The
countdown to another college football season is underway. This is
a great time not only to start scouting your favorite teams but to be on the lookout for any developments that could have an impact on the odds for a run either to a conference or national title.
The
following is a look at this week’s most interesting news and notes from the
world of college football.
Clemson willing to test the waters
The
revolving door that has witnessed a number of high profile schools moving from
one conference to another has recently caught the eye of the Clemson Tigers,
who have now expressed an interest in exploring opportunities outside the ACC.
While school officials are not actively pursuing a move out of the conference,
they have gone on record as stating that they would entertain any viable
offers.
The logical
choice would be a move to the Big 12, considering that the 10-team conference
will most likely look to expand back to 12 or possibly even more teams. This
speculation has been fueled by the recent announcement that the Big 12 and the
SEC will stage a New Year’s Day Bowl between each of the conference’s champions
starting in 2015.
There is an
underlying belief that the current setup of six major conferences will
eventually morph into four power conferences at the expense of the Big East and
the ACC. Reportedly, Florida State is already considering a move to the Big 12,
which would leave a gaping hole in the basketball-centric conference. Clemson,
which is also primarily known for its football program, fully realizes that the
Big 12’s current lucrative television deals are far better than the ACC’s and
that it needs to be proactive to protect its own interests.
Barkley set to lead the Trojans to a
national title
The 2011
college football season featured two quarterbacks in Stanford’s Andrew Luck and
Baylor’s Robert Griffin III who worked their way to the top two picks in this
year’s NFL draft. The question is, can any of the top QB’s in the nation
heading into this season reach such lofty heights when next year’s draft roll
around?
The player
at the top of this list would have to be USC’s signal-caller Matt Barkley. The
Trojans have served their two-year ban from postseason play and have been
opened by Bovada as the odds-on-favorite to win this season’s BCS title at 3/1.
Front and center to fuel these expectations is Barkley, who decided to forego
this year’s NFL draft to come back for his senior year. At 6-foot-2, 220 lbs, he
may not have the size of an Andrew Luck and he definitely does not have the
speed of a RG III, but is still widely regarded as the main reason that the
Trojans could very well open and finish the 2012 season as the No.1 team in the
nation. If Barkley lives up to the expectations or simply duplicates his 2011
performance, in which he completed 70 percent of his passes for 3,528 yards and
39 touchdowns, there is little doubt he will considered the odds-on-favorite to
hear NFL commissioner Roger Goodell call his name first in next April’s draft.
Spurrier still going strong at 67
The South
Carolina Gamecocks are a 30/1 longshot to win this season’s national title, but
do not tell that to their Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier. At 67 years old, he
is as energetic as ever to lead his team to the top of the SEC and definitely
not afraid to tell you so.
Never at a loss for words, Spurrier has been his
vintage cocky self this offseason in taking verbal jabs at
his SEC
counterparts, while promoting his own team along the way. This could actually
spell bad news for the rest of the conference, as more trash he talks the
better his team tends to be to back it up. The Gamecocks are definitely a team
to watch, even in the highly competitive SEC, and a solid play at their current
odds. Just ask the old ball coach, he will be more than happy to tell you all
about it.