James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!
MSU head coach Dan Mullen has already been a miracle-worker, without even scraping near a BCS bowl; he has made the Bulldogs relevant in the suffocating SEC West division and has re-energized a fanbase that was sorely in need of it.
The boys from Baton Rouge had a flawless 2011 season before rival Alabama shut them out in the BCS title game, 21-0. For the balance of the campaign, LSU had a defense that might have been the only unit more imposing than Alabama’s.
The Hogs have really taken a step forward in the last several seasons, but this off-season has been shrouded in controversy (not unlike many other scenarios in the world of college football). The lying and sex scandal that precipitated the firing of head coach Bobby Petrino should hopefully not affect the product on the field in Fayetteville in 2012, but who knows? At the very least, Arkansas could miss Petrino’s aggressive play-calling.
The Gators, long an SEC powerhouse, must rebound from a disappointing 2011 season. Until 2010, Florida (under former head coach Urban Meyer) made appearing in BCS bowls its calling card, winning a national title in ’08 against Oklahoma and a Sugar Bowl in ’09 versus upstart Cincinnati.
Head coach Nick Saban has fielded a lethal football squad in Dixieland since his arrival six years ago. The Tide had a Sugar Bowl appearance in 2008, followed by National Titles in ’09 and last season. While taskmaster Saban must replace a considerable amount of NFL-bound talent in 2012, this team is deeper and more talented than most, and is poised for another great season in the SEC West division.
Head coach Mark Richt enters his 12th season as the main man Between the Hedges at Sanford Stadium, holding the clipboard for the Georgia Bulldogs. Various times during his tenure, he has been on the hot seat and also been lauded for being a brilliant motivator.
If there are any ncaa football gambling experts out there who pay attention to the Heisman process, they’ll probably agree with me and know that at this time of year it’s pretty darn hard to pick the winner…most years…right?
The annual classic Big Ten-SEC showdown in the Outback Bowl features Michigan State and Georgia duking it out in south Florida in the New Year.
Every college football fan eagerly awaits early January and the BCS bowls. This year’s Orange Bowl features two of the best teams from two rather battered AQ-conferences in the Big East (West Virginia) and the ACC (Clemson).
Jerry Jones’s cavernous crown jewel in north Texas will be the site for this year’s AT&T Cotton Bowl, which features the upstart Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 taking on the prolific Arkansas Razorbacks. There could be no shortage of scoring in this battle in the Lone Star State.
College football’s Holy Grail will feature a re-match of the two best teams in the nation; all the BCS whining and quibbling aside, that ought to be the aim of this match-up. Oklahoma State fans and SEC haters might disagree with me, but if you watched Alabama and LSU extensively this season, you know it is the truth.
This year’s Chick-fil-A Bowl combatants finished in a similar spot this season, though they undoubtedly came from opposite poles in 2010. Virginia is only just approaching respectability under new head coach Mike London. The Tigers, meanwhile, were the 2010 National Champions.
Two programs prone to re-live their 1980s-1990s glory days meet up in this year’s Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando.
The annual Army-Navy game is as American as hot dogs, apple pie and foreclosures. Okay, that was below the belt. But the two military academies have been locking horns for the past 81 years.
NFL legend Marshall Faulk’s alma mater, San Diego State, gets a punch-drunk Fresno State team at home to close out its 2011 regular season in the Western Athletic Conference.
#5 Virginia Tech Hokies (11-1, 7-1 ACC) vs #20 Clemson Tigers (9-3, 6-2 ACC)
It seems like year in, year out – like clockwork – Virginia Tech winds up in the conference title game. Long-tenured head coach Frank Beamer perennially has his Hokies in contention.
