As we have once again reached that strange and magical time of the year known as college football season, I feel it incumbent upon me to once again remind you to kindly disregard any yelling, clapping, cursing, throwing of things, stomping, or cheering you hear coming from my apartment. Nothing is wrong, I am simply watching my beloved Sooners play.
Should the noise become too loud, please let me know so I can pretend to be sorry and lie about trying to keep it down. As always though, your best bet is to just ride it out for a few hours, knowing it will all be over soon.
Best,
Dustin
P.S. ~ This warning goes out to all those foolish enough call me during said games as well”
So, I may or may not email this to all of my neighbors around this time each year. They all know me fairly well at this point and realize I am joking…but only kinda. That being said, we are indeed back in that strange and magical time of year, and it is only proper that I throw my two cents into the prediction pile! (NFL picks will be issued next week)
Heisman ~ Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville. Will have to go above and beyond to get voters to look past laughably weak schedule, something that is more than possible.
Offensive POY ~ Tajh Boyd, Clemson. After three years at the helm, look for Boyd to put up video game numbers against a weak ACC.
Defensive POY ~ CJ Mosley, Alabama. Clowney is a freak of nature, no question, but I see him playing conservative this year w/ an eye already on the NFL. Mosley goes for broke and comes up huge.
Rookie of the Year ~ Jameis Winston, Florida State. I know he's a redshirt, but still….this kid is going to be nasty.
Comeback POY ~ Sammy Watkins, Clemson. After a bumpy sophomore season, I look for something in the neighborhood of 1,600 AP yards this fall.
Lineman of the Year ~ Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma. Okay, fine, this was a bit of a homer pick, but like there was any way I was going against (1) a fellow center and (2) the Sooners. (If forced to pick another one, Yankey from Stanford and Lewan from Michigan are both beasts)
Coach of the Year ~ David Shaw, Stanford. This is the year he steps out of the Harbaugh shadow for good. Expecting a monster season from the Cardinal.
ACC Champ ~ Clemson. Call me crazy, but I think this is the year they finally put it together. The D is suspect, but man can they score points in bunches.
Big East Champ ~ Louisville. Does anybody else in the Big East even play football anymore?
Big Ten Champ ~ Ohio State. You have no idea how much it pains me to type that, but I dont see Michigan being quite there yet.
Big Twelve Champ ~ Oklahoma. There will be a few growing pains w/ Trevor Knight, but Stoops will figure out a way to get it done.
Pac Twelve Champ ~ Stanford. Oregon will be more fun to watch, but the Cardinal will find a way to get it done.
SEC Champ ~ Alabama. Once again, the Alabama-LSU game, and maybe the SEC Championship, will be the real National Championship.
National Championship ~ Alabama over Ohio State. Haven't we seen this before? Ohio State plays 9 home games against in-state opponents, then gets hammered by real competition?
Biggest Surprise ~ LSU. Lil Stevens has LSU as his sleeper national champs pick, and they certainly lived up to the billing last week. If that offense is for real, paired w/ an always stingy defense, they could a major dark horse come November.
Biggest Disappointment ~ Florida. Could have easily gone w/ Boise State or Oregon State here, but let's be honest, the expectations for neither of those were that high this year. The Gators, however, especially given the pounding they're already taking in the media courtesy of recent alumni (Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper, Tim Tebow…), will severely disappoint.