Browns' Monday- Predictions Edition

Here is how I think the Browns will do this season

vs. Cincinnati W
@ Indianapolis L
vs. Miami W
vs. Tennessee W
@Oakland W
vs. Seattle W
@ San Francisco L
@ Houston L
vs. St. Louis L
vs. Jacksonville W
@ Cincinnati W
vs. Baltimore L
@Pittsburgh L
@ Arizona W
@ Baltimore L
vs. Pittsburgh L

Record: 8-8

I'm not going to do much of a write up, but here are some of the questions I hope this season will answer:

Is Peyton Hillis a one-year wonder?

Receivers? Are there any receivers on this team?

Is defensive personnel good enough? or was it too specialized by Mangini for the 3-4 to have any hope of being decent this year?

Will Colt McCoy continue to impress?

And finally

Will the lack of major offseason moves by the front office prove to be wise?

Thanks for reading

-Michael

Buckeye Sunday- I Know It's Actually Wednesday Edition

Ohio State 42
Akron 0

Important Stats

Joe Bauserman: 12-16, 163 yards, 3 TDs, 1 Rushing TD

Braxton Miller: 8-12, 130 yard, TD

Jake Stoneburner: 4 receptions, 3 TDs

The season opener against Akron went as one might expect. Akron is a very poor college football team and Ohio State was able to dominate them. Given the way this game went, it's pretty surprising the scoreline wasn't worse.

I must confess that I ended up napping through most of the Forth Quarter*. So, I didn't get to see as much of Braxton Miller as I would've liked to. I thought he looked good in what I saw, after his first drive. I do know that Bauserman was very impressive and I think he deserves the starting job. There shouldn't be any splitting of the duty once the Buckeye's stop playing MAC teams. Miller can get a package or two, but it should be Bauserman's job.

Another area of question for Ohio State heading into this game was the defense. Many starters were lost after last season. It's always nice to shutout another FBS school, but Akron was largely hapless on Offense.

It's hard to get a good read on this team yet. Akron was a bad team. Ohio State should dominate that team. It's just hard to gain any relative perspective from this game. Toledo will be a better test to judge this team by, especially defensively.

The Toledo Rockets have moved away from their Air Raid style offense and now show a much more balanced attack under their Head Coach, former Ohio State Assistant Tim Beckman. They were able to drop 58 points on New Hampshire last week and clearly much more of a threat offensively than Akron. They also gave up 22 points against that team, which shows that they're lacking defensively.

Prediction:

Ohio State 55
Toledo 17

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It was a pretty typical week one around College Football with the exception of the weather. Very few upsets, a few scares and a lot of massive blowouts.

The big news this week is that Texas A&M have been invited to join by the SEC. That is pending a lawsuit filed by Baylor to stop the move. That is just desperation by Baylor, because A&M leaving will collapse the house of cards that the Big 12 became once Nebraska and Colorado left. Baylor is desperate because they would be invited to make a move to the Pac 12 with Texas and Texas Tech and could be left without a home. If I were Baylor, I would be calling the Big East, because if they're willing to take TCU they'd probably be willing to take Baylor.

I suspect the temporary break to the wave of conference expansion has ended with this move. The conference landscape could be dramatically changed at this time next year. If the Big 12 collapses, which looks very likely, there will only 5 BCS conferences. There could only be 4, if the ACC And Big East are successfully pillaged and are forced to merge.

I just find this all quite interesting. I don't know if in the end the so-called "super conferences" will be good or bad for the game, but the politics and speculation that it's taking to get there has been entertaining. Perhaps the bit I'm most curious about is the SEC. The addition of Texas A&M is an indication of their willingness to expand and they'll need at least another team to balance their division. I think Florida State, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia are all potential editions. There just has been no indication or inclination on which way these schools and where the SEC wants to go.

So here I my guesses as to what the "super conference" additions will be:

Big 10

Missouri
Pitt
Rutgers
Syracuse

SEC

Texas A&M
Florida State
Georgia Tech
West Virginia

PAC 12

Texas
Texas Tech
Oklahoma
Oklahoma St

I think at that point the ACC and Big East would merge to keeping their 16 best teams. Then I think the Mountain West will pick up the remnants of the Big 12 and in theory could get BCS status.

Thanks for reading

-Michael
*I stayed up super late the night before, because the U.S. Men's National Team had a friendly that didn't end until well after 1 am and the puppies were buttholes the next morning.

College Football Predictions

Today is the first day of the College Football season. This should be an interesting season. Off the field issues are rampant across the board and NCAA penalties could pose an challenge the BCS has yet to see; a top ranked team that isn't eligible to play for a championship. Conference realignment seems imminent, which could create interesting conference battles.

Today, I'll be posting my predictions for the upcoming season. I'll start with how I think my favorite Ohio State Buckeyes will fare this year following a difficult off-season. I believe Ohio State is still the best team in the Big 10. It's not like there are lots of slouches on this team behind the suspended players. I think Ohio State will be able to win its division and play in the Big 10 title game, if the team is bowl eligible. I personally think its highly unlikely to see a bowl ban. No matter how much ESPN makes it sound terrible, what Ohio State's actually been accused of isn't severe enough to warrant that penalty unless the NCAA breaks precedent.

There is a QB controversy in Columbus. I believe Bauserman deserves to start the season at the #1 slot. People seem to think Miller would be able to fill Pryor's shoes, but I don't think he could live up to expectations if he was thrown into the fire. I think Bauserman will be able to lead this team well, especially if there is the development of a dependable running game.

Here's how I see the regular season going for Ohio State:

Ohio State

vs. Akron W
vs. Toledo W
@ Miami (FL) W
vs. Colorado W
vs. Michigan State W
@Nebraska L
@Illinois W
vs. Wisconsin W
vs. Indiana W
@ Purdue W
vs. Penn State W
@Michigan W

That's 11-1 and a birth in the Big Ten title game.

Opening game score prediction

Ohio State 59
Akron 10


Here's how I see the BCS conferences shaking out

ACC

Championship Game: Virginia Tech vs. Florida St.

Champion: Virginia Tech

I'm not really sold on Florida State. However, I don't think there's enough competition in the ACC particularly in their division to stop them from making a strong run into the title game, but I think Virginia Tech is a better team and even has a shot at running the table and going to the BCS Title Game

Disappointing Team: Miami (FL)

For Obvious reasons.

Big East

Champion: West Virginia

Basically because I pick them every year.

Disappointing Team: They're all disappointing

Just waiting for TCU.

Big 10

Championship Game: Nebraska vs. Ohio State*

Champion: Ohio State*

I think the Buckeyes will be able to win a second match-up with the Cornhuskers in the championship game. It'll be a neutral field that'll likely be closer to an Ohio State home game and by them hopefully the issues with Ohio State will have been sorted out.

Disappointing Team: Michigan State

The Spartans got a very friendly schedule last year to gain a share of the Big 10 title. Their schedule isn't friendly this year and their record will reflect that.

Big 12

Champion: Oklahoma

I don't think Oklahoma is deserving of their preseason #1 ranking, but I do think they're the class of the conference. Plus they don't have to worry about a let down in the Big 12 championship game any more.

Disappointing Team: Texas A & M

This is another team, like Florida State, that I don't quite believe in. Plus with their imminent conference move, it is likely to be a distraction filled campaign.

Pac 12

Championship Game: Oregon vs. Arizona

Champion: Oregon

I think USC will win the South Division, but they aren't eligible to play in the game. Oregon will be a very strong team and I think they'll be able to run their Pac 12 schedule.

Disappointing Team: Washington

They finished the year strong last season, but I think this season they will take a step back. They'll win the Apple Cup, so take solace in that.

SEC

Championship Game: South Carolina vs. Alabama

Champion: South Carolina

This year I think is South Carolina's best hope for an SEC title. Alabama, Auburn, and LSU all have concerns and the East Division looks pretty weak. I'm pretty sure this will season will break the SEC's iron grip on a BCS title game slot. I think the their won't be anyone dominate enough to keep the overall recorded needed for that birth.

Disappointing Team: Georgia

I don't see them having that great of a season. I think their name got them the preseason ranking and they'll start sliding after a week one defeat.


Highest rated non AQ school: Boise State

Here are my predictions for BCS match-ups

Rose: Ohio State* vs. Stanford

Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Boise State

Orange: Alabama vs. West Virginia

Sugar: South Carolina vs. Wisconsin

National Championship: Oregon vs. Virginia Tech



National Champion: Oregon

Oregon showed last year that they are legitimate Title contenders. They'll have tough test at Stanford, but I think they'll win that game and the rest of them. I'm not sure how they got jumped by Oklahoma and Alabama in the preseason pull, but I think it'll provide them with some edge. Oregon does, however, have an NCAA investigation hanging over their head, which could mess up their season. Given the NCAA's slow going nature, I still think they'll be the ones who lift the trophy at the end of the season even if it gets taken away from them in the future.


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I'm not going to spend much more than a few sentences on the individual awards. My prediction is that Marcus Lattimore (RB, South Carolina) will win the Heisman trophy this year. That's all. I'll start doing Pasta's Player of the Year rankings after week 6.

The one prediction I will make with certainty is that all of these will be wrong.

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael
*If eligible for postseason play.