1. James Hurst, North Carolina-OT versus Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina-DE
The most talked about player in college football, besides Johnny Football, gets a highly anticipated matchup versus senior left tackle James Hurst of North Carolina. Clowney just recently battled with projected first rounder Taylor Lewan of Michigan. Clowney took care of business versus Lewan and now will face one of the best linemen in the ACC. 2. Gabe Jackson, Mississippi State-OG versus Calvin Barnett, Oklahoma State-DT Jackson is one of the top rated guards for the 2014 NFL Draft coming into this season. Calvin Barnett is a bit underrated playing for the offensive heavy Oklahoma State team but he is a sensational run stopper. I'm not 100% sure the two will line up against each other but if so it will definitely be a matchup to keep an eye on. 3. Devin Street, Pittsburgh-WR versus Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State-CB Devin Street may fly under the radar this season but could get his name on the map in week one versus preseason All-American Lamarcus Joyner. Joyner has flipped back and forth between safety and corner but will most likely matchup against the 6'3-192 pound senior. Both are sensational athletes! 4. Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech-QB versus Deion Belue, Alabama-CB It seems Alabama always has a corner each year with first round potential and this season it is Deion Belue. Belue is a JUCO transfer who had a nice 2012 season but now has the chance to shine in year two. Logan Thomas was one of the top QB draft prospects in the preseason of 2012 but he failed to live up to the first round expectations. If Thomas can produce against the almighty Tide defense watch out as he will shoot up the draft boards. 5. Zach Mettenberger, LSU-QB versus Jason Verrett, TCU-CB You may think I am crazy for putting Zach Mettenberger as a quarterback prospect but the upcoming senior showed glimpses of stardom in 2012. (Alabama, 24-35-298-1td & Mississippi State, 19-30-273-2td) Mettenberger will have the chance to prove himself against the always top ranked TCU defense. Jason Verrett is a ball hawk and will most likely be matched up against Mettenberger's favorite target Jarvis Landry. 1. Georgia's Defense
Georgia returns only 3 starters from last year's squad. The defense is still loaded with talent but will be tested as early as the first week against one of the best offenses in the country led by quarterback Tajh Boyd. The young secondary will be put to test early. 2. Notre Dame w/o QB Golson. Everett Golson will sit out the 2013 season being academically ineligible. Golson was in no way a gunslinger or flashy quarterback but as a freshman led the Irish to a national title game. Rees is the guy now and has 18 career starts so no significant drop-offs should be expected. Rees came in many times last season early in the schedule to put together game winning drives. Confidence and familiarity with the team will be necessary in the opener versus Temple with having to travel to Ann Arbor next weekend. 3. Southern Miss, first win since 2011? Southern Miss went a shocking 0-12 last season under first year head coach, now defensive coordinator at Auburn, Ellis Johnson. Southern Miss was in no way consistent on either side of the ball but should be more this season with former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken coming in and taking over while implementing a fast paced spread attack. The Eagles get Texas State at home Saturday and have a solid shot at starting the season with a win in which the fan base rightfully deserves. 4. Southern Cal Quarterbacks Even though the media "thinks" Southern Cal has to name an official starting quarterback this Thursday, there shouldn't be much of a rush on naming the head man. Leading candidate, Max Wittek, saw action in games last season filling in for injured Matt Barkley. Redshirt freshman Cody Kessler is also in contention. Both will play throughout the game but don't be surprised if an "official" starter isn' named until possibly the Utah State game or even the week the Trojans travel to division for Arizona State. My pick: Kessler 5. Possible Upsets -Tulsa over Bowling Green-Honestly, I am shocked that BGSU is favored in this game even though being at home. I have Tulsa winning by a touchdown, but I wouldn't surprised if Tulsa wins by double-digits. -Utah State over Utah-Many may look at this game and just go with the household name but Utah State, by the eye test and on paper, is the better team. Utah State won 27-20 in overtime last season. -Northern Illinois over Iowa-This may be the most popular upset pick this weekend due to the Huskies' success in 2012. Lynch returns after posting Heisman caliber numbers last year and I don't really see any possibilities of Iowa's defense containing the athletic quarterback. UTSA over New Mexico-Some may read over this one but this is a somewhat intriguing game to college football fans because UTSA went 8-4 last season but will possibly be a dog in every game this season by moving to the more competitive Conference USA. New Mexico has some questions across the board and UTSA returns many. I look for UTSA to get their lone win of the 2013 season here.
Every year I like to make a list for the teams I am pulling for this season as I most likely picked them to finish high or have them as one of my sleeper teams. No, I am not being a bandwagon fan (cannot stand those). I am rooting for these teams to do well this fall because of where I have them ranked in my final projections.
1. Louisville (My #3 ranked team in the country & AAC champion) I am a big fan of what Charlie Strong has done since taking over at Louisville. I am kind of biased picking the Cards in the top five because I am such a big fan of Strong. But with all favoritism aside, I believe the Cards will finish the season unbeaten and will win the conference championship in their last season before moving to the ACC. Even though most publications will have Louisville finishing unbeaten and winning the AAC, I have more pressure on me because I am most likely the only one who has them ranked in the top five! The Cards have a weak schedule in which may prevent them from being in the national title game. 2. Texas (My #5 ranked team in the country & Big 12 champion) I have picked Texas to win the Big 12 the past two seasons and they have failed to finish any higher than third in the final standings. This season I feel more comfortable in picking the Longhorns to finish first in the conference due to the amount of returning starters, overall experience, and the schedule. There is no excuse for Texas not to get to double-digit wins and pretty much no excuse not to win the title crown. The stakes will be high in Austin this season and I will be rooting for them to win throughout the season. 3. Fresno State (My #19 ranked team in the country & MWC champion) It's weird not picking Boise State to win the conference but their schedule is brutal but still are very capable in getting to double-digit wins in which they probably will achieve. Fresno State on the other hand, has a solid offense led by Derek Carr, David's brother, and they have the chance to pull an early win over Boise State on September 20th in Fresno. I rarely ever pick against Boise State so I will be rooting for the Bulldogs big time this season especially on that September 20th matchup. 4. UCLA (My #20 ranked team in the country & Pac-12 South champion) Jim Mora, Jr. seems to have brought the swagger back in LA and many are buying into the system and jumping on the bandwagon (Myself included). UCLA went into the first Stanford game 9-2 then lost that game 17-35 then went onto lose the last two postseason games. Brett Hundley burst onto the scene last year as a redshirt freshman and is my dark horse to win the Heisman. UCLA faces a harsh road schedule with away games at Nebraska, Utah, Stanford, Oregon, Arizona, and Southern Cal (Yikes). But, I believe the Bruins will finish with a two-loss conference record and another trip to the Pac-12 championship game. 5. Miami, Florida (My #23 ranked team in the country & ACC Coastal champion) It was amazing the work Al Golden and the Hurricanes did last fall. Early in the season on my weekly blog post I said it would be very difficult for Miami to get to a .500 record. The Canes managed to win seven games with a tie for first in the Coastal division. This year I project the Canes to win the Coastal and play in the ACC title game versus Clemson. The first two conference games will be crucial with a home game versus Georgia Tech and a road trip to North Carolina on a Thursday night. I recently just bought a Miami t-shirt so I guess you could really say I am pulling for the Canes this season! WEEK ONE SPREAD Interesting Stats Average Home Favored team w/ spread (30): 16 Average Away Favored team w/ spread (7): 6 Average Neutral Favored team (4): 10 Number of games involving FCS team: 30 Highest Spread: Wisconsin over Massachusetts (44.5) Closet Spread: Colorado State Thursday-August 29th SOUTH CAROLINA 11 North Carolina MINNESOTA 14 Unlv Tulsa 3 BOWLING GREEN UCF 22.5 Akron UTAH 3 Utah State VANDERBILT 3 Mississippi FRESNO STATE 10 Rutgers Southern Cal 22.5 HAWAII Friday-August 30th MICHIGAN STATE 27.5 Western Michigan Texas Tech 5.5 SMU Saturday-August 31st WISCONSIN 44.5 Massachusetts MICHIGAN 31.5 Central Michigan OHIO STATE 36 Buffalo NC STATE 13.5 Louisiana Tech MARYLAND 19.5 Florida International IOWA 3 Northern Illinois NOTRE DAME 29.5 Temple Byu 3.5 VIRGINIA Alabama 19.5 Virginia Tech TROY 5.5 Uab Cincinnati 10 PURDUE Kentucky 4.5 Western Kentucky MARSHALL 18 Miami (Ohio) Oklahoma State 12.5 Mississippi State OKLAHOMA 24 La. Monroe SOUTHERN MISS 7 Texas State TEXAS 42 New Mexico State TEXAS A&M 26.5 Rice FLORIDA 23.5 Toledo ARKANSAS 11 La. Lafayette AUBURN 15 Washington State NORTH TEXAS 15 Idaho Penn State 7 Syracuse NEBRASKA 28 Wyoming NEW MEXICO 3 Utsa Georgia 1.5 CLEMSON Lsu 4 Tcu WASHINGTON 3.5 Boise State UCLA 19.5 Nevada Northwestern 6 CALIFORNIA Monday-September 1st LOUISVILLE 20.5 Ohio COLORADO STATE 2 Colorado Florida State 10 PITTSBURGH No lines but are favored Thursday-August 29th KENT STATE over Liberty WAKE FOREST over Presbyterian INDIANA over Indiana State BALL STATE over Illinois State SOUTH ALABAMA over Southern Utah CONNECTICUT over Towson MIDDLE TENNESSEE over W. Carolina TULANE over Jackson State Friday-August 30th SAN JOSE STATE over CS Sacremento GEORGIA STATE over Samford ARMY over Morgan State HOUSTON over Southern Am KANSAS STATE over North Dakota St ARIZONA over Arizona State Saturday-August 31st ILLINOIS over Southern Illinois GEORGIA TECH over Elon BOSTON COLLEGE over Villanova WEST VIRGINIA over William & Mary MISSOURI over Murray State DUKE over North Carolina Central OREGON over Nicholls State OREGON STATE over E. Washington EASTERN MICHIGAN over Howard SOUTH FLORIDA over McNeese State ECU over Old Dominion ARKANSAS STATE over Ark Pine-Bluff TENNESSEE over Austin Peay BAYLOR over Wofford IOWA STATE over Northern Iowa SAN DIEGO STATE over E. Illinois AAC
Conference Champion: Louisville Sleeper: UCF Offensive MVP: Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville, QB Defensive MVP: Yawin Smallwood, Conncecticut, LB Newcomer of the Year: Jeff Luc, Cincinnati, LB Teams in my Top 26: #3 Louisville ACC Atlantic Champion: Clemson Coastal Champion: Miami Conference Champion: Clemson Sleeper: Virginia Tech Offensive MVP: Tajh Boyd, Clemson, QB Defensive MVP: Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State, CB Newcomer of the Year: Taquan Mizzell, Virginia, RB Teams in my Top 26: #10 Clemson, #13 Florida State, #23 Miami, #26 North Carolina Big Ten Legends Champion: Michigan Leaders Champion: Ohio State Conference Champion: Ohio State Sleeper: Northwestern Offensive MVP: Braxton Miller, Ohio State, QB Defensive MVP: Ryan Shazier, Ohio State, LB Newcomer of the Year: Derrick Green, Michigan, RB Teams in my Top 26: #2 Ohio State, #16 Michigan, #17 Nebraska, #24 Wisconsin Big 12 Conference Champion: Texas Sleeper: TCU Offensive MVP: Lache Seastrunk, Baylor, RB Defensive MVP: Devonte Fields, TCU, DE Newcomer of the Year: Clint Trickett, West Virginia, QB Teams in my Top 26: #5 Texas, #8 Oklahoma State, #21 Oklahoma Conference USA East Champion: Marshall West Champion: Tulsa Conference Champion: Tulsa Sleeper: Southern Miss Offensive MVP: Rakeem Cato, Marshall, QB Defensive MVP: Phillip Gaines, Rice, CB Newcomer of the Year: Angelo Jean-Louis, Marshall, WR Teams in my Top 26: none MAC East Champion: Ohio West Champion: Northern Illinois Conference Champion: Northern Illinois Sleeper: Buffalo Offensive MVP: Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois, QB Defensive MVP: Khalil Mack, Buffalo, LB Newcomer of the Year: Brogan Roback, Eastern Michigan, QB Teams in my Top 26: #18 Northern Illinois MWC Mountain Champion: Boise State West Champion: Fresno State Conference Champion: Fresno State Sleeper: San Jose State Offensive MVP: Derek Carr, Fresno State, QB Defensive MVP: Demarcus Lawrence, Boise State, DE Newcomer of the Year: Josh Quezada, Fresno State, RB Teams in my Top 26: #19 Fresno State, #22 Boise State Pac-12 North Champion: Stanford South Champion: UCLA Conference Champion: Stanford Sleeper: Arizona State Offensive MVP: Maracus Mariota, Oregon, QB Defensive MVP: Anthony Barr, UCLA, LB Newcomer of the Year: Jared Goff, California, QB Teams in my Top 26: #6 Stanford, #7 Oregon, #20 UCLA, #25 Southern Cal SEC East Champion: Georgia West Champion: Alabama Conference Champion: Alabama Sleeper: Auburn Offensive MVP: Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M, QB Defensive MVP: Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina, DE Newcomer of the Year: Brandon Williams, Texas A&M, RB//Austyn Carta-Samuels, Vanderbilt, QB Teams in my Top 26: #1 Alabama, #4 Texas A&M, #9 Georgia, #11 South Carolina, #12 LSU, #15 Florida Sun Belt Conference Champion: Louisiana Sleeper: South Alabama Offensive MVP: Antonio Andrews, WKU, RB Defensive MVP: Andrew Jackson, WKU, LB Newcomer of the Year: Kaleb Blanchard, South Alabama, RB Teams in my Top 26: none Independents Best Team: Notre Dame Sleeper: Army Offensive MVP: Cody Hoffman, BYU, WR Defensive MVP: Kyle Van Noy, BYU, LB Newcomer of the Year: Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame, LB Teams in my Top 26: #14 Notre Dame What are some of the upsets you have for this season? It's hard to call an upset at this time; Heck, the season hasn't even started yet! But here are some of the games I have noted to myself as potential upsets this season: NORTHWESTERN over Ohio State MIAMI over Florida Ole Miss over TEXAS Arizona State over Notre Dame (neutral) TCU over LSU (neutral) Ohio over LOUISVILLE INDIANA over Missouri Who are some of your sleeper teams this season? Each year I will put out my "Top Shock Teams" but have yet to do so yet. So here is a list to show who are some of my potential sleepers: Sleeper teams for national title: Florida State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Miami, Clemson (if they count) Non-BCS teams to contend: Northern Illinois, Ohio, Fresno State, Tulsa, San Jose State Just some teams to watch out for: Northwestern, Michigan State, Indiana, Mississippi, TCU, Arizona State, Washington, UCF How long will it take the Ole Miss recruiting class to make an impact? I believe immediately. There are many gems in this class that have the capability to compete right away. Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell could be starting this season along with defensive end Robert Nkemdiche. Offensive tackles Laremy Tunsil and Austin Golson have already been taking snaps with the second team and look to be first off the bench. Running backs Kailo Moore and Mark Dodson, Jr. also look to play immediately. Who are your biggest non-SEC title contenders? Ohio State, Louisville, Texas, Clemson, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Oregon Who will be the Auburn starting quarterback? I don't feel 100% confident in picking a starter but I would have to say Nick Marshall. Marshall already has the college football experience and should fit in nicely with Malzahn. The other candidates have too many kinks to work out. Jonathan Wallace would be my second guess. What are your predictions on Miami? I will be a big supporter of Miami this season. I am buying into the program as they look to be on the rise with Al Golden. Stephen Morris and Duke Johnson along with eight returning starters will have the offense rolling like 2012. (440ypg, 31.4ppg) The defense will be the main concern as the Canes averaged a very poor 486 ypg last season. The Canes have a manageable schedule but have tough road games at Florida State and North Carolina. If the defense improves, I look for Miami to be much more improved and could possibly get to double digit wins! What do you think of the NCAA cutting off relations with EA Sports? I think this is a topic that could be a bit blown out of proportion. EA Sports will no longer be called "NCAA Football" but just simply "College Football" but the main concern comes with teams choosing to be featured on the game. Personally, I believe that not much will change but it'll be interesting to see how the teams and conferences react when they have the control to be featured in the game. How will Johnny Manziel respond this season after all the criticism he is receiving regarding his off the field issues? First off, regardless of the allegations and mishaps this offseason, I don't believe Manziel will match or top last season's statistics. Manziel is, let's say, a very decorated college athlete. But really, he is just being a college kid. As of now, he hasn't been caught doing anything illegal but has been accused of many infractions. Currently, Manziel is dealing with controversy over signed items but has not yet been proven innocent or guilty. I don't really see Johnny "Football" being bothered by any of the off the field issues while he is on the field but I hope he is prepared for all the questions and false statements he will face throughout this season. There's a big target on his back this year!
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