It’s time for my annual analysis of Virginia’s recently signed football class for next year.  As always, I write as a fan and not as an objective journalist. And I will give the same disclaimer as I did last year: I am not a recruiting guru and don’t subscribe to any pay Web sites. So if you are a guru, you will not find anything new here. I am here to answer some pressing questions ...

"We are Michigan State.  So that's my answer."  -  Mark Dantonio answering a reporter when asked about his reaction to the hiring of Rich Rodriguez at Michigan.   The smirk that followed said it all.   The same thing happened to NBC sideline reporter Alex Flanagan in South Bend back in 2007.  Just before kickoff, Dantonio met her for a quick interview live on camera.  When asked what he thought the "mood" of the Irish would be ...

Every college football pundit is quick to point out that Mike Leach is stuck with the unenviable task of replacing Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree. However, the issue being continually overlooked is where the heck defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill is going to find a pass rush. He's charged with having to replace Brandon Williams, McKinner Dixon, and the 19 sacks that they took with them. Who will Ruff turn to? A converted defensive tackle. A player who ...

The media got to tour some of the new Michigan Stadium suites yesterday. For more photos, check out the Freep. They have sold roughly 70 percent of the suites/club seats so far for the 2010 season. Seems every one takes their Verizon phones to the Big House for games. Which prompted this announcement from Verizon today: with more than 100,000 people converging on Ann Arbor during Football Saturdays, Verizon Wireless has activated a COLT (cell on light ...

When receiver Kevin Norwood signed the dotted line to play for the University of Alabama, he joined a blockbuster signing class including three other gifted wideouts: Louisiana speedster Kenny Bell, tall, muscular receiver Michael Bowman, and explosive route-runner Kendall Kelly. All four wideouts were given a four-star rating on a five-star scale from Rivals.com.  However, with so many other talented players in Alabama’s signing class, Norwood was almost forgotten in the escalating hype for more touted ...

Why not blow it on a one-year subscription to receive a 15-by-28 foot suite at the Big House? After all, you get to bring 15 of your friends, and the windows open if you'd like to hear the crowd noise. There are 82 suites to choose from, but 58 have been filled to date. They have black granite countertops, two flatscreens, and sleek wood floors and cabinetry. It's a $10,000 reservation ...

If I had to come up with a list of my top five least favorite teams, the Northwestern Wildcats would fall in at No. 3 on the list. For those curious about the other teams on the list, here is the complete top five in order: Iowa State, Arizona State, Northwestern, USC, and Boise State.As Adam Rittenberg said it best, the "bile between the Hawkeyes and Wildcats is certainly growing." The 22-17 defeat handed to Iowa ...

My Top 25 for 2009 rolls on with teams Nos. 11-15:   15. Georgia Bulldogs 2008 record: 10-3 (ranked No. 10) Projected 2009 regular season record: 7-5 (losses at Oklahoma St. (Sept. 5); at Arkansas (Sept. 19); at Tennessee (Oct. 10); vs Florida (Oct. 31); at Georgia Tech (Nov. 28)) The 411: Harsh prediction, I know. But I had no choice. The offense returns all but three starters, but have we really seen enough out of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno's ...

Ask any quarterback or running back out there, and they'll tell you they're only as good as the guys who wage war on every down inside the depths of the trenches. The credo will never change, but the manner in which it is interpreted certainly has. Thanks to the natural evolution of college football, the spread offense has grabbed a foothold as the predominant offense of an era defined by busy scoreboards and bloated stat sheets. A scheme ...

The Oklahoma State Cowboys start off the college football season ranked eleventh in the nations coaches poll. The Cowboys return a multitude of offensive threats including the best offensive trio in the nation. They also return their entire linebacking core and a solid majority of there defensive line. Though the secondary is thin, they do have shut down corner and special teams threat Parrish Cox and fellow senior Terrance Anderson leading the way. Followed by a solid ...