State of the Irish will be a nine-piece miniseries analyzing Notre Dame football from top to bottom, also predicting what's ahead for the team.   Starting Linebackers    No. 58 Brian Smith, Junior (6'3", 240 pounds) The lone returning starter of the 2008 linebackers, Smith serves as the voice of the defense for this year's team. Although not technically a captain thus far in his career, he can be heard all over the practice field supporting and leading his defense. Ranking fifth on ...

Everybody has a personal side and a public side. One reporter joked to me that both of Nick Saban's were surly. He was just joking, but that is the impression many have of him. If you really want to know Saban, watch him at practice. He's yelling, he's coaching, he's criticizing, and he's praising. This spring a smiling Rolando McClain told me that if he calls your number, he's mad at you, and if he calls your ...

Jim Leavitt thinks quite highly of the 2009 version of his USF Bulls, thinks Oklahoma is better than Florida, and doesn't believe that West Virginia is a top-five team—in the Big East. USF's official Web site, www.gousfbulls.com, released Leavitt's ballot in the USA Today Coaches poll. Leavitt's Top 10, as voted: 1. Oklahoma             6. Ohio State  2. Florida                 7. Virginia Tech 3. Texas                  8. Penn State 4. USC                    9. Oklahoma State 5. LSU                   10. Florida State Leavitt voted his team to the ...

My preseason Top 25 poll continues with teams Nos. 16-20:   20. Florida State Seminoles 2008 record: 9-4 (ranked No. 23) Projected 2009 regular season record: 9-3 (losses at BYU (9/19); at Boston College (10/3); at Florida (11/28)) The 411: Optimism in Tallahassee abounds following the program's most successful season since 2004. The 'Noles capped a nine-win campaign with a 42-13 thrashing of Wisconsin in the Citrus Bowl, and it appears as if Bobby Bowden has enough talent and experience ...

Every Texas Tech fan is waiting, hoping, and praying for the next Michael Crabtree to show up at the Jones this fall.   I hate to be the bearer of bad news; he's not in Lubbock and won't be this year. However, that doesn't mean that the Air Raid isn't going to just as much of a nightmare for opposing coaches as it was with No. 5 in the lineup. In fact, one could easily make the case ...

The SEC is the strongest conference in the country according to many in the sports media. Florida is the consensus No. 1 in everyone’s mind, Alabama is a top five team and Ole Miss is everyone’s darling. Oh yeah, let’s not forget about LSU who is hanging around the top 10 as well. What happened to Georgia, last season’s consensus No. 1? Even though they are ranked No. 13 in both preseason polls, nobody is ...

The Duke football program is hoping to make significant improvements during the 2009 season. The hope of becoming a great team in the ACC must start with the offense and the players to whom the offense will rely on in pressure-packed situations. From the running back position to starting QB, most positions on the Duke roster at this point in the season are up for grabs. Who will go the extra mile and earn a place in the first-team offense ...

Anyone who has seen or heard a Nick Saban press conference knows about it: A question is asked by a reporter that prompts a verbal tirade from the coach. Many have said Saban employs such tactics to intimidate the media, but he has admitted he does it so many times to send a message to his players. In other words, Saban uses various psychological techniques to reach his players and to shape the way they think. In ...

As a writer who covers college football, I suppose it had to be done sooner or later. The following is a modest assessment of the country's 25 best teams, complete with 2008 records and final ranking, anticipated records for the upcoming season, and criterion for each team's place within the rankings. Without further ado, here's my teams Nos. 21-25 in my preseason Top 25 poll: 25. Iowa Hawkeyes 2008 record: 9-4 (ranked No. 20) Projected 2009 regular season record: ...

I’m a bitter Florida State Seminoles fan.   I’m bitter that no one on the face of the earth has had any idea what was going to happen when the Seminoles snapped the ball since Chris Weinke and Mark Richt left.    I’m bitter that James Fisher has held Florida State hostage for what will be the better part of a decade when Bobby Bowden finally walks away.   Offensive coaches that are paid millions of dollars yet fail to put ...