2009 Previews: California

We go to that epicenter of godless liberalism and secular humanism, Cal, for Preview No. 12. Previews of all 65 BCS conference schools, plus Notre Dame and state schools, in no particular order, will run daily through Aug. 22.

Cal was a quarterback away from being really super good last season.

Jahvid Best averaged 8.1 yards per carry - THAT’S EIGHT POINT ONE YARDS PER CARRY - in rushing for nearly 1,600 yards despite being hurt virtually everywhere most of the season.

The line blocked well, the receivers were a bit underproductive but that probably spoke more to Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley not being very good.

This year, Longshore is gone, so the job is Riley’s. Perhaps not having to look over his shoulder will be good for him.

Defensively, the Bears ranked in the top 40 in all four major categories, and were 26th in total defense. That unit should be even better with eight starters back, though they must replace three of their four linebackers.

Regardless of how good this team is or isn’t, we’ll know fast. There are really four sticking points on the schedule, and they’re all in the first five weeks of the season.

Here’s the schedule:

Sept. 5: Maryland
The Golden Bears got ambushed in a big way in College Park last season. Look for them to return the favor this time around, though this game is certainly still dangerous.

Sept. 12: Eastern Washington
Those four sticking points? This isn’t one of them.

Sept. 19: at Minnesota
There’s really nothing to worry about here except one thing: Cal doesn’t have a good history of going cross-country.

Sept. 26: at Oregon
The Ducks will probably be just a tinge down this year, but it is very, very hard to win in Eugene.

Oct. 3: USC
USC will also be not quite up to its juggernaut standards, but I’m not ready to call for a loss here. Though it may very well happen. And if Cal does somehow win this game and is undefeated, look out. Because it’s all downhill from here, schedule-wise.

Oct. 17: at UCLA
The Bruins will be better in Year 2 of the Neuheisel Era, and an upset is possible here considering there will be either two weeks of everyone telling them how great they are or two weeks of moping because they just lost to USC, again.

Oct. 24: Washington State
The Cougs are no match for anyone resembling a major college football team.

Oct. 31: at Arizona State
Dangerous.

Nov. 7: Oregon State
Biggest non-USC conference game of the year, probably.

Nov. 14: Arizona
They got ambushed in the desert last year, too. Probably won’t happen at home.

Nov. 21: at Stanford
The Fightin’ Harbaughs are pretty close to being good. Not quite good enough yet. At least I don’t think.

Dec. 5: at Washington
The Fightin’ Sarkisians are still a long way away.

There is absolutely no reason this team should win less than 9 games, none. A 10, 11 or even 12 win season is possible. Most likely would be 10 with a loss to USC and either Oregon or Oregon State.

2009 Previews: Baylor

We go to Baylor for Preview No. 11. Previews of all 65 BCS conference schools, plus Notre Dame and state schools, in no particular order, will run daily through Aug. 22.

I spent a large portion of last year’s Baylor preview lambasting Art Briles for bolting Houston for Waco. And it wasn’t just because he loses federal retirement benefits.

But, oddly enough, Briles actually seems to be crazy like a fox. The Bears were surprisingly frisky in 2008, going 4-8 but nearly beating Connecticut, Missouri and Texas Tech, and giving Nebraska a tough game.

This season shows reason for optimism for the first time since maybe Grant Teaff was roaming the sidelines for the Bears, and it starts, as it usually does, at quarterback.

Robert Griffin ran and threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns last season as virtually the only threat on the offense, and he’s back for just his sophomore season with a more veteran group.

He has tailback Jay Finley, who ran for a little over 800 yards, and his top two receivers in Kendall Wright and David Gettis.

Center J.D. Walton is a good one, but Baylor must replace No. 2 NFL draft pick Jason Smith at tackle. And you always hate to have to replace a tackle.

Defensively, the Bears return surprisingly intact. The unit will be led, as most are, by middle linebacker Joe Pawelek, who only made 128 tackles. And Briles and his staff expect him to be even more active this year with Penn State transfer Phil Taylor clogging up lanes at defensive tackle.

They have a solid safety in Jremy Williams, but aren’t so strong at cornerback, where they’re replacing both starters.

If things break just right the Bears might be in for some exciting things this season (at least for them).

Here’s the schedule:

Sept. 5: at Wake Forest
If you had told me 5 years ago this would be a battle of two mediocre teams, much less at least slightly above average, I’d have thought you were crazy. A win here is possible, but not likely.

Sept. 19: Connecticut
They nearly beat the Huskies in Storrs last season, and the Bears are better while UConn is worse.

Sept. 26: Northwestern State
Next

Oct. 3: Kent State
Ho-hum

Oct. 10: at Oklahoma
A good old-fashioned butt-kicking just in case the Bears start feeling too confident.

Oct. 17: at Iowa State
The Bears may be a lot better, but they’re still not as good as the vast majority of their conference brethren, so a win here is a must if they’re going bowling.

Oct. 24: Oklahoma State
I DOUBT THE FIGHTIN’ GUNDYS ARE GOING TO ALLOW A LOSS HERE.

Oct. 31: Nebraska
Some possible mild upset potential here, but don’t bank on it.

Nov. 7: at Missouri
Baylor might, might, be able to sneak a win here, but I doubt it.

Nov. 14: Texas
Another butt-kicking.

Nov. 21: at Texas A&M
You bring in a failed NFL coach and suddenly you’re worse than Baylor? Great hire, Aggies!

Nov. 28: vs. Texas Tech (at Arlington, Texas)
Playing in the new Cowboys stadium could be interesting, and a win is a mild possibility.

Phil Steele is virtually guaranteeing a bowl bid. In a weaker conference perhaps, but I just really don’t see where six wins are coming from. I say a 5-7 season is likely, with a bowl trip maybe coming next year.

Jacobs: Auburn football is a couple years away

In our unofficial series of going from office to office throughout the Auburn athletic complex, recorder and notebook in hand, we stumbled into the biggest office, athletic director Jay Jacobs’, earlier this week.

Currently, we’re piecing together a Q&A for Sunday’s newspaper. Don’t expect anything groundbreaking from the AD, but it’s always good to hear from the man who makes all the final decisions in the world of Auburn athletics now and then.

If there were such a thing as a “red button,“ it would be on Jacobs’ desk—right next to the overflowing bowl of Reese’s cups.

Anyways, we found this comment Jacobs made about his expectations for Gene Chizik’s first few years at the helm. They were surprisingly realistic.

We liked that, so we figured we’d share it as a sneak preview of sorts.

We’re a couple years away. We were preseason to win the West last year and won five ballgames. That, alone is tough. It’s tough for the players, tough for everybody to get back to that winning side when you’re picked to win the West. Then, you have a coaching change and it’s tough for everybody. To have those two things together makes it more difficult. The competition in this league is the best in the nation.

But I can tell you this, the way Gene and his assistant coaches are working, hard and smart, and the kind of football players we’re recruiting, it’s going to take a couple years, but we’ll be back where we should be not only on the field, but we’ll continue to represent Auburn University in a positive way; by the caliber of the young men we bring in here and the caliber of men we produce when they come out of here. We’re going to continue to grow them physically, mentally and spiritually and that’s what Gene’s staff is doing.

What about the people who want to be satisfied NOW?
That’s the business we’re in. Nobody knows anything about delayed gratification—that’s the business we’re in. One of the greatest things about all of us as Auburn fans is our passion for Auburn. We want to win and want to be successful. I had the opportunity to be on successful teams and I expect this team to be successful. I just know because I’ve been here over 20-something years and I’ve seen this program, I just know that we’re a couple years away from being the caliber team that we should be—what all of us as Auburn people expect and deserve.

But I know we have the right guy and the right assistant coaches getting us back to where we want to be and doing it the Auburn way.

Again, nothing earth-shattering, but some pretty honest stuff from the most important cheerleader for Auburn sports.

We’ll have more cutting-room floor clutter Sunday when the final product runs in the fishwrap.

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)

2009 Previews: N.C. State

We go to N.C. State for Preview No. 10. Previews of all 65 BCS conference schools, plus Notre Dame and state schools, in no particular order, will run daily through Aug. 22.

I’m gonna give you just a little insight into how I do these things.

I take what I already know, add a (big) dash of info from Phil Steele and Athlon, maybe peruse a few internet sites and then I’m ready to go. These things can take me as few as 10 minutes and as many as 45, generally.

Well, I did all those things with the Wolfpack, read through everything more than once and I still don’t feel like I know anything about them.

Therein lies the beauty of the ACC, where virtually anyone is capable of 12-0 or 0-12.

One thing the Wolfpack do have is quarterback Russell Wilson, who was the first-team All-ACC quarterback, and let me tell you, when a guy who led the 88th ranked offense in the country (even if he was hurt quite a bit) is your first-team quarterback, that tells you just about everything you need to know about that conference’s abilities under center.

But anyway, Wilson and N.C. State might actually be pretty explosive on offense. For one thing, they don’t turn it over (Wilson has gone 249 attempts without a pick). For another, they’re experienced virtually everywhere, both due to starters returning (7) and the fact that the entire team was injured in some way last year and virtually everyone got to play big minutes.

Defensively, the Wolfpack was not very good last year, ranking 83rd in total defense. But injuries contributed to that, and with a front seven returning virtually intact, N.C. State should be pretty solid on that end of the field. And it’s not like it’s hard to shut down ACC opponents.

Athlon is very high on NCSU. Phil Steele is a bit more bearish. As usual, I’m siding with Phil.

Here’s the schedule:

Sept. 3: South Carolina
They’ve opened the season on Thursday night twice in the last decade, and both games have been avert your eyes awful. This one will probably be pretty similar.

Sept. 12: Murray State
Blah

Sept. 19: Gardner-Webb
Playing two FCS schools is just so pitiful, and that goes for everyone. Even one is bad.

Sept. 26: Pittsburgh
Measuring stick game. The Wolfpack have a good shot at getting the win in a game that’s bound to wind up on TV somewhere.

Oct. 3: at Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons seem to be crashing back to reality. But I’ll believe it when I see it.

Oct. 10: Duke
The Fightin’ Cutcliffes probably can’t get this one on the road.

Oct. 17: at Boston College
Tom O’Brien gets to go home to his imploding former employer.

Oct. 31: at Florida State
Big-time interesting game. NCSU is nowhere near as talented as the Seminoles, but they are better coached.

Nov. 7: Maryland
The Terps just can’t seem to climb out of mediocrity since Ralph Friedgen’s big first three years in College Park.

Nov. 14: Clemson
Clemson could either win the division or be really awful. This game will probably give you a good idea of which.

Nov. 21: at Virginia Tech
Only team in the ACC that is demonstrably good.

Nov. 28: North Carolina
In-state battle for bowl position.

Like you’ll see me say with most ACC teams, there is just really no telling how good or bad this team might be. That conference is just so weird. I’m gonna say 7-5 or 8-4, though.

3 players off the Auburn roster

The message boards have certainly been abuzz over the past 48 hours about possible player attrition on the Auburn football team. A bunch of names have been tossed out there, but there hasn’t been much clarity until now.

We have three right now that are for sure off the team and will not return.

- Redshirt freshman defensive lineman JoMarcus Savage
- Sophomore linebacker Christian Thompson
- Redshirt freshman safety/linebacker Marcus Jemison

As far as we know, wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis and defensive end Cam Henderson—two redshirt freshmen who have been mentioned elsewhere as off the team—are still in good standing and ON the Auburn roster.

The Tigers did not lose any proven regulars – or even potential starters – among the group, but their departures will certainly affect depth at positions that were already short on bodies.

Jemison, a redshirt freshman from McCalla, Ala., missed all of the 2008 season after suffering a broken leg and dislocated ankle in a fall practice scrum. He said this spring he contemplated quitting the team once or twice because of the circumstances, which were amplified when his mother, who is afflicted with cancer, came down with a bad case of pneumonia.

“I was down for a long time,” Jemison said in April. “Probably about two months before I actually came back to my normal self.”

Because of depth concerns, Jemison was moved from safety to linebacker this spring, but was still considered to be a second- or third-teamer.

Savage, a Huntsville native, had shoulder surgery in September and did not see the field in 2008. He nursed that shoulder throughout spring practice and was considered to be low on the depth chart.

Thompson, from St. Thomas-Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., played sparingly in 2008 as a true freshman, recording one tackle. He received plenty of action this spring, though, with starters Zac Etheridge and Mike McNeil nursing injuries for the majority of camp.

Safeties coach Tommy Thigpen said Thompson was probably the “best tackler” among his safeties.

Auburn is now without five players from the 2008 class. Junior-college transfer Raven Gray left for Delta State in January while cornerback Ryan Williams left for Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Miss. shortly after Chizik was hired.

Linebacker Tray Blackmon and wide receiver Chris Slaughter also left the team in January.