Well, here we are. Two days before college football kicks off and I take a second to look around at the landscape of things and how drastically different they are since we started this whole thing a couple of years ago.
GRH was started as a way for Brian and I to share our thoughts on sport with each other (and whoever wanted to read). This became a necessity after he graduated from grad school and moved on into the real world. We recruited a couple of other folks to do picks with us and GRH was born.
Fast forward two years and here I sit, also finished with graduate school and in the real world with a new wife and step-kids in a new state. Needless to say, the time to find and write a weekly blog is difficult. Yet, it is a great release and I really enjoy writing that a little more casual than what I have to adhere to for a living (although at least one reader would argue that I slip back into blog language when I should be writing academically!).
Look, I don't know who ends up reading all of this stuff. Frankly, I don't really care. Maybe we get really serious about this one day and try to sell ads or something. Probably not. It reminds me of what sports is all about: fun, entertainment, distraction. Let's not get too bent out of shape about what happens on the field. Life is far bigger than that. Let's enjoy the rivalry, the passion, the competition.
But most importantly, let's enjoy the opportunity to disagree with someone just because their team wears different colors than you! If you don't like who they cheer for then get a picture of Calvin peeing on their logo tattooed on your ass, poison their trees, t-bag them at Krystal,...
Wait a second. Don't do those things. Alabama fans have already done them.
Come up with new less classy ways to demean your fellow man! Then make sure you share them with us so we can put it online! Don't worry...only our friends read the blog.
On to the pre-season thoughts:
(1) Grammar Police - If you read other sport blogs, you probably came across this story http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/top-25-teams-in-college-football-re-ranked-by-the-grammar-of-their-fan-base
Now, I'm not saying Brian and I have ever trolled the Auburn message boards, but I have inside information that Auburn fans may have excellent grammar in their message board posts, but I'm not sure that means they're all there. For instance, prior to hiring Bruce Pearl as basketball coach, I saw someone who said they should "bring Mike Brown home to Auburn" to be the new coach. I'm not even sure Mike Brown is from the south, let alone Alabama. And I figure it was an awful long shot for him to get fired from his Lakers gig and turn around to coach the Tigers.
Also, my beloved Dawgs rank second on this list. I thought this could be a misrepresentation of my alma mater, but then I read the AJC sport message boards. But just like in real life Georgians can always count on Alabama to be worse. Unlike in real life, Alabama can not do the same to Mississippi like normal because Ole Miss fans appear to have decent grammar. Of course, I figure that's just because John Grisham writes all of their posts.
Apart from that, how did LSU rank so highly. My guess is all of Bobby Hebert's posts were redacted and did not count towards the study.
(2) QB Carousel - The big news out of Athens yesterday was the naming of Grayson Lambert as the starting quarterback. I don't why everyone is making a big deal out of who the QB for Georgia was going to be this year. I could have asked for a year of eligibility to turn around and hand the ball to Nick Chubb.
However, what does this say about Bryce Ramsey, UGA's heir apparent to Hutson Mason? While everyone has said he has a great arm, he spent his whole high school career turning around and handing the ball off. You figured he was a shoe in.
Instead, UGA has a QB who won a whopping two games in an inferior conference last year. That could spell trouble for a team who many think is the class of the East and could compete for the SEC title. Both QBs will play on Saturday, so this will be a story to continue monitoring.
(3) The Big Question - Who's going to win it all?
Like I said in our season preview, it's hard to not go with Ohio State. Tons of talent and a schedule softer than Baylor's transfer policies. However, there are others which could contend.
Michigan State is the best of the rest in the Big 10. If they can beat Oregon, even if they lose to the Buckeyes on the road late in the season, a win in the rematch could be enough to catapult them into the playoffs.
Oregon is probably the best bet for a team out west. They have the championship pedigree but are breaking in a new QB and replacing a Heisman Trophy winner. The problem is, I don't know if they'll win the conference. And I'm not sure the winner of the PAC-12 will have just one loss.
The same can be said of the SEC. The West is just brutal. If anyone comes out with one loss, then they will definitely have a shot. That's going to be tough to do. I think Tennessee has a real shot in the East, but don't see them winning on a national scale quite yet. If UGA gets solid play from their QB (Lambert if he sticks or Ramsey) then they have the talent to compete with anyone as well.
I like Georgia Tech to win the ACC but with 2-3 losses. So I don't think they make it either.
Baylor and TCU have a great shot out of the Big 12 but their schedules are soft and I don't know if they could hang with these other schools for 2 games in a playoff. Sure they could win one and advance to the championship. But I don't think they have the juice for two.
Regardless. It's going to be fun finding all of this stuff out. Ready for kick off on Thursday. Look for our picks to come out that day too!
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