Any non Michigan-related CFB storylines that interest you this season?
Is Texas back? The O/U is 8 wins.
Which is the real LSU?
Will ISU keep it up?
Clay Helton gonna do just enough to keep his job again?
Ohio State had the 123th ranked pass defense last year.
Indiana or USC legit?
Does TCU need to win some more games this year?
Miami...looking like a boom or bust type season, opening against Bama.
If Ole Miss plays defense, they might be pretty good.
Random trivia fact: Mississippi St won the CWS to get their first national title in any sport. There are now 2 Power 5 schools that have never won a national title. Do you know who they are?
I'll put the answer in the comments.
I don't think you're wrong per se, but the ACC has been much weaker than it was during Clemson's rise and dominance, and that didn't stop Clemson from somehow dropping 1-2 games a year against the NC States and Boston Colleges of the world.
Vatech and Kansas state?
Is Texas back? I see Texas winning 8 to 9 games. So I’ll take the over but don’t think they are “back” quite yet.
Which is the real LSU? Ed is not a great coach. Hired some great coaches but then lost them. He’s a mediocre coach. If he surrounds himself with elite staff they will do well. I see a so-so season for them. He’ll probably end up having a career like Les Miles at LSU.
Will ISU keep it up? ISU should be strong because they return a lot of talent. See them going 8-5 or 9-4. That’s a good season for them.
Clay Helton gonna do just enough to keep his job again? Clay always seems to do just enough. He’s got a few elite recruits coming as well.
Indiana legit? Penix is legit and Allen knows how to coach defense. It’s a good recipe. If Allen can continue finding a QB close to Penix or even Ramsey they should be competitive at minimum. I think they’ll lose more than IU fans think this year. I have them 7-4 going into the Purdue game. Which they should win. Two games are toss-ups for me. Iowa and Cincinnati. The Cincy game should be a good one. I have them winning one toss-up and losing one. I could easily see them win both putting them at 8-3 going into Purdue. The transfer portal is big for someone like Allen. Players that may not contribute with the elite teams will transfer and Allen is a likeable head coach. So he’ll bring in his fair share of transfers and get the most out of them. I can see Indiana being middle of the conference for a while.
Does TCU need to win some more games this year? Patterson is like Lloyd Carr here. Mediocre the second half of his career but loved by a lot. So he may have to eventually “retire” but they’ll never fire him.
Miami...looking like a boom or bust type season, opening against Bama. - King is legit and should really help them. QB play goes a long way in college football. They’ll have a winning season.
If Ole Miss plays defense, they might be pretty good. - They will definitely know how to score points. Don’t count on them playing a lot of defense.
I see you have ISU at 8-5 or 9-4. I feel like that would be a massive disappointment if I were a Cyclones fan. Especially considering they are 24th in the country in returning production (I believe), won 9 games in a shortened season last year and came up just short in the conference title game.
They should have wins against UNI, UNLV, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech and TCU. Then they get OKST, Texas, and Iowa at home and have to go on the road to west virginia and oklahoma. Those road games will be tough but if I was ISU I would be looking for 10 regular season wins and a trip back to Dallas.
EDIT: Changed to 24th in the country in returning production. I looked up an old article for source. Point still stands they return a bunch of their talent that won a lot of games last year.
I’m not gonna disagree about Ed being a mediocre coach but damn if he doesn’t give the most entertaining press conferences - pretty sure even the reporters need a Cajun translator to figure out what the hell he’s saying.
Cheers.
That's true Dot....hearing Ed speak reminds me of the cajun coach on Waterboy!
ISU might have a good year. Oklahoma has lost some big recruits; has the shine gone off of Lincoln Riley? Not sure what's up with that.
Oklahoma looks to have a fantastic class building for 2023.
Oklahoma looks to have a fantastic class building for 2023.
I'm also curious about USC and what Helton can accomplish. Out of the same conference I'd like to see what Oregon does this year.
This may seem like I'm looking backward but I'd like to see what Hoke can accomplish at San Diego State and hope he has success there.
Whether Indiana will be legit...maybe. But I keep thinking about what will happen when we play them.
History wise, it seems almost comparable to 1995 when we lost to Northwestern for the first time in 30 years. As a teenager, I couldn't wait for the following year's game wanting major revenge....then Michigan crapped away a 16-0 lead in the 4th quarter and lost 17-16 on the final play of the game.
But, us not knowing how we're going to look and not expecting much, we'll probably be the underdog in that game regardless....ugh. I desperately need a reason to forget about that 2020 season. It's making me feel as helpless as I felt under RichRod.
Will Florida fire Dan Mullen before or after the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party?
I'm intrigued by IU and see if they can keep it all going; it's a talented team but also got some good fortune last year in terms of injuries until the end, and the fact they looked lost against an awful defensive team in Ole Miss makes me wonder if they'll be able to replicate their offensive success this year.
Texas and LSU feel like they'll settle into the "pretty good, not quite elite" status they've largely resided in for over a decade. I do think this will be a tougher year for Texas as they'll be breaking in a new QB along with a new staff.
ISU will be fine this year but as I've noted a lot of places they went 4-2 in 1-score games, didn't deal with a lot of injuries to key spots, and caught some teams in good situations (e.g. the first time they played Oklahoma they Sooners had just blown a 21-point lead to a bad KSU team and were down a number of players due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 4 turnovers [including 3 fumbles] they got against Oregon). I think they're going to compete for a Big-12 title with Oklahoma, but if they have a bit worse luck or a guy gets hurt they don't have the depth to weather it as well as other teams.
OSU will be fine but I suspect their offense will take a tiny step back, at least early on.
Miami is going to be Miami until proven otherwise - talented enough to run with anyone but a step behind the big players. I'm actually more interested in what happens with FSU, since that's a program that has been taking it in the teeth recently.
I'm taking the under for Indiana. They had a good year, but how many times do we see a non-traditional powerhouse take the next step? Also, how different does this IU team look if Penix was 3 in. shorter (that's what she said) in that PSU game. As an amateur bettor - I think there's good value betting against IU this year, at least to start the season.
Penix did not play in that bowl game. IU kind of goes as he goes, so no surprise they didn’t beat Ole Miss.
Who will win the MAC? OU has some offense but qb is going to be interesting. Buffalo has to replace a stud running back.
Preston Hutchinson and the Eagles, baby! (As long as their defense can tread water).
Defense might be what wins that conference. Lots of offense, so any team that can scrape together a solid Defense could win it
Campbell missed the money train. He's okay but that's about it.
He's getting $4 million a year. He is on a roaring money train. Or am I missing something???
Arizona with Jedd Fisch and Don Brown.
Yes, I am interested. Different team, different conference, different style of play. I don't expect much and it won't be the coaches fault. I am amazed at how a coach seems unstoppable for few years and then never appears to be elite again. I suspect there are only so many Saban-Alabama combinations to go around in that perhaps the 10th best coach in the country doesn't have the QB, assistants, or budget to look like the 10th best coach ever again.