The dog days of summer are just about over, and all that is right in the world will soon start to take shape. The 2013 College Football season will soon be upon us.
Don’t get me wrong, I love, love baseball and love writing about it. If you have missed me writing about baseball, you can find it here at www.baseballhotcorner.com. I have reserved my baseball content strictly for this Web Site, so please go check it out. There are other great writers on the Site as well who produce great content on the game of baseball. But with the Giants in the midst of a disappointing 2013 season, the months of June, July, and August get a little long. I’m ready for some football.
Before I get to my Top 15 rankings, I want to give a quick preview of my University of California Golden Bears football team. I’ll be entering my 8th season as a Cal football season ticket holder, and not since the junior season of stud WR DeSean Jackson have I been more excited for a Cal football season than I am for this one. This season begins a new era for Cal Football, as new head coach Sonny Dykes ushers in his high octane, spread offense – one that led the nation last season when he was the head coach at Louisiana Tech.
While there are many question marks in terms of position battles, one battle that many had their eyes on was just declared over and a victor was announced. That battle was at the QB position and coach Dykes just announced last week that true freshman Jared Goff will start at QB for the Bears, beating out redshirt freshman and highly-touted recruit, Zach Kline. Goff beating out Kline comes as a huge surprise, as many felt that Kline had the inside track coming into the offseason and should have been named the starter just on reputation alone. But Dykes opened up the competition and in the end, he’ll start his era of Cal football with a true freshman at the helm.
Other names to look at for are junior RB Brendan Bigelow, who made a name for himself when he broke off two 70-plus yard runs on national television last season when the Bears were in Columbus, OH, and nearly beat THE Ohio State University. Also, the trio of sophomore WR’s: Bryce Treggs, Chris Harper, and Darius Powe, will all see plenty of balls thrown their way in the new spread offense. It will be extremely fun to watch.
On defense, Cal will be young and inexperienced, but there is no lack of talent on this side of the ball. Cal has recruited well the past couple of season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Guys like junior LB’s Nick Forbes, Brennan Scarlett, and Chris McCain should shine this season. DB’s like sophomore Stefan McClure and junior Avery Sebastian should finally get a full season of starts under their belts and Sebastian especially could be the breakout player on defense. And finally, I don’t think there is no other position where Cal is more talented and deep than on the DL. They are loaded with highly recruited talents like sophomore Todd Barr, juniors Viliami “Tiny” Moala and Gabe King, and of course this unit is anchored down by senior DL and likely first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft, DeAndre Coleman.
In Sonny’s first season as head coach, I’m not expecting a lot of wins. To be honest, if you were to offer me a 6-6 season with an appearance in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, I would probably take it and not play out the season. But I am excited that there is new, fresh blood being pumped into the Cal football system. Hopefully with a new high-powered spread offense and a coach who is not afraid to play the best players, despite their year, the Cal football program can continue to grow and look forward to a Rose Bowl appearance in the not-so-distant future.
Also really quickly, this will be the last season of the dreaded BCS Bowl System. Debuting in 2014, there will be a 4-team playoff system that will, for once and for all, determine who will be the true National Champion. While it’s not an 8-team playoff, which seems more logical, I’m not complaining because at least it’s a start. At least we have movement in the right direction. The system can be fixed and corrected along the way, but for now, at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel when before we couldn’t even see the tunnel.
So here it finally is, Mr. Armchair’s 2013 College Football Preview.
1. Alabama – This is a formality. I’m pretty sure we’ll continue to have Alabama ranked #1 for the next five seasons at the rate they are recruiting. It is actually pretty impressive that they are able to dominate College Football in the fashion that they do. They play in what is undoubtedly the hardest, toughest division in College Football and they recruit in arguably the hardest, toughest region of the United States, and yet they just keep on winning. No other analysis needed at this point.
2. Oregon – As much as it pains me to have them here, I have to admit that they are really good. They are probably the fastest team in the country, featuring a pair of Heisman Trophy candidates in junior RB De’Anthony Thomas and sophomore QB Marcus Mariota. If they go undefeated in an underrated PAC-12 conference with new head coach Mark Helfrich, the computers will have no choice but to put Oregon in the #2-hole. Bama v. Oregon would be a great National Championship game.
3. Ohio State – Now that they are finally Bowl eligibly, THE Ohio State University is ready to make their presence felt again after a few down years (well, technically they went undefeated last season, but hey, it’s not in the record books). This will be Big Urb’s (head coach Urban Meyer) second season with the Buckeyes and his second season tutoring stud junior QB and Heisman Trophy favorite Braxton Miller. A QB that talented with guidance from Big Urb is bound for big things.
4. South Carolina – One name: Jadeveon Clowney. Enough said. This guy is a stud and from the DE position, can single-handedly be a game changer. The consensus #1 pick in next year’s NFL Draft will not let this team fail. Plus, their schedule is light, playing only three ranked teams. They play #5 Georgia in Athens week 2, which is good because it’s early enough to where if they lose, they have time to make it up with games against #10 Florida and #8 Clemson. The big question mark is senior QB Conner Shaw.
5. Stanford – I refuse to believe that a Stanford team will ever be as talented as the ones that then head coach Jim Harbaugh and QB Andrew Luck guided. Their O-line may be the best in the nation, and with sophomore RB Barry Sanders (Yes, that Barry Sanders kid) taking on full snaps, he should rank up plenty of rushing yards. Their schedule however gets really tough after the halfway point, with games against #21 UCLA, #25 Oregon State, #3 Oregon, #24 USC, rival Cal, and #14 ND, all in a consecutive weeks.
6. Georgia – They have a very good QB-RB combo in senior QB Aaron Murray and sophomore RB Todd Gurley. Yes the start to their schedule is brutal, opening at #8 Clemson, then hosting #6 South Carolina the following week, and after a cupcake, hosting #12 LSU. After that, the only other ranked team they play is #10 Florida, and that is at home. I think they still carry with them the sting of almost beating Bama in the SEC Championship game last season.
7. Louisville – They easily play the softest schedule of all of the potential top 10 teams. Playing in the newly formed American Athletic Conference, Louisville doesn’t have a single-ranked team on their schedule, with their only real challenge being a home game against Rutgers and an away game at Cincinnati to end the season. This bodes well for junior QB and Heisman Trophy Candidate Teddy Bridgewater, as he will for sure fill up a stat sheet and make his case.
8. Texas A&M – It will be very interesting to see how the soap opera that is sophomore QB and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel will be fun to watch. Things can go really bad for Texas A&M, or they can pick up where they left off last season and continue to improve and roll through teams. I’ll take the middle ground and say that Manziel plays the full season despite the controversy, but Texas A&M still won’t crack the top 5. The true test comes week 3, when they host #1 Alabama.
9. Florida St. – This team is still a year away from really being National Championship contenders. They are loaded with talent after two really good recruiting classes, but they need this year to develop and gel together. The schedule is light, with only two ranked teams on it, #8 Clemson and #10 Florida, both on the road. The goal this season should be to develop their building blocks, freshman QB Jameis Winston and sophomore DE Mario Edwards. Next year will be FSU’s year.
10. Clemson – I always rank Clemson lower than they will probably finish. They always recruit really good athletes and they are super explosive on offense, with a very good QB-WR combo in senior QB Tajh Boyd and junior WR Sammy Watkins. They have a challenge right out of the gate with a home game against #5 Georgia, but then it gets light, with their only challenging games remaining being #11 Florida State at home and their rivalry game against #6 South Carolina on the road to end the season.
11. LSU – It’s hard to believe that a Les Miles coached LSU team is out of the top 10 and not in the conversation for the National Championship, but I think it’s just one of those years for them. There was a lot of promise last season in junior QB Zach Mettenberger, and he didn’t live up to expectations. Now a senior, LSU needs him to step up and live up to the hype that followed him to LSU. Also, late games against #1 Bama and #7 Texas A&M also doesn’t bode well for LSU.
12. Florida – I’m sorry Florida fans, but I’m just not a believer in you guys this year. I have no faith in junior QB Jeff Driskel. The schedule provides you with easy games to pad your record, but then games against #12 LSU in Baton Rouge, #5 Georgia at home, #6 South Carolina in Columbia, and #11 FSU at home, will put you guys in check. I know you guys have a strong defense, but eventually in order to win games, you need to score points. And again, Jeff Driskel is your QB.
13. Texas – Texas can’t stay down for this long, can they? With head coach Mack Brown somewhat on the hot seat in Austin, Texas will need to have a good season in order for him to keep his job. The big question will be the QB play, and that responsibility will fall on junior QB David Ash. He’ll have weapons around him in sophomore RB Johnathan Gray and junior WR Jaxon Shipley. Their true test will come in October, when they will play #16 Oklahoma and #20 TCU in consecutive weeks.
14. Oklahoma – I can’t bring myself to place an Oklahoma team that is coached by Bob Stoops outside the top 15. Their schedule is brutal, playing #14 Norte Dame in South Bend, #20 TCU at home, and #15 Texas at home, all in consecutive weeks. But I really like what they have at the QB position with junior Blake Bell. He has the potential to be Tim Tebow light, having rushed for 16 TD’s last season. If he can improve on his accuracy and passing ability, look out Big 12.
15. Norte Dame – I guess……..
National Championship Winner: Alabama over Oregon
Heisman Winner: AJ McCarron, QB Alabama
Mr. Armchair Speaking!!!
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