NCAA Football Top 15

For some reason, college football holds a special place in many a sports fan’s heart. If you’re a true fan, win or lose, you’ll keep up with your favorite program for years to come. From last Saturday until early January, every week will have at least a few prime-time matchups that nobody will want to miss. Enjoy them!

#1 – Alabama Crimson Tide – Coach Nick Saban has had a successful 3 years with Alabama, leading both his 2008 & 2009 teams to perfect regular seasons. While it will be tough for the Crimson Tide to run the table again this season, you can expect to find them at the top of the SEC as they have no foreseen threat (such as Florida has been in the past few seasons) to a conference title. Once healthy, expect to see last year’s Heisman winner, Mark Ingram, repeat last season’s numbers and make opposing defenses look downright silly while Bama’s D keeps the ball in his hands.

#2 – Ohio State Buckeyes – The Buckeyes could easily slide into the #1 spot at some point during the first half of the season due to their strong defense and Heisman candidate Terrelle Pryor. Pryor is starting to look like the all-around college quarterback that everyone knew he would eventually evolve into; have no doubt that you’ll hear his name during the highlight section of almost any sports show on any given week. On the other side of the ball, Cameron Heyward will look to build on last year’s total of 6.5 sacks while becoming the vocal leader of one of the nation’s best defenses. Expect consecutive Big Ten title #6 for Ohio State – a number that would tie the all-time Big Ten record.

#3 – Boise State Broncos – Everyone could (and will) debate for an entire season whether or not Boise State should get a shot at playing for a BCS Championship in the National Championship game. I think that Boise State has the best chance to get in this year than any “smaller conference” team ever has, but Alabama and OSU will have too good of resumes to leave out. I’d love to see the Broncos get a chance though..

#4 – Texas Longhorns – Mack Brown hasn’t had a team win less than 9 games in 14 years. He has been the main reason behind the Longhorns’ recent, consistent success, leading Texas to 9 straight 10+ win seasons. Expect the running backs to see more carries now that the NCAAs all-time winningest quarterback, Colt McCoy, isn’t behind-center. Keep an eye on McCoy’s replacement, sophomore Garret Gilbert, as he will be the key to the Longhorns’ success.

#5 – TCU Horned Frogs – TCU has such an easy schedule, it’s hard to put them in the top 5. Yes, I know, Boise State doesn’t play many “tough” teams either, but at least they played one top 10 team. I honestly didn’t watch enough of the Horned Frogs victory last week to drop them from Clay and Clay’s top 5, but I expect TCU to slowly drop down the list, even if they continue to win.

#6 – Oregon Ducks – Wow. 72-0! I’m not one to move a team up several spots because of one spectacular win, no matter how impressive, but they won big without LaMichael James, a sophomore who ran for 14 touchdowns and over 1500 yards last season. We should know a lot more about Oregon following their Week 2 matchup – at Tennessee.

#7 – Nebraska Cornhuskers – Redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez, a dual threat quarterback, is expected to lead the Cornhuskers to a successful season in Lincoln.

#8 – Florida Gators – Besides losing Heisman-winner Tim Tebow and playing in the always tough SEC, well, it’s gonna be a tough year after what the Gators have gotten used to.

#9 – Iowa Hawkeyes – While all 3 of Iowa’s games against ranked opponents are at home, the Hawkeyes have a tough conference schedule that should help them in the postseason bowl selection process. It should be interesting to see how the Big 10 plays out..

#10 – Oklahoma Sooners – The Sooners won’t miss Sam Bradford as much as you might think – he only played in a little over 2 games last season. Make sure to watch the Sooners play Texas on October 2nd – a game that could make or break Oklahoma’s season.

#11 – Wisconsin Badgers – Playing in the Big 10 is never easy..

#12 – Virginia Tech Hokies – Some will write VT off after last week’s loss to Boise State – I’m not one of them.

#13 – Miami Hurricanes – The Hurricanes get a early test at Ohio State this Saturday.

#14 – Arkansas Razorbacks – Impressive first win…could surprise some SEC teams.

# 15 – Penn State Nittany Lions – Coach Paterno is in his astounding 45th year at Penn State.

Posted by Tom

(My top 15 might resemble the AP Top 25, but I assure you, I did not consult the poll in order to form mine.)

Basketball Recruiting News…

Summertime is a hot time for college basketball recruiting.  Here are some updates on the nation’s best high school players.

Austin Rivers

Austin Rivers continues to show strongly as one of the best in 2011.  He had stellar performances at the major July basketball tournaments, and very may well

become the number 1 ranked player in his class.  By most accounts he is considered a Duke lean, but is reported to be considering Kansas, Florida,

Will Barton is academically ineligible to play college basketball.

Kentucky, and North Carolina too. If you remember, he de-committed from Florida a few months ago.

Several high-profile recruits still haven’t been cleared by the NCAA to play next season.  Will Barton, the most

heralded recruit in Memphis’ Top 5 recruiting class, has been declared ineligible due to academic reasons, and it is unlikely he will play next season (Barton is allowed to appeal, although an appeal is considered a long shot).

Superstar recruit Enes Kanter, who is committed to Kentucky, hasn’t been cleared to play either.  The NCAA is reviewing his affiliation with a professional basketball team in Turkey, where he is from.

Josh Selby's amateur status is being questioned by the NCAA.

Finally, Kansas commit Josh Selby’s eligibility remains unclear.  The NCAA is checking into the legitimacy of his amateur status (affiliation with an agent has been alleged). Selby is considered by some as the best player in his class.

Chicago phenom Anthony Davis will reportedly commit to Kentucky, reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.  The Sun-Times also alleged that the commitment “cost $200,000”, although they later retracted that statement.  Kentucky has threatened legal action against the newspaper for irresponsible journalism.

Check back later for more information on recruiting and college basketball!

Posted by Ben

My Picks for the Sweet 16

Here are my picks for all 8 of the 3rd round games in the NCAA tournament:

N. Iowa vs. Michigan State

Northern Iowa is coming off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history, while Michigan State is coming off of a game they won at the buzzer without star Kalin Lucas.  Although the Spartans are the higher seed, I don’t pay attention to the seeding after the first two rounds.  I’m picking Northern Iowa to win this in a close game that may come down to the final seconds.

Tennessee vs. Ohio State

OSU has the best player in the country in Evan Turner.  The Tennessee Volunteers are a team with little to no depth, something that can kill NCAA Tournament teams.  I’m picking the Buckeyes by at least 10.

Syracuse vs. Butler

The Syracuse Orange should now be your favorite to advance to the National Championship game after the Kansas loss.  I think the Orange’s stifling zone defense will be too much for Butler.  Syracuse wins this won by 6 or more.

Xavier vs. Kansas State

I think that, if anyone has the chance to beat Syracuse, it will be the Kansas State Wildcats.  They have great guard play that can break that zone.  I think Kansas State will advance very easily over Xavier.

Kentucky vs. Cornell

I think the Cornell run ends right here.  Kentucky has won their first two games by an average of nearly 30 points, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wildcats win this one by 10 or more.  Cornell is a good team, but not good enough to top the athletic, quick Wildcats.

Washington vs. West Virginia

The Washington Huskies have come on as of late, and are playing their basketball of the season during the Tournament.  But, I think that they will simply have their hands full with West Virginia.  I’m taking the Mountaineers in this one by 10.

Duke vs. Purdue

Purdue skated past both Siena and Texas A&M in the opening rounds of the Tournament without Robbie Hummel.  I think that stops here.  Duke’s guards and the recent play of Brian Zoubek will be too much for the Boilermakers to handle, and I’m picking Duke to win this game fairly handily.

Baylor vs. St. Mary’s

I watched St. Mary’s victory over Villanova in its entirety.  This team is a great team that was very under-seeded.  They have a lot of talent and can shoot the outside shot with anyone in the country.  That’s why I’m picking St. Mary’s over the Baylor Bears in perhaps the closest game of the 3rd round.  Take St. Mary’s into your Elite 8.

Thanks for reading!

Posted by Ben