Listing options that include — but go far beyond — new karma smell is the easiest method of excelling as a salesman for the 2008 college football season.
What do I have to do to put you in (or in front of) a game this weekend?
Must-read:
Must-see:
Top headlines:
Worth a thousand words:
I could remind you the first four weeks of the college season are defined by games that actually count on a team's permanent record. It also should be pointed out that paying attention to college football is crucial because — based on recent projections — 83 percent of U.S. cities and towns will host a bowl game in the next 10 years.
Keeping an eye on college football is wise because at any moment, a team could lunge from a national ranking of seven and end up in the BCS championship game.
Another selling point is the potential of watching a mascot (non-human in some cases) bite someone.
If you're not convinced of college football's ability to generate good times, take the following options on a test drive:
It should be compelling beyond measure to see what Charlie Weis shakes down this season — the thunder or the Notre Dame bank account. At least we can rest assured that the Fighting Irish coach will invest wisely. Remember, Charlie "owned" Pete Carroll years before either of them were working under their current contracts. Of considerable interest will be the young offense of (again) highly regarded USC. According to what seems like a legion of critics, the Trojans will falter early due to an inexperienced offense.While it's true that few official starters return, USC's O is talented, deep and seemingly battle-tested in practice against what may be the nation's best defense.
By the way, graduation did take a bite out of the offensive line, but center Kris O'Dowd and tackle Butch Lewis were pretty impressive as limited-time, freshman starters last season.
We can't wait (but may still have to) for first-year Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez to name a starting quarterback. We're also waiting for Rich to name his QB's running mate. Can the Wolverines possibly be as vulnerable as many pundits either think or hope they'll be? It may not take long for us to decide if West Virginia made a savvy coaching hire or did little more than react to a feel-good, Fiesta Bowl moment. Maybe it did both. With little experience at quarterback, how long will the honeymoon last between first-year UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel and beat-USC coordinator Norm Chow? Unless former junior college hotshot Kevin Craft emerges behind a suspect O-line, the Bruins may not even be bowl eligible at Crate & Barrel. The scouts are still projecting, but watching the Big 12 may enable us to witness the performance of more legitimate NFL quarterbacks than the Chicago Bears have employed in the last, oh, 40 years. Another development that's worth watching is a Southeastern Conference power (Georgia) actually playing an out-of-conference, out-of-time-zone game against a ranked opponent (Arizona State).
 |
| Illinois fans seem to have a more favorable opinion of Ron Zook than Florida fans did. (David Maxwell / Getty Images) |
Don't look now, but the continued rise of Illinois may facilitate the creation of www.hireronzook.com. The Illini's season-opener against Missouri could be even bigger in St. Louis sports history than Mark McGwire's andro bottle. Several reasons to watch college football are named Knowshon Moreno (Georgia), C.J. Spiller (Clemson), Joe McKnight (USC), Noel Devine (West Virginia), Jeremy Maclin (Missouri) and Percy Harvin (Florida). Any four of them may not be collectively quick enough to outrun Jamaica, but they probably wouldn't drop the baton. Based on schedule and expectations, Ohio State could officially provide more January discomfort than your Visa statement. The Buckeyes have enough talent to run the table before the bowl season and their game at USC could be the toughest ticket in L.A. since Zsa Zsa Gabor was pulled over for expired tags. It should be fun to see if Butch Davis can turn North Carolina into Miami before Randy Shannon can turn Miami into Miami. How long before some universities attach degree-plan credits for QBs that excel at the read-option? Observers of the Florida Gators shouldn't worry about Tim Tebow being overused until Urban Meyer lines up his Heisman quarterback as a goal-line option on defense. Michael Crabtree is the type of dominating player Texas Tech fans were hoping Bob Knight was going to bring to Lubbock. College football really needs first-year Nebraska coach Bo Pelini to upgrade what has become the Blackened-Shirts Defense. Defending champ LSU begins its title defense with a QB few of us have heard of; is the Tiger talent severe enough for this to be of little significance? How many of you are yet to be convinced that Kansas at South Florida (Sept. 12) will have national-championship implications? It has been suggested that Fresno is this year's Hawaii. Somehow I missed this in all of the travel brochures. I can't wait to find out if super-booster T. Boone Pickens can crank up one of his proposed wind machines in time to help this year's punter and kicker at Oklahoma State.
Hotmail
advertisement
