Qb Gabbert, the #10 ranked QB coming out of high school, had a pretty good year in '09 with an inexperienced crew. He had a 24-9 TD to int. ratio, and 8.1 yards per attempt. Not bad for a first year starter. This year, with a powerful offensive scheme under coach Pinkel, and with four of his five offensive linemen back, as well as a good RB in Washington, I predict another powerful offense from the Tigers.
On defense, they have a tremendous leader in DE Smith, who was the defensive player of the year with 12 sacks, and two returning CBs, both of whom were Honorable Mention Big 12 players.
Missou will be dangerous because their offense will be good, and their defense, though not a spectacular one, will be good enough to most times, allow the Tiger offense to stay in most, if not, all games.
Missouri will be a team I will look to in the early part of the season. The dangerous part of the season starts Oct. 9th. In four consecutive weeks they play Colo., Tex.A&M, Okla., and Nebr. Phew! If they survive that stretch, look out for the Tigers.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Can Coach Snyder return to glory? KSU... A fan's, handicapper's,(and gambler's) musings on the college football season(and other stuff).
It's completely coincidental that my follow-up to the coach Paul Johnson blog is this coverage of another coach I believe deserves mention as one of the greatest in college football, and his name is Bill Snyder. The biggest distinction I will make between Snyder and Johnson is this: Johnson is one of the greatest right now; Snyder is one of the greatest of all time. I make that distinction because Snyder returned last year to coaching after a spectacular stint as a KSU coach. My biggest question is that Snyder returned at the age of 70, and I wonder if he can still perform the miracles he performed in his earlier KSU days.( I have often used KSU as a model for a team can do when they have a good coach. The Wildcats may have been the worst Division 1 team in the nation, prior to Snyder's arrival. When he showed up, the Cats made it to 11 consecutive bowls and were in national contention numerous years. His accomplishments at KSU are what gave me hope at Temple. I always argued that if Snyder could do it at KSU, any program could be turned around)
Snyder has a tough job, again on his hands. But, here are encouraging signs for me: Snyder continues to recruit top-rated Junior College players, who, like in Snyder's past, will help Immediately; the Wildcats improved rushing the ball from 133 y.p.g in 2008, to 180 in 2009 under Snyder(and their 1000 yard rusher returns), and, more importantly, Snyder's rush defense improved from 218 y.p.g. in 2008, to 105 y.p.g. in 2009!
Those aren't minor differences, so it's my hope Snyder can return to glory. After all, if he follows Joe Paterno's lead, Snyder has a good 13-18 years left at KSU!!!!!
Question: Can a 70-year-old college football head coach relate to today's kids? Your opinions wanted.
Snyder has a tough job, again on his hands. But, here are encouraging signs for me: Snyder continues to recruit top-rated Junior College players, who, like in Snyder's past, will help Immediately; the Wildcats improved rushing the ball from 133 y.p.g in 2008, to 180 in 2009 under Snyder(and their 1000 yard rusher returns), and, more importantly, Snyder's rush defense improved from 218 y.p.g. in 2008, to 105 y.p.g. in 2009!
Those aren't minor differences, so it's my hope Snyder can return to glory. After all, if he follows Joe Paterno's lead, Snyder has a good 13-18 years left at KSU!!!!!
Question: Can a 70-year-old college football head coach relate to today's kids? Your opinions wanted.
College Football's Best Coach? Georgia Tech... A fan's, handicapper's,(and gambler's) musings on the college football season(and other stuff)
G.T.'s coach Paul Johnson had a monumental stint at Navy prior to coming to the Engineers. Navy was 1-20 in the two years prior to Johnson's arrival(does anyone remember how bad those Navy teams really were). After an initial 2-10 season under Johnson, went 43-20 with the Middies, and went to 5CONSECUTIVE BOWL GAMES! Are you kidding me? From a gambler's standpoint, Johnson went an incredible 41-27 ATS. Fast forward to his present stint with G.T., and it seems Coach Johnson has barely skipped a beat. He's now 20-7 with the Yellow Jackets, and(gulp) 16-8 vs. the spread, and his team won the ACC last year. And, this year?
Well, he lost his #1 Rb in Jonathan Dwyer, but, everyone else returns, including QB Nesbitt, so don't be surprised if G.T. runs the ball even better than last year.
On defense, again G.T. loses another outstanding player in DE Morgan who had 12.5 sacks. But, the big story on D, is the return of 7.5 starters, the move to a 3-4 defense, and one of the best hires, in my opinion of the off-season: former Virginia head coach Al Groh is now the Yellow Jacket defensive coordinator! Look for another great year from one of my favorite coaches, Paul Johnson.
Question: Who do you think is college football's best coach? Be prepared to defend your choice.
Well, he lost his #1 Rb in Jonathan Dwyer, but, everyone else returns, including QB Nesbitt, so don't be surprised if G.T. runs the ball even better than last year.
On defense, again G.T. loses another outstanding player in DE Morgan who had 12.5 sacks. But, the big story on D, is the return of 7.5 starters, the move to a 3-4 defense, and one of the best hires, in my opinion of the off-season: former Virginia head coach Al Groh is now the Yellow Jacket defensive coordinator! Look for another great year from one of my favorite coaches, Paul Johnson.
Question: Who do you think is college football's best coach? Be prepared to defend your choice.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
ISU...A fan's, handicapper's,(and gambler's) musings on this college football season( and other stuff)
The Cyclones will have three outstanding components on their otherwise weak team: QB Austin Arnaud, who will be a double threat in both passing and running the ball; RB Robinson, who ran for 1195 yards rushing( 5.2 y.p.c.); and an offensive line that returns 4 0f 5 starters from last year. Listen, ISU will have a pretty bad defense( they lost their #1 tackler, and all of their LBs from last year), so pick ISU this year with great caution . I do believe their offense will be pretty strong, and because of that, it'll be worth keeping an eye on how they play early in the season. This offense has the ability to get on a roll... I believe the Cyclones will be a team to consider in over/under plays. It's always a good combination to have a team with a powerful offense, and a potentially bad defense. Why? The Cyclones will score, and give up a lot of points, so, my mouth is watering over over-the-total recommendations...ISU has been a traditionally sub-par Big 12 team, but, like Florida, they are 21-12 vs. non-conference teams(ATS). Look for spots where a team that is sub-par in a strong division, but, plays a team from a weak division. Case in point: ISU vs. No.Ill on Sept. 2nd.( come to think of it, this may be the opening game of the college football season).
A fan's, handicapper's, ( and, gambler's) musings on this college football season(and other stuff)...Florida
The Gators lost QB Tebow, an experienced receiving corps, seven starters on defense, including 16 sacks at the DE positions, and 1st team AAs at MLB and, at CB. Yo, let's not forget the coach left the team for a short period of time at the end of last season due to physical reasons, which had other SEC teams commenting on how that was going to have ill effects on Gator recruiting. So, expect Florida to have a down season, right? Yeah, okay. Florida gets all the best recruits, and will continue to do so as long as Meyer stays at Gainesville. At every position, they have some of the highest rated recruits for those positions, and, unfortunately for their opponents, a great head coach in Meyer. Believe it or not, the team with the best chance to defeat Florida for the SEC East title is South Carolina, and I just don't think that will happen...the Gators open against Miami,Oh, and USF. Did you know Meyer is 17-3 ATS(against the spread) vs. non-conference teams? You would think Florida would have let-down syndrome against non-SEC teams, considering the toughness of the SEC schedule, but, that's not the case. Why???
Saturday, August 7, 2010
A fan's, handicapper's, and gambler's musings on the college football season(and other stuff)...Temple
I went to Temple, so I think it's appropriate that my opening salvo for this college football season starts with the Temple Owls.
I never thought I'd even consider what I'm about to write, but, with an experienced offensive line, a very good running game( Heisman candidate Bernard Pierce?), a d-Line that returns 20 sacks, an experienced linebacking corps, and, most importantly, a tremendous head coach in Al Golden, I'm about to predict that if Temple can play Penn St. tough on Sept. 25th, the Owls will have a good chance of being ranked in the top 25 this year. Of course, this is all predicated on the Owls kicking Villanova's butt on Sept. 3rd.
Here's a question for the gamblers out there: Do you bet on a team you have an emotional interest in? In past years, I've refused to bet for, or, against teams I had too strong an emotion for. I can tell you right now, I'm so pumped up over Temple beating Villanova, I don't think there is any way I can keep my emotions in check, and, staying as dispassionate as possible, to me, is one of the keys in handicapping and gambling.
So, my question to those who have read my opening blog: do you believe it's a good or bad idea to wager on teams in which you have a rooting, emotional interest?
I never thought I'd even consider what I'm about to write, but, with an experienced offensive line, a very good running game( Heisman candidate Bernard Pierce?), a d-Line that returns 20 sacks, an experienced linebacking corps, and, most importantly, a tremendous head coach in Al Golden, I'm about to predict that if Temple can play Penn St. tough on Sept. 25th, the Owls will have a good chance of being ranked in the top 25 this year. Of course, this is all predicated on the Owls kicking Villanova's butt on Sept. 3rd.
Here's a question for the gamblers out there: Do you bet on a team you have an emotional interest in? In past years, I've refused to bet for, or, against teams I had too strong an emotion for. I can tell you right now, I'm so pumped up over Temple beating Villanova, I don't think there is any way I can keep my emotions in check, and, staying as dispassionate as possible, to me, is one of the keys in handicapping and gambling.
So, my question to those who have read my opening blog: do you believe it's a good or bad idea to wager on teams in which you have a rooting, emotional interest?
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