Hey....the future is already here according to this info I lifted from a Gator message board: Here is a "real" poll for the 2007 BCS Title game (made by people who put their money where their mouth is). I'm ranking them based on odds. Here's the top 10: 1. Notre Dame (7:1) 1. Oklahoma (7:1) 3. Ohio State (9:1) 4. USC (10:1) 5. Florida State (11:1) 5. West Virginia (11:1) 7. Florida (13:1) 7. LSU (13:1) 7. Texas (13:1) 10. UCLA (16:1) They also have the conference breakdown. Here is the SEC: Florida (2.75:1) Auburn (3:1) LSU (3.5:1) Georgia (7:1) Alabama (9:1) South Carolina (9:1) Tennessee (9:1) Mississippi (26:1) Arkansas (31:1) Geez....no excuses for Chollie's bunch this year!! :shock:
I'm mainly glad that we are at the moment considered a legit threat for the Nat'l Championship, not a smoke and mirrors outfit any more. But I'm puzzled why we are the odds on favorite, our defense is suspect and our opening schedule is brutal with Ga.Tech,Mich,Penn State and finishing with USC on the road in L.A. Terry
I'm not grabbing at any brass rings neither, until I see a defense that can put legit pressure on the QB and corners that can cover. The Irish will also be playing a new set of LBs... Looking at the others, I'm not convinced that UCLA belongs up there yet. Like Notre Dame, I want to see more defense first. Tennessee is too low. If they get a real offense, they have the talent to beat anyone. FSU seems too high, Florida too low... .................JO'Co
I .... <t>Agree w/ JO'Co in that until we can cause the QB to tap his feet and get rid of guys like A. Wooden in the secondary we are on thin ice. The good news is top looking young talent is on the way but we will have to go through the growing pains. That is fine I know CW will get it done.</t>
Wooden is an anomaly. He makes extreme plays in clutch situations, either extremely good or bad. No consistency. There is a good shot that the Irish will start at least one, possibly two true freshen CBs. Oy! p.s. In my opinion the guy that kills us in the secondary is Tommy Z. You have to have him on the field because he is the ultimate big play guy but as a cover back he is very limited. He gets burned deep.. a lot.
Here's what I don't understand about TommyZ, in the past we complained our dB's were too slow. Well Tommy Z is not slow, esp for a Safety. He can run the 100 in 10.x which is fast, he's at least a 4.5 guy (maybe better) in the 40. You didn't see any USC or Tenn guys (2 teams noted for speed) run him down from behind when he got the big plays against them. But he does get beat deep. I am hoping that it's coachable and that as a Jr. next year he will not only be a big play guy with the Punt or Int, but also a great cover guy. Terry
:x I must be watching some other games than some of you guys. I didn't see Tommy Z burned very often and neither did the people who voted him a 3rd team All-American. Chinedum was burned repeatedly, as were the corners and you often saw Tommy chasing from behind, but he was coming all the way across the field. He was also asked to help against the run and fold over and cheat up to help the corners. He can't play all four Dback positions at the same time, but sometimes it looked like they asked him to try. I wouldn't trade Zbikowski for any safety in America... .............JO'Co
I think you are right about the Duke, he's out of his league right now. I think Wooden made a lot of improvement from the kid I saw in the Insight.Com bowl who looked like he was afraid to make a tackle. But in the long run you have to get a consistent pass rush and we just didn't have that against good teams. I also like Tommy Z, and you may be right and I think the whole DB will be better next year. I think Bill Lewis is one of our best assistants and I hope that he'll get them coached up another notch. Terry
:!: Something to watch for...IMHO...is Bruton beating out NDukwe or at least sharing time with him. Bruton almost beat him out for that position last season as a true frosh and he's a burner... .........JO'Co