BumpAndRun.com’s College Football Top 15

Look at this year’s rosters – you become quickly aware that there are a handful of teams that should be better than everyone else. And then there are a whole lot of average teams, hoping for one of the elite teams to slip up. As you take a look at my top 15, you’ll see some similarities in other rankings across the country, but you’ll see quite a few differences too. So here you go, BumpAndRun.com’s College Football Top 15 in reverse order:

15. Notre Dame: The Irish look to be back in the mix for a BCS birth this year. This will be their second year under head coach Brian Kelly, who’s known for being able to turn around programs quickly. Key games: @ Michigan 9/10, Air Force 10/8, @ Stanford 11/26.

14. Virginia Tech: The ACC is going to be very weak this year, just like the last 5 years. They don’t have to play Florida State until the conference title game. Key games: @ ECU 9/10, Clemson 10/1, @ UVA 11/26

13. Florida State: Ranked in the top 7 by most preseason polls, I just can’t give them credit when the conference is blah. They will quickly find out where they stack up against real competition. Key games: Okl 9/17, MD 10/22, @ Fla 11/26

… Continue Reading

The U: On Death’s Door

Last week, Yahoo! Sports broke news of a huge scandal at the University of Miami. I knew I had to write about it, but exactly how to approach it has proven to be a difficult task.  Growing up, I was a fan of The U. I loved the orange uniforms, their confidence (or arrogance) every time they walked on the field, and the fact that they won more often than not. I remained a fan in high school and was a kicker for my high school team. As the end of my junior year came around, I received a few recruiting letters from The U and head coach Butch Davis. I was about as happy as any high school junior could be, in fact I still have a few of the letters to this day. I knew they weren’t going to be offering me an athletic scholarship. They did however however give me a decent sized academic scholarship. In the end I decided against playing football and stayed closer to home for college. I just wanted to give you that background so you don’t accuse me of anything at the end of this entry.

… Continue Reading

Free Agent Frenzy Leaves One Team’s Fans With a Bitter Taste

As soon as the NFL lockout ended, all hell was set to break loose as players looked for new homes. It seemed as if most teams were organized, had a plan and began executing it. Apparently the plan for the Miami Dolphins (I am a Dolphin die-hard) was to continue down the road of being a terrible football team.

The Miami Dolphins last year had an above average defense, a fairly good running game, and a TERRIBLE passing game.  All logic pointed to the Dolphins going out and acquiring an NFL starting-caliber QB. And let me stress starting-caliber, because as we sit here on August 4th they have two NFL 3rd stringers and an undrafted FA (might be the best option) on their roster. Jeff Ireland watched Kevin Kolb and Donovan McNabb get traded, Vince Young and Matt Hasselbeck sign with other teams.

… Continue Reading

Tick, Tick, Tick…Time Might be Running Out on These Coaches

Three coaches have already been let go this season as Dallas, Minnesota and Denver have all decided to go in different directions next season.  How many others will suffer the same fate in just a few weeks? Here is your list of coaches that could be sent packing:

Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans: It appears Fisher’s time in Tennessee is running out. The Titans stand at 5-8 and have been all but eliminated from playoff contention.  Through the course of this season it seems as if the team has slowly tuned him out. Add to that the Vince Young saga and the writing appears to be on the wall.

Tony Sparano, Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins stand at 7-6, but have a 1-5 home record. Management gave him an all-pro wide receiver this year in Brandon Marshalland improved the defensive personnel, but the team hasn’t improved. The play calling has been awful and Chad Henne has regressed. At the very least, there will be a new offensive coordinator in Miami, but my guess is Sparano is also on his way out.

Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans: Yup, I predicted that he’d win Coach of the Year honors, yet Houston is the same inconsistent team it always has been. At this point, all the blame has to fall on Kubiak. He has an all-pro at quarterback, wide receiver and running back, yet can’t even get his team to a .500 record.

… Continue Reading

Week 10 NFL Preview: Make or Break for Dolphins, Redskins

Tennessee @ Miami

This critical battle in the AFC could go a long way in determining who wins a division or who is in place for an AFC wild card berth.  Tennessee comes in after the bye week having lost WR Kenny Britt, but having gained WR Randy Moss who they claimed off waivers 10 days ago. They key for the Titans offense will be to get Chris Johnson going as the Miami run defense is one of the better in the league. 

The Dolphins enter the game having not won a home game through the first half of the season. Their 4-4 record has them right in the middle of things, however if you have watched their games this season something has been missing:  a leader on offense. They now have it as Chad Pennington replaces Chad Henne at QB. As a Dolphins fan, I have been calling for this since they started the season 2-0; you could tell something wasn’t right with their offense, even when winning games. 

Pick: Miami 27 Tennessee 20

New York Jets @ Cleveland

How good are the Jets? I am not exactly sure. The one thing I have noticed is they do not like it when a team can match their physicality. The offense goes as Mark Sanchez goes; if he is playing well everything opens up. However if he struggles, so does their running attack.  The defense has also been exposed somewhat. I expect Rex Ryan to get these things in order fast as he knows his team is about to hit a key stretch.

The Browns have been on a roll with wins over the Patriots and the Saints. Peyton Hillis is making a case for NFL MVP, yes you heard me right. Hillis is having a fantastic year and carrying the Browns offense. The Browns defense has found itself the last two games, holding the Patriots to 14 points and the Saints to 17. Those two offenses are much more potent than the Jets.

Pick: Cleveland 23 NY Jets 20

… Continue Reading

Week 10 College Football Preview

Arizona @ Stanford (Saturday, 8:00, ABC)

Two teams that aren’t normally at the top of the Pac-10 standings every year will do battle to see who can keep up with the Oregon Ducks.  Arizona enters this week at 7-1 with their only loss of the season being to Oregon St.  The key to this game will be the health of Arizona starting quarterback Nick Foles.  The Wildcats may be the only team in the Pac-10 that can be said to have a good defense.  And they will need to step up and have their best game of the season in order to stop Stanford’s Andrew Luck.

Since Stanford’s loss to Oregon, they had played some sloppy football up until last weekend when they hammered Washington. It will take a complete effort this week to beat a focused Arizona squad.  The loser of this game is out of the Pac-10 title chase. 

Is Mike Stoops a better big game coach than his brother? He can’t be much worse…

Pick: Arizona 30 Stanford 23

… Continue Reading

Week 9 College Football Rewind: Oregon, Auburn on Collision Course

Seven undefeated teams are now down to five after Michigan St. and Missouri both got rocked in Week 9.  After this week, we will be down to four unbeatens (at most) as TCU and Utah do battle.  And the BCS rankings are doing exactly what they are supposed to do: give powerhouse conference teams an edge for the national title.  I didn’t realize giving up 31 points to Ole Miss, a team now 3-5 on the season, warranted Auburn’s jump over Boise St. in the human polls.  Oh well, if it’s meant to be Oregon and Auburn will both lose, and Alabama will lose again as well.  Sadly, I doubt all that will happen.

Let’s take a look at this week’s Top 15: … Continue Reading

Week 8 NFL Preview – Trick or Treat for Brees, Saints?

Pittsburgh at New Orleans

The Steelers head down to New Orleans after being handed a victory by NFL officials last week.  Their offense looks pretty good with Ben Roethlisberger back behind center, however their defense appears to be slowing down. Whether it was Smith’s injury last week or James Harrison having to learn how to play responsible defense, the Steelers just seemed off last week.

The Saints struggled last week on offense, defense and special teams. Drew Brees was forced to throw the ball 56 times due to the lack of running game and large deficit.  Because of that he threw four INT’s and looked average.  It’s a Sunday night game, so don’t expect the same effort and execution from the Saints as last week. Both teams will be up and prepared for this game and it will be an electric atmosphere.

Pick: New Orleans 27 Pittsburgh 24

Houston at Indianapolis

The Texans are coming off of their bye week for a huge AFC South matchup.  The Texans had weeks to prepare for the Colts the first time they matched up in Week 1 this season and now they have gotten that extra week again.  Andre Johnson is still slightly bothered by the injured ankle but he practiced in full earlier this week. Brian Cushing moves over to inside LB to replace the injured DeMeco Ryans. The Texans appear focused and ready to go.

Dallas Clark, Austin Collie and Joseph Addai all appear to be out for the game. That takes away three of Peyton Manning’s favorite weapons through the early part of the season.  Much more will be asked of Reggie Wayne and a now healthy Pierre Garcon.  Do the Colts have enough on offense with just them? Other news out of Indy is that Manning isn’t talking contract with the Colts until after the season is over. Does he want to see how the new CBA will play out? Does he feel like his time in Indy is over with and he wants to try something new? Only time will tell.

Pick: Houston 31 Indy 24

Week 9 College Football Preview

So if you ask the BCS leaders, these are your college football playoffs. Seven teams remain undefeated and a one loss Alabama team still has a legitimate shot at the national title game. Just when you think a team is safe, it gets snake-bitten. Boise St. has already won their game this week in a rare Tuesday night contest. Though sloppy at times, there really was never a doubt that the Broncos were going to win. As for the other key games this weekend with BCS implications:

Michigan St. at Iowa (Saturday, 3:30, ESPN/ABC)

Michigan St. is a good team but let’s be honest: they got extremely lucky that a Northwestern corner back got caught turning his head on a fake punt. If Northwestern stops that play the ball game is over and we aren’t talking about the Spartans any more.  But Sparty pulled it off and here they are with their last legitimate test this season. Their second road game in a row will be a much different test. Michigan St. has to come out from the start and be dominant at the line of scrimmage. They need to establish their running game or Kirk Cousins will be crushed by the Iowa pass rush.

The Hawkeyes suffered a disappointing home loss to Wisconsin last week but they know their season is not over. They still remain very much in the picture for the Big 10 title, but they have to win this game to have a chance.  Iowa needs quarterback Ricky Stanzi to play mistake free football and he should be able to that against a weak Michigan St. secondary.  Running back Adam Robinsonhas been on a roll the last two weeks and the Spartans’ speedy linebacking corps will have to be up to the task to stop him. Last year, Iowa was in Michigan State’s position, the undefeated Big 10 team that no one expected.

Pick: Michigan St. 27 Iowa 24

… Continue Reading

Week 8 College Football Rewind: Same Old BCS

So here we are, Week 8 now in the books. Oklahoma is who we thought they were, and that’s not the best team in the nation. LSU is who we thought they were, the luckiest team in the nation up until last Saturday.  Oklahoma St. is who we thought they were, the typical high octane offense that can’t stop a quality opponent.  The human polls changed a little bit, and the computers changed a lot. All for the benefit of those teams within a BCS Conference, please tell me how Missouri is the #2 team in the nation according to the computers? Last week was their only half way decent win!

I know you aren’t supposed to do this but let’s just compare results for a second. Oklahoma beats Air Force 27-24 in Norman. TCU beats Air Force 38-7.  Missouri beats Oklahoma but it’s a close game. Scratching my head here but TCU’s given up a combined ten points over the last four weeks and doesn’t get any love from the computers or the human pollsters as Auburn jumps them. Rest assured if Michigan St. beats Iowa this week, the Spartans will jump TCU in the human polls as well. 

And does anyone else have as much disdain for Craig James as I do? The two things he’s good at: threatening law suits at Texas Tech to get his son playing time and getting on his knees for the high and mighty BCS conferences. He then acts like he’s showing Boise St. and TCU respect by voting them # 4 and #5 in his AP Poll. Get over yourself buddy.

And now onto the rankings: … Continue Reading