MacAttack
Just the tip
Are you or anyone attending going to ask about further B1G expansion?
2013 NCAA Football Thread
- Thread starter Wrymouth3
- Start date
I wasn't planning on it, because I'm pretty sure I already know what Delany will say, but I imagine somebody else will. If I can get close enough to the scrum around him, I'll see what he actually says.
Basically, we know that with the ACC's new TV deal, the # of targets on the board is much smaller. I know the league has kicked the tires on Vandy, Missouri, Kansas, UConn, and has a handful of ACC schools they'd much rather have (UNC being chief among them), but there isn't a major incentive to move on that.
There is some real risk of major NCAA instability come January, and I don't think any Big 5 league is going to make a major move until the governing structure of the sport becomes solidified a little.
The only way that would change, I think, is if it turns out league champs DO get an auto playoff bid or special consideration, in which case I expect the rest of the Big 5 will lean on the Big 12 to add two more teams.
ummmm........
Extremely normal.
Maybe not such a big deal for Hyde . . .
Florida's Morrison also let off . . .
In other CFB news, the crystal football will be retired with the BCS
A new trophy will replace it . . .The SEC is close to finalizing its new bowl agreements. Still no non-playoff Pac-12 matchup, but more telling is that only fellow 'Big Five' conferences are allowed. Bye-bye CUSA, Sunbelt and former Big East matchups. Also bye-bye Birmingham bowl, which is sad for me personally, but meh . . .
Former Alabama and UVA QB Phillip Sims will make his choice for 2014 by the end of the week. He'd have one year left at an FBS school or two years at a DII program. He's not considering any FCS schools . . .
'Heisman Pundit' Chris Huston is running through the FBS schools, breaking down their two-deeps and incoming classes NFL scouting style. This is his Alabama eval . . .
MacAttack
Just the tip
In other CFB news, the crystal football will be retired with the BCS
I guess they got tired of team shattering it after winning it and found an opportunity to go a different direction.
I wish they would go World Cup style with their trophies. First team to win it three times, gets to keep it and a new trophy is designed. It has only happened once. The Jules Rimet trophy was won by Brazil three times before Italy or Germany. No team has yet to win the current trophy three times.
ummmm........
Extremely normal.
That's not a bad idea at all, but changing it just to change it isn't really a positive move to me. The crystal football is iconic. And the designs presented for the playoff logo didn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence in their creative team's ability to innovate and astound . . .
madviking
north american scum
Sims is a bum.
OK your '13 UVa football overview.
A lot depends on who we choose as our starter. David Watford seems to have the inside track on Greyson Lambert. If Watford starts, we'll see a lot more designed QB runs and trickeration of that sort than with Lambert, who's a vanilla pocket passer. Watford starting seems to make sense considering the shambles the offensive line is. Only LT (Morgan Moses) is set and the interior of the line is a mess.
4/5* recruit Tiquan Mizzell will provide much needed RB depth after the departure of Clifton Richardson. Hence, the RB depth chart at the beginning of the season will see Kevin Parks getting the lion's share of the carries, with Khalek Shepherd as the backup and Mizzell filling in when needed and probably doing punt and kick off returns.
The WR corps is decent, but worse after the graduation of Tim Smith. But then again, our constant QB flux made it difficult, I think, for any of the WRs to get any traction.
TE Jake McGee may be our second best player almost by default (behind Moses). Look for him to perhaps have a breakout-type season.
The defensive line is very green. A name to look out for is sophomore DE Eli Harold.
Linebackers lost two starters so I don't expect the unit to be very good at all.
Secondary is pretty solid. Junior CB Demetrious Nicholson expects to be the star of the entire defense, really.
Our OOC schedule is pretty brutal, but we have 8 home games so who knows what can happen (good for me since I'm living <0.5 miles from the stadium!) especially against BYU and Ball St. No one's really expecting anything good from the Oregon game unless Watford shows us that he's the second coming of Jesus during the BYU game and carries that Jesusness into the Oregon game.
Due to the lack of experience along both lines and the front seven of the defense, expectations are tempered. An average season would be 4 or 5 wins. Getting to a bowl would be a success. Mike London's seat, which I would currently put at "lukewarm" will heat up with 3 or fewer wins. But then again, we have two 5* recruits, S Quin Blanding and DT Andrew Brown, for '14 coming in and they both have good ties with London. Hence, firing London may prove to be a faux pas with Blanding and Brown.
ummmm........
Extremely normal.
Didn't Sims basically fail out at UVA? Or was there more to it . . ?
Which of your games do you see as your four or five wins? Which of the rest do you see as your best chance at a bowl . . ?
Who are your picks for the ACC Title game and champion? Do you think they have a shot at appearing in the final Title Game of the BCS era . . ?
EDIT: I'm going to go ahead and make my preseason picks. I was going to hold them until closer to kickoff because I thought it might generate more replies, but they're really just unresearched gut picks anyway, so who cares?
American -- Louisville should be embarrassed if they enter any fourth quarter this year without a two score lead. They are in the unenviable position of quite possibly having a very good team and never having an opportunity to prove it. The momentum from last year's Florida win may carry them a little, but I don't think it will be enough for them to get any consideration for anything beyond the AAC Title . . .
ACC -- Clemson over UNC. I'm much more certain that anyone who comes out of the Atlantic will beat whoever comes out of the Coastal than I am about who either of those teams will actually be. Dabo's an Alabama guy, so I'm pulling for him. I think Miami's a much smarter pick over UNC, but since either is going to lose to Clemson/FSU/whoever, who cares? I think an undefeated ACC champion would need one or fewer undefeated champions from the other Big Five to make it to the BCS Title game . . .
Big XII -- Oklahoma State. I have no reason for this, but it's what I've heard all summer and it was recently confirmed by the Big XII media, and how often are the media wrong? I like the Big XII to make the BCS Title game if they are undefeated. With one loss, it's going to depend a lot on the computers and the quality of that loss . . .
Big Ten -- Michigan/Ohio State. The nightmare scenario will surface at least once before divisional realignment eliminates the possibility, so why not this year? In SEC Title game rematches there is always a lot of talk about how hard it is to beat the same team twice in one year, but the final result almost always goes to the winner of the first game. Ohio State wins both here as well and goes on to appear in the BCS Title game. The only thing that may prevent this is the fact that it would mean OSU went 25-0 in two years, an impressive feat for anyone in any conference. I do not see a one-loss Big Ten champion making it to the BCS Title game . . .
CUSA -- Does anyone care? Really? All the best teams have moved to the AAC, so East Carolina will get massacred by whoever -- Tulsa? -- comes out of the West . . .
Independents -- Wow, there are a lot of them all of a sudden. I don't think BYU or Notre Dame will make any noise nationally this year. It will be interesting whether that is perceived as a hiccup or crisis for Brian Kelly by the ND faithful . . .
MAC -- I care less about this than CUSA. I'm going to say Miami shocks the world -- or maybe nobody -- and beats, say, NIU in the Title game . ..
MWC -- Boise over, uh, Fresno
Pac-12 -- I like Stanford to outlast the first Chip Kellyless season for Oregon, and I think they'll also beat UCLA in the Title game. I do not think the Pac-12 champion will be selected over a Big XII champion with an equal record, but they would probably win out over the Big Ten . . .
SEC -- I'm going out of character here. I'm always the naysayer, the skeptic, the doubter. But I feel like Alabama's current run is something really special in the history of college football, and the likelihood that we will ever see it again is remote. The likelihood that I'll ever see it again at Alabama in my lifetime is remote in the extreme. So I'm tossing reason out the window and buying in early this season. Alabama will dominate VaTech in the opener, then stun A&M in a game that won't be as close as the score makes it look. We'll cruise through to LSU and either win or lose close to a lesser squad, using either result as motivation to refocus for the SEC East champ in the Title game. Auburn with Malzahn back for the first time will be more of a test than it should be, but without Cam there will be no miracle second half this time. We'll beat SCAR in the conference title game -- Clowney will be sitting in the stands with Jay-Z after multiple ejections during the regular season -- and go on to CRUSHMeyer's Buckeyes Okie State in the BCS Title, eliminating the last sliver of a doubt about who dominated the BCS era . . .
Sunbelt -- I'm saying Troy. Petrino's great, but he's got a first-year QB and I'm not sure how much he really cares about WKU . . .
Which of your games do you see as your four or five wins? Which of the rest do you see as your best chance at a bowl . . ?
Who are your picks for the ACC Title game and champion? Do you think they have a shot at appearing in the final Title Game of the BCS era . . ?
EDIT: I'm going to go ahead and make my preseason picks. I was going to hold them until closer to kickoff because I thought it might generate more replies, but they're really just unresearched gut picks anyway, so who cares?
American -- Louisville should be embarrassed if they enter any fourth quarter this year without a two score lead. They are in the unenviable position of quite possibly having a very good team and never having an opportunity to prove it. The momentum from last year's Florida win may carry them a little, but I don't think it will be enough for them to get any consideration for anything beyond the AAC Title . . .
ACC -- Clemson over UNC. I'm much more certain that anyone who comes out of the Atlantic will beat whoever comes out of the Coastal than I am about who either of those teams will actually be. Dabo's an Alabama guy, so I'm pulling for him. I think Miami's a much smarter pick over UNC, but since either is going to lose to Clemson/FSU/whoever, who cares? I think an undefeated ACC champion would need one or fewer undefeated champions from the other Big Five to make it to the BCS Title game . . .
Big XII -- Oklahoma State. I have no reason for this, but it's what I've heard all summer and it was recently confirmed by the Big XII media, and how often are the media wrong? I like the Big XII to make the BCS Title game if they are undefeated. With one loss, it's going to depend a lot on the computers and the quality of that loss . . .
Big Ten -- Michigan/Ohio State. The nightmare scenario will surface at least once before divisional realignment eliminates the possibility, so why not this year? In SEC Title game rematches there is always a lot of talk about how hard it is to beat the same team twice in one year, but the final result almost always goes to the winner of the first game. Ohio State wins both here as well and goes on to appear in the BCS Title game. The only thing that may prevent this is the fact that it would mean OSU went 25-0 in two years, an impressive feat for anyone in any conference. I do not see a one-loss Big Ten champion making it to the BCS Title game . . .
CUSA -- Does anyone care? Really? All the best teams have moved to the AAC, so East Carolina will get massacred by whoever -- Tulsa? -- comes out of the West . . .
Independents -- Wow, there are a lot of them all of a sudden. I don't think BYU or Notre Dame will make any noise nationally this year. It will be interesting whether that is perceived as a hiccup or crisis for Brian Kelly by the ND faithful . . .
MAC -- I care less about this than CUSA. I'm going to say Miami shocks the world -- or maybe nobody -- and beats, say, NIU in the Title game . ..
MWC -- Boise over, uh, Fresno
Pac-12 -- I like Stanford to outlast the first Chip Kellyless season for Oregon, and I think they'll also beat UCLA in the Title game. I do not think the Pac-12 champion will be selected over a Big XII champion with an equal record, but they would probably win out over the Big Ten . . .
SEC -- I'm going out of character here. I'm always the naysayer, the skeptic, the doubter. But I feel like Alabama's current run is something really special in the history of college football, and the likelihood that we will ever see it again is remote. The likelihood that I'll ever see it again at Alabama in my lifetime is remote in the extreme. So I'm tossing reason out the window and buying in early this season. Alabama will dominate VaTech in the opener, then stun A&M in a game that won't be as close as the score makes it look. We'll cruise through to LSU and either win or lose close to a lesser squad, using either result as motivation to refocus for the SEC East champ in the Title game. Auburn with Malzahn back for the first time will be more of a test than it should be, but without Cam there will be no miracle second half this time. We'll beat SCAR in the conference title game -- Clowney will be sitting in the stands with Jay-Z after multiple ejections during the regular season -- and go on to CRUSH
Sunbelt -- I'm saying Troy. Petrino's great, but he's got a first-year QB and I'm not sure how much he really cares about WKU . . .
.
madviking
north american scum
Yea, but the fact he was 3rd on the depth chart in the spring means not good things, as least in my view.
ummmm........
Extremely normal.
And he lands at Winston-Salem State, last year's D-II runner up. McCarron congratulated him on Twitter, because, y'know, he's classy like that . . .
In other news:
Here's the NFL's take on up tempo offenses. It's pretty much the same as we've heard fromreal football the college guys, with a couple of other concerns specific to NFL ball rules. But still, a nice summary if you haven't been keeping up . . .
Alabama is rewarding its worst students with tix to the A&M game. Only 720 student tickets to the A&M game are available, so the math says you need 119 hours by the end of the Spring '13 semester to qualify. It only takes 120 hours to graduate . . .
Oh, and fall camp kicks off this week
In other news:
Here's the NFL's take on up tempo offenses. It's pretty much the same as we've heard from
Alabama is rewarding its worst students with tix to the A&M game. Only 720 student tickets to the A&M game are available, so the math says you need 119 hours by the end of the Spring '13 semester to qualify. It only takes 120 hours to graduate . . .
Oh, and fall camp kicks off this week
ummmm........
Extremely normal.
The SEC is the best conference for QBs, according to Athlon . . .
EDIT: Watching Alabama/A&M again. I'm always impressed by Alabama's performance through the last three quarters, but it's also notable that even after Alabama figured Manziel out, A&M still managed to hang on to a wafer-thin six-point halftime lead . . .
EDIT: Watching Alabama/A&M again. I'm always impressed by Alabama's performance through the last three quarters, but it's also notable that even after Alabama figured Manziel out, A&M still managed to hang on to a wafer-thin six-point halftime lead . . .
ummmm........
Extremely normal.
Well, no one's trajectory can be every upwards. And he has the misfortune of a fairly high starting point . . .
MacAttack
Just the tip
Tracking Johnny Manziel: The quest to profile Texas A&M's star by Andy Staples
Thoroughly enjoyed this article. I know it's a teaser to the cover story, but I really enjoyed the Andy Staples's journey to land the interview with Mr. Football.
Wanted to share it with y'all.
Thoroughly enjoyed this article. I know it's a teaser to the cover story, but I really enjoyed the Andy Staples's journey to land the interview with Mr. Football.
Wanted to share it with y'all.
Truth. It's what makes me scared about Russell Wilson's 2nd season for the seahawks.ummmm........
Extremely normal.
Look at that! We're #1 
The SEC is half the top ten . . .
Oregon & Stanford are both top 4, but the next Pac-12 team doesn't show up until #21 UCLA . . .
Similarly, the ACC gets 2 in the top 12, then nothing else . . .
Big Ten has fifteen spots between OSU and Michigan . . .
The Big XII doesn't show up until 14-16 . . .
EDIT: Alabama's anti-gravity treadmill. Unassailably cool . . .
The SEC is half the top ten . . .
Oregon & Stanford are both top 4, but the next Pac-12 team doesn't show up until #21 UCLA . . .
Similarly, the ACC gets 2 in the top 12, then nothing else . . .
Big Ten has fifteen spots between OSU and Michigan . . .
The Big XII doesn't show up until 14-16 . . .
EDIT: Alabama's anti-gravity treadmill. Unassailably cool . . .
Well, the ACC does have Clemson and Fla St ranked high. With future members Louisville and Notre Dame. Others 'mentioned' are Miami, Va Tech, N.Carolina and even a local favorite---- ECU 
.
WAKE is the darkhorse... or is it deadhorse?
.WAKE is the darkhorse... or is it deadhorse?
I think Miami is a serious darkhorse, and could easily be a top 16 level squad. Their offense should be pretty nasty.
I like Washington farther down that list to be feisty as well. I wouldn't have put Ohio State at #2, but given their schedule and the schedule for say, Georgia, or even Oregon early in the year, I doubt the Buckeyes are #2 even if they start 4-0 after like, week 5.
I like Washington farther down that list to be feisty as well. I wouldn't have put Ohio State at #2, but given their schedule and the schedule for say, Georgia, or even Oregon early in the year, I doubt the Buckeyes are #2 even if they start 4-0 after like, week 5.
ummmm........
Extremely normal.
First day's practice is done. Alabama always splits the first day with the 1Ls practicing separately so they can be given undivided focus when they learn the drills for the first time. The news . . :
Sophomore TE Malcolm Faciane is suspended for violation of team rules. He played in 8 games last year but did not record any stats. Saban says he can return if he 'does what he needs to do in the future', but I don't think I can recall any player under Saban ever returning to play at Alabama after an indefinite suspension.
That leaves us with two TE/H-backs with game experience on the roster. We also get unheralded Kurt Frietag coming off his redshirt and much heralded OJ Howard coming in from high school. Since that leaves us pretty thin, Jalston Fowler seems to be working with the TE/H-back group full time for now. He split time between H-back and RB before his injury at WKU last year. DE LaMichael Fanning is also moving to the TE/H-back group for five practices 'purely as an experiment'. These sorts of experiments are fairly common. The idea sort of seems to be cross training a guy so that if injuries really hit there will be someone who has some idea of how to play the position somewhere else on the roster . . .
Incoming freshman DT Darius Paige has been medically disqualified. He will remain on scholarship at Alabama, but was not cleared to play by the medical staff. He was one of two DTs in this year's class. The other is A’Shawn Robinson. Paige's disqualification opened a roster spot for OL Bradley Bozeman, who is coming off knee surgery and was expected to grayshirt . . .
WR Robert Foster did practice. The NCAA Clearinghouse had disqualified him after they changed their minds about whether one of his classes counted, but he successfully completed a makeup over the summer. We're super deep at receiver, but this kid is supposed to be another special one. Wearing Julio's #8 . . .
Cyrus Jones has apparently moved to DB full-time, while Christon Jones is back with the WRs full-time. Confusing, I know . . .
Non player specific comments from Saban today . . :
Preseason rankings mean nothing, but he understands their place in "enhancing the entertainment business". He generally seems pretty mellow compared to how he usually comes out at these things . . .
Perhaps accounting for his good mood, it turns out this is the most successful summer conditioning program he has ever had, based on the number of players who passed and failed the final conditioning test. So that's good. Complacency is always the #1 enemy for us with where our program is right now . . .
There's a great bit in the 8th minute of Saban's press conference where a reporter spills a coke. He really seems to be in a good mood so far . . .
Well, that's it. I know y'all are fascinated . . .
Sophomore TE Malcolm Faciane is suspended for violation of team rules. He played in 8 games last year but did not record any stats. Saban says he can return if he 'does what he needs to do in the future', but I don't think I can recall any player under Saban ever returning to play at Alabama after an indefinite suspension.
That leaves us with two TE/H-backs with game experience on the roster. We also get unheralded Kurt Frietag coming off his redshirt and much heralded OJ Howard coming in from high school. Since that leaves us pretty thin, Jalston Fowler seems to be working with the TE/H-back group full time for now. He split time between H-back and RB before his injury at WKU last year. DE LaMichael Fanning is also moving to the TE/H-back group for five practices 'purely as an experiment'. These sorts of experiments are fairly common. The idea sort of seems to be cross training a guy so that if injuries really hit there will be someone who has some idea of how to play the position somewhere else on the roster . . .
Incoming freshman DT Darius Paige has been medically disqualified. He will remain on scholarship at Alabama, but was not cleared to play by the medical staff. He was one of two DTs in this year's class. The other is A’Shawn Robinson. Paige's disqualification opened a roster spot for OL Bradley Bozeman, who is coming off knee surgery and was expected to grayshirt . . .
WR Robert Foster did practice. The NCAA Clearinghouse had disqualified him after they changed their minds about whether one of his classes counted, but he successfully completed a makeup over the summer. We're super deep at receiver, but this kid is supposed to be another special one. Wearing Julio's #8 . . .
Cyrus Jones has apparently moved to DB full-time, while Christon Jones is back with the WRs full-time. Confusing, I know . . .
Non player specific comments from Saban today . . :
Preseason rankings mean nothing, but he understands their place in "enhancing the entertainment business". He generally seems pretty mellow compared to how he usually comes out at these things . . .
Perhaps accounting for his good mood, it turns out this is the most successful summer conditioning program he has ever had, based on the number of players who passed and failed the final conditioning test. So that's good. Complacency is always the #1 enemy for us with where our program is right now . . .
There's a great bit in the 8th minute of Saban's press conference where a reporter spills a coke. He really seems to be in a good mood so far . . .
Well, that's it. I know y'all are fascinated . . .
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