by naternet July 21, 2010
Fourth And Blog 2010 College Football Preview

We’re closing in on my favorite time of the year- college football season. The fact that it happens to coincide with my favorite season- fall, makes it a glorious world of bemusement and wonder for me. Every September, I know that I can look forward to the crisp autumn air and the spectacle and pageantry of college football. It’s like my Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Birthday all rolled into one.

I may just skip around our living room all day on the first Saturday of the season. But probably not.

Anyway, I figured that now would be as good a time as any to kick off my college football coverage here on the blog. So, I’m going to count down my Top 5 Playmakers, Storylines and Overhyped, not to mention a quickie Preseason Top 25. I know that sounds like a lot to pack into one blog post, especially for a guy that mostly just posts pictures and links to Youtube videos, but bear with me. I can do this.

TOP FIVE PLAYMAKERS - guys who can turn a game around in an instant

  1. Noel Devine, West Virginia - Waterbug-fast and stronger than most think. He’ll have a banner Senior campaign for the Mountaineers
  2. LaMichael James, Oregon - Another small, quick and deadly back in a system that takes full advantage of his traits
  3. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame - If he can stay healthy, he’s one of the best deep threats in the game today. Big, strong, fast and chock-full of talent and playing in an offense that made lesser receivers look all-world.
  4. Robert Griffin, Baylor - Back from a season-ending knee injury last year, he’ll be looking to prove something on every down.
  5. Ricky Dobbs, Navy - 27 rushing TDs last year and he can throw, too.

TOP FIVE STORYLINES - what are we going to get sick of talking about all season?

  1. Brian Kelly’s first year at Notre Dame. Expect every single decision he makes to be scrutinized by haters and Domers alike.
  2. A Masoli-less Oregon Ducks offense. Can Nate Costa or Darren Thomas step in and lead this uber-talented team to the Rose Bowl?
  3. Anything surrounding USC. Seriously, anything. 
  4. John Brantley replacing the Tebow in Florida. Can he be 1/2 as loved as the Tebow? 
  5. NCAA investigations. They’re everywhere!!!

TOP FIVE OVERHYPED PLAYERS

  1. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State - One good game to cap the season after a year of ups and downs does not a Heisman winner make.
  2. Jake Locker, Washington - Looked decent last year, but still not very accurate. 36/26 TD to INT isn’t super-hot, either.
  3. Colin Kapernick, Nevada - Piles up yards in bunches, but hasn’t developed as a passer in his three years.
  4. Andrew Luck, Stanford - No Gerhart to bail him out. If the running game isn’t stellar, he’s going to shoulder too much of the load.
  5. Matt Barkley, USC - Unless he can cut down on his INTs, he’s going to struggle.

PRESEASON TOP 25

  1. Alabama
  2. Boise State
  3. Ohio State
  4. Florida
  5. Texas
  6. Oregon
  7. TCU
  8. Nebraska
  9. Iowa
  10. Virginia Tech
  11. Pittsburgh
  12. Georgia Tech
  13. Wisconsin
  14. Miami
  15. Cincinnati
  16. Penn State
  17. Oregon State
  18. Arkansas
  19. Miami
  20. LSU
  21. USC
  22. Utah
  23. North Carolina
  24. Auburn
  25. West Virginia

--Tagged under: college football--

--Tagged under: preview--

--Tagged under: lists--

by naternet February 3, 2010

How the hell did we miss this? Oh yeah, it went up before Fourthandblog was a blog. Taco Vandervelde, eat your heart out.

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--Tagged under: offseason--

--Tagged under: recruiting--

by naternet January 18, 2010
Unnecessarily Early, Throwaway Top 25 for 2010

In an effort to stay somewhat relevant, and to break up the monotony of editing video for work and piecing together a hasty take on the season that was, I thought that I’d throw out my under-researched, off-the-cuff Top 25 prediction for 2010.

  1. Ohio State
  2. Alabama
  3. Boise State
  4. Oregon
  5. Virginia Tech
  6. Texas
  7. Florida
  8. TCU
  9. Iowa
  10. Wisconsin
  11. Georgia Tech
  12. Cincinnati
  13. BYU
  14. Penn State
  15. Nebraska
  16. Pitt
  17. Miami
  18. Utah
  19. USC
  20. Oregon State
  21. UConn
  22. LSU
  23. West Virginia
  24. Arkansas
  25. Navy

Please feel free to discuss. Would you rank anyone lower/higher/not at all?

--Tagged under: college football--

--Tagged under: top 25--

by naternet January 8, 2010

Well, well, well. You know, Petey, you can’t body board in Puget Sound.

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--Tagged under: petecarroll--

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by naternet January 7, 2010
Nate’s Take - BCS Title Game

Look, this game has been broken down from so many angles that it’s going to be impossible for me to provide any meaningful, original insight into this game. We all know about Colt McCoy being clutch, Texas having no solid running game, Mark Ingram’s anticipated struggles with the Texas run defense and the pressure that is going to be put on Greg McElroy to get the ball to Julio Jones. So, let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?

I think that it’s about damn time that Colt McCoy wins something big, instead of being leap-frogged by anyone and everyone. The kid is a gamer who has been overshadowed by Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford most of his college career. By all accounts, he’s a classy kid who has taken it all in stride, and good for him. But I think he’s hungry for something big. Colt will show up with his “A” game tonight, put the Longhorns on his back and lead them to victory. Hook ‘em.

Texas wins, 27-24.

--Tagged under: college football--

--Tagged under: college football picks--

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--Tagged under: bowl championship series--

by naternet January 5, 2010
Nate’s Take - Orange Bowl

Just a scant three games are left in the college football season. That, I guess, is reason enough to watch this year’s Orange Bowl, a game pitting the enigma wrapped inside a conundrum that is the Iowa Hawkeyes against the Ramblin’ Wreck that is Georgia Tech.

Sure, Tech sounds sexy, with their nu-triple option offense and Leach-esque Paul Johnson at the helm, but they have proven to be almost as frustrating this season as Iowa. Of course, they don’t have a close call to a FCS team, but they do play in the ACC.

On paper, Georgia Tech should blow Iowa out of the water. They’re explosive, high-scoring and play solid defense. But Iowa does feature a Top 10 run defense and…

Okay, I just can’t get excited for this one. At all. Nothing about it makes me want to watch this game, aside from the aforementioned cache of being 1/3 of my college football viewing left for the year. It’s being broadcast on Fox, who has made a habit of shitting all over college football with their half-assed BCS broadcasts for the past few years, and that’s enough reason right there. Add in the heart attack inducing Ricky Stanzi, who is just as likely to throw 4 INTs in a quarter as he is to throw 4 TDs and I have officially checked out. I’m looking forward to the GMAC bowl, starting….now.

What the hell, Iowa wins, 20-18.

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--Tagged under: college football picks--

by naternet January 4, 2010
Nate’s Take - Fiesta Bowl

So it’s come time for us to turn our attention to the two undefeated teams playing at the kid’s table of the BCS bowls. Boise State and TCU own some of the best overall records in college football over the past five seasons and all they got was a matchup against each other, instead of a chance to show that they belong with the big, bad Automatic Qualifiers. It’s bullshit, if you ask me.

The BCS is treating two undefeated teams like also-rans and it stinks. Not just for Boise State and TCU fans, but for college football fans in general. Part of the joy of college football is seeing a plucky underdog team, outmatched and outgunned, take down a powerhouse. Well, both of these programs have quietly built themselves up to powerhouse status in their respective divisions and they’re feeling the crush of the glass ceiling that the BCS is imposing on them, for no other reason than their names aren’t Texas or Alabama.

For those of you who are quick to point out the strength of schedule that Boise State and TCU faced this year, I’ll counter with last year’s Utah/Alabama matchup in the Fiesta bowl, where an undefeated Utah team bludgeoned a juggernaut Alabama team for 60 minutes. Or how about Boise State’s takedown of Oklahoma in 2007? This year, TCU’s Mountain West Conference is 4-0 in bowls and TCU itself was 6-0 during the season against teams that went on to play in bowls.

In the end, you play the schedule that you have. Boise State has tried to set up home and home series with a number of AQ teams, all of which turned them down. You might even say that big programs are scurred to face Boise on the Smurf Turf.

But we are where we are. Boise State will be taking on TCU tonight in the Fiesta Bowl and the winner will be able to argue that they should be either #2 or #3 in the final polls, marking the second straight year that a non-AQ team can do so.

Boise has been explosive all year on offense, whether they’re running or passing. Their defense has swung from dominant to simply aggressive and willing. Teams have been able to score on Boise State this year more than in the past and that could end up being a problem.

TCU, on the other hand, has been explosive offensively and utterly dominant defensively. Only two teams scored more than 20 points against the Horned Frogs all year, and most of those points came once the games were decided.

TCU is fast everywhere and would be a nightmare matchup for anyone. Boise is more savvy than overwhelmingly talented. They have swagger and some brilliant playcalling to lean on. Because of this, I think that Boise State is the definite underdog in this game. They have an uphill climb to overcome TCU’s athleticism and talent, but they have shown time and time again that, when confronted with that sort of challenge, they’re up to the task. Still, TCU has been demolishing people all year and Boise State has made their living this year outscoring teams more than dominating them. I think TCU wins this game and makes a case for a few #1 votes in the process.

TCU wins, 24-13.

--Tagged under: college football--

--Tagged under: picks--

--Tagged under: bowls--

by naternet December 31, 2009

Nice to see that, on a network that has been flat-out destroying Leach without all the facts, there is still someone at ESPN with enough integrity and cojones to say, “look, I don’t know all of the facts and don’t forget that there are two sides to this story”.

Good on ya, Matich!

--Tagged under: college football--

--Tagged under: trevor matich--

--Tagged under: espn--

--Tagged under: mike leach--

by naternet December 30, 2009
Nate’s Take - Holiday & Outback Bowls

This is a bit slapdash and last-minute, but I’m working on about four different deadlines at the moment in two different mediums, so gimmie a break.

Holiday Bowl

Arizona has a tough defense and a capable offense. Nebraska has a great defense and a piss-poor offense. This one’s gonna be ugly, one way or another. I’m not going to pick against Suh, though.

Nebraska wins, 8-7

Outback Bowl

This one’s going to be a bit of a sleeper. Both of these teams fight hard and are full of overachievers. I think it’s going to be very entertaining all the way through. Something tells me not to pick against Mike Kafka and the Wildcats.

Northwestern wins, 34-30

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Adam’s Take - Holiday & Outback Bowls

Holiday

This game looks pretty straight forward to me. I haven’t seen much of Arizona this year, but their most impressive wins either came earlier in the year (Stanford, Oregon State) or were against floundering teams (USC).

I’m not sure that the Wildcats stand a chance against the Nebraska defense. That, combined with the nicely balanced, but not overpowering Cornhuskers offense should be all that Nebraska needs to take this game.

Nebraska Wins 27-13

Outback

Both Northwestern and Auburn have looked very impressive at times, but have also come up short when they needed big wins. Northwestern however, is coming into this Bowl game riding a three game win streak; two of those games coming against Big Ten powerhouses Iowa and Wisconsin.

The Northwestern defense is going to be key. They’ll need to stop the Auburn run game and force some turnovers. If they can do that, and I think they can, they will win this game.

Northwestern Wins 17-13

--Tagged under: college football--

--Tagged under: holiday bowl--

--Tagged under: outback bowl--

by naternet December 23, 2009
Nate’s Take - Pontsettia Bowl

Another busy day running around and accomplishing little with the in-laws means that I’m posting this last-minute pick for the Utah-Cal matchup in the Pointsettia Bowl from the backseat of a rental car somewhere in the exurbs of Omaha.

Anyway, both of these teams were very over-hyped to start the season. Utah lost a ton of major contributors from last year’s team. Cal had Jahvid Best and that was about it. Somehow, both of them managed to finished the season with winning records.

Cal was blown out multiple times by conference foes this year, including a season-ending 42-10 loss to Washington.

Utah lost badly to BYU and barely beat laughably bad Utah State.

That said, this matchup of misfits might just be entertaining. Both teams can score. Cal has a capable Shane Vereen to turn to with the dynamic Best out for the rest of the season. Utah still has quality WRs to throw to, if their freshman QB has time to find it.

In the end, though, Cal has the better athletes and more depth, which, if last year’s Sugar Bowl has taught us anything, means that Utah will blow them out of the water.

Utes win, 34-17

--Tagged under: college football--

--Tagged under: bowls--

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Adam’s Take - Maaco/Las Vegas Bowl

This bowl is going to be a hell of a game for sure. Two high powered offenses facing off in the first big matchup of the bowl season.

To be honest, my first inclination is to pick BYU. The Cougars’ passing game is certainly cause for concern, but I don’t think I am giving the Oregon State defense enough credit. Prior to the Civil War game, the Beavers hadn’t given up more than 21 points since their loss to USC. In that same Civil War game, they played exception well against an Oregon team that I believe would shred the BYU defense.

All signs are point towards a very close game. Everyone knows BYU passing game is on point, but it may have escaped the minds of some people that the Cougars do have a 1,000 yard rusher. Harvey Unga is quietly had his third 1,000 yard season on this pass happy team. He’s a 240-pounder who could pose some problems for the Beavers in the same way LaGarrette Blount did when he was inserted into the Civil War game.

On the other sideline is the exceedingly impressive Oregon State offense. Sean Canfield is playing the best football of his life. If you shut down his No. 1 target James Rodgers, there’s always the other Rodgers brother, Jacquizz, to contend with.

Come game time, both defenses will struggle to contend with all the weapons the opposing offenses throw their way. We’re likely to see a lot of lead changes and a fairly high score. In the end the Beavs will have just a little more than BYU.

Oregon State Wins 35-31

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--Tagged under: BYU--

--Tagged under: football--

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