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?

There has been a lot of talk lately about how with the BCS, college programs are looking to go the easier route with their out of conference scheduling. Some teams claim that their conference schedule is hard enough and they just want to have a few cupcakes on their schedule, while other claim they need the 7 or 8 home games a year to fund the rest of their sports. I did a quick glance and found a few schools that should be proud of their scheduling.

In the Pac 10, a move was made a few years ago, once the 12th game was added, to play 9 conference games. Therefore, that leaves only 3 games on the out of conference slate to fill in. Both USC and Oregon filled them up with some quality opponents.

The Trojans have their yearly tilt at the end of the year against Notre Dame, who many thing will be top 10 material this year. Including the Domers, the Trojans also travel to Columbus to play Ohio State. Their final OOC game is San Jose State, which is not a tough game for them, but after playing two (potential) top 10 teams, I can let this one slide.

Oregon opens up the season traveling to the blue turf at Boise State and has other out of conference games with Utah and Purdue. I have to give the Ducks credit because those are three quality schools. Purdue will be a bit down this year but the games at Boise State and against Utah are better than the majority of the teams that can schedule 4 OOC games.

If you listened to the Phil Steele interview we had on Monday, you’ll remember how he mentioned that BYU controls their own destiny when it comes to making the BCS Championship game. You heard it right, not just a BCS Bowl, but the BCS Championship game. They open the season versus Oklahoma, and have Florida State later in the year. Those are two quality programs to go along with an increasingly tougher Mountain West and you have a difficult schedule for the Cougars.

Sticking in the Non-BCS conference, the Bulldogs of Fresno State once again loaded up their out of conference scheduling. If you remember last year they played both Rutgers and Wisconsin in back to back weeks. This year they play Wisconsin, Cincinnati (defending Big East champions), and Illinois all on the road. I won’t get on them too much for scheduling UC Davis because of what they have to face in the other 3 games.

Remember last year when there was a big deal made about Georgia finally leaving the south to play an out of conference game against Arizona State? Well hold on to your hats, the Dawgs are going west again to play the Oklahoma State Cowboys. It should be interesting to see how the Dawgs can handle the Cowboys’ high scoring offense. Besides the Cowboys, Georgia has a return game against Arizona State at home and travels to play Georgia Tech in their yearly rivalry match. With those three games, I give them a free pass (much like with Fresno State) in playing Tennessee Tech.

Finally we come to the Hokies of Virginia Tech who are no strangers to scheduling tough out of conference opponents. A few years ago they opened up with USC in our Nation’s Capital, this year they have a neutral site game against Alabama. I am really looking forward to this game. Alabama will have some holes to fill but Nick Saban has had some great recruiting classes, and Virginia Tech is clamoring to be the favorite in the ACC. A win here by the Hokies would do wonders for the ACC’s image. The Hokies also have a home game against Nebraska, who many think is the favorite in the Big 12 North, and take a trip to play East Carolina who surprised them last year. I’m sure that loss to the Pirates last year will not be forgotten when that game comes around.

As college football fans we’d love to see more games and schedules like the ones I mentioned above. For the most part, a lot of these schedules are made 6 or 7 years in advance, and that’s plenty of time for teams that were once good to go south and stink. But having said that, you never know what games or teams will come up to bite you. Who thought last year that East Carolina would beat both West Virginia and Virginia Tech? Just because it doesn’t look good on paper, does not mean it won’t be a quality game.

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.

Even with the impending cold front which could bring snow threatens the northeast, it isn’t enough to damper my excitement of the spring games that happened this weekend. For the most part the the majority of the teams have their games in the latter part of the month, but we were able to get a glimpse of at least 1 team that could have title implications in their game this past weekend.

Spring is in the air

The Texas Longhorns concluded their spring practice with an offense vs defense scrimmage. It wasn’t too long ago that Mack Brown and the rest of his staff were coming into the 2008 season worried about their secondary. Well in their scrimmage Sunday, it was their secondary that played the best.

Earl Thomas and Nolan Brewster each had a pick; and Thomas took his to the house. Colt McCoy didn’t have his best game, but Mack Brown doesn’t feel the need to worry. McCoy went 11-of-24 for 95 yards. The folks over at Barking Carnival have a nice recap of the Longhorns’ spring game highlighting both the offense and the defense.

Most of the news on the Florida State Seminoles has not been good. Just a few weeks ago the NCAA came down on sanctions against the school which included stripping them of 14 wins and losing some scholarships.

Coach Bowden was hoping that the players put that behind them to have a successful spring. In their scrimmage he was really impressed with the work of the defensive secondary. During most of the spring the offense had the upper hand, but it was the defense who forced 5 turnovers on fumbles and won the scrimmage 39-27 in front of 36,000 people.

Ty Jones who has had a good spring, did not have a good spring game fumbling the ball four times. Unfortunately the bad news for Florida State did not end there; wide receiver Rod Owens was arrested after the game and charged with driving under the influence.

Moving out west, the Air Force Falcons had their spring scrimmage, and even after it coach Troy Calhoun is still not sure who will be his starting quarterback. Tim Jefferson, who started last year as a freshman and fellow classmate Asher Clark will both head into the fall fighting for the job.

Can Griffin turn Baylor around?

The reason behind Calhoun’s indecision is that neither quarterback had enough practice time to get fully evaluated. Jefferson only participated in 5 practices due to academics and Clark had a knee injury that required surgery. Calhoun was force to go with untested junior-to-be Ben Cochran and sophomore-to-be Connor Dietz for most of the spring.

If you watched any of the TCU Horned Frogs last year, you could not help but to come away impressed with their defense. Even with some holes left due to graduation, the Horned Frogs still look impressive on that side of the ball. In their spring game, they only allowed the offense to score on one occasion, and coach Gary Patterson came away with a feeling of ease that his defense could be back to its 2008 form.

Linebacker Tanner Brock, who had 625 tackles in high school impressed everyone in his first scrimmage. Brock ran with second-team defense Saturday after earning reps with the first-team ‘D’ during spring practice.

If I were to guess, I think Baylor’s time as being the Big 12 whipping boy is coming to an end. Quarterback Robert Griffin is developing into a star, and he took one more step towards stardom in the Bears’ spring game.

Griffin completed 19-of-25 passes for 310 yards, with touchdown passes of 60, 35 and 43 yards to three different receivers. He also ran for 41 yards and a touchdown. Griffin wasn’t the only star as running back Jarred Salubi had a nice day gaining 40 yards on 12 carries.

At Arizona, head coach Mike Stoops decided to do things differently this year. He allowed two of his captains to have a draft and pick the teams for this year’s spring game. Most of the concern for the Wildcats is; who will replace Willie Tuitama. Tuitama left the school as the career leader in passes, attempts, yards and touchdowns, and capped his career by leading the Wildcats to a 31-21 victory over BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl in December.

The two candidates in line to replace him are Sophomore Matt Scott who completed 11 of 20 passes for 206 yards with one interception. Scott was the backup to Tuitama last season. Nick Foles is the other guy. Foles is a sophomore transfer from Michigan State, led the Blue team going 16-for-24 for 183 yards with no picks.

It was Nick Scott who got the last laugh as he completed a touchdown pass on the last play to lead his team, the White Team, to a 23-21 victory. Stoops likes what he sees from both Scott and Foles but is not ready to name a starter yet. He even went as far as saying he would ponder the idea of rotating them during the season until one stood out.

Who, if anyone, can stop Southern Cal from their 8th straight Pac-10 title?

The Trojans will be replacing Mark Sanchez at quarterback, and a slue of linebackers, but looking at the Pac-10 as a whole; there is still really no team out there that looks to be able to dethrone them.

The best bet as of this moment is California or Oregon, but with both of those teams come significant holes. The Ducks have an offensive line to replace and a backfield that accounted for most of their offense in 2008. Cal has Jahvid Best coming back at running back, but even the best running backs in conference can not make up for an inconsistent quarterback.

UCLA is still a few years away, and Arizona and Arizona State are losing key players. Finally, the Oregon State Beavers do return running back sensation Jacquizz Rodgers, but they have too many holes in their secondary to contend. So unless the Trojans have more than one slip up in conference play; they should be on cruise control to their 8th straight Pac-10 title. Which brings me to my next question…

Can USC stay focused enough for the entire Pac-10 season, and not have their usual conference slip-up?

In 2006, it was UCLA; in 2007 it was Stanford; and last season it was Oregon State. All three of those games cost USC a chance to play in the BCS Championship. In all 3 of those seasons, there was no doubt that after watching the Trojans play in their Bowl game, that they were one of the teams that should’ve been playing in the title game.

So how does Pete Carroll keep this team focused? It’s a tough task when you have so many 4 and 5 star recruits on your team, but if the Trojans ever want to play in a title game in the near future, they need to stop losing to these inferior teams in conference play.

Carroll needs to keep this team on their toes week in and week out, even with the notion that the Trojans are far and away the best team in the conference, that doesn’t mean a team couldn’t sneak up on them. If this can be done, we can maybe finally see this team in the Championship game.

Who will be the starting quarterback for a number of teams in the confernce?

No longer do we have familar name such as Mark Sanchez, Rudy Carpenter, or Willie Tuitama as quarterbacks. I can honestly say that every team, sans Washington with Jake Locker, has their quarterback situation in-flux.

The most interesting battle takes place at USC, where incoming freshman Matt Barkley will battle both Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain for the starting job. Mustain left Arkansas (where he was the starter), for a chance at being the #1 QB at USC, but in the end he might never get there.

UCLA returns starter Kevin Craft, but with only a handful of success last season, his job is not safe. Redshirt freshman Kevin Prince looks like he is the #1 threat to Craft’s job but there are others including true freshman Richard Brehaut, sophomore Chris Forcier, redshirt freshman Nick Crissman, and senior Osaar Rasshan. Both Rasshan and Crismann had shoulder issues in the past year.

At Arizona State, senior Danny Sullivan, sophomore Samson Szakacsy, sophomore Chasen Stangel, redshirt freshman Jack Elway, and true freshman Brock Osweiler are all fighting for Carpenter’s old job. Sullivan was his back-up but nothing is etched in stone for him to be the starter in 2009 just yet.

Stanford returns last year’s starter, Tavita Pritchard, but given his less than stellar play in 2008; his job is in jeporady. Alex Loukas and redshirt freshman Andrew Luck are hoping to impress head coach Jim Harbaugh enough to unseat Pritchard.

Matt Scott or Nick Foles will replace Arizona Wildcats’ starter Willie Tuitama. Whoever gets the nod better have wheels because the Wildcats have a lot of questions on their offensive line.

In Berkeley, Kevin Riley was given the job last season, but could not hold onto it throughout the season. Now with Nate Longshore gone the job should be his right? No, his inconsistency still plagues him and if he isn’t careful Brock Mansion will unseat him.

Is there anything to look forward to out of the state of Washington?

Both teams combined for two wins last season, one of those wins was a conference win against the other, and were outscored by their opponents by an average of 41-13 in all of their games. The Huskies fired Ty Willingham and replaced him with former USC coordinator Steve Sarkisian, while the Cougars have 2nd year coach Paul Wulff was just suspended for the first few practices of fall camp due to violations he had while at Eastern Michigan.

Two once proud programs are now bottom dwellers in the Pac Ten, and I don’t expect much to change this season. Besides Jack Locker, can you really name any other impact players of either school in Washington? Locker now has to deal with a new offense with Sarkisian at the helm and the fact that he hasn’t been healthy for an entire season yet. Their linebackers are back (Mason Foster, Trenton Tuiasosopo and Donald Butler) but is that really a plus for a team that gave up 39 ppg last year?

The Cougars are running into their own problems with injuries and suspensions. Quarterback Marshall Lobbestael was recently suspended for an alcohol violation. And if you think help is on the way, well you are mistaken. For the second year in a row, Washington State is ranked 10 out of 10 in the Pac Ten recruiting rankings. The Washington Huskies were 5th and 9th in the past two years respectively. Buckle up, it’s going to be a long and bumpy ride in 2009.

Will Oregon see a smooth transition between Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly?

On March 13, Mike Bellotti decided to become the Ducks’ full time Athletic Director, therefore, handing the reigns over to assistant Chip Kelly. This wasn’t a big surprise because in early December, Kelly was named the head coach in waiting.

A lot of this sounds familar to Ducks’ fans because it was Rich Brooks who named Mike Bellotti his successor when he left to go coach the St. Louis Rams. I think this should be an easy tranistion for the team. Kelly is a quality offensive coordinator who has been around the program for two years.

It was Kelly who was the key coach that helped Dennis Dixon become a Heisman contender in 2007. Kelly has already had his hand in naming a few new assitants, but other than that little change, business should be the same as usual in Eugene.

A few weeks ago I briefly touched on the effects of Jim Harbaugh’s recruiting efforts at Stanford, and how the program was defying conventional wisdom when it comes to getting both quality football players and top-notch student athletes. Since then Harbaugh has reeled in another top prospect, this time getting the commitment of California’s own Mr. Football in Cathedral Prep running back Tyler Gaffney. Gaffney, who ran for 2,866 yards and scored 56 touchdowns this past season for the undefeated Dons, chose the Cardinal over offers from USC and Notre Dame, who recruited him primarily as a fullback. Let me repeat that. Who recruited him primarily as a fullback.

They weren’t alone in their assessment. ESPN.com’s Scouts Inc.had this to say about Gaffney:

…he currently lacks the vision, suddenness and feel for the cutback lane to project well as zone runner at the next level. Struggles picking and sliding through traffic, slipping through the small creases and making something out of nothing. A true north-south back that could continue to develop the size and strength necessary to wear down a defense as a college runner and occasionally break off a long run with his good top-end speed. Overall, Gaffney could be productive in the right downhill, power running system or potentially make a slide down to fullback or over to defense as an outside linebacker with his great size to speed measurables…

Flattering to an extent, but not exactly the most stellar review for a guy who rushed for more yards in a high school single season than former Heisman trophy winners Marcus Allen, Ricky Williams, Reggie Bush or Rashaan Salaam. Yet all worn-out jokes about white running backs being “power runners” aside, Gaffney’s commitment to Stanford shows, in my mind anyway, the limits of even the best college football recruiters. And make no mistake about it; when it comes to recruiting young men to play football in college, Pete Carroll and Charlie Weis are second to none. While I don’t presume to know exactly what Gaffney was thinking when he made his commitment, it does not take a rocket scientist or professional physiological analyst to figure that after literally having unprecedented success rushing the ball in high school that Gaffney would want to continue that success - or at the very least go somewhere with the opportunity to do so - in college. And what better place to do so than Stanford, which currently features another “bruising” yet athletic back in Toby Gerhart, who oh-by-the-way holds the California career high school rushing record at over 9000 yards. Gerhart’s story is almost the mirror image of Gaffney’s, especially considering that the 6′1, 236-lb Gerhart was also listed as a fullback by many scouting services out of high school and also was a two-sport star who wanted the chance to play college baseball. Yet Gerhart received comparatively little interest from school’s as a runner, and ended up signing with a swooning Stanford program which was trying to rebuild itself under Walt Harris. A major injury and a couple of losing seasons later and Gerhart was all but forgotten by college football, that is until a 2008 campaign in which he returned to lead the Cardinal offense with over 1100 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns while splitting time with Anthony Kimble, another potential NFL running back.

Now if I’m Gaffney, where would I rather go? The up-and-coming program which will give me a chance to play my natural and preferred position while also playing college baseball, or the perennial power where I can go mash shoulder pads with linebackers for four years while some dude who rushed for half as many yards as me in high school gets all the glory? The answer is - and I think we can all agree - quite simple. I’d choose the former, especiallyknowing Stanford’s recent history with Gerhart. After all, why let Rivals.com or Scout.com or whoever tell me who and what I am as a football player, especially when my ridiculous production at the high school level should speak for itself? Let’s be honest here people, these young men (despite a few and often very noteworthy exceptions) are not stupid. If they’ve been a playmaker all their life their natural instinct is to want to go to a program which will feature them in that same capacity, and one which will give them the opportunity to show their talents in the best way possible. And how can you blame them? Isn’t it natural for anyone to want to receive maximum exposure doing what they do best?

Therein lays the limits of selling a player on a program - however strong - if you’re only going to promise him the chance to be a role-player. And for as much as you can sugar coat the fullback position with promises of short-yardage carries or H-back status, the position remains one of such ignominy that it practically screams glorified offensive lineman in most pro style offenses. Never mind that most programs now run spread offenses and would shuffle a player of Gaffney’s ability into a defensive role. And you know what? It’s not just productive running backs being forecast at fullback either we’re talking about. It’s tweener defenders who get typecast as “hybrids” at the college level, or undersized wide receivers who are given the chance to walk-on to programs as the proverbial special teams “demon” when they’ve really been excelling at catching passes their entire careers.

My point here isn’t to fault Gaffney or others like him. In fact it’s just the opposite. While there is much to be said for the inflated egos of the high school football superstar, the reality is that player’s should understand their own value in the recruiting process. For as many times as we see high school athletes let the “star” ratings go to their heads we see player’s like Gaffney or Gerhart get slotted down to role player status because they may not conform to prototypical and often unrealistic standards those same scouting services have defined for their position. Yet given the right offense and the right coaching staff player’s such as these can often thrive at the next level, taking advantage of their natural ability and not letting it go to waste in a program which fails to accurately define that player’s inherit value. And that my friends is why parody will continue in the college game. Because as long as recruiters and scouts continue to misunderstand the value of player’s and offer them only on the basis of being a “role player,” the more we will see highly talented athletes like the Tyler Gaffney’s of the world sign with rising program’s like Stanford over a traditional heavyweight like USC.

I hate doing this. I really do. But considering giving ridiculously early preseason “lookaheads” is all the rage these days, I thought I might as well share my Top 10 coming out of 2008 and going into 2009. Keep in mind we still have eight months to go before the start of next season, and between spring ball, a semester without football, and fall camp a lot can happen. Also, don’t forget that some of these rankings are contingent on big name stars coming back for another season, like Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford or USC’s Mark Sanchez. Still, here’s where some of the nation’s top teams figure to fall going into the long, slow thaw of winter.

1) Florida-Hey, it’s not like I wouldn’t like to be contrarian here, but fresh off a National Title this team is just scary good and only figures to get better. Percy Harvin moves on to the NFL from the offense but the unit isn’t short on experience or playmakers, with Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey waiting in the wings. The defense should be stacked - with or without Brandon Spikes- and you know the coaching staff won’t have any off days with Urban Meyer at the helm. All of this would make for a Top 5 team at least, but when you factor in the return of one of the greatest college football players ever, well, now it just starts to become unfair.

2) Texas-The team that many thought should be playing for a National Title this year may very well find itself playing for one in 2009, as the return of QB Colt McCoy, WR Jordan Shipley, and four of five starting offensive linemen make Texas’ explosive offensive attack arguably the best in the Big XII. Losing stud DE Brian Orakpo hurts, but the return of LB’s Sergio Kindle and Rodderick Muckelroy leave the Longhorn’s no shortage of talent on Will Muschamp’s defense. The secondary - young and inconsistent at times in 2008 -  should be much improved.

3) Alabama-It may be tempting to drop the Crimson Tide a few spots when you consider just how poorly they played without soon-to-be NFL bound left tackle Andre Smith in the Sugar Bowl, but remember that as a hole this team was remarkably young this past season. Losing Logan Coffee and John Parker Wilson hurt on offense, but the majority of the defense will be back as will emerging playmakers Mark Ingram at running back and Julio Jones at wide receiver. If this team can find a capable quarterback they look like the favorite in the SEC West.

4) Oklahoma-We’ll know by Thursday whether or not Sam Bradford is coming back or not, but in either case the Sooners should return a strong defense anchored by nine returning starters. The return of Ryan Reynolds (injured against Texas) at linebacker should bolster the unit, and even with the losses on the offense line and skill positions there is enough talent in the pipe to keep this team in the hunt for a Big XII and National Title.

5) USC-I know, I know. East Coast bias, right? Wrong. I like USC to make it back to a BCS bowl in 2009, but given the fact that they’re going to have to replace six of their starting front seven on defense gives me cause for concern, especially considering their recent history of midseason PAC-10 hiccups. This might be the most talented team in the country, but if anything college football has shown us that experience trumps talent with the new 12-game schedule format.

6) Georgia Tech- Leave it to a longtime Navy fan to go out on a limb on this one. I know Georgia Tech was handled in the Peach Bowl and that ranking them above the LSU Tigers may seem blasphemous to our friends in SEC country, but consider for a moment that Johnson was working with an offense built primarily from freshmen and sophomores recruited for a radically different system. The last time he did that - 2002 at Navy- his team went 2-10 his first year but came around to finish 8-5 in 2003. Even if the defense isn’t as good as it was in 2008 I don’t see any reason to expect that Johnson’s offense won’t be incredibly more productive in 2009, making them the ACC favorite.

7) LSU-Settle down Tiger fans, I did not forget you. Had QB Jordan Jefferson and the Tigers played the rest of the 2008 season like they did in the 2008 Peach Bowl we may have had a different matchup in the SEC Title game, but even the 38-3 stomping of Georgia Tech is not enough for me to overlook the painful inconsistency of Les Miles’ team in 2008. I like the Tiger offense moving forward under Jefferson, but a likely overhaul of the front seven on defense keeps me skeptical.

8 ) Ohio State-I know some analysts are already drinking the Terrelle Pryor cool-aid, but the Buckeyes do suffer some pretty significant personnel losses going into next season. Chris Wells and Brian Robiskie depart, and joining them may be fellow wideout Brian Hartline. Defensively the Buckeyes will have to retool, and despite the fact that they’ve replaced NFL talent in the past I think they struggle moving forward without all everything linebacker James Laurinaitis. Still, this looks like the Big 10’s best team heading into 2009.

9) Oklahoma State-Here’s a comparison for you: How about the Cowboys as next year’s version of the 2008 Red Raiders? The defense may struggle, but with all the playmakers back on offense this could end up being a team which just outscores its opponents more often than not. Quarterback Zach Robinson and wideout Dez Bryant are legitimate Heisman darkhorses.

10) Boise State-I don’t know if Boise State is really the tenth best team going into next season (ok, so I know they’re not) but I do think they represent the best shot of a non-automatic qualifier getting to a BCS bowl game in 2009, which in and of itself deserves mention on a list like this. This season’s freshmen sensation Kellen Moore returns at quarterback to direct an explosive offense which features several other young but talented skill position players.

Others to Consider:Virginia Tech, Penn State, Ole Miss, Kansas, Notre (gasp!) Dame

Check out the standings for all of the BCS Conferences and you’ll notice that even after 9, 10, or 11 games, the races are still unsettled. Below are my best interpretations of what needs to happen for teams to win their conference title, or in some cases get to their conference championship game.

There is a lot of information here so I’ll just give you the Big Ten, Pac Ten, and Big 12 in this post. Later I will add another article with the ACC, Big East, and SEC.

Big Ten

Penn State - The Nittany Lions control their own destiny. A win against Michigan State clinches the Rose Bowl for them.
Ohio State - The Buckeyes need to beat Michigan and have Michigan State beat Penn State.
Michigan State - The Spartans need to beat Penn State and have Michigan beat Ohio State.

Pac Ten

Oregon State - The Beavers need to win both of the games against Arizona and USC to win the Pac Ten. If they lose one of the two, USC has to lose to UCLA. If the loss is against Oregon, then a tiebreaker between the three teams is put in place. Since they each would’ve a 1-1 record against each other…the next tiebreaker is against their record against the next highest teams in the Pac-10. Cal and/or Arizona would have to finish higher than Stanford. That would eliminate Oregon, and Oregon State holds the tiebreaker of head to head over USC>
USC - The Trojans need to beat UCLA and have Arizona or Oregon beat Oregon State. If USC loses to UCLA, the Trojans need Oregon State to lose to both teams…OR in the case of a three way tie…Stanford has to finish higher than UCLA or California to eliminate the Beavers. USC holds the head to head tiebreaker over Oregon.
Oregon - The Ducks best bet is for a 3 way tie. In that case they would’ve beaten Oregon State. UCLA, who would have to beat USC, would have to finish higher than California which would knock out the Trojans. Oregon would hold the tiebreaker over Oregon State through head to head.

Big 12 North

Missouri - This is easy…they have clinched the Big 12 North and will play in the conference championship game.

Big 12 South

Texas Tech - The Red Raiders control their own destiny. If they win against Oklahoma they are in the title game. If the Red Raiders lose to Oklahoma, the Sooners must lose to Oklahoma State the following week. If Tech loses to Oklahoma and ends in a 3 way tie with Texas and Oklahoma, they have to finish the highest in the BCS Standings of those teams to go to the Big 12 Title game.
Oklahoma - Oklahoma must beat Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Then they would have to hope to finish higher in the BCS Standings if all 3 teams (Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma) are tied with a 7-1 record.
Texas - Texas has to hope for Oklahoma to beat Texas Tech, then finish higher in the BCS Standings than Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Also, the Longhorns can go if Oklahoma beats Texas Tech, but loses to Oklahoma State…Texas Tech would have to also lose to Baylor and Texas would have to beat Texas A&M.

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.