Saturday, April 27, 2013

Can Anyone Stop Ohio State from Winning the Big Ten Championship?

After an undefeated 2012 campaign under new heard coach Urban Meyer, expectations are sky high in Columbus. No longer held back by NCAA post season sanctions, Ohio State sets their eyes on the Big Ten championship and are hopeful they can at the very least be in the discussion for the BCS Championship as well.

Braxton Miller scored 28 total touchdowns last season.
Leading the charge offensively for the Buckeyes is Heisman hopeful quarterback Braxton Miller. Miller was nothing short of dynamic last season accounting for over 3,300 yards of total offense and 28 total touchdowns (15 passing, 13 rushing) in 2012. The Buckeyes also have running back Carlos Hyde returning for his senior season. Hyde had a very solid season in 2012 rushing for close to 1,000 yards and scored 16 touchdowns on the ground. Miller and Hyde should prove to be a very scary 1-2 punch on the ground this season. But that does not mean they do not return talent at the wide receiver position either. They return both of their returning receivers in Philly Brown and Devin Smith. They both caught over 60 passes in 2012 and combined for 9 touchdown catches, Brown also chipped in two more scores on special teams. The Buckeyes have to be very happy that they return the nucleus of an offense that scored close to 40 points a game last season.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Buckeyes are losing a few key contributors along the defensive line to the NFL draft and graduation, most prominently  Johnathan Hankins who amassed 55 total tackles in 2012, including 4 tackles for loss, defensive end John Simon and his 9 sacks in 2012 are also going to need to be replaced. Linebackers Etienne Sabino and Nathan Williams who combined for over 80 tackles are also leaving for the NFL draft. Fortunately, the Buckeyes still return their leading tackler in senior linebacker Ryan Shazier. Shazier had over 100 tackles in 2012 with 17 tackles for loss, including 5 sacks, and he also had an interception to boot. The secondary will be lead by senior cornerback Christian Bryant and safety CJ Barnett.

From a personnel standpoint, Buckeyes fans have to be excited to have not only the core of the offense but also their two leading tacklers in Shazier and Bryant. Despite losing two key contributors on the defensive line in Hankins and John Simon, the Buckeyes still have tons of depth and young players ready to step up along the defensive line. However, you can have all the talent in the world but if you cant put it together on Saturdays you have no shot to contend for a Big Ten Championship.

Urban Meyer began his coaching career at Ohio State
with an undefeated season.
Looking at their schedule, the Buckeyes are set up very nicely for a run at not only a Leaders division championship, but the Big Ten crown as well. The Buckeyes open with two non conference home games in Buffalo and San Diego State before heading to the west coast to take on the California Golden Bears before heading home to take on Florida A&M before the first real test in my eyes on the schedule and that is a September 28th showdown in Columbus with the Wisconsin Badgers. If Ohio State can survive the Badgers they are set up for a very nice October home slate with the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions after a trip to Ryan Field to take on the Northwestern Wildcats.The Buckeyes will then start November with back to back road trips to Purdue and Illinois before hosting the Indiana Hooisers in the final home game of the season before finishing the regular season in the Big House to take on the hated Michigan Wolverines on November 30th.

In college football, a favorable schedule is at times the most important aspect to a successful season. I think that a 10+ win season is very possible, and may be expected by the Buckeye faithful in Columbus. With the biggest obstacles coming in Wisconsin and Michigan and both teams graduating their most dangerous offensive weapons in running back Montee Ball and quarterback Denard Robinson respectively. I do not see any team in the Big Ten that can match the offensive firepower of Braxton Miller and the Buckeyes. It should be an exciting season for you if you are Buckeye fan in 2013 and beyond.

- Josh Gamez
@itsjoshgamez

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Can Butch Jones take Tennessee to the Top of the SEC?

The Tennessee Volunteers are arguably one of the most popular teams in college football. The Tennessee orange. The orange and white checkered endzone. Their mascot Smokey. Anyone who knows college football knows about the Tennessee Volunteers. However, being in the SEC, Tennessee has been stuck in the shadows of teams like Alabama, Florida, LSU, Auburn and others for quite some time. The last time that Tennessee won the National Championship was in 1998, when under Phillip Fulmer they beat the Florida State Seminoles in the first ever BCS Title Game.

Tennessee fans, players and alumni have been waiting anxiously to see their Volunteers fight back to the top of the SEC, and not only bring the SEC Championship home, but also bring another National Championship to Neyland Stadium.

Butch Jones has been coaching in the NCAA since 1990, where he was a defensive assistant at Rutgers. In 1992 Jones left Rutgers to become offensive coordinator for Wilkes. He was at Wilkes from 1992 to 1994, when he left for his alma mater Ferris State. There he assumed the same role he did at Wilkes.

In 1998 Butch found himself at Central Michigan University, where he'd move from coaching tight ends to running backs, and eventually become offensive coordinator from 2002 to 2004. Rich Rodriguez then brought Jones to West Virginia where he coached the wide receivers.

After two successful years at West Virginia, Butch got hired back to Central Michigan but this time as the head coach. There he led the Chippewas to an overall record of 27-13 over three years, and two MAC Championships. In 2010 Butch became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats. In Cincinnati, Butch started off slow with a 4-8 record. In 2011 he improved to 10-3 and led the Bearcats to a Liberty Bowl victory over Vanderbilt, as well as a Big East Championship. In 2012 Butch led the Bearcats to a similar ending to the season, ending with a 9-3 record and another Big East Championship.

After much success at Cincinnati, on December 7, 2012 Butch announced that he was leaving Cincinnati and the Big East for Tennessee and the SEC.

The SEC will definitely bring quite a bit of competition Butch's way. He faced some top opponents while being the head coach at CMU and Cincinnati, but in the SEC he will consistantly face top opponents.

Tennessee has been waiting for a coach to bring them the success that they have been expecting, and Butch Jones can definitely be the coach to bring them that success. With an overall head coaching record of 50-27, he is not someone to be taken lightly. Granted teams like Alabama and LSU seem to be fine oiled machines that can't seem to lose, Tennessee has an overall record of 799–354–53. They more often see victories than defeats, and that's something that they'd like to see continue. I feel that Butch Jones is a man that will strive to lead Tennessee to continue improving that record, and to eventually get them the recruits and players good enough to not only become a top ten team, but to once again become National Champions.

- Jackson McNamara
@jacksonmcnamara

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Can Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide Win a 3rd Consecutive National Championship?

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide have been easily the most dominant program of the last 5 years, and arguably among the most dominant dynasties in college football history. With 3 national titles in the last 4 years (and 4 overall) it is hard to think of a more highly decorated coach in the nation than Nick Saban. His win loss record with the Tide speaks for itself (68-13 overall, with 2 SEC championships), he has really gotten to the point where winning games and making bowl games is not enough. He is now being judged on SEC and national championships.

So this brings up the question, can Saban and the Tide win a 3rd straight national championship? Well, as we have come to realize, in order to even have a shot at a national championship you must at the very least win 10 or 11 games in the regular season. So, having said that, you must first look at the schedule for the Tide; they open with Frank Beamer and the Virginia Tech Hokies as the Chick Fil-A Kickoff game, the Hokies who historically have been among the best in the ACC had a down season in 2012 and hope to have a much improved 2013 campaign. Next on the slate is a showdown with reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, the only team to defeat the Crimson Tide in 2012. Johnny Football is electric, that's undeniable, however after losing starting left tackle Luke Joeckell to the NFL, it is hard to imagine Manziel duplicating his numbers from last year, this early test for the Tide and despite being a early match up, could potentially decide if the Tide is in fact on track for a 3 pete.

After facing the Aggies in College Station, they return to Tuscaloosa for two straight against the Ole Miss Rebels (and a phenomenal recruiting class) and then Georgia State on October 5th and 12th, before heading to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats and new head man Mark Stoops on October 12th. Alabama then returns to Bryant-Denny Stadium for a three game SEC stretch, first facing off what many feel is a much improved Arkansas Razorback team on October 19th, then the Tennessee Volunteers the very next week and finishing up the home stand against Les Miles and the LSU Tigers in what has really become one of the highest profile, and most tightly contested SEC games year in year out. This growing rivalry between Saban's current squad and his former team has become a major determining factor in not only who wins the SEC, but also who may be competing in the national championship game in January.

After the Tide clashes with the Tigers, they travel to Starkville to take on Mississippi State, before taking on Chattanooga at home and they end the season against the in-state rival Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl.

Looking at the schedule, the Crimson Tide may have lucked out by avoiding two teams many feel could challenge the Crimson Tide for a SEC championship in the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs until potentially the SEC Championship game. But that's not saying that it is a cake walk for Saban this season. Far from it, competing in the SEC, without a doubt the most competitive conference in the country, you are in a battle every week. Luckily, the Crimson Tide returns many key starters to last seasons championship team, starting with quarterback AJ McCarron, who only threw for nearly 3,000 yards (2,933 to be exact) and 30 touchdowns (to only 3 interceptions), and of those 30 touchdown tosses, 11 were into the hands of electrifying wide receiver Amari Cooper, who some Alabama fans like to refer to as "Baby Julio" as a tribute to former Alabama stand out Julio Jones, Cooper had a solid freshmen season hauling in 59 passes for 1,000 yards.
TJ Yeldon
Leading the charge for the Tide's vaunted rushing attack is sophomore tail back TJ Yeldon, who despite splitting time with Eddie Lacy (who chose to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL draft) had over 1,100 rushing yards and 131 receiving yards for 13 total touchdowns (12 rushing), but they also are losing 3 members of arguably the best offensive line to the NFL draft (DJ Fluker, Barrett Jones and Chance Warmack) but if we have learned anything over the last few years about the Tide, it's that the young players waiting in the wings are no slouches either.

Despite losing defensive standouts like defensive linemen Jesse Williams, linebacker Nico Johnson and cornerback Dee Millner, the Tide still have an abundance of talent on the defensive side of the ball. Linebackers CJ Mosley and Trey DePriest both had very solid 2012 seasons, the two combined for 93 tackles, and with the recent history of Alabama linebackers stepping up and playing well (Rolando McClain, Courtney Upshaw and Dont'a Hightower in particular) I could very well see Mosley and DePriest stepping up and being very pivotal parts of the Tide defense this season.

By looking at the schedule and the returning contributes to both the offense and defense, I do feel the Tide can win a 3rd BCS championship, they have arguably the most talented roster top to bottom in the country, however with as unpredictable college football has been and the potential for injuries in the game of football it's hard to say anything is a given one way or another, however just by looking at the schedule and who is returning from last seasons championship team they have a very good chance of at the very least competing in a big time BCS bowl game, if not another championship game. One thing is for sure, we all will be very interested to see what happens once the Tide and the rest of the country begin competing in the 2013 college football season, preparing to make a run at a national championship.

Josh Gamez
@itsjoshgamez

Sunday, April 21, 2013

How Will Tommy Tuberville Do in Cincinnati?

The Cincinnati Bearcats have had quite a few flashes of greatness, followed by their coaches leaving for what they would consider a better opportunity at a bigger and/or better school. Brian Kelly coached the Bearcats from 2006 to 2009 with an overall record of 34-6, leading Cincinnati to bowl game victories as well as to a Sugar Bowl loss to the Florida Gators (although Kelly left the team at the conclusion of the season and didn't coach them for the Sugar Bowl loss). But Kelly left the Bearcats for what he considered his dream job, the head coaching position at Notre Dame. They also had Butch Jones coach them from 2010-2012 leading them to an overall record of 23-14 in his tenure. Jones led the Bearcats to a Liberty Bowl game victory over Vanderbilt. Butch Jones left to become head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.

I'm sure Cincinnati is tired of being a stepping stone for coaches. I'm sure they're ready to have a coach stick with them and lead them to bigger and better things. Is that where Tommy Tuberville comes in? Tuberville has been head coaching some of the most storied college football programs dating back to 1995. Tuberville's first head coaching job was coaching the Ole Miss Rebels. He coached them from 1995 to 1998 and had an overall record there of 25-20.

He left Ole Miss for another SEC team, the Auburn Tigers. He coached for nearly a decade at Auburn, and led the Tigers to an SEC Championship. He also won the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award. Tigers fans loved watching Tuberville do something that no one had ever done before, beat their in-state rivals the Alabama Crimson Tide in six consecutive games. His overall record with the Auburn Tigers was 85-40.

After the 2008 season Tuberville left Auburn and the SEC, and jumped to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Tommy led the Red Raiders to an overall 20-17 record with only one losing season, going 5-7 in 2011.

Tuberville led the Texas Tech Red Raiders
to an overall record of 20-17 during his tenure.
Tuberville promised he'd return to Texas Tech for the 2013 season, however he took a job with the Cincinnati Bearcats in December of 2012. The Bearcats' athletic director Whit Babcock is a good friend of Tommy's, whom he worked with at Auburn. Could that be the reason he decided to jump to Cincinnati?

It is in Tuberville's track record to imply he'd be sticking around, then leave not long afterward. For example at Ole Miss he made the announcement, "They’ll have to carry me out of here in a pine box," implying that he'd be staying at Ole Miss for quite sometime, but made a statement two days later that he was departing for Auburn.

Although Cincinnati players and fans would love to have a coach stay and finally build the Bearcats football team to the powerhouse that they know they can be, I highly doubt they care much about Tuberville's track record of implying he'd stick around only to leave not long afterward. Maybe in the future that may be on their concern list, but I'm sure that right now they're just wanting Tommy to bring the success he saw at Ole Miss, Auburn and Texas Tech to Nippert Stadium. Tommy is nearing 60 years old, so you would assume that he probably won't have much coaching left in him after a few years. Bearcats faithful are hoping to see Tuberville's last years head coaching be in Cincinnati, and maybe land them a National Championship or at least a couple of high profile bowl game victories. Does Tommy have what it takes to make Cincinnati a top college football team? I'd say so, but we'll just have to wait and see.

- Matt Lytle
@mattlytle