Seven Things You Need to Know for the 2011 College Football Season

The college football season is nearly upon us and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Since I was a Boy Scout in my younger days, I believe in the credo “Be Prepared”. As such, I have prepared a list of the top seven things you need to know for the upcoming season. Let the fun begin.

1) Rules are NOT meant to be broken

I don’t think I have ever seen an off-season like this one. It seems like every program is being investigated or sanctioned in one way or another. You have teams vacating wins, vacating championships, firing coaches, firing ADs, facing post-season bans, facing scholarship loses, and even one team (Miami) facing the “death penalty”.

As much as I hate to give ESPN credit for anything, that 30 for 30 on SMU showed the stark realities of what the “death penalty” means to a college football program. That said, the NCAA needs to take a hard line here. They need to show that rule breaking of any kind will not be tolerated and will be dealt with extreme prejudice.

The time to talk about stipends or payments for players can be dealt with later. The culture of corruption needs to be dealt with now.

2) Andrew Luck and then everyone else

I was listening to a radio interview with Todd McShay the other day. I don’t think there is any talent assessor that I respect more than McShay (Mel Kiper Jr. and Mel Kiper Jr’s hair are a close 2 and 3). He spent a good chuck of the interview extolling the virtues of Andrew Luck.

Anyone who watched college football last year knows the kid is the real deal. He’s durable, has a strong, accurate arm, and is a good leader. The Heisman Trophy is his to lose. There is no one else in college football right now who is at his talent level.

I do question how the loss of his coach and the increased pressure will effect his game. Did Harbaugh build a system for his quarterback or is Luck really that talented? Will the season long pressure of being “the man” weigh on him? Time will tell, but I think he’ll be just fine.

3) The Top 5: parity or pathetic

Let’s take a look at the Top 5 in the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll. In order, Oklahoma, Alabama, Oregon, LSU, and Florida State. I thought it was a joke at first. Then, after I thought about it, it sort of made sense. The reason I thought it was a joke is because there is no clear cut dominant team here.

Any water carrier for any of those five teams knows that they have flaws. I don’t trust the quarterbacks of any of those teams. The only team that is moderately balanced is Oklahoma. Alabama and LSU will rely on defense, Oregon will rely on offense, and FSU will rely on luck.

I think this is more of a statement that there is parity in college football now. I don’t think there will be two teams that make it though the season undefeated. It is going to come down to who is the best one loss team. And of course, that leads to my favorite subject: bashing the BCS.

4) Conference realignment rocks

I’ll be the first to admit I was a little skittish about conference realignment. Keeping track of all the moves and potential moves is dizzying at times. All you need to know is that the Pac 10 is now the Pac 12, the Big 10 has twelve teams, and the Big 12 has ten teams.

We finally get Pac 12 and Big 10 Championship Games. Finally we will get a definitive champion for two of the tougher conferences in college football. I was getting tired of having to watch Oklahoma or Texas beat up on whatever cream puff the Big 12 North put into the Big 12 Championship Game.

Next year, TCU will be moving to the Big East, which will give them a springboard to an automatic BCS Bowl without having to go undefeated. Though, on a talent level, it almost seems like a step down.

Also, the SEC seems to be looking to poach Big 12 and ACC teams to make some sort of super-conference. I love the suspense and intrigue. Also, makes for fun speculation.

5) Era of BCS busters TCU and Boise State not quite over

Now, I’m not saying that Boise State or TCU will run the table and end up in a BCS Bowl. Truth be told I don’t think either team will do it this year. However, both are still dangerous and need to be taken seriously. TCU has the easier schedule, but have to go to Boise State late in the year. Plus, TCU will be breaking in a new quarterback to replace Andy Dalton.

Boise State, on the other hand, goes on the road and opens up against an unrated Georgia team. That game and the aforementioned showdown with TCU will not be easy. Boise State is the better team with a lot of returning starters (including Kellen Moore), but TCU will still be dangerous. Don’t sleep on either of these teams.

6) We don’t have Christian Ponder to kick around anymore.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of seasons was everyone trying to sell me on Christian Ponder. You knew the season was close when you got the obligatory “This is his year!” article. Yet, every time I watched him play, I came away thinking everyone was crazy. He had all the skills, he just wasn’t that good.

So, now that Ponder is gone, the “experts” need a new quarterback to tout as being great but is actually just mediocre. This leads me back to the McShay interview I mentioned earlier. After playing cheerleader for Luck, he was asked who else was good, beside Luck. He named Matt Barkley and Landry Jones.

After I picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, I realized he was serious. I know for a fact both of these quarterbacks will be pushed on us as type tier quarterbacks. While Barkley has made improves from his freshman year, he still lacks the ability to lead his team. As for Jones, he throws bad interceptions at bad times and pads his stats against lousy teams.

Of course, there is also the possibility we will get a few weeks of hype on E.J. Manuel and Denard Robinson. Both are poor man versions of Tyrod Taylor (and that’s not a compliment).

Now to the most controversial portion, which are my top 5 quarterbacks (after Andrew Luck). In only the order I remember them in: Dayne Crist (Notre Dame), Kellen Moore (Boise State), Nick Foles (Arizona), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State), and Zack Collaros (Cincinnati). I’d take these five over Jones or Barkley any day.

7) Remember one thing: anything is possible

If college football has taught me anything, it’s that you need to expect the unexpected because anything can happen. My advice is to just sit back and enjoy. It’s going to be a great season.