Kickoff is here!

I honestly don't know how often I will blog this season, but I want to get a few rambling thoughts out about college football season 2009 which is less than two hours away! I still LOVE
to watch as many games as possible, but I don't spend time analyzing strengths and weaknessses, schemes, and strategies. I just love the competition and the drama of it all. Here are a few broad stroke predictions.

I am picking Texas to win it all. Pasadena will serve as their championship destination once again...

Florida will miss their best player from the past few years- it is not Tim Tebow. His name is Percy Harvin and he now wears purple for the Minnesota Vikings. Tebow is a great team leader, but Harvin's speed and all around contributions will not be replaced.

Thumbs up to Alabama for the second straight year scheduling a tough opponent on week one! The win over Clemson was a launching pad last year, expect a tough low scoring game against VA Tech. I wish more schools would play meaningful non conference games, but it may not happen in full measure until the awful BCS system is changed.

The Big Ten will be a little better than it has been in recent years (except any school from the state of Indiana). There is no doubt the SEC has an overall higher quality of play, but just once, I want to see any SEC team play on the road in November at a Big Ten stadium, or in a bowl game for that matter. Snow, cold, and ice can neutralize speed, and it's the way football was meant to be played!!!!!

Lou Holtz is smoking something. Notre Dame will not be undefeated, and I'm talking just September, let alone the whole season!

Kudos to Minnesota for finally moving outdoors and on campus...

Preseason polls have and always will be hogwash. Let's wait until mid October for the first rankings please!

I am in a pick 'em league just for kicks where ESPN assigns ten games a week to pick and then we rank in order of our confidence level.

I do not remember the order, but my week one picks are:

Ohio State over Navy
LSU over Washington
Oklahoma over BYU
Cal over Maryland
OK State over Georgia
Wake Forest over Baylor
illinois over Mizzou
Stanford over Washington State
Alabama over Va Tech
Minnesota over Syracuse


Green colored glasses: I always declare my bias as my blood is Michigan State GREEN. The schedule maker was very kind to Sparty this year. No Ohio State, and Penn State at home. The turning point game will be the Big Ten opener at Wisconsin, if they can win there, it could be a very good season in East Lansing.

Strike up the band and let the games begin!