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…once again, the USC Trojans are the heavy favorite to win the Pac 10 for the seventh-straight year and have finished in the Top 5 the past six years.
As you’ve probably heard about a thousand times if you watch ESPN, they are absolutely loaded with talent with players like HBs Joe McKnight, Stafon Johnson, C.J. Gable and WRs like Vidal Hazelton, Patrick Turner, and David Ausberry. There is just one returning OL, but they had plenty of injuries last year and have – surprise, surprise – talented players there.
Despite some losses, USC might have one of the best defenses in the nation, led by LBs Rey Maualuga (#58) and Brian Cushing (#10) and safeties Taylor Mays and Keith Ellison. Even with the losses of Keith Rivers, Lawrence Jackson, and Sedrick Ellis, the Trojan front will be fine.
After having to play the league’s top contenders – Oregon, Cal, Arizona State – on the road last year, the “toughest” league games for USC this year are at Oregon State and UCLA. That said, they have the showdown with Ohio State September 13, and a tricky little trip to Virginia to open the season.
That game just got a bit trickier due to the injury to Mark Sanchez. If Sanchez, who started the Arizona, Notre Dame, and Oregon games last year, can’t go, former Arkansas QB Mitch Mustain would be the guy.
All that said, USC hasn’t exactly dominated the league like everyone seems to think they have. Granted, the Pac 10 pretty much is USC. The Trojans have split with Cal (2006) and Arizona State (2007) the past two years, losing two league games each year. Here’s two more reasons that mess up the Trojan total domination myth:
Each of the Trojans’ league losses the past two years – Oregon State and UCLA in 2006 and Stanford last year – except for the Oregon game last year USC had no business losing. To be honest, while USC might have been playing the best football of any team at the end of last year, I just have a feeling they will lose another game like that this year – a game they will be favored in and should absolutely win.
Not only that, but if Dennis Dixon doesn’t blow out his knee against Arizona, USC doesn’t even win the Pac 10. Oregon would have and I believe they would have played for the Title and Dixon might have won the Heisman. I honestly hated to see that happen for Oregon, who lost their last three games before recovering in the Sun Bowl rout of USF.
I hated to see Dennis Dixon get hurt the way he did last year, and Oregon fans can only dream what could have happened if not for this injury to the Ducks’ star
Oregon loses Dixon and Jonathan Stewart, but still may be USC’s top challenger. The Ducks return most of their best defenders – SS Patrick Chung, CBs Walter Thurmond and Jairus Byrd, LBs Jerome Boyd and John Bacon, and DEs Will Tukuafu and Nick Reed. They also have one of the better OLs in the league as well to block for HBs Andre Crenshaw and Jeremiah Johnson and whoever the QB will be to find WR Jaison Williams and TE Ed Dickson.
Cal was 5-0 last year after rolling Tennessee and winning via a fumbled sure-TD-turned-touchback in Autzen, and after LSU had lost to Kentucky, the #2 Bears were poised to take over the top spot. But this play arguably sent their season completely down the tube…
I can’t lie, I laughed hysterically when I watched this live. Cal wasn’t laughing then or any the rest of the year – the Bears won just one of the last six and barely edged Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. Cal returns just four offensive starters, and lose pretty much all their WRs, but have both Kevin Riley and Nate Longshore back and the OL has been very good, led by 2006 and 2007 1st Team All-Pac 10 C Alex Mack.
HB Jahvid Best, much-remembered by us Tennessee fans, may be the best returning skill player for the Golden Bears
The LB corps of Worrell Williams, Zach Follett and Anthony Felder will lead the defense which returns eight starters. They have five league home games so they should still finish in the league’s top tier.
Arizona State was horribly overrated last year, as USC showed when they pasted the Sun Devils 44-24 Thanksgiving night. The best team they beat record-wise was 9-4 Oregon State, and they were blasted by the three best teams they played (Oregon with Dixon, SC, and Texas in the Holiday Bowl), and had to overcome double-digit deficits five times.
All the skill players pretty return, but the OL was just awful last year, allowing 58 sacks, the second-highest in the country. They return just 33 career starts on the OL this year as well, so QB Rudy Carpenter hopefully can survive getting killed another year. Arizona State should be slightly better defensively with seven starters back. Obviously we’ll see how good ASU will be when they host Georgia September 20.
For Arizona, it’s pretty simple: head coach Mike Stoops better at least make a bowl this year, or he will be looking for a job. They have had late season home wins over Top 10 teams each of the past three years: #7 UCLA in 2005, #8 Cal in 2006, and #2 Oregon last year. However they have seen Arizona State end their bowl hopes each of those years.
QB Willie Tuitama and his favorite target WR Mike Thomas return for Arizona, as Mike Stoops may be in his final year
Ten offensive starters return including most of last years’ production. However, they have to replace their entire defensive front and both CBs, including Antoine Cason (Oregon and Cal fans remember him).
Most won’t know this, but Oregon State has the second-most wins in the Pac 10 the past two years (14). After going 9-4 with the nation’s best rush defense last year, OSU has to replace eight defensive starters. OSU will have to rely on SS Al Afalava and CBs Keenan Lewis and Brandon Hughes while the entirely new front seven gets their feet wet.
Seven offensive starters will help, and the Beavers “replace” departed HB Yvenson Bernard with WR Sammie Stroughter, the speedy WR and punt returner who missed last year. A couple of JUCO additions should help the losses along the OL that will need to protect QB Sean Canfield, who missed time last year too with injuries.
Tennessee’s opening opponent UCLA can’t catch a break. After losing QBs Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson on the same day in non-contact practice drills, Olson has injured himself again and will miss two months. JUCO QB Kevin Craft will likely be the new starter. Playmakers HB Khalil Bell and WRs Dominique Johnson, Marcus Everett, and Terrance Austin and TE Logan Paulsen should help, but the OL is a huge question mark with plenty of youth and inexperience, returning just C Micah Reed.
JUCO transfer Kevin Craft will likely start the season as the Bruin QB after unfortunate injuries to Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson in spring and preseason practices
Defensively, coordinator Dwayne Walker was retained by new coach Rick Neuheisel for good reason – he’s one of the better defensive coaches in football. The front seven with LBs Reggie Carter and Kyle Bosworth should be strong, but the secondary has some holes to fill. The schedule doesn’t help – the Bruins play the Vols and Fresno State at home, and travel to BYU.
Washington has some hope with So. QB Jake Locker, but there’s going to be new RBs and WRs, and the OL’s best player C Juan Garcia (subject of a great ESPN article) may or may not be healthy for this year. The LBs and secondary will be the defense’s strength, but the Huskies gave up over 30 points/game last year. Like Arizona, there’s pressure on Ty Willingham to make the postseason in 2008.
FS Bo McNally had the sealing INT in Stanford’s epic upset over 41-point favorite USC last year
Stanford stunned USC last year and beat Cal, but the had a typical Cardinal year in 2007. They do have 16 starters returning including QB Tavita Pritchard, HBs Anthony Kimble and Toby Berhart, WR Richard Sherman, and possibly Stanford’s best OL in years. They have nine defensive starters back, including all the LBs, the top three safeties, and 10 of the top 11 tacklers from ‘07. Another upset or two here or there, and Stanford could sneak into a bowl game this year.
Finally, Washington State hasn’t been to a bowl since 2003 and fired Bill Doba to bring in former Eastern Washington coach Paul Wulff. The Cougars will have to replace QB Alex Brink, but return an experienced OL, HB Dwight Tardy, and WR Brandon Gibson. The defense returns eight starters and the Cougars, despite the transition, have a slight chance at getting back to a bowl game.
While USC may be the best team in the nation, 2008 might be a “down” year for the Pac 10, with the new faces. While I would say it was the second-best last year, that should be the Big 12 this year.
Similar to the hierarchy of the SEC East with Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, the Big 12 South has been pretty clear-cut for the most part of the last decade. Since Nebraska’s decline, it’s been all about Oklahoma and Texas not only in the South, but in the entire Big 12.
Behind the Horns and Sooners, each and every year it’s a toss-up between Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State, and Baylor is pretty much always last.
However, there’s quite a bit of preseason hype that Texas Tech could very well break through and change that. At first, I look at Texas Tech and see an obviously always strong offense that passes every down and puts up a lot of points, but where’s the defense? And it’s Texas Tech – certainly they pull off a big win once a year, but can they really make a run at bigger, better things?
So obviously my curiosity forced me to look more into Texas Tech and why the thought is they have a chance to not only finish ahead of Texas, but actually win the South. Here’s some things I found:
Why they can win it: As I said before, I wouldn’t want to face that offense. QB Graham Harrell continues the recent run of record-shattering QBs and enters his third year as the starter. The group of receiving threat RBs is there – Shannon Woods, Kobey Lewis, Aaron Crawford, and Baron Batch.
Harrell’s favorite target, the Biletnikoff winner Michael Crabtree will try to match his astonishing freshman season where he had nearly 2,000 yards and caught 22 TDs. They lose Danny Amendola, but WR is never really a problem for Texas Tech. They also return (the two-deep completely intact) a very large OL that only gave up 18 sacks last year, second in the country (to Tennessee).
Of course we know about the offense, but what about defense? Defensive coordinator Lyle Setencich resigned after a 49-45 loss at Oklahoma State, and after Ruffin McNeill took over the Red Raiders actually led the Big 12 in total defense over the last 8 games. They also return 8 starters, including the entire front four.
Then there’s Tech’s traditionally very weak schedule. Out of conference, Texas Tech plays Eastern Washington and Massachusetts, two I-AA schools, SMU (1-11 last year), and travel to Nevada, which could be a tricky game, but Nevada’s not gonna stop Harrell and Company. They do travel to Kansas State, Texas A&M, Kansas, and Oklahoma, but get Texas at home.
Why they won’t win it: Simple – they’re Texas Tech. They’re just 35-29 in the Big 12 the last eight years under Mike Leach. Texas has beaten the Red Raiders the last five years. Colorado has beaten Texas Tech the past two seasons (CU isn’t on the schedule this year).
Texas Tech has lost to Colorado 30-6 and 31-26 the past two seasons, but the Red Raiders don’t face the Buffs in ‘08
Also, I think a good bit of the optimism for Texas Tech stems from the win over Oklahoma in their finale, but Sam Bradford got hurt early in that game. In the Gator Bowl, Tech trailed 28-14 to Virginia, without their QB Jameel Sewell in the 4th quarter, before coming back and winning at the end.
All that said, I’m gonna call the bluff on Texas Tech – third place again.
Oklahoma is once again the Big 12 favorite and a National Title contender. They’ve been great in the regular season but have struggled in BCS Bowls, most notably the blowout to USC, the Boise State upset, and getting run over by West Virginia.
QB Sam Bradford broke the record for the most TD passes as a freshman last year and he hopes to continue that this year. The Sooners lose Malcolm Kelly, but WR Joaquin Iglesias, TE Jermaine Gresham, and WRs Manuel Johnson and Quentin Chaney should make up for Kelly’s loss. Also, OU returns their entire OL, the most experienced (130 career starts) and also one of the biggest in the entire country.
HB Allen Patrick is gone, but there’s little worry in Norman because DeMarco Murray now becomes the Sooners’ feature back. Murray averaged 6 yards/carry last year and is really, really good. Here’s proof:
Yes, I know it was Baylor, but that’s pretty sick. HB Chris Brown comes back as well, and he scored 9 rushing TDs last year. Defensively, just five starters return, but the DL may be one of the nation’s best. The secondary, only returning SS Nic Harris, is the main concern. OU is generally very good defensively, even though WVU ran over, through, and around them in the Fiesta Bowl.
I would argue that Texas has underachieved the last few years – or any year they haven’t had Vince Young. For all the talent that’s in Texas and neighboring Louisiana, and just having to worry about OU in the conference, I would expect they should have more than two conference titles under Mack Brown (1996, 2005). That said, they have had double-digit wins the last 7 years.
“What?! I can’t bring Vince back?!? He’s the only way I can win beat OU and win the Big 12!!
The Longhorns struggled last year more than their final ranking of #10 may have said. They were outgained by Arkansas State, trailed in the 4th against UCF, trailed in the 3rd against TCU, were hammered by Kansas State at home, lost to OU, trailed both Nebraska and Oklahoma State, and lost to A&M for the second straight year.
They did bounce back by hammering overrated Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl. QB Colt McCoy returns, but Texas has to replace HB Jamaal Charles and find some new WRs. The OL returns lots of experience, and may be one of the best in the country.
Defensively, Texas gave up 25 points/game last year, the most since 2003 (21) and has to find seven more starters. While the replacements are certainly talented, there’s some inexperience there and depth at some areas may be concerns.
Oklahoma State, with dual-threat QB Zac Robinson returning with two big targets WR Dez Bryant and TE Brandon Pettigrew (they lose Adarius Bowman though) and a very experienced OL, could actually be better than the 7-6 they were last year. They are strong in the defensive back seven, and the front four has some good players that are a little inexperienced.
That said, being in the same division as Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech means OSU will probably do no better standings-wise than in the past.
Texas A&M brings in Mike Sherman, a hire that I’m not so sure was a good one. They do have QB Stephen McGee and HB combo Jorvorksie Lane (#11) and Mike Goodson (#3) back, but some WR losses and a very inexperienced OL could cause problems.
TAMU may go to a 3-3-5 lineup because the secondary is their strength and they return just one player from the front seven, though there are some talented guys along the DL. With the new coach in and the issues along the lines, I would say a bowl game would be a reasonable goal for Sherman in his first year.
Baylor is, well, Baylor. Offensively the Bears have a bunch of experience returning and defensively the Bears probably won’t be any different than in previous years. There’s hope for improvement as Art Briles comes in from Houston, and he had a good run while with the Cougars.
That said, Baylor plays in arguably the second-toughest division in college football in addition to Missouri, Nebraska on the road, and Wake Forest and Washington State at home, and UConn on the road out of the Big 12. Same old same old for Baylor.
I’ve already hashed out the atrocity that was the Big 12 North of a couple years in the ACC Coastal preview a couple days ago, and now it’s time to actually talk about the current state of the Big 12 North.
Nebraska’s struggles – and the rest of the conference living in the shadow of Oklahoma and Texas – damaged the division’s reputation and respectability, and Missouri and Kansas valiantly tried to help repair that last year.
Mizzou reached the top of the polls heading into the Big 12 Title Game, but lost to the Sooners for the second time last year. Meanwhile, KU used a favorable (to say the least) schedule to roll to undefeated season until a 36-28 loss to the Tigers in KC.
The now-departed Aqib Talib’s pick six led Kansas to an unlikely (and undeserved) Orange Bowl win last year
The Tigers finished by crushing Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Kansas played in the Orange Bowl they totally didn’t deserve, but shut people like me up by beating Virginia Tech. Even with those two teams, I’m not sure how many people thought Mizzou and KU were all that good, which is somewhat understandable given their respective football pasts.
So while there’s been improvement for the North, there’s still a little ways to go, and that has to do with how Nebraska and Kansas State fare this year (more on them later). I for one think that the Big 12 will move past the Pac-10 for the title of second-best conference (behind the SEC of course).
The Big 12 as a whole should be a powerfully offensive league this year, as only Iowa State (Bret Meyer) and Nebraska (Sam Keller) have to find new QBs. You look at the QBs in this league, and you can only be impressed by not only the talent there, but they’ve put up some pretty good stats as well.
Perhaps the best QB is Missouri’s Chase Daniel. 2008 should be another big year for Daniel and the Tigers. Despite the losses of HB Tony Temple, WR Will Franklin, and TE Martin Rucker, the Tigers are pretty set at the skill positions. They will have a new C and new LT, the two most important OL positions, but there won’t be much of a dropoff.
Defensively, Mizzou has one of the top LB corps in the conference with Sean Weatherspoon, Brock Christopher, and Luke Lambert. Three defensive lineman, including the awesomely-named DE Stryker Sulak, return and FS William Moore anchors the secondary. The only games I see as potential losses for Missouri are the opener against Illinois in St. Louis and trips to Nebraska and Texas. Fortunately, Oklahoma is not on the schedule (yet).
WR Jeremy Maclin was a Freshman All-American last year, racking up 2,776 all-purpose yards to go along with 1,055 receiving yards and 16 total TDs
This needs to be said: I’m partial to Missouri, simply because I almost went there…i.e. if I had to pick a second favorite team behind the Vols, it would be Missouri. No, I don’t live-and-die with whether or not they win on Saturdays like it is with Tennessee, but I certainly enjoy seeing them do well. Plus, I think they are fairly exciting to watch as well.
Kansas surprised everyone last year, using a terribly easy schedule and kind Orange Bowl reps to reach their first BCS Bowl, a 24-21 win over Virginia Tech. While much of that team returns intact, the schedule is more challenging this year, so expect a fall back to reality for Kansas.
The Jayhawks face the South’s three best teams (at Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas at home in a three-week span) and play at USF on a Friday night. They go to Nebraska as well, and still play Missouri. QB Todd Reesing returns and will have some new faces on offense, but the production should be about the same.
Overshadowed by the offense last year, Kansas returns 9 starters from a defense that allowed just 16 points/game last year. They have to replace stud CB Aqib Talib, but the LB group of Mike Rivera, Joe Mortensen, and James Holt rivals Missouri’s.
Nebraska’s certainly had a really, really hard fall the past decade. From dominating everyone with the option (seeing the Gators get owned I can always enjoy) here…
…to playing just horrifically bad defense last year (WARNING: it’s long and a poor choice of music)…
Nebraska had owned Kansas for a really long time before 2005, and KU hung 76 on them last year. Interestingly, Nebraska scored 73 the next week in a win over Kansas State, before returning to form by giving up 65 to Colorado in the finale. On the season, Nebraska gave up a school-record 455 points (38 per game) and 5,722 yards.
Nebraska got rid of Bill Callahan, and hired LSU Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini, a very good hire in my opinion. Pelini obviously will bring a new attitude to the Husker defense, one that will have to rely on its front four in 2008. The same group that gave up 232 yards/game on the ground all returns and can only get better. It’s a little green in the back seven, but Nebraska can’t be much worse defensively than they were last year with Pelini running things.
Offensively, QB Joe Ganz started three games last year, and, in 173 fewer attempts, had more TDs than the highly-touted Sam Keller. The Huskers will rely on the running game this year, and having Marlon Lucky back behind an OL with five players with more than nine career starts. We’ll get to see the new Huskers early – they host Virginia Tech September 27.
After rolling Baylor, Kansas State was 5-3 with a close loss at Auburn and a 41-21 romp at Texas. Then the defense disappeared, giving up 31, 73, 49, and 45 points respectively to Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri, and Fresno State. Despite just 12 returning starters, K-State should make it back to the postseason.
QB Josh Freeman has led the Wildcats to wins over Texas the past two years
Why? They bring in a whopping 19 junior college transfers. That’s not a typo. 19 junior college players. I’ve never heard of that. QB Josh Freeman and 2006 and 2007 All-Big 12 1st Team DE Ian Campbell returns as well.
Colorado, under first-year coach Dan “Go play intramurals, brother” Hawkins, surprised many and reached a bowl game last year. The highlights included a stunner over #3 Oklahoma on a late FG, a 31-26 win at Texas Tech, and a 65-51 romp over Nebraska. This was pretty cool too…
(Yes, I think South Park’s a great show) CU must replace Charles, Polumbus, Wheatley, and Dizon the Tackle-Machine (he had 173 last year). Hawkins landed Darrell Scott, a highly-ranked RB who could start this year, and his son Cody returns at QB.
I would say Colorado would be a shoe-in for a bowl, but they play a tough schedule: host West Virginia, play Florida State in Jacksonville, play at Kansas, at Missouri, at Texas A&M, at Nebraska, and get Texas at home.
Finally, there’s Iowa State, who started off the Gene Chizik era last year by losing home games to Kent State at Northern Iowa (ouch). It got better, as ISU beat hated Iowa, hung with Oklahoma and beat Kansas State and Colorado late in the year. QB Bret Meyer is gone, there’s improvement everywhere else on the offense. On defense the entire secondary is back, but only three of the front seven return, and the Cyclones have a ways to go to make any noise in the league.
Iowa State’s new logo for 2008
Remember the pitifulness that was the Big 12 North just a couple of years ago? In a three-year stretch from 2004-2006, the North representative lost in the conference title game by a combined 133-13. The emergence of Missouri and Kansas have more or less saved the division’s reputation.
What does this have to do with the ACC Coastal Division? If it wasn’t for Virginia Tech, this division would be the new Big 12 North. You could also call it a mini-Big East, because it’s a surprise if the Hokies don’t win the division. The competition? inconsistent Virginia and Georgia Tech, fallen power Miami, and basketball schools North Carolina and Duke.
I don’t really know what to say about this…
Look, I’m not going to ruffle many feathers when I say the ACC may be the worst of the major six BCS leagues. It was supposed to be the next super-conference when Miami, VT, and BC joined, but the Canes and perennial power Florida State have struggled, and the league has struggled in non-conference games.
Virginia Tech has won two ACC titles since joining the league in 2004
Yes, the ACC won the most non-conference games of any other league with 10. The wins: South Carolina, Colorado, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Notre Dame (twice), Texas A&M, UConn, and Pitt. However, the league was just 2-6 in bowls last year (this division was 0-3) and is a woeful 1-9 all-time in bowl games.
This probably says just as much…
Yes, the SEC Champions beat the ACC Champion by 41 points. Virginia Tech recovered from that and the late collapse against Matt Ryan to bounce back, win the Coastal in its rival’s stadium, and avenge the loss for the ACC Championship, the Hokies’ second in its four years in the ACC. They then of course lost to Kansas, who had no business even being in the Orange Bowl (uh, Missouri?).
Once again, the Coastal is Tech’s to lose, despite the dismissal of HB Branden Ore, graduation of the top four WRs, and having to find 7 new defensive starters. The two-headed QB attack of Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor return, and the Hokies’ OL, which gave up 54 sacks last year, should be much improved. VT has some tough road games – North Carolina, Nebraska, BC, FSU, and Miami – but c’mon, they have the most talent in this division and Frank Beamer.
CB Victor “Macho” Harris is one of just four returning defensive starters for Virginia Tech, but the Hokies always have good defenses under Bud Foster
The Hokies most likely challenger will actually be North Carolina (don’t laugh). Though UNC hasn’t won a game outside the state since 2002, it’s Butch Davis’ second year and he has the Tar Heel program heading in the right direction. The entire offense returns, including So. QB T.J. Yates, who broke the school records in yards, completions, and attempts last year. The entire secondary returns and the defense should be fine despite losing its top two tacklers.
Could Butch Davis lead UNC into the ACC Title Game in just his second year??
UNC will be tested early, with trips to Rutgers and Miami sandwiching the home game against Virginia Tech, all in the first four games. The Heels also host Notre Dame. They were just 3-6 last year in games decided by less than 7 points, so it’s not like they have that far to go.
Miami was supposed to be Virginia Tech’s main competition, but the Canes have had a rough go in the ACC. The Canes were just 2-6 in the league last year and those wins were UNC and Duke. I would attribute most of the issues to poor QB play and lackluster effort. The current QBs on the roster have attempted as many passes in college as I have – zero. That said, many are high on rFr. Robert Marve and Fr. early-enrollee Jacory Harris. Playmakers like HBs Craig Cooper and Javarris James and WR Sam Shields should help. Oh, they lost five of their top six tacklers from last year too.
Miami said adios to the Orange Bowl by laying an egg against Virginia…maybe the move to Dolphin Stadium will get Miami and all that talent back on track
Seriously, it’s not like Miami is depleted on talent, they had a top 10 class last year. They’re going to be a pretty young team this year, and they play Florida and Texas A&M on the road in the first three games. Still, there’s no reason Miami shouldn’t at least make a bowl game this year.
Quietly, Virginia, led by their defense, had a chance to win the Coastal last year, but lost at home to Virginia Tech in the finale. It’s a rebuilding year for Al Groh, as the Cavs lose much of that defense (six starters including #2 pick DE Chris Long), lose experience along the OL, and must break in a new QB. The Cavs got smacked by Wyoming and were 6-2 in games decided by 7 points or less last year, so they were fortunate to go 9-4.
A strength a year ago, Virginia returns just five starters, but all three LBs – including Clint Sintim – are back
Playmaking HBs Cedric Peerman and Mikell Simpson are back, and QB Peter Lalich did play in 8 games last year.
It’s a whole new start for Georgia Tech, as new coach Bobby Johnson is bringing the triple option offense to Atlanta. Last year’s starting QB Taylor Bennett transferred to Louisiana Tech since he was certainly not an option QB. So. Josh Nesbitt, though, is an option-style QB. Proof:
Stud HB Tashard Choice is gone but Jonathan Dwyer scored 9 TDs last year, yet there are some questions on the OL. Seven starters and Jon Tenuta, one of the best defensive coordinators in the game, are all gone. 1st Team All-ACC Vance Walker anchors a defensive line that should be solid.
And finally, there’s Duke. The Blue Devils have just plain sucked for a really, really long time (see 1-31 ACC record since expansion in 2004). But they hired David Cutcliffe away from Tennessee and look to be showing some vested interest in making a concentrated effort on improving the football program. Cutcliffe won at Ole Miss, but can he win at Duke, a place where only Steve Spurrier has won?
(Sincerely) Good luck at Duke, Coach Cut, you’re gonna need it…
Simply because of what Cutcliffe has done for Tennessee, I hope so. Cutcliffe has always been an excellent QB coach (see the Mannings and moreso Erik Ainge 2005 vs. Erik Ainge 2006-2007) – maybe less so as an offensive coordinator (not touching that dead horse). He’ll now be working with Thaddeus Lewis, who’s entering his third year as Duke’s starter.
The rushing and receiving leaders from last year both return, but the Devils averaged just 64 yards rushing/game last year. They do have 10 starters back on defense, though, including 100 tackle LBs Vincent Rey and Michael Taualiili.
Duke’s won 4 games the past four years, and I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch for them to win that many this year.
