Brandon Weeden has a chance to get into the Heisman Trophy conversation in 2011.

PigskinU.com is using the off days of summer to highlight the 10 players it feels will be major players in the Heisman Trophy race in 2011. This series will appear periodically at PigskinU.com’s Just Sayin’ blog, so check back frequently before fall practices begin.

Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State

2010 Statistics: 13 games, 154.1 quarterback efficiency rating, 342-of-511 for 4,277 yards, 34 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 66.9 completion percentage, 329.0 yards per game passing.

Last year’s Heisman? Weeden was not in the Top 10.

Why him? Brandon Weeden did things at Oklahoma State in 2010 that no quarterback had ever done, most notably becoming the first OSU QB to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season. That’s big news for a school that is known for producing NFL-caliber running backs like Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. Weeden was known more for playing minor league baseball before returning to football before the 2007 season than he was for his actual ability before last season. It didn’t hurt that he had a talented group of players around him, including All-American receiver Justin Blackmon (who was in the Top 10 in Heisman voting last year), and much of that talent is back on what could be Oklahoma State’s best team ever. But Weeden should garner his own attention now, and why not? He had a near 3-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio last year, completed nearly 67 percent of his passes and had one of the nation’s top efficiency ratings. He’s not playing in the shadows anymore.

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So what I’m looking for is the game that will have the most influence on the SEC and BCS title pictures. That game, to me, is LSU vs Alabama. The Nov. 5 tussle in Tuscaloosa is without a doubt one of PigskinU.com’s Top 10 games of 2011.

Now, LSU has already made this list once, and there’s no guarantee that the Tigers will be undefeated before they make the drive to Alabama. In fact, they could have one or two losses. That LSU schedule is so murderous that one has to wonder what they were thinking when they put it together. The SEC is hard enough. But scheduling both Oregon and West Virginia – on the ROAD – just smacks of the schedule-maker being an Arkansas alum.

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Sportique is for you if you're into fashion and sports.

A few days ago I was online catching up on the NFL and I see Tim Tebow wearing a pretty cool shirt. So, I type in the name of the shirt he’s wearing into a search engine and I find out Sportique Apparel Co. is the designer and manufacture of the shirt. I also found out that Sportique Apparel Co. were the designers behind  Dwayne Wades Miami Heat retro shirt (actual shirt is called “shoeless tee”) that caught the eye of every person that has a smidgen of fashion sense.

Sportique get’s two thumbs up from PigskinU for making sports apparel cool again. I like rocking my favorite teams when I go out, but I hold back often because most sports apparel is pretty cheesy. So, I’m looking forward to see Sportique Apparel Co. grow to the point where guys like me who root for teams like UCLA will have something to wear soon.

Click Here to visit their online store.

Wow! Petros said that Andrew Luck is the best player he’s ever seen (.35 seconds). I’m very high on Andrew Luck, but that’s a bit much at this point.

The Heinken handlebar moustache commerical is another great piece of work from Heineken. They have a real knack for outdoing themselves. Although I was a big fan of “The Enterance” commerical, I think this has just a bit more style.

Cyrus Gray, RB, texas A&M

2010 Statistics: 13 games, 200 carries, 1,133 yards, 5.7 yards per carry, 12 touchdowns, 87.2 yards per game.

Last year’s Heisman? Gray did not finish in the Top 10.

Why him? Gray came out of the woodwork last year to have a fine season for the Aggies. An injury to Christine Michael, the starting back, opened the door for Gray, and he delivered. After he became the starter he had seven straight 100-yard rushing games to end the season, including a whopping 223 yards rushing that made the difference against texas. You have to like the yards per carry average and the physical way the 5-foot-10, 198-pound back runs. Gray enters the season as the starter for the Aggies, and that’s not all. QB Ryan Tannehill entered the fray at midseason last year and solidified the quarterback position. The Aggie offensive line is stacked with talent, including a couple of sophomores – Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthew – who started last year as freshmen. The Aggies have four starting linemen returning. The Aggies can run the ball effectively and spread out the field with three wide receivers. Either way, Gray stands to benefit and that makes him a Top 10 Heisman candidate in 2011.

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That dream is dead. TCU will join the Big East in 2012, solidifying that league’s BCS status (the Big East may solidify itself further if it expands in the next year). But, for one year at least, the MWC can get a taste of what could have been.

When they square off on Nov. 12, the contest will likely decide which school gets the non-automatic qualifier BCS bowl berth, as I expect both teams to be undefeated going into that game. Boise is, once again, a Top 10 team. TCU, while missing it’s all-everything quarterback Andy Dalton, has a pretty soft schedule before their trip. That’s why TCU at Boise State is one of PigskinU.com’s Top 10 games of 2011.

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The NCAA Football 12 commercials are pretty good if you haven’t seen them already. Here are three videos that EA Sports has put out already. The LSU video is hilarious!

Have Her Over for Dinner; a gentleman’s guide to classic, simple meals which was named by The New York Times as one of the year’s best cookbooks.

So I’m on the Art of Manliness website (great site that’s on our blogroll) and I’m reading about the contributing writers to the site. That’s when I saw Matt Moore’s book entitled: Have Her Over for Dinner; a gentleman’s guide to classic, simple meals. Matt’s book was named by The New York Times as one of the year’s best cookbooks. I thought the Just Sayin’ audience would definitely be interested in this book along with Matt’s blog that’s essentially carries the same theme. Click Here to visit the blog.

On a scale of one to ten, if your cooking skills fall at a five or below and you’re single, then you need to pick up this book. Don’t kid yourself… seriously. Click Here to purchase the book on Amazon.com

Oh and don’t worry grille masters, Matt’s blog has a whole section on steaks!

After reading parts of the NCAA’s decision on its investigation of allegations involving the Georgia Tech football program, I came to one conclusion:

No one – and I mean no one – in college football knows what it’s doing.

You’ve heard by now that Georgia Tech must vacate its 2009 ACC title and pay a hefty fine after the NCAA charged that the school did not completely cooperate during its investigation into whether student-athletes in the football and basketball programs received improper benefits. At the center of this investigation is – unbelievably – $341 in clothing. Click here to read the entire NCAA decision.

In a season in which the NCAA has been enormously busy investigating everything from Jim Tressel to tattoo parlors, even this one borders on absurd.

I’m not saying nothing took place. I’m not saying no one did anything wrong. What I’m saying is that both Georgia Tech and the NCAA are symptoms of the problem. Continue Reading…