting more during the week. I will also be posting about college football games I attend in person some possible venues I will be going to this season are Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana, Notre Dame, Dayton, and Northern Illinois. I am going to make this blog in 2011-2012 a much more enjoyable blog to read. Thank you again. Many more posts to come, shortly.

Top 10 Recruiting Classes (So Far)

Well Not every top prospect has picked were he will be going to school next year, but plenty have done so already. The off season for college football has started and I believe it is time for some recruiting hype so here is my early Top 10 class rankings. By the way I use ESPN's 150 not Scout.Com.

1. Florida St: Signings 29, ESPN 150 12, Five * 1, Four * 17, Three * 7, Two * 4. Florida St is coming off a very strong season and Jimbo Fisher has really proven himself to the haters. After signing day Jimbo Fisher and his Seminoles deserve to be #1. He showed they can recruit and I expect nothing less then a ACC Ship.

2. Auburn: Signings 25, ESPN 150 8, Five * 1, Four * 15, Three * 10
. Auburn going to have to do a lot of rebuilding in the year to come, but this rock solid recruiting class will help ease there pain a little. Auburn easily has the best OL class in the nation. The possible loss of recruit Kouandjio will sting a little, but they are in good enough shape to succeed next year.

3. Alabama: Signings 24, ESPN 150 10, Five * 0, Four * 15, Three * 6, Two * 3. Nick Saban can always produce on the field as well as in the recruiting game. He picked up several key parts to help out his team for next year. No five * recruits is not really an issue considering they are hard to come by. Nick Saban went after big name guys again and as usual pulled them in. He is becoming one of the most consistent and talented recruiters. Bama is not done yet still racing to pick up No.1 Scout Jadeveon Clowney.

4. USC: Signings 31, ESPN 150 10, Five * 1, Four * 13, Three * 14, Two * 3
. USC once again came up on top of the recruiting rankings. It is just amazing how much talent they get, and to think of how many allegations and investigations went on there I would not want to go there as an athlete. Lane Kiffin just shows how good of a coach he is and how much Tennessee lost out on. Even with all the NCAA stuff floating around, Lane Kiffin scored again with one of the best in the nation.

5. Texas: Signings 22, ESPN 150 7, Five * 1, Four * 13, Three * 8. I think it is unbelievable what Mack Brown does with the Longhorns they had a terrible year this past season, but he can still pull in top recruits to come to Austin. I think it is amazing. The longhorns have to drop signing day came and went nothing changed in their recruits. I still believe Texas will compete well in the Big 12.

6. Georgia: Signings 25, ESPN 150 6, Five * 2, Four * 15, Three * 7, Two * 1. Georgia was one of the big winners nationally today. The SEC will be the toughest it has been in years with teams like Georgia, Bama, Auburn, LSU, and Florida. Georgia can finally show there ready to play with the big Dawgs and get back to those glory days. Oh and by the way if you haven't watched Isaiah Crowell’s way of choosing Georgia you better go watch it now. Priceless.

7. Ohio St.: Signings 22, ESPN 150 6, Five * 0, Four * 14, Three * 7, Two * 1 . The Buckeys like to recruit early and that’s when this class was built. Curtis Grant was a nice add on NSD, but not a big surprise. Jim Tressel once again put together a top 10 recruiting class and the No. 1 class in the Big Ten. This guy knows how to coach and recruit. Ohio St. will still have to play the first 5 games short of key players including Mr. Pryor.

8. Florida: Signings 18, ESPN 150 7, Five * 1, Four * 10, Three * 5, Two * 2. Will Muschamp’s first class hasn’t grabbed as many national headlines as in state rival Florida State, but there’s still a lot to like. Will built a solid foundation for his new program to build on. Not many people have Florida in the Top 10, but I think they are fairly deserving. Urban would be proud of Will's work.

9. Oklahoma: Signings 17, ESPN 150 6, Five * 0, Four * 9, Three * 8 . The Sooners added a few quality kids down the stretch. Oklahoma did most of its work before NSD so all signings were expected. The sooners are going to be back in business and that Red River Rivalry game will be something to watch next year.

10. Clemson: Signings 29, ESPN 150 7, Five * 2, Four * 7, Three * 16, Two * 4. The Tigers did a tremendous job closing today and was one of the day’s biggest winners. NSD belonged to Clemson. Recruits were flying to them from every angle. A battle atop of the ACC will be interesting next season. One more thing the ACC is back.

Just Missing The Cut:
• LSU: Signings 21, ESPN 150 5, Five * 2, Four * 5, Three * 14, Two * 1
• ND: Signings 23, ESPN 150 7, Five * 0, Four * 9, Three * 14
• Tennessee : Signings 27, ESPN 150 6, Five * 0, Four * 9, Three * 12, Two * 6
• Oregon: Signings 24, ESPN 150 5, Five * 0, Four * 10, Three * 8. Two * 5
• North Carolina: Signings 25, ESPN 150 3, Five * 0, Four * 12, Three * 10, Two * 3

Early Look Ahead To 2011-2012 Season

Top 5 Early Predictions:
1. Alabama- Bama had 22 first time starters this past season. They will lose explosive WR Julio Jones and QB Greg McElroy, but I think both of those can be replaced. Nick Saban is bringing in a quality recruiting class and I know they will have a great new QB in either AJ McCarron or Phillip Sims both will be sophomores next year, but AJ was 30-48 Att. for 389 Yds. Sims did not play in a game this year.
2. Oklahoma- Oklahoma will have a pretty hard schedule ahead, but I think they can manage. Especially when the Sooners return QB Landry Jones and their best WR Ryan Broyles. They do lose their best rusher DeMarco Murray. Bob Stoops can make next season a special thing for Oklahoma.
3. Oregon- Oregon will be in a much better position to try to get back into the National Championship then Auburn will. Chip Kelly, Darron Thomas, and LaMichael James will all be back for next season. That alone could help Oregon out. The ducks will have to replace Offensive line guys and starters on D too, but with a solid recruiting class coming in I think they can do it. Oregon has a favorable schedule with only 4 real road games, but do have a huge showdown with LSU on a neutral site in Texas. Oregon can defiantly be someone next year.
4. LSU- With 10 starters on the O and 8 Starters on the D coming back this might be LSU's year. Obviously loses on the D including Stud Patrick Patterson will hurt the Tigers. Qb Jordan Jefferson will be a much bigger threat. His decision making and accuracy will be a lot better this coming year. The only thing hindering the tigers is there difficult schedule with games against Oregon and in conference @ Bama and @ Miss. St.
5. Oklahoma St- Not many people believed Ok St would be as good as they were this past season after losing there starting QB and best WR. This year both of those position players will stay as Brandon Weeden will lead the offensive attack with his favorite target Justin Blackmon. The Cowboys do lose 6 Defensive starters, there key RB, and their Offensive Coordinator, but I think the Cowboys can do some real damage this year. The Cowboys have a favorable non-conference Schedule with one only tough game Vs. Arizona, but there conference schedule will be brutal with games @ Texas A&M, @ Texas, and @ Missouri. If they Cowboys can take care of business this year I think they are a legit National Title contender.