112 replies to this topic

[The BeastFan]

Its that time of year again, time to discuss some college football.

First, I have to get one thing out of the way...if you're an OSU or Miami (FL) fan...have fun! (/sarcasm)

I'll just stick to the teams I follow in my initial assessments. Cincy is coming off a 4-8 record from 2011, breaking their 4 year bowl streak. Albeit, it was done after some drastic changes, but a lot of things still went well. Coach Butch Jones has developed the offensive line well and they're still as explosive as ever. Defensively and on special teams needs some improvement from last year, and I think we'll get it this year.

Bearcats Schedule

@- Away games
*- conference games

1. Sept. 3rd- Austin Peay
2. Sept. 10th- @ Tennessee
3. Sept. 17- Akron
4. Sept. 22- NC State
5. Oct 1.- @ Miami (OH)
6. Oct 15.- Louisville*
7. Oct. 22- @ USF*
8. Nov. 5- @ Pittsburgh*
9. Nov. 12- West Virginia*
10. Nov. 19- @ Rutgers*
11. Nov. 26- @ Syracuse*
12. Dec. 3- Connecticut*

I do expect this year in the Big East to be more competitive than the previous years. I don't really expect anyone to really stick out, though I really don't expect much from Louisville if I have to give any of them a negative look. I think Syracuse will be more of a competitor as well than in recent year as well. As for the Bearcat's schedule, I think we have a shot of at least 7-5 this year. Some of the away games will be tough, particularly @ Tennessee and @ Pitt. A few of the home games I could see going either way. Should be fun to watch none-the-less.

[Ryan Shrout]

This will be an interesting year in college football with the coming of the PAC 12, the 12 team Big 10 and the 10 team Big 12. The ACC might start falling apart soon with the Miami fallout and talks of Texas A&M and FSU both moving to join the SEC. Similarly, the former Big 12 is already falling apart and might continue to do more so. We'll see how things go.


Oh, and even though we can't go to a bowl, USC starts this season at 25th in the AP poll.

[Thunderhead]

I expect an ACC fallout would trigger a Big East/ACC merger. But Virginia Tech I think will get a SEC invite if that starts to happen.

[MorganFan]

I can't take part in this because I know the Longhorns won't get anywhere this year.

I guess this means I'll be a Texas Tech Raiders fan this year.

Edited by MorganFan, 23 August 2011 - 09:37 PM.

[sethdawg17]

Well the University of Kentucky is heading into its second year under new head coach Joker Phillips. We also lost our starting QB and multi position player Randall Cobb. Sadly feeling like this year will be a catch up year for us, while hoping we continue our bowl streak. This will probably be a catch up year with getting younger starters adjusted including our junior QB Morgan Newton.

I forsee us going even at 6-6 and being 2-6 in the SEC this season. Hopefully we can get a surprise win somewhere to help strengthen our bowl chances. We really need a strong offense to have any chance at a better than average season.

[Thunderhead]

Now to expand. Virginia Tech has a chance this season to completely come out of nowhere to be a national championship contender. I don't think it will happen with First Year QB Logan Thomas, but our schedule looks right dandy for him. If we can win all Non-Conference and go 7-1 in ACC play I foresee a BCS At-Large Bid for us. If we go undefeated and win the ACCCG, National Championship talks are there. However, Fla State is good. Really good. So we'll see. I'm excited for it all.

I'll be pulling for Stanford and Oregon a lot too.

[Tyler Carlton]

10 days until the first football Saturday. I live for this time of the year.

My alliances are clearly shown, haha. This is a big year for Michigan. Of course its the first year under the new coach Brady Hoke, but more importantly its our new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. Last year at this time he was coaching the likes of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator.

Also, we have a ton of great home games this year. First off is the first ever night game in the history of Michigan Stadium vs our rivals Notre Dame. We also have big home games against Nebraska and Ohio State. I'm also going to my first ever Michigan away game for a night game at Northwestern, so that should be a ton of fun.

Western Michigan
Notre Dame
Eastern Michigan
San Diego State
Minnesota
@Northwestern
@Michigan State
Purdue
@Iowa
@Illinois
Nebraska
Ohio State


With that schedule I'm expecting Michigan go be anywhere from 6-6 to 9-3. WMU, EMU, SDSU, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, and Illinois are all games they have a very good chance of winning, although dropping one to Northwestern or Illinois would not be a shocker. Winning all of those would put them at 7-5. Most people see the Notre Dame and Michigan State games as toss ups, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them split those two. Nebraska is probably a loss and Iowa has been giving us trouble lately, but we'll have to see how they do without Stanzi. And with OSU is always a good game no matter the two team's records. Given OSU's situation I feel this is a good opportunity to steal one from them and turn the rivalry back around. I'll go out on a limb and make the prediction of 7-5 right now, but I really want to call it 8-4.

[Ryan Shrout]

I can't take part in this because I know the Longhorns won't get anywhere this year.

I guess this means I'll be a Texas Tech Raiders fan this year.

Or you could route for a team that'll end up with a winning record like A&M.

[The BeastFan]

After reading a bit in different places, all I have to say is I'll be crossing my fingers when it gets to November. Pitt and West Virginia are staring to look pretty good. Pitt away is going to be daunting.

[biZarRo]

WE ARE!!! PENN STATE!!! WE ARE!!! PENN STATE!!!



Naw, I don't watch college football that much, just the bowl game that PSU is in every year.

[The BeastFan]

Has anyone else noticed that the two teams drowned in controversy (OSU and Miami [FL]) are playing each other on September 17th?

[Tyler Carlton]

Yeah, I've actually seen some very funny shirts made to commemorate the occasion. Unfortunately they are not really family friendly and probably shouldn't be posted here.

[MorganFan]

I can't take part in this because I know the Longhorns won't get anywhere this year.

I guess this means I'll be a Texas Tech Raiders fan this year.

Or you could route for a team that'll end up with a winning record like A&M.

*GASP*
A&M?


The sworn enemy of UT? No way!

[Tyler Carlton]

The college football season kicks off tonight. Unfortunately the games are less than spectacular. I'll probably end up watching Wisconsin vs UNLV.

[The BeastFan]

I just got a confirmation in band that instead of going to the rivalry game @ Miami (OH), the band will be going to Heinz Field when we play Pitt! Talk about epic!

Ugh...I wish we would have went 2 years ago...(those who watched it know why)

Edited by The BeastFan, 01 September 2011 - 09:17 PM.

[Thunderhead]

Big news right now, Auburn down 21-7 to Utah State.

War Eagle???

[The BeastFan]

How about USF taking it to the Fighting Irish at North Bend? Way to represent the Big East, Bulls!

EDIT: UC up 41-0 at half time!

EDIT 2: UC is back in business baby! The season started beautifully as they take down Austin Peay 72-10. Only 2 penalties, great plays all around the ball (offense, defense and special teams), and a nice look of poise. While that's all said and good, the real litmus test comes next week as UC travels to Tennessee.

EDIT 3: Insert pointing and laughing towards South Bend, IN here.

Edited by The BeastFan, 03 September 2011 - 09:27 PM.

[Ryan Shrout]

Well, that win sure felt like a loss. Looks like its going to be a long year for the Trojans unless they really shape up and quit making stupid mistakes. At least the Irish lost though. That was fun to watch.

[The BeastFan]

N-OSU is losing to Toledo as of this post....in Columbus.

EDIT: Aww...got my hopes up for nothing...

EDIT2: Is it me or did Brian Kelly grey up a ton since going to South Bend?

EDIT3: Talk about a tough loss. The Cats go 14-14 early against the Vols of Tennessee, but after a few coaching decisions that didn't go our way and Tennessee coming around to UC's game plan, UC simply couldn't come up to par. The Cats lose 45-23.

Next week, the Cats return to the friendly confines of Nippert Stadium to take on Akron.

I'm also starting to think the rest of the Big East are turning out to be pushovers. Pitt and WVU haven't shown that explosive offense they were supposed to have, and the rest of the conference are duds.

EDIT4- Some big happenings elsewhere, including N-OSU almost blowing it at home to Toledo of all teams, and an epic ending as ND goes down again!

Edited by The BeastFan, 10 September 2011 - 11:01 PM.

[BJ KoasterKooK]

I'm also starting to think the rest of the Big East are turning out to be pushovers. Pitt and WVU haven't shown that explosive offense they were supposed to have, and the rest of the conference are duds.

Not so fast, my friend...it's way too early to say that.

Besides, my Orangemen are 2-0, with a very good win over ACC's Wake Forest last week, and a hard fought win over a decent RI team yesterday.

Of course, they travel to the West coast and take on a much higher rated school, USC, next weekend, so that should reveal some true light on just how competitive Syracuse really is...or isn't .

[Tyler Carlton]

By far the craziest game I've ever seen in person. To see 3 touchdowns scored in the last minute and a half, each of which resulted in a lead change, with us ultimately winning with 2 seconds left pretty much made my mind esplode. Basically none of the students left for a good 20 minutes after the game left. We just stood there in awe of what had just went happened.

[The BeastFan]

This week pretty much went like week 1. We played Akron this time around, and similar results ensued. Final score- Bearcats 59, Zips 14. Pretty much a copied came from the Austin Peay game in terms of how plays went and big plays all around. Next week, the Bearcats get a prime-time spot as they take on NC State on Thursday night! Bearcats record- 2-1.

LET'S GO CATS!!!

Now to patiently await the turn out of the Ineligab-owl. (OSU vs Miami [FL]).

[Daniel Westfall]

How did you let them score two touchdowns?

[The BeastFan]

^That is kind of a worry actually as our passing defense is iffy at best. Most of our turnovers this year came on fumbles. That'll be a big worry going into Big East play.

[Tyler Carlton]

Michigan won and both Ohio State and Michigan State lost tonight. Its great to be a Michigan Wolverine.