Colin Kaepernick. The Pistol Offense has made him an exciting, prolific quarterback and star at Nevada for the Wolfpack. Two years ago, I listed him as one of the Top Returning quarterbacks, and he did not disappoint. In the past two years, Kaepernick has passed for 4,901 yards and rushed for 2,313 more. He passed for 42 touchdowns and rushed for 33, a mind-boggling 75 touchdowns in two years. Don’t forget the touchdown reception he had. . . make that 76 touchdowns.

What do we make of this offense? The Pistol is an offense where the quarterback lines up four yards behind the center, not as far as a shotgun, and the running back lines up behind the quarterback. It is the best of a shotgun and an I-formation. The results are quite extraordinary in terms of being prolific.

Kaepernick is the ultimate athlete to play the position. He stands at 6-foot-6 and is only 215 pounds and is as quick and fast as any QB in the country. He is also fairly accurate making him a good dual-threat quarterback.

However, the fact remains that the Pistol has become more than a fascination. The Chris Ault developed offense is now being used by other teams. As the influences spread, so will uses of the offense. For instance, former Wolfpack Offensive Coordinator Chris Klenakis moved to Arkansas to be the Offensive Line coach. In the Spring, Klenakis installed the Pistol formation for the Razorbacks.

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I would like to thank LSU and Wisconsin for failing to show up for their games this weekend which allowed me to focus my time Saturday night on the Oklahoma State vs. Missouri game and a real exciting game from Conway, AR featuring the Bears of the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) vs. the Sam Houston State Bearkats and Rhett Bomar.  I don’t usually talk about teams from the Football Championship Subdivision, but it was fun to watch UCA and Sam Houston go at it until the end.  Most people know about Rhett Bomar, but UCA’s QB is Nathan Brown and he is setting records in Arkansas.

Whoo Pig Sooie. . . . I don’t really get to talk about Arkansas unless their relevant, and this year, they’re not.  However, they put an exclamation mark on the end of the Auburn week.  The Hogs upset the Tigers, and fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin was probably sitting at home laughing.  The Hogs out-did everything statistically and survived their turnovers to pull out the win for the second time in a row on “The Plains.”  Coach Bobby Petrino’s team looks like they might be improving.

BCS Busted. . . . . Just a few weeks ago, we were talking about East Carolina as a possible BCS Buster team.  They had won two in a row over ranked teams including Virginia Tech.  After a 3-0 start, the Pirates have now lost 3 in a row including Saturday’s loss to Virginia.  Yes, the same Virginia who loss at home to USC 52-7, but now has won back-to-back games.

Lions and Gators and Horns, Oh MY! . . . . . . By far the most impressive teams this weekend were the Texas Longhorns, who are now ranked number 1, the Florida Gators, and the Penn State Nittany Lions.  Texas beat Oklahoma, who looked unbeatable thus far, 45-35 in Dallas.  The Gators found their offense and ripped LSU in “the Swamp” 51-21, and Penn State made it look easy at Camp Randall beating Wisconsin 48-7.

Sic’em Bears. . . . . . . Congrats to Baylor for winning their first conference game in two years.  Coach Art Briles has his team playing well, and they may win more than one game this year.  If you haven’t had a chance, take a chance to watch Freshman QB Robert Griffin play.  Griffin has 9 TD passes on the year with 0 INT’s.   Next up for Baylor, the best team in Oklahoma (?).

I wish I could think of all good top ten lists, but I cannot.  I found a couple of good ones from the BleacherReport.com.

First up is The 10 Most Hated College Football Programs in the Country by Corey Gautreaux.  Is your favorite team on the list?

Second is Ten Out-of-Conference College Football Series that Need to Happen written by Justin Goar.  Texas vs. Arkansas is number 10.  It will happen again this fall in Austin.  Petrino vs. Muschamp.

According to Phil Steele, UNT’s 2008 schedule is ranked 92nd toughest out of 120 teams.  If you just take wins and losses of the teams on the 2008 schedule from the year before, UNT is ranked 82nd compared to 96th in 2007.  With their 92 ranking in Steele’s magazine, UNT’s schedule is considered tougher than Texas teams Rice, a UNT opponent, and Houston as well as nearby Tulsa, also a UNT opponent.  With that in mind, let’s take a look at the UNT schedule.

@ Kansas State, August 30, TBA
The Wildcats are known to Texas fans for knocking off the Longhorns the last two years.  In his first year as coach, Ron Prince took the ‘Cats to the Texas Bowl, but last year K State fell apart after a promising start.  The Wildcats return 7 offensive starters and 5 defensive starters and will be relying on some newcomers to get back to a bowl game.

Tulsa, September 6, 6 PM
This will be the home opener for the Mean Green, and it should be rough.  Tulsa had basically the best offense in the country last year with about 543 yards of total offense per game.  This is an interesting match up as UNT Coach Dodge was leading Southlake Carroll High School to the 2005 Texas 5A DII State Championship at the same time that Tulsa Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn was leading Springdale High School to the Arkansas 5A State Championship.  Both coaches employ a hurry-up, no huddle, spread offense.

@ LSU, September 13, 7 PM
Mark this down as a nice pay day.

@ Rice, September 27, TBA
Only once did Rice hold a team to less than 29 points, and that was FCS Nicholls State.  Rice will be looking to get better on defense, but the offense returns 9 starters.

Florida International, October 4, 6 PM
Simply speaking, FIU was the worst team in the nation last year winning just one game, but they beat UNT in the last game of the season.  I guess the Golden Panthers were due for a win.  They return 9 starters on both sides of the ball.  FIU was fairly competitive with most of its Sun Belt Conference foes, just don’t get them mad.

Louisiana-Lafayette, October 11, 6 PM
The Ragin’ Cajuns return 8 starters including the QB on an offense that rushed for 252 yards per game.  In fact, ULL rushed for 300 yards against UNT last year.  The Ragin’ Cajuns finished last year 3-9, and, of course, look to build on that toward a winning record.

@Louisiana-Monroe, October 18, 6 PM
The Warhawks return 7 starters on offense and 8 on defense.  The defense struggled last year, but the offense rushed for 209 yards per game.  ULM finished the season winning 5 of their last 6 after losing to North Texas including a stunning 21-14 upset at Alabama in front of 92,138 fans.  UNT is 3-2 against ULM in the last 5 years.

Troy, October 25, 6 PM
The Trojans, the Alabama version, returns 7 starters on both offense and defense.  Troy has a new Offensive Coordinator after OC Tony Franklin left to take the same position at Auburn.  Troy has been one of the most consistent teams in the Sun Belt the past couple of years winning 8 games in each year including a trip to the New Orleans Bowl as the representative of the Sun Belt Conference.  Trivia:  Ohio State plays back to back Trojans, first USC and then Troy (September 2008).

@Western Kentucky, November 1, TBA
UNT won a thriller last year in Denton, but the Hilltoppers who are still in transition from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Bowl Championship Subdivision, will return 7 starters on offense and 6 on defense.  WKU averaged 247 yards on the ground but a meager 162 through the air.  So, who wants to travel to Bowling Green?

@ Florida Atlantic, November 8, 3 PM
The Owls were the surprise champions of the Sun Belt Conference a year ago when they knocked off Troy at the end of the year to earn the trip to the New Orleans Bowl.  This season FAU returns 10 starters on offense and 8 on defense.  QB Rusty Smith may be the best QB in the state of Florida not named Tim Tebow.  Smith passed for 463 yards in their upset at Minnesota.  For the year, Smith threw for 3688 yards with 32 TD’s and only 9 INT’s.  In 2008, FAU begins the season in Austin against the Longhorns.

@ Middle Tennessee State, November 22, TBA
The Blue Raiders have flirted with the Sun Belt Conference Championship in each of the last 2 years with their best chance in 2006 when they were upset in the last game against Troy to lose the title.  MTSU returns their top QB’s Dwight Dasher and Joe Cradock.  The Blue Raiders return 6 starters on offense and defense.  Despite injuries at the QB position all year in 2007, the Blue Raiders averaged 336 yards per game including 202 yards passing per game.

Arkansas State, November 29, 1 PM
2008 marks the first year as ASU will be called the Red Wolves changing it from Indians per the NCAA.  The Red Wolves returns the dynamic duo of Corey Leonard and Reggie Arnold.  QB Leonard accounted for 3057 total yards of offense for ASU in 2008 for an average of 254 total yards per game.  Arnold was a 1000 yard rusher for the second year in a row, and when he and Leonard are healthy the Red Wolves are dangerous and never out of a game.  However, the Red Wolves lose a lot from a defense that included Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Tyrell Johnson who was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round with the 43rd pick.

While UNT’s offense was productive last season and stands in a position to improve, the defense struggled and its ability to improve is uncertain.  The defense seemed unable stop any opponent last year, and was a nation’s worst in scoring at 45.1 ppg.  In an era of the high-flying, air-it-out football of the Sun Belt, UNT gave up 229.7 yards per game rushing.  Much of the damage in rushing defense was done against stellar run teams and nonconference foes Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Navy.  UNT still gave up 300 yards rushing to Louisiana-Lafayette, and only held one opponent less than 100 yards rushing (Florida Atlantic).  UNT didn’t do much better with pass defense ranking 95th giving up 256.8 yards per game.  UNT ranked 110 in turnovers at -11 for the year.

With six returning starters, it looked as if UNT had something to build upon, but yesterday UNT announced that Eddrick Gilmore will not return for UNT in the fall.  Gilmore was one of UNT’s few returning starters at Defensive Line, but certainly not the only Defensive Lineman with experience.  UNT will return the services of Sophomore OLB Craig Robertson who had 48 tackles and 5 interceptions.  Robertson finished the year with an Honorable Mention All Sun Belt Conference award.  They also will return Antoine Bush and Kartey Agbottah in the secondary.  The Mean Green may have gotten a big boost to its defense when it nabbed Alonzo Horton.  Horton was rated as a JUCO Top 100 by Rivals.

Coach Dodge has turned the defense over to former Defensive Coordinator Gary DeLoach in an attempt to shore up the defense.  DeLoach’s defenses were very good in 2001 and 2002 ranking first in the Sun Belt Conference.  DeLoach may have to count on some young players to help turn the defense around.  If he can find more young players like Robertson, he might make the turn quicker than later. Royce Hill of Cypress Ridge HS in Houston, Darien Williams of Vernon, TX and James Hamilton of Cedar Hill, TX look to be able to contribute early.  A darkhorse early contributer is Jeremy Phillips of Waller, TX.  His brother is All Mountain West LB Jason Phillips of TCU.  Phillips is a coach’s son, and former QB for Waller.  He may be too good to keep on the sidelines.

Special Teams

If any area was worse than defense, it might have been special teams.  UNT Punter Truman Spencer fell off his pace last year with a 34.2 Net Avg.  His actual punting average went up, so look for improvement in the punting game with better coverage.  UNT Place Kicker Thomas Moreland was 8 for 15 kicking and did not hit a field goal longer than 37 yards.  However, UNT signed JUCO kicker Jeremy Knott who was an NJCAA All-American kicker at Northeastern Oklahoma A & M.  Micah Mosely held the KR duties last year and returns for the Mean Green.  UNT will be searching for a new Punt Returner and a second Kick Returner.

Sitting in my favorite eating establishment this morning, The Old Neighborhood Grill in Fort Worth, I was thinking about Dan Jenkins.  Dan is one of the greatest sports writers in the last 50 years, and he is a native of Fort Worth.  He is also a big TCU fan.  Peter, the owner of Old Neighborhood Grill, and I were talking about some of Dan’s books including his latest one.  Dan is a reminder of just how successful the program has been in years past.  And, recently, with coaching of Gary Patterson, the program has returned to prominence.  It is telling when you realize that the Frogs won 8 games last year, including the Texas Bowl, and that was considered a disappointment.

For years, the Horned Frogs were a part of the old Southwest Conference.  Usually, any team who was at the top of the Southwest Conference was considered relevant in the national rankings, scene.  When the conference folded, the Frogs missed out on going to the Big Twelve.  They spent time in the Western Athletic Conference and the Conference USA before moving the Mounatin West Conference a few years ago.  They seem to have found a home.  As conference strength goes, the MWC is the toughest outside of the BCS power conferences.  It boasts at least two teams with national championships:  TCU and BYU.  TCU came close to busting the BCS “glass ceiling” in its first year in the MWC going 11-1.  Its lone loss was to SMU one week after beating Oklahoma in Norman, keeping it out of the BCS bowls.

When people think of TCU, they might think of “Slingin Sammy” Baugh, Davey O’Brien, Bob Lilly and LaDainian Tomlinson.  You might not realize that the Horned Frogs have two national championships.  The 1930′s were very good to the Frogs as they took the 1935 and 1938 national titles.  TCU has 14 conference championships in 5 different conferences (source).  For a team that is not in a “power” conference, TCU has a pretty rich tradition.  Recently, winning games has become an expectation again.

TCU is not afraid to play against their share of BCS conference teams.  As I mentioned earlier, TCU knocked off OU in Norman in 2005.  They have played Texas Tech home and away, Baylor, Stanford (who comes to Fort Worth this year) and Texas in Austin.   And TCU has beaten every team mentioned but Texas in the past 3 years.  What’s more, the Frogs travel to Norman again this season to take on the Sooners.  The past two trips to Norman have been wins for the Frogs.  Do you think the people in Norman remember?

Bowl games against BCS teams have been successful too.  They started this recent success by knocking off USC in the 1998 Sun Bowl.  Granted, that wasn’t a Pete Carroll coached team, but it was a win over USC.  Then, the Frogs knocked off Iowa State in the 2005 Texas Bowl.  They also own victories this decade over Vanderbilt,  Arizona, and Northwestern.  They have suffered losses to Texas A&M (2001 Bowl game) and Nebraska (2001).  And, the Frogs have a future date with the SEC’s Arkansas.

If the past is any indication, especailly the recent past, the Horned Frogs look to have another succes-field season.  Look for the Frogs to contend for the Mounatin West Conference Title once again.

I have received info regarding the release of a couple of other pre-season magazines. Athlon Sports will release their football annuals on June 6th. You can buy their magazines at your local bookstores or from their website. For those of you in Texas, the ultimate guide to Texas football is Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. I just received word that it will be out the week of June 16th. Texas Football will be available at your local bookstores.

Here is my question for everyone. In Texas we have Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine, in Arkansas there is Hooten’s, what magazine is the ultimate source for football in your state?

Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting has got to be one of the most interesting reads about college football. The book is written by ESPN Columnist Bruce Feldman and follows former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron as he dives head first into the world of recruiting the class that would change the direction of the program that Orgeron oversaw. It is a particularly interesting read now that Oregeron has been replaced at Ole Miss by former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt.

Feldman is the “fly on the wall” during Ole Miss coaching meetings discussing recruits, particularly in the “war room,” the place where Orgeron did his recruiting work. Feldman reports what coach Orgeron and his coaches say about potential recruits and how Orgeron’s staff identifies and pursues future college stars such as Joe McKnight whom Ole Miss made a serious attempt to sign out of New Orleans. Feldman also reports how certain circumstances during the football season caused the Rebel staff to place a greater importance on “character” players as well as academics in their recruiting strategy.

Feldman explains the use of the Ole Miss summer football camps to identify the “sleeper” recruit which is a tactic of summer football camps all over the country. Orgeron and his staff seemed to embrace the use of the internet recruiting sites using them to boost their own rank with potential recruits by either being the first to pursue a recruit or just by being on a recruit’s short list.

The most exciting part of Felman’s book are the last two chapters as National Signing Day looms closer. This at part of the book is like an intense action-packed 3 hour movie in which circumstances seem to change every 5-10 minutes. Those two chapters follow the most sought after recruits on the Ole Miss board and the reports, rumors, and communications (including text messages) which give the coaches an indication of the direction in which each recruit will or will not go. Feldman seemed to be able to interview some or all of the recruits as well as their families, coaches, mentors, or teachers, etc.

One problem I had with the book is the ability to keep up with all of the different people introduced in the book. Undoubtedly, Feldman met far more than he mentions in the book. I am not really sure how he could help the reader keep up with the ones he mentions. He did provide some helpful reminders, but I often found myself asking about someone he mentioned earlier to try to remember how he or she was mentioned and why.

It is a good read, especially during the spring part of college football when recruiting players for your favorite college football team is still fresh in your minds. Hop on down to your local Borders Bookstore and buy a copy. And, enjoy.