Offseason Roundtable

Referencing Bruce Ciskie's blog,

I wanted to chime in on the first of the two offseason roundtabe posts that have been posed the college football blogging community. EDSBS's roundtable will be posted tomorrow.

Which preseason college football magazine is your favorite?

I, like many others, utilize the season preview magazines for depth charts will eventaully read all of the fluff pieces on topics such as:

1. Jeff Samardzija and Geddy Lee are never in the same place at the same time. Discuss.
2. Chad Henne & Anthony Morelli. Which one flops in 2006? Let it be Morelli...for the sake of the Michigan fans and band members travelling to "Urine Valley."
3. The OSU Defense...it could be really good or awfully mediocre.
4. Charlie Weis' affinity for being really nice to sick children....and food.
5. The ability to have over $10,000 floated your way for rent subsidization...and not miss a game...
6. What direction will circle-jerk seal (Nick Lachey) face this year now that his wingman is in Arizona?
7. Which WAC games will be pre-empted by Poker Tournaments with or without Jennifer Tilly on Fox and ESPN?
8. Where in the hell is Trev Alberts? The overabundance of Mark May sewage produced on Gameday Final has made the cllege football gods very unhappy. Another season of this crap and we may have to sacrifice Suzy Colbert (and all of the needy African children that she helps for "pennies a day.") to the Krakon.
   

That being said, I dont really have a favorite publication to mention.

What team is being supremely overrated in the preseason rankings?

I think that the easy answer is Notre Dame (I think OSU just scored another touchdown), as I am totally against ranking teams high based on its schedule. Notre Dame will have some tough match-ups this year...if they make it through the schedule and most of its opponents keep up their end of the bargain (I am talking to you UCLA) and finish with a respectable record...unlike this past year (UT...cmon) then Notre Dame will be in the BCS Championship game and there is nothing that anybody can do about it. However, a defense that slow last year wont get faster with incoming freshman wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs. I fear for Defensive Coordinator Rick Minter's job, if the Irish get into another shootout like they did with MSU or give up yardage like a "Sieve-ish" Manny Legace playoff goaltending performance. I would not be surprised if they lost a game or two next year that they shouldnt, because of that awful and porous defense, as the Stanford game comes to mind from last year. That was as good as a loss in my mind, because it really exposed all of the weaknesses present on the defensive side of the ball for the Irish. The Irish were fortunate to win that game...period.

That leads me to West Virginia. I know I know...the spanking that they put on Georgia may have opened some eyes on the national scene, but I dont think Goergia was nearly as good as its record had shown last year. The SEC was a battle of attrition with inept offenses and this crazy notion that defense will win games, while WVU had a pretty easy schedule and still managed to lose a game in the Big "Conference USA" East. Dont ask me why, but a 9-3 or 8-4 season seems to be on-tap for our couch-friendly football fans south of Ohio. Lousiville will be tough, and Pitt has to better this year...plain and simple.

Which conference will be the best in 2006?

SEC

Probably the SEC by default. Apparently, Big10 Football is alive and well with the resurgence of actual defense being played in the SEC. I am not sure what is going on down there, but maybe it is a little something with the speed myth finally wearing off and some SEC schools are figuring that athletes posessing football skill are better than sprinters in pads.

Big12

Until they even out those conferences and their is a meaningful game in the first weekend in December for the B12 title game, this will still be one of the most ridiculously top-heavy conferences in America.

Big10

Defenses from last year are not there, with the exception of PSU. However, even PSU with its great LB corp will only be able to hold up that new secondary and depleted front four for so long. Regardless, it looks like a good year for QBs in the B10, as Troy Smith, Drew Stanton, and Chad Henne lead this year's group of signal callers. It will be a good year for the conference, but ultimately, OSU and UM will most likely decide the conference with potential for a scare or two from the likes of Iowa and maybe PSU (if Bill Brasky...I mean Anthony Morelli steps up his game in a major way, while running for his life behind that O-Line)

Which "non-BCS" conference will be the best in 2006?

The one that Notre Dame plays in..."Oh snap!"

Which non-BCS conference team will have the best season?

The Horned Frogs....TCU baby.

Let's get your first read on this one...who will win the H*i*m*n? Oh, by the way, players whose last names begin with the letter "Q" are ineligible.

Adrian Peterson...Unless OSU goes undefeated...then it's Troy Smith...