THURSDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL POWER PLAY

                2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL OPENER

 **** OLE MISS   vs   VANDERBILT

I'm taking the Rebels and laying a point or taking the Moneyline, which ever is cheaper.  There is no ML available at the moment, but I have been contemplating this victory for a couple months now and just know that Ole Miss is getting this one.  This will be sweet revenge for last year at home when the Rebels blew a 23-6 lead to go on to lose 27-26 to the Commodores on a late TD catch by Vandy WR Chris Boyd.  Well Boyd and four other players have been suspended for rape charges.  Maybe this means Mississippi has a little raping to do themselves come Thursday night.  I sure hope so, but I don't expect this to be easy because Vanderbilt has been tough under coach James Franklin and this is a home opener for them.  They did lose their starting QB and RB who accounted for a big part of the offense last year, but still have stud WR Jordan Matthews, who had over 1,300 yards receiving last year.  The Commodores are bringing back 7 starters on offense and 6 on the defensive side which should still play pretty stingy.  I think this could be a damn good year for Ole Miss, though, so everything is in their favor in this game, if you ask me.  They bring back 19 starters from last year, which was a promising 7-6 season for a younger bunch.  They also bring in a top 5 recruiting class, which includes top recruit DE Robert Nkemdiche, who could be a baby Clowney, and JC transfer DT Lavon Hooks, who could be good.  I expect their defense to be much improved as well as their QB Bo Wallace, whose starting his second time around in Division I.


PREDICTED SCORE : REBELS 24   COMMODORES 16

2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW

So this year's preview is a little different because it will change up from here and then, because it all depends on how I preview the season, and last year I did rankings as predictions on how teams would finish.  This year I just have my personal preview for the season, and it starts with stating that Alabama will most probably win a third in a row, because if I've ever witnessed a dynasty in any sport, they were much like this current Crimson Tide program.  Their QB A.J. McCarron came back to finish his senior year for a reason, and I think this guy is on a mission.  He threw a whopping 30 TD's and only a mere 3 INT's last season, and I think that is super impressive in just about any conference you play in.  They have their top three wide outs from last year back, including Amari Cooper, who had 59 catches for 1,000 yards and 11 TD's.  They get back TB TJ Yeldon, who I think could be a great ball player, and Dee Hart who was hurt for mostly all of last year.  They will have less of an offensive line than they did last year, but last year's just might have been the best in history, so less is not so bad.  They return seven starters on defense and have mostly upperclassmen guys who will probably plug right in just fine. They will always have a really good defense with the best defensive coach in college football, in Saban.  Most of all, they are the closest thing to an NFL team you will see, and be honest with yourself, who else is going to beat them this year?  Moving on to who I think they could play in the BCS Championship game.  Ohio State, who will have Heisman hopeful, QB Braxton Miller and a good returning offense, could be a candidate, but only 4 starters coming back on defense, and I think that is ok, because Urban Meyer may be the second best coach in college and they play a non-difficult schedule for a contender.  Their toughest games will be Michigan and Michigan St this season. Now you should know why they are a potential candidate.  I believe Georgia lost too much on defense, plus QB Aaron Murray is very good but showed an inability to close last year, and Mark Richt usually comes up short in high expectation type seasons.  I do think that their first game at Clemson could be one of the best games to see this year.  Both of these teams are going to have great offenses and Clemson QB Tajh Boyd is another serious Heisman candidate.  I really don't know how to call it other that it's going to be close.  I think the Tigers have a great chance, and I think they'll win the ACC this year and possibly have a special season.  By that I mean they go to the BCS final game and get smoked by Bama.  I really don't see LSU doing that much this year, due to the big losses on defense and offense, and I don't have big hopes for new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, because the dude didn't do shit in either league he's coached in.  I see at least three losses for the Tigers this year, and also see their opener vs TCU being tough.  Notre Dame will be good again, getting a BCS bowl game.  Oregon is another team who could possiibly be a BCS Championship contender, because they have the same offense, with a really good QB.  Everyone seems to be saying to watch out for Florida St this year, and I just think that's hard to say without knowing how their redshirt Freshman QB Jameis Winston will look like.  I expect them to be good just not great.  While on the topic of Florida teams, I will say that I don't expect too much from the Gators.  They do have talent, but I am still not sold on QB Jeff Driskel or the coaching staff, although they should still be tough, due to the talent they get.  So this seems to be all I have to say for the upcoming College Football season.  I see Alabama repeating again, and I'm not really sure who will play them, but they probably won't have that great of a chance to beat them, whoever it may be. I guess I'll go with the Buckeyes, because they have a Heisman trophy candidate and a great coach.  Stay tuned for some college picks, and if there's any team you would like me to shed light on just add a comment.  Enjoy the season....I know I will!

THE 2013 ARIZONA CARDINALS - A TEAM TO NOT BE CAUGHT SLEEPING ON

The Cardinals started off strong last year with a 4-0 start that actually looked somewhat promising the way that their defense was playing.  The fact of the matter was that they didn't have their best offensive lineman in left tackle, Levi Brown.  I also think that their whole offensive line was way too young and inexperienced.  The whole team continued to become more unhealthy as the season went on so the result was a 1-11 finish and a final record of 5-11.  Well, let me just tell you that I can see why people would sleep on this team, because they brought in a guy that I thought was done last year to play quarterback.  I think I was wrong, because Carson Palmer seems to have a little bit of good football left, due to seeing him throw 4,000 yards and 22 TD's with 14 INT's last season for a pretty bad Raiders team.  The O line gets T Brown back and becomes more savvy, plus first round draft pick G Jonathan Cooper from North Carolina could be of some help.  I also think it will help that their backfield will be loaded in 2013.  First off, they picked up Rashard Mendenhall from the Steelers, whom I think has some good football left as well.  They drafted RB Stepfan Taylor from Stanford, who I think could be the most underrated back in the whole draft.  I watched this kid play for the Cardinals in college and he's a hell of a player and ready for this league, and what a steal in the fifth round.  Arizona also still has Ryan Williams at RB, who still hasn't been healthy enough to show what he can do, but has talent.  Now Carson has one or two more seasons to prove he can still play and compete in this league, and he's got a gift from God to throw to.  I think you can expect second year WR Michael Floyd to step it up this year, and don't forget the little white boy from Texas A&M, rookie WR Ryan Swope.  Now for defense, I think they are going to be pretty darn good.  They drafted LB Ryan Minter who should be able to shine a little in his first season, and if you're not too baked like he used to be, you may remember CB Tyrann Mathieu.  Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson, in my opinion, is due to have a break out season this year, and the fact that he will be mentoring his pal from college, much like he did at LSU, they will make a dangerous duo.  I also like fourth round draft pick, DE Alex Okafor from Texas, and RB Andre Ellington from Clemson, not to get off the subject of their defense, but I mean I just think they really loaded up this off-season.  They picked up CB Javier Arenas from the Chiefs and S Yeremiah Bell from the Jets, as well as LB Jasper Brinkley from Minnesota and CB Antoine Cason from San Diego.  I really don't think they lost anyone important, like Kevin Kolb or Beanie Wells, and even Adrian Wilson, due to the fact that he's in his twelfth year.  Looking at their schedule, I do see playing these NFC West teams twice a challenge, because the defenses in this conference are tough, and every game should be competitive.  Week one at St. Louis is going to be fought tooth and nail until the end, in my opinion, and I don't even know how to call that one.  The home opener vs the Lions should be tough, because I see Detroit having a more dynamic offense with Reggie Bush in the mix.  At the Saints is always really hard, as well as on the road again to Tampa Bay, whose defense should be good this year.  At home against Carolina is very winnable, but then at the Niners, then home to Seattle and then the Falcons just makes things much more difficult.  They get their bye after that, thank God, and then host Houston, which I think they can win and then maybe get on a roll.  They have the Colts at home after that, then at Philly, Rams at home, at Tennessee and Seattle again, then the home finale vs San Francisco. Last, but not least, I believe Bruce Arians will be a good fit for this team as their new head coach, and that's all I'm going to say about that. I will give this team about 8 maybe 9 wins, but it's because of their brutal division and tough schedule they play.  Do not, and I repeat, do not sleep on the Arizona Cardinals in 2013, for they could be a dangerous team to play.