Football Fun, It might just be...

Alright everyone, football has finally arrived. Yes, it might just be the preseason and yes, the games don’t really count but there are games being played on television so in my opinion the season has begun. Call me presumptuous if you like, yell at me for jumping the gun if you want but for me the horse has left the starting gate. The 2023 season has finally arrived, sort of.

I’ve been chomping at the bit to write about football. I’ve suffered thru a summer of bike racing, corn hole tossing, woman’s soccer, an NBA and NHL season that went way too long and of course a baseball season that’s barely half way over. If ever I’ve needed football back in my life it’s now.

Before the Pro’s however let’s talk college if only for the fact that they begin first.

Every year several organizations publish what many call their “Pre Season College Poll” which basically ranks their picks for the top 25 college teams in the country. Some of these organizations are media outlets, some are individual sports journalists, some are coaches and athletic organizations. I always like to save these pre season polls and then do a comparison at the end of the season to see how well they stand up. Some years they(meaning the people and organizations that publish these polls) do well and can predict the outcome pretty closely, other years they pick rather poorly and don’t even come close to getting it right. For instance, who last year picked TCU to be in the College Football Playoffs? No one. Who last year picked Alabama to miss the College Football Playoffs? Maybe some Auburn fans, but basically no one again.

This year, at the behest of thousands of readers who follow me, I’ve decided to publish my own poll. I’m not going to pick 25 teams however, that’s way too many. Instead I’m going with ten teams who I feel will be “in it at the end” sort of speak. They may or may not run the table but these teams will be the ones to watch and conversely the ones to bet on.

You’d be crazy not to have at least three or four teams from The SEC in your top picks. There’s the SEC then there’s everyone else. LSU, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia are once again stacked this year and will be hard to beat. Any one of these four teams can run the table and win the National Title. Some of these teams however actually play each other, so I don’t see more then one or two of them going undefeated. LSU of course as everyone knows has a week 1 date with destiny when they play Florida State, a game which last year came down to literally the last play of the game. No pressure right off the bat right?

West Coast teams never seem to get alot of love from anybody. I’ve talked about this before. Major sports media outlets seem to regard the vast land mass area between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast as an area devoid of quality football teams. I beg to differ.

This is gonna be a big year for The University of Southern California. Everyone knows they have perigee once again and it shows in their play. They also have Caleb Williams. They are on the verge of once again being a football powerhouse that can outplay any team in The SEC with a wide open pro style offense. The Trojans have their swagger back. Look for them to make mincemeat of their opponents.

Something inside of me tells me that The University of Colorado Buffaloes are going to make a big time run this year. It vexes me how so many people have them picked to finish last in their conference.

New Head Coach Dione Sanders is a winner and can literally inspire a team to become winners by his character and drive alone. I like his winning attitude. He wants to win starting week 1. His players have bought into it and so have the fans in Colorado. I’ve always felt that the home field crowd is worth a touchdown and if that belief holds true the Buffalos should start every game at 7 to zero before the first quarter begins.

With six teams who I feel are a really good bet to be there at the end I’ve saved four spots for teams I feel are strong enough to sneak in there at the end of it all. They’re all a pretty much maybe, maybe/not, selection.

It’s hard to draw up a top list without sticking Clemson in there somewhere. The fact that the ACC is a somewhat weak conference living in the shadow of the SEC insures that the Tigers will have a winning season. One loss however will end it for them however but the fact that they seem to appear on TV more then most teams keeps them in the National Title conversation.

I’ve always liked Notre Dame in my top team conversations. You have to admit there’s not one program in the country that draws so much excitement and expectations. No one is gonna play The Irish like they’re a push over. Last year they were an early pick at number 5 by many but started slow yet finished strong. I’m looking for them to keep the momentum and go out of the starting blocks hard. I like Notre Dame every year. Hopefully this year they won’t disappoint me.

My last two slots in my top picks I always save for my home state teams, that is teams from Florida.

Everybody knows that The State of Florida is riding some kind of weird, intergalactic sports title wave right now. Florida seems to be winning at every sport we get involved in. Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if a team from Florida snuck in there and won the National Title this year. The mojo started last season and it’s been growing over the summer. The recent addition of Lionel Messi has literally made Florida an athletics Mecca. Out of the four major college football schools, The University of Miami, The University of Florida, Florida State University and The University of Central Florida I’m looking for at least two of these schools to have a big year and keep the karma rolling. It’s hard to have faith in The Hurricanes although there’s always hope. Last year they were pathetic. I haven’t seen a lot of changes in style or culture of play. UCF is always dangerous, however they need some big time wins to convince me that they belong with the big boys like Alabama and Clemson. That leaves Florida State and The Gators as my round out teams. Both play tough schedules and if they are able to survive could be right there at the end. Of course, they play each other towards the end of the season so someone is gonna loose, but that’s why we all watch the games right?

If the NFL preseason has shown me anything it’s shown me that there’s a highly likely possibility that there will be some Quarterback competitions and perhaps some high stakes drama heading into the regular season. I hate to be the one who says “I told you so” but I’d like to call up a few teams and tell them “I told you so”.

First of all, Zack Wilson isn’t looking too bad these days. Last year’s starter for the Jets might be the biggest beneficiary of Arron Rogers coming to New York. Will Levis (and his attendant girlfriend) still seemed to be shocked he didn’t go in the first round of the draft and was finally selected by Tennessee. The way he played makes me wonder how he got drafted at all. Stetson Bennet, drafted by the Rams looks better(and older) then fellow Georgia Bulldog Matthew Stafford who is, quite frankly, getting a little old. In Tampa Bay we’re witnessing the resurrection of Baker Mayfield who might be experiencing some of that Florida fountain of youth. Everyone is waiting to see if Bryce Young is gonna show up for Carolina the problem being he’s so small it’s difficult to see him even when he does show up. I’m waiting, the fans are waiting, even Arron Rogers is waiting. We can’t wait too long, the regular season is just around the corner! And yes, The Houston Texans are the beneficiaries of another Ohio State Flop with C.J. Stroud who looks like he’ll follow in the footsteps of Justin Fields who is going nowhere, fast.

As the season moves on I’m patiently waiting for another Tom Brady or Brock Purdy to emerge from the sidelines of the low draft picks! Hopefully they’ll show up and give us more to cheer about!

Hopefully by the middle of next week I’ll be able to throw out my top 4 picks to win the Superbowl and no I’m NOT making Kansas City one of them! Stay tuned and Play On I Say!

Kev

Kev's Corner Our Staffs Weekly Sports perspective

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