I certainly hope so.... From CFN: Q: Give three things you're absolutely sure of going into this year. A: 1) USC will slip in its regular season performance. As much as I admired the Trojans the past two years, it seems they're not ready to respond in this one season (even if 2007 and future years seem poised to be big, blockbuster campaigns). What does the law of averages say about great, top-shelf, fearless quarterbacks? Can Troy have three in a row? Doubtful. Losing this guy with No. 5 on his back, and also LenDale White, can't help. Just a Pac-10 title and BCS berth would be a gigantic accomplishment for this particular USC club. 2) Florida will win the SEC East. Too simple, I know, but the question wanted things I was absolutely sure about. This is one of them. 3) A Brady Quinn Heisman will be earned, not manufactured. This isn't a prediction that Quinn will win the award, only a reflection of the fact that last year, Quinn threw a lot of jump balls on the edges to Maurice Stovall and Jeff Samardzija, which enabled the tall receivers to either draw a flag or outleap defenders for scores. This year, Quinn will have to make more money throws, the kinds the pros make, on out routes and seam routes. If he delivers the goods, he'll earn the award (unless Troy Smith goes off against Texas and maintains top form for a whole season). Quinn won't be able to go through a full campaign by throwing pop-ups. If he racks up numbers this season, it will be because he's that much better than he was in 2005.
Georgia has a new freshman QB and Tenn still has Eric Ainge at QB, so given it's the 2nd year in the Meyer system and the Gators having a Sr. QB I'd say it's a pretty easy pre-season pick to have the Gators on top. Now of course you have to go out and do it!! The two Jr. QB's who have not lived up to their hype but certainly could this year are Eric Ainge and Chad Henne. Both seemed to have tremendous upsides as frosh, Ainge didn't start the first game of his career but was a co-starter and Henne was the starter from day one. Certainly at that point you might have expected both of them to enter this year as potential 1st round draft picks after this year, now both have a lot of questions to answer and I doubt if either is projected to be early entries in the NFL draft. Of course outstanding Jr years could change all of that fast. Terry
I agree with one of those three items. I expect Florida to win the SEC East. They have the best team... I don't agree that USC will "slip." They're loaded and reloaded again. What's this "law of averages" crap? In the old Big 8, Oklahoma and Nebraska won or shared 48 titles in 50 years. The writer may have just discovered the Trojans, but they've been a national power since the 1920's. The only "law" to worry about in college football is "Bigger, faster, and better doesn't always win the match: but that's the way to bet." He didn't seem to know much about Brady Quinn or Charlie Weis' offense either. Quinn threw for just under 4,000 effen yards last year. That wasn't just jump balls, that was every kind of ball, including the kitchen sink ball. If Quinn had turned pro, he would have been one of the first 5 players selected. The Irish are running a pro offense that takes what the defense is offering and Quinn will do whatever the situation requires. Whether he wins the Heisman or not is irrelevant. He has the most potential of any pro prospect since Peyton Manning...