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theSabanator20
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Last year, in July, I predicted 3 upsets:
Arizona over Oregon
Vanderbilt over Florida
Iowa State over Texas
I was 2 for 3, and VERY close to 3 for 3. Picking preseason upsets is hard, but there is a method. Just look at the schedules.
This year, my top 3 upset games are:
1. Ohio State @ Maryland- Randy Edsall is quietly and patiently building up Maryland football again. Ohio State didnt finish the season strong last season, but that taste should be out of their mouths come September. While Maryland does make 2 straight road games before playing THEE, this game will make or break their season. It will be Maryland's first home B1G game, and you better believe the fans will be ready for the Bucks to visit College Park. For Ohio State, they will have 3 fairly challenging NonCon home games in a row vs. Vorginia Tech, Kent State, and Cincinnati. Maryland will be their first B1G game.
As far as matchups go, I'm looking at Ohio State replacing Bradley Roby, their best CB, whereas Maryland brings back what is possibly the most talented WR corp in the B1G. Also, Ohio State lost their entire offensive line virtually, and Maryland returns 9 defensive starters. And even though Ohio State has 10 starters returning on defense, they will HAVE to improve their secondary this season if they want to go undefeated. The front 7 will be stout, so that should help the secondary as they grow during the season. Urban is a dang good coach, but he has still been in some close games that should not have been close at all. With Maryland on the rise, being at home, and this being their first B1G home game, you better believe Marland and Randy Edsall are gonna have Urban reaching for his chest in the 4th quarter.
2. Florida @ Florida State- technically, you could call this an upset. But lets recall some facts: Florida was terribly injury prone and had an absolutely atrocious offense last season. Florida State had an offense and defense that were top 3 in the nation. That being said, the score of last years matchup with only 4 minutes left in the first half was 3-0 FSU. Hmmmm... Was it the SEC mantra? Who knows really. But I do know this. Florida is bringing back 10, count it, 10 starters on defense. They will be legit as always under Muschamp. The offense brings back 8 starters, including Jeff Driskel and a disgusting stable of runningbacks. Kurt Roper is coming in from Duke to incorporate the shotgun spread concept, which fits Driskel perfectly, because that's what he was recruited at Florida to do. If Floridas offense is even efficient this season, they will make a run for the SEC title game. Now, FSU is talented. Stacked. Returns the Heisman QB. Entire Oline. On offense...they should be just fine, even though Kelvin Benjamin will be a missed jump ball receiver, as well as other key offensive playmakers. However, FSU loses some big time talent and leadership on defense in Lamarcus Joyner, Terrence Brooks, and Timmy Jernigan. That kind of leadership on defense will not be easy to replace. Just look at 2010 Alabama to see an extremely talented defense, but with no leadership. It will be a grind in Tallahassee for the governor's cup, but I think the Gators will be victorious this time around.
3. TCU @ Baylor- well, normally this would be Baylor upsetting TCU, but in recent years the tables have turned; Baylor went from the bottom of their conference to the top, while TCU went from BCS buster to BCS busted. But not all is lost... Gary Patterson is still a damn good coach, and boasted one of the top Big12 defenses last season even with a losing record. That offense just needed tweaking... Enter Texas A&M transfer Matt Joekel and new offensive coordinators Doug Meachem and Sonny Combie from the high flying offensive schools of Houston and Texas Tech. I mean Gary knows as well as anyone, offense wins games, defense wins championships. He needs to win some games, more than last year, and that can be helped by scoring more than the other team, which TCU wasn't exactly good at last season.
TCU brings back an ASSLOAD of talent and experience, plus the hype of the new offense, and his always great defense. Ten starters returning on offense, and eight on defense, plus Devonte Fields, one of the best players in college football. Baylor loses a ton of talent off of an underrated defense that was quietly one of the best in the country. The offense? Psh, it's Baylor. They ain't got no worries there. But that defense has got to mold quickly in the Big12, where offense is king. Baylor does have home field advantage, but dammit: this is the battle for the Iron Skillet!!! Don't nobody care about home fields or past records!!! It's a rivalry for crying out loud!!! I think Gary rights the ship in Fort Worth this season and wins 8+ games... Including this one.
Give your top 3 upset picks and reasons as to why it will happen. Season is right around the corner!!!!
My other upset picks(not as sure about these, so they aren't in my top 3)
Ole Miss over Alabama
Washington over Oregon
North Carolina over Notre Dame
Iowa over Wisconsin
Tennessee over Oklahoma
Mississippi State over Auburn
Arizona over Oregon
Vanderbilt over Florida
Iowa State over Texas
I was 2 for 3, and VERY close to 3 for 3. Picking preseason upsets is hard, but there is a method. Just look at the schedules.
This year, my top 3 upset games are:
1. Ohio State @ Maryland- Randy Edsall is quietly and patiently building up Maryland football again. Ohio State didnt finish the season strong last season, but that taste should be out of their mouths come September. While Maryland does make 2 straight road games before playing THEE, this game will make or break their season. It will be Maryland's first home B1G game, and you better believe the fans will be ready for the Bucks to visit College Park. For Ohio State, they will have 3 fairly challenging NonCon home games in a row vs. Vorginia Tech, Kent State, and Cincinnati. Maryland will be their first B1G game.
As far as matchups go, I'm looking at Ohio State replacing Bradley Roby, their best CB, whereas Maryland brings back what is possibly the most talented WR corp in the B1G. Also, Ohio State lost their entire offensive line virtually, and Maryland returns 9 defensive starters. And even though Ohio State has 10 starters returning on defense, they will HAVE to improve their secondary this season if they want to go undefeated. The front 7 will be stout, so that should help the secondary as they grow during the season. Urban is a dang good coach, but he has still been in some close games that should not have been close at all. With Maryland on the rise, being at home, and this being their first B1G home game, you better believe Marland and Randy Edsall are gonna have Urban reaching for his chest in the 4th quarter.
2. Florida @ Florida State- technically, you could call this an upset. But lets recall some facts: Florida was terribly injury prone and had an absolutely atrocious offense last season. Florida State had an offense and defense that were top 3 in the nation. That being said, the score of last years matchup with only 4 minutes left in the first half was 3-0 FSU. Hmmmm... Was it the SEC mantra? Who knows really. But I do know this. Florida is bringing back 10, count it, 10 starters on defense. They will be legit as always under Muschamp. The offense brings back 8 starters, including Jeff Driskel and a disgusting stable of runningbacks. Kurt Roper is coming in from Duke to incorporate the shotgun spread concept, which fits Driskel perfectly, because that's what he was recruited at Florida to do. If Floridas offense is even efficient this season, they will make a run for the SEC title game. Now, FSU is talented. Stacked. Returns the Heisman QB. Entire Oline. On offense...they should be just fine, even though Kelvin Benjamin will be a missed jump ball receiver, as well as other key offensive playmakers. However, FSU loses some big time talent and leadership on defense in Lamarcus Joyner, Terrence Brooks, and Timmy Jernigan. That kind of leadership on defense will not be easy to replace. Just look at 2010 Alabama to see an extremely talented defense, but with no leadership. It will be a grind in Tallahassee for the governor's cup, but I think the Gators will be victorious this time around.
3. TCU @ Baylor- well, normally this would be Baylor upsetting TCU, but in recent years the tables have turned; Baylor went from the bottom of their conference to the top, while TCU went from BCS buster to BCS busted. But not all is lost... Gary Patterson is still a damn good coach, and boasted one of the top Big12 defenses last season even with a losing record. That offense just needed tweaking... Enter Texas A&M transfer Matt Joekel and new offensive coordinators Doug Meachem and Sonny Combie from the high flying offensive schools of Houston and Texas Tech. I mean Gary knows as well as anyone, offense wins games, defense wins championships. He needs to win some games, more than last year, and that can be helped by scoring more than the other team, which TCU wasn't exactly good at last season.
TCU brings back an ASSLOAD of talent and experience, plus the hype of the new offense, and his always great defense. Ten starters returning on offense, and eight on defense, plus Devonte Fields, one of the best players in college football. Baylor loses a ton of talent off of an underrated defense that was quietly one of the best in the country. The offense? Psh, it's Baylor. They ain't got no worries there. But that defense has got to mold quickly in the Big12, where offense is king. Baylor does have home field advantage, but dammit: this is the battle for the Iron Skillet!!! Don't nobody care about home fields or past records!!! It's a rivalry for crying out loud!!! I think Gary rights the ship in Fort Worth this season and wins 8+ games... Including this one.
Give your top 3 upset picks and reasons as to why it will happen. Season is right around the corner!!!!
My other upset picks(not as sure about these, so they aren't in my top 3)
Ole Miss over Alabama
Washington over Oregon
North Carolina over Notre Dame
Iowa over Wisconsin
Tennessee over Oklahoma
Mississippi State over Auburn
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