Tonight is the night.
It’s that time of year again.
It’s that time where I get overjoyed every Saturday.
It’s Christmas in August.
It’s college football season and it’s going to be amazing.
This is the first year without the flawed and very controversial Bowl Championship Series rankings that determine who goes to the National Championship. Instead we will see the first ever Division-I four-team playoff that will be selected by a committee (much like the basketball tournaments are selected).
There will be teams that are unhappy come Jan. 13 but I believe that the selection committee will get the four teams right.
This season is poised for some great competition. More teams are scheduling tougher non-conference opponents to look better for the selection committee and it shows even in week one. Some notable week one matchups include: No. 21 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 South Carolina on the brand new SEC network, Florida State vs. Oklahoma State in Arlington, Texas, and No. 16 Clemson at No. 12 Georgia.
If week one is any indication on what this season will be like, we’re in for some fun. I have a feeling we are in for some surprises this year and these are my three bold predictions for the 2014-15 college football season.
The Florida Gators will return to spotlight
As a Florida fan last year was rough to watch. Going 4-8, losing to Georgia Southern and missing a bowl game for the first time in 23 years was not what Florida fans were expecting. It didn’t help that Florida players got hurt more than Greg Oden. But this year will be different. Florida got rid of offensive coordinator Brent Pease and hired Kurt Roper from Duke (who played in the ACC championship last year against Florida State). When the Gators are healthy, they are one of the most dangerous teams in the SEC and maybe the country but they are faced with a tough schedule that could test them. They get Alabama, Tennessee and Florida State on the road while they get LSU, South Carolina and Missouri at home. I predict Florida goes 9-3 with losses to Alabama, Georgia and FSU and they will come in second in the SEC East.
Oregon will be a disappointment
Disappointment might be a little harsh but everybody right now is very high on the Oregon Ducks and I don’t think they can live up to it. They have Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota but they have a schedule that will be hard to finish with one or two losses. The Ducks play four ranked (at the time of print) teams and possibly more. The second week of the season they face off against the king of defense Michigan State (who I believe will win the Big 10) and later in the year they travel to UCLA (who might be the best team in the Pac 12). The Ducks have a very, very tough road ahead of them and they have a real possibility of finishing third in the Pac 12 behind UCLA and USC.
Florida State will go back-to-back
This year Florida State will win again. The Seminoles are heavily favored in almost every poll and there is no reason why they shouldn’t be. They have Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston, who had a very interesting off-season, and one of the easiest schedules in the land. The Atlantic Coast Conference was supposed to gain strength with the additions of Syracuse and Louisville but the Cardinal lost most of their team from last year and lost their head coach Charlie Strong to Texas. The only games I could see FSU losing are Miami on the road and Florida at home to end the season. But I doubt they will so look for FSU to be back in the national championship winning another national title.
Although there is no college football team here at FGCU, that doesn’t stop the love for college football around Southwest Florida.
I know I’m excited and ready for college football to start.
Are you?