CFB 2019 Preview

[quercus alba]

I'll be doing this in installments, starting with the Big 12 and doing about one a week. Let's start with order of finish but will highlight the favorites here.

1) Oklahoma. This was easy, kinda like picking Bama in SEC west. The Sooners definitely have upgraded the defensive coordinator with Alex Grinch. I think the defense will improve incrementally throughout the season and it will need to. Color me skeptical but I wouldn't be surprised to see Jalen Hurts benched at some point in the season. A definite step down from Kyler Murray. look for Oklahoma to lean on the running game and short passing game more than usual this year, they have some fantastic play makers at the skill positions.

Best case scenario: 12-0 with a trip to the playoffs. Worse case: 10-2

My prediction 10-2 with a New Years day game. I don't think Texas will be one of the losses. Starts out with Houston which is no gimme, at UCLA, at Kstate, at a dangerously improved Baylor team, at the Bugeaters and then there's Texas. TCU is always capable. I think Hurts will live up to his name and his inconsistency will hurt the Sooners at some point and time



2) Texas. I'm not sold on Ehlinger, he has potential for greatness but also a potential to get hurt or make a stupid decision at a crucial juncture of the game game or both at once.

Best case scenario: 10-2. Worst case 8-4

My pick, 9-3. LSU in the opener, the Sooners in Dallas, @ west Virginia @ TCU, Kstate, Baylor, and Iowa st. Pretty tough gauntlet



3-6) in no particular order, Baylor, TCU, Iowa st and Okie lite

7-9) West Virginia, Kansas st and Texas tech.

10) Kansas. The good news here is that the Mad Hatter will steal one from somebody


Random meandering:

Baylor is going to surprise someone this year.
Iowa st will choke in a game they should win
TTech will be wishing Kliffie was back
Ehlinger misses a couple of games injured. He likes contact too much. It could happen against LSU in the opener
Kansas will upset somebody and win three games this year. They will scare a couple more. Les may be going thru a bale a week by season end
Unless the Sooners QB's can hit some downfield passes, the Big 12 will miss the playoffs.
I'm still dazed and confused as to why the Big 12 only has 10 teams


Next up, the Big 10

[Thumper]

I have no clue what you're yammering about, but you should be a sport's writer. ;)

[Big Muddy]

I have no clue what you're yammering about, but you should be a sport's writer. ;)

....or a bookie, or a bartender, or a pimp. ;););)

(just kiddin', bro.....you'd make a great short-order cook, too. )

[Chicken Dinner]

I can’t argue with your rankings. But, I sure hope the Mountaineers do better than you project as things are more interesting around here when they’re having a good year.


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[quercus alba]

Holgorsen is gone, probably because while the cupboard isn't bare, the offensive line is and as a razorback fan who suffered thru last year, that is a BIG thing. Austin Kendall at QB is going is going to be a big thing early ........maybe later too. I just don't have enough data on him right now. The defense should be better but it could improve by 30% and still be a disaster. if their new look 4-2-5 defense comes together 7-5 is a possibility. their schedule is brutal too, at missouri, oklahoma. TCU and baylor. home against NCstate, Texas, Iowa state, Kstate and Okie state. The only gimmies are James madison and Kansas and kansas is gonna get someone this year, maybe the Mountaineers

[Chicken Dinner]

JMU is no gimme for any middling or lower Power 5 school. Those boys can play.


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[quercus alba]

First off, Big 10/14 fans have absolutely no reason to look down their collective nose at the SEC non conference scheduling. Out of 36 non-conference games in the Big 10/14 this season, here are the toughest ones: Iowa st, Colorado, Stanford, TCU, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Arizona st and Pitt. The only reason Notre Dame is on there is that Michigan was so terrified of the Mighty Arkansas Razorbacks that they cancelled on us and picked up the Irish instead.

1) The Ohio State Buckeyes. Dan Haskins is gone and that might be a good thing. Maybe now they will have a QB that can read a defense and throw the ball down field. Defense will be solid but not outstanding. Lots of talent on the outside and in the backfield. They have everything needed for a second place finish in the Big Ten, however we're reserving that for......

Best case scenario 12-0 with a loss to Bama or Clemson in the first round of the playoffs.

Worst case scenario 10-2.

My pick 12-0 with a couple of scares along the way

2) Michigan. Michigan has all the pieces this year, best offensive line in the conference, plenty of talent in all the skill positions, defensive talent running out the wazzu and Harbaugh. Btw, that last one is an ass not an asset. There is absolutely no reason that Michigan shouldn't challenge for a national championship this year. except Harbaugh is worth about a negative 10 points a game. Harbaugh is gonna Harbaugh

Best case: 11-1

Worst case 9-3

My pick 10-2. At Penn st and Wisconsin. Home against Notre Dame, Mich st, Ohio st and Iowa. 10-2 might be generous

3-4) Penn st and Wisconsin. Either one of the teams could challenge for 2nd place. Or 6th. The worst part is that they can't both go 0-12.

5-6) Michigan st and Iowa. Would somebody please tell Kirk Ferentz that the forward pass is your friend? If he'd recruit some speed on the outside and draw up some plays to throw to someone besides the tight end Iowa would challenge the conference top three year in and year out. Michigan st will beat someone they shouldn't and finish at 7-5.

7-11) Maryland, Minn, Neb, Northwestern and Purdue. Sorry Boilermaker fans I just can't see more than 6 wins unless they can make a big jump with a somewhat depleted defense 8-4 is possible. However the same thing can be said about Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern. Maryland doesn't deserve any recognition because of their ugly uniforms. Tough middle of the pack in the big 10/14

12-14) Rutgers, Illinois, and Indiana. The hoosiers are the only one here that might make a little noise

Random thoughts:
a) Ohio st beats Michigan 35-10 in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh bails for the NFL
b) Scott Frost throws his QB under the bus after a disappointing loss
c) If the Big 10/14 champ has two close losses they will make the playoffs
d) All in all another typical year for the Big 10/14.
e) Oh yeah, without Bobby Petrino to kick around this year, I hope a big defensive lineman runs over there and tramples James Franklin's face

[Big Muddy]

Jmho.....Petrino, for some reason, seemed disinterested in his team, during games.....maybe his $14 million contract buyout had something to do with it. ;)

[Chicken Dinner]

Why the Wisconsin hate? I love watching those big white farm boys run the ball.


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[DeputyDog]

The Boilers May be a surprise. This is Brohm’s third year and he has a top 25 recruiting class coming in this year.

Their biggest weakness is the lines on both sides of the ball. If they show improvement and the skill players stay healthy they might be a bit better.


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[quercus alba]

The ACC has done a better job in non-conference scheduling than say.......the Big 10/14. Boise st, Fla, Kentucky, A&M, S-Car, Penn st, Bama, Notre Dame and Georgia. A couple of them more than once. However, most of those (Clemson excluded) are against lower to middle of the pack teams. Of course compared to Clempson everyone else is lower or middle of the pack.

1) Indubitably the pole position belongs to Clemson. They've got the best coach, the best players, that's why they're going to walk away with the ACC title. Remote trap games would be Texas A&M and @ Syracuse. Extremely remote trap games @ NC State and @ S-Car

Best case scenario: 13-0 and a national championship.

Worst case scenario: 12-1. This only happens if Trevor Lawrence gets hurt early, the defensive line all contracts ebola and Brett Venables joins a monastary. Any combination of two of these still probably relates back to the best case scenario

My prediction: 13-0. Nearly all the offense comes back, Travis Etienne is one of the top 3 backs in the nation and they're loaded with playmakers. The offensive line is back, Posthole could probably QB this team to a 10-2 record.

2a @2b) Miami and Virginia. You're probably scratching your heads if you're not Hank when I put Virginia this high but they're going to be in the 8-4 range. They've got pretty good talent and a very favorable schedule, @ Notre Dame and @ Miami are their toughest games. However, if they get bit by the injury bug in just a couple of places then you're looking at 5-7 or 6-6. Good team but not a lot of room for errors

I think Manny Diaz is probably a little over rated at Miami but they should be able to negotiate their way to a 9-3 record or at worst 8-4.

4) Sryacuse. A couple of challenging road games but overall a manageable schedule should get 8-4 out of it.

5-14) the best of the rest in no particular order

Boston College: Experts saying 7-5, I'm going to flip that and say 5-7

Florida State: Even a coach as inept as Willie Taggart should win here with their talent potential. 7-5

Louisville: Needs to pay more penance for Petrino 4-8

NC State: An enigma nay a conundrum. I could go from 9-3 to 6-6. I'm going to say 8-4

Wake Forest: What can I say here, very manageable (cushy) schedule and they'll finish above Louisville. I mean, they're Wake Forest and this is CFB.....6-6. Maybe

Duke: If Zion WIlliamson suits up at TE I'd say 5-7. He won't so I'll say 4-8

North Carolina: The primary difference between Mack Brown and Lou Holtz is Mack is a better speaker. Both are better retired. 3-9 and back to the broadcast booth in year 3

Pitt: 4-8. What can I say, they've turned out some great players thru the years but Dorsett has no eligibility left and Marino's ain't coming back.

Virginia Tech: Favorable schedule this year, if Fuentes can't get it done this year his seat will start getting warm. I'm gonna say 8-4

Random Meanderings:

a) At some point in the game, Clemson will trail Boston College only to win by 20+ points
b) Between Virginia tech and the Wolf pack, Hank will swear off college football forever. Or at least ten minutes whichever comes first
c) Notre Dame will sweep the ACC teams it plays. Unless of course they meet Clemson in the Playoffs
d) There will be one surprise firing in December
e) 7-9 ACC teams will make bowl games
f) Jimbo Fisher calls the his AD at halftime of the opening game and say " we need to replace Clemson with the St Jude School of the Blind next year".

[Chicken Dinner]

I’m as confused as you are about where the Wolfpack will end up this year. Any time you don’t have a starting QB named coming out of spring ball means just about anything could happen. As for Tech, they’ll go 8-4 if then can manage to beat ODU at home in the Opener. (Personally, I think they’ll whip them like a rented mule in a revenge match.) Virginia? Meh. I say Tech brings home the Commonwealth Cup for the 16th year in a row. Syracuse is my pick for #2 behind Clempson.


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[Chicken Dinner]

Let’s get this party started! Who do you like this weekend, QA? I’ll take Miami over Florida for nothing other conference loyalty and ‘Zona over Hawaii because the Rainbow Warriors is a dumbass name. (How’s that for in depth analysis?) I’m just glad college football is back.


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[BarryBobPosthole]

Seems like everybody ends at 8-4?

Dabo Sweeney is getting a free pass on this ostarine scandal just because he’s Dabo Fucking Sweeney.

I predict more suspensions and a full investigation.

Clempson should sleep walk through their schedule.

If Fuentes is gonna do it, its time. I think he will and Va Tech will end up in the Top 15 at some point this year. And finish 9-3.

BKb

[quercus alba]

First game of the season huh? I'm not sold on Manny Diaz. As far as that goes I'm not sold on Dan Mullins either but I'd take either one over our coach. Being as I don't have my SEC preview out yet, I haven't really decided on this matchup yet, my head says Florida but my gut says Miami. I guess I'd say Canes late.

The Rainbow Coalition er I mean Warriors will probably player Arizona closer than it should be but I'll say Wildcats by 14

[Penguin]

Sadly I think quercus is right about the Mounties. We lost a few important parts to transfer after Holgersen left. And we had some holes in the lineup after this year's class to begin with. I'm interested to see if the new guy can just get them organized and put a decent style of football on the field. Even if he does that's a 6-6 team at best I think.

The Badgers? We'll see. Coan is still the leading QB coming off the spring camp. I think Chryst wants to let Mertz season a year. He may be the best QB prospect we've had in school history but he's still a freshman and this is still Wisconsin. I wouldn't expect to see him a lot but you never know... Coan was very bad last season when he played. Defensively on paper we're a wreck. But I actually expect them to be better than last season. There are some very talented young guys on that side of the ball and I think they'll beat expectation. On the minus side we've got probably the hardest schedule in the BIG 10 this season.

Will

[Chicken Dinner]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190820/eea89fb89d9dd25a8f3a8adcf9e30de3.jpg


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[quercus alba]

I spent three hours writing up my SEC preview then drug one of my fat fingers across the wrong button trying to hit caps lock right at the end and lost it all.

The devil with it, not doing it again. I'm thru, I'll just do my weekly picks. I am thoroughly pissed.

[Chicken Dinner]

I had that happen Sunday night at 10pm where I was literally correcting the last line on someone’s annual performance appraisal and lost the whole damn thing. I about cried.


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[BarryBobPosthole]

Since you had trouble with your SEC picks, I thought I’d give you mine.

SEC East
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Tennessee
Missouri
South Carolina
Vanderbilt

SEC West
Alabama
LSU
Texas A&M
Mississippi State
Auburn
Arkansas
Ole Miss

SEC Champ - Florida

There you have it, Saban lovers!

BKB

[Chicken Dinner]

Is Florida really that good? I’m not a fan, but if they can really dethrone that Debbil Nick Saban I might become one.


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