Welcome Back, College Football

Mostly, I prefer pro football instead of the college game. It's just a personal preference of wanting to see completed passes and well run plays, versus the occasional misfires that are bound to happen when you have college kids out there. They're not all going to be playing at the next level and there is a reason for it. When you go into a 5-wide formation then odds are you've got a walk-on out there who is about to get lit up if the QB can find the guy he's lined up against. Doesn't make for the most aesthetically pleasing game, is all. But, there is one aspect that makes college football so much better than the pro game and that is the do-or-die mentality that has to be taken on every week. With the BCS as messed up as it is teams can't afford to lose more than 2 games and still expect to be in the National Championship picture. And for teams from non BCS conferences like Boise State there is absolutely no margin for error. They need to be on their game for 13 weeks or they can forget about playing a New Year's Day bowl. The desperation just adds another level that is often missing with pro sports. If the Patriots stumble against the Bills in week 1, they could still go 15-1 and make the playoffs. It's no big deal. If Alabama loses to Virginia Tech today then they're simply playing out the string and waiting on next year.

As for my team, I expect a good year out of Notre Dame. Those expecting an undefeated season should brace for disappointment, though. College football is mostly about how well your quarterback plays and I'm still not sold on Clausen as the savior of the program. I think the Hawaii Bowl win was a good confidence booster and the fact that he's now a junior should lead to some marked improvement. I'm just not sure he's elite level yet. I think that he's gotten to the point that there should be no more Syracuse-like stumbles this season; it's whether he can beat USC is the question. They've got an easy schedule and should handle the likes of Nevada, Navy, Washington and Washington State. I have them at 7 wins without much worry and think they could go as high as 9. That should be good enough to get them to a big(ger) bowl along the lines of the Gator Bowl and a tough opponent. Avoiding a BCS bowl will be a tough blow to Charlie Weis, but still I think if they can win that game and get to 10 wins he'll be back beyond this season.

-I understand that this is supposed to be national sportsmanship week and so that's why all the coaches think it's a good idea for teams to shake hands before the game. But, when you've just spent 8 months thinking about this first game and the chance to let out 8 months of frustration, I don't think it's the best idea to get these kids too close before kickoff. They're about to go out and try to kill each other, they don't need to pretend like they're all friendly beforehand. Up until yesterday I was actually thinking that doing it after the game would be the better idea, like hockey teams do after a playoff series. By then tension should have subsided and everyone should have calmed down. But, now I realised that some people may still need some time to cool off. Maybe they should just forget the handshake.