Game of the Week

All right people, I am currently sitting in my last class of the week, which just happens to be a waste of time. Since I am bored to death I decided to give my opinion on what I think the game of the week is. You might think that my choice is going to be the Alabama vs LSU game. However, I am one of the few people in this part of the country that has not partaken of the SEC Kool aid. I don't think that the SEC is all that great this year. Granted Auburn is one of the best teams in the country and LSU and Alabama are good too, but the rest of the SEC isn't that great.

Having said that allow me to present to you my choice for the game of the week:

Number 3 TCU at Number 5 Utah.

These are two programs that are on the rise. TCU has talented players and competent coaching staff. while they are not in a BCS team they have been scheduling tough non-conference opponents.

Confession: I am a closet Utah Utes Fan. This is a great program to get behind. They have been making the right decisions in terms of staff and recruiting, they have two BCS wins over the last decade and they are moving to the Pac-10 to face a tougher schedule. this program has decided that they are going to be a national contender, they are moving in that direction and it won't be long before they arrive.

Prediction: Utah 42 TCU38

Bitterness

O.K. to both of readers (thanks Kevin and Mom) sorry for the lack of posting over the last few weeks but I have been very busy with all of the high stress demands of grad school and on-line scrabble tournaments.

As a Clemson fan allow me to say that last week was beautiful. Clemson played Georgia Tech and won 27-13. It was a great game! Historian and I drove down to Clemson, tailgated with my brother and his family and had a blast watching the game in Death Valley. The game gave me great hope for salvaging Clemson's season. PJ's triple option attack was completely stopped and our offense was balanced and effective. I was filled with hope as I thought daring thoughts like"our OC isn't a no talent ass-clown after all" and "finally our receivers are catching the ball" and "it's good to see Jamie Harper making good decisions with the ball".

But, alas, we could not carry such momentum into the BC game this week. We lost the most pitiful excuse for a football game I have ever seen. Two missed field goals, 3 turnovers and countless miss thrown balls cost us the game at BC who is now 3-6. It turns out my daring thoughts were wrong. Our receivers cannot catch the ball, Jamie Harper is a terrible Back and most importantly the OC is in fact a no talent ass-clown! I cannot emphasize that last part enough BILLY NAPIER IS A NO TALENT ASS-CLOWN.

Dear Billy,

You're terrible. Please go back to coaching QB's, preferably at some community college in Oklahoma.

Thanks,

Every who gives a damn about Clemson Football

The following is my sense of how things will shake out this weekend. These are the games that I am interested in and I am basing my not-so-professional opinion on what I have seen from these teams thus far in the season.

- Maryland 24 at Clemson 28: My hope against hope and wish against wish is that the Clemson coaching staff will make the right personnel calls and Billy Napier will not be a moron with play calling.

- no 12 Arkansas 30 at no 7 Auburn 33: I give this game to Auburn for three reasons 1. Auburn's Defense is a little bit better than Arkansas 2. Arkansas is 96th overall in rushing yards. This may seem like small beans considering that they have one of the best passing attacks in the nation but they will need to be able to run the ball against this stout SEC defense. 3. Home Field advantage always helps.

-no 10 S. Carolina 35 at Kentucky10- I don't feel the need to say anything more than: it's Kentucky

I have been extremely pissed off over the last few weeks. So pissed off that I am just now calming down enough to talk about it. As a Clemson fan I get pissed when I see a talented team sitting at 2-3 record in the middle of October. What's worse is, my team is 2-3 and USC is 4-1 with a win over Alabama. Clemson has recruited some of the best talent over the last few years and what do we have to show for it? A fecking music city bowl trophy!

I don't blame the players I blame the entire offensive staff and the Head coach. I can handle our first loss to Auburn, we actually looked very good in that game but just had a bad 3rd quarter. But in the following loss we had SIX turnovers against Miami. Jacory Harris had three touchdown pass on us, JOCORY HARRIS c'mon.

Last week's loss is the worst of all. We lost N. Carolina's second string, wtf? They have the 85th ranked rushing defense in the country while Clemson has the leading rusher in the ACC in Ellington who is averaging 7 ypc. Naturally you would assume that our basic approach is to run Ellington straight at them right. Well it seems that our OC did NOT natural assume this, Ellington only got 13 touches in the game. When we did run the ball we used an inferior back and we threw to a terrible receiving corp that cannot catch the ball if the wanted to. Play calling and personnel decisions were terrible, in short bad coaching cost us two of our three losses.

There were some bright spots though over the last few games. Da'quan Bowers is finally living up to his five star potential. "Nuke" Hopkins is a young WR who made a few plays and gave great effort in Saturday's loss to UNC. Hopkins is a true freshman who should be a dominate go-to receiver when he gets the system down. Also Jaron Brown made a big catch this week and if he gets consistency he should be decent threat. right now Brown and Hopkins are our best shot at deep threats.

I would like to conclude this post by saying a few words to Dabo Swiney our Head coach " Fire your asst head coach Brad Scott, His son Jeff who coaches the wide receivers and most importantly fire the OC Billy Napier." These three will make excellent sacrificial lambs at the end of the season.

Hogg-ed Determination

Like all football fans, I have stuck with my team through highs and lows. However, only a few fans truly know what it is to watch as your team defeats itself. Every year as an Arkansas Razorback fan I see a team that has the tools to win. Even when the Hogs have tough years, they often seem to be in the bigger games. Then one only has to sit back and watch as they shoot themselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers.

As always, this year Arkansas was the subject of high expectations. Most of our offensive tools had returned, the defense was bent on improving, and the maturity level of the team had been on an obvious rise. Winning the first road game of the season in dramatic fashion was especially enjoyable. Excitement could never have been higher than going into today's game against #1 Alabama. And it was paying off. The Razorbacks came out firing, and even though Alabama answered at first, Arkansas was on top going into the half. Most of the third quarter looked great as well, with the Hogs holding onto the ball for the first seven minutes and scoring - though not a touchdown - making the day look like revenge for Alabama's 35-7 victory last year. However, everything went downhill from there. The Arkansas defense stopped putting pressure on Greg McElroy, a couple of dropped Arkansas passes, two interceptions - though Mallett's decision on the second was a good one - and an inability to get the ball back with a minute left in the game spelled doom for the Hogs against the #1 team. Describing the feeling of dejection and pain is impossible.

Here's the good news: Arkansas is still strong. The talk the last few weeks has been about the maturity of the team. Now is the time to show that maturity. Put this game behind you, prepare for the next one. Forget about the mistakes, play to the highest level the rest of the way. The only way to get through this league is through determination and sound play. That's what the Razorbacks need now and that's what fans will not only hope for but expect. Because those expectations are everything a fan needs.

FSU Disillusionment

If you keep up with the ESPN conference blogs, particularly Heather Dinich's ACC blog you will note nothing but constant criticism of the ACC's performance this past weekend. No doubt the embarrassing pair of losses by the tech schools and an thrashing of FSU merits some criticism, but there is a something greater going on for Heather Dinich than meets the eye. What would that be? Well, I am glad you asked: she has FSU disillusionment. What I mean by this is simply that she found out what the rest of us already knew: FSU, Jimbo Fisher and Christian Ponder are garbage. Yes, the glory days of FSU are gone and unlikely to return soon, Jimbo Fisher was able to beat some community college in his first game but a community college and Oklahoma are two different worlds. I have already commented on Christian Ponder in previous posts, kindly refer to them for further information.

Seriously, go to Heather's blog sometime and look at some of the stuff she says about Ponder.She is like a 13 year old girl who has a crush on one of her older brother's friends. The phrases she uses to describe him include bur are not limited to Heisman hopeful, one of the best QBs in the nation, MVP of the ACC, Ponder for president, 3rd horseman in the Apocalypse, etc.

So, to Heather I say: I know it is tough when you are the last person to realize that the team you love is common community college trash. I know it is tough when you realize that the coach you put all your money on can't tie up his own football cleats . I know it is tough when you realize that the QB you thought was going to win the Heisman is actual a no talent assclown. In spite of all of that please get out of FSU disillusionment and cover the rest of the teams like NCSU, BC, Maryland, UVA and Clemson. In short, we all knew it and we are grateful that you finally realize it too. Welcome to reality.

Games Of the Week

With it being the second week of the season most teams are still in their tune up games. Yes, many teams are still playing powerhouse school like Southwest Corner of Michigan State Community College. But there are few games worth watching:

1. Georgia at South Carolina
2. Florida St at Oklahoma
3. Miami at Ohio St
4. Penn St. at Alabama

Yes, Just one more week of cupcake schedules and real football can begin!

Clemson vs FSU McDaniel on Ponder Collision after interception

Stories I'm Already Tired of Hearing About

As I was going about my lunch time perusal of football websites (mostly ACC related) I kept running across the same story lines over and over again. This should not be so shocking since all of these writers are talking about the same games and conference activity over the weekend, right? Well there is just one problem. They are talking about the same story lines as they were over the summer and spring. The main offender is ESPN ACC blogger Heather Dinich. So, Heather, here are a few stories that I just don't give a damn about anymore:

1.Mark Herzlich: Don't get me wrong I am happy for the guy's overcoming cancer and that he had a good starting game. But after all the talk of this guy you'd think he was the only defensive player in the ACC or even the NCAA for that matter.

2. Bye Bye Bowden: Hats off to Bobby Bowden for his long and effective tenure at FSU but the man is retired, quit, fired or forced out (no on really knows how it went down) so let the story die already. Also, I hate to break it to you this is not the 90's, no one outside of Tallahassee cares about FSU anymore, nor do we care about Jimbo Fisher.

3. Christian Ponder: No, He won't win the Heisman Trophy. Why? Because he is garbage. Seriously, the way Heather Dinich talks about this guy makes wonder if he sneezes gold bars. View clip above to see my point.

Mostest Dumbest Mascot IV

This week's offender on the dumbest mascot list is none other than the USC Trojans. You may be a bit confused as to my claim on this; after all the Trojan is an ancient Greek warrior. Well, as right as you may be about that, consider the following:

1. The Trojans were tricked by a wooden horse and consequently were slaughtered. Not a good candidate to be an NCAA Mascot.

2. If your mascot is also a condom, it is not a good candidate for NCAA mascot.

3. A middle-aged man in a cheap Halloween costume on a horse (shown above) is just pathetic.

4. Let me be honest........I just hate USC.

Mostest Dumbest Mascots III

The next offender on the mostest dumbest mascot list takes us to Southern California and Division III Football. Yes, even though Whittier College football is more insignificant that the flag football team at your local YMCA they still qualify for an entry in a sports blog that is just as obscure.

The school was founded by a Quaker poet named John Greenleaf Whittier in the 1880's. The most important thing that we need to know about Whittier is that their mascot is 'the Poet'. This may not seem as bad as some others you may have heard but consider the following:

1. Is there anything more soft than a pacifist Quaker?

2. Is there anything more soft than a starving poet?

3 Is there anything more soft than a starving pacifist Quaker poet from southern California?

4. It just seems to much to say "Welcome to Whittier College, home of the fighting......I mean pacifist......because we're not allowed to fight, Poets.

2006 SEC:

The 2006 SEC Championship game marked the third time that the Arkansas Razorbacks reached Atlanta since joining the conference in 1992. Unfortunately, it would also mark the Hogs third loss in Atlanta. The Razorbacks were matched up against the Florida Gators, in their second year under Urban Meyer and the eventual National Champion.

Arkansas had a surprising season, with no one ranking them in the Top 25 in preseason polls. They suffered a disastrous defeat to USC on the first week of the season without Darren McFadden in the lineup. However, they bounced back quickly, making national news with their defeat of Auburn (then ranked #2 in the nation) early in the season. Then they followed that victory with a win over Alabama in overtime. However, in the annual Battle for the Golden Boot, they were unable to get past LSU.

Coming into the conference Championship game, the Florida Gators had only one loss on the season. That loss came to the same Auburn Tiger team that Arkansas had defeated a couple weeks before. The Razorbacks had worked their way to a #8 ranking, but knew they would have an uphill battle against the #4 Gators, especially after it was announced that USC had been upset by UCLA. In the second half, Arkansas scored 14 unanswered points to take a 21-17 lead. However, Reggie Fish made a horrible decision by attempting to catch a punt over his shoulder on the Razorbacks own 5-yard line, resulting in a fumble and a go-ahead touchdown for Florida. The Razorbacks continued to shoot themselves in the foot with penalties and bad tackling. Even a touchdown by Felix Jones could not pull out the game for the Hogs and the Gators went on to win the conference and national titles.

2005 SEC: No Big Surprises

The 2005 SEC Championship game featured the second time in three years that the Georgia Bulldogs would face the LSU Tigers in Atlanta. It was also the third time in four years that the Bulldogs would see the inside of the Georgia Dome for a chance to be crowned kings of the SEC. Mark Richt and the Dawgs would avenge their loss from the 2003 season and win the game by a score of 34-14.

The 2005 season was quite a year for all of college football, but particularly for the SEC. Steve Spurrier returned to the SEC, taking over the South Carolina Gamecocks program and leading them to a 7-5 record in his first year. Les Miles took Nick Saban's place as LSU's head coach and would continue the Tigers' winning ways. Urban Meyer saw his first year as Florida's head man, beginning the process to returning that program to the top of the SEC after the Ron Zook debacle. Auburn continued to be a factor in the SEC West, losing only one conference game. That loss was to LSU, however, and was the tie-breaker that kept Auburn from returning to Atlanta. Alabama continued to languish in mediocrity under Mike Shula, adding NCAA sanctions to the pain of four consecutive losses to Tommy Tuberville. All these factors made for an interesting but middle-of-the-road SEC season, and no team was a real factor in the National discussion, though (as usual) many believed any number of teams could have been worthy.

It was the first time in a while that the BCS would not see any major controversy (thought that changed pretty quickly) and it would see the USC Trojans go down to the Texas Longhorns in the Championship game, despite USC being the defending National Champs and the favorite to repeat. LSU destroyed Miami in the Peach Bowl despite an injury to JaMarcus Russell (current NFL flop), but Georgia would be surprised by the game plan of West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl and lose that game.

Mostest Dumbest Mascot's II

The next offender on the dumbest mascot list is none other than the University of Hawaii. While their current mascot (warrior) is not so bad, but until 1974 the teams was known as the "Rainbows". As if the "Rainbow" is not bad enough from 1974 to 2000 the team was the "Rainbow Warriors". So with out further delay my reasons for the "Rainbow warrior" as mostest dumbest mascot:

1. Rainbow Warriors sounds more like the name of a San Francisco street gang then a NCAA mascot.

2. If my three year old niece finger paints one at her grandmothers house it does not belong in the NCAA as a mascot.

3. The fact that the university officially changed the mascot speaks for itself.

Mostest Dumbest Mascots

In anticipation of the of the upcoming season I will be presenting, on a daily basis, the mostest dumbest mascots in the NCAA.

The first offenders in this category is none other than the Oregon Ducks. please let me be clear I have nothing against the the University of Oregon, but let's be honest, a duck is a ridiculous choice for a mascot. I say this for the following reasons:

1. If my three year old niece can pet one with out fear, it has no business as a mascot for an NCAA school.

2. If said mascot is also a mascot for and insurance company it has no business as a mascot for an NCAA school.

3. The picture above communicates my point sufficiently

2004 SEC: Ire of the Tiger

It seemed that the BCS controversy just became stronger and stronger for four or five years running. From 1998 to 2001 the formula seemed to work. But in 2002 there were some questions about the ability of the program to produce a true champion. In 2003 those questions were given legitimacy with the sharing of the National title, and in 2004 controversy became synonymous with the BCS for all time. After the '04 season there were loud calls for a playoff system, calls that persist and have grown to this day.

In the SEC, the Auburn Tigers faced the Tennessee Volunteers in the Championship game in Atlanta. It was another battle of teams that met twice in a year, and it was especially significant for Auburn. They had already beaten the Vols in Knoxville, and were playing in what was essentially their third rivalry game in a row. They had played Georgia in a huge game on November 13 in Auburn and Alabama on November 20 in Tuscaloosa. They absolutely unloaded on the Bulldogs in their game, allowing only six points while scoring twenty-four of their own and the crowd was lit. Then in the Alabama game the Tigers increased their winning streak over the Tide to three in a row (a streak that would extend to six straight wins under Tommy Tuberville). Alabama went into halftime up by a 6-0 score. However, Auburn would respond on their first possession of the second half with a long pass from Jason Campbell to Devin Aromashadu and a touchdown run by Cadillac Williams. The next two possessions would also result in touchdowns as the Tigers advanced to the Championship game by a final score of 21-13. This loss would typify the Mike Shula era for the Alabama football program.

The BCS formula would rear its ugly head at the SEC's 2004 set of Tigers. Unfortunately for Auburn, they were not the only team to go undefeated that season and there were several candidates for who would play USC in the National Championship game. Because they had started the season on the lower end of the Top 25, the Tigers were ranked third in the polls and thus were not given the opportunity. Added to that was the fact that Auburn would not have a chance to play the other highly-ranked team that was shafted, Utah. USC won the Orange Bowl by a landslide against defending champs Oklahoma, leaving many to resume their speculation concerning the BCS formula. Auburn would finish the season ranked #2 in both the Coach's and AP Polls.

A Game That Should Have Been Played

O.K., it is no secret that BCS has been the center of some heated debate over the last twelve years. The controversies go all the way back 01-02 season when Miami played a Nebraska team that did not even win there division, let alone the Big 12. Since then the BCS has given a few great games, some good games and a large crop of mediocre games. But it is the match up that we never got to see that I am most interested in.

From the seasons of 03-05 we never saw LSU play USC. In 04 LSU (12-1) was crowned national champoin by defeating Oklahoma (12-1) in the sugar bowl. USC (11-1) had to settle for a Rose Bowl win.

The following year USC (13-0) crushed Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, While LSU (10-2)was not in a BCS bowl game. Even though LSU (10-2) was in not in the BCS picture there were still a top team in the country finishing the season at number 12.

From 02-09 LSU and USC have had some of the greatest teams. Both teams have had a combined 9 BCS appearances, including 5 national championship appearances with two national titles apiece. So my question is this: why have they not played each other in the BCS era? I can't believe that these two have not played each other. it seems strange that we can see match ups like Hawaii vs Georgia, TCU vs Boise State, Utah vs Pitt or Florida vs Cincinnati but we cannot see two of the best teams of the last decade. Am I right?

There are rumors of a possible 2011 regular season match up but it seems to me that moment has passed. I think that the sanctions on USC coupled with the poor leadership of Lane Kiffin will be the destruction of Troy (yeah, I said it). That coupled with my belief that LSU will not eclipse a 9 or 10 win season makes me think that a match up in the next season or two would be a disappointment.

2002 SEC: Dawgs vs. Hogs

The 2002 football season was quite the affair, particularly in the West. Georgia went into the SEC Championship game ranked 11-1 and ranked #4 in the nation. Not surprisingly, their only loss came to Florida. The surprise was that the Gators were actually the underdog, being in their first season under Ron Zook (who brought the program to its lowest in years). The Bulldogs ran into problems while D.J. Shockley was in at quarterback and could not quite pull out the game.

The Arkansas Razorbacks entered into the Georgia Dome with a record of 9-3. They lost (sadly) to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. However, the Crimson Tide were ineligible to play in the Championship game because of NCAA bans. The loss to Tennessee came in 6 overtimes, much like the 7-overtime thriller in Oxford the year before (the difference, of course, being the winner). The Tennessee game was not the only big-time game for the Razorbacks that year. On November, 29th the LSU Tigers came to meet the Hogs at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The game was a back-and-forth affair, with LSU leading 17-7 in the fourth quarter. However, Fred Talley scored on a 56-yard touchdown run to put the game at 17-14. After LSU scored a field goal, Matt Jones connected on two huge passes, including one to Decori Birmingham in the back of the endzone, tying the game at 20 with nine seconds. The extra point won the game for the Razorbacks by a final of 21-20. This "Miracle on Markham" came two weeks after the Tigers beat Kentucky on a last-second Hail Mary in the "Bluegrass Miracle" game.

The Razorbacks could not find the magic they needed in Atlanta, however, and the Bulldogs rolled to a 30-3 victory. Georgia did not get a chance to play for a National Championship that year, instead defeating Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia would reach the SEC Championship game again in 2005, and Arkansas would return in 2006. Matt Jones would go to the NFL as a wide receiver.

2001 SEC: Vols Surprising Losses

The 2001 SEC Championship game featured the LSU Tigers against the Tennessee Volunteers. LSU entered the game with a 9-3 record. The Vols had a 10-1 record and were looking at an attempt to go back to the National Championship game which was to be played at the Rose Bowl that year. The two teams had met once before that year, and LSU was looking to avenge an 18-26 loss. They did so, holding Tennessee to a field goal in the second half and rallying behind quarterback Matt Mauck after Rohan Davey went out of the game with an injury.

The Vols had lost another big game earlier that year that probably helped keep them out of the national conversation. The Georgia Bulldogs came to Knoxville for the annual rivalry game between the two schools. Mark Richt was in his first season as the Dawgs' head coach, and the season would be an up-and-down affair. However, on this day Georgia came out on top when freshman David Greene threw a touchdown pass to running back Verron Haynes. Larry Munson would make the famous comment that would result in the game being known to Georgia fans as the "Hobnail Boot."

There was another very interesting game that year in the form of an NCAA record-breaking, 7-overtime game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Arkansas Razorbacks. The two teams went back and forth late into the night before the Hogs finally came out on top by a score of 58-56. The week of the SEC Championship game there was a lot of national drama, with several teams (including Tennessee) dropping out of the National Championship race. Ultimately, the Nebraska Cornhuskers would lose to the Hurricanes of Miami. LSU defeated Illinois in the Sugar Bowl and Tennessee would win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

Annual Countdown Time

We are now exactly two weeks away from opening day of the College Football season and it has been a long time coming. I was just telling someone yesterday that I have been having football dreams for at least two and a half months now. And, as with most blogs dealing with sports, we'll be doing counting down the days by reliving the past in the form of lists. I'll be looking at the winners of the SEC for the last 10 years as well as some memorable (or forgettable, depending on your perspective) games from that time period.

The 2000 season was the third season of the BCS which had seemed to work until that point. Auburn and Florida met twice that year, the second meeting being in the SEC Championship Game. Both times the Gators beat up on Auburn, the Tigers never scoring more than a touchdown. The two teams shared something in common that year: both were upset by the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Florida's was a difficult loss as they came into the game ranked 3rd against an unranked Bulldog team and Steve Spurrier once again did his best to prove the maxim that if you have more than one quarterback you don't have any. The Gators rotated three quarterbacks that day, senior Jesse Palmer (current ESPN analyst), and freshmen Rex Grossman (current NFL benchwarmer) and Brock Berlin (current who knows) who would transfer to Miami.

Tommy Tuberville was only in his second season that year and was improving his Auburn team, which would eventually go undefeated in 2004. Spurrier would resign as Florida's coach in 2002 to go to the NFL's Redskins, a decidedly horrible move. Florida would not win another SEC Championship after their defeat of the Tigers until 2006.

One Month Away

It is August the 4th and that means it is one month away until kick off. The first weekend celebration starts on Thursday Sept 2nd and ends on Monday the 6th. Yes, in less than one month we get to watch our favorite teams play good quality opponents like Western Michigan University, Stony Brook College and Samford. These first cupcake games are a very important confidence boost for our teams, but provide nothing but local interest.

There are, however, a few games that I am interested in on the first weekend. Obviously I am interested in N. Texas at Clemson but there are actually some other games that grabbed my interest, the first being LSU vs UNC. With all the the projections that UNC will have one of the best defenses in the country, a traditionally though LSU will provide the first and one of the biggest tests for UNC.

The Second is Pitt at Utah. I speculated in a previous post that Utah stands to benefit most for the out of control spiral of USC. This first non-conference game could a good chance for Utah to smack an east coast team around and get some national attention for future recruiting.

The third and final game that I am interested in is Boise State and Virginia Tech. both teams had good seasons last year and are looking to get on to the national scene and are looking to make a run at a national title with in the next few seasons. that being said each team has something to prove and should make for some interesting play on the field.

Kyle Parker Returns to Clemson

By now you have probably heard that Kyle Parker is returning to Clemson as the starting QB. For those unfamiliar with all of the Parker drama over the last few months here is a quick run down of the situation.

Parker was a red shirt freshman QB last year that had over 20 TD's, 2500 yards passing, seven straight games with a touchdown pass and led the team to a division title. Needless to say he is a great QB. What is more astounding is that he is a better baseball player than he is a football player. This season Parker hit 20 home runs and led the team to a division championship to the Semi-finals in the CWS. In the middle of all of this he managed to be a first round draft pick to the Colorado Rockies. Most people (including myself) thought he would be in Colorado by now and the tigers would be biting their nails with Tajh Boyd at the helm. Instead the public was informed that the Rockies and Parker could not come to terms, contractually speaking, and Parker would be returning to Clemson. While this sounds great for Clemson we are not out the woods just yet. The signing deadline for Parker and the Rockies is not until August 16, so until then nothing is really final.

If Parker stays then Clemson could potentially do some real damage in the ACC this year. All of the off season questions center around offense. Who will the QB be? Can we have a solid running game without Spiller? Who will step up at receiver without Spiller, Ford and Palmer? With Parker staying the QB question has been answered. Everyone seems to agree that Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper could be the next Thunder and Lightening. Only One Major Question remains: Who will catch the ball? if the receiving corp will step up then Clemson should do some damage this season!

Wanted: Replacement for USC

The days of USC having its way in the Pac-10 are over. I say this for two reasons 1. coaching changes. Pete Carrol's departure was bad enough, but the hiring of Lane Kiffin made things worse. I don't understand why USC gave Kiffin a contract worth more than four million dollars. Prior to his arrival at USC, Kiffin had one mediocre year at UT and a pitiful year and a half at the Oakland Raiders , at best he is unproven. Another strike against him is the fact that he brings trouble with him wherever he goes. In the SEC he made enemies with everyone before the season even started and then managed a mediocre 4-4 conference record. After arriving at USC he manged to get them in trouble by committing a secondary recruiting violation. So I guess my question is: What is so great about Lane?

The second reason I think that the reign of USC is over is because of the NCAA sanctions which include two years of no bowl games, they are ineligible for the Coaches Poll and they lose twenty scholarships. Kiffin will not be able to recruit well over the next year or two because of this. They have already lost a few of their commits due to this, most notably the number one recruit Seantrel Henderson who is reportedly leaving for the U. This will not be the last impact these sanctions have on recruiting.

In short, an unproven Coach with limited recruiting ability coming off of a 9-4 season will most likely result in a few down years for the Trojans.

This would mean that Oregon would be the heir apparent in the Pac-10 over the next year or two and with good reason. But The Pac-10 underdog that could benefit from all of this is the newly added Utah Utes. This program has surprised us a few times over the last decade with two BCS bowl wins over Pitt and Alabama (neither of which was a fluke). Even though it will be another year Before Utah Plays a Pac-10 schedule they and Oregon should be the top two contenders to replace USC at the top of the Pac-10.

Conduct Unbecoming

Things aren't getting any better for the Georgia Bulldogs this week. Not long after the arrest and resignation of A.D. Damon Evans, two Bulldog players have been arrested on alcohol-related charges. This on the heels of the arrest of Tennessee Volunteers players who took part in a bar-room brawl in Knoxville, at least one of whom has been dismissed from the team.

It hardly needs to be said that there are two major issues here, which are not completely related. First of all, these two teams will be severely hampered by the loss of these athletes on the field. Tavarres King, receiver for the Bulldogs, has shown some ability in the preseason and Dontavius Jackson would be necessary for depth at the running back position. And this Tennessee Volunteers thing is going to significantly hurt their defense, with Darren Myles (a cornerback) gone and Marlon Walls (defensive line) and Greg King (linebacker) still waiting on their verdicts. So you have two teams in the SEC East, one which expects to make a run and the other trying to rebuild, who are now having to find new people who can contribute immediately.

Second of all, there is a more important issue of character. The purpose of this blog is not to pass judgment or to comment on social issues. However, we cannot ignore the fact that this kind of thing has been happening more and more frequently throughout college football. There is no doubt that young student-athletes must learn from their own mistakes and be given the freedom to live the college life. But what has happened to the concept that football is a tool that teaches life skills and that character is an important part of life? It is one thing to allow students to party and enjoy themselves, it is quite another to encourage them to believe that there are no consequences to their actions and to living like thugs. The "glamorous life" is a privelege, not a right. So, I say, stop acting like kids and start acting like young men...and let's play football.

Get It Over With...Hopefully

All right, let's try to get this realignment bull out of the way. I know there will continue to be questions about who might go where in future years, how conference championships (and the BCS) might play out with the changes. But can we please get past this year's round of adjustments?

Nebraska goes to the Big Ten. I see no reason why they shouldn't dominate. Let's be honest, they fit pretty well in that conference's dynamic. Traditionally, they focus on running the ball well out of the I-formation, throwing when they need to, and defense. Sound familiar (Wisconsin, Michigan, you know)? But they come from a conference where all the power was in the South and they still won championships and competed every year. And for most of us, the only two teams worth paying attention to in the Big Ten were Michigan or Ohio State depending on if you loved or hated one or the other. So I personally believe Nebraska will shake things up right away, which of course is what they want to do. All the conference has to do is institute a Conference Championship game and the Midwest will lose its mind.

The Pac-10 added two teams, Colorado and Utah. That was good because now they could institute a Conference Championship game, but now that USC is under an NCAA ban, the possibilities really open up. Colorado was a nice add since it took strength away from the Big 12, but really what else is Colorado going to do for the conference? I don't think they'll do much because they really haven't been that big of a factor in national conversation for awhile...I could be wrong. Utah, on the other hand, is in prime position to shake up the conference. They come in with a program that has had some big "upsets" the past couple of years and can compete immediately, not to mention the recruiting they'll be able to do with the Trojans' hands being tied.

It seems to me that of all the shifters, Colorado and Boise State gained the least. Colorado might get more money or more air time, but can they compete? (Then again, the Pac-10 isn't exactly Goliath, is it?) I should imagine that Boise is going to have a slightly tougher time in the Mountain West than it did in the WAC, what with Air Force and BYU being there. But even if they win out, they're going to be in the same types of bowl games as they were before, with little to no change (see Utah or BYU of the last couple years).

So anyway, there it is. Teams have shifted, but honestly aside from the implementation of a couple of new Conference Championships (which were needed) and a weaker Big 12 Conference, not much has changed.

Heather Dinich Betrayal

As my esteemed colleague alluded to, this blog is partly a response to those writers, analysts and commentators who have not given our teams the respect that they deserve. A recent example of this surfaced on the ESPN ACC Blog. Normally I have no objections to Heather Dinich or her posts. There was however a recent installment in which she counted down the top 25 players in the ACC. In this countdown only one Clemson player made the list. I believe that in this count down HD dropped the ball. So I would like to put forward some names that should have easily made the list

Da' Quan Bowers DE: HD admitted that the reason Bowers did not make the top 25 is because his playing time in 2009 was cut by injuries and therefore he did not accumulate impressive stats. Despite these set backs he managed to make the Lombardi watch list (top lineman on either side of the Ball) and the Nagurski watch list (top defensive player of the year). Bowers was a key member of the 2009 defense that was ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Dalton Freeman C: Freeman is just a sophomore (I believe) who made the Rimington watch list. This award is give to the nations top center.

Jarvis Jenkins DT: Jenkins is on of the best interior lineman in the country. Jenkins is also on the Nagurski watch list and the Outland watch list (top interior lineman).

Honorable Mention: RB's Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper. Both averaged 5 yards per carry, while living in the shadow of C.J. Spiller. Malliciah Goodman DE had a good freshman season in 2009 and should fill the shoes of Ricky Sapp nicely.

A Saturday Religion

I don't know about you, but where I come from College Football is huge. In the South, Sundays are a good day but Saturdays are when people live and die. Sunday is mainly for discussing Saturday and the whole week is for speculating and arguing about the other two days. Church is important, but the closest thing to a second temple is the football stadium. This is why we have named this blog "A Saturday Religion." While football is big in other parts of the country, it is especially revered in the South. And so, while we will look at College Football as a whole, we will focus on what takes place in the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.

It is important to note that we also write this blog for those people who feel they have gotten the short end of the stick in football antiquity. You should know that one of our writers is an Arkansas Razorbacks fan, another is part of the Clemson Tigers nation. This means that there is an understanding of football traditions, a yearly feeling of optimism, and an understanding of painful feelings when your team gets shafted or self-destructs or whatever causes teams (and fans) to have nightmares.

Therefore, in honor of the sport that we love so much and in honor of those who have made us feel betrayed (including writers, commentators, coaches, etc.) we present to you "A Saturday Religion." We hope you enjoy.