Welcome Back

The days of summer are coming to an end; Rich Rodriguez is scraping the Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Mountaineers! sticker off of his pickup truck, and LSU has last year’s Michigan-Appalachian State game on repeat just to remind them what can happen if you’re not prepared. All of this can only mean one thing – COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS UPON IS!!

Welcome to the 2008-2009 Lee’s Picks season preview. While I’m not going to give an in-depth analysis of the no-huddle offense or the reasons that Penn State can return to glory, I will give you some insight on five teams that I figure to make headlines this season.

1. USC – Picked by many pundits to win the National Championship this year, Pete Carroll’s squad has had its fair share of injuries already. Last week, QB Mark “Dirty” Sanchez dislocated his knee during warm-ups, OL Jeff Byers is just getting over a bout of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, RB Joe McKnight closed his hand in a door after staying back at the dorm instead of joining the team to see the Dark Knight, and a bout of jock itch has plagued the team (or as the LA Times writes, “many Trojans have struggled with a skin irritation in the groin area.”). USC officials were quick to clarify the ailment, describing it as chafing and saying the discomfort has been caused by a combination of factors: a new kind of compression shorts; sweat; and, at least in some cases, players failing to wear undergarments beneath the aforementioned shorts. I’m glad I don’t work in the communications department at USC. I can only imagine how that discussion went with reporters.

As far as their chances on the field, I never know with these Pete Carroll teams. In addition to a tough in-conference schedule, the Trojans play at Virginia and Arizona, at home against Ohio State, and then a late season home game against Notre Dame (stop laughing, the Irish could go .500 this year. I’m serious, it isn’t funny). If USC can make it through the season with no more than one loss and beat the Buckeyes in Pasadena, I’m predicting a trip to Dolphin Stadium for the BCS National Championship game in January.

2. OKLAHOMA – I think the Sooners have a very good shot to stay in the top 5 all year. Why? Here are some facts you may not know:

· FACT – OU does not play #7 Missouri in the regular season in 2008. However, the Longhorns play both of the top teams in the “New and Improved” Big XII North (Missouri and Kansas). Somehow this is a good thing for Oklahoma. I tried figuring out the scheduling implications, but halfway through, I blacked out.

· FACT – The Sooners return one of the best WR/KR/Latin Hearthrobs in the Big XII in Joachin “Enrique” Iglesias. Let him be your hero.

· FACT –Sophomore and starting QB Sam Bradford can legally buy alcohol for the rest of the team after he turns 21 at midnight before OU’s matchup with Texas A&M. I’m pretty sure this will make him the oldest sophomore in the country, though that’s really nothing new in Norman.

The Sooners also have an easier non-conference schedule than other top teams (FCS/D-IAA UT-Chattanooga followed by three unranked teams in Cinci, Washington, and TCU) giving them a bit of an edge when it comes closer to the tough Big XII games, including back-to-back weeks against Texas and Kansas. Although OU has the luxury of a conference championship to give them a late-season boost, unless they’re perfect going into that game, I think it will be tough to make a case for their shot at the BCS title. I see them in the Fiesta Bowl again, with a better outcome this time.

3. FLORIDA – Working our way east, the Gators capped off a disappointing season with a six point loss to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl followed by QB and Heisman award winner Tim Tebow turning down a spot on the Playboy All-American team due to his religious views. In doing so, Tim becomes the first Gator to take the moral high road since . . . give me a minute, I’ll think of someone . . . nope, still nothing . . . moving on . . .

I’ll give Florida a good shot at winning the SEC East this year. With a non-conference schedule featuring a rebuilding Hawaii (see below), Miami, and the always-dangerous Citadel. Even FSU isn’t slated to be much improved from their 5-7 finish last year. As long as Tebow can manage to stay healthy (and effectively split his time with Cameron Newton without a significant drop-off) Florida should be able to go 10-2 without any trouble, and compete with Georgia for top spot in the SEC East.

4. HAWAII – Ok, I am an unabashed Warriors fan. I loved watching, writing about, and beating the Colt Brennan drum until my fingers bled. This season, there is a bit of a quarterback controversy in the Aloha State. With Brennan gone and Tyler Graunke taking time off for personal reasons, the Warriors have six quarterbacks on the roster, non of whom have started a game at Hawaii. My gut feeling is that Steele Jantz will get more than a few snaps under center. In true Lee analysis fashion, I have no data to back this up other than the fact that his name is Steele. Seriously, how can you be a QB at Hawaii and not have a kick-ass name? Timmy Kealii'okaaina Awa Chang, Colt Brennan, Steele Jantz – all kick-ass names. Sorry, Brent Rausch. You may be pegged to start the year for first-year head coach Greg McMackin, but to succeed at Hawaii, you need to have an awesome name. Just ask Dan Robinson how well he did in 1998. See, boring names = 0-12 seasons.

All that aside, I’m excited to see more of a ground attack from the Warriors this season, in the hopes that it will produce headlines featuring RB Daniel Libre (Libre Breaks Free, Lucha Libre) as well as offensive linemen Keith AhSoon, Aaron Kia and freshman Tui`Atua Tuiasosopo. Really, Brent Rausch, you could learn a lot from these guys. As far as their record? Who cares - all of their games start too late for me to watch live, and ESPN doesn't televise the marquee match ups like Hawaii-Louisiana Tech at 12:05 AM. I'm old and my bedtime is well before midnight. Just for the heck of it I'll say they go 6-7, which is being kind.

5. NOTRE DAME – What can I say about the Irish that hasn’t already been hashed and rehashed to death? Here are a few things I’m sure of for the 2008-09 season:

1. Notre Dame will not lose to two service academies this year. They’re only playing Navy.

2. Only one team (Michigan) out of the first eight that the Irish face had a record over .500 las season. This doesn’t guarantee a 7-1 record going into Chestnut Hill on November 8^th, but it doesn’t hurt their chances of being at least 4-4, surpassing their 07-08 win total.

3. Freshman QB Dayne Crist could be a factor for the Irish immediately. I’m not sold on Jimmy Clausen, and frankly I don’t think that Charlie Weis is either. Crist was the #2 ranked high school QB in the nation last year, and is the most talked about incoming Irish player not named Montana. Should Clausen put up similar numbers to start the season (2 INTs and 0 TDs in his first 4 games, two 100+ yard passing games in his first 7), Crist will get more than a few shots at leading the Irish. And he won’t disappoint.

Will Notre Dame be bowl bound at the end of the year? I don’t think so. I do think they’ll improve on their 3-9 campaign, and will probably score an offensive touchdown in their first game of the season (thanks San Diego State!). However, for the Irish to be bowl eligible, they’ll have to start the season going 4-3 at worst, and then hope to steal a win from either #25 Pittsburgh, or on the road at BC or Navy. If Notre Dame enters the USC game with a 5-6 record, no amount of kelly green jerseys or Jeweled Shillelaghs will help them finish even on the year.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned because this season promises to be more exciting than ever since I learned how to hyperlink and may even bring back the famed Half-Jewish Sports picks of the week (if I can figure out this podcast thing).