Good By Paris Olympics Hello C...

With the end of the 2024 Paris Olympics, we are now, finally, standing at the doorstep of the 2024 College Football season and I couldn’t be more excited. Enough of the swimming, the judo, the volleyball and basketball. It’s time to get serious about sports. It’s time for marching bands, student sections, cheerleaders and hot southern nights. I’ve had enough of French culture and escargot. It’s time for football!

This week marked the release of the pre season polls ranking the the top 25 teams in the country going into the season and to be honest I was only mildly impressed. The College game has no preseason and with the reporting dates of many Divisions 1 schools still a week away I’m in awe of how, or what, pollsters use to define the top tier schools. I consider pre seas polls about as usefull as political ones which in reality means not at all. However, let’s take a moment to review the rankings just for giggles. 

The College coaches poll has nine teams from the SEC ranked in the top 25 spots. That leaves the Big Ten, The ACC, The Big 12 and the independents to fill out the other 16 spots. Regardless of if the AP or The Coaches poll is more correct the betting side of my brain tells me that at the end of it all there’s gonna be at least three or four teams from The SEC left standing when the playoffs start at the end of the year. Between now and then just about anything can, and will, happen. When it comes to individual schools I’m more interested in the polls that come out Thanksgiving Weekend then the ones that come out Labor Day Weekend. Go figure right? Talk to me in December on that one. 

Last year we spent the months of September and October staying up till 2 in the morning watching Colorado barley squeeze by teams that weren’t even ranked in the top 50 much less the top 25. I’ve convinced myself there will not be a repeat of The Dione Sanders Show this year. It got old, sort of, and yes come October I may be eating my words. With the absolute chaos that the transfer portal has created I’m looking for a new show to watch and keep me up cheering till the early morning hours, maybe a Slippery Rock State or Indiana A&M. One never knows does one?

I think this year we’re gonna be looking at a crazy picture come Christmas. It’s really hard to say what’s gonna happen. First, the transfer portal has created a huge vacuum operating in both directions depending on how you look at it. Schools that were heavy last year with four and five star recruits have seen a large migration of players seeking playing time at more irrelevant schools. The arrival of those players at these new schools have made those schools relavent. Many schools, Texas for example, have had so many players come and go that it’s hard to remember they have 3 or 4 top quarterbacks sitting on the bench not to mention Arch Manning taking snaps with the 2nd team. Crazy right? As the season moves into fall I’m gonna talk more about the transfer portal and NIL and we’ll sit and watch how it has transformed the college game. Should be interesting. 

Second, this year is the dawn of the new playoff format. It’s no longer the story of the four best teams standing. This year it will be twelve teams. Schools from the Big Ten, Big Twelve, ACC should all be represented. Sure, they might even throw in an Independent if Notre Dame or Navy can hang till December with the Big Dogs! 

With all this said I really don’t know who is gonna be left standing when the dust settles in January. To be honest I’m getting a bit bored with Georgia kicking the pants off any and all teams it has to play. Alabama could stand out as well but with the exit of Head Coach Nick Saban I’m predicting a new look Alabama Crimson Tide they may or may not surprise a lot of people. Nick Saban shoes are a pretty big fill so good luck on their season. I will say that there are some very tempting odds on the National Champs that are hard to ignore. Sure, Georgia is almost a lock but ‘Bama at +1400 and Texas at +850 has me up late thinking about a pick that could be life changing and get me back on track to a winning year. I need all the help I can get!!

So sit back and enjoy the show folks. This time it’s not about gymnastics, woman’s soccer or water polo. It’s the time of year to enjoy the game the literally eclipses The Olympics! It’s time for football!!

Kev

Kev's Corner Our Staffs Weekly Sports perspective

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