A New Season Is Upon Us

The moment you have all been waiting for is finally here- the first day of camp for Washington University in St. Louis football is today. Ok so that may not have been what you were waiting for. But that day is upon us. In less important news, the USA Today came out with their pre-season coaches poll. I for one do not take Coach's Polls very seriously because no team really knows how good they are until they step on the field for the first time. And a bunch of Coaches who are not even a part of those teams want us to trust them? Think back to 2000 when Bama was ranked #3 in the pre-season and only won 3 games the whole year- good call. And just so you know, I am a big SEC fan and an even bigger Crimson Tide fan, and I won't be objective at all in my opinions. If Bill Simmons can be biased towards his Boston teams I will stick to my guns as well.

But even with my biases, I don't know if Bama can repeat. It's such a hard thing to do in college football, especially when you are playing in the SEC. With 6 teams in the top 25, you have to bring your A-game week in and week out or you will get beat. Then you look at their schedule:

•  Penn St. week 2
•  5 week SEC stretch that includes away games at Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and home stands with Florida and Ole Miss
•   Finish with a game in Death Valley and finally that cow college down the road at home

 Wow. Just typing that got me a little nervous. No one else in the SEC or any other conference for that matter has a schedule that even comes close to that. An even bigger problem is Bama's secondary- they only return 1 starter. But with arguably the best running back duo in college football, they could hold on to the ball 59 of the 60 minutes and put a pee wee defense out there and still win. If the Tide gets rolling, they will be hard to beat, especially with "S:The Coach" at the helm.

Even though I could talk about Bama for hours and still have more to say, I guess I should talk about the other schools and conferences that pretend to exist across the country. The Big 12 used to have the best argument for rivaling the SEC. But with Nebraska and Colorado departing, the falling of Kansas, Mizzou, and Texas Tech in recent years, and no more Bradford or McCoy, the conference is just not what it used to be. As much as I hate to say this, the Big 10 is honestly the second best conference, and having 5 teams (including newly added Nebraska) in the top 25 proves that. I will go ahead and say that number will drop to 3 by season's end though. When you have Ohio State in your conference, you are destined for underachieving.

Lets move on to a team who actually exceeds their expectations- Boise State. I really like their chances this year. At #5 in the pre-season poll, it's the highest they have ever been. I know they have the easiest schedule out of anyone in the top 25 year in and year out, but they also win year in and year out. 25-1 in the last 2 seasons alone. Kellen Moore is back after finishing 7th in the Heisman race. And if they win their first 3 games against Virginia Tech, Wyoming, and Oregon State, they will more than likely win out and have a damn good shot at the BCS title game. You heard it here first ladies and gentlemen- Bama vs. Boise State in the BCS title game. Mark your calendars.

This really is the most exciting time for everyone- players, fans, and coaches alike. No matter if you won it all last year or didn't score a point, you get a fresh start. Everyone thinks they can win a championship, and no one really knows how good they are until they start bumping heads with someone in a different colored jersey. That's what gets us through the grueling two-a-days in unbearable heat. That's why we work our asses off in the off-season when the next game isn't for months. Because when we step on the field that first day of practice, we all think to ourselves, "This is the year. This is our year to win it all." And nothing in the world can beat that feeling. Nothing.

That's about it for now folks. Unless something big happens in the land of college football, don't expect a post until after opening weekend.

Until then,
Roll Tide!
The Big Man