Mmmmm, pigskin...

With only 3 days remaining until kickoff, 10 predictions for the coming season:

1. Alabama will lose a game. The Tide is good...really, really good. But it's just too hard to repeat as National Champions these days and everyone is gunning for them. One of those six teams that has a bye week before facing 'Bama is going to get them and maybe two of them. And even with two losses, they still might end up in the BCS Championship Game. Oh, we can only hope for a season as crazy and wonderful as 2007.
2. The South Carolina Gamecocks under Steve Spurrier will appear to underachieve again, not winning the SEC and not getting to 9 or 10 wins. The problem with these expectations is they are completely unrealistic. The Gamecocks have only won 10 games once in their existence and only got to 9 once. Cock fans...be happy with 7 or 8 wins; enjoy your mid-level bowl game; admire one of the cutest looking cheer squads in the country; and take pride in your unique tailgating experience with the Cockaboose Railroad.
3. If Notre Dame beats Purdue in Week 1 and Michigan in Week 2, ESPN will immediately begin hyping that Notre Dame is back under new coach Brian Kelley and we will watch Lou Holtz predict that the Irish will go unbeaten this year. How'd that prediction work out last year, Lou? Thankfully, Mark May is there to keep Holtz in check. And beating the Boilermakers and the Wolverines isn't that big of a deal anymore...quit living in the 60's Irish fans. As my friend's mom famously asked upon seeing Lou on TV, "Is he retarded?"
4. Oregon will continue to quietly display one of the Top 5 cheerleading squads in the country. Fortunately, living on the west coast, I'll get to see them 6-8 times depending on how well the Ducks are doing and with the Fox Sports West camera crews, who have never seen a cheerleader that doesn't need more camera time, I'll see a lot of them. Those of you on the east coast might want to stay up until 2am and watch a late night Oregon game and the glory that is the Duck cheer squad. Oh, and the Ducks play some pretty entertaining games as well.
5. Duke won't make it to a bowl game...again. Last year, they were so close, needing only one win in their last four games to be bowl eligible. Hell, they were even favored in a game for only the 9th time in 16 years last year. But exchanging North Carolina Central for Alabama and getting Boston College instead of North Carolina State just made it that much tougher to get to six wins. I'm pulling for you, Blue Devils, but think you're going to come up short again.
6. Rich Rodriguez will be fired at the end of the year and the Wolverines will get their Michigan Man, Les Miles. Scheduling Massachusetts and Bowling Green certainly helps RichRod's chances of keeping his job...too bad for him he also has Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State, Connecticut and Penn State on the schedule. Miles will pull just enough head-scratchers to keep LSU from contending for an SEC title and set him up for the exit he hoped to have in 2007 before the BCS Game fell into his lap.
7. Texas Tech will be uninteresting. Under head coach Mike Leach, the Red Raiders were dynamic on offense, questionable on defense and played exciting games; and he was always good for a quote. Under new coach Tommy Tuberville, Tech will try to play more defense and a more boring brand of football. That will lead to less wins and less interest nationally. Thankfully, Leach has found a job with CBS College Sports Network and I'm looking forward to some off the wall commentary before someone gives him another head coaching job.
8. Oklahoma will make a title run. Ohio State will make a title run. If they both make it to the BCS Championship, the world just might end, since neither one would be expected to win after their past BCS debacles, or the country may decide we're not interested in seeing either team and give us a repeat of the World Series of Poker instead.
9. Boise State won't get their title shot. The Broncos are poised to make a run at it and they start the season ranked high enough, but unless they're the only unbeaten team at the end of the year, they won't get it. The polls will probably take an undefeated BCS conference team and a one-loss SEC team over an undefeated Boise State. And, NCAA, how is a playoff not a better way to determine a National Champion? Oh, you use one in all of your other sports and even your lower levels of football, but not your premier sport? And you're all pretty sure the fans don't want a playoff? Well, what do we know?
10. Thursday, September 2nd, I'll be home early to enjoy some tasty pizza, a couple of ice cold beers and a warm TV with all the hopes and promises of another great college football season. And even if the opening games aren't the best, at least they've started, and as a college football fan, can you ask for more than that?

Baby Back Ribs from the grill at home

Whoa, Nelly!

It's taken a while for me to finally dive in to the blogoshpere, but at the urging of a lifelong friend, I've decided to give it a try.  What's the worst that can happen?

As the title says, "Saturdays are sacred."  Not all Saturdays, though...just those special Saturdays that fall during the College Football season.  Each new Saturday brings another opportunity to see something spectacular, something heroic, or something heartbreaking.  And what better complement to those glorious games than a cold beer and delicious BBQ?  There are few things that can touch the sheer joy of watching your favorite team score a touchdown against a hated rival while enjoying an ice cold beer and a plate of tender pulled pork (or ribs...or brisket...or tri-tip) with friends and family...especially if that hated rival is one of your friend's favorite teams.

Since this is my first post and the friend who wanted me to write this is a long-suffering UCLA Bruin fan, who has nightmares about the Bruins inability to stop Edgerin James in 1998, my predictions for UCLA this year are below.  I've gone 10-2, 9-3, and 10-2 picking Bruins games the last three years.  He always enjoys the picks even if he doesn't enjoy the results; I hope you do as well.

First off, let me say that I'm fearful for the lives of the Bruins quarterbacks this year.  Coach Rick Neuheisel has decided that running a pistol offense is the way to go.  From what I saw of UCLA's quarterbacks last year, this is a very bad idea.  Neither Price nor Brehaut appear to have any kind of running ability or the talent to make this offense work and the pistol just seems like a way to get them either killed or seriously maimed.  Running this offense, my predictions are as follows:

at Kansas State - Win - Coach Snyder loves scheduling out of conference cream puffs.  Too bad he wasn't around when this game was set up.  It will probably be ugly, like UCLA's bowl win over Temple, but it's a win.

Stanford - Loss - A 7:30pm kickoff which means the Stanford Tree will probably already be three sheets to the wind and I give the Tree about a 20-25% chance of being arrested for either aggravated assault, lewd conduct, public drunkeness or a combination of all three.  No Toby Gerhart, but it won't matter.

Houston - Win - This is a tough one, as the Cougars QB Case Keenum will try to put it up 50+ times, but the gutty little Bruins will find a way to get it done.

at Texas - Blowout Loss - Years ago, UCLA beat up the Longhorns 66-3.  Not this time, and if the Bruins are still running the pistol at this point, I'm predicting one of their quarterbacks will be knocked out of the game.  Let's call it 47-10.  Hopefully the Bruins players will get a chance to check out some Texas brisket and have at least one good memory from their trip to Austin.

Washington State - Win - Remember when the Cougars used to be good?  Remember when they had studs at the skill positions and seemed to make a run at the Pac-10 title every few years?  Yeah, I'm struggling trying to remember that as well.  This is the high water mark for UCLA, a convincing win at home.  Enjoy that winning record while you can; it's about to get ugly.

at Cal - Loss - For some reason, Cal seems to always struggle with UCLA.  I think they get over this year and start a horrible run for the Bruins.

at Oregon - Loss - Autzen Stadium at night.  No chance.  Scheduled to be on ESPN and I'd encourage all of you who aren't aware of the fine talent that patrols the sidelines of Oregon games to give it a look.  Those ladies rival anything the Pac-10 has to offer, including the legendary Song Girls of USC.

Arizona - Loss - I have a feeling the Wildcats are going to be dangerous this year and with the Trojans on probation, they might even get to that first Rose Bowl.

Oregon State - Loss - Another blowout loss.  Too much talent on the Beaver offense to score less than 35 against UCLA.  On a side note, when are Oregon State and South Carolina going to get together and play a game that will be banned throughout the Bible Belt?

at Washington - Loss - I'm not sure the Huskies are going to be as good as people think they'll be, but Vegas has them at 6.5 wins and I think this is one of them.

at Arizona State - Loss - If the Sun Devils don't turn it over, they win it going away.  If they turn it over like they did in last year's game, it's close and the Bruins might get a win.

USC - Loss - This is the Trojans' bowl game this year.  Yeah, yeah, yeah....it's a rvialry game and you can throw out the records.  If USC comes into this game 9-2 or 10-1, they are going to blow the doors off UCLA.  If they're at 8 wins or less, it will be a little closer but still a Trojan victory.  And lots and lots and lots of "Conquest" being played.

Overall, 3-9, with a seven-game losing streak to end the season.  Ouch.  Hope you still have your 2009 Eagle Bank Bowl Champions t-shirts on hand.

Pulled Pork and Baby Back Ribs at Smokey Bones in Frederiksburg, VA