Football 2008…Week 1 2008-08-29 14:51:50 | By: Tom Zuck 
So once again I finish covering racing and am ready to jump right back
into football season. I started the racing back in March when I got
back from the Big East Basketball Tournament and yes; I am ready for
it to be over. In fact, I am not even covering the final race of the
season at Lernerville Speedway. I’d like to because it’s a good show,
two different traveling series.
As it stands I am going to be at Montour High School to cover the game against Pine Richland. It should be a dandy, but it will probably be raining so that could get messy. Saturday morning I have to take my brother and sister-in-law to the airport for their return trip to Taiwan. After that it’s right down to Heinz Field to get ready for the Pitt Football season opener against Bowling Green. I was at camp last week and Pitt looks MUCH better than they have in the past three years. I certainly hope things start to work out for all of us Pitt fans. As for my number two team, the Auburn Tigers I plan on heading down for the LSU game and I am really looking forward to that. So now we take a quick look at some of our teams with their all-time records, bowl records and first season of ball. Next week will be a return to the regular picks, and picking on folks, with the little helmets. This week I will not pick all the games listed on the TV schedule. Rather I will pick the best games. Other than the Pitt game the one that most interests me this weekend is the Alabama-Clemson game. West Virginia: Al & Mel Davis, D.J. George 664-442-45, Bowls: 12-15-0, 1st year 1891 Has West Virginia bounced back after Pitt pulled the rug from under them? It will be very interesting to see. Bill Stewart seems like a nice guy, but can he coach well too? They have some very good players still but the key is if Noel Devine can somehow replace Steve Slaton as a back that will carry the ball 20+ times per game. Pitt: Al Beattie, Anthony Agostino, Mark Benish, John Bensko, Dave Bracken, Bob Ericsson, Chris Kaminski, Craig Ruby, Dave Pattock, Dave Bellinoti, Fritz Ligday, J.J. Trant, J.R. Ambrose, Jay Shrum, Jay Sukernik, Jimbo Lamanna, Jimmy Bistline, John Enright, John Fisher, John Seback, Johnny Jones, Michael Zuck, Rob Toth, Robby Greenleaf, Sal Genilla, Scott Colombo, Seth Hornack, Steve Ligday, Steve Petrosky, Steve Massaro, Billy Hillgrove 645-571-41, Bowls: 10-14, 1st year 1890 Pitt left four games on the field last season, RU, MSU, Navy and Louisville. Of course it doesn’t matter if you lose by 2 or 200. Look for Pitt to be MUCH better this season. The running game will be better because there will be an improvement in the passing game. Jay Shrum and I went to the final scrimmage and other than me picking on him because he is from Jeannette and he couldn’t deliver Terrell Pryor to Pitt we both felt this team finally looks athletic. The linemen are much leaner and can move. Of course I would look good blocking for Shady McCoy. The overall key this year is the offensive line. I look for Pitt to also have some serious defense and overall to be in the mix. Michigan State: Pat Ghilani 601-414-44, Bowls: 7-11, 1st year 1885 The Spartans are going to be not too bad. Mark Deatonio is a very serious coach who does not put up with any crap. Sometimes you need a guy like that around. Wisconsin: Mike Stobba 597-456-53, Bowls: 10-9, 1st year 1889 Wisconsin can make a run at the Big 10 championship. The team can really run the ball. The one glaring problem, and isn’t it always, is at QB. Wisconsin seems to be always replacing a QB. P.J. Hill is still there so look for some running again and the defense will smack you in the mouth. This team could sneak up on people. Navy: Chris Kennedy 625-511-57, Bowls: 6-7-1, 1st year 1879 New coach but same old Navy and that means run run run. The Navy offense is awesome to watch and Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada runs it as well as anyone has since Oklahoma in the 1980s. Navy needs to improve on defense for the program to keep its solid string going. Texas: Michael Zuck 820-319-34, Bowls: 24-21-2, 1st year 1893 Can you believe that nobody is talking about Texas? There don’t seem to be any expectations, outside of Texas of course, because everyone is talking about Kansas and Missouri. Maybe that means Texas can get back to some sort of balance. The key piece is there at QB with Colt McCoy. But the UT running game needs work. The schedule is wicked too. This will be fun to watch. Auburn: Keith Hamrick, Me, LeAnn Toth 683-388-47, Bowls: 19-13-2, 1st year 1891 Two new coordinators, a new QB and the brutal SEC schedule make this an interesting season. Pitt fans liked to scream and yell about Paul Rhoads when he was our DC. Will he be successful? If not they will tar and feather him. The offense will be more exciting with some sort of spread this year. The line is good on both sides of the ball. Like Texas, nobody is talking about AU and very often that is a good thing. Boston College: Jeff Ladik 601-419-36, Bowls: 13-6, 1st year 1893 No Matt Ryan could mean BIG problems for BC. The defense was very good last season and will need to be again. This is Jeff Jagodzinski’s second season at BC and he should have a better grasp on things. No prediction here though, but I bet they will be solid. UMass: Jim Degnim 533-507-51, Bowls: 2-2, 1st year 1879 One of the top teams in D 1-AA. Look for the Minutemen to be solid yet again. Duke: J.R. Ambrose 443-451-31, Bowls: 3-5, 1st year 1888 For all the recent bad football and very good hoops at Duke it is easy to forget that the Blue Devils have played in two Rose Bowls, two Orange Bowls, one Sugar Bowl and one Cotton Bowl. Of course those were mostly before any of us were alive. There is cause for excitement though with the arrival of David Cutcliffe as coach. The first year will be tough though. Thank God for basketball! Va. Tech: Geni Ligday 648-421-46, Bowls: 7-14, 1st year 1892 Coach Frank Beamer got things back under control in Blacksburg last season. They were not great and have some serious issues with the running game. The defense, as always, will be aggressive and good. The two-QB system has been ok, but not great. Look for both to play, but more time for Sean Glennon. The key to it all is a running game. Oklahoma: Fred Moses 776-298-53, Bowls: 24-16-1, 1st year 1895 Oklahoma has lost four straight BCS bowl games. That is hard to believe. The Sooners are set at QB but Sam Bradford throws a bit too much for my liking. The running backs are small too. Defensively they will be good, again. But it will be hard to get a great read on them until they play Texas and that isn’t until October 11. Notre Dame: Tony Watson, Kevin McCloskey, Fred Heidenreich 824-279-41, Bowls: 13-15, 1st year 1887 Boy last year was painful for our resident ND fans. The Irish HAVE to be better this season and the schedule does give them hope. Jimmy Clausen was really beaten up last year and the offensive line must improve. Notre Dame plays Michigan and then Michigan State in consecutive weeks. That will tell us a lot about those three teams. Penn State (boooo): Brian McNally, Gabe Montemurro, Steve Sampsell, Tom Bart, Mike Kennedy, Dave Kennedy, Jason Shank 790-347-43, Bowls: 26-12, 1st year 1881 Penn State fans are expecting big things this year. There are some big issues because a couple defensive linemen were kicked off the team. Plus, there is a new starting QB. Look for PSU to run the ball early to try and ease in the new QB. This could be JoPa’s final season so it will be interesting. Syracuse: Rush (sorry buddy I can’t spell your last name!) 670-462-49, Bowls: 12-9-1, 1st year 1889 Syracuse has hit a real tough spot and I don’t think they will get out of it this year. The countdown clock on Coach Greg Robinson, record 7-28, will start with the first loss. A program this historic does not deserve this performance. Georgia: Abi Wall, Tom Bart 714-381-54, 24-16-3, 1st year 1891 This off-season the best mascot in college football, UGa V, died and was buried at the stadium. The expectations are sky high for this team. Will the Bulldogs get through the SEC and have a shot at the BCS title? The past two national champs have come out of the SEC with at least one loss so it can be done. I like watching Georgia play and I think I will really like it this season. Wake Forest: Matt Hartford, Christian Hartford, Pat McHenry 398-581-33, Bowls: 5-3, 1st year 1888 Our boy Matt is joined by his little brother, Christian, who is a freshman walk on for Wake this year. This team is good and very well coached. The ACC could be a bit tricky this season and we’ll see how Wake performs as a favorite. Michigan: Asa Christy 869-288-38, Bowls: 19-20, 1st year 1878 Go Big Blue! Nobody has any idea what to expect this year. I bet that by the end of the season Michigan will be ok. What about the front half of the schedule? Michigan doesn’t have any time to ease into its new offense because Utah could beat them. Rich Rod does not have much wiggle room in Ann Arbor. USC: Dave Pattock 753-302-54, Bowls: 30-16, 1st year 1888 Like Texas nobody is really looking at USC and saying that the Trojans will make run at a title. The game Sept. 13 against the Buckeyes will tell us a lot. The talent is there for USC to make another run but they can’t afford a stumble against Ohio State because I don’t think the pollsters will give them as much of a break as they would an SEC team. There are a lot of holes to patch from graduation but the linebackers should be awesome. Ohio State: Dave McNally 798-303-53, Bowls: 18-21, 1st year 1889 Terrelle Pryor is on campus now so let the games begin. Actually the Buckeyes should be very good. If that will translate to another BCS title game bid I am not sure. There don’t appear to be any glaring weaknesses with this team so the game at USC is HUGE. Tennessee: Kimmy Elder 771-320-53, Bowls: 25-22, 1st year 1891 Tennessee has a big hole to fill at QB now that Erick Ainge is gone. To me the key to this whole team is Arian Foster because UT needs to get back to pounding teams with a big offensive line and power running. Defensively the Vols have skill aplenty. Also under the radar and that could be a good thing. Allegheny: John Jones 471-401-44, Bowls: 1-0, 1st year 1893 I did a game once at Allegheny. They played Washington & Jefferson and beat the then #1 ranked team. It was fun, but strange. Mississippi: John Holdsclaw 597-460-35, Bowls: 19-12, 1st year 1893 The Rebels have a new head coach with Houston Nutt. That should raise the level of excitement some. I was more impressed with Ole Miss having its coeds ranked #1 in the entire SEC. Seriously though this will be a transition season in Oxford. This week’s TV schedule. Next week normal picks, like last year with the cool little helmets Aug 28: Vanderbilt at Miami University, 7:00 PM, ESPNU Aug 28: Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech, 7:30 PM, ESPN 360. Aug 28: Charleston Southern at Miami, 7:30 PM, ESPN 360 Aug 28: NC State at South Carolina, 8:00 PM, ESPN….a good ACC-SEC battle. Spurrier needs a good start, USC wins Aug 28: Wake Forest at Baylor, 8:00 PM, FSN….The Hartford boys are on Wake, Baylor is improved but not enough. Unless the heat gets them, Wake wins. Aug 28: Oregon State at Stanford, 9:00 PM, ESPN2….This is an interesting game. Stanford beat SoCal last year, I don’t think they win this. Aug 28: Troy at Middle Tennessee State, 7:30 PM, Gameplan Aug 29: Temple at Army, 7:00 PM, ESPN Classic Aug 29: SMU at Rice, 8:00 PM, ESPN Aug 30: Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina, 12:00 PM, ESPN Aug 30: Western Kentucky at Indiana, 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network Aug 30: Bowling Green at Pitt, 12:00 PM, ESPNU….Pitt will make the jump this season. It starts Saturday. Aug 30: Maine at Iowa, 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network Aug 30: Syracuse at Northwestern, 12:00 PM, ESPN or ESPN2 Aug 30: Youngstown State at Ohio State, 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network Aug 30: Coastal Carolina at Penn State, 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network Aug 30: Akron at Wisconsin, 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network Aug 30: Hawaii at Florida, 12:30 PM, Gameplan Aug 30: Ohio at Wyoming, 2:00 PM, The mtn Aug 30: Towson at Navy, 3:30 PM, CBS CSTV Aug 30: USC at Virginia, 3:30 PM, ABC Aug 30: Utah at Michigan, 3:30 PM, ABC Aug 30: Oklahoma State at Washington State, 3:30 PM, FSN Aug 30: Delaware at Maryland, 3:45 PM, ESPNU Aug 30: Appalachian State at LSU, 5:00 PM, ESPN….Will lightning strike twice? Nope, LSU begins with a win. Aug 30: Northern Illinois at Minnesota, 6:00 PM, Big Ten Network Aug 30: TCU at New Mexico, 6:00 PM, Vs. Aug 30: Northern Iowa at BYU, 6:00 PM, The mtn. Aug 30: Mississippi State at La. Tech, 6:45 PM, ESPN2 Aug 30: Boston College at Kent State, 7:30 PM, ESPNU Aug 30: Alabama vs. Clemson, 8:00 PM, ABC….I am going upset here. Clemson still has lots to prove. ‘Bama wins. Aug 30: Michigan State at Cal, 8:00 PM, ABC….This is a tough one. I think MSU will be better but on the road is a tough call. I will go with the home team on this one. Aug 30: Illinois vs. Missouri, 8:30 PM, ESPN….Illinois was good last year, Missouri was better. The Tigers keep it going. Aug 30: Washington at Oregon, 10:00 PM, FSN Aug 30: Georgia Southern at Georgia, 12:30 PM, Gameplan Aug 30: Villanova at West Virginia, 3:30 PM, Gameplan Aug 30: Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn, 7:00 PM, Gameplan Aug 30: Tennessee-Martin at South Florida, 7:30 PM, Gameplan Aug 30: Idaho State at Boise State, 8:00 PM, Gameplan Aug 30: Washington at Oregon, 10:00 PM, FSN Aug 31: Kentucky at Louisville, 3:30 PM, ESPN….Louisville has to turn it around or it could be a long season. They start with this game. Aug 31: Colorado State vs. Colorado, 7:30 PM, FSN Sept 1: Fresno State at Rutgers, 4:00 PM, ESPN….You have to love Fresno. They go anywhere and will play anyone. I am going upset here for Fresno. So begins the talk of RU coach Greg Schiano heading to PSU after the season. Sept 1: Tennessee at UCLA, 8:00 PM, ESPN….UCLA will be much better, just not yet. Rocky Top plays through the California mountains.
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Copyright © 2006 Write On Sports LLC. All rights reserved.