lindetrain
Pretty much a regular
Friends are at Buffett...doesn't look like I'm gonna be seeing Batman...plenty of time nothing to do...
Alright sorry...
First of all, I have to admit that you really do have to take all this preseason talk with a grain of salt. I mean honestly, your thoughts on a team in the preseason will only get you somewhere the first half of the season. Once conference play kicks into full gear, everyone has made their adjustments and what you thought in August doesn't matter anymore.
Take last year for instance. You could've told me Oregon State would be a major disappointment in the preseason with their questionable QB play, and you would've been spot on early and would've killed it fading them. But could you have told me they would come on like they did and ended up being a cash cow in the second half?
A lot of you did tell me Wake would be a disappointment. Sure, you were right early. But did you get burned when they got hot late?
And look at Kentucky. Maybe you thought they were a sleeper and could upset the likes of Louisville, Arkansas, and LSU. But then could you have told me they would fall off and lose to MSU and drop 4 of 5 to end the year?
This only holds so much weight, all this talk.
With that said , i think its important not to let one game ( the first game of the year ) overpower the offseason work. i wouldnt adjust opinions too quickly based on the early season games.
Let's talk BE. Throw some shit out there I haven't even researched yet.
One of the few things that people ignore when projecting this conference is the odd number of conference games. Since there is only seven conference games, some teams play 3 road games, while other have to play 4 (this switches back and forth each season.
Teams that play 3 road games:
South Florida: @Louisville, @Cincy, @WVU - it should be noted that all of these take place at Oct. 25th or later, so USF's historic poor play in the cold could create problems.
Lousiville: @Syracuse, @Pittsburgh, @Rutgers
Cincy: @UConn, @WVU, @Louisville
West Va.: @UConn, @Louisville, @Pitt (easiest conference slate?)
Four road games:
Pittsburgh: @Syracuse, @South Fla., @Cincy, @UConn
Rutgers: @West Va., @Cincy, @Pittsburgh, @USF - easily the toughest slate. How many publication have this team in the top 4 in the conference surprises me. They are top 4 caliber, but it will be extremely tough with this sched. @WVU, @Cincy, and @Pitt are in a 4 week span.
UConn: @Louisville, @Rutgers, @Syracuse, @USF
Syracuse: @WVU, @South Fla., @Rutgers, @Cincy
One of the few things that people ignore when projecting this conference is the odd number of conference games. Since there is only seven conference games, some teams play 3 road games, while other have to play 4 (this switches back and forth each season.
Teams that play 3 road games:
South Florida: @Louisville, @Cincy, @WVU - it should be noted that all of these take place at Oct. 25th or later, so USF's historic poor play in the cold could create problems.
Lousiville: @Syracuse, @Pittsburgh, @Rutgers
Cincy: @UConn, @WVU, @Louisville
West Va.: @UConn, @Louisville, @Pitt (easiest conference slate?)
Four road games:
Pittsburgh: @Syracuse, @South Fla., @Cincy, @UConn
Rutgers: @West Va., @Cincy, @Pittsburgh, @USF - easily the toughest slate. How many publication have this team in the top 4 in the conference surprises me. They are top 4 caliber, but it will be extremely tough with this sched. @WVU, @Cincy, and @Pitt are in a 4 week span.
UConn: @Louisville, @Rutgers, @Syracuse, @USF
Syracuse: @WVU, @South Fla., @Rutgers, @Cincy
That is fucking sick with Rutgers. How do you get out of that alive?
Louisville's ain't too bad, to be honest. WVU has it too easy. But why do people dislike the 'Neers so much this year?
He coached stoops under the table in the bowl game....
i think wv is still a little better than usf , but not by much.
anyway , i think i have a decent read on wv , usf and pitt. The teams i am interested in are uconn and cincy. I watched a lot of uconn games last year ... the luckiest fucking team i have ever seen in my whole life. i dont think i have ever seen a team catch that many breaks in one season.
This is how I rate the BE on strictly power rankings:
1. USF west virginia
2. WVU south florida
3. Pitt pitt
4. Cincy cincy/rutgers
5. Rutgers rutgers/cincy
6. UConn uconn
7. Louisville ville
8. Syracuse cuse
Given the schedules, I'd order them like this:
1. WV
2. USF
3. Cincy
4. Pitt
5. Rutgers
6. UConn
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse
I had Louisville 5th before their avalanche of injuries and such. They are the wild card.
VK, what can I tell you about Cincy that you don't know. I'll try my best here.
I got the feeling all week with Cincy in that game and never had the balls to play it. Avenged myself by betting Air Force over TCU the next Thursday though...