My Top Ten College Football Teams

I covered the Big Ten the other day and I would have like to have covered all the other major conferences, but I'm not that good. But I will give you a run down of my top ten teams. More specifically, this is how I think they'll finish out the season.

10. Wisconsin--With any luck, they could be at the top of this list. Aside from QB, this is better than last years team. But, they're schedule is going to get the best of them. By the way, why are offensive linemen so much bigger in Wisconsin than in Minnesota? For the last 5 years is hasn't even been close. Wisconsin always has 5 300lb behemoth's and the gophers has a bunch of 275lb TE's. Did I mention I'm glad Glenn Mason is gone?

10. Alabama Nick Saban is a great coach. He's not the best at finding good NFL jobs, but he's still a winner. He is walking into great situation at 'Bama and I really see this team pulling off some big wins. They have GA, AR and LSU at home, which makes those winnable (even against LSU). I see them taking at least 2 of them. They play @ FSU and the Iron Bowl's on the road, but if they win 1 of those games, they'll be in a BCS bowl.

9. WVU There backfield is super explosive. I think their toughest game will be @ Rutgers following @ USF. I think they lose one of those two. They have Louisville at home following a bye, so this team has a legit shot at going undefeated. Their problem is that one lose in the Big East is more than enough to knock them out of National Championship contention.

8 Georgia My least favorite thing about the SEC, is that they never leave their neck of the woods to play a football game. I'm pretty sure that the Bulldogs haven't crossed the Mason Dixon line or the Mississippi River in the last 10 years for a non-bowl game. The furthest they travel this year is to Knoxville. That game, @ Alabama and the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail party are their toughest games. If the lose to Bama, you can swap their spots.

7. Ohio State I think Lloyd Carr finally beats these guys. Plus I think PSU will knock them off as well. Their other tough game is against the Badgers.

6. PSU They have a senior QB and a bunch of studs at WR to complement an always outstanding D. I think Joe Pa stuck around for this season. He wants to go out on top. Their only hick up will be in week 5 @ Michigan. They'll have enough space between that and the end of the season to move up to at least here. With a little help they could be closer to the top.

5. Va Tech I really like this team. I think they'll breeze through the first part of the ACC season. If Butt Face Beamer can stop his team from tailing off at teh end of the season, it could be a great year. There toughest game by far is at LSU which is probably the best non-conference game since the first OSU/Texas game 2 years ago. They'll be tested at home by FSU and Miami, but I still think they finish with just one loss and a ACC championship.

4. LSU I think just about everyone is picking them, USC or Michigan to win it all. And there is nothing wrong with those picks. LSU's toughest road game will be at Bama, but its following a bye week, so they should be prepped for it. I don't see a lose on the regular season schedule, but the SEC is so tough, you have to think they lose once. I'll go out on a limb and say its the SEC championship against the Bulldogs.

3. Michigan They end the season at Wisconsin than against OSU. If they're offense is healthy, they should be able to get it done. They have PSU at the big house to start the season. Lloyd Carr has won a national championship before and this team has a great shot at getting it done. Why are the #3? They'll lose at Illinois.

2. USC Its amazing how much talent they have. If you were a high school running back, why would you want to play for them? You may get 50 carries a year as a senior. Did I mention that I think Pete Carroll is an idiot? He's smart enough to hire good assistants, but I don't think he brings much to the table. They'll go undefeated fairly easily. At Cal may be scary, but they have the team to beat anyone anywhere.

1. Oklahoma Seriously, what fun would it be if I didn't go out on a ledge? They return 15 starters from last year. They haven't had a ton of luck the last two years which I think will turn around a little this year. Bob Stoops is not Pete Carroll. He's gotten his average teams to do great things, where Carroll fucked the Jets up. When they beat Texas, it will be fairly clear sailing for the rest of the season. At 10-1, I'm jumping on them for a future bet. They have the talent and coach to get it done.

Big Ten Preview

Here is a real quick preview of the Big Ten for the upcoming college football season, to include a couple of prop bets that might pay off for you.

Michigan Pretty much every magazine is swinging from there O's nut sack. But if they can't beat OSU, it doesn't matter. I think they get it done this year. I have them as an absolute lock to win 10 games and I really believe they are going to win 11. I see them being undefeated headed in to Madison. They end up Wis then OSU. Winning one will get them to the Rose Bowl.

Penn St I really like there team this year. Senior QB's in the B10 are priceless. They have OSU and Wis at home and I think they pull them both off. If Michigan stumbles late or goes undefeated, they could slide in to the Rose Bowl.

OSU First, they were 9-3 against the spread last year and were favorites in every game. That is an amazing number and it could have been better. They have 11 starters returning and don't have to play Texas again (which is a shame because they were epic early season battles). Tressel is an absolute machine, who probably cheats, but he recruits and wins. I see them losing at PSU and Michigan. Wisconsin is there only other challenge and that's at home. The over under on wins for them is 9. I see them clearing that easy.

Iowa I wonder why Ferentz is still coaching this school. I think they are as good as they'll ever be, which is pretty good, but not BCS good. They collapsed last year after the Michigan game, but it looked worse than it was. 14 starters come back and there is no OSU or Michigan. Wisconsin and PSU on the road are games they can't win, but the rest of the schedule sets up nicely for 10 wins. The o/u is 8 1/2. Can you say LOCK!

Wisconsin This should be the best Wisconsin team in the last 4 years. They have a senior QB, but he doesn't have much in the way of experience. There O-lines as good as ever. So whats the problem? Games at PSU, OSU and home against Michigan. If they win one, there in the running for a BCS game. Two a the big ten title, three a national championship. I don't think they win any of them.

Purdue Much like Wisconsin, Purdue's schedule gets in the way of having a great year. OSU, @ Michigan and Iowa are at the heart of the schedule. On top of that there is PSU and ND. I think QB Painter will have a nice year but I don't see them winning more than 2 of the games mentioned. 9 wins would be a nice season.

Illinois Shouldn't these guys be better? Seriously, with all the accusations against Zook, shouldn't he have an assload of talent? There are a bunch of good players, but there not earth shattering. Following a 2 win season, I think they make the jump to a bowl game. Juice is back and will probably win 3 games by himself. WR Benn is supposed to be a game changer. At home against Missouri to start and then an impossible stretch of PSU, Badgers, @ Iowa and Michigan plus OSU. I still count 6 wins.

Northwestern Losing there coach before the start of last year couldn't have helped. They have 16 starters coming back and should be much improved. What does that mean? 2 more wins. @ OSU, Michigan @ MSU is a really tough start to the B10. The last game of the season is against the Illini and could potentially be for a bowl bid.

MSU Last year they were 3-8 verse the spread and 1-3 as a home favorite. I don't know if there is a better way to show that you didn't live up to expectations. I'm pretty much still steaming after the ND lose. I had +3 and they ended up pushing after having a huge lead. I don't see them winning a game after home coming. Which is a problem since its on Oct 13th.

Indiana The only B10 team they can beat is MN.

Minnesota So who can the Gophers beat? There best chances for a B10 wins are against Purdue and Illini. They have a joke of a non conference schedule, so if they win both, they might be bowl eligible. I'm glad they finally jettisoned Mason and I'm optimistic about the future, but if they don't get a bunch of breaks, this could be a really tough year. A really tough year.

Defining my politics

I think I have erred. Everyone makes mistakes, and I'm pretty sure I've made one. When it comes to politics and you tell people your a socialist, they envision some 'socialist' democratic country in Europe where people don't pay for medical care or college.

Well, that's not what I'm all about. Those are OK and its probably better than having the social system we have now.

But the problem with democratic 'socialism' is that it is doomed. Open market economies that could care less about domestic welfare are bound to tear down their social programs. Globalization is happening and those economies that can't compete will suffer and the programs they support will suffer along side them.

So if I'm not a modern day socialist, what am I? I reluctant to call myself a Marxist because we could literally wait a hundred years and the revolution that Marx imagined would happen. I'm not sure what the world is missing but there is something that is just preventing people from uniting on a economic level. Race, religion, nationalism and political ideals can tie us together but if you're poor, you probably don't want to hang out with other poor people.

What I believe is that capitalism is not the answer. There is no invisible hand protecting the interests of the average working man. Furthermore it forces the capitalist to be as greedy as possible otherwise the other guy will surpass them and thus put them out of business.

I'm not even sure how to title it, but I'm thinking about 'capitalism is fucked'. I'm soliciting feedback.