The Pregame Warm-Up AA Team

I have watched as many college football games over the past 4 months as physically possible, taking notes and rewatching games along the way.  After all the games have been watched, here is my attempt at an All-American Team for The Pregame Warm-Up.  The PGWU team features the most players from the Nebraska Cornhuskers with 4.  Auburn, Oregon and Florida each had 2.

Head Coach- Jim Harbaugh Stanford Cardinal

OFFENSE

Player of the Year- Cam Newton Auburn Tigers

QB- Cameron Newton Auburn Tigers

RB- LaMichael James Oregon Ducks

RB- Jordan Todman Connecticut Huskies

WR- Justin Blackmon Oklahoma State Cowboys

WR- Ryan Broyles Oklahoma Sooners

TE- Michael Egnew Missouri Tigers

OT- Gabe Carimi Wisconsin Badgers

OT- Derek Sherrod Mississippi State Bulldogs

OG- Rodney Hudson Florida State Seminoles

OG- Justin Boren Ohio State Buckeyes

C- Chase Beeler Stanford Cardinal

DEFENSE

Player of the Year- Da’Quan Bowers Clemson Tigers

DE- Da’Quan Bowers Clemson Tigers

DE- Ryan Kerrigan Purdue Boliermakers

DL- Nick Fairley Auburn Tigers

DL- Jared Crick Nebraska Cornhuskers

LB- Justin Houston Georgia Bulldogs

LB- Mason Foster Washington Huskies

LB- Luke Kuechly Boston College Eagles

CB- Prince Amukamara Nebraska Cornhuskers

CB- Patrick Peterson LSU Tigers

S- Eric Hagg Nebraska Cornhuskers

S- Ahmad Black Florida Gators

SPECIALISTS

K- Alex Henery Nebraska Cornhuskers

P- Chas Henry Florida Gators

RET- Cliff Harris Oregon Ducks

AP- Randall Cobb Kentucky Wildcats

Bowl Projections: Week 11

I love bowl projections.  Every week you get different matchups, some you like and others you don’t.  As we go into week 11 in college football, here is how all of the 247 bowl games would line up if played today.  Check the site later this week, as I will release my college football bracket, IF they were to have a playoff.

Dec 18 2010….New Mexico Bowl-  AIR FORCE vs NEVADA

Dec. 18, 2010….Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl- FRESNO STATE vs TOLEDO

Dec. 18, 2010….R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl- TROY vs SMU

Dec. 21, 2010….Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl- LOUISVILLE vs SOUTHERN MISS

Dec. 22, 2010….MAACO Las Vegas Bowl- ARIZONA STATE vs UTAH

Dec. 23, 2010….Poinsettia Bowl- SDSU vs NAVY

Dec. 24, 2010….Sheraton Hawaii Bowl- EAST CAROLINA vs HAWAII

Dec. 26, 2010….Little Caesar’s Bowl- NORTHERN ILLINOIS vs NORTHWESTERN

Dec. 27, 2010….PetroSun Independence Bowl-  BYU vs CLEMSON

Dec. 28, 2010….Champs Sports Bowl- SYRACUSE vs MIAMI(FL)

Dec. 28, 2010….Insight Bowl- ILLINOIS vs TEXAS A&M

Dec. 29, 2010….EagleBank Bowl- GEORGIA TECH vs TULSA

Dec. 29, 2010….Texas Bowl- KANSAS STATE vs MICHIGAN

Dec. 29, 2010….Valero Alamo Bowl- MISSOURI vs OREGON STATE

Dec. 30, 2010….Armed Forces Bowl- UTEP vs AIR FORCE

Dec. 30, 2010….New Era Pinstripe Bowl- IOWA STATE vs WEST VIRGINIA

Dec. 30, 2010….Music City Bowl- MARYLAND vs OLE MISS

Dec. 30, 2010….Pac Life Holiday Bowl- BAYLOR vs ARIZONA

Dec. 31, 2010….Meineke Car Care Bowl- FLORIDA STATE vs SOUTH FLORIDA

Dec. 31, 2010….Brut Sun Bowl- CAL vs NORTH CAROLINA

Dec. 31, 2010….AutoZone Liberty Bowl- UCF vs GEORGIA

Dec. 31, 2010….Chick-Fil-A Bowl- NORTH CAROLINA STATE vs MISSISSIPPI STATE

Jan. 1, 2011….Dallas Football Classic- PENN STATE vs OKLAHOMA

Jan. 1, 2011….Outback Bowl- IOWA vs ARKANSAS

Jan. 1, 2011….Capital One Bowl- MICHIGAN STATE vs ALABAMA

Jan. 1, 2011….Konica Minolta Gator Bowl- OHIO STATE vs SOUTH CAROLINA

Jan. 1, 2011….Rose Bowl- TCU vs WISCONSIN

Jan. 1, 2011….Tostitos Fiesta Bowl- NEBRASKA vs PITT

Jan. 3, 2011….Orange Bowl- VIRGINIA TECH vs STANFORD

Jan. 4, 2011….Allstate Sugar Bowl- LSU vs  BOISE STATE

Jan. 6, 2011….GMAC Bowl- ARKANSAS STATE vs TEMPLE

Jan. 7, 2011….AT&T Cotton Bowl- OKLAHOMA STATE vs FLORIDA

Jan. 8, 2011….PapaJohns.com Bowl- KENTUCKY vs UCONN

Jan. 9, 2011….Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl- ARMY vs UCLA

Jan. 10, 2011….BCS Championship Game- AUBURN vs OREGON

PGWU Power Poll: Week 8

Here is the latest version of the Pregame Warm-Up Power Poll.  We had a lot of movement in the polls this week.

1. Oregon Ducks 119 points (seven 1st place)

2. Oklahoma Sooners 102 points (one 1st place)

3. TCU Horned Frogs 101 points

4. Boise State Broncos 100 points

5. Auburn Tigers 91 points

6. LSU Tigers 78 points

7. Michigan State Spartans 73 points

8. Alabama Crimson Tide 69 points

9. Utah Utes 50 points

10. Wisconsin Badgers 46 points

11. Ohio State Buckeyes 40 points

12. Missouri Tigers 21 points

13. Nebraska Cornhuskers 20 points

14. Iowa Hawkeyes 18 points

15. Oklahoma State Cowboys 16 points

Others Receiving Points: Stanford Cardinal 6 points, FSU Seminoles 6 points, Nevada Wolfpack 2 points

PGWU Heisman Watch: Week 8

We had some great showings on Saturday and others weren’t.  Deanrd Robinson and Taylor Martinez fell to the back of the line after last weeks performances.  Terrelle Pryor failed to follow up a great pasing game against Indiana with a horrible game vs the Badgers.  Kellen Moore and Cam Newton continue to win and put up ridiculous stats.  Here is the top 5 for week 8:

5th Justin Blackmon WR Oklahoma State Cowboys  He leads the nation in most major categories for receiving and is a major reason behind his Cowboys being 6-0 with a big time battle against Nebraska this week.  He will be matched up with stud CB Prince Amukamara for the Huskers.  If he has a big game here, he will climb on this list.

4th DeMarco Murray RB Oklahoma Sooners   The All-Time leader in Touchdowns for the Oklahoma Sooners keeps getting it done every week.  He padded his stats against a weak Iowa State team last week, but he will have a national spotlight on Saturday night when his Sooners head to Mizzou for a battle with the Tigers.

3rd LaMichael James RB Oregon Ducks  He dropped a spot after the bye week, but LaMichael still has a great shot to hoist the trophy in December.  Look for him to have a huge game against the Bruins this Thursday night.

2nd Kellen Moore QB Boise State Broncos 14-16 fro 231 yards and 2 TD, and that is just in the half he played.  His stats would be twice as impressive if he played in the 2nd half of any games this year.  The fact that he plays a weak schedule in the WAC is what bothers me about him.

1st Cameron Newton QB Auburn Tigers His performance in the shootout against the Razorbacks was incredible.  He added another 4 TD’s to his tally this season and almost rushed for 200 yards.  He has the Tigers up to number 5 in both polls and 4th in the BCS rankings.  He finds a way to get it done every week.

PGWU Power Poll: Week 7

Last week brought us some shake ups in the week 7 Power Poll.  Here is a look at how the Pregame Warm-Up Crew ranks the Top 15 this week.

1. Oregon Ducks 112 points (five 1st place)

2. Ohio State Buckeyes 108 points (one 1st place)

3. Boise State Broncos 106 points (one 1st place)

4. Nebraska Cornhuskers 93 points (one 1st place)

5. TCU Horned Frogs 90 points

6. Alabama Crimson Tide 71 points

7. Auburn Tigers 69 points

8. South Carolina Gamecocks 63 points

9. Oklahoma Sooners 61 points

10. LSU Tigers 57 points

11. Utah Utes 36 points

12. Michigan State Spartans 34 points

13. Arkansas Razorbacks 14 points

14. Iowa Hawkeyes 11 points

15. Stanford Cardinal 10 points

Others Receiving Points:   Florida State Seminoles 8 points, Missouri Tigers 6 points, Arizona Wildcats 5 points, Nevada Wolfpack 5 points, Michigan Wolverines 2 points

Pac 10 Report: Week 7

If there is anything that Week 6 taught us, it’s that nobody is safe in the Pac-10. There were some hard fought games last Saturday in the West, but things will be quieter this week, as Oregon, Arizona State, Stanford and UCLA are on byes.

I’ll start with Oregon, who of all the teams remaining undefeated in college football, I have the most confidence of making the BCS title game. And that’s saying a lot when you take into account that I consider the Pac-10 the best conference in the country (yes, even including the SEC). When you win by twenty points on the road and in conference, even against lowly Washington State, that’s impressive. I get the feeling that most people think the Ducks should’ve won by more. It’s safe to say that Oregon has arrived.

California met expectations by letting their season slip, and then dismantling UCLA when everybody has written them off. And UCLA’s offense finally came back to bite them, amassing only 144 yards against the Bears. California’s recipe for success is quite simple: run the ball.

As for UCLA, they can obviously beat anybody (just ask Texas), but are just too inconsistent. Quarterback Kevin Prince was 13-31 against the Bears and only put up seven points, and that was the first time all season that Prince had double-digit competitions. Backup Richard Brehaut made an appearance, but make no mistake: if the Bruins are going to win, Prince has to be the guy and he has to step up.

The game of the week was Oregon State going into 9th ranked Arizona and winning 29-27. Boise State fans, rejoice. The Beavers may be 3-2, but those two losses were against great competition, and their rough non-conference schedule sets them up to be formidable in the Pac-10. Eventually, they were going to beat somebody, as Arizona found out.

It was a weird game with three failed PATs, and the combined 1,027 total yards meant a whole bunch of fun for the viewer. What will be interesting is how Arizona bounces back. They dropped eight spots in the rankings, and should be able to refocus against Washington State.

USC and Stanford played a crazy one. Both quarterbacks looked great, but I expected that from Andrew Luck. I was more impressed with Matt Barkley, who stepped up big on the road against a good team. I have been down on USC’s secondary all year, so it was no big surprised that they got torched by Luck, who averaged nearly 12 yards per pass. With back-to-back losses, Trojan fans have got to fear that their team lacks focus for the rest of the year. They played well, but there is no postseason future and a conference championship is unlikely now.

Is it time to start worrying about Jake Locker? It’s not that his numbers are that bad (except the Nebraska game), but for such a highly touted NFL prospect, he isn’t winning games. Granted, the Huskies have problems elsewhere, but Locker isn’t picking up the slack. Washington can only go as far he he does, and Locker isn’t showing any signs of getting better. Getting outplayed by Steven Threet at home is not a good sign.

On to week 7.

California vs USC

This is an interesting game, because the season is basically over for whoever loses. The matchup is interesting as well. Cal needs to run to win, but USC is vulnerable in the passing game. If the Bears struggle to figure out what they want to do, the Trojans may be able to get out to a lead early, and Cal isn’t constructed to play from behind. I like USC in a close game.

Arizona vs Washington State

Just what the doctor ordered after a tough loss at home for Arizona, Not much to preview, as the Wildcats should roll as 23.5 favorites on the road.

 

Oregon State vs Washington

Do or die for the Huskies. The Beavers are horrible against the pass, so if Locker can’t shine here, his stock will drop for good. Oregon State is the better team, but the matchup favors Washington. The Huskies are only 1-2 at home, and you have to think that will improve. I like Washington slightly in this game, as I will ride the Locker bandwagon all the way into the ground.

Written by Jay Fisher.  Follow him on Twitter @jfishsports.

PGWU Heisman Watch: Week 7

Welcome to week 7 in the college football season. This weekend we get our first BCS standings and quite a few big games, but we are here this week to talk about the Heisman Trophy candidates. Terrelle Pryor is back on the map this week, as is Taylor Martinez. Did Denard Robinson hurt his chances with last week’s performance? Check it out.

5th Kellen Moore QB Boise State   He has 14 TD to 1 INT this season, and is averaging 9.9 yards per completion.  These stats are great considering he hasn’t played much in the 2nd half of the last few games.

4th Taylor Martinez QB Nebraska Wow!  That is all I can say about his performance last Thursday against KSU.  He made the Wildcat defense look silly with his blazing speed.  Martinez leads all FBS schools with 10.8 yards per rush and 12 rushing TD.

3rd Terrelle Pryor QB Ohio State  Slowly, but surely Pryor is beginning to quiet his critics.  He is throwing the ball better this season than he ever has, coming off a great performance against Indiana.  He was 24-30 for 334 yards and 3 TD.  For the season he has 15 TD to 3 INT and is completing nearly 70% of his passes.

2nd LaMichael James RB Oregon  Had an impressive game last week with 223 total yards and 3 scores.  He has been an extremely consistant performer so far this season and that is what it takes to win the Heisman Trophy.

1st Cameron Newton QB Auburn  He continues to put the Tigers on his shoulders and they continue to win.  He had 4 rushing TD last week, adding to his impressive total TD mark of 21.  If the Tigers keep winning, he will stay atop this list.

PGWU Power Poll: Week 6

Every week the writers at Pregame Warm-Up will get together for our top 15 schools, or as we like to call it, the “Power Poll”. Each individual writer gives their top 15, then we assign the 1st place team 15 points all the way down to the 15th place team with 1 point. The points are combined and here is how week 6 ended up:

1. 1. Alabama Crimson Tide- 88 points (five 1st place votes)
2. 2. Oregon Ducks- 84 points (one 1st place vote)
3. 3. Boise State Broncos- 67 points
4. 3. Ohio State Buckeyes- 67 points
5. 5. Nebraska Cornhuskers- 65 points
6. 6. TCU Horned Frogs- 63 points
7. 7. Oklahoma Sooners- 50 points
8. 8. Auburn Tigers- 46 points
9. 9. Utah Utes- 31 points
10. 10. South Carolina Gamecocks- 26 points
11. 11. Arizona Wildcats- 25 points
12. 12. Arkansas Razorbacks- 21 points
13. 12. LSU Tigers- 21 points
14. 14. Michigan Wolverines- 20 points
15. 15. Michigan State Spartans- 12 points

Others Receiving Points:      Iowa 8 points, Miami 6 points, Stanford 5 points, Missouri 4 points, Nevada 2 points, UCLA 1 point

PGWU Podcast-Week 6

This week we spend a lot of time talking about big games and news in each conference, especially the ACC and SEC.  We also make our picks in the Pregame Warm-Up Pick ‘Em segment and break down a handful of potential pro prospects for the NFL Draft in the “World Famous” Prospect Quick Fire.  Enjoy!

PGWU Podcast: Week 4

This week we discuss the legal troubles at Florida, talk about the big stories in each conference in The Breakdown, make our selections in the PGWU Pick’Em segment and finish the show off with the World Famous Prospect Quick Fire. Enjoy!