What A Day!

Above is video from the last few moments of one of the greatest upsets in the history of college football, Appalachian State's 34-32 stunner over Michigan. I'm sure there's been a bigger upset, but one would have to look long and hard to find it. Some things to take from it:

* Appalachian State is not chopped liver. They have won two consecutive national championships in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA. They are better than at least half of the teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and would qualify for a bowl game playing in any of the BCS conferences.

* Appalachian State will have a hard time finding a FBS (I-A) team to play them in the future. This will affect their athletic budget, as they got $400,000 for this trip to Michigan alone.

* If ASU does not win the FCS national championship, it will be a stunner, but would also be a severe disappointment on the heels of this monumental upset.

* This blog predicts Lloyd Carr will retire as Michigan coach at the end of the season, to be replaced by Michigan alum Les Miles, currently the coach at LSU.

* This was a great first game for the Big Ten Network.

Just down the road in South Bend, I had pity for poor Notre Dame. Georgia Tech beat the Irish like a rented mule, 33-3. I expected a little more from the Irish. It's going to be a long year under the Golden Dome.

More comments on today's events in college football in a future post.

Appalachian State University is HOT HOT HOT

In honor of one of the biggest (if not the biggest) upsets in the history of college football, this blog presents one of the cheesiest public relations videos ever produced.

This was produced to present to friends and potential donors of Appalachian State University. It now lives as an Internet and YouTube legend.

Even when the weather is cold, Appalachian is Hot, Hot, Hot!

Ugly Uniform Of The Day

A new football season brings a new round of ridiculous uniforms. It would be really hard to top what I saw last night.

Syracuse got thumped by Washington, 42-12. Even worse than the score were the uniforms they wore. This blog ripped on the Orange for last year's uniforms. This year, some good changes were made, but the combination screams UGLY!!

Helmets: The blue "S" looks fine. It gives a somewhat modern look to the uniform.

Jerseys: It is good for a team called the Orange to wear orange jerseys. I had a hard time with the Orange wearing blue at home.

Pants: Orange pants are fine to wear on the road with white jerseys. At home, the combination of orange helmets, orange jerseys, and orange pants are hideous. White pants would improve this uniform greatly.

If the stripes were horizontal, these would have been mistaken for prison uniforms. As it is, they looked like pumpkins out on the field.

It was a bad night in Syracuse, unless you're a Washington Husky. They're counting the days until basketball season.

NFL Predictions, Part 3

As promised, after a long wait, this blog's projections for the AFC are now ready.

The strength of the NFL is definitely in the AFC. While the NFC has several good-but-not-great teams, the AFC has some beasts. There are teams here that would be Super Bowl contenders in the NFC but will struggle to make the playoffs in the AFC.

In the AFC East, the New England Patriots improved themselves with the addition of WR Randy Moss. This combined with a weak East division gives the Patriots a cakewalk into the playoffs. The New York Jets will be competitive, and would really like to trade places with the Giants to be in the NFC. Some pick Buffalo to be decent. I don't. Their schedule really works against them. Miami will be woeful.

AFC East Projections
New England 12-4
NY Jets 7-9
Buffalo 3-13
Miami 2-14

The AFC North looks to be really, really strong. The Baltimore Ravens will ride their defense to a dominating season. Right behind them will be the rebounding Cincinnati Bengals with their high-flying offense. Pittsburgh will be pretty good, but would be a Super Bowl contender in the NFC. Cleveland will be pathetic.

AFC North Projections
Baltimore 13-3
Cincinnati 12-4
Pittsburgh 9-7
Cleveland 4-12

In a later post, this blog will look at the AFC South and West divisions.

NFL Predictions, Coming

I haven't forgotten about the AFC. Those projections will be coming over the weekend. Stay tuned..

College Football Predictions, Week 1

It's hard to believe, but the greatest sport in the world returns Thursday night. That of which I am speaking is college football. With that comes the first weekly installment of predictions.

Once again, I will predict and comment on 20 games each week. I will pick all games involving Big 12 teams, plus other games of interest. Without further adieu, here are this week's picks:

North Texas at Oklahoma: Todd Dodge finds out there is a big difference between coaching Southlake Carroll against Richland or Haltom and coaching North Texas against the mighty Sooners. Pick: OU
Kent State at Iowa State (Thursday): Gene Chizik makes his debut as Cyclones coach against a team picked by some to win the East division of the MAC. This will be a tight game, but Iowa State comes through at home. Pick: ISU
Arkansas State at Texas: Arkansas State earns a big paycheck for their athletic department, while Texas gets a win. Pick: Texas
Colorado vs. Colorado State at Denver: Breakfast at Invesco Field, as this game kicks off at 10 AM local time. Both teams stunk last year, and don't look to be much better this year. Pick: Colorado
Missouri vs. Illinois at St. Louis: Could this be a future conference matchup in the Big 10? The Tigers aren't worried about that right now, as they look to be contenders in the Big 12 North. Pick: Missouri
Nevada at Nebraska: Nebraska starts with a respectable non-conference opponent in Lincoln. Huskers start off well this week. Pick: Nebraska
Baylor at TCU: TCU has a good team. Baylor is a bottomfeeder with little hope in sight. Pick: TCU
Oklahoma State at Georgia: Cowboys go between the hedges for a showdown with the Bulldogs. Some see this as a potential upset. I don't. Pick: Georgia
Central Michigan at Kansas: This is a make-or-break season for Mark and the Fighting Manginos. Win #1 comes in Lawrence against the defending MAC champions. Pick: KU
Montana State at Texas A&M: The last time Montana State visited a Big 12 school, they came away with a win at Colorado. That won't happen this time. Pick: Aggies
Kansas State at Auburn: We now know Bill Snyder is no longer the K-State coach, as he never would have scheduled a deadly road trip to the Loveliest Village on the Plains. KSU will wish they were back home playing a directional school. Pick: Auburn
Texas Tech at SMU (Monday): Tech gets to play a winnable game in front of alumni, students, and recruits in Dallas. Pick: Tech
Tennessee at Cal: Last season, Cal went to Knoxville as a national championship contender, only to be humbled by the Vols. This year, Cal gets revenge as Smokey visits Berkeley. Pick: Cal
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame: Battle of the Gold Helmets. This will be one of the better games of the weekend, but the Irish will have too much magic for the Ramblin' Wreck. Pick: ND
Wake Forest at Boston College: Wake Forest begins defense of their ACC championship with a Weekend In New England. I have a hard time picking against BC here, though I'm not sure which team is better. Pick: BC
Washington State at Wisconsin: The Cougars aren't afraid of anyone, and take the trip to Madison to face the Badgers. It's hard to win in Madison, and Wazzu won't be that fortunate. Pick: Wisconsin
Purdue at Toledo: Rockets look to recover from a rare losing season, and have a home game against a Big 10 team. This will be a good game, and the Boilers will have to fight for a win. Pick: Purdue
Houston at Oregon: The Coogs make their way to the Northwest to face the Ducks. Ducks go quack all over the Cougars. Pick: Oregon
Florida State at Clemson (Monday): The Bowden Bowl. Papa Bobby Bowden replaced five assistant coaches in the off-season in an attempt to restore FSU to glory. Clemson hasn't been the same since FSU joined the ACC in 1992. Death Valley will be rocking. Clemson has won three of the last four in this series. Make that four of the last five. Pick: Clemson
UMass-Dartmouth at Worcester Polytechnic Institute: This isn't Dartmouth of the Ivy League, but the University of Massachusetts campus at Dartmouth, MA. They went 5-4 last season, while WPI went 3-6. Pick: UMass-Dartmouth.

NFL Projections, Part 2

Today, as promised, this blog will project the South and West divisions of the NFC.

The New Orleans Saints, last year's feel-good story, return for more as they look to defend their division championship. The Saints will successfully defend that title and return to the playoffs. They also have a good chance to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, behind QB Drew Brees and RB Reggie Bush.

The Carolina Panthers will bounce back strongly this season to contend for a playoff spot. Tampa Bay will be mediocre, and the Atlanta Falcons will wallow in the damage brought on by soon-to-be convicted felon Michael Vick.

Projected Standings:

New Orleans 12-4
Carolina 11-5
Tampa Bay 4-12
Atlanta 3-13

The West division has been touted by some as the most improved division in football. I'll believe it when I see it.

The Seattle Seahawks will be the class of the division once again. San Francisco showed a lot of improvement last season, but will slip back this year. St. Louis will have a high-flying offense, and not much more (they better have a high-flying offense, as I have Marc Bulger as QB in both of my fantasy leagues). The Arizona Cardinals will be the Cardinals once again, showing flashes of brilliance and not much else.

Projected Standings:

Seattle 10-6
St. Louis 7-9
Arizona 6-10
San Francisco 5-11