Today’s blog will continue with my series of analyzing the most/least improved units over the last 20 years. Each day this week I will have a new offensive or defensive statistical category to examine and today I will breakdown total offensive yards.
There are many factors that contribute to a significant change in total offense. First, a team may see a significant improvement if they return a bunch of experienced starters including their quarterback from a team that was relatively inexperienced the year before. Naturally a team that loses a bunch of starters especially their quarterback, running back and receivers from an experienced team will usually see a drop off in total offense. Read more…
Categories: Offseason Notes Tags: college football, Kentucky, Least Improved, Maryland, most improved, Northwestern, phil steele, Pittsburgh, rutgers, Total Offense YPG, Washington St
When it comes to college football, I am a traditionalist. The one thing I love about college football is of all the sports, college or pro, the regular season in college football is the one that means the most. I also love the rivalries and the tradition of the bowls. While I have been calling for a system that pits the #1 vs #4 and #2 vs #3 teams in the Jan 1 bowls for nearly a decade, I am vehemently against an 8 or 16 team playoff which would destroy the bowls and make the regular season meaningless.
In 1995 I was actually sad to see the SWC fold as I really enjoyed the great tradition and history of that conference.
From the recent news of Nebraska joining the Big Ten and Colorado heading to the Pac-10, it looks like college football re-alignment and expansion is going forward and I think it will move quickly. However, unlike some of the past radical changes to college football, I actually look forward to seeing which programs end up where and I salivate at the possibility of there being multiple super conferences. Read more…
Categories: News & Notes Tags: acc, big 12, big ten, Boise St, Clemson, college football, Colorado, Expansion, florida, Florida St, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Miami Fl, Missouri, mountain west, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, pac 10, phil steele, Pittsburgh, Probation, rutgers, Sanctions, SEC, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, USC, Virginia Tech
The official on sale date for my 2010 College Football Preview was yesterday and if you do not already have a copy, head out to the bookstores and newsstands today. The magazine is available nationwide at Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, Borders, Hastings, Media Play, Target, Books-A-Million, K-Mart and Circle K. There are other locations where we shipped to, so check the magazine section at stores near you. The cost is just $8.95 in the stores but they tend to fly off the shelves. If you’re having trouble finding a copy visit our store or call 1-866-918-7711 and order your copy thru the office (plus shipping).
The past few weeks I have been giving you some advanced articles from the magazine to wet your appetite for the upcoming year. Today I will give you the results of the Draft Day Party Hangover, which is on page 308.
After several years of research I have found that almost 7 out of every 10 teams that rank among the top in the NCAA in players drafted struggle the next year and have a weaker record. I call it the Draft Day Party Hangover Effect. Read more…
Categories: Offseason Notes Tags: Alabama, California, Clemson, college football, Draft Day Party Hangover, florida, Georgia Tech, Iowa, LSU, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Penn St, phil steele, rutgers, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, USF, Utah
There were very few games this week so it wasn’t as tough to earn a Top 20 spot from my computer’s average individual grades as there was only 34 performances to grade. Therefore, I will cut it off at the Top 14 this week.
Read more…
Categories: News & Notes Tags: 2 point conversion, Arizona, Boise St, bowl confidence poll, cal, California, Cincinnati, college football, Connecticut, Fresno St, fresno st 2 point, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico St, Oregon, Oregon St, phil steele, philsteele.com, pitt, Pittsburgh, rutgers, South Florida, uconn, USC, USF, Washington, West Virginia, wisconsin