Who's your Coach?

There are many great coaches out there, but who's the best? Numbers don't lie - titles, recruiting classes, wins, all of that stuff matters but so do the things that you can't take stats of - character, personality, and drive are big topics that come to mind. We'll take a look into who's the best, but don't be scared to let us know what you think about this topic!

When looking at the top recruiters, you got Nick Saban of Alabama, Urban Meyer or Ohio State, Jim Harbaugh of Michigan (in his second season), Jimbo Fisher of Florida State, Dabo Swinney of Clemson, and Les Miles of LSU. These are the coaches that come to mind when thinking of the best coaches in the nation and they are always the top recruiting coach and bring in the best talent. It's like a cycle: bring in a good class, have a good team, graduate a good class, bring in a good class, etc. You get the point and it's not hard to figure out why these coaches are always near the top. Alabama has won multiple titles in the last several years because they have a top coach and program.

Last year's playoff featured Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, and Michigan State. These schools have four of the top coaches in the country (Saban, Swinney, Bob Stoops, Mark Dantonio) and it's no mistake as to why they were in the playoff. The top coaches have the top programs and the top players. In my opinion, the top three coaches go as follows:

1. Nick Saban: Alabama - they're always winning and at the top of everything possible, so why not have him as #1?
2. Jim Harbaugh: Michigan - in only his second season and first as recruiting, he had a top 5 class brought in, and has Michigan in title conversations already.
3. Urban Meyer: Ohio State - they're in the same boat as Bama - always good, top classes, and always in title conversation. He belongs on this list.

College Football: Week Three Preview

Week three appears to be one of the best weekends of college football of the year. There are many intriguing match-ups between non-conference foes, ranked opponents, and some key conference games. This should be an exciting weekend filled with good football. 

Our first game is in the ACC with early championship game implications. Florida State travels to Louisville to take on the Cardinals. Louisville's QB is a stud and has a million touchdowns already so the FSU defense will definitely have their hands full with him. However, I think that the Seminoles are too good of a football team to lose to Louisville so I'm picking the Noles.

Another interesting game features Ole Miss and Alabama in the SEC. Ole miss is looking to keep their two-game winning streak against the Tide alive, as the Tide look to beat the Rebels. Alabama is loaded and is too good on both sides of the ball. Roll tide.

Up next is Oregon traveling to Nebraska. Oregon hasn't been at the level they traditionally have been for the last couple of years and for that reason, I like the Cornhuskers at home. It's a hard place to play and Nebraska has a solid football team, so I fully expect them to beat the Ducks. Big statement game for the Big 10.

Another game between ranked opponents is Michigan State traveling to Notre Dame. The Irish have a really good QB in Deshone Kizer and look to beat the Spartans at home, which I expect them to do. MSU's offense is ready yet to beat a team like Notre Dame and won't be able to match the scoring that the Irish will put up. 

Finally, we have what should be the best match-up of the week, featuring Ohio State and Oklahoma. Oklahoma got off to a tough start by losing to Houston, so they need this game. However, I don't know if they'll be able to stop Ohio State's offense enough times to win. The Sooners are at home though, and have a good offense that can put up points against this young Buckeye defense. I like the Sooners.

College Football: Week Two in Review

Week two compared to week one was a bad sequel that never should've even became a sequel. Okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the point. There weren't many exciting games heading into the weekend but it didn't end up too bad. The Battle at Bristol was a good game, TCU vs. Arkansas was pretty good, and CMU vs. Oklahoma State was good with an unpredictable ending. So, let's take a look at week two.

A lot of the high ranked teams played cupcakes, and the scores indicated that, other than Clemson who struggled this week. Michigan rolled over UCF, 51-14, and the other top power five teams were either off or had scores similar to Michigan's. However, the game between TCU and Arkansas was a good one. Arkansas got the early lead, TCU battled back to take the lead, but Arkansas then tied it to force overtime. Arkansas ended up winning the game, which was pretty significant for them because it was on the road against a ranked team.

The Battle in Bristol was an awesome set up for a college football game and in my opinion was a very good idea because it allowed more fans to experience the game live in person (150,000 to be exact) and it allowed the players to play in front of a huge crowd. I think that college football should do something like this every year, letting more teams and fans to experience something like that. As for the game, Virginia Tech got out to an early lead but they eventually gave it up to Tennessee and the Vols ran away with it and won by 20, showing how good they are and for teams to lookout for them this year. 

Now things get interesting. Central Michigan played Oklahoma State and many thought the Cowboys would dominate. Well, those people thought wrong. It was tight down to the wire and Oklahoma State had the ball with about 8 seconds left. Their coach told their QB to eat some time and then throw it as far as you can. The problem: he didn't think of intentional grounding. Time did expire but they refs screwed up and gave the ball to CMU because of the grounding call on fourth down. So CMU got an untimed down. They fired a Hail-Mary down field, their receiver caught it around the 10 yard-line and was about to go down. Before he did, he pitched it to his teammate who had one man to beat to get in the end zone, which he did and CMU won 30-28 in controversial fashion. One of the craziest plays you'll see all season, but I guess that's why we love college football.

College Football: Week One Review

Week one was one of the greatest week ones in recent memory. It had many top 25 match-ups, last second wins, upsets - everything you could've imagined in a week one, it happened. Oklahoma got upset by the Houston Cougars, Notre Dame was upset in Texas by the Lognhorns (one of the best games I've watched in a while), Florida State overcame a huge deficit to defeat Ole Miss, and much more. There's so much to talk about so let's get started!

Let's start with Oklahoma and Houston. Oklahoma was the favorite going in as the #3 team nationally against the #15 Cougars. Houston came right in and dismantled the Oklahoma team, who many had making it to the college football playoff (including myself). The final: 33-23 Houston. This huge win for Houston inserts them into the playoff discussion. I know it's only week one but Houston looked really good against a title favorite Sooners.

Next up is Notre Dame and Texas, which was the best game of the week. Freshman QB Shane Buechele for Texas was poised, smart, had a cannon of an arm that beat the Irish secondary way too many times, and he looked like a senior instead of a true Freshman. His play mixed with the play of backup QB Tyrone Swoopes, who ran the ball extremely well, especially in the red zone, was enough to knock off the Irish in double overtime.

Other notable games from the week were: Florida State and Ole Miss. Florida State was down three scores in the first half, but got it together during the second half and beat the Rebels 45-34. Alabama and USC faced off in Dallas and Alabama ran USC out of the building, 52-6. It looked like men against boys and USC definitely didn't belong on the same field as them. Ohio State and Michigan both won by ridiculous scores. OSU won 77-10 over Bowling Green and Michigan won 63-3 over Hawaii.

The national picture still looks the same other than the losses from #3 Oklahoma and the embarrassing loss by #5 LSU at the hands of Wisconsin. LSU looked sloppy, Harris made some awful decisions with the ball, and Fournette could never really get much going. This is going to be a great season of college football and I can't wait for it to unfold. Comment your thoughts below!

College Football Preview: Who's Winning it all?

Based off of all of my conference predictions, I expect to see Florida State as the #1 seed, Michigan as the #2 seed, Oklahoma as the #3 seed, and Tennessee as the fourth seed. All of these teams are extremely good and not much separates them. Michigan is the team that will surprise people will how good their offense actually is as compared to these other three teams that have high powered offenses that put up a ton of points. 

In the first semifinal game, we'll have Florida State and Tennessee. This game features two high powered offenses with very talented defenses to go along with, so it'll be interesting to see if it'll be a battle of the defenses or whoever has the ball last will win. This is a great match-up and I expect Florida State to come out on top in a very exciting, close game.

For the second semifinal game, it'll be Michigan and Oklahoma. Michigan's defense is better than Oklahoma's and it will need to be in order to handle Baker Mayfield and Semaje Perine. Michigan's secondary is one of the best in the country and their front is arguably better and I believe they'll be able to handle Oklahoma's offense. Michigan's offense is also surprisingly explosive with a good receiving core, a solid quarterback who can manage a game, and a mix of powerful backs to carry some of the load as well. I expect Michigan to win this battle in a close game, to make it to their first title game under coach Harbaugh. 

If all goes well, the title game will feature Florida State and Michigan. These two are quite similar with their teams and skill levels at the skill positions. Obviously Florida State has the better run game with Dalvin Cook and their quarterback is more explosive than Michigan's but Michigan's defense is better and can handle Florida State's offense. This game will be a toss up but I expect Michigan to win it all for the first time since '97.

That will wrap it up for the preview series. Let us know what you think!

College Football Preview: Taking a Look at the ACC

The ACC appears to be a two-horse race. Clemson, last year's runner-up returns Heisman hopeful QB Deshaun Watson who has the ability to win them games with his arm and his legs. Florida State is loaded on defense and returns their star running back Dalvin Cook who will have to be a work horse this year for the Seminoles. Their question: can freshman QB Deondre Francois be good enough for Florida State to win the ACC? We'll surely find out.

Clemson was last season's national runner-up to Alabama, in one of the most exciting title games in recent years. They return QB Deshaun Watson and RB Wayne Gallman, and bring in a top recruiting class to fill in the voids on defense. Clemson will be a very exciting team this year and their match-up with Florida State should decide who's making the playoff.

Up next is Florida State. They return a lot of their defense, their top player in Dalvin Cook, a good receiving core, and all they need to figure out is their quarterback situation for them to be the best team in the country. Coach Jimbo Fisher always has a well-coached team and also brought in a top recruiting class, so don't be surprised if the Noles knock off the Tigers this season.

The other teams that have a remote shot at beating these two juggernauts are: 

1. Louisville with their stud quarterback Lamar Jackson, can beat one (probably not both) of these teams if they play the perfect game. 

2. Miami has a great quarterback in Brad Kaaya and have a new coach in Mark Richt. If they want to have any chance to win these big games, Coach Richt will need to get their players to be playmakers on both sides of the ball and Kaaya will need to be stellar. 

3. North Carolina had a very good 11-3 record last season and made it to the ACC championship but lost a tight game against Clemson. They have a new QB but return playmakers at running back and wide receiver. Don't sleep on the Tar Heels to make it to the ACC championship game once again, and don't be surprised if they knock off Clemson or Florida State. 

College Football Preview: Who's taking the SEC?

Now most people in the nation believe that the SEC is the best conference in all of college football, and rightfully so. They have three teams in the top 10, also claiming the #1 spot with Alabama, last years national champion. LSU has arguably the most powerful player in the country in Leonard Fournette, surrounded by a loaded offense and defense as well. The other top 10 team is Tennessee, who is an all-around solid, skilled, and well-coached football team, so look out for the Vols to win the East.

We'll start with the favorite, Alabama. It seems as if every year they're in the national title conversation and that's not by mistake. The Tide have the best coach and recruiter in college football with Nick Saban, they have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, but their offense is unproven with a new backfield. If they want to win the SEC West and eventually the SEC, they'll need to figure those positions out.

Next, we'll take a look at LSU. Coach Les Miles has this Tigers team ready to go - at least talent wise. They have the best running back in football, one of the top receiving cores led by Malachi Dupre, and have a stacked defense to go on top of their offense. QB Brandon Harris needs to perform at a high level this year because they won't be able to rely on the 30 carries and 200 games from Fournette in order to win a title. He needs to be good for the Tigers to make it the the playoff.

From the East, Tennessee appears to be the clear favorite. They return their stud backfield with Josh Dobbs at QB and Jalen Hurd at running back. They have a very talented defense and coach Butch Jones is excited about his team. Many thought last year was the year for the Vols to have a breakout season, but they were still a year away. Is this their year to finally win the SEC? 

The SEC will have a team in the playoff based off of the conference's perigree and perennial powerhouses. But who? Tennessee and LSU will meet in the SEC championship, and I see the Vols taking that game and making it in the playoff. They're loaded on both sides of the ball and LSU's QB is too much of a liability for them to win these important games. I think LSU will knock of Bama but Harris will crack under the pressure and Tennessee will win the SEC.

PAC 12 Preview: Who's Winning out in the Wild West?

When looking at the PAC 12, you never know who's going to come out ahead from the rest of the pack. Oregon was favored for a few years in a row, and only won the conference once. This year, four teams have a legitimate chance to win the PAC 12, with the rest not looking like they'll be able to string it together for long enough to compete.

1. Stanford

They have arguably the best play maker in the country with Christian McCaffrey who can do pretty much anything you ask him to do. They are very well-coached, and have a very solid team like usual, so don't be surprised to see the Cardinal to be in the title game.

2. Washington

Yes, Washington is actually on this list. Surprising, I know. Despite recent disappointing seasons, the Huskies have a very good team assembled by coach Chris Peterson and can compete with just about anyone in the country on any given Saturday, yes they're that good. A huge boost for the Huskies is that they have Stanford at home. 

3. UCLA

All the hype around sophomore QB Josh Rosen is legit. This guy is so calm in the pocket, great release, and a great decision maker, and he will win games for them this year. The only question: can they make it through the PAC 12 schedule without any blemishes? We'll definitely find out and see if they can keep it together for the full season. 

4. USC

USC is in it's second year under coach Clay Helton and have a very explosive offense with arguably the best wide receiving core in the nation. With first year started Max Browne, things are unclear for USC, but they look to have a very promising team and could make some noise in the PAC 12 this season.

I expect Stanford to meet up with UCLA in the championship game, with Stanford getting the slight edge and claiming the title. They're loaded and have the most exciting player in nation. However, I don't think they'll make it to the playoff because the PAC 12 is so daunting and Stanford has a very tough schedule overall.

College Football Preview: Is this the Big Year for the Big 12?

Now we shift focus to the Big 12. Ever since the NCAA adopted the playoff format for college football, the Big 12 has probably been hurt the most because they're the only power five conference without a championship game. Last season, Oklahoma made it in as the #3 seed and lost to eventual runner-up Clemson in the semifinal game. This year, it looks as if Oklahoma could win the conference again and hope to make it back into the playoff, as long as they make it through their daunting non-conference schedule.

The top competitors for this season look to be Oklahoma and TCU, but I wouldn't sleep on Baylor (despite their new coach and allegations), Oklahoma State, and Texas. Yes, Texas. Now I know that they've been mediocre for the last few seasons, but they are loaded with talent, so it's all just a matter if their coaches can develop them to become the team they've been waiting to be. Their freshman QB Shane Buechele appears to be the real deal and could lead them back to glory (maybe in the next couple of years). The Red River Rivalry game this year between Texas and Oklahoma should be a good one and could have major implications within the Big 12. 

However, I just think that Oklahoma is too good to lose any conference games - they return their Heisman hopeful quarterback, Baker Mayfield, top running back, Semaje Perine, and a boatload of talent to go along with them, and we all know that Coach Stoops will have their heads in the right place and focused on one goal: winning a national title.

Do you think they have what it takes? Comment below and let us know who you think will come out on top!

College Football: Big Ten Preview

The Big Ten is a conference in the Midwest with a few teams sprinkled around from a few other regions. Teams come from states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Nebraska. The conference is comprised of two divisions: the East and the West. For the 2016 season, the teams who are supposed to be the top dogs are Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Iowa. The reigning champion is Michigan State, who beat Iowa in last year's game. 

The Big Ten West consists of seven teams: Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. Ever since the conference split up into two divisions and adopted a conference championship game, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa have been the top dogs, competing for a chance at the conference title every year. Last season, Iowa went undefeated into the title game but lost. This year I expect close to the same. Iowa returned their best players (QB CJ Beathard and CB Desmond King) so I expect them to repeat as West Division champs and return to the title game. However, I wouldn't sleep on Nebraska or Wisconsin, as they return solid teams that can compete with anyone.

The East is made up of the powerhouses Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State, along with Penn State, Rutgers, Indiana, and Maryland. In the preseason rankings, Michigan was rated at #7, Ohio State at #5, and Michigan State at #12 nationally, so these are definitely the top teams in the conference and the front runners for the East division. As long as Michigan's quarterback situation is figured out, then they are my favorite because they have one of the best defenses in the country and many offensive weapons. Ohio State only returns four starters from last years team but have restocked their talent pool with a top recruiting class. I expect Michigan to win the conference, but I wouldn't rule out the two State schools based off of their talent and coaching. 

So if this were a perfect world and I were to be correct with my predictions, I expect Michigan and Iowa to meet in Indianapolis in early December. I like that match-up for Michigan so I predict they will win that game and land a spot in the college football playoff. I like their roster and have one of the top coaches in all of football with Jim Harbaugh, so I think they'll win the Big Ten and represent the conference in January.

Who do you have winning the Big Ten?
Comment Below!