Games of the Week
#8 Georgia Bulldogs at #6 Clemson Tigers
The marquee game of the first week is amongst top 10 ranked teams. Both teams are looking to prove that they are National Title contenders and to do so they need this win bad. What we could see here is an old fashioned shoot out. Both teams return multi year starters and some talented pieces. For Clemson it's their high flying WR Sammie Watkins while Georgia brings back bruising RB Todd Gurley. The winner of this game will come down to which defense steps up. Clemson has struggled in the past defensively while Georgia has to replace five impact defenders. To me a game this close might come down to home field advantage.
Prediction: Georgia 24 Clemson 27
#14 LSU Tigers at TCU Horned Frogs
Even though TCU isn't ranked, this is one heck of a game. LSU seems to be sliding back a little in the SEC West while TCU is looking to be a sleeper to win the Big 12. Will the SEC reign supreme? Or will the Horned Frogs stout defense crush LSU's fragile offense and get out with the upset? To me this game comes down to which QB will make the most plays. TCU has Casey Pachall coming back from drug rehab while LSU's QB Zach Mettenburger had a very underwhelming previous season. LSU has the athletes, can TCU show their the better team?
Prediction: LSU 17 TCU 13
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs Virginia Tech Hokies
Alabama has made it a point to schedule tough opening season games and this year is no different. Don't let last year's struggles fool you. Virginia Tech is still a good team and is going to make it tough for Alabama. VaTech always has a stout defense and will look to take advantage of the Crimson Tide's inexperienced offensive line. If the Hokies want to get out with the upset they'll need QB Logan Thomas to play up to his potential and have a little "Beamer Ball" on special teams. But that's a lot to ask for and we are talking about Alabama here. The Tide are looking to win their third straight National Title and have the roster to do so.
Prediction: Alabama 34 Virginia Tech 13
#16 North Carolina Tar Heels at #10 South Carolina Gamecocks
Everybody knows about South Carolina and that they are making a run for the SEC West Title and a possible dark horse for the National Title. But what people may not be aware of is that North Carolina is a team to watch. Larry Fedora has the team headed in the right direction and QB Bryn Renner might be the most underrated QB in all of college football. It won't matter unless OT James Hurst and the rest of the Tar Heels are not able to block all world DE Jadeveon Clowney. I really like South Carolina here, but they'll need their offense to show up here, because if they don't the Tar Heels have the firepower to win.
Prediction: North Carolina 20 South Carolina 24
#19 Boise State Broncos at Washington Huskies
A yearly tradition is seeing Boise State travel to a BCS School and normally beat them. However last year the Broncos struggled against a bad Michigan State team and lost. Will this year be the same? Or can they get back on track? They do return QB Joe Southwick who improved as the season wore on, but they do have to replace some key starters on their defense. And let's not forget that Washington is talented. QB Keith Price is entering his third year as the starter and RB Bishop Sankey is drawing rave reviews. This will be a fun game to watch, and like most years it will come down to the final minutes.
Prediction: Boise State 30 Washington 34
Look to Surprise
It's safe to say a lot of people don't have favorable impressions of Indiana's football program. And why not. They've only made one bowl game since 1993 and have been at the bottom of the Big 10 for years. The best thing the Hoosiers have been known for lately was Antwan Randle-El who was their all everything quarterback. But after that it was a whole lot of nothing. So why all of a sudden are the Hoosiers a team to keep tabs on?
When Kevin Wilson was hired to be Indiana's new head coach it was largely seen as a bad move on his part. Like previously stated they didn't have success and it didn't look like they would anytime soon. But after a disasters 1-11 first year, Wilson and the Hoosiers rebounded to a 4-8 record last year and brought with them a top 20 offense. What will this year bring?
This year I projected the Hoosiers to win 7 games and make it to their first bowl game since the 2007 Insight Bowl. Look for dynamic QB Tre Robinson to come back from injury to lead their uptempo passing attack. I don't believe Indiana will be winning any Big 10 Titles anytime soon, but they could be in the verge of contending for a bowl game every year which is quite the feat.
Look to Disappoint
After their surprise ascension up the SEC standings in year one, the Aggies of Texas A&M have been the talk of college football. QB Johnny Manziel won the Heisman and head coach Kevin Sumlin was being praised as one of the best young coaches in the nation. Recruits in droves were flocking to College Station with the Aggies now in vogue. Expectations are now sky high too with most experts having A&M as the second best team in the SEC and a dark-horse for the National Title.
However there are still some pretty big question marks about this team that raises questions whether they can fulfill those expectations. First off, how are they going to handle all these expectations? Remember this is a team that is use to being average, not at the top. Can they handle the limelight? What about Johnny Manziel? Is he going to be eligible? If so, are the distractions too much? What happens when SEC defenses have been game planning for him all season long? Let's also forget that A&M lost two games last year and could have easily lost two more. Let's not let that Alabama win cloud our judgement.
I still have the Aggies ranked 4th in my top 25 and projected them to win eleven games. But with all the factors and the program's history, I wouldn't be shocked if they were only a nine win team.
Is the SEC's run of National Titles going to end?
The last team to win the National Title that wasn't a member of the SEC was Texas in 2005. The seven years after has be dominated by the best conference in college football. It's pretty remarkable considering we've never seen a conference dominate like that in history. Add in that defending National Champion Alabama is reloaded and ready for another trophy and Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are all not too far behind it looks like the SEC could be in line for their eight straight. Or could they?
The SEC is loaded with talent up and down every school's rosters. But that talent could actually hurt them in this case. We all know the SEC is going to beat each other up. When a team goes undefeated it is a big deal. Normally because everybody is so good. With everybody so good teams rarely go undefeated. Having a one or sometimes a two loss team as your conference champion doesn't automatically put them into the National Title Game. Let's not forget that one loss Alabama needed Kansas State and Oregon to loss or they would have been shut out of the National Title Game. We would have seen Notre Dame face one of those two schools. This year could be much the same.
This year we could see several teams from other conferences run the table and go undefeated.
-Oregon: Only Stanford stands in their way
-Stanford: see above
-Ohio State: Late season game against Michigan is their only true test.
-Louisville: Realistically they shouldn't lose a game. But will their schedule be enough to surpass a one loss SEC school?
There you have it! We could see several teams making a run at the undefeated season. Could we see a SEC team shut out? I guess we'll have to wait to find out.
Player Profile
Anthony Barr
Height: 6'4Weight: 238
School: UCLA
Year: Senior
Position: Linebacker
If you don't know who Anthony Barr is right now, you will shortly. But I really don't blame you because before his junior year, I don't know if anybody outside of Westwood would have either. For his first two years Barr was an unforgettable TE/FB who did little to nothing. But when Jim Mora Jr was brought in Barr was moved to LB and that's when he took off.
In his first year at linebacker he really took off registering 13 sacks and 21 tackles for loss. That's pretty amazing considering he may not have seen the field if he didn't make the switch. Barr uses his quick burst and tenacious motor to wreck havoc. Not only is Barr a good pass rusher, but he can also drop well into coverage and has even had success cover some elite tight ends. He has the ability to be the complete package at linebacker.
Barr could have easily declared for the draft after last year and made a run at the top 10. However I really feel that he made the right choice coming back to UCLA. Although he has all the talent in the world he is still very raw and could use another year to work on his craft and refine some techniques. Those adjustments could make him a top five pick and make him a lot more money.
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