What’s that sound?  That’s the sound of thousands of fans in Starkville clanging their cow bells… after their girlfriends took them off first.

What’s that sound?  That’s the sound of thousands of fans in Boston actually cheering this summer.

What’s that sound?  It’s the sound of a final whistle blowing, letting Temple or Buffalo fans know one team just won a game.

What’s that sound?  That’s the sound of a QB controversy being shipped off through the cornfields in Nebraska.

What’s that sound?  That’s the sound of a blogger frantically flipping channels, frantically changing the picture in picture to watch the college football action that kicked off this evening.  I don’t think I’m alone here when I say this is the start of 5 of the better days of the year.  Shouldn’t this time just be declared a national holiday.  I’m comfortable with having 5 days off at the start of September and 4 days off when the NCAA tournament starts.

The first half of the inagural game of the 2006 college football season is coming to a close, with BC leading the Central Michigan Chippewas 17-3.  Matt Ryan is getting better as the game has gone on.  Why Quinton Porter started over Ryan last season, I’ll never know.  On a tangent, it was good to see Central Michigan and the Chippewa tribe, whatever may be left of them, stand their ground against the NCAA last season, as the brainless entity attempted to force all teams to drop their Native American mascots.  Its meant as respect, and if the tribes are for the name, what is the harm?  Meanwhile, Illinois’ mascot is being retired thanks to Myles Brand.

Finally, what’s that sound?  That’s the sound of the ole Basset Hound Lou Holtz and Mark May making as little sense as possible.  OK, so maybe there are sounds I could do without to start the college football season… but I’d rather watch muted football than another Grey’s Anatomy rerun (sorry Brian).

The In The Bleachers Podcast celebrates its second season this week as they look at a slate of games for the first week. The games of the week for the opening week are Nevada at Fresno State, UAB at Oklahoma, California at Tennessee, Notre Dame at Georgia Tech, and Florida State at Miami. Also discussed are the coaches on the hot seat, overhyped teams, which team(s) will have the biggest turn around this season, and which teams will see the greatest decrease in wins from last year.

ITB released its top 10 poll. If you would like to join in on the top 10 poll each week send an email to inthebleachers@gmail.com. Also use that address for any questions for the show.

True freshman CJ Gable could make history come saturday as he could be the first true freshman to start at running back for the USC Trojans. The person expected to be the starting running back, Chauncey Washington, will miss the opener at Arkansas with a hamstring injury.

In High School Gable had two seasons where he rushed for over 2000 yards and had 34 touchdowns in his senior season at Sylmar.

The Heisman Pundit recently named his Top 10 canidates for this years award, and I must say that I am really impressed with the fact that he has gotten the winner right the past two year. While I agree with some of his guys there are a few that I have a differing opinion. So without further wait, here is Dr. Sak’s Top 10 Heisman Canidates.

1. QB Brady Quinn, Sr, Notre Dame - Quinn plays for the more publicized school in the country right now and is the head of probably one of the top 2 offenses in the country. If he has a bad year he will still throw for over 3000 yards and over 20 tds. I believe that if Notre Dame is playing for the National Title, Brady Quinn will win the Heisman.

2. RB Adrian Peterson, Jr, Oklahoma - Peterson will have to carry the load for the Sooners, especially early with the loss of QB Rhett Bomar. The maturation of Paul Thompson will play a key role in Peterson’s heisman chances. If Oklahoma is able to pass the ball, it will not allow teams to stack the box and stop Peterson. Adrian must stay healthy, but even with all the injuries last year he still had over 1000 yards.

3. RB Kenny Irons, Sr, Auburn - Last year at this time Irons was the third string running back for the Tigers. He ran for over 100 yards in each of the last six Auburn, which is a nice feat since the SEC boasted a lot of good defenses last year. One of them being Alabama at the end of the year. Irons will be the feature back again this year and should improve on his 1200 yards rushing.

4. QB Troy Smith, Sr, Ohio State - For all intensive purposes, Troy Smith is the reason Ohio State is ranked #1 in both polls. Smith got better as the year went on last year and had a great performance in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame. Many are comparing his skills to that of Vince Young. He has two games early that will be nationally televised (Texas & Penn State), that if he plays good in those it will vault him to the top of the Heisman list.

5. WR Dwayne Jarrett, Jr, USC - WIth all the losses offensively, Jarrett and fellow WR Smith will be looked upon for production. QB John David Booty, although inexperienced, has been in the program for three years and was a blue chip recruit out of high school should be able to get Jarrett the ball. Jarrett will also benefit with having Smith on the other side of the field, so he will not receive the double teams. I can see Jarrett with a 1000 yard receiving year and 10 plus touchdowns.

6. RB Marshawn Lynch, Jr, California - I am going to be honest I really didn’t know much about Lynch before a few days ago. But in 10 games last year he rushed for over 1200 yards and with the strength of Cal’s offense (and relative weakness of the Pac 10 defenses) he should have no problems surprassing those numbers. If Cal somehow beats USC, Lynch will get a huge boost with the Heisman voters.

7. QB Chris Leak, Sr, Florida - Even though some Gator fans think Leak had a bad year last year, his numbers actually improved from the year before. Leak is on pace to have a 3000 yard passing year with over 20 touchdowns. His familiarity with Urban Meyer’s spread-option offense should help him this year. If the Gators get through a tough SEC, Leak will be the one leading them but if they fall early expect Tiebow to come in and Leak’s Heisman hopes to go bye bye.

8. QB Brian Brohm,, Jr, Louisville - I was a little reluctant to put Brohm high up if even at all on this list since he is only 8 months removed from tearing his ACL. His mobility might not be back to 100% but his throwing is. He is one of the 5 best QB’s in the country and he will have the opportunity to rack up some big numbers playing the the Big East. The big match up will be against WVU and if they come through that, Louisville and Brohm could potentially be looking at a National Title date.

9. RB Steve Slaton, So, West Virginia - It was between him or Pat White to put on this list and White’s lack of passing skills last year made my decision for Slaton a little easier. WVU will rely on both players but Slaton is an exceptional back. It will be a little difficult for him to win this award since he is a sophomore but people cannot over look 1100 yards and 19 touchdowns he had last season. WVU’s schedule should allow him to rack up those yards close to 2000.

10. LB Paul Posluszny, Sr, Penn State - It will be difficult for him to win the award but I wanted to include at least one defensive player in my initial top ten. Last year Poz became the first player to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the week for 3 consecutive weeks. He also won the Butkus and Bednarik last year. He is a little over 80 tackles away from being the All Time leader at Penn State for tackles, and if he reaches 100 tackles this year he will be come the first player in PSU history to have 3 seasons over 100 tackles. WIth all the great linebackers that came from Penn State he is the best one…according to Hall of Famer Jack Ham.

Honorable Mentions: RB Michael Bush, QB Pat White, QB Chad Henne, RB Jamaal Charles, QB Drew Weatherford, QB Kyle Wright

Each Tuesday Dr. Sak makes his is weekly predictions for the 5 biggest games in  College Football, on RSW.

This week’s Games:

Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech
Tennessee vs. California
FSU vs. Miami
Virgina vs. Pitt
Akron vs. PSU

Dr. Sak - ND, Cal, FSU, Pitt, PSU

http://rizzosports.blogspot.com/2006/08/college-football-picks-are-back.html

I’m going to go off topic for a paragraph or two here, please bear with me.

My wife Sarah and I lost a dear friend on Sunday. Elizabeth Wiggin(5th one down), was a remarkable woman with a heart of gold and sense of beauty that was extremly deep. She died at the much too young age of 37 after spinal surgery. We are both deeply shocked and saddened by her untimely passing.

With my time helping her family through this, I will not be on the podcast this week, but that doesn’t mean I can’t discuss this weeks games.

UAB-Oklahoma

This should be a no brainer, even with all the trouble during Oklahoma’s training camp. Oklahoma is a top ten team and if things go their way, a darkhorse for the National Championship. This is a game they must win, and win handily. Oklahoma now depends on Adrian Peterson to carry that offense. The defense is fine, but will need to over compensate this week until the revamped offense can get on the same page. UAB is an improving team, but not in Oklahoma’s wheelhouse. Sooners easy.

Nevada-Fresno State

Two very good mid-major teams facing off to start the season. Fresno State is coming off a wonderful year, culminating with a near upset of Southern Cal. Nevada, on the other hand, is a rising team that will put fear into their opposition. I think that this week, the established Bulldogs will prevail. If Nevada prevails, watch out. They will be the people’s choice for crashing the BCS.

Notre Dame-Georgia Tech

The Irish are high on everyones list for BCS glory this season and they have an offense that can score on command. But, and we maybe talking J-Lo size here, they could not stop th pass last year and it burned them. Now, with an offense that will be under the Weis system for a second year, Notre Dame opens on the road in Atlanta facing an above averge Georgia Tech team.

ND has a brutal schedule, with Penn State, Michigan, and Southern Cal on it. If the Irish want the game in Los Angeles to mean anything, then they must win this. Too close to call here, ND in a squeaker. The ACC as a whole is deeper this year.

Cal-Tennessee

There are a ton of things for these two teams to prove as 2006 opens up. First, if Cal is a serious contender for the Pac-10 or even the national title, then it must win here. Second, the Vols spent 2005 looking like a mediocre team. If they want to return to the center of the national spotlight, they must send the Bears back to Berkley as losers.

There is a lot of personal pride on the line in this game as losses by either team will send a lot of doubt about how well either team can compete, moreso for Tenessee. The SEC promises to be even more brutal as a whole this year as suposed to last. If it were a golf course, the SEC is the US Open at Winged Foot. Par an extraordinary score. The Vols are not getting a ton of respect, win and by a healthy margin and the SEC gets even tighter.

For Cal, a loss really does not hurt their BCS chances. The Pac-10 is like the PGA was at Medinah this year. You play patient, you score. Cal can lose two games and make the BCS, provided they beat a team that USC loses too. This is about establishing a presense in Berkley, not rekindling an era gone by, like in Knoxville.

I don’t like betting against the Vols at home, but if the Bears win then watch how much attention the Pac-10 gets. Cal, by a hair.

Florida State-Miami

I don’t like rivalry games to start the season. This, along with Sunday’s Louisville-Kentucky game, is a rivalry game. Miami has a lot of dirty laundry being made publuc as a wave of players have been suspended. FSU brings back Drew Weatherford to play quarterback. Those two things tip the scale heavily towards FSU, and they win by double digits.

My Top Ten(with a day to think of it):

1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. LSU
4. Southern Cal(USC plays in South Carolina, Southern Cal plays in Los Angeles)
5. Notre Dame
6. Florida
7. West Virginia
8. Auburn (They really won’t run the table. Sorry, Brian.)
9. Oklahoma
10. Army (They are the first team to get a bowl bid.)
11. Penn State

Enjoy the games.

So tell me, my friends, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!

From The Sports Network:

Boston College at Central Michigan, 6:00 PM - G5-14s (ESPN 2)
FIU at Middle Tennessee, 7:00 PM - ESPN-Regional, C-SET
Stony Brook at Hofstra, 7:00 PM - FOX-New York
Rhode Island at Connecticut, 7:30 PM - YES
Northwestern at Miami-Ohio, 7:30 PM - ESPN U
South Carolina at Mississippi State, 8:00 PM - G5-9s (ESPN)
Eastern Washington at Oregon State, 10:00 PM - FOX-Northwest
Northern Arizona at Arizona State, 10:00 PM - FOX-Arizona
UTEP at San Diego State, 10:30 PM - CSTV

I felt like I was missing out on something by not putting out a preseason poll. I ranked the teams based on how good I believe they are, and I didnt factor in how hard or easy their schedule looks. Below is my preseason, Top 25 poll. Feel free to comment and rip it apart.

1 Auburn
2 Texas
3 West Virginia
4 USC
5 Ohio State
6 Florida State
7 LSU
8 Michigan
9 Notre Dame
10 Miami (Fla)
11 Florida
12 Georgia
13 Oklahoma
14 Penn State
15 Clemson
16 Virginia Tech
17 Oregon
18 Louisville
19 Nebraska
20 Arizona State
21 Iowa
22 TCU
23 Alabama
24 Iowa State
25 Boston College

Yes you read that right, in late August the Army Black Knights have received a bowl invitation from the Poinsettia Bowl if they win the needed 6 games. The Poinsettia Bowl is played in San Diego on Dec. 19 at Qualcomm Stadium and it pits an at-large team against a team from the Mountain West Conference.

Last year the Black Knights started the season 0-6 before winning their next 4 games. They finished the year with a loss to their rival Navy, but coach Bobby Ross is optimistic about this year’s team. Under an NCAA bylaw that went into effect earlier this month, a team can go to a bowl game with a 6-6 record if a contract is in place before the first game of the season.

The Sam Houston State Bearkats have found a new quarterback as former Sooners QB Rhett Bomar enrolled at the University today. Since the Bearkats are Division1-AA, Bomar will not have to sit out a year, and is eligible to play right away. Bomar will have to go through a process by the NCAA reinstatement committee before suiting up, but that seems more of a formality than anything.