After what is without a doubt the most tumultuous off-season in college football history, between the Bobby Petrino Motorcycle crash and firing from Arkansas, the Penn State scandal, and LSU's Heisman trophy finalist from a year ago Tyrann Mathieu being kicked off the team just to name a few incidents, it is nice to finally have some games tonight and the rest of this weekend to look forward to. I am not going to go to in depth with my picks for the season but below I will give you my brief picks for the season.
NATIONAL TITLE PICK: USC
One of the positive news stories of the college football off-season was the announcement that in 2014 there will be a 4 team playoff to decide the national champion. Now although this won't happen for two years, the date of November 3rd of this season will provide a brief look into what this could be like. The reason is two of the biggest games of the season, that will without a doubt have national title implications, will be played that day. The two games on this day will be Alabama at LSU and Oregon at USC. All four of these teams appear to be strong contenders for the title and that is why these games will be so important. I do like Alabama and USC to win both these games and as a result I am going to have both these teams play in the title game, with USC raising the crystal ball in the end. The one thing that could hurt USC throughout the season is their depth due to the lack of scholarships as a result of their NCAA probation, but as long as they can stay healthy and my pick to win the Heisman Trophy quarterback Matt Barkley is throwing the ball, then I think they will win it all.
SLEEPER TEAMS: West Virginia and Florida State
West Virginia is shifting to the BIG 12 conference this year and although it may be tough transitioning to a new league, if their offense can play like they did against Clemson in last year's Orange Bowl then they will be very tough to stop. Their schedule seems to be favorable since Oklahoma has to come to Morgantown but if they can get wins at Texas and Oklahoma State, than I definitely like their chances. One thing that is also in their favor is there is no BIG 12 title game.
As for Florida State, I picked them to have a decent chance because I think they are by far the best team in the ACC. Many say they have the best defense in the country and if EJ Manuel can stay healthy then their offense should do just fine. As for their schedule it seems pretty favorable with teams like Clemson and Florida having to come to Tallahassee. The two games that could hamper their national title hopes could be their games at Virginia Tech on a Thursday night and at NC State who is expected to be much improved. However, if the old adage that defense wins championships stays true, then the Seminoles should have a very successful season.
LEAGUE WINNERS:
ACC: Florida State
BIG EAST: South Florida
BIG 12: West Virginia
BIG 10: Michigan State
PAC 12: USC
SEC: Alabama
HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER:
WINNER: USC quarterback Matt Barkley
OTHER FINALISTS: Wisconsin running back
Montee Ball, South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore and Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson.
BOSTON COLLEGE OUTLOOK:
Being that BC is my Alma Mater I will give my two cents on how I think they will do this season. Coming into the season I really thought quarterback Chase Rettig would make great strides after struggling through his first two seasons. Reports have said he feels very comfortable in new offense coordinator Doug Martin's offense, however summer practice has sidelined two of his go to receivers from a year ago with injuries to begin the season in tight end Chris Pantale and wide receiver Bobby Swigert. As a result the wide receiving corps for the first half of the season will be very young and inexperienced and BC will most likely have to rely on a run game that has struggled to replace Montel Harris. On the defensive side of the ball it will be very tough to replace last year's Butkus Award winner Luke Kuechly. Although I don't think one guy can replace Kuechly, I think as a linebacker unit with Nick Clancy, Kevin Pierre Louis, Steele Divitto and Sean Duggan can be very effective.
The one thing that works in BC's favor this year is their schedule. Although they have to travel to NC State and Florida State, they have Clemson, Notre Dame, Miami and Virginia Tech all coming to Alumni Stadium. Despite having home field advantage against these teams I'm not sure how much it will really help and that is why I am picking them to go 5-7. The one thing we know for sure though is the first game against Miami will tell us a lot about the team. While most teams are starting off the season against a directional college, BC will be playing a formidable league opponent.
My one guarantee for the BC season though is that regardless of record, unless somehow the team goes 9-3 or better, I think head coach Frank Spaziani has zero chance of coming back for the 2013 season. Each year his win total has declined and with Athletic Gene DeFilippo retiring at the end of September, it is most likely the new AD will want to hire a new coach to lead the program in the right direction.
That is it for my picks for the season, but enjoy the weekend of college football, and I will write back soon.
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