College Football 2013: The Season Begins, Let the Tears Begin to Fall!

[Suttree]

True frosh Jared Goff named the starter at Cal.

http://www.calbears....TCLID=209166084

I thought it was Kline all the way, but I guess he was too high risk/high reward for Sonny Dykes system. Should be interesting...

[Ramsay B.]

Famous Jameis...please live up to the hype.

[sperry]

Famous Jameis...please live up to the hype.

So does Jameis rhyme with famous? I've seen the name written quite a bit, and have no idea how to pronounce it.

[Cabbageleafbastard]

15 days until my Dawgs play Clemson. Clemson, South Carolina, and LSU in the first month, ouch. I'm really only worried about SC though, LSU is losing a lot and Murray is a better passer than Clemson's Boyd. Clowney is a freak, I wouldn't be surprised to see UGA use two linemen and a RB on the guy, and he'll still probably have a good game. SC doesn't have a great offense, but their defense could give us problems.

[Ramsay B.]

So does Jameis rhyme with famous? I've seen the name written quite a bit, and have no idea how to pronounce it.

Yes. He's getting a little too much hype, makes me nervous. FSU's schedule is pretty weak but I'm sure they'll have a letdown game or two, especially with a freshman QB.

[Eponine]

Just got back from a (almost) start of season pig roast with Florida & Oregon, who share our (Va Tech) alumni association bar. Very subdued, everyone uncertain about the upcoming season. Except us. Realistically looking forward to a huge first week loss followed by a lot of unimportant conference games that don't include FSU or Clemson. Probably a loss to a team that we could have beaten (Miami? Pitt?) plus some meaningless wins.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

I have no idea how Ole Miss is going to do. The schedule is so preposterously frontloaded (this is how Tennessee fans must feel every year :P) that everything depends on getting off to a hot start, and that begins at Vandy a week from Thursday.

With 19 starters back, and zero key losses from the ones who are gone, the team should certainly be better. That may only translate to about one more win than last year, though.

[Eponine]

everything depends on getting off to a hot start, and that begins at Vandy a week from Thursday..

So in other words, you're guaranteed a hot start.

[BLU-RAY]

Vandy is supposed to be legit now. They have the "criminal element," as that one Notre Dame radio dude refers to it, and everything.

[Rhom]

I have no idea how Ole Miss is going to do. The schedule is so preposterously frontloaded (this is how Tennessee fans must feel every year :P) that everything depends on getting off to a hot start, and that begins at Vandy a week from Thursday.

With 19 starters back, and zero key losses from the ones who are gone, the team should certainly be better. That may only translate to about one more win than last year, though.

Are you taking a stab at Kentucky here?!!? :tantrum:

Vandy is supposed to be legit now. They have the "criminal element," as that one Notre Dame radio dude refers to it, and everything.

Indeed. While they aren't exactly competing for an SEC title, they definitely aren't the auto-win they once were.

[Rhom]

This seems as good a place as any to mention this. Georgia HS player De'Antre Turman dies after routine play at scrimmage. 16 years old, he had a scholarship offer from Kentucky. By all reports, he made a routine tackle and went immediately limp on the field and was pronounced dead at the hospital later. Fractured C3 vertebrae. Freakish accident, but a tragedy all around.

[Ded As Ned]

I have no idea how Ole Miss is going to do. The schedule is so preposterously frontloaded (this is how Tennessee fans must feel every year :P) that everything depends on getting off to a hot start, and that begins at Vandy a week from Thursday.

With 19 starters back, and zero key losses from the ones who are gone, the team should certainly be better. That may only translate to about one more win than last year, though.

Ahem, preposterously front-loaded? lol

The thing about being a bottom-feeder in the SEC is that you can dramatically improve (say, being 2x-3x "better" competitively) and still end up with the same atrocious record.

[Ded As Ned]

This seems as good a place as any to mention this. Georgia HS player De'Antre Turman dies after routine play at scrimmage. 16 years old, he had a scholarship offer from Kentucky. By all reports, he made a routine tackle and went immediately limp on the field and was pronounced dead at the hospital later. Fractured C3 vertebrae. Freakish accident, but a tragedy all around.

Yeah I was reading that earlier today. Freak crazy

[Ferrum Aeternum]

So in other words, you're guaranteed a hot start.

Sad to say we've lost 5 of the last 6 to them. So if nothing else, you'd think we're due a quality performance.

Are you taking a stab at Kentucky here?!!? :tantrum:

Erm.... :leaving:

Ahem, preposterously front-loaded? lol

The thing about being a bottom-feeder in the SEC is that you can dramatically improve (say, being 2x-3x "better" competitively) and still end up with the same atrocious record.

Tough first 7 games by any measure. Not counting the gimme against SEMO, schedule includes at Texas, at Bama, and home to A&M and LSU. That's not mentioning at Vandy and at Auburn, which certainly won't be easy (Auburn will be much better under Malzahn).

Agree completely with the 2nd point.

[Ded As Ned]

Sad to say we've lost 5 of the last 6 to them. So if nothing else, you'd think we're due a quality performance.

Erm.... :leaving:

Tough first 7 games by any measure. Not counting the gimme against SEMO, schedule includes at Texas, at Bama, and home to A&M and LSU. That's not mentioning at Vandy and at Auburn, which certainly won't be easy (Auburn will be much better under Malzahn).

Agree completely with the 2nd point.

Well compare that to UK's first 7: WKU, Miami(OH), UofL, Florida, USC, Bama. The tail end of that has to be the toughest 4-game stretch in the NCAA.Not to mention we still play UGa, MSU, and UT later on (I was just ribbing you though along the lines of Rhom, since we play UT at the tail end of the season every year).

[sperry]

Rumors circulating that Oklahoma is going to name Trevor Knight, a RS freshman, the starting QB. Everyone locally and nationally assumed it was just going to be Blake Bell, who has been in the system for 4 years.

[BLU-RAY]

The greater College Football media has an enormous hardon for Bell, so it wouldn't surprise me if they just overlooked the other possibilities. In their defense, it is a shitload of fun to say "The BellDozer". But he never really looked quick enough in those red zone packages to be a good open-field mobile QB, and who knows if he can actually throw.

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

Supposedly he was recruited as a pro-style quarterback. But his record in games with passing is not impressive, even given the small amount of pass plays he has run.

[sperry]

Supposedly he was recruited as a pro-style quarterback. But his record in games with passing is not impressive, even given the small amount of pass plays he has run.

In fairness, his very small sample size of passes was hurt by a number of drops in garbage time. I've been reasonably impressed by him throwing the football, and he beat out Drew Allen for the backup spot two years ago, and Allen will be the starting QB at Syracuse this year. He's not a great runner by any stretch of the imagination, but he has decent straight line speed, and some agility. At the very least, I would expect him to have the Roethlisberger ability to be nearly impossible to bring down for a sack.

So I'm hoping this means that if Knight beat him out, Knight is something special. Alas, it looks like the veteran local media guy who broke the news jumped the gun in a pathetic attempt to "break" the story. Knight worked with the 1st team yesterday, apparently, while Bell is working with the 1st team today. So, it looks like it's the same as it's been all year: a real QB battle. Stoops keeps this type of thing incredibly tight, and it's rarely the guy anyone thinks. I still remember that pretty much every "expert" thought it was a foregone conclusion that future Michigan St. Wide Receiver Keith Nichol was going to win the starting job over Sam Bradford.

[Rhom]

The greater College Football media has an enormous hardon for Bell, so it wouldn't surprise me if they just overlooked the other possibilities. In their defense, it is a shitload of fun to say "The BellDozer". But he never really looked quick enough in those red zone packages to be a good open-field mobile QB, and who knows if he can actually throw.

See... and all I was going to do was post "The Belldozer!" in response. So you're exactly right, it is a ton of fun to say.