10 Rapid Reactions To Illinois' Big Start

Illinois starts the season 2-0 with convincing wins. My rapid reaction:

5 Crazy Predictions For 2015 College Football Season

The college football season kicks off this weekend and in just week one, there’s a handful of must see games.

With that said, here are five [crazy] predictions for this upcoming season.

1. 
   Ohio State, Oregon will return to College Football Playoff

I think to say Ohio State will return is not much of a stretch. I actually think they are going to repeat as national champs.

Oregon lost a lot in QB Marcus Mariota heading to the NFL. There’s no question. But Oregon is as deep and explosive as maybe they have ever been and reports out of Eugene are that transfer QB Vernon Adams has been making a name for himself, as coaches and players are raving about his abilities. I think Oregon runs the table in the PAC-12 and makes a return appearance the playoff.

2. 
   Miami will play in a New Years Eve/New Years Day Bowl Game

The Hurricanes have disappointed their fans and the nation the last several years but Al Golden has done (In my opinion) a great job of recruiting. Now he has a terrific young QB, exceptional talent all around him, and his defense could be one the most athletic in the country. I really think the ‘Canes are returning to prominence this year on a day when the entire country watches college football.

3. 
   Tennessee will win the SEC East

Butch Jones modo at Tennessee has been “brick by brick”. Well like so many other cliche phrases you can think of, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Coming consecutive top 10 recruiting classes, I’ve been only impressed with what Jones has done in Knoxville, and I think the Vols are set to explode on the scene in the SEC and the country.

4. 
   Texas will finish the year in the top 10

Charlie Strong made a huge statement in his first year in Austin by dismissing a couple handful of players. He also made a bigger statement by having a top 10 recruiting class. The atmosphere and attitude are changing within the Longhorns program. I think this starts with Texas upsetting Notre Dame in South Bend, then the Longhorns have two more top 10 teams on their schedule in Big 12 play. While they aren’t getting a lot of play in the national landscape, people will be taking notice of the boys in burnt orange by season’s end.

5. 
   A defensive player will win the Heisman Trophy

Don’t ask me which one but if you look at just about anybody’s top NFL prospects in the collegiate game, there’s very few offensive skill position guys. Yes, I recognize just because a guy is a “top prospect” doesn’t mean they will win the Heisman Trophy. Chuckling to myself, that isn’t even a requirement, but consider this. A majority of top programs are welcoming a new QB into their schemes. A lot of the top skill position players left last year for the NFL draft.

I’m not saying someone won’t break on the scene and just shock the socks off everyone across the country, but the amount of defensive talent across the country is stunning.

Illinois Football: 3 Crazy Predictions

The college football season opens tonight and as we do so, I have some crazy predictions for this year.

I wrote Tuesday about Illinois football and here are three crazy predictions for the Illinois football season:

Minor League Watch List: Part II

I wasn’t planning on writing about this but it kind of fits perfectly into the follow up I was planning for from my Monday post.

The Arizona Fall League Roster was announced Sept. 1 and a number of guys I actually planned on writing on are on the list, so I’ll go ahead and take the opportunity to discuss some of those names and guys I’m looking forward to.

2015 Fighting Illini Football Preview

Player mistreatment lawsuits, a drunk player punching out car windows overseas, a fired a head football coach, “hidden” emails from private accounts exposed, the Chancellor and Provost resigning; that’s just the laundry list of problems at the University of Illinois since May.

It seems the controversies in Champaign never end. The latest scandal? Tim Beckman fired a mere seven days before the opening kickoff to the 2015-16 season over mistreatment allegations and now the former head coach is threatening a lawsuit.

While things surrounding the University don’t look good at almost any level, all of that gets put on hold Friday night at Memorial Stadium as the Illini host Kent State in the 2015-16 football season.