Georgia Bulldogs: 2013's USC

Last year’s Southern California Trojans turned out to be one of the biggest busts in college football history after failing to back up their preseason number one ranking. The Trojans ended 2012 with a loss to Georgia Tech in the unimpressive Hyundai Sun Bowl to cap off a 7-6 season.

Posterboy quarterback Matt Barkley had been the face of the Trojans and was an early Heisman frontrunner, as well as potential number one pick in a relatively weak draft class. Barkley and USC could do know wrong, that is until they met state rival Stanford in Palo Alto which would be there first loss of the season after a 2-0 start.

In the next months, USC would fall apart, dropping five more decisions along with Barkley’s once sky high draft stock as he fell to the fourth round where he was picked by the miserable Philadelphia Eagles.

Almost a year since USC fell off the radar, it seems like history is about to repeat itself with another top five nationally ranked team, the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia began its season on Saturday where the Tajh Boyd-led #5 Clemson Tigers outlasted the Bulldogs in a 38-35 showdown on ABC’s Saturday Night Game of the Week. One game and one loss into the their season, the Bulldogs do not have an easy road ahead of them. Next week, Georgia gets the wonderful opportunity to face off against fellow SEC power #6 South Carolina and their merciless, hard-hitting Heisman candidate, Jadeveon Clowney.

Following their meeting with the other USC, Georgia has an early bye to likely revive their skill position players’ health from Clowney’s hits before they have North Texas at home, which should end with a win. After the Mean Green (Can’t type that with a straight face), the Bulldogs are slated to take on the #12 LSU Tigers. Luckily for the Bulldogs, this game will also be played at home and not in possibly college football’s worst atmosphere, Death Valley.

It is possible that by Week 5, Georgia can be either 2-2 or 1-3 with another six conference games left on their schedule and no bye. In the SEC, it is as hard to make it to the conference championship with more than two losses as it is to win eight straight games in any college conference. The only ranked opponent after LSU will be another prominent SEC program in the #10 Florida Gators.

After a preseason of hype as the next best team in the SEC behind mighty Alabama, Georgia is facing the risk of a futile season much like the Trojans last year. To add to the idea of déjà vu, Georgia has a highly touted quarterback and Heisman favorite in senior Aaron Murray just like USC with Barkley.

Like Barkley, Murray bypassed entering the NFL Draft for another season in college. Murray also lived up to Barkley’s hype when he was named as this preseason’s All-SEC quarterback, instead of two time defending national champion AJ McCarron and troubled reigning Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.

Whether it was out of greed or pure determination, Murray returned for his final year in Athens wanting things he did not already have, a national championship, an SEC crown, and a Heisman. If Murray follows in Barkley’s footsteps and flops as a senior he could see his draft stock also drop along with his credibility in football.

Just like their quarterback, the Bulldogs are at the brink of criticism. By putting together one of the better schedules in the nation including a tough stretch early on, Georgia looked to gain respect as a national power.

However, the only way to gain that respect would be to win those important games, otherwise, the Bulldogs will be the laughingstock of college football just like USC was a year ago. Only, Georgia would have tried being someone they aren’t which is the ultimate offense in my book.

2013 College Football Preview: #3 Oregon Ducks

Even without offensive mastermind coach Chip Kelly, Oregon has a return to the National Championship Game in sights. In the first season of the post-Kelly era, the Oregon Ducks find themselves ranked as the #3 team in the nation, only behind Ohio State and Alabama.

Before the now Mark Helfrich-led Ducks can play for the first title in program history, they will have to go through fellow Pac-12 power Stanford, who is ranked just behind Oregon at #4. The Cardinal handed Oregon their lone loss of the season last year, a 17-14 overtime thriller on November 24.

Oregon gets a rematch with the Cardinal in a possible showdown for the Pac-12 crown on November 7 this season, one of the three times the Ducks will face a ranked opponent. The other two top 25 teams on Oregon’s schedule also reside in the Pac-12, #25 UCLA on October 26 and #21 Oregon State to end the season in the annual Civil War rivalry game.

With a weak out of conference schedule, the Ducks will have to make their presence known in a big way by administering beatings on the lesser teams.

That should not be hard with Oregon’s surging offense that finished with the second most points per game in the country.

Despite losing lead rusher Kenion Barner who ran for 1,767 yards and 21 touchdowns, the Ducks are still returning nine starters on offense. One of those nine is the team’s second leading rusher from last season, sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota.

As a freshman, Mariota proved to be one of the nation’s top dual threat quarterbacks by throwing for 32 touchdowns on over 2,600 yards as well as rushing for 752 yards and five touchdowns.

A sophomore slump is not likely for Mariota. The native Hawaiian will be armed with four of his top five receivers from last season: Josh Huff, De’Anthony Thomas, Colt Lyerla, and Keanon Lowe. In his junior campaign, Huff led the team in yards with 493 and touchdowns with seven touchdowns, while Thomas finished right behind him with five touchdowns and 445 receiving yards.

With most of the pieces from last year’s fourth ranked offense returning for another year in Eugene, the defense shows some experience as well but not nearly as much talent. The 2013 Oregon defense returns seven starters, however they will be without three All-Conference defenders: linebackers Kiko Alonso and Michael Clay and defensive end Dion Jordan.

Seniors Taylor Hart, Wade Keliikipi, and Boseko Lokombo will lead the Ducks primary in 2013 as the only returning starters after combining for an unimpressive twelve sacks and about nine tackles per game.

While Oregon has some questions up front, their secondary will be the defense’s biggest strength. In last year’s Fiesta Bowl winning season, the injury plagued Oregon defensive backs managed to lead the nation in interceptions with 24, and 2013 brings the majority of that same core group of players as well as hopefully more health.

The starting Oregon secondary this year will be made up of all upperclassmen, with senior safeties Brian Jackson and Avery Patterson and junior cornerbacks Terrance Mitchell and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. Ekpre-Olomu will be the highlight of Oregon’s defense after posting three interceptions and a shade under five tackles per game en route to an All-American selection.

Defense will be one of Oregon’s few weaknesses this season, but it will be passable with their experience and dynamic offense. The Ducks do not have too much help on the way for the near future either. The only ESPN Top 300 defensive recruit heading to Oregon this season is the 19^th rated defensive end, Torrodney Prevot.

On offense, Oregon will have four top 300 recruits. Oregon stayed local for their top two their recruits, #6 running back Thomas Tyner and #9 guard Evan Voeller, being from the Beaver State. The other top 300 recruits on offense are #42 wide receiver Tyree Robinson and #15 guard Cameron Hunt.

Before Tyner can replace De’Anthony Thomas as the premier Ducks running back and Prevot adds a fresh presence to the pass rush, the 2013 Oregon Ducks have a few more things on their agenda. Heading into the season, Oregon is listed just a tick ahead of Stanford as the favorites in a quest to take the Pac-12 championship, finish undefeated, and perhaps become the first non-SEC team win the BCS Championship Game since USC in 2004.

Oregon’s quest begins this Saturday at Autzen Stadium, as they host Nicholls State.

2013 College Football Preview: #4 Stanford Cardinal

With one of the toughest schedules in the nation and slated to play five ranked teams, #4 Stanford is going into the 2013 season with hopes to prove themselves in the Pac-12 and on the national stage without Andrew Luck.

The season starts off slow for the Cardinal where they do not face a ranked opponent until late October when they meet #21 UCLA. Playing the rival Bruins will be the first stop of a difficult road ahead for Stanford, that includes five top 25 teams and five conference teams in six weeks.

The biggest test for Stanford will come when they host #3 Oregon on November 7 in a potentially decisive matchup of the Pac-12 crown. In addition to Oregon and UCLA, the boys from Palo Alto will also cross paths with USC, Oregon State, California, and Notre Dame.

Succeeding in the last half of their schedule will be crucial to the Cardinal’s hopes of finishing the season where they started: in the top 5.  For the Stanford defense, the last six games will be the ultimate opportunity to solidify themselves among the nation’s best.

Stanford has potential to meet those expectations on defense, returning eight players from last year’s 12-1 team. Last season, Stanford held opponents to an eleventh best 17 points per game.

The biggest returns for Stanford on defense will be four seniors in linebackers Shayne Skov and Trent Murphy, lineman Ben Gardner, and senior defensive back Ed Reynolds A product of Guadalajara, Mexico, Skov was a tackling machine in his junior season, averaging more than six per game. Skov’s fellow linebacker, Murphy, as well as Gardner excelled in the pass rush during their junior campaigns by combining to provide 17.5 sacks. Reynolds anchored the secondary with six interceptions and three defensive touchdowns.

The only notable defensive recruit for Stanford will be the sixteenth best safety in the Class of 2013, Brandon Simmons out of Arlington’s Timberview High School.

While the defense is preparing for another strong season after holding opponents to fourteen points or less seven times last year, the offense remains a bit uncertain.

Though they are returning seven starters, Stanford’s playmakers remains undecided with subtractions accounting for almost 75% of last season’s offensive yardage, according to RuleOfTree.com. Stanford’s biggest loss will be running back Stepfan Taylor who ran for thirteen touchdowns and 1,530 yards as a senior.

The only returning starter at a skill position for the Cardinal will be junior quarterback Kevin Hogan. As a sophomore, Hogan started five games, sharing playing time with Josh Nunes. Now with Nunes gone, Hogan is the likely starter after throwing nine touchdowns and 1,096 yards in his contained season. Hogan’s only legitimate threat to will be freshman Keller Chryst, who ESPN lists as this year’s recruiting class’s best pocket passing quarterback, but that is unlikely.

On offense, the biggest strength for the Cardinal will be their offensive line. The Cardinal line is made up of four returning upperclassmen.

Though they lack big name recruits or an early Heisman favorite, the Stanford Cardinal will manage to win this season. Stanford’s strengths come at the most vital positions: defense, offensive line, and quarterback, which will serve any team well when competing in a conference with four other top 25 teams.

The 2013 season gets underway for the Cardinal on Saturday versus San Jose State in a likely bloodbath, or rather a Cardinal red bloodbath.

First is the Worst, Second is the Best: 2013 Preview of the Ohio State Buckeyes

All three major polls rank the Alabama Crimson Tide as college football’s best team in the nation. The coaches, Associated Press, and USA Today also agree unanimously on another thing: THE Ohio State University being right behind them.

In Urban Meyer’s second season at the helm of the Buckeyes, and in his first with bowl eligibility, is he the one man who can take down the devil himself, Nick Saban?

Meyer was robbed of a chance to dethrone Saban last year, after his team completed an undefeated season but had to serve a bowl ban due to multiple scandals surrounding the Buckeyes. This past offseason has also seen more drama surrounding OSU off of the field, including the school imposed three game suspension of star running back Carlos Hyde.

This past week, the team also suspended Hyde’s projected fill-in, Rod Smith, and junior cornerback Bradley Roby from the season opener versus Buffalo.

Despite the allegations surrounding Ohio State, they still remain the favorites in the Big 10, as well as for the National Championship Game. Even without impact and role players, the Buckeyes’ schedule should not pose a problem to their quest to finish 12-0 again.

Ohio State may have one of the easiest schedules in the Top 25, with only three ranked opponents, #23 Wisconsin, #22 Northwestern, and #17 Michigan. The biggest test of the season for the Buckeyes will come in Ann Arbor for the annual meeting with Michigan to end the regular season.

Other than the three clashes with ranked opponents, the only other significant matchups the Buckeyes will have this season will be against Penn State and Iowa State at home.

Regardless of the strength of their schedule, Ohio State will still have one of the most dynamic quarterbacks since Robert Griffin III’s Baylor years, Braxton Miller.

In his sophomore season, Miller finished fifth in the Heisman voting after topping Hyde’s rushing production by running and passing for 28 total touchdowns and over 3,000 offensive yards.

An early Heisman candidate, Miller will be armed with most of his weapons from last season with eight other returning starters on offense. Miller will have his two favorite targets from last season, Philly Brown and Devin Smith, who both put together 600+ yard seasons. Other than sophomore right tackle Taylor Decker, Miller will have the same veteran protection, which is vital to a mobile quarterback.

On defense, the Buckeyes lack the thorough experience of the offense with only four returning starters. Linebacker Ryan Shazier will be the only returning starter up front as he looks to build off his sophomore season where he averaged over nine tackles per game and lead the OSU pass rush.

Behind Shazier will be the Buckeye defense’s biggest strength, the secondary, with three returning starters, C.J. Barnett, Christian Bryant, and Roby, when he returns. In addition to these three who combined for over sixteen tackles per game last season, the Buckeyes will also be adding three of top ten cornerbacks in this year’s recruiting class, Eli Apple, Gareon Conley, and Cam Burrows as well as a top five safety, Vonn Bell.

Apple, Conley, Burrows, and Bell are part of one of the nation’s best recruiting classes, which includes seventeen commits from ESPN’s Top 300 List. Other notable freshmen include linebacker Trey Johnson, wide receiver Jalin Marshall, and running back/wide receiver Dontre Wilson who may see some action with the absences of Hyde and Smith.

Built for the future with a stellar recruiting class, the Buckeyes are still strong in the present, with a prominent and experienced offense and a promising defense. Considering both Ohio State and #1 Alabama’s talent, both have relatively easy schedules and there should not be a problem with either team finishing undefeated or leaving their current ranking, setting up for the BCS Title Game of the century, two iconic coaches and two storied programs in one decisive game.  

Duke: The Restructured ACC’s Early Favorites

-->

The ACC has always been home to premier basketball with established teams like Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, and Miami, but now with the legacy growing, Duke is still on top. Not even the arrivals of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame to the ACC could stop Mike Krzyzewski’s squad from returning to the top of college basketball, as they are listed as number one in the preseason ACC power rankings.

Since the Big East has deteriorated almost overnight, the ACC is arguably the toughest conference in the country, but nonetheless Duke remains the early favorites.

Part of the reason for Duke’s early edge on their conference mates is the enrollment of standout yet underrated freshman Jabari Parker. A product of Simeon Career Academy, the home of Derrick Rose, Parker is ESPN’s second ranked recruit and small forward for 2013 behind hyped Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins.

At 6’9’’, Parker still has exceptional athleticism to complement his size advantage over other small forwards. In addition to his physical outlook, Parker already has one of college basketball’s highest basketball IQs which will develop even more after playing in Durham for Coach K. To get an idea of how good Parker is, he was the only freshman to ever play varsity at Simeon, Rose included.

Krzyzewski will also surround Parker with the nation’s seventh best recruiting class, which includes two other ESPN top 100 recruits, shooting guard Matt Jones and small forward Semi Ojeleye from Kansas’s Ottawa High School. Out of Desoto High School in Texas, Jones, a McDonald’s All-American is listed as 2013’s sixth best shooting guard. Ojeleye is ranked as the tenth best small forward.

With additions, come subtractions.

The biggest losses for Duke this season will be the graduation of their two leading scorers from last season, Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry. Plumlee, Duke’s most efficient shooter, and Curry, the younger brother of Warriors point guard Steph Curry, combined to score over 44% of the Blue Devils’ points last season.

Despite losing the biggest components to their Elite 8 appearance, Duke will be returning key players from last season who should have matured to the level of full time Blue Devil caliber players like upperclassmen guards Quinn Cook and Tyler Thornton and sophomores Amile Jefferson and Rasheed Sulaimon.

Cook led the team in steals with 51 while averaging almost twelve points per game. Jefferson and Thornton both averaged around four points per game and will look to become regulars in Krzyzewski’s lineup this season. After a breakout freshman season where he saw action in all 36 games and averaged over twelve points, Sulaimon will become a dual threat with Parker in Duke’s offense this season.

Another addition for Duke will be the activation of guard Rodney Hood. Hood was ineligible from playing last season after transferring from Mississippi State. While in high school, Hood was named the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year, twice.

Beyond the returning players from Duke’s Elite 8 loss to Louisville, the highlight of the Blue Devils this season will be the freshman, Parker. Due to Krzyzewski’s balanced and distributed philosophy, Parker will not have the college stats Andrew Wiggins will accumulate at Lawrence almost as a one man team. However on the court, Parker’s athleticism and raw instincts will be hard to ignore.

Heading into the season, Duke is not armed with too many players proven at the collegiate level as superstars. Duke does however have players with potential playing for one of the greatest coaches of all time in any sport. Just like the New England Patriots can never be counted out for the NFL Playoffs with Bill Belichick coaching, no matter how slim the odds are, Duke can never be doubted for March with Krzyzewski on the sidelines.