Zach Smith is committed to play long-snapper for USC come fall 2013. While the long snapper is one of the more unheralded positions in football, it is still a difficult position to play. This is mainly due to the fact that long snappers only get noticed when they perform poorly, from overthrowing, to  misfiring, or to under-throwing, which can result in huge momentum swinging turnovers.

However, with this kind of accuracy and prowess, it would appear as though Smith would be as safe of a bet as possible. Check it out:

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Happy Thanksgiving, ya’ll! Though this holiday may be all about the NFL and eating and drinking as much as humanly possible and then some, there are some great collegiate football games this weekend for rivalry week. Following a 20-3 week, I went 16-5 with my picks last week as big upsets occurred, most notably against K-State and Oregon. The rankings made a huge shift. Notre Dame is the new No. 1 and Nick Saban is just as surprised as we all are that Alabama is back in the hunt.

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Teams noted in BOLD are my picks for the week

TCU @ No. 16 Texas Read the rest of this entry »

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After going 20-3 this past week, its safe to say you should start hearing me out and take my picks to Vegas. The three games I lost, Toledo losing to Ball State (irrelevant MAC game that no one cared about), Alabama falling to Texas A&M (not many people saw that one coming), and Louisville falling to Syracuse (literally no one saw that coming).  There’s a new No. 1 in all of the land, Kansas State. Alabama now needs some serious upsets to happen to get their ticket punched for the big game, but for now, it looks like they’ll be watching it from home. It’s a three-team race to the finish—Wildcats, Ducks, and the Fighting Irish. This week has a lot of teams that will have easy wins against relatively unknown universities—if you can even call them universities. Read the rest of this entry »

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After going 13-5 in Week 10, look for my predictions to remain worthy of recognition. There has been little movement within the top batch of teams, but Notre Dame did fall one spot after struggling with Pittsburgh all the way into triple overtime. West Virginia continues their fall from the glory of national spotlight to the glory hole of a rest stop bathroom off I-75. Little upsets this deep into the season, but this week there could be some serious shake-ups in the Top 25–especially with the grouping of one-loss teams. It remains to be a three-way race of who will lose first to determine who will play Alabama in the National Championship. The wait continues… Read the rest of this entry »

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Huge Week 9 as many favorites fell, leaving newcomers to rise and thrive in college football glory. Going 12-7 Week 9, I was a little bold on my underdog picks. I underestimated the shear strength of Notre Dame and overestimated the power of Florida, hands down. Kansas State, Oregon, and Notre Dame are the only teams that deserve to be in discussion for playing against Alabama (as of right now) for the National Championship. Week 10 leaves a more conservative approach as I don’t see many upsets happening, but some shakeups in the future BCS rankings. Dynastys still alive and well.

Teams noted in BOLD are my picks for the week

Missouri @ No. 7 Florida Read the rest of this entry »

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Not many upsets in Week 8, but there were plenty of nail biters and shake-ups along the BCS Top 25 rankings. The favorite, Alabama, remains atop the rankings for the 8^th straight week. Surprises Kansas State and Oregon State continue to roll and climb their way into contention. Look for the trends to remain as there won’t be many upsets in this week’s matchups—but I’m calling a couple of BIG ones.

Teams noted in BOLD are my picks in the matchups for Week 9. Read the rest of this entry »

So week 3 in the NFL ended in complete controversy.  The Seattle Seahawks Hail Mary on the last play against the Green Bay Packers, cost gamblers across the nation estimated $150M – $250M on one play!  Not to mention it left 65,000 fantasy GM’s with a big fat L.  With that being said, it is almost impossible to pick games when the wrong teams are winning.  The replacement refs have changed momentum and really messed up these first 3 weeks in the NFL.  On the bright side it looks that this controversy finally got the NFL to settle down and come to a deal with the REAL officials.  Tonight’s game will have normal officiating!

- The Star* rating is how much I like that team against the spread.  10********** is my #1 pick/lock
- The bold team indicates the team I like against the spread.  (ATS)
- The CAPITAL team is the home team. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s official, the NCAA university presidents have agreed to change the awful BCS system and it only took three hours for the decision to be made. Reports from the NCAA is that the four-team playoff will roll out in 2014, and continue until 2025. Am I excited? A little bit. I have grown tired of the BCS system, especially after last year’s SEC rematch between LSU and Alabama. The new playoff system, while it gets rid of the old computer pick system, it doesn’t get the job down. Here are some of the reasons that a four-team playoff just will not work for NCAA football.

Favoring the Big Teams:

The new playoff system is still going to favor the power conferences. You know the ones, the big schools that load up there schedule with high school teams and then roll through the season claiming that they are the best in the nation. Forget the fact that some of these great schools do not dare play a tough road game against a respectable out of conference opponent. This will still be a big thing, and schools like Boise State will not be invited.

Four Just Isn’t Enough:

Think about it, would you see March Madness with only four teams competing for the National Championship? It’s hilarious! I definitely don’t think we should have a 64-team playoff system, but four just isn’t enough. Seriously, who thought of that number? A reasonable number would be eight, at least. With the expansion of teams, it would add more excitement to football season.

Subjective Criteria:

The plan for the BCS committee is to pick the participants in this members-only event. Therefore the fun “strength of schedule” factor and all the human polls will again lead to a small group of schools that are essentially judgment calls. The Coaches Poll? The only film the coaches are watching is of their opponent for the following week’s match-up. And don’t you dare mention the computer polls to me. People programmed them bad boys!

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen:

I have been a football fan for my years so I understand that you have to have a number of people to get involved with someone like this, however; I think the reason the BCS is inadequate is that too many people had to be happy before it was approved. NCAA officials and the conferences are still a large group of disjointed individuals whose egos are so big that they can’t agree on this type of process. In addition, the NCCA basically has no part in this. They continue to show their weakness, which has been all too evident during disciplinary procedures and so called “investigations” of corruption involving high-profile athletes.

Definitely Not about the Fans:

Progress? Maybe a little bit However, this isn’t about the student-athlete or the fans. This is about money. The powers that be are doing this because they believe it will definitely put more green in their back pocket. Case closed! This is not about making the fans of football happy or making sure athletes go to class, remember student comes before sports. This is about TV deals, endorsement contracts, and naming rights. It will only work as a lucrative business transaction instead of a sporting event.

What the university presidents decided just isn’t going to be enough. In the end, many of football’s finest fans could find themselves walking away from a sport they love to watch every Saturday.

For years the NCAA has relied on the polls and Bowl Championship Series(BCS) bowls to crown their national champion in football. Something that has enraged many football fans around the country, wondering why teams just can’t throw the BCS out the window and settle it on the field, like every other NCAA sport – with a playoff.

It looks like the people in charge are finally seeing what the fans in the stands are talking about.

A major college football playoff, even though it is a small one, is closer to being a reality. The BCS have backed a plan for a four-team playoff with the sites for the national semifinals rotating among the major bowl games, those being the Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, and Rose, and a selection committee picking the participants for each. The plan will be presented to each of the university presidents next week for approval.

Once approved, expect the new playoff system to start in 2014. Read the rest of this entry »