College Football - Week 12

How the mighty have fallen. Who would've thought that BOTH Oregon and Kansas State lose in the same week. At the very least, there's no debate as to who should be ranked #1 (all the AP voters chose Notre Dame...when's the last time all of them picked the same team earlier than week 14?!).

Let's look at what went down last week.

What We Learned

Oregon was thought to be the best team in college football last week after the Tide lost to Texas A&M. Even though K-State was ranked ahead of them in the BCS, most people had Oregon leap-frogging them at some point given they had games against ranked teams like Stanford, Oregon State, and either USC or UCLA. Now they'll have to jump over 2 SEC teams to make it to the NC and I don't think that will happen. Georgia and Bama will play each other, causing one to drop out. Florida is the other team. It's games like these that make it hard for me to pick Oregon to go to the NC, especially against some SEC team with a great defense. Anytime the Ducks have gone up against a team with a good-to-great defense, they've struggled mightily. Arizona State gave them a tough time, Stanford is the next best D and they lost, look to the Rose Bowl against Ohio State and the BCS championship game against Auburn. Against great defenses, the Ducks tend to lay eggs.

K-State was the real shocked this weekend to me. Baylor is good, but they're not that good. I've thought of K-State this year as a poor man's Alabama. Maybe their QB was more rattled than what they let on. But allowing Baylor to throw up 52 points in only three quarters of play is bad. Great to see how well their program is doing, though. The Big 12 could certainly use another team not in Oklahoma or Texas to strengthen the conference.

To my fellow Ute fans, I feel for you. Not going to a bowl game is rough. Even though I don't worry about the Utes next year, I can tell the momentum has been snatched away from the fan base. And to be honest, I'm kind of glad. Before switching to the Pac-12, Utah was coming off a great Sugar Bowl win against Alabama. So everyone thought heading into the Pac-12, they were going to compete every year with USC and Oregon to see who'd take the Pac-12 championship. Hasn't been so. What I wanted for Utah was for them to go through the humbling process. Almost every week, I hear Coach Whittingham compare the new Pac-12 and what the Utes will have to learn to do better with the MWC and what they were able to get by with doing. Ute fans now realize how difficult the grind of a major conference is and know it's not going to be easy. They can appreciate a 7-5 season more now, whereas in the MWC that record would have been indicative of a failure. Utah has been humbled, so now I wish them nothing but success. In fact, they're the team I'll pull for in the Pac-12 because I don't really like anyone else. And besides, isn't it better to be a Utah fan right now than a BYU fan?

My Buckeyes BARELY beat Wisconsin in overtime last week but I'll take it! Wisconsin has finally found their niche after starting the season off slowly. Except for a Michigan State loss, the Badgers have been playing very well as of late. All four of their losses this year have come by 3 points except the overtime OSU loss which was by 6. So to beat this team with the Buckeyes ridden with injuries is a win in my book. Just one more win to end the year...

Games to Look Forward To

Ohio State at Michigan... Always the game of the year for me.

Oregon at Oregon State... The Beavers just got the blueprint on how to beat Oregon. Can they use it correctly?

Florida at Florida State... I've been high on FSU all year and they've still managed to win all their games but one. This would be a great statement game to make against a very good Florida team. If nothing else, this game probably sways some good Florida recruits so it's a game both team want to win.

Oklahoma State at Oklahoma... Two pretty good teams. This rivalry is still really good despite not being as big as Oklahoma - Texas. But with recent success by the Cowboys (and having lived in Oklahoma City), this game is now really fun to watch.

Wisconsin at Penn State... Is it possible that the top two teams in the Leaders division of the Big Ten are both ineligible for bowls this year? Is that part of the reason why the Big Ten has been seen as 'down' this season?

Stanford at UCLA... Should be a really good game to watch. Both teams are coming off big wins, but UCLA is at home. I think Stanford squeeks this one out.

South Carolina at Clemson... Kudos to these teams for scheduling each other at the end of the year. The winner makes a real good case (unless you're South Carolina, in which two SEC teams will already be chosen) for a BCS bowl bid.

Notre Dame at USC... This was a much better game before finding out that Barkley was going to be out. Notre Dame should win this game. USC is playing without their star and not going to the Pac-12 championship. They have nothing to play for. They may just head out to the beaches before it gets too cold.

My Big 5 Picks

Ouch...1-4 last week. Lots of upsets. 40-20 on the year. Hopefully they go better this week:

1. OHIO STATE OVER MICHIGAN!!! (on the road)
2. Notre Dame over USC on the road
3. Clemson over South Carolina
4. Stanford beats UCLA on the road
5. Oregon beats Oregon State on the road

I'm staying away from possible upsets this week since I think all all of them happened last week! I'll take mostly road teams, though, which will still be difficult. Have a good week!

College Football - Week 11

Quite a bit of movement around the top 25 this week thanks to a slate of upsets. A lot of close games though. Let's look at the week that was.

What We Learned

Texas A&M went into Tuscaloosa and defeated the #1 team in the country. This was the team people thought could beat the Jacksonville Jaguars...turns out they couldn't even handle the 3rd-biggest school in Texas. The freshman quarterback came in and cut up the Alabama secondary. The Tide's lack of a pass rush was never so apparent. Similiar to Bama's loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl in 2008, they let A&M get ahead in the first quarter almost as if they weren't prepared. Utah scored enough points that game to not have to score again, though they did. If Bama plays in the NC and is in the game after the first quarter, they'll probably be okay. But that's becoming a big 'if.'

Michigan needed a late comeback to hold off Northwestern at home. Granted the Wildcats have been slowly getting better over the past few years, but good enough to push Michigan around at home?

I was high on Syracuse at the beginning of the year but it seemed like they just couldn't hit their stride. It finally happened. They took out an undefeated Louisville team which made college football fans across the country happy since now they won't have to fend off an argument about why undefeated Louisville deserves a chance in the title game. They don't.

Florida needs to find a way to throw the football. LA-Lafayette is not a team that should be slowing them down. They showed that Georgia is a little more deserving of that spot in the SEC championship game.

Notre Dame would be a horrible choice to put in the NC game. Barely outlasting Boston College isn't very impressive.


Games to Look Forward To

Northwestern at Michigan State... N'Western has had a pretty good year so far. Michigan State is on the verge of becoming bowl eligble. The Spartans have had a long, disappointing year. Expect them to come out a littler hungrier than Northwestern and squeeze out a victory.

USC at UCLA... The winner of this game will get a shot in the Pac-12 championship game against Oregon.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma State... Should be a fun shootout to watch.

Ohio State at Wisconsin... OSU is coming off a bye week while Wisconsin is coming off a dominant performance against Indiana. Since this game is being played at Camp Randall, the Badgers will probably get the nod. I think the bye week will have allowed a lot of the banged-up Buckeyes to heal and come back strong. As long as their offense can contain Ball and slow down that run game, Ohio State may go into their rivalry game with a chance at perfection this season.

Utah State at La Tech... Who saw this one coming?! These two are playing for essentially the WAC championship. It would be a great story to see the Aggies pull it out. It'll be tough.

Stanford at Oregon... This is where Oregon's strength of schedule will start to build, propelling them over K-State if both remain undefeated. Oregon may struggle a little this game, but they'll grab the victory and run with it (literally). Huge rushing output in this game for the Ducks.

My Big 5 Picks

Went 3-2 last week. Da da da! 39-16, 71%...not too shabby. Here's what will make it even better:

1. Ohio State beats Wisconsin
2. USC beats UCLA
3. Oregon beats Stanford
4. Michigan State upsets Northwestern
5. La Tech beats Utah State

It's hard for me to pick upsets a week after a bunch of them happened, so I'm sticking with the favorites in these close games except MSU. Go Buckeyes!!

College Football - Week 10

Went 4-1 this week putting my total to 36-14 on the year. If only MSU could've held on...

As I'm writing this, Boise State just got upset by SDSU. The Aztecs aren't horrible, and the Broncos have also lost to the Spartans this year. That means the only good teams they've played have beaten them. This means I don't really know where to put them in terms of ranking. Same goes with Stanford. They beat USC but lose to Washington and Notre Dame. All of their wins and losses have been within one possession except the 2 horrible teams they pounded in Duke and Colorado. The last 3 weeks will help us see where Stanford ranks as they will play the Oregons and UCLA, 2 of the games on the road. I'm not buying Stanford this year with the loss of Harbaugh and Luck recently. Maybe in the next couple years, though, they'll be a great team again.

Right now, I've got Oregon and USC at the top of the conference. The next tier, which is a surprisingly good tier, includes Oregon State, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington, and Stanford. Soaking it up at the bottom are Utah, Cal, Colorado, and Washington State. I think Utah and Washington State are on the verge of getting a lot better. The Pac-12 may actually become a really good conference in football. That would definitely compensate for their quality of basketball.

What We Learned

Texas A&M has a high-motored offense led by their Heisman candidate QB Manziel. They pushed Florida and LSU to the brink in their first year of SEC play. Not bad. This team is only going to get better, too. Now they get to attach SEC to recruiting players which will land them even more talent. Hopefully they straighten up their defense.

I know someone will want me to address Mississippi State. They're not as good as I had them ranked previously, but they are in the top 25. They've turned a lot of corners in the program, and they'll continue to get better. I'm really interested to see who they get in their bowl game. Some have them ending up in the Gator bowl or the Chic-Fil-A bowl. I'd love to see them matched up with the other MSU, Michigan State, in the Gator bowl. I think the Spartans get handled.

The Big 12 is collectively getting better. Just look at K-State. They've moved to the top eschelon of college football. Oklahoma has always been up there showing how strong their program is. Plus their fans are insanely loyal. Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State are all in down years but they've improved. With the additions of TCU and West Virginia, the Big 12 might be able to run with the best of them again.

The Big Ten is having a down year but it's not as bad as people think. It seems like it just took some teams a little while before getting their act together. Michigan, Michigan State, and especially Wisconsin were all late bloomers. They're not great, but they're good teams. Ohio State and Penn State shocked everyone at how good they'd be this year. My Buckeyes are the first 10-0 team in the country. They got off to a slow start, too, with a new coach and a new system. Nebraska and Northwestern are doing fairly well. Indiana and Purdue are some of the best teams with only 3 and 4 wins. If the conference can just start out a little stronger, they could actually have a pretty solid conference.

While I'm going through conferences, I might as mention a little conference some of you may have heard of: the SEC. Apparently I'm an SEC homer. I actually hate the SEC. Know what other teams I hate? The Yankees, the Steelers, the Lakers, and oh yes, Michigan football. Other hated teams and players around the country include Duke and North Carolina basketball, the Chicago Bulls of the 90's, and Tiger Woods. What do all of these people and programs have in common? They're successful. They're great programs. Nobody hates Appalachian State football (maybe Michigan) because they're horrible. Think the Charlotte Bobcats are hated? By who? In fact, most people cheer on underdogs who haven't achieved as much.

Same thing with the SEC. Nobody hates the Pac-12 or Big 12 and it's because they're not the best. People, like me, hate the SEC. Because they're the best. Pick a category. Recruiting? Top recruiting class for over the past 10 years every single year. National championships? Last 7 years with 4 different teams. All-Americans? More than any other conference over the past 10 years. Best non-conference winning percentage, which may not mean much if not coupled with the best record in BCS games over the past 15 years. Most NFL draft picks over the past 10 years. Hopefully we can all grudingly concede along with all of the scouts and coaches out there that, at least for right now, the SEC is the best conference in college football.

Games To Look Forward To

Oregon State at Stanford. Two ranked teams whose victory would really boost their resume.

Mississippi State at LSU. This game may be more of a reflection on who rebounds the best from each of their losses. LSU should pull it out.

Arizona State at USC. The Trojans stayed close in the Oregon game. We'll see how much that took out of them.

West Virginia at Oklahoma State. Should be another shootout, really fun to watch.

Kansas State at TCU. Normally I wouldn't think twice about this game, but with Optimus Klein out and K-State on the road, this may be an upset.

Northwestern at Michigan. N'Western is the better team, especially if Denard is out. But it's at the Big House so it should make for a tight game.

Texas A&M at Alabama. The high-octane offense of the Aggies will be matched up with arguably the best defense in the country. This game will come down to what Alabama can do on offense against Texas A&M's sketchy D.

My Big 5 Picks

A lot of teams have bye weeks this week, so here are my picks (without OSU):

1. Oregon State beats Stanford on the road
2. LSU rebounds and beats Mississippi State
3. Nebraska beats Penn State
4. Alabama beats Texas A&M
5. Michigan upsets Northwestern at home

Not a lot of upsets this week. I would have picked TCU to upset K-State but nobody knows if Klein will be back this week or not. So I'll stay away from it. Have a great week!

College Football - Week 9

Another crazy week in college football. The year is starting to heat up and wind down all at the same time. My picks weren't great this past week at 2-3, so on the year I'm 32-13. Here's the rundown from last week and the picks for this week.

What We Learned

The Buckeyes looked great on the road against Penn State. The score was even more lopsided than it showed at the end. The offense looks really good and will get better. The defense, normally their staple, will improve a lot over the next year. The D-line is one of the best in the country.

Kansas State dismantled another good team last week in Texas Tech. Still visually less talented than Alabama, but these two teams just might meet to have the Tide prove it.

Notre Dame showed they could win a game on the road against a tough team. Despite their record, I still don't think they're a top 5 team. I have them around the 6 or 7 spot.

Despite Mississippi State's loss to Alabama, they're still a really good team.

It's safe to say that people were a little eager to overhype Oregon State. They're not a bad team, definitely top 20, probably top 15. A loss to unranked Washington knocks them out of the top 10, though.


Games To Look Forward To

Texas A&M at Mississippi State. These two teams are about even so far this year, so it'll be nice to see which team can pull this game out.

TCU at West Virginia. TCU is coming off a loss and West Virginia isn't as good as we once thought. With both teams having recently joined the Big 12 conference, each want to prove they belong at the top. We'll see in what order.

Nebraska at Michigan State. Nebraska is a bad road team against good teams with good defenses. Martinez tends to struggle. Michigan State has massively underachieved this year but came out with a road win against Wisconsin, not easy to do. This will be a great game to watch.

Texas at Texas Tech. Both are 6-2, both are vastly improving from where they were. Only one team will get bragging rights.

Oregon at USC. At the beginning of the year, this would've been a great game. Right now, USC is going to get handled.

Oklahoma State at Kansas State. Two of the most high-powered offenses take the field. K-State will pull this one out, but their defense will be tested.

Arizona State at Oregon State. Watch out for second potential upset from ASU.

And the match-up of the week: Alabama at LSU. Bama wins this one hands down. They don't quite have the offense to keep up with the Tide. Expect another low-scoring game but the Tide will win comfortably.

My Big 5 Picks

1. Ohio State over Illinois
2. Alabama over LSU on the road
3. Oregon beats USC
4. Michigan State upsets Nebraska
5. TCU over West Virginia

Have fun!

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

It's been a while since I've blogged about something that wasn't sports-related. Over the past couple years, the issue of loyalty has come up. Should loyalty exist? How valueable is the principle of loyalty nowadays?

Being from the midwest, there are a lot of people who live in small towns who will always be loyal to their towns, sports teams, families, and way of life. You don't switch sports teams, you don't cheat on your spouse, you support local farmers, you support the company you work for. However, with the emergence of the internet, social media, and a general cultural shift in perspective and values, loyalty isn't valued as much anymore.

The first and biggest example to me is LeBron James. Maybe Clevelanders have a special sense of loyalty since all their sports teams suck, but when a Cleveland-area kid gets drafted by his hometown team and then bolts for a different one, a huge controversy was bound to come up. Obviously Cavaliers fans were mad he left. The rest of the country joined in saying they didn't appreciate the way he left. There were a lot of critics, though, who defended his decision saying that basketball was a business and he can go to any team he wants regardless of loyalty. All sides are legitmate arguments. This situation started me off wondering how important loyalty was, though.

Joe Mauer stayed with the Twins, his hometown. Michal Jordan came back to the Bulls after he un-retired, the team he had been with, and Brett Favre wanted to get a deal done with Green Bay. There are certain sports figures who show some degree of loyalty. It's mostly that the fans are loyal to their teams, regardless of who plays there. But owners don't have to be loyal to players; it's a business. Sometimes a team needs better players to win. So teams aren't loyal to players. Aren't they justified in leaving themselves?

Let's take a different job. How about a hot-shot attorney who has been with the same failing law firm for 10 years and it still isn't going anywhere. Is he obligated to stay with the company, or is he justified in leaving it to search something better out for himself and his family? How loyal does he have to be?

It seems like answers differ based on region. In the midwest, people are generally more loyal. Maybe it has to do with their history in farming. You HAVE to be loyal, dedicated, persistent in agriculture or your crops won't grow. Farming has made the population more loyal. Out east, things are more transient. People are generally less loyal because of competition. With so many people and few opportunities to move up the corporate ladder, sometimes you have to be willing to step on someone else to get where you want to be. A lot of people have a less-loyal mentality when it comes to life. Out west, people are pretty laid-back in general. There's not a lot of U.S history there, nothing to tie them down. California is the progressive state and not designed to value loyalty. They value progress, which usually involves change. Down south, people have traditions that they stick to. They have a code of conduct on how you treat women, the elderly, and guests in their home. People are generally more loyal to things there because of these factors.

So if LeBron James leaves the Sacramento Kings, it's not as big a deal because loyalty, especially in sports, isn't as prevalent in Sacramento or Anaheim as it is in Cleveland or Detroit.

Maybe sports isn't as justified, because it is a business. I think everyone would agree being loyal to your spouse and family is important though. Right? Wait, Ashley Madison who? Is marriage-loyalty not nearly as valued as before?

School loyalty, moreso amongst those in high school or middle school, has really dropped off. People don't really know what pep rallys are anymore. Working in a high school, the general attitude I felt was that the students hated their school and didn't want to be there. Facebook postings are also evidence. The Beach Boys would be crushed.

Loyalty needs to come back. When you hear of things changing for the worst, there's usually a loyalty issues:

More divorces nowadays = lack of loyalty to marriage
Less participation in school functions = lack of loyalty to school
More pro athletes changing teams = lack of loyalty to sports teams

Our culture has become so ADD, we expect to change more often. Change usually constitutes a lack of loyalty. Change isn't always a bad thing; sometimes we need change to occur. But nowadays, we change just for the sake of changing. Where's the loyalty? If you're only loyal to yourself, does that make you loyal?

I appreciate any input on the subject, especially those of you who are heavily involved in the social sciences.

College Football - Week 8

There were some good games this past week so I hope you watched!

I went 4 - 1 last week with my picks (I've given up all hope on West Virginia now), so I'm now at 30-10. My college pick-em on espn.com got me 54 points out of a possible 55 (swung and missed on West Virginia), so I'm doing pretty well. Hopefully this week goes just as well, especially considering that I'm trying to pick harder games and not just the blowouts.

Here's What We Learned

I'll start off with my Buckeyes....what a game!....I was on my seat those last few minutes. I'm really proud of what OSU has been able to do this year. Trademark Urban Meyer takes a team blown up with injuries, including their star QB, and still pulls out the victory. OSU should have lost that game, but their bench showed how tough they really are. I know Miller is probably back this week and Hankins, too, but I almost wish we'd just play our younger players out the rest of the year so they can get some game experience. I don't care if we lose the rest of our games (except Michigan) since we've proven that we can win big games under Meyer. That's something OSU hasn't had since 2003.

I knew Kansas State would score a lot of points, I just thought West Virginia would, too. K-State is a legit #4 team in the country but won't be able to beat Florida or Bama. West Virginia is just pathetic. No Heisman trophy going there.

Florida has arguably the best defense in college football and a good offense to go with it. They can go through bad streaks offensively, but their D keeps them in games. I like Florida, they may just beat out Bama.

Oregon answered some questions about themselves and it only took them 2 months to do it. We all know their offense is great against all but great defenses (although ASU's isn't bad), but we know that their D is pretty solid and they can go on the road with a young QB and win big games. That's great news for Ducks fans who are probably mad because they've been saying this all season. Now they've finally proved it. They'll have a couple more tests with USC, Oregon State, and probably USC again.

LSU is very well-coached and runs with deep with talent. They went on the road in the middle of a brutal schedule and pulled out a win at Texas A&M. Granted, Texas A&M is a new SEC team, but they're pretty good. If teams start losing look for these Tigers to possibly slip into a national title game, if they can beat Alabama in 2 weeks.

Wisconsin has finally found its niche. I don't know if that includes winning big games on the road yet, but they're back to what people thought they were.

Auburn's offense is bad...sorry Paul. Love ya man! And at least you have a recent championship! How many teams can say that??

Utah State is almost as good as BYU and Utah, which in the state of Utah is a big transition. Just because their record is better doesn't mean that they're better. It's all about the quality of competition. The Aggies haven't had to play ASU and Oregon State on the road or USC at home. You're good and getting better every year, but hold off the "We're #1 in Utah" chants for now.

Northwestern nearly upset Nebraska at home. I called this a near-upset last week. Northwestern is good and Nebraska has gotten worse.

Notre Dame is clearly a level 2 team. They're not elite....more lucky that they're undefeated. I'd put them as the #10 best team in college football right now.

Michigan finally beat Michigan State. Took almost as long as finally beating Ohio State. Not gonna happen this year though!

Despite 2 losses, TCU is doing the most work for the small-conference teams who went big (or in BYU's case, slightly bigger) to BCS conferences. Utah is a mess and BYU is barely getting by. These were the top 3 teams of the mountain west conference. Put them in big-boy conferences and it's not as easy as just winning a bowl game.

USC is a top 5 team right behind Kansas State. When they lost to Stanford (barely), they had some injury problems. Now they're clicking on all cylinders. No one wants to play them right now.

Oklahoma has some bounce in their step after their WR's are now with it. Still don't think they're top 10, but they're getting better.

Speaking of which, here is my top fifteen teams in college football. I'm not looking at records. This is just who I think the best teams are:

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Oregon
4. Kansas State
5. USC
6. LSU
7. South Carolina
8. Florida State
9. Oregon State
10. Georgia
11. Oklahoma
12. Mississippi State
13. Texas Tech
14. Clemson
15. Ohio State

There's my top 15. I wanted to do 15 instead of 10 to get OSU in there =)

Games to Watch This Week

Florida at Georgia. This is gonna be a close game. I don't have a good feeling about either team. As much as I like Florida, on the road against an improving Georgia team should prove difficult. If I had to, I'd take the Gators...but not by much.

TCU at Oklahoma State. Both teams are doing fairly well, not great seasons. This should be a great match-up despite the fact neither team is ranked.

Michigan State at Wisconsin. This is a game Michigan State needs to win in order to remain in the elite conversation of the Big Ten. That's sad, too, since this is a down year for the conference. Expect the Badgers to ride their momentum to another win.

Michigan at Nebraska. Michigan is ranked in the BCS while Nebraska isn't too far behind. What makes this a game is that Nebraska is at home. They do well there. I hope they pull out a win against the Wolverines.

Notre Dame at Oklahoma. Arguably the biggest game this week, Notre Dame has won all their "big" games at home this year. Oklahoma is vastly improved with the production out of their young WR's. Expect Oklahoma to grab the upset.

Mississippi State at Alabama. I think THIS is the game of the week to watch! I have a friend in our apartment complex who's an Alabama fan. He said no matter how good Alabama is, they always squeek out with a win it seems like against Miss State. With Mississippi State making huge strides this year, don't be shocked if Alabama loses this week and then possibly again next week against LSU. The SEC gets all the glamour because it's a brutal place to be.

Not a ton of great games, but the ones on the slate are going to be really good. Here are my picks:

1. Ohio State beats Penn State on the road
2. Oklahoma upsets Notre Dame at home
3. Wisconsin beats Michigan State at home
4. TCU beats Okie State on the road
5. Alabama edges out Mississippi State

I really can't pick that Florida/Georgia game. I want to...but it could go either way. Same with my last 2 picks. I feel really good about Oklahoma and Wisconsin, though. Let's see what happens. Good luck to all your picks out there this week!

The Cleveland Browns

For all my fellow Cleveland Browns fans out there, this one's for you!

I'd like to take a minute and evaluate our team: the Browns. Always seemingly at the bottom of the barrel, I want to provide some hope in light of recent events. Hope is a word Cleveland fans in general loath since that's all we ever can attain. It's always "next year" for our teams. Well, maybe the next "next year" will provide some hope for us.

First off, I want to identify the positive changes we've seen in the past couple years. A lot of this is due to the man recently fired, Mike Holmgren, but we'll get into him later. Here we go!

QB

Alright, so right now we have Brandon Weeden controlling the offense. I'm not saying he is the best QB we could have, but he's the best one we've had in a while. Think about it. We've had Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, and Colt McCoy. Does anyone know where these guys are today?? Derek Anderson was always overrated. He had about 4 or 5 really good games at the end of a season a few years ago and we thought we had our franchise QB. I was telling everyone we should trade him since he currently had some value! We could've gotten a first round pick for him (and probably some others) from Atlanta or Baltimore that year and gotten Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco as our quarterback! As it was, we had 0 first round picks that year. Want to hear some of the names of guys who went in the first round of 2008? I mentioned Ryan and Flacco, Chris Johnson, Rashard Mendenhall, Felix Jones, Darren McFadden, and Dustin Keller (Matt Forte, Ray Rice, and Jamaal Charles all went 2nd round).

But instead Anderson turned out to be a fluke, so we went with Brady Quinn. Would anyone like to repeat that era? No thanks. Jake Delhomme would be a great #2. He's a veteran with leadership qualities, but he's not a great starter and we overpaid for him. Seneca Wallace just retired on my Madden 2012 game. He had a couple years to prove he was capable but never did. Then we grabbed Colt McCoy in the 3rd round of 2010. That was a nice attempt. We didn't reach for him in the first round like we did with Weeden, so he was cheap. He was a proven college QB but just didn't have the arm or the reads for the NFL game. Swing and a miss, but it was a good try.

So even though Weeden isn't great, he's steadily improving. And he's the best QB we've had in the past 7 years.

RB

Right now, we have a tandem of Montario Hardesty, Chris Ogbonnaya, and Trent Richardson. Aside from possibly the injury-prone Peyton Hillis, Richardson has been the best back we've had in a long time and he's only a rookie! Great pickup in last year's draft with Richardson. He changes the dynamic of how defenses prepare against the Browns. Even he is adapting to the NFL game (so is Weeden, btw), so in a year or two we can expect some great things out of him. Hardesty serves as a nice complement to Richardson.

WR

We've always lacked great wide receivers. Even Kosar didn't really have anyone to throw to. A few years ago, Mohamed Massaquoi was our best receiver. Now, he's probably third. It's not a huge upgrade, but it's one of the areas the Browns have been steadily improving in. Josh Gordon was a fantastic pickup and worth a 2nd round draft pick next year. He's a solid 6'3" and has some play-making abilities. The only thing is he's a rookie. He's adjusting to the NFL game and not doing a bad job, either. He just needs some time and possibly another really good WR so he won't see double-coverage all game long.

Greg Little would be a nice #3 option instead of #1 or #2. Josh Cribbs isn't a great WR much to his dismay. Great return guy, though. He'd be a perfect slot receiver for his speed but we just don't have enough other WR weapons to really use him the way we could.

The Rest of the Offense

So our best QB, RB, and WR are all rookies. Most of the 2nd stringers are second or third-year players as well. The good news is we have some good-to-great players on offense. Our O-line is a pretty good one, but Joe Thomas stands out among them. He's the best OT in the game. If he resigned with us because he believes in us, shouldn't that give Browns fans a reason to feel good? He could've left us for a championship team and easily taken the starting spot.

Benjamin Watson at TE isn't a bad option. He's a middle-of-the-pack player for his position. The reason other TE's might get more hype is they usually have a good-to-great QB and WR options to distract the defense. As our QB and WR's improve, so will Watson's numbers.

Defensively

Joe Haden and D'Qwell Jackson are elite players at their positions (CB & LB). So we have a couple great players there. Even with Jabal Sheard and Ahtyba Rubin on the D-line, it still needs some tweaking. It's one of the more important aspects of a football team, so unless there are significantly better talent-options in next year's draft, this is what we solidify. I'd LOVE it if we took Johnathon Hankins from Ohio State with our first pick. Scott Fujita is also a very good LB.

The rest of the defense is just okay. We can upgrade position by position, but that starting D-line should take priority. We need a pass rush and we have got to be able to stop the run, especially in the AFC north with backs like Ray Rice & Rashard Mendenhall.

Special Teams

We have one of the best kickers in the game in Phil Dawson. We also have one of the best kick returners in Josh Cribbs. Special teams is an area that we're actually doing well in. As the roster improves with defensive backs and linebackers, we'll be even better in this area.

Administration

Some great news: we finally have an owner who cares! He actually WANTS to win! Despite being an investor with the Steelers, the league today voted 32-0 to let Jimmy Haslam take over the Browns. So many people have great things to say about this guy. I think Cleveland should start getting gas primarily from Pilot Flying J from now on.

Pat Shurmur has been doing a good job with this team, and as a former coach, I'm really not a fan of firing coaches every 2-3 years. I understand it's a business, but look at some of the coaches we've had: Marty Schottenheimer, Bill Belichick, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini. These are guys that had success on other teams and are some of the better coaches around. We ran Crennel out of town and he's really picked up Kansas City. Magini started the Jets turnaround before Ryan got there. I think Shurmur is doing a good job and I really like Childress resigned to the OC position. Not a great coach, good assistant.

Mike Holmgren. I said I'd get back to him. I don't know how I feel about him. He's done some very good things in Cleveland to really get the ball rolling, especially with draft picks. Historically he's swung and missed with a lot of draft picks, so I know there are better CEO's out there. But I don't know if Joe Banner will be better. He was CEO of the Eagles from 2001 until this year. Aside from Jeremy Maclin, I don't love any of his draft picks. He's done a lot of things via trading and free agency, but that task will be significantly harder with a team like the Browns.

Fans

I really do think we have the best fans in the NFL. We're loyal, outgoing, and we actually care about our team when they're good or when they're bad. We've had a lot of bad years...I think some good years are on the horizon. Actually, the horizon is an imaginary line that receeds as you approach it... so maybe I should say that next year, the outlook for the Browns hasn't been this bright in years. Stay faithful, Browns fans! Our turn is coming!

College Football - Week 7

Another upset weekend! And this time Utah State had nothing to do with it!

For my picks, I went 3-2. Overall, I'm 26-9. One of my upsets was right, so if you're betting on these (which not a lot of people read these so you're probably not), hopefully you're making money! Nailed the LSU upset, swung and missed on the Texas/OU game.

What We Learned

One thing we learned is where everyone is in the BCS standings. Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Kansas State, and Notre Dame. All of these teams will have the opportunity to play some big games and possibly lose them. The one with the easiest schedule is Notre Dame, who is a lot more physical than many people thought. Given the current positions of teams, they're my hopeful for the BCS championship and knocking off whichever SEC team is there. Thanks a lot, Seminoles.

Ohio State and Ohio are 14-0 for far this year. When's the last time that happened?!

Michigan State was a little ahead of themselves this year. They're now a mediocre 4-3 and 1-2 in Big Ten play.

Oklahoma still has a fighting chance to squeek out the Big 12 title. I think they're better than K-State overall and if they make it to the championship game with them, I think the Sooners pull it out this time.

Sorry fellow Ute fans...Utah has a lot of problems. While no one expected them to be 6-0, nobody thought they'd be 2-4...and that with a narrow win against BYU. Going 0-3 in a big-boy conference hopefully serves as a wake-up call: playing and reloading (especially at the QB spot) in a BCS conference isn't easy. It's a lot easier when you're the big fish in a little pond. Move to a big pond with big fish and you take some hits on food. I think in 3 years they'll learn how to be consistent. Until then, be ready to look at some records you haven't seen for a while. And BYU fans...you still don't know how this works until you actually play in a big-boy conference.

Oregon's schedule gets considerably tougher the second half of the year. I've banged on Oregon, but if they go undefeated, they deserve the shot at the BCS championship. The problem is they've played 5 of their 6 games at home with a young QB. Playing on the road is different. Even against WSU, they were outplayed and up by only 4 going into the half against a team they should have slaughtered. The Ducks eventually got their act together and pulled out the huge win, but my point is playing on the road is a lot tougher than people think in college football. Especially when that includes road trips to ASU, USC, and Oregon State. I'd rather see Notre Dame or FSU in the NC game, but if Oregon goes undefeated, they've earned it.

The SEC is really good: Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina, LSU, Alabama, Georgia....wow. South Carolina's loss doesn't speak to them being a bad team. They've got a lot of tough games on their schedule.

Games to Look Forward To

Oregon at Arizona State. This will be a good road test for the Ducks against an ASU team who has played well at home. If ASU gets off to a great start, this one may go down to the wire.

Purdue at Ohio State. I'm a little nervous about this game, just because Purdue seems to have OSU's number. OSU is the better team and I'll pick them to win, but not by much.

LSU at Texas A&M. Good road test for the tigers, especially after that emotional win against the Gamecocks.

South Carolina at Florida. I expect the Gators to come out with the win, especially after South Carolina's tough time with LSU on the road and Florida's somewhat easy-win against Vandy. Plus Florida's at home.

Nebraska at Northwestern. Nebraska is the better team with better players, but they've struggled on the road, particularly Martinez. Northwestern is off to a great start so far and could pull out the upset.

BYU at Notre Dame. Just kidding...Notre Dame's gonna kill the Cougars.

Michigan State at Michigan. Rivalry games are always tough, especially against 2 struggling teams determined to rebound this year. Watch for Michigan State to do a better job at containing the mobile Robinson than they did against OSU's Miller.

Texas Tech at TCU. Time for TCU to step up! This is a great game to do it. I think Tech comes out with the win.

Kansas State at West Virginia. These teams rankings have flip-flopped in the last couple weeks. Watch for West Virginia to come back with a vengence and take out K-State for the upset.

My Big 5 Picks

1. Ohio State over Purdue (thank goodness it's a home game)
2. West Virginia upsets Kansas State
3. Texas Tech beats TCU on the road
4. Florida beats South Carolina
5. LSU over Texas A&M on the road

Not a ton of great games, but the ones that are will be pretty good. Have a great week!

College Football - Week 6

We're gonna miss football when it's gone again. What a great week!

What We Learned

It was a great week ESPECIALLY if you're a Buckeye fan! What a beatdown they put on the Huskers, great job!! Braxton Miller got a little bit of help from his support group, which is what he'll need if OSU is to go undefeated. Carlos Hyde stepped up, especially in the red zone, to grab 4 TD's. Philly Brown returned a punt, and even the D stepped up to grab the first score of the game. Either way, Urban Meyer was brought to OSU to improve the offense and he finally got what he wanted. OSU's defense is solid, possibly the best D-line in the country. Secondary isn't horrible, either. But to put out an offensive effort of that magnitude has Buckeye fans excited about the 2nd half of the season.

Florida overtook a slightly-overrated LSU at home. Actually the pollers showed their hesitation towards the Tigers this year by dropping them after a win. Florida showed their grit by containing LSU for almost the entire time. Look out for the Gators to pull some upsets in the SEC. If the Gamecocks can pull out a win against LSU next week, look for that to be the game to decide the winner of the SEC East and possibly knock Alabama out of the top spot at the season's end.

Florida State....come on....with their loss, that knocks them down to the 12 spot. I'm looking at the top 12 teams to see who is the best non-SEC team to take down Alabama in the national championship. Out of the 12 teams, 4 are from the SEC and 1 is ineligible to play (Ohio State) in the NC. That means we have Oregon, West Virginia, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Oregon State, USC, and Florida State. Oregon and Oregon State will play (Oregon will probably win), Oregon and USC will play (maybe even twice). West Virginia, Kansas State, and Notre Dame aren't good enough to beat Bama. That leaves Oregon, USC, and Florida State. Judging by Oregon's past performance against elite SEC teams, I can't pick them. USC and FSU I think have the best chance to beat them, so hopefully one of them ends up at the #2 spot since both already have 1 loss. It'll be interesting....

Penn State is doing a surprisingly good job. I think they'll start to fall off over the next few years though. But I take my hat off to them as long as they're doing this well.

Virginia Tech keeps falling and probably won't come close to sniffing an ACC championship.

Stanford, Michigan, and Oklahoma were able to rebound from last week. They're all very good 2nd or 3rd-tier teams this year.

West Virginia edged out Texas. Right now, they're not good enough to beat Bama. They need to play better D. If they can fix that up, though, they may just find themselves in the BCS championship.

South Carolina will be tested over the next 2 weeks. If they make it out, they may deserve a spot in the championship. Georgia is overrated...who didn't see that one coming?!

Notre Dame is doing very well so far. If they can keep it up, I'll be surprised.

UCLA is almost back. Almost.

I went 3-2 in my picks last week (Auburn lost to Arkansas...who saw Arkansas pulling their head out last week?! and Ohio State beat Nebraska), so I feel pretty good. Overall, I'm 23-7 over 6 weeks.

Games to Look Forward To

The Red River Rivalry. I wonder what the bet will be this year. I'm thinking Texas may finally win this one.

Wisconsin at Purdue. Purdue is taking some really big steps, surprisingly. But they may just pull this out against the Badgers. If they do, they probably end up in the Big Ten championship game since they'll be above Wisconsin and both Penn State and Ohio State will be ineligible.

Utah at UCLA. Utah needs to pull this one out if they want to be considered one of the better teams in the Pac-12. If they don't, they may end up as the 4th or 5th best team...in their own division.

Stanford at Notre Dame. This will be a good game.

West Virginia at Texas Tech. Should be a shootout. Watch if you like scoring.

South Carolina at LSU. Really good game down in the Bayou.

My Big 5 Picks

1. Ohio State over Indiana on the road.
2. Texas over Oklahoma on the road.
3. Notre Dame over Stanford.
4. LSU upsets South Carolina.
5. Purdue upsets Wisconsin.

There you go. Another great week of football is coming up!

College Football - Week 5

 

Another week, more great football.

I told you these games would be close, and the winning margins for all 5 games I picked was a combined 23 points. That's a little over 4 points a game. Close games...could've went either way. I wanted to pick challenging games, though, and not just easy ones to have an easy record. So going 3-2 last week doesn't feel as bad as other weeks could.

What We Learned

Big 12 defenses have been catching slack for the past few years now, and maybe this is a good example why. While high-profile QB's, WR's, and RB's have always lit the conference up, aside from a couple good Texas defenses, they haven't done much. See the famous Texas-USC....there was a lot of scoring. A 70-63 route of Baylor by West Virginia, first year into their new conference, doesn't help much for the Big 12's defense of their defense. What a fun game to watch though!

Ohio State just may be the class of the Big Ten this year, which is sad since this is year 2 of their rebuilding from the Jim Tressel fallout. They're better than they were last year, but they lost some key personnel which is being filled by younger talent. Etienne Sabino looks really good, and big Hank up front controlled much of MSU's line. It also contributed to the fact that the Columbus native Le'Veon Bell, MSU's running back, was held to 45 yards after putting up 463 yards in only 2 of his previous games. I still think MSU is a little better than OSU at this point, but Meyer outcoached and OSU out-executed the Spartans on Saturday. Next year, however, the Buckeyes will be the best team in the Big Ten.

If you turned off the Wisconsin - Nebraska game like I did, then you missed a great comeback. After Wisconsin dominated in the first quarter and into the second, Nebraska decided it didn't like what was going on. Seeing the shocked fans in that stadium at the beginning of the game was weird...the Cornhuskers were supposed to win this game, and they eventually did. The best player on that field, though, was Chris Borland, the LB for Wisconsin. I am a little nervous when they meet Ohio State in November because he might be the best LB in football. The worst part? He's from Ohio.

Washington beats Stanford, Stanford beat USC...so Washington should beat USC in 2 weeks, right? Yea, I don't think that's gonna happen and it still astounds me how Stanford can beat a USC and lose to a Washington. No matter...this speaks well of the Pac-12.

Hans Olsen...please tell me again how having Hawaii on BYU's schedule strengthens it? BYU 47 Hawaii 0.

The over-under on Arkansas becoming a legit team again is 2 years. Anyone wanna take the under?

The more I watch Florida State, the more I really love them. They fly to the ball and hit hard on defense, and offensively they're not constrained to the talents of EJ Manuel, which are many. Plus, he's a throwing QB in a RB's body. Well, maybe not a RB, but a really tough WR, almost TE. He's quick, makes good decisions, and turns nothing into something. They played South Florida solid, and the Bulls are a very good team. Athletically they can hang with anyone, I just hope it's with Alabama in the championship game. That is now my pick for the BCS championship....Go Seminoles!!

Texas may not be back, but they're not that far off. Overcoming Okie State on the road for their first 4- 0 start in I don't know how long is an accomplishment. With Oklahoma slowly diminishing and Okie State slowing down after losing Weeden and Blackmon, Texas rise to glory will be that much easier.

Games to Look Forward To:

Utah State vs. BYU... I would love to say I know the winner to this game, but I don't. Even though it's in Provo, Utah State looks like a team to beat now. If I had to guess, I'd say BYU by a hair but if Utah State can make anything happen on special teams like they did against the U of U, they might just squeek one out.

Nebraska - Ohio State. I'm a little bit nervous about this game, even moreso than the MSU game. I think Nebraska gets out of Columbus with a win and Meyer gets his first loss as OSU's coach. Nebraska is coming off a high note with the comeback win against Wisconsin, and while OSU pretty much dominated them until Miller got hurt last year, I think they solve their turnover problem and throw up some points against my Buckeyes.

Washington - Oregon. I can't believe I'm putting this one up here...I just wanna see what Washington can do.

Mississippi State - Kentucky. Kentucky put up a good showing last week against South Carolina, despite what the scoreboard says. Miss State is off to a great start this year, but don't be shocked if they lose this one in the bluegrass state.

LSU - Florida. I'm gonna go with the upset here. I think LSU has struggled more than they thought this year, and they haven't played anyone yet. They'll get their first test against UF whose already been tested by Tennessee.

Oklahoma - Texas Tech. Oklahoma was ranked pretty high and Texas Tech wasn't. Now OU is 2-1 and Tech is 4-0. It's at Tech so it should be a fun game to watch.

West Virginia - Texas. Should be a really good game, and I think West Virginia starts to blow it out in the 4th quarter. It'll be a humbling game for UT but will ultimately help them in the long run.

My Big 5 Picks

Alright, I went 3-2 last year...let's see if I can get another 5-0 week. They seem to happen every other week now:

1. Nebraska over Ohio State...I hate picking OSU to lose, but even if my pick is wrong, my team wins so I can still be happy.
2. Oklahoma over Texas Tech on the road.
3. Florida upsets LSU at home.
4. A not-so-good Auburn team beats a bad Arkansas team.
5. West Virginia beats Texas on the road.

There you have em! Go watch some great games this week!

College Football - Week 4

Finally! Some good games in college football. It only took us 4 weeks, but from here on out, we should have some good match-ups. It'll also allow us to know how good teams actually are. We had a bunch of it this week.

What We Learned

Florida State is a worthy pick for a national championship game. After struggling to contain Clemson, EJ Manuel sliced and diced up their fast D. With 380 yards through the air and 102 on the ground, EJ Manuel is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Especially if they can continue to beat good teams remaining on their schedule such as Miami, Virginia Tech, Florida, and then probably Miami or Virginia Tech again in the ACC championship. I'm putting my stock in you, FSU, to take down whichever SEC team makes it to the 'ship.

Wisconsin isn't going to be very good this year. They'll probably beat some teams ranked ahead of them, like Ohio State, Michigan State, or Nebraska. But that doesn't mean they're better, especially without Montee Ball.

The Big Ten is rapidly declining with Michigan State struggling at home against Eastern Michigan, Wisconsin struggling at home against UTEP, Iowa losing at home to Central Michigan, and Illinois taking a pounding at home to Louisiana Tech. Michigan lost to Notre Dame as well. Big Ten teams need to step up in the spotlight. I don't think Michigan State is ready yet, and Michigan isn't either getting slaughtered by Alabama and then losing to the Irish. Wisconsin lost to Oregon State a couple weeks ago, albeit traveling to the west coast for the Beavers first game. Ohio State under Meyer next year I believe will do some great things, but we need someone to step up this year. It's definitely not gonna be Penn State, either. Maybe Nebraska?

The Pac-12 is getting a lot better. That's good, considering they weren't very good over the past few years and really at all if you take out USC over the past 6 years. Stanford seems like it's going to be a solid program despite losing Luck, Harbaugh, and some other NFL draft picks. Oregon is a legit top 5 team; right now I have them at 4. Very nice showing against Arizona, though, who I think is gonna be a decent team this year. The Beavers look good, UCLA looks like it may start to become somewhat relevant, and ASU looks like a pretty good team. Just ask Ute fans.

I've got Oregon, Stanford, Oregon State, Cal, Washington, and Washington State (in that order) in one division and USC, ASU, UCLA, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado in the other. If the middle of the pack can step up, teams like Oregon State, ASU, Arizona, UCLA, Cal, and Utah, that will be what makes this conference a great one in football.

Arkansas at 1-3 was a little overrated to start the season.

The Big East is still horrible. I guess we didn't really "learn" that...

One of the games I almost called out in my big 5 (which I went 5-0 this week) was K-State over Oklahoma. I think the Sooners are a lot of smoke and mirrors, and Carl Landry is a tad overrated due to his inconsistency. The Sooners lost at home. They're officially off my top 10 list. I had them at #10.

Games to Watch This Week

Stanford at Washington. Not so much for Stanford, who I expect to win, but for Washington. This will be a good Pac-12 measuring stick for them.

Baylor at West Virginia. I don't know why the Big Ten didn't pick up West Virginia during the summer of conference realignment, but the Big 12 did and they deserve a prize. This is a good match for a potential top 10 team. Baylor will probably lose, the question is going to be how close it will be.

N. Carolina State at Miami. If Miami expects to compete for a conference title against Florida State, they need to have a statement game. This is it. The wolfpack are on the road and not as talented as the U. Should be a fun game to watch, though.

Tennessee at Georgia. Pretty much every SEC game from here on out will be a good one, but I think Georgia might let this one slip by. Tennessee can also step up to national attention if they beat the Dawgs at home.

Ohio State at Michigan State. If it wasn't for Michigan State sucking it up lately, I would have thought they'd overtake my buckeyes. But now, I'm not so sure. Ohio State hasn't been tested with a team this caliber, but they also play them every year so they're familiar with MSU. The Spartans boast a lot of talent, especially on defense, but Ohio State is the one team that can match them defense for defense. It'll come down to what Braxton Miller and friends can do on offense. The WR's need to step up, especially Brown and Smith. This should make for a very fun game to watch! If anyone wants to find me next Saturday around 1:30, their best bet is in front of a TV.

Oregon State at Arizona. These are 2 teams expected to finish somewhere in the middle, so this game will carry a lot of weight. We haven't seen much of the Beavers, but what we've seen has been good. I think Arizona will bounce back from an abismal showing this past week against Oregon and go 1-1 versus teams from the Beaver state.

Ole Miss at Alabama. First true SEC test. Ole Miss has been resurrected and I think will put up a good fight against a young Alabama team, but I still expect the Tide to roll once again.


My Big 5 Picks

Thanks to last week, my record is now 17-3. Here are my picks this week:

1. Ohio State over Michigan State (barely) on the road
2. Texas over Oklahoma State on the road
3. Tennessee over Georgia on the road
4. West Virginia over Baylor
5. Virginia Tech over Cincinnati on the road

I didn't pick that many upsets (just 2), but I picked 4 road teams in very close games. We'll see what happens, but whatever does, it'll be fun!

College Football - Week 3

I apologize...this week I'm a little late in posting. I've been sick the last 6 days.

Another week of action-packed pigskin-tossing! Let's take a look at what happened.

USC gets upset by Stanford. I thought for sure with Andrew Luck and 3 other players from Stanford now in the NFL, that USC would overcome their drought against the Cardinals. Nope. Since the loss is early in the year, the loss may not impact their national championship dreams just yet. They have to get by Oregon first, and possibly twice. LSU and Alabama will play each other, so one of them will lose at least one game this year. The other teams in front of them are more than capable of losing a conference game, so it just depends on how far they fall.

Michigan State gets upset by Notre Dame. Give the Irish credit. They went into East Lansing and dominated the Spartans. With a five (soon to be four) more ranked teams ahead of them, an undefeated season with a little help from some teams ahead may mean they get a shot at a national title.

Utah upsets BYU. Is this really an upset, though? BYU was a little overrated, even at the 25 spot. Stanford was only 4 spots ahead of them and they just took down USC. BYU couldn't even take down an injury-ridden Utah team. Even with all the chances the Cougars had, they still couldn't overcome their soon-to-be-former-rival.

Pitt upsets Virginia Tech. This also was barely an upset. Some teams just have the number of other teams. Pitts has won the last 5 meetings now I believe.

Alabama pounds Arkansas. If there's any question that the road to the SEC championship goes through Alabama, I think that was answered today. LSU seems to be the only team who has a chance at upsetting them.

What We Learned

Alabama, LSU, Oregon, Florida State, and Oklahoma will probably round out the top 5. USC falls too far out of the hunt which takes them out of the title hunt.

Going into week 4, we still don't know about some teams. Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida State, West Virginia, Clemson...these teams haven't really played anybody yet. We'll get to know more about them in the coming weeks.

I've gotta be honest, I didn't learn a whole lot this week, aside from USC is still susceptible to Stanford and BYU still can't beat Utah. Thus, I don't know what to expect next week, but here are my picks anyway:

1) Ohio State beats UAB
2) TCU beats Virginia
3) Utah State rebounds from last years loss and beats Colorado State on the road
4) Notre Dame beats Michigan in a tight game at home
5) Florida State beats Clemson

Last week I went an abismal 2-3....this week I'm hoping to get back to 5-0! On the year, I'm 12-3. We'll see what happens this week!

Payroll Day!

In light of the payroll class I'm currently teaching, I thought I'd post a tidbit about payroll this week. It may help you understand your paycheck a little better.

There are 6 payroll taxes divided into 2 categories: employer taxes and employee taxes. Here are the sinister six:

1) Social Security (Employer & Employee)*
2) Medicare (Employer & Employee)*
3) Federal Withholding (Employee)
4) State Withholding (Employee)
5) FUTA (Employer)
6) SUI (Employer)

*These 2 taxes make up FICA; sometimes they'll be combined on your check as one number, but it's referring to these 2 taxes.

I'd like to note that in some states, they have county taxes, or district taxes, or city taxes. These are all employee taxes and act similiarly to state withholding.

Social Security Tax

The social security tax is a percentage. For employees, it's 4.2% (recently lowered by the Obama administration; let the politics fly about that). For employers, it's still 6.2%. So on your paycheck, if you multiply your taxable wages by 4.2%, you'll get your social security amount. The wage limit in 2012 is $110,000. Once you, as an employee, reach that amount of taxable wages during the year (we all do this, right!?), you no longer have to pay the social security tax.

Medicare

The medicare tax is also a percentage: 1.45% for both the employee and the employer. There is no wage limit on this tax.

Federal Withholding

This is strictly an employee tax. The owner doesn't care what you put down for this one because he's either going to pay it to you or to the IRS. The amount of this tax is based on the information you provide in your W-4 form and the tax tables. You can change this to whatever you want...it's your paycheck, so if you want a certain amount to be withheld every time, you can put that on your W-4 form.

State Withholding

Also an employee tax, works the same way as the federal withholding here in Utah. In other states, you may have your own way of doing it. Nine states don't have income tax withholding on normal income (Alaska, Washington, Wyoming, Nevada, South Dakota, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, New Hampshire).

FUTA

This tax is for employers only. It is the federal unemployment tax and is very minimal for most companies: 0.6%. It's wage limit is $7,000.

SUI

The state unemployment tax is different for each state, and dependent upon employer history. Rates tend to vary from 0.1% to 8% with most companies on the lower side. For Utah the wage limit is $29,500. Each state differs for this as well.

There are some other miscellaneous payroll taxes that are state or city-dependent, and I'd have to research all of them. New Jersey has a bunch. Nevada has one, California has one. Ohio, New York, and Pennslyvania do, too.

Hopefully this helps explain some of your taxes, and what to do about them. Basically you can only change your federal or state withholding; the others are percentages. But remember this next time you feel like you have a crappy job. First of all, you have a job period. That's great right now. Second of all, if you make $1,000 this payday, your employer isn't only spending $1,000 on you. He's spending that, plus his share of social security, plus his share of medicare, plus FUTA, plus SUI. The employer probably pays an extra $100 to have you as an employee for that $1,000 you made. And that's for every employee. And that's just from a payroll standpoint.

If you'd like to enroll in the class, it's $40 for four weeks (one night a week, on Wednesdays). You'll get all kinds of handouts and helpful items for payroll. One class starts Oct. 3, the next Nov. 7. Here's the link:

http://granite.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassListing.ClassListingDisplay&int_category_id=4&int_sub_category_id=31&int_catalog_id=

Good luck with payroll in the future, check your check stubs, and I hope you make more money!

College Football - Week 2

What a week for upsets! Who knew this many teams would have been shocked by inferior teams, all in one week. Let's list them.


Utah State upsets Utah. The Aggies were excited to have beaten their rival for the first time in like 15 years. I actually watched the beginning of the game up until the blocked punt. That was crazy...blocked special teams kicks are usually what Utah does. And is anyone surprised at Wynn getting injured in only the 2nd game of the year? "Said no one ever!"

Oregon State upsets Wisconsin. This was a good win for the Pac-12. It's hard to travel across the country and get a win, or even score as the Badgers can tell you. Still, Wisconsin ended up firing one of their coaches because of this pathetic effort.

Mississippi State upsets Auburn. This one isn't a huge upset, but Auburn was expected to win. Miss State is really good this year, though.

Iowa State upsets Iowa. Really Iowa? You're supposed to be one of the best teams in the Big Ten, and you're not even the best team in your own state this year. And the state isn't Texas or California, it's Iowa.

LA-Monroe upsets Arkansas. This was the worst upset of the weekend. Arkansas dropped out of the AP rankings because of it. Missing Petrino yet?

Arizona upsets Oklahoma State. Rich Rod was able to pull off a win over the (what I think are) slightly overrated Cowboys from OK State. Speaks more of Arizona than it does Oklahoma State.

UCLA upsets Nebraska. Nebraska also lost to Washington a couple bowl games ago. They must not have good luck with Pac-12 teams. This was another Big Ten disaster this weekend.


Nearly upsets....


Notre Dame survives Purdue. This isn't good for ND. Purdue isn't as good as other Big Ten teams like Michigan or Michigan State, both of whom play Notre Dame this year.

Michigan survives Air Force. This was a home game...how bad is Michigan really?

Florida escapes Texas A&M. Texas A&M looks like they'll do fairly well in the SEC.


What We Learned:

This week, we learned a few things:

Alabama, USC, and LSU are the cream of the crop. Everyone else is 2nd-tier.

Michigan State and Ohio State may end up winning each of their respective divisions. The Big Ten may allow OSU to actually retain that title if they do. Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska were slotted to win the Big Ten or at least do well. I don't know if that's gonna happen...they look bad. And poor Penn State...

The Big 12 is overrated. Their best team, Oklahoma, isn't as good as people think they are. Their QB is suspect, and it's a good thing they play in a conference with weak defenses. Texas isn't back yet. OK State needs to realize that they lost their best QB and WR from last year so now they're rebuilding. West Virginia and TCU will need to prove they belong. K-State may win the conference...how sad is that!

Notre Dame won't get back to national prominance this year and may never again. The academic expectations are so strict, they can't get great players in. It's why Urban Meyer went to Florida instead of South Bend.

Tennessee is getting back to national prominance. Great...just what we need. Another SEC team getting better.

Florida State needs to play someone before we can determine where they're at. They may be in the top tier with USC, LSU, and Bama. But we won't know until they play someone decent.

Since Ohio State is my team, I'll always offer my thoughts on them. UCF is a decent team; not great, but not horrible. While it wasn't a big, dominating win, Ohio State has a lot of adjustments they need to make. The positive news is that they're making them, and they're winning games. Miller is becoming better and better, the defense line and secondary both look good, and with each game they play they gel a little more. Next week will be good to get through and prepare them for the upcoming Big Ten season. Great job, Bucks!!

What to Look for in Week 3:

Cal at Ohio State. Will be a good test for both teams.

Florida at Tennessee. This will be a good test for both teams, as both are up-and-coming. I think Tennessee edges out Florida in this one, especially with home-field advantage.

Arizona State at Missouri. Mizzou has a nice test this week after putting up a good fight against Georgia. Expect them to represent the SEC well against an Arizona State team still getting used to some things.

USC at Stanford. The first big tests for each of these teams. We'll get to see if USC is really all they're cracked up to be. We'll also see how good Stanford...isn't.

Notre Dame at Michigan State. If Michigan State wants to show that they're the true leader atop the Big Ten, this is the statement game to do it. Notre Dame struggled against Purdue. If Michigan States offense can play as well as their D, they'll be pretty Dangerous with a capital D.

Texas at Ole Miss. Ole Miss is starting out 2-0, but this will be a great test. Should be a good game to watch.

BYU at Utah. Always fun to watch these teams battle it out. The Utah State defeat adds an intrigue to the game. I think the Utes care about this game a little more than they did before. If they lose to the Cougars, they'll be the worst out of the big 3 Utah schools.


My Big 5 Picks:

I didn't list them last week, or for the first week, but here they were:

Week 1: 5-0
Ohio State over Miami (OH)
South Carolina over Vanderbilt (that one was a scare)
Oregon over Arkansas State
Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech
Michigan State over Boise State

Week 2: 5-0
Ohio State over UCF
Georgia over Missouri
Kansas State over Miami
Notre Dame over Purdue
Florida over Texas A&M

Here are my Week 3 picks:
Ohio State over Cal
TCU over Kansas
Tennessee over Florida
USC over Stanford
Michigan State over Notre Dame

College Football - Week 1

College football season has begun!! Yayyyyy!!

This summer wasn't as bad as normal ones, since we did have the olympics. But now that college football is here, I want to do a blog post once a week on what we learn after watching the games from that week and maybe a little preview for the next week. I'm glad to say that a lot of these, I actually predicted!

What We Learned

Alabama is probably the best team in the nation, at least until proven otherwise. I had them losing their first game to Michigan only because I didn't they would gel by week 1 with such a young team. Nope...I was wrong. They are ready to go and will probably beat LSU later on this year, to return to the national championship game. Let's hope someone can take them down this time (USC, Oklahoma, Florida State...I'm talking to you).

Michigan is a lot of smoke and mirrors. When they played a team the caliber of Alabama, albeit young caliber, it wasn't even close. This leaves the Big Ten wide open. I think Wisconsin and Michigan State are a 1/2-notch above the Wolverines at this point. I'm excited about that, too, since Ohio State's bowl game IS the Michigan game. Bring it on!

Florida State is a really good team. Despite playing Murray State, not the greatest team, they pretty much did whatever they wanted including pounding the ball.

Stanford is not a very good team. Everyone talks about the Pac-12 being this power conference. They're not. In fact, the Pac-12 is closer to being the Big East than they are the SEC. If you take away Oregon and USC, you basically have the Big East. Utah is up-and-coming and Stanford was good last year, but since losing their coach, legendary QB, and 3 other NFL draft picks, they've become average. Don't even mention Washington State, either. Everyone else is average to below-average.

West Virginia is a little overrated. Don't know why this is news; they're slightly overrated every year.

Nebraska is becoming a solid addition to the Big Ten. Just in time, too, because Penn State is going to be very very bad for the next 7-10 years. Losing to Ohio university (not Ohio STATE, just Ohio) is only the tip of a very big, cold, and dark iceberg. I hope they do well, but I don't think they will for a while.

Texas will shortly become an elite college team again. UCLA and Tennessee are also turning corners.

And I can't forget my Buckeyes! Granted, they played a bad team. But I loved seeing Miller pass for so many yards. Sure he had 161 yards on the ground, but being able to pass the ball was something he wasn't taught under Tressel. The Buckeyes seemed thin at wide receiver, but with Stoneburner already established and the emergence of Devin Smith and Corey Brown, they may have a nice little corps going forward. What a catch by Smith....man.

What we can expect

Utah and Utah State are getting closer and closer...not because Utah is getting worse, quite the opposite. They're on track to being the 3rd or 4th best team consistently in the Pac-12 in the next few years. Utah State is just getting a lot better. Props to their program.

The Miami-Kansas State game should be fun to watch. Notre Dame and Purdue should be good, too. Nebraska traveling to UCLA makes it interesting....unless the Huskers start blowing out the Bruins. That's about it this next week...

Watch for Air Force to try and capitalize on Michigan's banged-up quarterback. Denard is good on the ground, but his one knock has always been passing. It showed against the Tide.

After blowing out Southeastern Louisiana (did anyone ever hear of them before this blog post?!) this weekend, Mizzou will get a wake-up call to the SEC playing Georgia next week.

Week 3 will provide some good match-ups, but week 2 is pretty much a down week. Nice week to do it, too, since the NFL will be debuting.

Picks to win the conferences:

ACC: Florida State
Big East: Louisville I guess?
Big Ten: Michigan State
Big 12: Oklahoma
Pac-12: USC
SEC: Alabama

National Championship: USC vs. Alabama
Winner: USC!!

I just want someone other than an SEC team to finally win it...I don't care who it is. I think USC, Oklahoma, and Florida State have the best shots. So cheers to them!

I'll post this every week, following the majority of the college games. Good luck to your teams, unless you're a Michigan fan, and GO BUCKS!!!

What A Lawful Thing To Do

Laws, politics, morality...AGHH!!! Most of us want to just stop listening when we hear these concepts, so I will be very impressed and grateful if you make it to the end of this post!

I've heard a lot of people say that they don't care about politics. I heard one guy go so far as to say that he is very political about not caring about politics. First of all, that's like saying you bully other bullies because you can't stand bullying, so maybe it's a good thing you're not voting on important decisions that impact our country. But I think we often get confused about what it is exactly we don't care about.

I only recently got interested in politics, which I think is a little too late. I don't know a lot of the history of politics or how a lot of things work, or how the political system actually works between the lines. I just care about the issues. I care about voting, and I care about the education of the issues. I want to know what the law says, not the media's slant or interpretation of it.

For example, I'm gonna pick on Rush Limbaugh. I doubt his show will lose rating because of my blog post. I try to listen to both Democratic and Republican advocates, so usually I'll listen to Rush or Sean Hannity at lunch or on my drive home and then throw on an episode of Jon Stewart at night. I think listening to what both sides have to say is the smart thing to do. So I was listening to Rush's show, or bits of it maybe, when he was addressing the woman who asked Congress to supply contraception for women. When Rush heard this, he said that asking someone for money to have sex is basically prostitution, so she's a slut. When I heard that, my first thought was, "yea, someone who asks someone else for money to have sex is a form of prostitution, so I can agree with that."

Hopefully people do a little digging around, or at least listen to both sides of the story. In this case I did. I looked up what was actually said by Sandra Fluke. She was asking Congress to provide medical contraception for women who's health depended on it, as it is getting really expensive. It wasn't to have sex. I don't think I even saw her address that issue. So yes, while asking for money to have sex is a form of prostitution, she didn't do that! She was asking for Congress to aid women who need contraception for medical issues to provide it for them.

I think what happens to a lot of people, and the media is horrible at helping us with this, is that they don't know the whole story. They're missing a side. They listen to Fox News and get what republicans think about the issue, or they watch Jon Stewart and only get how democrats feel. Being educated as to what is really going on allows us to make informed decisions. Not voting for Romney because he's evading paying taxes is ridiculous because that's not the whole story.

Now Rush has been reprimanded for his comments already, but those are the kinds of things that happen when we don't think and act for ourselves.

I took a class a few years ago in college called American Heritage. It was one of the toughest classes I'll ever take in college, and I'm in accounting! Basically it's a mixture of American History, World History, Political Science, Economics, and Sociology. I didn't do too well in the class, though I passed it. I did learn some very important things in that class, though, that I'll always be grateful for.

One thing I learned is one definition of a law: a law is legislated morality. The dictionary definition mentions rules, commands, authority, and a bunch of other words. But basically a law is legislated morality. We think stealing is immoral, so we have a law against stealing. We think killing is situational, so if you walk out of your house and shoot up your block, you receive one punishment. If you accidently hit someone with your car, you receive another. And if you shoot someone during wartime as a member of the military, you actually can receive rewards.

This definition pertains to political issues, not procedural things like how a corporation should file its taxes.

So we as a country have the opportunity to enact laws based on what we think is moral. One of the great things about our country is that we each get to have a voice. There are ways for us to get our concerns across. If we don't feel a proposed law is moral, then we can vote against it. We can write to our congressman to have a certain law created. We get to publicly declare what our morals are. Is abortion okay? What about in cases of rape or unplanned pregnancy? What if it endangers the health of the mother? Everyone has their own answers to these questions, even if the answer is just "I don't know," and we get to share them in a lot of ways.

While each of us has our own morals, we need to respect the morals of others. We may not agree with them, but in order for us to make this thing work, we need to have respect for others. We learn this in kindergarten but at some point we forget it. We also don't have to shove our morals onto other people, like on Facebook. We learned that shoving is wrong in kindergarten, too.

So when someone feels that homosexuality shouldn't be a part of marriage, that's their moral. They think homosexuality is wrong; they don't hate gay people. Well, if they do, they're wrong. Or if someone says abortions should be legal, that's their moral. Respect it. You can by all means vote against it, and you should always be willing to discuss these issues. But don't think that people are hateful or killers or any kind of extreme simply because they want their morals legislated.

Because that's what laws are and always have been.

Poor Food

Food, glorious food! Who doesn't love food in America?! (at least 51% of us who are now overweight!) I'm in this group...I love food. I love eating out, I love the taste of a good baconator... mm.. I shouldn't write this before I go to lunch...

Sadly, companies have done a great job at marketing their products. Banks, fast food restaurants... basically all the companies that are doing well have great marketing. See, the better the marketing, the more we buy their products. The more we do that, the more we become dependent, justify irrational behavior, and even get addicted to these things.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I know some people (maybe you're one?!) who, if they don't have their Five-bucks, I mean Starbucks, coffee in the morning, they're grumpy all day. That's an addiction, my friends. I don't think I have an addiction to anything...the closest would be Dr. Pepper, but really I just like to drink things. Whether it's pop, juice, nectar, powerade, or even (gulp) water, I just need some fluids in my body.

The topic of today has to do with all-you-can-eat buffet's and how they market their products. These places (Chuck-A-Rama, Sizzler, Golden Corral) take the approach of laying out a ton of food and allowing you to eat as much as you can. They make sure to keep your dirnks filled, because filling yourself up with liquid refreshment usually leaves less room for food. My mom always told me to not drink too much or I'd get a pop belly. I was warned, mom, and I didn't listen...

At first glance, this is a great deal. How cool is it to be able to pay as much as you would for a normal dinner and eat as much as you want! That makes not only good food sense, but good financial sense, right? Wrong, chicken-breath!

In our capitalistic society, we are programmed now to get the most amount of product/service for the least amount of cost. Get deals. This is what wealthy people do, right? They end up with more for less. We get to beat up office depot when they have a sale of 2 notepads for the cost of 1, right? But let's take a step back for a second and think about this. The very purpose of a business is to make a profit. They can't survive if they spend more than they take in. So if a business is having all kinds of sales and knocking down prices so far down that it would be insane to pass up, how can they make a profit?

Businesses know that the most important thing for them is to get people in their doors. If they can do that, they can sell you more things. So if a sale on shoes at payless gets you in the door, maybe you see something else you like and have to have. That means you spent some money you wouldn't have normally spent. This is how businesses think.

So let's come back to the food buffet business. How can they even make a profit with such low prices on food? Think about it, what is the fat-person to skinny-person ratio in Chuck-A-Rama? Like 8:1? People fill themselves up with food because they eat as much as they can. That's the whole point of a food buffet - to eat as much as you can for a low price! From a business standpoint, they want you to get fat. The fatter you get, the more likely you are to come into their restaurant. They may lose some of the money they could have normally gotten by pricing their dinner plates a little higher for less food, but if they get you to keep coming back because of the good deal, they've won. Maybe some days you order a special dessert or more beers. The point is, they got you in their double-doors and that is how they make money.

On average, obese people spend more on food than skinny people. This is just common sense, right? If you eat more food, you'll usually pay more money. So that good deal that you got at the food buffet...it doesn't add up. People go there, gain weight, and end up spending more money on food throughout the year anyway. This doesn't end up making financial sense.

Unlike other things (it's GREAT to get deals on things other than food, especially if they are things you were going to buy anyway), more food isn't always better. Food represents fuel. It's not meant to be eaten at the rate Americans eat food. And the type of food. This can be tough because we sometimes have to fight our basic survival instinct - to eat as much food as we can. This was developed in us because food wasn't always as prevalent as it is now. McDonalds weren't lined up throughout the jungles. People had to find and kill their food, and if they didn't find any, they didn't eat. So their bodies told them to eat more when they could for the times when they weren't going to be able to eat as much.

But we can't do this. If there's one thing that won't disappear any time soon, it's food. I know this because I'm guilty of it. I love a line from the movie Captain America - the First Avenger. Stanley Tucci (one of the best actors of all-time in my opinion) says to soon-to-be-Captain America, "Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion." I liken this to food. I've been skinny most of my life and I've also been fat. I know the value of both. I think obese people know what other obese people are going through better than if someone had never been overweight. The value of being healthy far outweighs (pun intended) the value of being overweight. The trouble lies in the motivation and execution to the process of being healthy.

Is it bad to eat at these places every once in a while? Of course not. Is it bad to seek out these places every time you're going out to eat? Probably. So, again, when it comes to food, more isn't always better. This is a battle that I myself am still fighting. And even though I lose a lot of the battles, the war still rages on. Know what will help win that war? Staying away from food buffets, no matter how good their marketing is.