For the incoming class of freshman, if they have not already reported to school for summer sessions, they will be there within a week or two. In that time they will get acclimated with the rigors of being a student and being to work out with their new teammates. So if you’ve been busy getting your freshman ready for school…here is what you missed in the past week.

What we’ve been working on:

We once again went out and got you another quality guest for the podcast. ESPN’s Bruce Feldman joined us last week to talk SEC and Pac 10 football. The podcast is pretty USC heavy, but when you are annually one of the best teams in the country, who has won 7 straight Pac Ten titles, and have one of the hottest starting quarterback battles going on…well you are going to hear about it. For you SEC fans, Bruce has some interesting thoughts on the SEC West, which should be a fun race to watch this year.

Just so you don’t think we are going to rest on our past accomplishments, Adam and I have another great guest lined up for a podcast which will be ready for your listening pleasure tomorrow morning. We feel bad that we have neglected the Big XII, so tomorrow you will hear Adam and I, along with The Wiz from The Wiz of Odds, discuss the Big XII. On paper it looks as if both the North and South could go down to the wire again when deciding who will play in the Big XII Championship game. Also, we’ll pick his brain about some National News.

Adam has continued to countdown his list of Top 50 Best Non-BCS Players. In his latest installment, Bryan Anderson, a wide receiver from Central Michigan is his choice at #34. Something tells me that Anderson will have a pretty big effect on another player that has yet to be named on this list.

Navy only returns 23% of last year’s offensive yards with potentially NFL bound players Shun White and Eric Kettani gone. Adam sits down and talks with Bobby Doyle about the endless barrage of questions he and the other Navy slotbacks are getting on how they are going to replace 77% of last year’s offense which has now graduated.

For the second year in a row the Big East Conference looks to be wide open. A lot of experts think it is going to come down between Pittsburgh and Rutgers, but neither are very solid under center. Brian talks about which players have the leg up to win the quarterback battles at both schools.

What we’ve been reading:

On a sad note, yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of Randy Walkers passing. Over at Lake The Post they are asking for a moment of silence to remember his passing.

He will go down in history for the murder that he did did not commit, and will be forever known as Nordberg in the Naked Gun movies; but before all of that he was a Heisman Trophy winner. Prolate Spheroid rehashes OJ’s career at USC.

Bruce Feldman picks the top 10 toughest non-conference schedule. A few teams that I mentioned made the list. But one team you won’t find on that list, who is Phil Steele’s #1 surprise team, the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Adam has talked about reviving a countdown he started last year where he picked the Top 10 potential upsets of a FCS team over a FBS team. Double T Nation has an early preview of the Red Raiders game against the North Dakota State Fighting Sioux. I am fairly certain this game will not make Adam’s list.

The Georgia Bulldogs suffered a heartbreaking and somewhat surprising upset loss to their rival Georgia Tech last year. Paul Westerdawg of the Georgia Sports Blog gives his thoughts on how to defend Tech’s option.

The Quad continues their countdown from 120 to 1. Yesterday they previewed the Navy Midshipmen at number 64.

Annually one of the best offensive line units in the country resides in the state of Oklahoma. The Crimson and Cream Machine previews this year’s crop of linemen for the Sooners.

NCAA Football 2010 comes out for video game consoles on July 14th. Over the Pylon has a sneak peak of Ball State’s Scheumann Stadium and Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium.

When Coach Wannstedt first arrived at Pitt, he was pulling in one good recruiting class after another, but after only going to one bowl game in his tenure, he finds himself still chasing a 82 year old man who is stealing recruits out of his own back yard. Recently, Wannstedt and the Panthers got a commitment from TJ Clemmings, a defensive tackle from New Jersey. But according to Zags Blog and Clemmings he did not commit.

Finally, I leave you with a sign of the Apocalypse. Evan Berry the younger brother of Tennessee safety Eric Berry has verbally committed to the Vols. Did I mention that Evan was 13 years old?

The Big East is one of two BCS conferences, where in my opinion, the race is so wide open that up to 4 teams could win the conference and find themselves playing in a BCS Bowl. However, two of those teams, Rutgers and Pittsburgh, have a little uncertainty as to who will be taking the snaps from under center this fall.

Pittsburgh Panthers:
Candidates: Bill Stull, Pat Bostick, & Tino Sunseri

I said this a few times last season, if the Pitt Panthers had a quarterback that was even average, they would have easily won the Big East. With the departure of LeSean McCoy, that need for their quarterback to produce became even greater.

Last year Bill Stull was the starter for the majority of the season, but his play was less than stellar throwing for 2300 yards but 9 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. So why not turn to Bostick? Well Bostick came in with a lot of fan fare, being ranked the #6 quarterback recruit in the 2007 class, but his lack of arm strength and mobility has kept him behind Stull. Bostick also has had trouble not turning the ball over; last year he throw 1 touchdown but had 4 interceptions.

The wild card in this scenario is redshirt freshman Tino Sunseri. Sunseri played locally at Pittsburgh Central Catholic and has a nice upside, but is he ready to be in the spotlight? This is a young qb that is solid in all aspects, will not make mistakes, but won’t exactly take the game on his shoulders and win games for you. This might be exactly the quarterback Pittsburgh needs for the future. I don’t expect Sunseri to win the starting job this fall, but if the Panthers begin a losing streak, the job might be given to him.

I feel that Stull will be the starter come the beginning of the season, however, one of the other two (Sunseri or Bostick) will get some reps.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights:
Candidates: Domenic Natale, Jabu Lovelace, D.C. Jefferson, & Tom Savage

Rutgers fans are really excited for true freshman Tom Savage, but they might have to wait another year for him to crack the starting lineup. Savage was at spring practice, but since he was still enrolled in High School, all he did was watch and attend film sessions. It will be very hard for any QB to unseat an upperclassman by just practicing in the fall.

Natale, a transfer from Michigan state battled Jefferson in spring practice, but neither were good enough to have head coach Greg Schiano come out and say that one was the starter. The other horse in this race, Lovelace, did not practice at all during the spring since he was healing from ankle surgery.

Schiano did state that Natale had the best spring and highlighted that since he did not turn the ball over in the spring game, he had a leg up over Jefferson who has a ton of athletic ability. With the uncertainty of Lovelace’s ankle, and the learning curve Savage needs to overcome, it could very well be Natale’s team to start the season.

For some of you who were wondering, and also for those of you who weren’t, yes I am still alive. Thanks to Adam for dropping in his 2 cents here and there along the way while I recover from real life duties and real life injuries that included a separated shoulder. It’s hell turning 30. Speaking of injuries, I’d like to wish Spencer Hall from EDSBS a quick and speedy recovery as he hurt his back from a pull up accident. No word on if those pull ups were in attempt of actual exercise or to get the last beer off the top shelf.

Special thanks to Dr. Montgomery for taking good care of me!

Getting to the world of college football; as Adam mentioned, the bible of college football otherwise known as Phil Steele’s College Football Preview will be out in stores on June 9th. If you have never heard of Phil Steele, you must live under a rock because his magazine is THE BEST preview magazine and it is a must have for all statistical junkies like myself. Nothing is confirmed yet but hopefully we will have Mr. Steele joining us on a podcast in the near future.

Speaking of Adam, be sure to head over to GoMids to check out some of his latest work. Yesterday he got to talk to Navy’s defensive coordinator Buddy Green and the turnaround in his defense from the 2007 season to the 2008 season.

In the news of transfer quarterbacks not named Greg Paulus, our friends over at Boiled Sports have posted that former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Robert Marve will choose the Boilers over Tennessee. Joel at Rocky Top Talk is not as confident that Marve will pick the Vols, but he is not ready to throw in the towel just yet. The official announcement will come this Friday.

The College Football Cafeteria has an interesting piece about my favorite college football coach, Joe Paterno. Recently Paterno went on record saying that the Big Ten needs to get a 12th team in order to have a conference championship game and stay relevant in the voters minds later in the season. Yes this is all true, but I really believe the Big Ten brass is still holding onto a pipe dream that Notre Dame will some day join the conference, and with the new deal that they just signed with NBC a year ago, I do not see that happening anytime soon.

On second thought his release is a bit wide

Other schools such as Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Rutgers were also bounced around. You all know how I feel about the Big Ten, but when you look at Big East basketball, really only the ACC rivals it. I cannot see either Pittsburgh or Syracuse leaving the Big East since they are such strong basketball schools to move to the Big Ten. Rutgers might be a good idea if they are looking for a team, but does the Big Ten, which still is having trouble accepting Penn State because of their Eastern Ties, want to bring in a school that is even further east? I really think not.

The Heisman Pundit is back writing again and I could not help but get a chuckle from his new one where he discusses how Tim Tebow is working on his throwing motion for the NFL. Here is probably THE best player of the past two seasons messing with his throwing motion. Why fix what isn’t broke? I can’t exactly see Urban Meyer jumping up and down at the possibility of Tebow starting the season trying the work out the new kinks of throwing the ball differently.

Finally it is never too early for Preseason Polls right? Well, yes it is too early, but they are fun to debate. Mark Schlabach over at ESPN puts out his 3rd version (to date) of the 2009 Preseason Poll. I do have a few critiques…in my opinion, no Big Ten team should be ranked in the top 10. They ALL have way too many holes to fill. My other gripe is with Virgina Tech, why all the love for Tyrod Taylor? I just don’t see it and I do not see the Hokies finishing higher than 15th this year.

Sports Illustrated’s Cory McCartney recently revealed his list of “players poised to become college football’s next household names.” Nice list Cory, but you weren’t exactly going out on a limb in selecting guys like Baylor’s Robert Griffin or Michigan’s Brandon Minor now, were you? Here’s a few more under-the-radar names (and some familiar faces too) to add to the ridiculously early preseason hype list.  

QB Ricky Dobbs, Navy- Ask any Navy fan and they’ll tell you there is just something special about the junior-to-be quarterback. While maybe not the most technically sounds Navy quarterback to command the option offense in recent years, Dobbs shined in the few opportunities he had to play in 2008, sparking Navy’s unthinkable comeback against Temple while powering the Mids past SMU and Northern Illinois. He’s a physical runner inside who isn’t afraid to take on linebackers, while his arm strength and accuracy in the passing game give Navy’s run heavy offense another dimension. If he can continue his progress in learning the option reads he should be in for a monster year in 2009.

RB Joe Martinek, Rutgers- It may be all too easy for some fans and media members to stereotype the 6-foot, 215-pound redshirt sophomore as your run-of-the-mill ‘fullback’, but New Jersey’s all-time leader in prep rushing yards was among the leaders that sparked the Scarlet Knight resurgence during the second half of last season. Not just a bruiser, Martinek averaged 5.3 yards per rush in limited duty last season, and recently ran for 124 yards on just 18 carries in a Rutgers spring scrimmage. He’s the most complete rusher on the Scarlet Knight roster and despite the likelihood of having the split carries with two other backs should earn the starting job come September.

WRs David Nelson/Riley Cooper, Florida- On a team known for a battering ram quarterback and the dangerous presence of a bunch of shifty “little guys” who allegedly run in the 4.2 range, it’s not hard to see why the 6′5” David Nelson and the 6′3” Riley Cooper are often overshadowed when one begins a conversation of the Gator offense. But don’t overlook either of these receivers, as both return for their senior seasons in 2009. Nelson and Cooper combined for just 30 catches a year ago, but the two seniors also sported eight touchdown grabs between them. With Tim Tebow looking to refine his passing game and Percy Harvin moving on to the NFL expect Urban Meyer’s offense to look more to their senior leaders on the outside next season.

RB Jewell Hampton, Iowa- Replacing Shonne Greene is not going to be easy, but the Hawkeyes do have a proven role-player from last year’s squad ready to step in full-time in sophomore running back Jewell Hampton. While undersized at only five-foot, nine inches tall, Hampton runs with deceptive lower body strength and a tremendous burst which make him difficult for defenders to tackle. He finished last year with seven rushing touchdowns in limited duty, and should be the go-to playmaker for the Iowa offense next year.

FS Harrison Smith, Notre Dame- Let’s just get this out of the way; Harrison ‘Hayseed’ Smith was good as a “hybrid” defender in Notre Dame’s defense last year, but this guy is way too athletic to just be a situational player. The fact that he recorded 57 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and seven passes defended was certainly impressive given the fact that he wasn’t playing his natural safety position, making this year’s move to free safety all the more conducive to his continued success. He should have no trouble reminding Irish fans of a bigger and more athletic version of former Domer standout Tom Zbikowski.

WR McKay Jacobson, BYU- Perhaps as if to follow in the footsteps of another impact receiver at BYU who took his two year mission trip for the LDS church following a fantastic freshmen campaign, Jacobson returns to Provo this season just as Austin Collie departs for the NFL. BYU already has an All-American tight end candidate in Dennis Pitta, a fact which should allow the 5′11” Jacobson (who is among the fastest players on BYU’s roster) to flourish as an immediate weapon for returning quarterback Max Hall. Jacobson averaged 19.5 yards a catch as a freshmen in 2006, and despite coming off of his mission trip should be poised to put up big numbers in 2009.

LB Malcolm Smith, USC- The Trojans lose arguably one of the best linebacking corps in Pac-10 history with the departures of Brian Cushing, Ray Mauluaga, and Clay Matthews, but a new generation of USC linebackers looks primed to step up. A former running back, Smith should fill in nicely as the weakside ‘backer in USC’s defense, as the 6′2” junior possesses outstanding athleticism and lateral quickness which make him a playmaker against the run and the pass. He has been the most noticeable standout thus far for USC’s defense in spring ball, and should continue his success into the season. 

QB Andy Schmitt, Eastern Michigan- The Eagle signal caller has been one of the MAC’s best kept secrets for some time, but despite going into his senior season in 2009 has never garnered much attention outside of Ypsilanti. That all should change come September, as Schmitt returns fully healthy to lead new head coach Ron English’s EMU offense. Schmitt is an elite athlete for his size and one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the ranks of the non-BCS, and could be the difference between another losing season and a breakthrough campaign for the Eagles.

QB Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU- It’s not easy coming into an FBS school and starting at quarterback as a true freshmen, which is exactly what June Jones’ rookie signal caller found out last year in the Mustangs’ disastrous 1-11 campaign. Despite his struggles Mitchell still completed 56% of his passes for over 3000 yards a season ago, and with receivers Alderick Robinson and Emmanuel Sanders back in 2009 Mithcell should only get better. With a season of June Jones’ run-and-shoot system under their belts expect Mitchell and the Mustang offense to put up Hawaii like numbers in 2009.

WR Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M- The Big 12 South loses its most high profile target in Michael Crabtree to the NFL, but look for another physical and athletically gifted wideout to step out of the Lone Star state in A&M’s Fuller. He was a Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection as a true freshmen a season ago, and set an Aggie receiving record with nine touchdowns on the year. At 6′4” he has the frame to be an elite red zone threat, while the continued progression of quarterback Jerrod Johnson under Mike Sherman’s guidance should lead Fuller to an even better sophomore season.

With Matt Cavanaugh gone and Frank Cignetti in as the new offensive coordinator, will the Panthers be even more offensively challenged?

Even with the loss of LeSean McCoy to the NFL and rather inconsistent play from their quarterbacks, the Panthers have a solid offensive line to build around. Four of five starters return from last year’s squad including guard John Malecki who has made great strides last year after switching over from defense. As a receiving corp, Cignetti has the talented and speedy Jonathan Baldwin, who will be a superstar in the Big East. Also, tight end Nate Byham will give the quarterback someone to throw to over the middle, and can also stretch the defense.

The question marks for Pitt come at quarterback and running back. Even though Bill Stull is the “returning” starter, he is not the starter just yet. Stull was very inconsistent last year and really lacks the arm strength for a D-1 quarterback. But behind him, there are players with questionmarks also. Pat Bostick, who came in as a 5-star recruit, lacks mobility and arm strength, and youngster Tino Sunseri is very green and a bit undersized. But what I like about Sunseri is how he can manage a game.

At running back there will be 5 players fighting for carries in the backfield. Redshirt sophomore Shariff Harris, redshirt junior Kevin Collier, redshirt freshman Chris Burns, and true freshman Dion Lewis all are going to have a crack at LeSean McCoy’s old job. If Pitt can solidify these two positions, they can make a run at the Big East crown.

Will the real Matt Grothe please step forward?

Matt Grothe can be Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde at the same time for South Florida fans. In one play he can make something exciting happen for his team, and in the next he can make a stupid boneheaded play. Those inconsistencies are expected from freshmen and sophomores, but Grothe is entering his senior year this fall. It is time for him to grow into the quarterback he showed flashes of being early in his career.

In his first three years as the Bulls signal caller, Grothe has increase his touchdown production from 15 to 18 but he has thrown 14 interceptions in each of those years. Statisicly if you look deeper at Grothe’s stats, you will see that he feasts on the lesser teams and tends to implode against the tougher opponents. In games against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Rutgers, and West Virginia, Grothe threw for a combined 2 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. The Rutgers game was the only time he topped the 200 yard passing plateau and had a respectible completion percentage.

The Bulls have a lot of offensive talent coming back, mainly with running backs Mike Ford and Jamar Taylor as well as 3 exciting, play making receivers. It is time for head coach Jim Leavitt to take some of the offensive burden off of Grothe. Let him settle down and not try to make ALL the plays for his team.

Can Cincinnati continue their winning ways?

Quick question…what Big East team has the most wins over the past two seasons? The answer is the Cincinnati Bearcats with 21. Brian Kelly has quickly built a winning program over his first two seasons as head coach and their defense was a key factor in many of their wins. So why after their first Big East title and BCS Bowl bid did Kelly fire defensive coordnator Joe Tresey? Many think it is because Kelly wants to move to the 3-4 defense, and he wanted to get his hands on Bobby Diacon as the new defensive coordinator.

Not only will the switch to the 3-4 defense be a change for the Bearcats, but the loss of quite a few big names on that side of the ball; could make their chances to repeat as Big East Champions a tough task. Realistically speaking it is going to be tough for the Bearcats to repeat, but a bowl bid is cleary in the grasp. If their offense led by Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard can pick up the slack for the defense in the early part of the season, the Bearcats will be a tough team to play as their defense grows into the new system.

How long is Steve Kragthorpe’s leash?

When Kragthrope took over for Bobby Petrino, Louisville was the king of the Big East coming off a 12-1 season and a Orange Bowl victory. Since then, the Cardinals have amassed 11 wins in two seasons, only 4 of those coming in Big East play.

Unfortunately for Louisville fans, the 2009 season does not look much better. The heir apparent to the QB throne, Matt Simms, has transferred; leaving Tyler Wolfe as the most experienced QB on the staff throwing a total of 4 collegian passes. To add to the pain, defensive coordinator Ron English left, his successor, Bill Miller left, and Jeff Brohm decided to leave.

If Louisville is not careful, Syracuse could pass them. If that’s the case, there is no doubt that this will be Kragthorpe’s last season as coach. However, with the low expectations, a 6 or 7 win season could save his job for a few more years. But is that realistically possible with a defense which gave up the 2nd most yards in the Big East, and an offensive with not much firepower returning? I think not; Kragthorpe will be lucky to last the season.

How do you replace someone who accounted for 10,400 yards of offense and 103 touchdowns?

The quick and simple answer is…you don’t. Pat White left West Virginia last year as one of the most decorated players in school history, and now has left the Mountaineers with a huge void in their offense. Senior Jarrett Brown is going to fill some of that void, however, with a different style than White.

Head Coach Bill Stewart is going to make his mark on the team by switching the offensive scheme to put the ball in the air more often. This could be interesting for Mountaineer fans who have been accustom to the spread offense.

But before the excitement gets too high, there are some questions about the offensive line that need addressed. Four linemen graduated and moved on leaving a lot of uncertainty on the offensive line. Brown better have his running shoes on early, because there are going to be some growing pains for this group.

It’ll be interesting to see how this new scheme works, and how Brown adapts to being the main guy in Morgantown. He has done well filling in when White was hurt, but not the team is on his shoulders and will only go as far as his arm will take them, which some thing could be a Big East title.

Big East Spring Game Dates

Cincinnati (April 25)

Connecticut (April 19)

Louisville (April 17)

Pittsburgh (April 11)

Rutgers (April 18)

Syracuse (April 18)

South Florida (April 11)

West Virginia (April 18)

Memphis 6-6 (4-4), 2nd Conference USA East
vs

South Florida 7-5 (2-5), 6th Big East

Saturday December 20, 2008 4:30 pm EST ESPN2

The South Florida Bulls were my pick to win the Big East this year. And it looked like a good pick as they started the year 5-0 with a win over Kansas. But they went 2-5 in their last 7 games and their offense went from dangerous to impotent. The Bulls have to be one of the more disappointing teams in 2008.

Matt Grothe led the Bulls in both passing and rushing for the 3rd straight year, but his touchdown to interception ratio has not improved as he had 15 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. Defensive end George Selvie is someone the Tigers will have to keep two men on if they want to pass the ball. His production has gone down dramatically from last year (14.5 sacks to 5.5 sacks), but he is still a force to be reckon with.

Memphis is one of the Nation’s best rushing teams which will be tough going up against a South Florida defense that only gives up 97 ypg on the ground. The Tigers are led by Curtis Steele’s 1175 yards on the ground and 7 touchdowns. Steele’s 5.7 yards per carry makes it easier for Memphis to move the sticks. Overall, Memphis has a balanced attack but a bulk of their big statical games came against lesser opponents such as Nicholls State and Arkansas State.

If you look at one of South Florida’s big win, they were able to temper Connecticut who has one of the best rushers in the country. This should be a tough one for Memphis, and a good end of the season win for the Bulls to salvage a less than stellar season.

Tale of the Tape

Memphis
Offense - 432 ypg, 226 ypg passing, 206 ypg rushing
Defense - 341 ypg, 195 ypg passing, 146 ypg rushing
Quality Wins versus Bowl Teams - Southern Mississippi

South Florida
Offense - 397 ypg, 237 ypg passing, 160 ypg rushing
Defense - 292 ypg, 194 ypg passing, 97 ypg rushing
Quality Wins versus Bowl Teams - Kansas, North Carolina State, and Connecticut

Prediction: South Florida 30 Memphis 17

Yesterday I gave the scenarios in which teams could win the Big Ten, Pac Ten, and Big 12. Today I’ll finish up the BCS Conferences by looking at the ACC, SEC, and Big East. The ACC right now is a big mess, so I might have missed something.

SEC

This is the easiest of all the conferences. Both Florida and Alabama have clinched their respective halves of the SEC and will meet in the conference championship game.

Big East

Cincinnati - The Bearcats just need to win out against Pitt and Syracuse and they will be in a BCS Bowl game. If they lose to Pitt, they will need West Virginia and Connecticut to beat Pitt. And also, West Virginia would have to lose to South Florida.
Pitt - The Panthers need to win their last three games against Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Connecticut to win the Big East. If they lose to Cincinnati, they are out. If they lose to either Connecticut or West Virginia, they will need a lot of help because Rutgers (who beat Pitt) would still be in the mix.
West Virginia - The Mountaineers need to win against Pittsburgh, South Florida and Louisville, and have Cincinnati lose to either Pittsburgh or Syracuse.
Rutgers - Rutgers needs to beat Louisville and then have all of the following happen: West Virginia lose at least 2 of their last 3 games, Cincinnati lose to both Pitt and Syracuse, and Pitt lose to either Connecticut or West Virginia.
Connecticut - The Huskies need to win out and have the following happen: Rutgers lose to Louisville, West Virginia lose 2 of their last 3, and Cincinnati lose 1 of their last 2.

ACC Coastal
Miami - The Canes need to beat both Georgia Tech and NC State.
Georgia Tech - The Yellow Jackets must beat Miami, then have the following happen: UNC lose to either Duke or NC State, Virginia Tech lose to Duke, Virginia lose one of their last two to Clemson or Virginia Tech.
North Carolina - The Tar Heels must beat Duke and NC State then have the follow occur: Miami lose to either Georgia Tech or NC State, Virginia Tech lose to Duke, Virginia lose one of their last two to Clemson or Virginia Tech.
Virginia - The Cavs need to beat Virginia Tech and Clemson, and have Miami lost to both Georgia Tech and NC State.

ACC Atlantic
Maryland - The Terps just need to beat Florida State and Boston College.
Florida State - The Seminoles have to beat Maryland, have Wake Forest lose to Boston College, and have Maryland beat Boston College.
Wake Forest - The Demon Deacons have to beat Boston College and Maryland has to lose to both Florida State and Boston College.
Boston College - The Eagles control their own destiny. They win the Atlantic with wins over Wake Forest and Maryland.

It is Wednesday two days before one of the biggest rivalries in Big 12 and the nation, the Red River Shootout. This game will have two of the top quarterbacks in the country (sorry Chase) in the game with Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford. As a Texas fan, you have to be happy at the way Colt is protecting the ball, and how he is now making plays with his feet.

I know a lot of Texas and Oklahoma fans who wish that they could just take a little cat nap and when they wake up it is Gametime! Wouldn’t we all love to do that!?!!? But just think if you did that, you would miss out on all of the trash talk during the week that leads up to the game. Peter Bean wastes no bones and tells us what he thinks of Oklahoma.

Kate will help you through your mid-week blues

By now we all know about the ever so popular Fulmer Cup that Spencer runs at EDSBS, but that only includes incidents by football players. I am hereby starting a grassroots program to have Marching Bands added to the Fulmer Cup for this offseason.

You ask why? In the past two weeks two marching bands have been suspended for sexual harrassment among other things. Those bands are UC Davis and the Wisconsin’s band. It’s too easy to make the…”This one time…at band camp” joke here.

It’s week six and two topics will be ramping up in interest in the coming weeks, the Heisman Trophy talk and the BCS debate. The first we have to deal with…the second well a lot of us have a problem with. If you are really jonesing for some Heisman rankings, go over to The Quad as they have ranked their top 5 players.

The BCS standings don’t come out for a few weeks, due to the fact that many computer polls are not up to date yet, but with the Harris Poll now officially published and 5 of the 6 computer rankings out, Jeremy over at MWC breaks down some of the rankings.

I mentioned in the last post about how Adam and I are going to talk about some surprise story lines so far this season. Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com has a nice list of the top 5 compelling story lines so far this season.

Predictions, predictions, and more predictions. We all love making them and feel even better when they come right. One person who I trust making predictions is my pal Jim Gindin over at Football Frontier. He’s great at breaking down games and finding the strengths and weaknesses in a team. Check out his predicitions for this weekend.

The podcast will be up later today, most likely in the evening. The talkshoe software is experience some problems and last night’s live podcast was not uploaded in time for me to edit it. I have a ticket in with their service department and expect it to be taken care of soon.

Tonight we have two games going on in college football. The first one has the Pittsburgh Panthers traveling to Tampa to play the South Florida Bulls. The Bulls, along with the Connecticut Huskies, look like they are two of the top teams in the Big East. South Florida had a nice win at home a few weeks ago again Kansas, but tonight they will be a bit shorthanded against the Panthers. All-American DE George Selvie (ankle) and DT Terrell McClain (ankle) likely will miss their second consecutive game.

I do think they will still have the fire power and the defensive strength to stop a Panther team who struggled against Syracuse last week, but Pitt always wins one game each year that they had no business winning. Could the Bulls be this year’s West Virginia on Pitt’s schedule. For Pitt to win they must have a better showing on the offensive line, Selvie being out should help, and be able to put a strong hold defensively on South Florida QB Matt Grothe.

In the other Thursday night game, the Oregon State Beavers travel to play the Utah Utes. The Beavers play their second Thursday game in consecutive weeks, and I don’t think I have to remind you about what happened against USC last week. Jacquizz Rodgers is the Pac 10’s leading rusher and is going to see a lot of carries tonight against Utah’s 5th rank run defense. It will be interesting to see if the Beavers have a let down against Utah. Mike Riley is already warning the Beavers against said letdown.

If the Utes aren’t careful their BCS dreams could go up in smoke with a loss tonight. Brian Johnson leds the Utes at QB as they average over 35 points per game. I think it will be a tough night for the Beavers as they will have trouble stopping Utah. Rodgers will not see the same holes he did last night as the Utes will be ready for him.

I think both games have the potential to be good ones, and as we know in the past, on Thursday nights crazy things happen in college football.

Actual picture of a WVU fan’s head exploding

Last week’s games, were to put it bluntly, really boring. There weren’t any great match-ups which made our friend Orson go crazy and pick the Oregon State Beavers to upset Penn State Nitaly Lions. He fully repented to me on last night EDSBS Live, and gives us a whole slue of other picks that we should not follow if we are a betting man.

One of the biggest upsets of this past weekend was East Carolina beating up West Virginia and possibly de-Heismaning Pat White. My first thoughts were not of sorrow for Mountaineer fans, but I immediately wondered if our pal John Radcliff had the stones to write a song mocking his team. John never fails and here is his songbook from this week on how Bill Stewart Ruined His Dreams.

Kate is the only thing more beautiful than Neuheisel

Speaking of Skip Holtz, Sean Keeley over at TNIAAM is already looking forward to the end of the Greg Robinson era and possibly the start of the Skip Holtz era? He points us to an article which discusses the possibility but calls the Syracuse job…a coach killer! Since when has Syracuse drop to the depth of coaching hell that was the Temple Owls? Don’t worry Sean, things can only get better, Midnight Madness for College Basketball is only a short time away.

Rebounding from their Week 1 loss to Bowling Green, who by the way lost to Minnesota this week, Pitt Panther fans are still left scratching their head about their offense. There was a lot of concerned among the faithful when it was found that the offense playbook was leaked on the internet and Buffalo had full access to it. But later it was noted that Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavanaugh believes the fact that between the hashes was a no-fly zone for passing.

BYU beat Washington at the end of the game by blocking an extra point. This week they play pretty boy Rick Neuheisel and his upstart UCLA Bruins. For some discussion and analysis on the game where the teams will play 3 times in a matter of 10 months, check out Bruins Nation.

Now for the big game, THE Ohio State BUCKEYES against the USC Trojans. I’ll talk more abotu this game on the podcast tomorrow night with Adam Nettina, but there is already so much good stuff around the blogosphere about the game:

• Conversation With Buckeye Commentary
• Keep Your Friends Close, Enemies Closer: Southern Cal
• Key match-up: The Ohio State D line vs. The USC O line
• Bruce Feldman: Top 10 USC-Ohio State subplots