2006 Spring Opponent Preview - Air Force Academy Falcons

Top player: Gilberto Perez, DL
Make-or-break player: Victor Thompson, WR
Biggest offensive strength: Offensive line
Biggest offensive weakness: Receivers
Biggest defensive strength: Interior line (defensive tackles)
Biggest defensive weakness: Linebackers
Spring Depth Chart

Like the rest of the service academies, Air Force struggles to recruit players that can match up physically with the rest of Division I-A.

However, Coach Fisher DeBerry has consistently been competitive at Air Force with the talent he gets, and was one of the rising stars in college football. As a matter of fact, Air Force is coming off of their first back-to-back losing seasons since DeBerry took the helm 23 years ago. However, DeBerry and Air Force haven't been the same the past few years. To add to their woes, Fisher caught the foot-in-mouth disease, and made racially insensitive comments last year.

DeBerry will need a successful season this year to rehabilitate his image, as nothing heals better than winning. However, he is starting a new quarterback this year, and lost his leading receivers from last year's squad.

Incoming junior QB Shaun Carney has some talent at the QB position, and if WR Victor Thompson can step up his game, the Falcons may have a good year - even a bowl game. However, I don't think that Thompson has the tools necessary to stand out on this team.

The defensive should be stout against the run, but against elite offenses like the Irish, their pass efficiency defense was ranked 112th last year, and there aren't any stars on the horizon that can help them improve much on that front. With the talent they have on the defensive line, don't expect many teams to run the ball against them.

While Air Force is normally far more competitive against the Irish than the other service academies, this year the Irish strengths play into the Air Force weaknesses, and the Faclons don't really have any weapons to threaten the Irish with.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Prediction
9/9	at Tennessee	L
9/23	at Wyoming	W
9/30	New Mexico	W
10/7	Navy	L
10/12	Colorado State	L
10/21	at San Diego State	L
10/28	Brigham Young	L
11/3	at Army	W
11/11	Notre Dame	L
11/18	Utah	L
11/24	at UNLV	W
12/2	at TCU	L

Positional U

There is often argument about which schools are the best school at producing players at a particular position (usually skill positions). For example, some people often call USC Halfback U, and Notre Dame is referred to as Quarterback U. To that end, I decided to do some research into which schools consistently produce the best players at their positions.

To do so, I decided to research the number of players elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, Heisman winners at that position, and how many players have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Also, other notable players at the position are worth noting. Here are my results:

Quarterback U - Notre Dame

College Football Hall of Famers: (9)
Angelo Bertelli, Frank Carideo, Paul Hornung, Johnny Lujack, Harry Stuhlrehder, Bobby Williams, Ralph Guglielmi, Joe Theismann, John Huarte
Runners-up: BYU and Stanford (4)

Pro Football Hall of Famers: (2)
Paul Hornung and Joe Montana
Other teams with 2 Pro Hall of Famers: Alabama, Duke, Georgia, Northwestern, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA

Heisman winners at position: (4)
John Huarte, Paul Hornung, Johnny Lujack, Angelo Bertelli

Notable QBs:
Angelo Bertelli, Frank Carideo, Paul Hornung, Johnny Lujack, Harry Stuhlrehder, Bobby Williams, Ralph Guglielmi, Joe Theismann, John Huarte, Brady Quinn, Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Steve Beurlein, Terry Hanratty, Blair Kiel, Rick Mirer, Ron Powlus, Tom Clements, Jarious Jackson, Tony Rice

Running Back U - Southern California

College Football Hall of Famers: (10)
Mort Kaer, Erny Pinckert, O.J. Simpson, Charlie White, Marcus Allen, Jon Arnett, Frank Gifford, Mike Garrett, Ricky Bell, Anthony Davis
Runners-up: Notre Dame (8), Ohio State (6)

Pro Football Hall of Famers: (3)
Marcus Allen, Frank Gifford, O.J. Simpson

Heisman winners at position: (5)
Reggie Bush, Marcus Allen, Charles White, O.J. Simpson, Mike Garrett

Notable RBs:
Mort Kaer, Erny Pinckert, O.J. Simpson, Charlie White, Marcus Allen, Jon Arnett, Frank Gifford, Mike Garrett, Ricky Bell, Anthony Davis, Reggie Bush, LenDale White

Receiver U - TIE

This one is a little tougher, as fewer players have been elected to the College or Pro Football Hall of Fame as receivers. I included the more generic end position, and tight ends, to calculate this.

I think we need some more time to let a team separate itself from the crowd in this category. Many teams, such as Florida, Miami and Southern Cal are all making some progress in developing an impressive stable of receivers.

Presented are all three teams with a legitimate claim to the title right now. This will likely change as more players become eligible for induction into the halls, and some more receivers win Heismans.

College Football Hall of Famers:
Michigan: Ron Kramer (End), Bennie Oosterbaan (End), Neil Snow (End), Jim Mandich (Tight End), Anthony Carter (WR)
Notre Dame: Leon Hart (End), Wayne Milner (End), Jim Martin (End), Bob Dove (End), Ken McAfee (Tight End)
Florida State: Fred Biletnikoff (WR), Ron Sellers (WR)

Pro Football Hall of Famers:
Notre Dame: Dave Casper (TE), Wayne Milner (End)
Michigan: Bill Hewitt (End), Elroy Hirsch (End)
Florida State: Fred Biletnikoff (WR)

Heisman Winners at position:
Notre Dame: Leon Hart (End), Tim Brown (WR)
Michigan: Desmond Howard (WR), Charles Woodson (DB/WR)

Recent players of note:
Notre Dame: Anthony Fasano, Jeff Samardzija, Maurice Stovall, Derrick Mayes, Rhema McKnight, Tim Brown, Raghib "Rocket" Ismail
Michigan: Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson, Braylon Edwards, David Terrell, Amani Toomer, Marquise Walker, Jason Avant, Tai Streets
Florida State: Anquan Boldin, Laveranues Coles, Peter Warrick, Javon Walker, Craphonso Thorpe, Ron Sellers, Lawrence Dawsey

Note: ND should get some extra credit at the receiver position for revolutionizing the forward pass with a young end named Knute Rockne as the game's first star receiver.

2006 Spring Opponent Preview - Army (West Point) Black Knights

Top player: Caleb Campbell, SS
Make-or-break player: David Pevoto, QB
Biggest offensive strength: Wide Receiver
Biggest offensive weakness: Size
Biggest defensive strength: Safety
Biggest defensive weakness: Speed
Spring Depth Chart

I have great respect for Army. I think they are a high-integrity program that does things the right way - just like Notre Dame.

Problem is, Army sucks at football.

They are getting better under head coach Bobby Ross. They won four games last year, against Air Force, Arkansas State, Akron and Massachussets. Problem is, Army just doesn't have the talent to be competitive in Division I football. And this pains me. I used to love reading about the Notre Dame - Army game in whcih Knute Rockne and Gus Dorais revolutionized the use of the forward pass. The Notre Dame - Army battles during World War II were epic clashes of the titans.

But, alas, no more. Army may be more competitive this year under Bobby Ross, but they probably still will not make a bowl game, despite a weak schedule, and (more important to Army fans) will not beat Navy.

That said, Army returns an experienced, if undersized, squad this year. Their junior quarterback can make the throws, and they have a talented receiver in Jeremy Trimble, Jr.

Their defense will be solid with an experienced veteran linebacking corps, and an All-American talent at safety in Caleb Campbell.

However, Army just doesn't have the horses to hang with the big boys, and this game should be over by halftime, giving the Irish plenty of opportunity to play all their seniors on Senior Day. In fact, the Irish could probably play with only their seniors against Army, and still win handily.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Prediction
9/2	at Arkansas State	W
9/9	Kent State	W
9/16	at Texas A&M	L
9/23	at Baylor	L
9/30	Rice	W
10/7	Virginia Military Institute	W
10/14	at Connecticut	L
10/21	Texas Christian	L
10/28	at Tulane	W
11/3	Air Force	W
11/18	at Notre Dame	L
12/2	vs. Navy	L

The season has officially kicked off...

The Coaches Poll was released this morning, which for me marks the start of the football season. The Coaches Poll is the organization that awards the national championship trophy after the BCS bowls, and is the primary component of the BCS formula. Thus, these rankings will be the rankings which we will have to play against all season. Let the games begin.


Below are the preseason predictions for the Coaches Poll, and My preseason rankings. (First place votes are in parentheses)

Ranking	ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll	My Preseason Rankings
1	Ohio State (28)	Notre Dame
2	Texas (11)	Auburn
3 (tie)	Notre Dame (9)	Michigan
3 (tie)	Southern Cal (1)	Texas
5	Oklahoma (13)	Southern Cal
6	Auburn (1)	Ohio State
7	West Virginia	Florida State
8	Florida	LSU
9	LSU	California
10	Florida State	West Virginia
11	Miami (FL)	Florida
12	California	Oklahoma
13	Louisville	Miami (FL)
14	Georgia	Georgia
15	Michigan	Louisville
16	Virginia Tech	Iowa
17	Iowa	Penn State
18	Clemson	Georgia Tech
19	Penn State	Texas Tech
20	Oregon	Tennessee
21	Texas Christian	Alabama
22	Nebraska	South Carolina
23	Tennessee	Virginia Tech
24	Alabama	Oregon
25	Texas Tech	Texas Christian

Notes:

I wonder how many ballots were turned in before Bomar was kicked off the squad at OU - 13 people ranked them #1.

Texas appears to be getting quite a boost from their National Championship - Vince Young is not replaceable, however, and the Horns will be great, but not the best.

SC and Ohio State both were absolutely devastated by the draft, and they are both overrated. On talent alone, they will be very good football teams, but the Ohio State defense returns only 3 starters, and USC lost two Heisman winners from their offensive backfield.

West Virginia is not as good as the other teams around them, but they have a favorable schedule.

In a year where every team has their weaknesses, Auburn is getting very little credit. They are an all-around good team - no weaknesses. They lack the playmakers of the other top teams, but their lack of weaknesses will have them in a position to be able to win every game they play this year. Would they deserve a #2 ranking by me in any other year? Probably not. But this year, there is simply nobody else that doesn't have glaring holes to fill.

Michigan, in my opinion, is immensely underrated in the Coaches Poll. They are loaded with experienced juniors poised for abreakout season. They will probably lose their road opener against the Irish, but they will likely win all of their other games, except perhaps Ohio State.

Oklahoma's Starting QB Bomar released from team

Due to egregious violations of NCAA rules, Oklahoma's starting quarterback Rhett Bomar (and one other player, the starting right guard) was released from the team today. Read the official story here.

Bomar accepted a job at the Bid Red Sports car dealership in Norman (did the name of the dealership throw up any red flags for people? there aren't any fightin' irish lexus dealers here in the Bend...) where he worked approximately 5 hours per week, but was paid over $18,000 last year, largely for hours claimed that he did not work.

This is a classic example of the kind of egregious abuses by major college football teams that have led to SMU's program death penalty and Alabama's major sanctions. Oklahoma's "internal investigation" broke this story and dismissed the two players.

This was the same dealership that almost created some controversy earlier this summer with an unauthorized extended test drive of a lexus to starting tailback and Heisman hopeful Adrian Petersoon (according to rumor on message boards). There is some rumor that Peterson may be implicated in this investigation as well, but there are no confirmed sources that have said anything about Peterson's involvement.

This is the kins of thing that can destroy a football team, and Oklahoma's preseason aspirations to compete for a national title are no longer viable. Adrian Peterson has the talent to carry this team, but cannot win a championship without a viable passing game.

The depth behind Bomar is weak. There is one player that has some on-field experience, but he has been practicing at wide receiver since Bomar was named the starter. They have a juco transfer and a freshman as well. Not to mentiion the leadership that this team has lost.

Also, despite this being self-reported by Oklahoma, the almost certain NCAA investigation that would follow will very likely result in some very serious sanctions for the Oklahoma football program. In particular, Oklahoma may get diinged for lack of institutional control, as this was a violation by two starters at an organization that has had problems in the past with alleged violations.

Coming soon...

All of my quiet desperation and long hours of solitary obsession over my blog has finally begun paying dividends in my quest for complete world domination.

I will be added to the blogroll of a new website under construction called Write On Sports. Now, I will be read by 10s of people every year! At this rate, I will have taken over the world media by 3765.

Seriously, I'm excited about being added to this new website, and hope that I can get a little bit more exposure for my writing as a result. I'm also hoping to be part of the ranking poll again this year, but I will let you know more about that as it comes.

As I'm getting ready to wrap up my Spring Previews by the end of the week, I will be working on my massive Notre Dame Season Preview - a multi-part breakdown of the Irish for the 2006-2007 football season. It should be even bigger and better than last year's, with (hopefully) some insights from former players. Stay tuned...

Woo-Hoo, Pictures!

I'm going to start playing a little more with pictures from here on out, as I get more and more obsessed with writing about America's Greatest College Football Team Ever.

So, this post is mostly a way for me to start playing with the picture settings on blogger. And what better way to do so than with this beautiful picture of Our Lady perched atop the Golden Dome and a proud pic of the leprechaun. As you see, I am using these pix to pretty up my template for blogging as well.
I'm still not sure what half the stuff in the template editing window means, but I'm starting to get the hang of this.

Bear with me for a little while if my blog starts looking all wonky. I'll try not to goof it up too much.