2017 College Football Season Preview

I have been too busy recently to post a College Football preview RANT, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have tons of thoughts, questions and predictions to make for the upcoming season.

Without further ado, my Cliff Notes version of a 2017 College Football Preview RANT.

Thursday was a fun kickoff to the College Football Season (last Saturday doesn’t count, that was the seasons Soft Open), but didn’t have any big games or surprises that you would hope for in the opening weekend.

Oklahoma State looked ridiculous on offense, as many expected.  At halftime, they averaged 12.5 yards per snap.  Mason Rudolph threw for 303 and 3 scores (also ran for 1), Justice Hill ran for 132 and a score and All-Everything James Washington had 6 catches for 145 and 2 scores.  And none of those players played a snap after the 1^st series of the 2^nd half.  The Ok State defense was just okay.  Tulsa kinda figured them out as the game went on and piled up over 430 yards of offense including 244 on the ground.  The Cowboys offense is as good as any in the country, but the defense needs to improve if they want to make their Preseason Top 10 ranking hold true.

Ohio State got a scare from Indiana in Bloomington.  Not often does Ohio State open on the road, but to play a conference game in Week 1, on a Thursday Night, might pretty cool to see from a power like Ohio State.  Indiana has big, physical WR’s that Ohio State’s young DB’s struggled matching up against.  The Buckeyes made some halftime adjustments and came out in the 2^nd half, putting more pressure on the QB and playing a little zone behind the front 4.  That caused some issues for Indiana and gave the Buckeyes time to get their offense going.  It was certainly not a pretty performance by JT Barrett and the rest of the Buckeyes on the offensive side of the ball, but you could see the in-game adjustments that they were making and how they began to settle into the game after they figured out what was working.  The Buckeyes have a stiff test next week when they host Oklahoma, but after that they go over a month of playing absolute garbage teams, before travelling to Nebraska Oct. 14^th.  The Buckeyes will be okay, trust me.

Other quick thoughts on Thursday Night…

We almost had a QB that threw 6 INT’s (Rhode Island) win a game, but Central Michigan survived a 3OT scare from the FCS team.

Cincinnati could be an absolute train wreck in year 1 of the Luke Fickell Era.  Yes, Tommy Tuberville left the cabinets pretty bare, but Austin Peay won almost every statistical category except score.  AP had more yards, more 1^st down and dominated time of possession, but lost the turnover battle 2-0 and the game 26-14.  Let me remind you that the FCS Govenors have now lost 44 of their last 45.

Onto Saturday.

There are 6 games on Saturday matching up Power 5 conference teams.  Despite, that only a few really are all that interesting.

Maryland @ Texas – Sure it is Tom Herman’s 1^st game at Texas, but Maryland is not a good football team.  Texas will win big and everyone will anoint him the next big thing (everyone that already hasn’t, that is).

Cal @ North Carolina – It’s always fun for those West Coast teams to travel across the country and have to play an early kickoff.  North Carolina lost a lot from last year, but this game still shouldn’t be close.

South Carolina vs NC State (in Charlotte) – I’m really intrigued by this game actually.  I think that SC will be much improved in year 2 of Will Muschamp, but I also want to see what all the hype surrounding NC State is about.  Please someone tell me what I am missing except that the Wolfpack have one elite defensive lineman and a pretty good D-Line as a group!  Someone told me earlier this week that they have a the 3^rd best talent in the ACC and could be a darkhorse playoff team.  WHAT?!  Dave Doeren has done NOTHING at NC State in his 4 years there, yet somehow this team is expected to suddenly challenge Clemson and Florida State in the ACC Atlantic?  To tell you how much NOTHING Doeren has achieved at NC State, he is 25-26 (a losing record!!!) and 9-23 in ACC play, going under 500 in the league all 4 years.  The Doeren led Wolfpack are 3-23 in games vs Power 5 teams that finished the season with a winning record, and all 3 of those wins came LAST YEAR.  Those wins were against Wake Forest, UNC and Vanderbilt.  Not exactly your powerhouse names.  NC State is also 1-3 against Boston College in his 4 years at the helm.  BC is one of the worst teams in all the Power 5 conferences.  So let’s slow down on the NC State love until they beat a team or two with a pulse.  By the way, I have the Pack going 7-5 this season, putting Doeren over .500 for his tenure.  That may be enough to get a statue built in Raleigh.

Michigan vs Florida (in Arlington) – The names involved make this sound like a great game, but in reality, both these teams are huge question marks going into their opener.  Michigan has the fewest returning starters in the nation this year.  Florida is starting a FR quarterback and has at least 10 players suspended for the opener.  For as big of a draw these two name-brand schools are, this game will not be played at a very high level and most likely won’t tell you anything about either team.  I expect both teams to be vastly improved heading into October as opposed to how they look heading into September.

Louisville vs Purdue (in Indianapolis) – Lamar Jackson lost a lot of pieces from last year, but he is still one of the most dynamic players in the game.  Purdue is in re-build mode under 1^st year head coach Jeff Brohm. 

Florida State vs Alabama (in Atlanta) – Two playoffs hopefuls squaring off in Week 1 on a neutral site field, the same one that we will host the National Championship Game in 5 months.  This is as good as it gets for the opening weekend of the season.  I like Alabama in this game, simply because I still don’t trust Deondre Francois, the Noles QB.  Both teams have very skilled, fast and physical defenses.  I expect it to be a very defensive struggle, especially with since both quarterbacks in the game are vastly overrated in my eyes.

It doesn’t end with Saturday though this week.  In my mind three of the best games come on Sunday and Monday.  Sunday, we have VT vs WVU in DC, as well as UCLA vs Texas A&M in the Rose Bowl.  Monday, it will be Georgia Tech and Tennessee in Atlanta.  All 3 games between Power 5 schools playing for something.  VT and WVU used to be a pretty big rivalry before both left the Big East.  In Pasadena, it is the season opener for 2 coaches that are square on the “hot seat” as the season begins.  In Atlanta, conference bragging rights are on the line as the ACC and SEC meet in the 3^rd match-up of the week.

Upsets To Watch (and Root) For:

Bowling Green (+17.5) @ Michigan State – Sparty still has concerns carrying over from last year.  I think they win, but those points are mighty tempting.

Wyoming (+11.5) @ Iowa – The Hawkeyes seem to get off to slow starts every year.  Wyoming and QB Josh Allen are good enough to beat Iowa if the Hawkeyes don’t come to play.

South Carolina (+5) vs NC State – I think I made it pretty clear I am not on the NC State bandwagon.  GO GAMECOCKS!

Temple (+18) @ Notre Dame – I almost hope this happens just to watch the Brian Kelly press conference afterwards and see Twitter burn.  I don’t like Temple to win, but you spot anyone 18 against Notre Dame and I like their chances.

Troy (+11) @ Boise State – This will be the worst Boise State team in a LONG time.  That is mainly because the bar is so high for them, but Troy is no joke.  Troy was a 10-win team last year that put a score into Clemson in Week 2 before falling to the eventual National Champs 30-24.

Southern Miss (+10) vs Kentucky – Not often do Group of 5 schools get an SEC team to play on their home field.   Southern Miss was a 9-point winner last year in Lexington, no reason they can’t do it again in front of their home crowd.

Middle Tennessee State (+3.5) vs Vanderbilt – It is not often that Vanderbilt is giving points on the road, when that happens take the points and don’t ask questions.

SEASON PREDICTIONS:

ACC Championship – Florida State over Pitt (Yes, it’s a complete homer pick I realize that, but the Coastal is wide open, why not Pitt???)

B1G Championship – Ohio State over Wisconsin

Big XII Championship – Oklahoma State over Oklahoma (I am racking my brain to find someone other than OU to pick here, I just can’t do it.)

PAC-12 Championship – USC over Stanford.  These 2 teams play in Week 2, which should be a nice preview for this game 4 months later.

SEC Championship – Alabama over Florida, AGAIN… The SEC East is once again full of average teams.  Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, SC, Missouri, can one of these teams just please make the jump and be the alpha dog in this division?!

Group of 5 Teams to Watch for the right to a NY6 Bowl:
Wyoming
Colorado State
South Florida
Central Florida
Memphis

PLAYOFF:
1) Alabama
2) Ohio State
3) Florida State
4) Oklahoma State

NATIONAL CHAMPION:
Ohio State