May 18, 2012

CFTT Preseason Top Ten 2011

In case you haven’t noticed, the college football season starts this week!  You probably thought I had forgotten, didn’t you?  Well, I haven’t, I’ve just been a little bit busy.

Here is the 2011 Preseason Top Ten as I see it:

1.  Oregon– This is the best team returning the most talent.

Oregon's Fans

Flickr/davesmith1983

2.  Oklahoma– They are everyone else’s number one team, but they didn’t play in the national title game last year.  They did get their first BCS win since 1942 (well maybe just a few years).

3.  Alabama– They have enough talent alone to be a top 5 team, and that coach they have is pretty good.

4.  Stanford–  One name.  Andrew Luck.  They are breaking in a new coach, but if he will just follow the plans of Jim Harbaugh, they will be fine.

5.  Nebraska– The black shirts have returned.  Bo Pelini has this program rocking.  They just need a consistent offense.

6.  Oklahoma State– They are still the second (or maybe third) best team in the Big 12 South.  However, the offense has firepower that few other programs in the country has.

7.  Texas A&M– Ryan Tannehill made a difference for the Aggies last year vaulting them in to a top tier team.  He is back to be starter for a full year to see what Texas A&M can do and to show the SEC they belong in their conference.  They get that chance in Arlington, TX against Arkansas whom they have yet to beat since renewing the rivalry.

8.  Wisconsin– Forget the Rose Bowl loss, Wisconsin is still a great program.  They have a power running game, a solid defense, and a new quarterback with starting experience.  They win another 10 games (or more).

9.  Arkansas– What?  You thought I would include LSU?  In case you haven’t seen, they are having some off-the-field problems.  Meanwhile, the Hogs are coming off a BCS Bowl game, they have an experienced defense, the best receiving corp in the country and a quarterback who went toe-to-toe with Cam Newton last year when Ryan Mallett was injured.

10.  TCU– The Horned Frogs finished number 2 last year and were 12-0.  Obviously, it was the best season in several decades for the angry little frogs.  They also lost a bunch of their firepower from last year including QB Andy Dalton.  Enter Casey Pachall.  He was even more highly recruited than Dalton and played really well in the last game of the season when Dalton was injured.  They return their top backs and they will reload on the offensive line like they always do.  On defense, they will  reload which is what Gary Patterson does.  They have the best linebacking crew in the country in Tanner Brock and Tank Carder.

10 Most Dramatic Bowl Games

Since we are a top ten website, I wanted to share with you an article I came across yesterday.  The publisher listed the 10 Most Dramatic Bowl Games of All Time.  What do you think?  Are they accurate.

The article comes from BestCollegesOnline.com.  A pretty decent run-down of some of the best bowl games.  There are a lot of great finishing bowl games to be sure, and this is a daunting task to narrow it down to ten.

Check out the article and then weigh in on your top ten bowl games of all time!  Leave them in the comments section below.

Top Ten Ways Cal can Stop Oregon’s Blur

This weekend, the Cal Bears will take there turn at trying to slow down Oregon’s Blur Offense.  No one else has even come close as Oregon has averaged 54.7 points per game.  Not once this season has Oregon scored less than 42 points.  Not once!

As a result, we here at CFTT have decided to give Cal a few tips on how to stop this offensive quack attack.

[Read more...]

CFTT Week Two Top Ten

AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 16: Quarterback Cam Newton  of the Auburn Tigers celebrates with the crowd after the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 16, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. The Tigers beat the Razorbacks 65-43. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

“Another one bites the dust. . . . .”  Do you remember that song.  Visions of the Junkyard Dog entering the ring during his days in the National Wrestling Alliance are what I remember while listening to the song made famous by Queen.  JYD, as we called him, always seem to win his matches, so, “another one bites the dust” indeed!

The same can be said for whomever becomes number one in the polls.  The past two weeks, pre-BCS polls, Alabama and then Ohio State went down, and Oklahoma inherited the spot in the initial BCS poll.  How they fall fast!  The Sooners were beat in Columbia, MO late Saturday night, and the merry-go-round begins again, or musical chairs, whichever you prefer.

Auburn, who had a stellar, albeit at home, win over LSU jumped to the top of the heap leaving Oregon number one in the USA Today and AP polls. What do those fleet-footed Ducks have to do?  Beat an SEC team on the road?  Check (see Tennessee).  Knock off a top ten team?  Check (see Stanford).   Hang 60 on a decent in-conference team?  Check (see UCLA).  How about knock off the still-respectable USC Trojans in the Coliseum?  Well, that’s next week.

Oregon vs. Auburn for the National Title.

Let’s wait and find out. For now, here is the weekly CFTT Top Ten. [Read more...]

CFTT Week One Top Ten

Have I mentioned how much I hate the preseason polls?  Maybe I haven’t, but I am liking them less and less each year.  The BCS poll comes out the second weekend in October, and that may be the best time to start the polls.

The bottom line is that pollsters are morons in August!  I mean, we had Texas in the top ten.  Are they a top ten team?  No, but they just beat one!

[Read more...]

One man’s opinion of the top ten college football blogs

RALEIGH, NC - SEPTEMBER 16: Jesse Riley  of the North Carolina State Wolfpack runs onto the field with teammates before their game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Carter-Finley Stadium on September 16, 2010 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Well, this an opinion, and we all have them. I have made a list of the top ten college football blogs.

I have thought long and hard about this, and after five minutes, I made my decision!  The list is in no particular order, and hey, I could change my mind next week.  That’s the beauty of it all, huh?

[Read more...]

Top Ten Offseason Stories

For those of you have followed CFTT over the years, you know that I publish a Top Ten Offseason Stories.  I like top ten lists, and this list has been a fun one to do each year, depending on how the offseason goes.

[Read more...]

Top Ten Heisman Trophy Candidates

NEW YORK - DECEMBER 12:  Running back Mark Ingram #22 of the  Alabama Crimson talks to the media during a press conference after being  named the 75th Heisman Trophy winner at the Marriott Marquis on  December 12, 2009 in New York City.  (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty  Images)

The Heisman Trophy is really interesting dynamic.  The trophy is usually set to go to the nations top player at any position, but to win the trophy, it takes a combination of circumstances, hype and performance.  Rarely does a player come from nowhere to win the trophy, but often a player comes from nowhere to compete for the trophy.

In the end, it is always a player which has enough recognition that walks away from the trophy.  Who can forget the year that Sam Bradford won the trophy.  Sitting in the front were the top three candidates, Bradford, Tim Tebow (a previous winner) and Colt McCoy.  All of those players were high profile quarterbacks for high profile schools.

So, with all that said, here are my top ten candidates to win the Heisman Trophy.

[Read more...]

Top Ten Milkshakes

I thought this would be fun. Milkshake is really a misnomer, as any good milkshake is made with ice cream, but ice cream, of course, is made with First McDonalds Franchise Recalls Fast-Food Giants Beginningsmilk.  So I guess it comes out in the wash.

This list, like so many here at CFTT, is subjective.  Since I have only lived in Arkansas and Texas, well, my milkshake consumption is limited.  Nevertheless, I have an idea of what MY top ten milkshakes are.  So, here goes.

10.  McDonald’s
The restaurant that started the hamburger craze also started the milkshake craze, I suppose.  They do have good milkshakes and they are nice to have on a hot day.

9.  Wendy’s
Few fast food restaurants have the thickness in their shake as the Wendy’s Frosty™.  It really is a creamy soft serve ice cream.  Dave Thomas would be proud.

8.  Jack in the Box
Try their oreo cookie ice cream shake.  Enough said.

7.  Whataburger
A Texas hamburger institution, and they have a great chocolate shake too.

6.  Seattle’s Best Coffee
They announce that they have the “world’s best coffee shake,” and I believe it too.  I’ve never tried anyone else’s, but SBC’s is pretty good.  They use real ice cream.

5.  Dairy Queen
I grew up being treated at DQ.  Great soft serve ice cream, and they are the first place that I realized could mix flavors.  I gained 5 pounds that week.  Peanut butter and chocolate together, wow!

4.  Fuddruckers
At least in our town, they use real Blue Belle ice cream to make their shakes and malts.

3.  Braum’s
Based out of Oklahoma, they have some of the best ice cream around.  A former boss also swore by their milk.  Oh, and they do make a good milkshake using that premium ice cream.

2.  Pappa’s Burger
One of the waitresses recommended a oreo-peanut butter milkshake and I tried it.  It was awesome.  She knew what she was talking about.

1.  Purple Cow
Based out of Central Arkansas (we have a few in the DFW area), they simply have a great milkshake.  I had a peanut butter-chocolate (are you seeing a pattern) and it was outstanding.  I couldn’t even slurp up the peanut butter with my straw as it was so thick.

Where do you get your favorite milkshakes from?

Top Ten Bowl Games for 2008-2009

As you know from last year, this is not really a ranking of the bowl games.  I am more interested in possible sponsors this year for bowls and maybe a few suggestions for games.  It seems that several of the games are sponsored by banks and websites.  Of course, as you know, half of the games have already been played.

1.  The Peet’s Coffee Bowl
The game could be played in Berkley, California at Cal’s Memorial Stadium Berkley is where Peet’s began, and Peet’s is the best coffee on the shelf.  This bowl game would feature a team from the Pacific 10 Conference and the Western Athletic Conference.

2.  The ESPN.com Bowl
The “mouse ears” as Randy Galloway refers to them already runs  several bowls ( I think 7) so why not go all out and have a bowl sponsored by their website.  It would be great.  It could feature teams from the Big East and the Big Ten since the game would be played in  at Rentschler Field in East Hartford near the ESPN headquarters of Bristol, CT.

3.  The ING Penny Bowl
Several bowls have the backing of financial institutions, but none would be more confusing than a bowl sponsored by ING.  Do you remember the commercials where the guy looking for the rest of the word, but it’s just ing?  They have some of the best deals for online banking, helping you save pennies.  There you have it.  The teams that play in the game can be the highest ranked teams with lions for their mascot.  The game would be played in Denver, CO where one of ING’s affiliates are located.  The match-up would pit a team from the Western Athletic Conference against a Mountain West Conference team.

4.  The Wal-Mart Retail Bowl

Wal-Mart is the retail standard bearer.  Everybody measures themselves based on Wal-Mart.  Their brand is well known, and they could have a great bowl game.  This bowl would be played at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, AR just down the road from Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville.  Playing in the game would be teams from the Conference USA and the Sun Belt.

5.  The Collegefootballtopten.com Bowl
Hey, I might as well have a bowl game.  It seems websites get in the act every year.  And while we are at it, I think I want my bowl game to be played at the new Cowboys Stadium.  I really don’t care who plays in the game, but I’ll take a Mountain West Conference team and a Big 12 Conference team.

6.  The Cracker Barrel Apple Butter Bowl
Cracker Barrels are all over the country, and they have the best apple butter around, at least when you add it to their biscuits.  Since there is no real big stadium in Lebanon, TN where Cracker Barrel has its headquarters, they could play the game at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium in Murfeesboro.  Teams from the Sun Belt Conference will play a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

7.  The Panera Bread Bowl
Sponsored by Panera Bread of St. Louis, the Bread Bowl would be played in St. Louis at the Edward Jones Dome featuring teams from the Mid American Conference and the Big Ten.

8.  The Starbucks Seattle Bowl
I know, I know, we already have a game sponsored by a coffee, but Starbucks is an institution.  It has the brand power behind it already.  And, it is a great opportunity to have a bowl game in Seattle.  The game would be played in Seattle’s Husky Stadium, and it will feature anyone willing to travel to Seattle in December.

9.  The Idaho Potato Humanitarian Bowl
This bowl can be held in Boise at the famous “blue turf,” we just want to replace the sponsor with the potato growers in idaho.  Idaho is, you know, the home of the best potatoes in the world.

10.  The Riceland Foods Rice Bowl
This bowl can be played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, AR.  The game would feature teams from the Sun Belt and the Conference USA.

There you have it.  There are suggestions, but mostly additions.  Enjoy the rest of the bowl season.