So you’re trying to find a way to amaze your friends when it comes to the next big BCS Buster in college football and … well, OK, maybe you’re not. Maybe you’re just going to lean on the old reliables like Boise State or TCU. Or maybe you’ve finally moved on to basketball season.

Not me. I’m trying to identify the “next big non-BCS thing.” To me Boise State doesn’t even feel like a non-BCS school anymore, and when the Pac-10 (or 12) becomes the Pac-16, guess where the Broncos are going? As for TCU, well, they’re not going to be an outsider much longer and they’re not going to sneak up on anyone anymore.

So as I scan the landscape of the non-BCS teams, I see one that has the potential to surprise a lot of people in 2011 – Central Florida.

Here are three reasons why: Continue Reading…

Oregon, long a middle-of-the-Pac-10-or-worse football program, looks poised to take the next step and become a perennial powerhouse.

Oregon is expected to add to a top 10-ranked recruiting class this week to a stable of talented players. Oregon will benefit from appearing in the BCS title game, which it lost in the final second, and the Ducks are coming off three seasons in which they won at least 10 games (a first for the school) and two successive conference championships (also a first).

The Ducks lose some key players – including three starters on the offensive line and linebacker Casey Matthews – but they return quarterback Darron Thomas and running back LaMichael James. Coach Chip Kelly’s teams have shown enough depth to shake off disciplinary actions that cost them an outstanding running back for most of one season and a star quarterback for the next season. Have the Ducks now reached the point where they reload rather than rebuild? Continue Reading…

Right about now, Auburn head coach Gene Chizik and his staff are putting the finishing touches on the program’s Top 10 recruiting class. Picking a college and, by extension a football program, is a big decision for those players lucky enough to play FBS football. Certainly, recruits will be attracted to that national title. But picking that school and coach also comes down to their level of trust with the head coach and his staff.

Chizik has made several stops along the way in his coaching career. But, aside from Auburn, perhaps no stop made more of an impact on him than his stop at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, texas, in the mid-1990s. Continue Reading…

TCU is beginning to find out what happens when it’s no longer an underdog.

Last week texas Tech announced that it would not play TCU, a game that was scheduled to be played in September in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs, fresh off their 13-0 record and win in the Rose Bowl, even offered to move the game to nearby Cowboys Stadium. The Red Raiders said no thanks.

Why? Well, the Red Raiders said they needed to drop a non-conference game to accommodate the new, ninth game in Big 12 conference play, thanks to Nebraska’s and Colorado’s defections. But why not drop one of their other non-conference games against New Mexico and Nevada and instead play a quality opponent like TCU? Continue Reading…

Last year everyone lost their minds in college football regarding conference realignment. For what? Nebraska going to the Big Ten? Colorado and Utah going to the Pac-10? Boise State going to the Mountain West?

For my money, the announcement last week of The longhorn Network, a $300 million TV deal between the University of texas and ESPN for a 24-hour network devoted to texas sports (see: football), is more seismic. Less than a year ago the longhorns seemed on the brink of going to the Pac-10. Now, they have all the ammunition they need to go it alone, if they choose.

To me, The longhorn Network means four things to college football now and in the future: Continue Reading…

So Jim Harbaugh is the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers. This was a huge step in the right direction for the 49ers. The  niners are one of the best teams on paper to not make the playoffs due to Mike Singletary’s old school philosophy and flip flopping of quarterbacks. So Harbaugh is pretty much already coaching a playoff caliber team despite what the average fan thinks. He’s working with Michael Crabtree, Frank Gore, Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis. Trust me people, you can work with that!

Of course the biggest question is, will there be a major hiccup in terms of expectations when crossing over to the NFL. Honestly, I don’t think so. For starters, Harbaugh turned around entire school from zero to hero and he did it the old fashioned way with determination, hard work and a little bit of elbow grease. It’s not like he became a hot commodity by riding off an amazing roster such as LSU or Ohio State. This was the Stanford Cardinals who were a complete non-contender only a few years ago. The other reason why I believe he’ll do a decent job is because his brother John Harbaugh is doing fairly well in the NFL. Putting all business aside, you gotta admit, that has to be a factor in Harbaugh’s desire to coach successfully in the pros.

Again, this is a big step in the right direction for the 49ers and Harbaugh. But one thing is for sure, this move will be either a huge success or one of the biggest mistakes made for both parties invloved that will linger for years. Only time will tell.