NCAA Football Week 1 Tailgate: Day 4

A Comeback Story

Much has been made of Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich's return to the gridiron after a bout with cancer, and deservedly so. But there is another ACC linebacker who is very thankful to be back on the field (and alive). Here's a great piece by Raycom Sports on NC State linebacker Nate Irving.

NCAA Football Week 1 Tailgate: Day 3

Give O'Brien More Time

N.C. State fans are all tired of being told to “be patient” and to give our football program “time to improve.” If you have truly had it with hearing these sayings, hear this out, one last time.

In his first three seasons in Raleigh, Tom O’Brien has a 16-21 record in three losing seasons. The Pack has made it to one bowl game, a loss to Rutgers in the 2008 Papajohns.com Bowl. His 9-15 record against the Atlantic Coast Conference shows very little to be proud of- with the exception of a 3-0 record against rival North Carolina. With the inclusion of Chuck Amato’s final season, State is one of only six BCS conference schools to post four straight losing seasons (Duke is the only other ACC school on the list).

One might ask, where is the bright side? It lies within O’Brien’s experience at Boston College. In his first three seasons in Chestnut Hill, the Eagles went 16-18 with one bowl appearance, a loss in the 1999 Insight Bowl. He followed those first three seasons by going 59-27, leading the Eagles to seven bowl games, and an ACC Atlantic Division title.

Give him more time, if only for just one more season. It is apparent from the progress made over the summer that his players have now started to buy into his system. The Pack will sport a potent offense being known as “the perfect storm,” led by All-ACC quarterback Russell Wilson and an experienced receiving group, a defense that returns arguably the scariest linebacker in the ACC in Nate Irving after a year out from injuries, and a secondary that if nothing else, now has a year of experience under its belt. Not to mention a new linebackers coach, who was the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, John Tenuta.

Last but not least, there is a new Athletic Director in Raleigh in Debbie Yow who has vowed to not accept mediocrity anymore. Her concerns are your concerns, no more blind hires following coaches who were around two and three seasons too long. If O’Brien and Yow can stay on the same page, there should be an improvement in Pack football coming soon.

NCAA Football Week 1 Tailgate: Day 2

2. New Coaches Start Their Tenures

• Jimbo Fisher, Florida State. Anyone else think Bowden was forced out too early? Wow, big shoes to fill for the former "coach-in-waiting." Luckily for him, he starts off against Samford.
  
• Brian Kelly, Notre Dame. The Irish are a 10 point favorite over Purdue in Week 1, I see it being closer than that in Kelly's debut, but expect him to have less wins than his replacement back in Cincinnati...
• Butch Jones, Cincinnati. What a tough way to start off with the Bearcats for Butch Jones in his first game after leaving Central Michigan. They'll travel to Fresno to take on the Bulldogs. But I like the Bearcats to win a tight one on the west coast.
  
• Lane Kiffin, Southern Cal. Kiffin's Trojans start out ranked 14th... not that it matters this season- at least they get a free trip to Hawaii in week one.
  
• Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech. Texas Tech should be able to handle SMU at home, though I feel Ruffin McNeill should be coaching the Red Raiders, speaking of Ruffin McNeill...
• Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina. McNeill's first game with the Pirates will be a tough test at home against Tulsa. McNeill, an ECU alum, is a great fit for the Pirates and a steal of a coach who should be in charge in Lubbock, but he'll need time to come in and implement his spread offense in Greenville.
• Skip Holtz, Southern Florida. The day came that Pirates fans had to expect would come sooner rather than later. On January 14th, Holtz jumped ship for a BCS conference team. Not worried about Holtz's new team in week one, though, as the Bulls open up against Stony Brook.
• Charlie Strong, Louisville. If Charlie Strong wants to earn points quickly with Cardinals fans all he needs to do is beat Kentucky in week one at home, who has a new coach of their own...
  
• Joker Phillips, Kentucky. Hired as the coach-in-waiting a few years ago, Phillips leads his team into Louisville to take on the rival Cardinals in his first game as the head coach.
  
• Derek Dooley, Tennessee. Not quite who the Volunteers were expecting would lead them into their week one game against in-state foe Tennessee-Martin. I expect a blowout in Knoxville as the Dooley era opens strong against the Skyhawks.

Also:

• Kansas: Turner Gill in, Mark Mangino out. Week 1: Home against North Dakota State.
  
• Vanderbilt: Robbie Caldwell in, Bobby Johnson out. Week 1: Home against Northwestern.
• Virginia: Mike London in, Al Groh out. Week 1: Home against Richmond.
  

NCAA Football Week 1 Tailgate: Day 1

1. Will the "BCS-Busters" pick up where they left off?
We should get the answer to this question in Week 1. The most anticipated game of the week is third ranked Boise State playing tenth ranked Virginia Tech in Landover, MD. The game, Sunday, Sept. 6 at 8pm (ESPN), is a virtual National Title elimination game. Both teams come in with tons of hype and expectation, knowing that this is a must-win.

• With Kellen Moore under center the Broncos always are in contention to win. But I see Virginia Tech's running game being too much for Boise State's defense, expect clutch performances from sophomore Ryan Williams, who is coming off a stellar freshman season, and junior Darren Evans who returns after missing last season with an injury.

A second possible "BCS-Buster" will have a big opening weekend game when sixth ranked TCU plays host to (24) Oregon State of the Pac-10. The game, Saturday, Sept. 4 at 7:45pn (ESPN) will be played at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, TX. TCU needs this game to stay in the hunt for a shot at crashing the BCS party in January.

• Watch out! This will not be an easy game for the Horned Frogs. Oregon State brings in tons of experience on offense, actually they'll roll in with more experience at all three offensive skilled positions than the Horned Frogs. Senior quarterback Sean Canfield threw for over 3,000 yards last season, a third of which went to, now senior, James Rodgers who returns for his senior season hoping to improve his draft stock. They also have junior running back Jacquizz Rodgers who has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Beavers. All that being said, I still think TCU's defense (which ranked 6th in the nation in points per game last year averaging just 12.8 points against per game) will win the game for the Horned Frogs.