Truly elite???

I would like to thank my friend Neil (http://domerlaw.blogspot.com/) for providing me with the insperation to write this article. We were at the bar talking football as usual, and the topic of who are the elite teams in college football came up. He, being a big Notre Dame football fan, believes that the Irish are the elite of the elite (correct me if i'm wrong). It would take a long time for them to fall from grace. The rest of the list was made up of the likes of Alabama, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, and Oklahoma. Nebraska & Penn St. were border line second teir/elite. And that is where the fun began.

No offense to all my Notre Dame friends, I just dont beleive that Notre Dame is an elite football program (keep reading, dont get mad, just wait until you get done to form any opinions). Don't get me wrong, I am a football enthusiast. I completely understand that if you talk about college football you HAVE TO talk about Notre Dame at some point. They have 11 championships for goodness sake ( alot of fans believe they got robbed out of a 12th but i'll leave it up to them to explain that one in their blogs). They have a great fan base (even though I think the years of mediocrity are starting to wear on them). But, how long can you ride your tradition? They haven't truly been in the hunt for a crystal ball for a long time. I understand Irish fans believe they were in contention in 05 & 06 but they really weren't. And how about Michigan? Why are they still considered an elite program?

I was trying to make the case for the FLA schools, LSU, and others. How is it that, as much as I dislike them and their coach, the University of Florida is not considered an elite program? 2 championships in the last 4 years. They had 6 SEC championships in the 90's. What would it take to get them to that status? I just couldn't understsand some of the reasoning behind some teams being ommited from the list and why some were being left on.

I went home and started talking to my wife. She by no means is a football fan but she is very intelligent with her opinions. She loves music so I put it in terms of music. I asked her if you have an artist who had #1 albums for a 20 year span, but for the last 10-15 their albums didn't even hit platnum (1,000,000 copies. The standard for the music industry); would they still be considered elite? Her respose is what got my mind churning. She said you can have a really awesome artist. But to be truly elite you have to change the industry completely(ie. James Brown,Elvis,Michael JAckson). But my thinking is that those guys are legendary/iconic............ah ha!

My definition of elite and iconic are different. This is where ND comes back into play. I believe they are iconic. They are a legendary school. But....they are currently not elite right now. Their play on the field recently does not warrant them being considered elite. USC, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State. Those schools right now are the elite schools in NCAA right now.

Preseason Top 10

I know i'm about 3 months behind all the other publications and blogs but here are my preseason top 10.





1. Florida Gators


2. Texas Longhorns


3. Oklahoma Sooners


4. USC Trojans


5. Alabama Crimson Tide


6. Virginia Tech Hookies


7. Ole Miss Rebels


8. Penn State Nittany Lions


9. California Golden Bears


10. Oklahoma State Cowboys

top potential: LSU, South Florida,Georgia Tech,Notre Dame,Oregon,North Carolina,Georgia





I will go into detail about each of the top ten. I'll be different and start with #1 and work my way to #10. So first up..........................



Florida Gators
13 - 1 (7 - 1) *NATIONAL CHAMPIONS*
Returning Starters- OFF: 8 DEF: 11

The Florida Gators will repeat as National Champions this season. Tim Tebow is one hellava leader. On offense, there wont be much drop off in production eben with Percy Havin going to the NFL. Tebow is still, well......Tebow. Dont be suprised if he joins the short list of 2 time Heisman Trophy winners. Florida also returns 3 of the most talented running backs in the country. Jeffery Demps, Chris Rainey, and Emmanual Moody. All three could start for any program in the country. 3 senior wide recievers return. Carl Moore, David Nelson, and Riely Cooper will not make anyone forget about Havin, but they are talented enough to make defenses repect the passing game. OTs Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins will be missed but the interior of the offensive line will be strong. There is not much to say about a top 10 defense that returns every starter. Brandon Spikes is one of, if not the best linebacker in the country. The line has 2 all-sec players in Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham. Joe Haden and Ahmad Black lead the best secondary in the country. This could possibly be the best team in Florida History. There are no real weaknesses on this team. It will be a bust this season if they dont make it back to the title game.

Staring Lineup- Returning Starters in RED

QB-Tim Tebow : SR. 6-3/245 DE-Jermaine Cunningham: SR.6-3/252

RB- Jeff Demps : SO. 5-8/183 DT- Terron Sanders: JR. 6-2/309

WR- David Nelson: SR. 6-5/212 DT- Lawrence Marsh JR. 6-5/304

WR- Riley Cooper: SR. 6-3/215 DE- Carlos Dunlap: JR. 6-6/290

WR- Brandon James SR. 5-7/185 LB- A.J. Jones: JR. 6-1/226

TE- Aaron Hernandez: JR. 6-3/255 LB- Dustin Doe: SR. 6-0/231

LT- Carl Johnson: JR. 6-6/342 LB- Brandon Spikes: SR. 6-3/258

LG- James Wilson: SO. 6-5/315 CB- Janoris Jenkins: SO. 5-10/184

C- Maurkice Pouncey: JR. 6-5/318 CB- Joe Haden: JR. 5-11/190

RG- Mike Pouncey: JR. 6-5/320 SS- Ahmad Black: JR. 5-9/185

RT- Marcus Gilbert: JR. 6-6/322 FS- Major Wright: JR. 6-0/204

K- Jonathan Phillips: SR.

P-Brandon James: SR

9-5-08
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
9-12-08
TROY
9-19-08
TENNESSEE
9-26-08
at Kentucky
10-10-08
at Louisiana State
10-17-08
ARKANSAS
10-24-08
at Mississippi State
10-31-08
vs. Georgia @Jacksonville, FL
11-7-08
VANDERBILT
11-14-08
at South Carolina
11-21-08
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
11-28-08
FLORIDA STATE

The most wonderful time of the year!!!

Ahhhh!!! I love it. Football season is around the corner.The sights, the sounds, everything about the game is just so awesome. College,Pro, hell even High School football. We're going to cover them all. I'm new to the whole sports blogging world, but by no means am I an amateur on the sport. I have listened to other men's ideas for so long. I agree with some, but I don't agree with alot of it. I don't want to become an ESPN parrot. (You know those guys who watch sportscenter, think they know everything, and just repeat it and argue it like they are their own ideas) So I decided to do something about it. I'm not going to ridicule anyone for what they think. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But.......that doesn't mean I wont disagree and give my own thoughts. Well anyways, enough with all the introductions. Thank You for reading, I hope you enjoy, and feel free to comment.