Agree 100%. We both know they are part of the hype machine, but that doesn't make them any more credible. Blech x300.

Aside from the obvious (UGA-Boise St.), I'm really fucking excited about the LSU-Oregon game.

Re: this. Did you see my post at the bottom of previous page?

I did. LSU's doesn't exactly win games by virtue of it's offense. This is not like Gus Malzahn going down, and might in fact be a blessing in disguise.

i think LSU throttles Oregon.

Oh, I get that most def. The problem is--and here comes the vitriolic 'Neers fan charm--Beamer has won squat, and continually coaches a team that is more times than not over-hyped. I just don't get the Hokie love. Winning the ACC last year wasn't really a feat--all to lose in the Orange Bowl. Last year, everyone they played in the top 10 they lost to (and that's not including the wk 2 loss to James Madison). That benefit of the doubt is a complete farce when you look at Beamer's 8-10 career record in bowl games as well.

/rant

Dude. Pull back the coon skin cap and step away from the couch fire. VT won SIX bowl games in the 100 years prior to his arrival. He's won 10 games or more in the last 7 years. He actually has a style of play, or maybe it's a philosophy, named after him in "Beamerball". The fact that he actually still continues to get players to come to BLACKSBURG is nothing short of miraculous.

Also, bowl record is one of the worst indicators of a coach's ability IMO given the current sham system we have.

I will agree that their schedule this year is laughable and single loss should knock them out of a shot at the title.

I liken Beamer to Osborne and Bowden. He might never win a mythical NC or coach more than 20yrs before it happens, but you are pretty much guaranteed of a 9/10 win season every year with him at the helm. VT is predicably and consistantly good and always contending in a weak ACC. I'd be certainly be content with those results if I was a Mountaineer fan after this offseason.

My biggest problem is their being lumped in with elite teams, and their failure to pull the trigger when it matters the most. Not to mention that they jumped ship from the Big East when teams were getting better (Pitt, WVU, Louisville) and a BE championship wasn't going to be a walk.



Your first statement is almost a double negative. If the ACC is weak, then wouldn't it be assumed they'd do well? And, I'll let yr snarky comment about WVU slide because you don't know better.

usa today has nd at 18

thought that was pretty good, but i looked at their schedule and it is EEEEEEEEEEEEEASY

only one guaranteed loss (stanford) and two other even remotely possible losses (mich state and michigan)

if they don't end the year in the top 10, brian kelly should be thrown into a wood chipper

I have yet to read any pre-season mags but the Texas A&M ranking was a bit surprising.

What's the deal there? They bringing a bunch of starters back?

I remember they went on a run there at the end of last year.

Until LSU ass raped them in the Cotton Bowl

The A&M and Okie State rankings didn't bother me as much as the Florida State ranking, but then I went into the who really has an easy route to the BCS title game mode.
A&M and Okie State are going to be annihilated by OU since they play them in Norman, and the Sooners own the Aggies and the Cowboys at home. That loss alone guarantees that they won't finish in the top ten, but they might actually make an Auburn like run and finally take the depleted Big 12.

And yes, Okie State and A&M have a shit ton of starters returning from high scoring offenses.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1092050.html

CFN really like Georgia, and has my Huskers ranked #24. I actually like the fact that they rank Nebraska so low, but it seems like they are weighing alleged talent a lot higher than last years results.

I'm hearing a ton of Seminole love as well and even early hype that the FSU-OU game will be an early BCS preview or whatever.

Having seen neither team and with very little knowledge of their respective depth, I'd probably still make the Sooners a 10 point favorite on the road. This isn't 1996.

Thinking about the UGA-BSU game is starting to make me squirm: I just want the day to come and go and be done with it, no matter the outcome.

Way too early bowl projections by Yahoo/Rivals:
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/conte ... ID=1249828

The ESPN/EA Sports simulation had Nebraska in the Rose Bowl, so this is the second time the Huskers have been projected to play in a BCS bowl game. I assume that they are both projecting the winner of the Nebraska/Wisconsin game to go unbeaten through the regular season and then lose the rematch in the conference title game.

Georgia is projected to be the #3 pick out of the SEC.

This stuff about A&M to the SEC is the Real Deal if what I heard today is even borderline true.

Yeah, the shit really hit the fan yesterday across the blogosphere and on Big 12 message boards. I think it is now a "sooner or later" scenario rather than a slight possibility. I think the state government of Texas would have to block A&M from seceding from the other schools in the state and the Big 12 to prevent it from happening now.
I think it is all up to Mike Slive and the SEC to pull the trigger on a deal. I'm pretty sure there is/will be some serious wheeling and dealing going on in back rooms this season for conference realignment. I think the current and possible independent schools and what to do with the D-I leftovers will be the only sticking point for the NCAA when the realignment plan goes public.
The regents at A&M seem to be seething over the various Longhorn Network news pieces that have leaked out courtesy of open document laws, and the vast majority of them now want to wash their hands of the Big 12 once and for all.

The A&M rumor now includes Florida State. The SEC is allegedly considering playing with 13 teams next year with the addition of A&M and then 14-16 teams in 2013. 14 seems more likely with the possible addition of the Seminoles, but massive realignment could easily bring that number up to 16.
The Seminole fans seem to favor the move to the SEC since they aren't a Basketball school in a Tobacco producing state, but they don't think Jimbo Fischer or the administration will want to make the move.

There are also academic requirements linked to bowl eligibility and the NCAA raised the APR rate to 930. I think it is a good deal. They just need to eliminate the rule that allows teams to become bowl eligible by counting a win over an FCS team and requiring all bowl teams to have eight wins.

It's all speculation and none of it is going to happen (if it happens, A&M has been rumored now for a couple decades) 3 weeks before the season starts.

In other news, Knile Davis went down in a heap yesterday in Arkansas. Pretty much means the Razorbacks just took a HUGE blow.

He's the most overlooked player in the country. He LED the SEC in rushing last season.

One of the players was quoted as saying "I'm going to have nightmares about that pop and then him screaming". *shudder*

I feel terrible for this kid. Definite pro prospect.


On the other hand, FUCK BOBBY PETRINO

Derris, A&M is having a Board of Regents meeting on August 22nd and is allegedly going to accept the invititation to the SEC at that time.
The Nebraska to the Big Ten scenario played out in a similar manner, except that the invite became public with a joint press conference with Tom Osborne and Jim Delany on a Friday afternoon and then the Regents met on Monday morning to ratify the deal.

AKA "The Tyrone Prothro"?

http://huskerextra.com/sports/football/ ... 1778d.html

The A&M board of regents are now meeting Monday to discuss the move to the SEC and FSU won't rule out a move to the SEC. I believe the deal is done, despite the fact that I thought it would take another two years for full realignment to take place. The NCAA might be working overtime during the 2012 offseason to make the BCS work or to implement a playoff system.

Hello Texas Media Market and new ESPN deal for the SEC.

ESPN Breaking News
Doug Gottlieb is reporting various sources that A&M is joining the SEC, and that Missouri, Clemson and FSU are going to as well.

I think this is happening but since when did Gottlieb become a trustworthy news breaker?