In search of its fifth-straight Southern Conference title, Appalachian State returns 18 starters from a team that finished 11-3 and went through the always-tough SoCon gauntlet a perfect 8-0. The Mountaineers, which on paper have the makings of being one of the greatest teams assembled in the history of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), will no doubt be fueled by how the 2008 season ended, as the Apps were soundly beaten by eventual national champion ...

    College Football 2008 Preseason Rankings It's that time again, and I’ve received a few e-mails demanding rankings for the college football preseason of 2009. A bit early, I’ll go ahead and lay out my predictions (I’ll also stress that no poll can be too accurate until we’ve seen our titans clash a few times). I can't wait for the season to kickoff (these NFL preseason games just ain’t doing it for me). Without further introduction: these are the teams ...

Week two of Fall Camps is over and with it comes the end of two-a-day practices. Teams will now turn to focusing on their opening day opponents. So with the season rapidly approaching we'll take a look around the West and see how everyone progressed in week two.   Auburn The Tigers continued to battle problems with depth, particularly on defense. Things reached a low point when the Tigers couldn't field three healthy scholarship linebackers for one practice. ...

The Badgers have a big decision to make (again) at quarterback.  It's no secret that OC Paul Chryst and Bielema have said if the competition is close this fall, they will go with the guy with more upside -- the younger guy who will have more time to develop. That's a not-so-subtle nod to Curt Phillips.   Indeed, every report out of practice this week indicates Phillips is the guy (Adam Hoge says Phillips took over 60% of ...

I know what you are thinking.  This article must have been written by some rabid Tennessee fan, sitting in an orange and white painted room with a picture of him and Phillip Fulmer and a letter sent from the former Tennessee head coach to the writer, framed on the wall just above his desk.  Well, you’d be right. However, don’t click the back button just yet.  There is a legitimate argument or two to be made about ...

North Carolina State has a chance to really make a mark on the ACC this season. They could feasibly win their division and punch a ticket to the ACC Championship game in December. Last year they finally figured out how to win games at the end of the season, and Russell Wilson came on very strong, becoming the first freshman quarterback to ever make first-team All-ACC. His return, along with the return of players such ...

  Despite the recent run of both rivals and scout magazine Top 20 signing classes, AU hasn’t been effective in translating that onto the field with incoming impact players. A couple of notable exceptions can be found along the offensive line in juniors Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh. Both have played since early in their true freshman years, and Ziemba has never missed a start. Several others have seen some playing time as true freshmen but nothing on the scale of these two. This year ...

The SEC is heralded for its depth, speed, size, and quality of play, top to bottom, more than any other conference in college football. While so much of the talent level and performance is attributed to the players on the field, the men on the sidelines are the cream of the crop.   1. Urban Meyer - Florida The University of Florida coach can argue that he has been more successful than any coach in the last ...

Nice try, Gary Parrish. Very nice try.But if I were to say you were wrong, it would very well diminish the meaning of “wrong” for future generations, and I don’t feel comfortable doing that.You are past wrong, beyond wrong if you will. You are located somewhere between fool and foolish, probably closer to the previous than the latter.Okay, you are partially correct, using partially only in the loosest of constructions. Society doesn’t associate certain programs ...

Second year head coach Bill Stewart, who went 9-4 as a rookie, but also had the support of quarterback Pat White is going to need to pull out all the stops to keep this program at the level so many fans and alumni have expected it to achieve each year. As a former student at West Virginia University, it pains me to write this, however, I don't see any other outcome other than the roller-coaster variety ...