if you tolerate this, then your children will be next
Ah, Final Four weekend. Meaning that it's about time to take the first BlogPoll Roundtable of 2006!!!! courtesy of Joey's Schembechler Hall forum. Really, my allegiances are totally with BlogPoll, since if it wasn't for them, getting 12 hits an hour would've meant a day of enormous traffic. Lean with it. Rock with it.
1) It's early, but thus far, which offseason change or changes in college football are you most excited about?
2005 was a year of superstars in terms of teams, players and coaches. USC and Texas were rock star squads from the moment the smoking carcass of the 2004 Oklahoma team was dragged off the Orange Bowl turf. Say what you will about ESPN's Bruce Bowen-esque coverage of USC (and to a microscopically lesser extent, Texas), but they were wire-to-wire 1/2 and put on one of the most exciting games in college football history on its biggest stage. Hotshots like Charlie Weis and Urban Meyer were given the keys to two of the country's premier programs, and there was the Ol' Ballcoach seeing if he's still got it at a BCS school that's so faceless, it makes UVA look like Notre Dame by comparison. And look at the 2005 draft compared to this year's one. While Alex Smith, the Auburn backfield and Braylon Edwards were accomplished players on the collegiate level, they have nothing on the media presence of legitimate superstars like Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young. And even taking into account the departure of quasi-superstars (A.J. Hawk, Marcus Vick) and fringe Heisman candidates (Maurice Drew, Brian Calhoun), which dominating figure of 2005 is left? Is Brady Quinn now the marquee name in college football?
What this leaves is an intriguing vacuum of star power and for the first time in three years, there isn't a preordained #1 in either the BCS or Heisman race. The BCS controversy will surely be an issue again this year, and I guess that means the kids of the Around The Horn gang won't starve or whatever. Provided they've had sex they didn't have to pay for. Regardless of how USC reloads rather than rebuilds, you could argue that Auburn's team of 2005 represented the ceiling for teams that lose their entire backfield. And USC might not have as good of a defense. While there are a couple of teams that look pretty good right now (see below), there isn't a USC-type sure shot heading into the season. Notre Dame might be a prohibitive #1, but a lot of that rests on them being able to navigate a murderous schedule that starts out with Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Penn State and Michigan. Ohio State and Texas are in an elimination game. West Virginia could be this year's Louisville. Is there any team in the SEC or ACC that won't lose two games?
And with the ACC and the like, it's good to know that no teams have changed conferences. As with the Seahawks joining the NFC, it takes a few years for it to really sink in that BC is in our conference, or that TCU hasn't gone off to reformulate the SWC or something.
And with my pending move to California, I'm excited, if somewhat worried about how my college football-watching habits will change. I'm an early riser to begin with, and often times, the missus and I will go get breakfast or I'll go grocery shopping so I can kill three hours before I watch thirty seconds of a meaningless Big Ten game on mute. What this means now is that I can completely replace meaningless Big Ten football with grocery shopping. This can't be seen as anything but a positive.
2) With spring practice underway, what are the three concerns about your team that are causing you the most anxiety? (USC fans can't just list the departures of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and LenDale White.)
a) I Got Five On It...Messin' With That Endo Weed
Uh, did you hear the one about Al Groh dismissing nearly 1/4th of our defensive starters? Maybe not, because that was a blip on the national radar once that whole Duke thing got out. Now, a lot of people have rushed to hyperbole on this story, calling it the worst college sports scandal ever. Even if the allegations are true (the memory of Tawana Brawley lingers), it's incredibly awful, but let's not forget that Baylor's basketball program was involved in a murder/cover-up. Even with all the coverage that they got for it, I still don't think enough people are aware of its ramifications. How many sports fans do you know are aware that Baylor doesn't play any non-conference games? MURDERING YOUR TEAMMATE AND HAVING THE COACH INSINUATE THE GUY WAS A DRUG DEALER! That's like Ted Williams' .406; it's gonna be a loooooooooooong time before we see anyone top that.
Not to be flip, but I guarantee something like this would never happen at UVA. Not because our players are of better moral fiber (see above), but because a lacrosse scholarship is pretty much a four-year guarantee of having more sex than you'll ever need, all of it initiated by only the whitest of white bitches. Hiring strippers from two towns over is something AEPi does for a 2nd-invite rush event. If there's anything good to come out of this, it's the fact that the increased attention being paid to men's lacrosse will lead the casual viewer to find out that UVA's currently the #1 team in the nation.
But anyways, the half-full approach to Brooks, Redd and Franklin being gone is that none of them played in the Music City Bowl, and it turned out pretty well, particularly in the second half. Well, most of that has to do with Minnesota's defense more than ours, but it's not the end of the world. It is, however, the end of having any thought of UVA's defense improving on last year's depth, which was at "pee-filled kiddie pool" levels. The presumption was that Brooks and Parham were a package deal, but we didn't foresee it turning out like this.
"All you do is watch TV and smoke weed
Get your nails done and facial scurbs and hair weaves
Sleep all day, eat, gain weight, can't breathe
Talking 'bout you gonna leave?
Then bitch, leave! What the fuck you waitin' fo'?
Hit the do'! I ain't taking this shit no mo'!
RZA- "Domestic Violence"
The secondary is actually becoming a strength, but time after time, they were hung out to dry by the stupefying lack of a pass rush. Well, there was a pass-rush, if you want to consider Chris Long missing sacks by one tenth of a second. A 3-4 defense that can't blitz, can't stop the run, don't drink, don't smoke...well, what did they do?
We don't follow fashion...that would be a joke
b) The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ahmad Brooks' dismissal officially ended the first chapter in My Weakness Is None Of Your Business: The Al Groh Story. Both brimmed with enormous promise, but ended up alternating spots of brilliance with baffling indifference. All things told, it is a story of unfulfilled potential, a closed window and a public image of failure. It's no stretch to say that the tide has completely turned on Al Groh, to the point where he's probably supplanted Chuck Amato on "most overrated ACC coach" lists.
You don't have to be a hardcore college fan to be familiar with these names: Matt Schaub, Marques Hagans, Wali Lundy, Alvin Pearman, Heath Miller, Billy McMullen, Ahmad Brooks, Kai Parham, Conor Hughes, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Elton Brown...Granted, the biggest "star" out of the bunch is either an offensive lineman or the most coveted backup QB in the NFL, but from 2002-2005, these were the Virginia Cavaliers. And the postseason highlight was a decisive win against West Virginia in the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl.
And the worry is that we'll join UNC, NC State and Maryland in the "constantly embattled ACC program" subgenre since Groh will not have access to that kind of talent in the next few years. It's not a certainty, but the recruiting class of this past year leads to some serious worry. A lot of that had to do with the unrest of our assistant coaching situations, but anyone who reads this blog knows damn well I'm glad to see Ron Prince and Al Golden getting honorable discharges. With the rehiring of Mike London as the DC, the hope is that Groh will have an important tie to the fecund recuriting grounds of the Tidewater region, where we've been getting housed by Virginia Tech (among others).
The hope is that Groh can right the ship, but what is that based on? I understand that patience is necessary every now and again, but when Groh's pulling in $1.7 million without sniffing a New Year's Day game, that's a hotseat situation if I've ever seen one. At least Amato and Friedgen have things to fall back on (Friedgen moreso than Amato, at least physically) like Florida ties and offensive sooper geniousosity. Groh? Well, he's friends with Bill Parcells...and he spent one year as the top banana for the groundbreaking franchise that gave Rich Kotite a second chance at being a head coach.
I bet that you look good on the dancefloor
And although people are quick to congratulate Groh for doing some face-spiting nose-cutting, that doesn't answer the bigger question: if Groh really thinks that it's "a privilege to wear the Cavalier uniform," how come he can't keep his players from blazing trees to the point where they have to get kicked off the fucking football team? Has he not heeded the words of one Lucious Leftfoot, a.k.a. Daddy Fat Sacks, a.k.a. Billy Ocean- "ready for action, nip it in the bud?" Hell, he even made the appropriate pun. I understand that you can't always get the most savory of characters and hope to compete on the highest level, but this is the kind of shit you have to squash before it becomes headline news. Think of how much shit it took for Marcus Vick to unceremoniously get the boot from Virginia Tech. Not that I think UVA runs a program that's anywhere near as lax as the Wisconsin of the ACC, but this kind of stuff leads me to believe that Franklin and his mans 'n' 'em had to be smoking Scarface equivalents of green. Which I imagine would be cheefing Reuben Houston's entire stash out of a telephone pole.
You have finally smoked yourself retarded
The big worry in Sexy Results! land is that 2006 will be a throwaway year, 2001 all over again. Even before the defensive upheaval, the general consensus is that 2007 would be the year where Jameel Sewell, Cedric Peerman, Andrew Pearman, Emmanuel Byers, etc. would be seasoned enough to give the Cavaliers a high-powered offense while the defense would finally solidify after a 2005 where the lineup had all the fluidity of latter day Guns 'n' Roses. What happens now? The only way to salvage a bowl bid is to get off to a quick start, since we're staring at what is almost certain to be a winless November (@ FSU, bye, Miami, @ Tech). There's certainly some guaranteed W's in the slate, but if UVA doesn't win at Pitt to start the season off, things could go downhill in a hurry, particularly if Wyoming is still any good. And Pitt can't be that bad again, can they? There's a huge potential for 4-7 here. Then again, the basketball season was supposed to be a throwaway as well, and even with the transfers and academic casualties, it turned out OK...well, OK in that "we made the NIT!!!! We made the NIT!!!!" way that Michigan wishes they could recapture.
c) More Arms Than Green Bay's Brett Favre For Ya?
CollegeFootballNews pointed out that Marques Hagans was one of the least appreciated QB's in the country last year, even though Virginia loses three more games last year (FSU, Syracuse, Minnesota) if anyone else is at the controls. Okay, maybe that's not the case if we have Vince Young or something. But the fact remains that with Lundy and Snelling banged up all year, Peerman still too green to be the #1 guy and a passing game that was still a work in progress, Hagans did about the best he could under the circumstances.
So, for the first time since that 2001 season, there is no clear #1 at QB. And, like 2001, it's a horserace between prototypical white guy and mobile black guy. Senior Christian Olsen will likely be ranked 40 points lower in NCAA 2007 than his brother Greg, but will be taking the most snaps going into spring, and you can tell he's more highly regarded than most QB's we get since he transferred from Notre Dame. I'm just concerned about the guy's competence when you consider that the coaches let Marques Hagans play against UNC even though he was at 50%, tops. We all know how that turned out. The first backup is Kevin McCabe, whose stereotypical size and Pennsylvania roots will alternately remind fans of Matt Schaub and Dan Ellis, likely leaning towards the latter.
Jameel Sewell is likely the future of Virginia football, and I wouldn't think it to be that big of an upset if he took over as a redshirt freshman. He's a versatile lefty that may not be as quick as Hagans, but I'll trade some of that for the fact that he's 6'2". Word is that he's reminding some of Aaron Brooks, which isn't supposed to be a derogatory comment. People at UGA are too quick to assume he's our version of Quincy Carter.
Rang dang diggedy dang di-dang
If Olsen wins the job during the spring, so be it. He was a former blue chip recruit, and perhaps he can go ahead and salvage his college career by having a "Schaub in 2002" year from out of nowhere. But the thing is, Schaub got benched during the first game of that year, and I'm hoping that the coaching staff knows which horse to ride. I'm a firm believer that if you think you have two starting QB's, you really have none. If Sewell gives us the best chance to win, go with it. If Olsen can't win the job outright with one year of eligibility left, we're better off getting Sewell prepared for the job that will be his, since Vic Hall appears to be relegated to CB duty. I realize Hall set all sorts of Virginia High School records, but I'm a little too shaken up by the last 5'9" QB we had. We're not Rice.
But what I'm excited about is seeing how our offense evolves with Mike Groh as the OC. Obviously, the Jeff Bowden jokes will come fast and furious, but Mike showed a good deal of creativity when he had the job for the Music City Bowl. Of course, it's all relative, as Ron Prince's favorite bit of chicanery involved running a QB draw on 5-wide; after two years of that shit against Virginia Tech, let's just say I was better prepared than most to witness Joe Tereshinski's performance against Florida.
3) Care to take a stab at a preseason top five?
- Not really. I'm not convinced Ohio State can survive in the Big Ten, having lost nearly every moving part of their defense. Notre Dame isn't going to run into team after team having down years again. Oklahoma...tempting. But one team I'd watch out for is Louisville. Yeah, yeah- West Virginia and all that. I'm not discounting what they did last year. But it always feels like a Big East team that's sought to do major things does so the next year, and Louisville still has absolute beasts in Brian Brohm and Michael Bush. They gave last year's Virginia Tech team a good run in the Gator Bowl without Brohm, and although they lost Dumervil, I wouldn't ignore them, particularly if they knock off Miami.
1) It's early, but thus far, which offseason change or changes in college football are you most excited about?
2005 was a year of superstars in terms of teams, players and coaches. USC and Texas were rock star squads from the moment the smoking carcass of the 2004 Oklahoma team was dragged off the Orange Bowl turf. Say what you will about ESPN's Bruce Bowen-esque coverage of USC (and to a microscopically lesser extent, Texas), but they were wire-to-wire 1/2 and put on one of the most exciting games in college football history on its biggest stage. Hotshots like Charlie Weis and Urban Meyer were given the keys to two of the country's premier programs, and there was the Ol' Ballcoach seeing if he's still got it at a BCS school that's so faceless, it makes UVA look like Notre Dame by comparison. And look at the 2005 draft compared to this year's one. While Alex Smith, the Auburn backfield and Braylon Edwards were accomplished players on the collegiate level, they have nothing on the media presence of legitimate superstars like Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young. And even taking into account the departure of quasi-superstars (A.J. Hawk, Marcus Vick) and fringe Heisman candidates (Maurice Drew, Brian Calhoun), which dominating figure of 2005 is left? Is Brady Quinn now the marquee name in college football?
What this leaves is an intriguing vacuum of star power and for the first time in three years, there isn't a preordained #1 in either the BCS or Heisman race. The BCS controversy will surely be an issue again this year, and I guess that means the kids of the Around The Horn gang won't starve or whatever. Provided they've had sex they didn't have to pay for. Regardless of how USC reloads rather than rebuilds, you could argue that Auburn's team of 2005 represented the ceiling for teams that lose their entire backfield. And USC might not have as good of a defense. While there are a couple of teams that look pretty good right now (see below), there isn't a USC-type sure shot heading into the season. Notre Dame might be a prohibitive #1, but a lot of that rests on them being able to navigate a murderous schedule that starts out with Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Penn State and Michigan. Ohio State and Texas are in an elimination game. West Virginia could be this year's Louisville. Is there any team in the SEC or ACC that won't lose two games?
And with the ACC and the like, it's good to know that no teams have changed conferences. As with the Seahawks joining the NFC, it takes a few years for it to really sink in that BC is in our conference, or that TCU hasn't gone off to reformulate the SWC or something.
And with my pending move to California, I'm excited, if somewhat worried about how my college football-watching habits will change. I'm an early riser to begin with, and often times, the missus and I will go get breakfast or I'll go grocery shopping so I can kill three hours before I watch thirty seconds of a meaningless Big Ten game on mute. What this means now is that I can completely replace meaningless Big Ten football with grocery shopping. This can't be seen as anything but a positive.
2) With spring practice underway, what are the three concerns about your team that are causing you the most anxiety? (USC fans can't just list the departures of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and LenDale White.)
a) I Got Five On It...Messin' With That Endo Weed
Uh, did you hear the one about Al Groh dismissing nearly 1/4th of our defensive starters? Maybe not, because that was a blip on the national radar once that whole Duke thing got out. Now, a lot of people have rushed to hyperbole on this story, calling it the worst college sports scandal ever. Even if the allegations are true (the memory of Tawana Brawley lingers), it's incredibly awful, but let's not forget that Baylor's basketball program was involved in a murder/cover-up. Even with all the coverage that they got for it, I still don't think enough people are aware of its ramifications. How many sports fans do you know are aware that Baylor doesn't play any non-conference games? MURDERING YOUR TEAMMATE AND HAVING THE COACH INSINUATE THE GUY WAS A DRUG DEALER! That's like Ted Williams' .406; it's gonna be a loooooooooooong time before we see anyone top that.
Not to be flip, but I guarantee something like this would never happen at UVA. Not because our players are of better moral fiber (see above), but because a lacrosse scholarship is pretty much a four-year guarantee of having more sex than you'll ever need, all of it initiated by only the whitest of white bitches. Hiring strippers from two towns over is something AEPi does for a 2nd-invite rush event. If there's anything good to come out of this, it's the fact that the increased attention being paid to men's lacrosse will lead the casual viewer to find out that UVA's currently the #1 team in the nation.
But anyways, the half-full approach to Brooks, Redd and Franklin being gone is that none of them played in the Music City Bowl, and it turned out pretty well, particularly in the second half. Well, most of that has to do with Minnesota's defense more than ours, but it's not the end of the world. It is, however, the end of having any thought of UVA's defense improving on last year's depth, which was at "pee-filled kiddie pool" levels. The presumption was that Brooks and Parham were a package deal, but we didn't foresee it turning out like this.
"All you do is watch TV and smoke weed
Get your nails done and facial scurbs and hair weaves
Sleep all day, eat, gain weight, can't breathe
Talking 'bout you gonna leave?
Then bitch, leave! What the fuck you waitin' fo'?
Hit the do'! I ain't taking this shit no mo'!
RZA- "Domestic Violence"
The secondary is actually becoming a strength, but time after time, they were hung out to dry by the stupefying lack of a pass rush. Well, there was a pass-rush, if you want to consider Chris Long missing sacks by one tenth of a second. A 3-4 defense that can't blitz, can't stop the run, don't drink, don't smoke...well, what did they do?
We don't follow fashion...that would be a joke
b) The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ahmad Brooks' dismissal officially ended the first chapter in My Weakness Is None Of Your Business: The Al Groh Story. Both brimmed with enormous promise, but ended up alternating spots of brilliance with baffling indifference. All things told, it is a story of unfulfilled potential, a closed window and a public image of failure. It's no stretch to say that the tide has completely turned on Al Groh, to the point where he's probably supplanted Chuck Amato on "most overrated ACC coach" lists.
You don't have to be a hardcore college fan to be familiar with these names: Matt Schaub, Marques Hagans, Wali Lundy, Alvin Pearman, Heath Miller, Billy McMullen, Ahmad Brooks, Kai Parham, Conor Hughes, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Elton Brown...Granted, the biggest "star" out of the bunch is either an offensive lineman or the most coveted backup QB in the NFL, but from 2002-2005, these were the Virginia Cavaliers. And the postseason highlight was a decisive win against West Virginia in the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl.
And the worry is that we'll join UNC, NC State and Maryland in the "constantly embattled ACC program" subgenre since Groh will not have access to that kind of talent in the next few years. It's not a certainty, but the recruiting class of this past year leads to some serious worry. A lot of that had to do with the unrest of our assistant coaching situations, but anyone who reads this blog knows damn well I'm glad to see Ron Prince and Al Golden getting honorable discharges. With the rehiring of Mike London as the DC, the hope is that Groh will have an important tie to the fecund recuriting grounds of the Tidewater region, where we've been getting housed by Virginia Tech (among others).
The hope is that Groh can right the ship, but what is that based on? I understand that patience is necessary every now and again, but when Groh's pulling in $1.7 million without sniffing a New Year's Day game, that's a hotseat situation if I've ever seen one. At least Amato and Friedgen have things to fall back on (Friedgen moreso than Amato, at least physically) like Florida ties and offensive sooper geniousosity. Groh? Well, he's friends with Bill Parcells...and he spent one year as the top banana for the groundbreaking franchise that gave Rich Kotite a second chance at being a head coach.
I bet that you look good on the dancefloor
And although people are quick to congratulate Groh for doing some face-spiting nose-cutting, that doesn't answer the bigger question: if Groh really thinks that it's "a privilege to wear the Cavalier uniform," how come he can't keep his players from blazing trees to the point where they have to get kicked off the fucking football team? Has he not heeded the words of one Lucious Leftfoot, a.k.a. Daddy Fat Sacks, a.k.a. Billy Ocean- "ready for action, nip it in the bud?" Hell, he even made the appropriate pun. I understand that you can't always get the most savory of characters and hope to compete on the highest level, but this is the kind of shit you have to squash before it becomes headline news. Think of how much shit it took for Marcus Vick to unceremoniously get the boot from Virginia Tech. Not that I think UVA runs a program that's anywhere near as lax as the Wisconsin of the ACC, but this kind of stuff leads me to believe that Franklin and his mans 'n' 'em had to be smoking Scarface equivalents of green. Which I imagine would be cheefing Reuben Houston's entire stash out of a telephone pole.
You have finally smoked yourself retarded
The big worry in Sexy Results! land is that 2006 will be a throwaway year, 2001 all over again. Even before the defensive upheaval, the general consensus is that 2007 would be the year where Jameel Sewell, Cedric Peerman, Andrew Pearman, Emmanuel Byers, etc. would be seasoned enough to give the Cavaliers a high-powered offense while the defense would finally solidify after a 2005 where the lineup had all the fluidity of latter day Guns 'n' Roses. What happens now? The only way to salvage a bowl bid is to get off to a quick start, since we're staring at what is almost certain to be a winless November (@ FSU, bye, Miami, @ Tech). There's certainly some guaranteed W's in the slate, but if UVA doesn't win at Pitt to start the season off, things could go downhill in a hurry, particularly if Wyoming is still any good. And Pitt can't be that bad again, can they? There's a huge potential for 4-7 here. Then again, the basketball season was supposed to be a throwaway as well, and even with the transfers and academic casualties, it turned out OK...well, OK in that "we made the NIT!!!! We made the NIT!!!!" way that Michigan wishes they could recapture.
c) More Arms Than Green Bay's Brett Favre For Ya?
CollegeFootballNews pointed out that Marques Hagans was one of the least appreciated QB's in the country last year, even though Virginia loses three more games last year (FSU, Syracuse, Minnesota) if anyone else is at the controls. Okay, maybe that's not the case if we have Vince Young or something. But the fact remains that with Lundy and Snelling banged up all year, Peerman still too green to be the #1 guy and a passing game that was still a work in progress, Hagans did about the best he could under the circumstances.
So, for the first time since that 2001 season, there is no clear #1 at QB. And, like 2001, it's a horserace between prototypical white guy and mobile black guy. Senior Christian Olsen will likely be ranked 40 points lower in NCAA 2007 than his brother Greg, but will be taking the most snaps going into spring, and you can tell he's more highly regarded than most QB's we get since he transferred from Notre Dame. I'm just concerned about the guy's competence when you consider that the coaches let Marques Hagans play against UNC even though he was at 50%, tops. We all know how that turned out. The first backup is Kevin McCabe, whose stereotypical size and Pennsylvania roots will alternately remind fans of Matt Schaub and Dan Ellis, likely leaning towards the latter.
Jameel Sewell is likely the future of Virginia football, and I wouldn't think it to be that big of an upset if he took over as a redshirt freshman. He's a versatile lefty that may not be as quick as Hagans, but I'll trade some of that for the fact that he's 6'2". Word is that he's reminding some of Aaron Brooks, which isn't supposed to be a derogatory comment. People at UGA are too quick to assume he's our version of Quincy Carter.
Rang dang diggedy dang di-dang
If Olsen wins the job during the spring, so be it. He was a former blue chip recruit, and perhaps he can go ahead and salvage his college career by having a "Schaub in 2002" year from out of nowhere. But the thing is, Schaub got benched during the first game of that year, and I'm hoping that the coaching staff knows which horse to ride. I'm a firm believer that if you think you have two starting QB's, you really have none. If Sewell gives us the best chance to win, go with it. If Olsen can't win the job outright with one year of eligibility left, we're better off getting Sewell prepared for the job that will be his, since Vic Hall appears to be relegated to CB duty. I realize Hall set all sorts of Virginia High School records, but I'm a little too shaken up by the last 5'9" QB we had. We're not Rice.
But what I'm excited about is seeing how our offense evolves with Mike Groh as the OC. Obviously, the Jeff Bowden jokes will come fast and furious, but Mike showed a good deal of creativity when he had the job for the Music City Bowl. Of course, it's all relative, as Ron Prince's favorite bit of chicanery involved running a QB draw on 5-wide; after two years of that shit against Virginia Tech, let's just say I was better prepared than most to witness Joe Tereshinski's performance against Florida.
3) Care to take a stab at a preseason top five?
- Not really. I'm not convinced Ohio State can survive in the Big Ten, having lost nearly every moving part of their defense. Notre Dame isn't going to run into team after team having down years again. Oklahoma...tempting. But one team I'd watch out for is Louisville. Yeah, yeah- West Virginia and all that. I'm not discounting what they did last year. But it always feels like a Big East team that's sought to do major things does so the next year, and Louisville still has absolute beasts in Brian Brohm and Michael Bush. They gave last year's Virginia Tech team a good run in the Gator Bowl without Brohm, and although they lost Dumervil, I wouldn't ignore them, particularly if they knock off Miami.
posted by Ian at 10:45 AM
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