1 overrated, 1 underrated

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Give one of each from your team's conference.

Big Ten

Overrated: Penn St

Basically every Big Ten journalist views Penn St as a top 3 Big Ten team. Could they be? Absolutely, but I think it's all lazy, too-safe analysis. Feel free to correct my ignorance where necessary, PSU, but I'm just not seeing it. 2-3 years from now? With the young talent they currently have? Definitely. But 2010? Not seein' it.

Experience is waaaaaaay to important in BTPCF, and they lost too much of it at several key positions on both sides of the ball. Perhaps overrated is the wrong term. Maybe more like enigmatic. I'll take the wait and see approach with PSU. They typically start the season looking pretty rusty, even against foes like Buffalo and Temple; which could spell very bad things for that game at Bama. I think that one'll get real ugly, real quick. And if they get slaughtered it's tough to say how they'll rebound. When I look at their schedule I see a 7-5, 8-4 type season. We shall see.

Underrated: Purdue

Even though they hired a backwoods jackass for a coach, Purdue could be pretty dangerous this year. They will be able to score on anybody. If they can just tighten things up on defense, I could see them finishing in the top half of the conference. That may not sound overly impressive, but it would certainly be unexpected. We saw what they're capable of in that game against OSU last year. If they can bring that back more consistently, they could surprise some folks.

[Screw_Michigan]

even against foes like ... Temple

Hold on, now. Temple is a popular pick to win the MAC.

[Screw_Michigan]

Purdue could be pretty dangerous this year. They will be able to score on anybody.

Sincerely,

Every fucking year since Drew Brees was playing there. Show me some fucking differences.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Touche. I was going to say Northwestern, but most have them picked around 5th or 6th which I think sounds about right.

[PSUFAN]

Conventional wisdom slots everyone where they ended their previous seasons. I agree that PSU might have a tough year in conference. I think we'll struggle to score at all against Alabama. I'm looking at a 4-5 loss season.

[Dinsdale]

In the PAC:

Overrated: Hard to say, since there's only 2 teams in the preseaon top 25. But within the framework of the conference preseason rankings, I'd have to go with ASU. Stick a fork in Erickson. With age, apparently he's lost his willingness to thug it up and leave the rule book on the floor in tatters, which is what his success in years prior hinged on.


Underrated: Tough call. I'll go with Wazzu... odd choice, I know, but they might have beefed up enough to win a conference game (hopefully the Apple Cup or Kal), which would mean they eclipsed any expectations anyone might have had for them.

[buckeye_in_sc]

Pac 10

Overrated - Cal as usual
Underrated - I kind of like Washington to make more noise

the 10

Overrated - Iowa...I know with 400 first rounders something has got to give. Stanzi just doesn't strike me as a leader/QB Stud type...kind of like Tate light
Underrated - Indiana...yes I said it...they can score and have some weapons...sup Tanden Doss...

[Go Coogs']

Overrated - Bruce Miller - DE UCF. He's a pre-season finalist for every defensive award out there, but I think he gets a lot of attention this season and fails to duplicate last season's 13 sack performance. Maybe that doesn't fall under the "overreated" tag, but he won't live up to all the preseason hype IMO.

Underrated - Kyle Padron - QB SMU. Now that Bo Levi is out of the picture, Padron can now be the star of that team. SMU doesn't have their star RB McNeal to lean on this season, so Padron is going to have to do it through the air more often. He'll step up to the plate IMO and give the Coogs all they can handle for the West division.

[Screw_Michigan]

Underrated - Indiana...yes I said it...they can score and have some weapons...sup Tanden Doss...

Bill Lynch is still their coach. I don't buy it.

[Go Coogs']

I guess I answered the thread in a different way, so I'll give my two teams.

Overrated - SMU. Padron will be awesome, but the lack of firepower in the backfield and loss of some solid secondary players in McCann and Dennis will mean some close losses. They could take a step back, but if everything falls in their favor, they'll be better. Still, the defense has big question marks.

Underrated - Houston. Call it a homer take, but Houston not being ranked preseason in the coaches poll is a bit of a slap in the face. They returned 8 starters on offense and 7 on defense. They were ranked 111th in defense last season and now have switched to a 3-4. I think that ranking will improve to the 80s and their #1 offense will do the same as it did last season. That improvement alone on defense should turn those C-USA losses into wins. No reason to think they can't finish 11-1 this season.

[Mace]

the 10

Overrated - Iowa...I know with 400 first rounders something has got to give. Stanzi just doesn't strike me as a leader/QB Stud type...kind of like Tate light

Everyone has questioned Stanzi's decision making regarding his high risk passes that result in interceptions but no one with a fucking clue would question his leadership abilities. He repeatedly demonstrated his leadership abilities last season and I would fully expect more of the same in 2010, along with significant improvement in his decision making. He's definitely no Drew Tate....he's 10 times better as a QB and leader. As for Iowa being overrated.....I don't think so. I think the team is rated about where they belong and, if they put together the season I believe they're capable of, they will make a weekly rise in the rankings. There's a whole lot more to this Iowa team than Ricky Stanzi......including one of the best defenses in the country and a surprisingly good offensive line.

Underrated - Indiana...yes I said it...they can score and have some weapons...sup Tanden Doss...

Yes, they can score(just like last season) .....but can they play defense? No. I don't think there will be much improvement in the Hoosier camp and they're rated about where they belong.

[Harvdog]

Big XII

Overrated:

Nebraska. I am sorry but I am not buying them. Their offense sucks. They cannot throw the ball. Teams can put 8 in the box and shut them down. Texas will do it and so will Washington and A&M They may have a good defense but if you cannot score points, you go nowhere. I think they lose to Texas, A&M, Washington and Kansas State.

Underrated:

Texas Tech. Tommy Tuberville is a defensive coach. Tech's Achilles Heel has been defense. They are going to score points, they just need to stop people. I think they end up 3rd in the South.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

As for Iowa being overrated.....I don't think so. I think the team is rated about where they belong

I agree. My only concern with Iowa is they play too many close games that could go either way. They won a few games last year by the skin of their teeth, and often times, teams aren't so lucky that way the following season.

As for Stanzi...I still view him as a mediocre talent on a very good football team. He's lucky to have a defense that gives the O the ball back, awarding him multiple mulligans for his mistakes. Many other qbs aren't as fortunate. I think his late game "heroics" are impressive, but such heroics wouldn't be necessary if he didn't put his team in those situations to begin with. Definitely a solid leader, and I agree he will minimize the mistakes this year. I mean...he's a senior.

Indiana is, well, Indiana. Even when they're good they're god awful.

[King Crimson]

i'm a little skeptical about Nebraska as well. they are getting a lot of mileage out of two games: the UT game and beating U of A in a mid-level bowl. and we heard the "Nebraska is back"/"this is the breakout year" refrain heading into Callahan's last season, as well. i think they are a top 25 team, but top 5....dunno. a guy i know says an NFL scout was in Boulder this week and in Lincoln last.....who (the scout) says that NU has as many NFL players as anyone in the country. so, take it for what that's worth.

since they are being penciled in as an easy "W" around here with my Buff buds (just because they are "Iowa State"), i'd like to go "underrated" for Iowa State after a winning season, a bowl game, QB returns, and some real signs of life with Paul Rhodes....but, schedule is pretty tough. OOC they get Iowa and Utah and two cupcakes (one of which is N. Iowa which tends to show up against the BCS Iowa schools from time to time and the other is MAC contender N.Illinois)--when 3 super-cupcakes and Iowa might have been a blessing of the Bill Snyder/Mike Leach OOC scheduling variety. have OU, UT and Tech as South rotation. hard to squeeze 6 W's out of that.....however, one could say that pretty much anyone in the North is beatable and they get NU and MU in Ames.

i said "hey, howya doin' coach?" to Dan Hawkins today walking home past the football offices as he was getting out of his car.......he said he was "doin' GREAT!!!". almost Tony the Tiger great by my estimation of his enthusiasm.

[Mace]

I agree with your thoughts about the close games in 2009, but I think that fewer bad decisions by Stanzi, and a great defense, will result in putting teams away rather than letting them hang around. Yes, Stanzi oftentimes created the necessity of 4th quarter comebacks with his pick 6s, but that, imo, could be alleviated with him making better decisions. I totally agree that he isn't an overly talented QB, but his leadership skills outweigh any lack of physical tools. I think we'll all see a much improved Stanzi this season due to the amount of off season work he's done and the fact that he is fully aware of his past deficiencies and has taken great pains to eliminate them.

Also, UNI isn't on the schedule this year. :) That one miraculous win gave all of the naysayers an excuse to downplay Iowa's success last season. Of course there were other close games too that reinforced that skepticism. Bottom line, though, is that Iowa found ways to win those games in 2009, but, this year, I think they'll blow those teams out and leave no doubt about their superiority over their opponents. I hope that I'm right. Playing at Arizona will be a great litmus test for the Hawkeyes, and Iowa State might prove to be the same when you mix in the in-state rivalry emotions and a much needed improved attitude coming out of the Cyclone camp this year. A win over Nebraska and a bowl win can do wonders to help turn a program around.....that and a coach who truly seems to care about his players and the program.

[PSUFAN]

Rhoads put together some surprisingly good defenses at Pitt with not too much talent to work with.

[Screw_Michigan]

Paterno is and always

Always, dipshit? Where were you in the late 90s/early 00s? Oh that's right: getting your GED and blowing your fellow high school dropouts.

[PSUFAN]

Time will tell. By all accounts, Joe has had to take a (real) backseat on the day-to-day stuff due to health and, well, age. All of the pages and pages of stuff I've clacked out over the years, and now I'm happy to see him stay as long as he likes...because of the former.

My take is that Bobby Bowden was a figurehead coach for all of the successful years that he had at FSU...in the sense that his excellent assistants really did the coaching and gameplanning. I believe soething similar has finally developed at PSU.

I think a talented kid comes to PSU for the same reason he comes to Bama or tOSU - because he thinks he'll get a good look at the NFL after he's through. Yes, Joe is old...but that isn't really hurting recruiting.

Yet, PSU will have a very young and inexperienced QB in the Bama game, and I think that will translate into an extremely conservative gameplan, no matter who is calling the plays. The OL will also be quite green, and in recent years PSU has started slowly up front. No passing and no running equals a very long tough day for the defense..none of this points in PSU's direction against the defending champs at home, who will be looking to make a statement.

Of course, I'll be gritting my teeth in front of the tube, hoping to be proven silly wrong...

[King Crimson]

My take is that Bobby Bowden was a figurehead coach for all of the successful years that he had at FSU...in the sense that his excellent assistants really did the coaching and gameplanning. I believe soething similar has finally developed at PSU.

not sure i can agree with this. particularly, in light of the argument that JoePa is now taking a backseat and analogous to the figurehead role implying that he wasn't before when he was one of the greats.....yet, Bowden always was a figurehead? sure, BB had some great assistants and has been a bit of mast-head in his straw-hat and golf-cart since maybe 00, but to say he was always a figure-head for his successes doesn't seem right to me.

[PSUFAN]

It was always very clear when BB would take the reins when the team struggled. He'd pull on the headset and the team would go into the I formation...and they would struggle worse, because that wasn't what the kids came to that school to do. BB's intrusions were pretty infrequent...but Joe really held a tight grasp on the gameplans until very recently. These were my observations, anyway.

[Cuda]

i said "hey, howya doin' coach?" to Dan Hawkins today walking home past the football offices as he was getting out of his car.......he said he was "doin' GREAT!!!". almost Tony the Tiger great by my estimation of his enthusiasm.

They can't get rid of that asshole soon enough. Dumbfuck probably didn't even realize you were goofing him.

In the Big xii- or whatever it's called these days, I'd put NU a close second in the overrated category behind the Buffs. True, expectations are low, but they won't fail to disappoint.

Underrated? I'd have to think the Sooners will do much better than expected

[King Crimson]

i said "hey, howya doin' coach?" to Dan Hawkins today walking home past the football offices as he was getting out of his car.......he said he was "doin' GREAT!!!". almost Tony the Tiger great by my estimation of his enthusiasm.

They can't get rid of that asshole soon enough. Dumbfuck probably didn't even realize you were goofing him.

Dan has some wicked rims on his Black Escalade....a little conspicuous imo. don't know if he's trying to recruit the black athlete or what..

[Cuda]

does Hawkins have a daughter? Maybe it's her boyfriend's ride. Wouldn't be the first time that happened.

[Bizzarofelice]

Big XII

Overrated:

Nebraska.

Total Offense #99
Passing Offense #101
Rushing Offense #62
Scoring Offense #75
Passing Efficiency #65
Pre-Season Ranking #5


A little overrated.