| Preaseason Commentary |
| For those of you who are already big fans of college football, we've made it to the beginning of another great season. For those who aren't big fans, what are you waiting for? College football is the greatest sport there is. No other sport combines drama and tradition so perfectly. Get into it. Now. I get tingles when I hear "Hail to the Victors" or the Notre Dame Victory March. I stare in awe at the Red Sea in Lincoln. I wonder which team has an outside shot at the BCS, how many kicks Virginia Tech will block this year, and how Florida can compete without Spurrier. If you're lost, consider this page your starting point. Ranking the Conferences: 1. Big 12 - From top to bottom, the best conference in all the land. There are national title contenders near the top such as Texas and Oklahoma, a great "middle-of-the-pack" featuring Colorado, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas Tech. An absolute beast of a conference. If a team emerges from Big 12 play unbeaten, there is no doubt they should be in the Fiesta Bowl playing for the national championship. 2. SEC - Solid conference from top to bottom, but lacks the national title contenders of the Big 12. 3. Pac-10 - Seven legitimately tough teams including a possible Fiesta dark horse in Washington State. 4. Big 10 - The Big 10 has slipped in recent years, but don't expect it to fall any further than this. Always tough. 5. ACC - The ACC is a conference on the rise. This year should separate the contenders from the pretenders. If teams like Wake Forest can continue their rise, the ACC could jump into the top three conferences in the country. 6. Big East - Miami lives here. Virginia Tech, Pitt, and Boston College do as well. Syracuse is falling, and the rest of the conference has work to do. 7. Mountain West - A well-rounded league with no true national powers. Colorado State, Utah and BYU are no slouches, though. 8. Conference USA - Louisville looks to enter the BCS fray, and Southern Miss is always a tough opponent. TCU, East Carolina and Cincinnati are other competitors in a decent conference. 9. Mid-American - Marshall has been good for longer than you think, ditto for Toledo. MAC teams have a tendency to pull upsets. 10. WAC - Not bad, really, what with Fresno State and Hawaii and Boise State. Just not good. 11. Sun Belt - When Middle Tennessee is your best team, this is where your conference is ranked. Heisman Trophy: Four QB's, Rex Grossman, Ken Dorsey, Byron Leftwich, Dave Ragone, and RB Anthony Davis all get invited. Grossman gets the trophy. My All-America Team Offense QB: Byron Leftwich, Marshall SR RB: Anthony Davis, Wisconsin SO RB: Onterrio Smith, Oregon JR WR: Charles Rogers, Michigan St. JR WR: Roy Williams, Texas JR OT: Jon Stinchcomb, Georgia SR OG: Derrick Dockery, Texas SR C: Brett Romberg, Miami SR OG: Todd Wike, Maryland SR OT: Kwame Harris, Stanford JR TE: Trent Smith, Oklahoma SR K: Damon Duval, Auburn SR KR: Chad Owens, Hawaii SO Defense DE: Jimmy Wilkerson, Oklahoma JR DT: William Joseph, Miami SR DT: Jimmy Kennedy, Penn State SR DE: Dan Klecko, Temple SR LB: Boss Bailey, Georgia SR LB: E.J. Henderson, Maryland SR LB: Jonathan Vilma, Miami JR CB: Dennis Weathersby, Oregon State SR CB: Nathan Vasher, Texas JR SS: Mike Doss, Ohio State SR FS: Stuart Schweigert, Purdue JR P: Brooks Barnard, Maryland SR BCS Bowls: Fiesta (National Championship): Oklahoma over Miami Orange: Florida State over Louisville Rose: Washington State over Ohio State Sugar: Texas over Tennessee I really hope my Fiesta picks are wrong, because it's just not the game I want to see. I feel like such a tool picking Oklahoma to win it all, but I guess it's just the right thing to do. I'd love to see a team like Washington State, Louisville or Marshall wreak havoc on the BCS, and don't be surprised if it happens. Now let's watch some college pigskin, shall we? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Sage Phil |
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| The Real Phil |
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| The best part of this picture: Arun's glasses-laden head in the back |