In 2003, Syracuse began the season unranked but later went on to cut down the nets in New Orleans. With the 'Cuse in mind, here are 10 teams outside my preseason Top 25 that could have some staying power during March Madness. For my full Top 25, check out my four tweets on Twitter for Nos. 1-5, Nos. 6-13, Nos. 14-20, and Nos. 21-25. These 10 teams are listed in alphabetical order.   Baylor Last season: 24-15, lost to Penn ...

It's been an interesting journey for Tim Brewster as coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.  He emerged from relative obscurity when he was hired to take over for Glen Mason following the 2006 season.  Not only had Brewster never been a head coach at the professional or collegiate level, he'd never even been a coordinator.  Still, Athletic Director Joel Maturi saw something in Brewster and took a gamble.  Brewster had already built up a reputation as ...

Unless a bunch of University of Michigan football players, past and present, have banded together in a deliberate attempt to sully the reputation and undermine the authority of Rich Rodriguez, then U-M is going to have to lie in a bed of its own making. Actually, Bill Martin’s making. This latest crisis involving the Michigan football program—the one where players past and present allege NCAA violations in terms of offseason workouts, etc.—is on Martin, the school’s fumbling, ...

It's foolish to think that David Yost would yank too hard on the reigns of his offense, but he does acknowledge that a slight change in philosophy is in order. As Missouri's quarterbacks coach for the past eight seasons, Yost has been a co-architect of the Tigers' explosive spread offense over the years, tutoring formers pupils like Brad Smith and Chase Daniel and paving the way for them to put up record-breaking numbers. Now in his first ...

I know you don't want to hear about the Florida Gators anymore. I know you're sick of "Tim Tebow Saves the World" documentaries. I know you're going to roll your eyes and yawn when you see the predictions below. And you know what? I don't blame you. I fell asleep a few times writing them. Seriously. That's because the Gators have gotten more love recently from the national media than Brett Favre's facial hair, and that's ...

Florida sits above the rest in the Bleacher Report Top 25. Although, it did not garner all the first place votes. Florida (20) Texas (1) Oklahoma USC Alabama (1) Ohio State Penn State Virginia Tech Ole Miss LSU Oklahoma State Cal Oregon Georgia Boise State Georgia Tech TCU Utah Florida State BYU Iowa North Carolina Nebraska Oregon State Notre Dame Also Received Votes: Kansas 35, Miami 30, Texas Tech 29, Michigan State 26, West Virginia 21, Pittsburgh 15, Illinois 14, Southern Miss 13, Cincinnati 12, Nevada 9, Arkansas 2, NC State 2, Michigan 1, Rutgers 1, Tennessee 1, Houston 1 Notes ...

Andre Amos is getting his shot. Ohio State has released the pregame materials for the Navy matchup.  By far the most interesting information is the depth chart. Andre Amos appears to have secured the first start over Devon Torrence.  Whether that will last all season remains to be seen, but you have to be happy for the senior.  Andrew Miller managed to hold off the charging Shugarts and was named the starting left tackle. While the decisions on ...

Utah State Aggies at Utah Utes College Football: Thursday Sept. 3, 2009, 9 PM EST (MTN) The Line: Utah -20 1/2   Last year was just a magical year for the Utah Utes. Running the table, winning the Mountain West, and then pounding the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl. On top of great leadership, last year's Ute team benefited from some great bounces that they were able to take advantage of. Utah lost a lot of talent this ...

The college football season is just under a week away and schools are ramping down their team practices and going into "game ready" mode.  The Western Athletic Conference is no different as teams get ready for what could be the strongest battle in recent memory.  Of course, Boise State is the team to beat, but watch out for Colin Kaepernick and Nevada, Ryan Mathews and Fresno State as well as Greg Alexander and Hawaii as those teams will ...

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg has a good point with this blog post regarding the allegations coming out of the University of Michigan football program.Part of the issue regarding the remuneration of college football players centers around the fact that being a football player is a full time job.Yes, the NCAA mandates that players can only spend four hours a day and 20 hours per week on football related activities.And if you believe that all programs strictly ...