I have been MIA for a while. A little depressed, but nowhere near the need for talking off the ledge. As I channel a little Peter Griffin here, "You know what really grinds my gears...?". I went looking for some college football preseason mags in the DFW Metro area. Holy Macaroni, entire sections on Fantasy Football. 2 Mags on College Football (Lindy's and Athlon). I had to order my Phil Steele online to pair with Dave Campbell.
I have been reviewing these mags backward and forward to find nuggets of info on the Ags and their opponents. Until....
A co-worker pointed out collegefootballpoll.com. The Ags are predicted for a 1-11 season...losing all three non-conference home games. They brag about their accuracy. TTech is pegged at 10-2, after losing their best QB, an elite NFL WR, and multiple lineman. No drop off? Bull. And this year Baylor is everyone's sweetheart.
So...a new coach to the Big XII gets a 5 year contract at $1.8 million per year, has an electric young QB, making suprising strides in getting elite recruits to commit, and goes 4-8 in his first year and have the worst record in the Big XII South Division. If you are Art Briles, ESPN.com writes a 4 page article on you while Phil Steele tabs you as a Most Improved Team to watch. If you are Mike Sherman, you are chopped liver.
Back to reality. Am I calling for the Big XII title...no. Big XII South...no. Bowl game...maybe? We have studs at our skill position. A year of starting under his belt could do wonders for Jarrod J.. Jeff Fuller is a legit NFL quality receiver. Ryan T. does everything and does it well. Gray and Stephens are solid to good at RB, with 5-star Micheal contributing early. But good teams are built from the middle out. Start with line play and work out. How good is our line play? Good enough to get a starting DL switched to OL (Left Tackle no less) this Summer because we need the skill and athleticism. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Our D-Line was NOT deep. And this move is in the best interest of the team? Leaving our D-Line to average about 250 lbs across the front to make a guy switch sides of the ball. Yeah, he (Patterson) was recruited as both an OL and DL. But still, this move makes me nervous. All I know is Von Miller better resurrect the "Wrecking Crew"/"'Linebacker U' of the South" talk real quick. If he does 7 wins are possible. Even if he doesn't, 6 wins are realistic (bowl eligible). I am an optimist and will hope for some lucky bounces (NMU, U. State, UAB, K-State, ISU are pretty sure bets...CU (on the road) and BU (at home) could go either way)...TTech (on the road) and t.u. (at home) are probably nots). Take the 5 pretty sures and split the rest (heck 1-3 in the rest)...6 wins and a trip to Houston or Shreveport...
My 2 cents...
How did Dave Campell and Phil Steele rate us? 6-6 and bowl game and possible bowl game, respectively...I am in the ballpark with the pros that get paid to do this for a living...
Esti Ginzberg
Maria Kirilenko
Back in Time: November 20
Cavalier Girls
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Well I agree the prediction for Tech to go 10-2 is nonsense. They will be a poor team this year. They lost a lot of talent in crabtree and harrell and a lot of experience all over the field. They will lose to Texas, OU, Oklahoma st. for sure. They could easily lose to Houston who is good and can score. I could see Nebraska beating them. And don't forget baylor, who nearly beat them last year and who will be improved this year, while Tech takes a step back.
As for your aggies, still the weakest big 12 south team. Who do you think they will beat in their conference? Iowa state I guess. Texas and OU are national title contenders and will beat A&M like a drum. Oklahoma state is good. Another tough year but they should win 5 games.
tcharles
San Antonio , TX
Total Comments (35)
I think the Aggies swill easily go 6-6 and Tech and Baylor should not consider themselves a shoo-in. Where do we play t.u. again? national contenders doesn't mean anything........it's one game at a time.
Agof79
Winterville , NC
Total Comments (1)
After Saturday's results...I am fighting to not drink the kool aid. 6 wins are still the pick, but 7 wins is now in the picture. CU losing to an inferior CSU team (rivalry or not) give me more hope in the road trop to Boulder, CO. And the t.u. game is at home, and a rivalry, so you never know. I am still interested in how good Ark. is playing...as that game may now be in play. Wins: NMU, Utah St., UAB, KState, ISU, CU,...with BU and Arkansas in play, with Ttech and t.u. probably nots - but you never know...
Wally92
Fort Worth , TX
Total Comments (190)
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