College Football predictions

Today is opening day for my two favorite teams, Notre Dame & San Diego State. Here are my predictions on their seasons.

  1. Notre Dame – The Irish have a tough schedule. The first five games are as tough a schedule as you’ll see anywhere because teams always “play up” for Notre Dame and their National TV audience. If you look at their order of schedule and the style of football each team plays… it’s really hard to adjust. This team is better, but not quite of the power to roll over teams just yet. I think they will handle USF today and Michigan next week, stumble at home to Michigan State and again at Pitt. But then go on a bit of a tear until and beat Purdue, Air Force, and USC. Then they will lose to Navy before beating Wake, Maryland, and Boston College. Then we’ll see how good they are in November at Stanford. If Andrew Luck is healthy they will be tough to beat. Overall- I’m seeing 8-4 and a trip to the lowest BCS game. (It’s about money, friends.)
  2. San Diego State – Last season, the secret weapon was the defense which made the offense look better than they really were.. They’ve leveled up a bit on D. But I think the combination of Rocky Long (a defensive-minded guy) and the flip-flop from a talented WR core to an all rookie one will kill their ability to move the ball. Ryan Lindley is a great pocket passer. He’ll need to depend less on the long ball and more on short passes and screen with the weapons he has available. Ronnie Hillman, if he is healthy, is explosive and rips yards off in a Barry Sanders kind of method. He’ll got 2-3 yards at a time, then rip off 25 when you aren’t looking. That will all depend on their ability to spread teams out with WR and TE. The opposite of the Irish, they have some playing styles with opponents that will help them. Secret weapon of the Aztecs? Kicking. Holy cow they have guys who can kick it miles. Remember last years 88 yard punt in New Mexico? I think they’ll beat Cal Poly and Army before losing to Washington State, Michigan, and TCU. Then they’ll win four in a row against Air Force, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado State. They’ll get pounded by Boise State and then beat Fresno and UNLV. As long as Hillman and Lindley stay healthy they will be 8-4 and play again in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Other thoughts on college football, in general.

We need to see some teeth from the NCAA. Both Ohio State and Miami deserve the death penalty. Their fans disagree. But the reality is that they completely ignored NCAA rules and made a mockery of the whole thing. I think USC got off easy and it’s awesome they can’t get ranked in the coaches poll. (If only Pete Carroll had gotten punished…)

I hope the Mountain West defectors get pounded this year. TCU lost to Baylor last night. I hope Utah loses 8 games in the Pac-12. And BYU has just become BY-Who? (Who do they think they are to go independent? They are no Texas or Notre Dame.) None of the Mountain West teams want to schedule them. (I see one MWC game on this years schedule. What’s that tell you about the cheating they do?) Speaking of, I heard Texas A&M is looking for a conference home. I hope they jump on the bandwagon for next season with Fresno State, Nevada, and Hawaii.

Is it the year of the Ducks? They sure are fun to watch. And I’d love to see the tomahawk chop back in prominence in Tallahassee. If you just look at the mascots… it’s a great year. Could it be a BCS game of the cowboys vs. indians? (Oklahoma State vs. Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl?)


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4 responses to “College Football predictions”

  1. Jeffrey Dick Avatar

    Are you looking forward to the SDS?UofM game? Interesting to have Hoke going against his former team.
    Michigan plays Western Michigan today and I am hoping the Broncos can at least make a game of it. Two good QB’s with different styles.

    My Univ of Buffalo team will be doing well if they can win 4 games.

    As to college football, more and more it is the haves vs the have nots. The landscape will continue to change (Nebraska in the Big Ten?? That is going to take time to get use to). I agree with many commentators that we will see four large conferences sooner than later.
    In the meantime, bring on the games!

    1. adam mclane Avatar

      Hoke is a system guy. Expect them to look better, tackle better, etc. But don’t expect 8 wins. He was 4-8 his first year in San Diego…. expect that. He won’t care about winning this year, just establishing a winning culture.

      Agree on the power conferences. Until we have a playoff…

  2. Paul Avatar

    Agree with you on Miami and OSU. I love that the NFL is honoring Pryor’s NCAA suspension for the first five games. I wish they’d do the same thing for coaches. Sorry, Pete Carroll. You can’t ditch the team as the sanctions come and skate to an NFL gig.

  3. Todd Porter Avatar

    So far it doesn’t look like ND is handling USF nor the weather.

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