Friday, August 31, 2012

Guest Post: Mrs. dallas hokie (Part 2)

If you missed part 1 of today's post you can check it out here.  Mrs. dallas hokie gave us some great info about Oklahoma State and this coming football season.  

In this post I ask her to make some predictions for the upcoming season.  I've read them and while I might not agree with everything, I can't argue with her logic.  

5) So we all know you hate OU and think Landry Jones is overrated, but who do you think will win the Big 12? And do you have a preseason pick for Heisman? If so, who? If not, why won’t Landry Jones win it? Also, who will play for the National Championship? Who will win?

Let me just say that as I have gotten older, I don’t hate OU – I’m just tired of OU because sometimes they just whip right into why their football program is better than ours (Not disputing that, it is historically better than ours) rather than having a good debate about our program and other Big 12 teams programs. But they should be cheering for OSU/Baylor/Kansas State to be better in football so our conference has more parity; it makes our conference more exciting. It’s kind of boring with Texas and OU always duking it out. I have had solid discussions with OU fans about our program and other Big 12 team’s programs, though. I respect their team and program and their history. And what annoys me most about Landry Jones is that molest-stache. Bothers me on Derek Holland. Bothers me on Landry Jones.

Honestly, I really have enjoyed watching Matt Barkley. Although I really think Collin Klein from Kansas State is such a talented, old-school style QB. He probably won’t win because he doesn’t put up the snazzy numbers that RG3 did/numbers that seem to win Heisman’s, and he plays for Kansas State. But he is so incredibly consistent. Landry Jones won’t win because he just hasn’t seemed consistent enough to me. I think a Heisman candidate shines when his team is losing/loses – and when OU lost to Baylor, TX Tech and OSU, he seemed to collapse into himself. But I could be incredibly wrong – his off-season could have been very productive and I wouldn’t know. So he could win.

As far as who wins the Big 12: I don’t know, I mostly think preseason predictions are a crapshoot anyway, because this is anyone’s game at this point. On any given day, any team can beat any other team. We can give preference to “Powerhouse” programs, but how many times do we see the mighty fall? Besides, I cheer for the underdog at all costs; I mean, I went to what is considered the “Little Brother” school in Oklahoma. Despite us having 50 National Championship, which is the 4th most. That fun fact was for free.

6) Now let’s talk about conference realignment.  How do you feel about the addition of TCU and West Virginia in the Big12 this year? How well do you think Texas A&M and Missouri will fair in the new 14 team SEC?

I’m honestly excited to have TCU, mainly because we live so close to Ft. Worth that we can go watch Big 12 games! Yay! But I’ve always thought they did well in their conference and I’m excited to see what they bring to the table. Plus they defeated Boise State last season – this now makes me a huge fan. Honestly, West Virginia horrifies me. Their coach is our old offensive coordinator, so that’s kind of intimidating when someone knows your secrets. And their fans seem like hoodlums. Burning couches? I mean, really? Throwing snowballs with batteries in them? I mean, really? They realize they’re at a university, not a federal prison, right?

I hope TX A&M and Mizzou do well, because that looks good for the Big 12. Realistically? I think the first couple of years will be difficult for them. It’s an adjustment; especially an adjustment to being pilgrims in the unholy land of SEC. Those folks do not mess around. Football is the sport that counts in that conference, so they take it very seriously. I have my negative opinions about the SEC as a whole, but you can’t deny that their conference is nutso good at football. And neither of those teams have been nutso good at football recently.

7) Which Big12 team ranked in the top 25 will most likely end the season outside the top 25 and why? Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, West Virginia or Oklahoma?

At this point, I don’t know. I want to say Texas because they have struggled pretty badly these last couple of seasons. And of course I don’t want to say OSU, but that’s a definite possibility. I think Kansas State comes in as the underdog, big time. I love Kansas State and hope they do well. Who doesn’t love a 72-year-old coach who wears a 2002 Holiday Bowl jacket?

8) From the expanse of knowledge you now have from marrying a Hokie… If VT wins the ACC, what will be the biggest reason for their success? If they don’t, what will be the reason for their failure?

All of these opinions are all based off of watching the 2011 season, so I’m a little harsh. But I think your defense would be the reason why you win. I saw your defense as reasons you guys won so many games. See follow up question for more reasoning. . .

The biggest reason for failure – Your offense. Last season you guys went 3 & out a ton and tended to not be as productive as you would like your offense to be. There was one game, it was either v. Clemson or v. UNC that your defense would force turnovers or recover a fumble and then your offense would come on and just fart it away. As a football fan, that bothers the crap out of me. I hate it when OSU does it – that’s usually the point that I expletive and yell the most. You have to use what your defense gives you and be productive with that.

9) Finally, who will win the match-up this weekend in Arlington between No. 8 Michigan and No. 2 Alabama?

As someone who has such strong disdain for Alabama and a mediocre feeling for Michigan, can I just say I want the earth to open up and swallow the stadium?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these.  We will have to do it again sometime! Great work beautiful!



Again if you missed part 1: You can read it here

Guest Post: Mrs. dallas hokie

In honor of the start of the College Football season, I figured it would be a good idea to let my wife share some witty banter and great insight on the upcoming season.  I have found her insight here to be pretty compelling and really like what she has to say.  Also, I need to give credit to the Pistol's Firing blog for the idea.  

This is post 1 of 2 so keep an eye out later for the second half later today.

1) Do you have anything to say before we get started? 

I attended and graduated from Oklahoma State University and loved all 4 years there. I merit the right to be extremely biased in their favor. I try to be as fair as I can, but you can’t help letting that bright orange, color your disposition.

2) I know you were a huge college football fan when you were in school.  During your time there, what was your favorite sports related memory?

When I was in college our football team wasn’t that great. The favorite game I ever went to was when we beat Kansas State (This was our Homecoming game, which is an over the top big deal at OSU) on a two-point conversion, in the last moments of the 4th quarter, to win 41-39. I thought I was going to throw up. Because our fans are a lot like Cubs fans: long-suffering, you build a lot of character and are really just waiting for the “Poke Choke” and for us to fart something away and then lose. It was a very exciting game. If it had ended the other way, our fan base would’ve gone to Joe’s and emotionally destroyed a thing of cheese fries and shared memories of Barry Sanders. I had more consistent, exciting sports memories from attending Cowgirl Soccer – those ladies are beastly good. So go support Cowgirl Soccer, Pokes.

Another favorite memory was the “I’m a Man, I’m 40” incident of 2007. Being a student during that time was a lot of fun. We had t-shirts everywhere with our Coach Gundy’s rant/famous slogan. As a student, I was so proud of our school and our coach who defended his program and his player. Sure, Bobby Reid ended up leaving OSU because he was embarrassed and really wasn’t that good, but hey – who doesn’t like a 40-year-old man ranting at the media whilst wearing a visor?



3) Pretty interesting year for OSU coming off a BCS win and reloading with a frosh at QB. What are you most excited about?

Ehem, our FIRST BCS game, paired with our FIRST BCS win. Let’s not forget that; we won that tacky, Bedazzled Fiesta Bowl trophy with pride. Todd Monken, our offensive coordinator, is a beast. He’s mouthy and brassy – probably two of my favorite attributes. We had such an explosive offense last year, which was so fun to watch. And when you win that much, it’s fun to watch, too. So I’m just looking forward to how Monken develops our new offense without Weeden or Blackmon. I’m just excited to see how we develop as a team in a noticeable rebuilding year. Plus, the CFB world is finally watching Oklahoma State as a contender. That’s pretty exciting stuff.

4) Rank these players in order of your favorite to least favorite and tell me why: Weeden, Dez, Zac, Blackmon, Barry Sanders, Joe Randle, and Justin Gilbert.  Feel free to add a “wild card” player if you would like.

Barry Sanders – I mean. Duh. Our only Heisman winner, so naturally he goes to the top of the list. He is talked about in hushed, reverent tones in Stillwater, OK.

Blackmon – Obviously, guy has some troubs with leaving the bottle alone, but two-time Biletnikoff winner? No explanation necessary.

Weeden – Say whatever you will about his age/baseball career, etc. But he’s a solid dude and what I consider our most consistent QB. For a while it seemed like he shattered a QB record at OSU a week. Beast.

Broderick Brown/Jamie Blatnick/Basically our whole defense – Naturally, I think our defense is underrated. Big 12 defense is pretty terrible usually overall. We have excellent offense so most team’s defense kind of hits the skids. But Broderick Brown and his pals with all those INT’s in 2011. Holy smokes. This is also discussed in hushed, reverent tones. This clip is from our 2010 Bedlam (That’s the name we give to when we play OU) game. We lost this one, but this should have been a warning that our defense would become a ‘No-Fly Zone.’ Pretty epic stuff:


(Editor Note: Check out the hit put on Broyles after the INT!)

Joe Randle – Okay, here’s where I let my girl show: He is totes presh. He has the cutest dimples and smile (Second only to you, dear one). Brass tacks: he scored 150 points during the 2011 season. WHAT. That’s nasty. It’s second only to Barry Sanders 234 points. This is a dude to watch. Plus, he is a running back. I don’t know why, but I just have an affinity for them.

Kendall Hunter – I loved watching ‘Spud’ in college. Short and brassy and on average rushed for over 30 yards a game. Beast. He was an outstanding player that got to shine even more after Dez left. He was incredible at OSU and definitely didn’t get enough of the recognition that he deserved. And, you guessed it, he’s a running back.

Justin Gilbert – Quick kiddo. I don’t really watch him that much or know enough about him to appreciate him or put him closer to the top, but he is FAST. Which I love. My team plays in the Big 12, so we love that quick-ness. Or at least I do.

Zac Robinson – He was the QB that instilled excitement in all of us sad fans. He did an okay job, but he’s not really a favorite for me. He was just there and was a pretty exciting/productive QB. But now, he pales next to Weeden. At the time, we thought he was the best. And then we got the best and it was all like “Zac, who?”

Dez – I loved him in college, and loved watching him do kickoff returns for a TD (I once saw a 89 yard TD from him. WHAT) and cried outrageous-ness at the NCAA when he was suspended. But now that I’m older, I think he’s a dweeb. He is talented, yes. And he’s annoying and pompous, too. That combo cheeses me off. So I think I don’t like him on moral grounding. Whoops.

That's all for now, later I will ask Mrs. dallas hokie for her thoughts on the rest of college football for the coming year!

Check out the College Football Preview Week Posts while you wait!


1) Conference Race Projections
2) BSC Bowl Projections
3) Power Rankings
4) Week 1 Picks

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Danny Coale Cut


This is the absolute worst news of the day! Danny Coale has been cut by the Cowboys.  They will try to get him through waivers and keep him on the practice squad for the season in case of injury.  The toe injury this offseason was extremely unfortunate and he didn’t get a chance to really compete for a position.  The team had really already made up their mind by the time he was able to start practicing.  Cole Beasley, undrafted rookie WR from SMU, is similar in build and style of play to Coale and has the “Wes Welker/Danny Amendola” WR tag going forward. 

While Coale isn’t the best physical specimen, he truly understands the position of Wide Receiver.  He can get open well and has great hands.  There will be a place for him on an NFL roster this year and I truly believe we will see him show up somewhere before the season is over.  

This is bad news for me since I was really looking forward to being able to cheer for Danny every Sunday as I rooted on the Cowboys!

College Football Picks: Week 1


It’s the first week of the season and I have my first set of picks against the spread.  I don’t bet these picks, but I feel pretty confident about them and would if I had some spare coin.  I’ll star (*) 3 or 4 that I’m the most confident in.  I am also forcing myself to pick all top 25 matchups and any conference ACC or Big12 games. 

Tomorrow, I will be submitting a sweet new post that I am super excited about! I will be getting my incredibly witty wife, Mrs. dallas hokie, to share her thoughts on the upcoming College Football season.  You’ll see that she really knows what she is talking about.  I know guys; I totally hit it out of the park with this one.  In the meantime, check out her blog here.  

This post is Day 4 of college football preview week.  Check out Days 1-3 here:

1) Conference Race Projections
2) BSC Bowl Projections
3) Power Rankings

Enough with the intro, here are the picks!

Michigan State -7.0 over Boise State – Boise lost too much talent last year and while they have a decent team filling those spots, MSU is just too big up front on defense and will win big at home. 

* Navy +15.5 over Notre Dame – While Navy still loses this game, Notre Dame isn’t back and they don’t have a proven QB.  This first game will be rough for ND against a Navy team that has given them fits over the past few years. 

* Penn State -6.5 over Ohio – The betters have pushed this line down significantly over the week.  That is due to their lack of confidence in Penn State coming out of their off season probation mess.  I don’t think they are going to be that bad and will easily beat Ohio by a TD. 

Miami -2.5 over BC – Miami is bad… BC is terrible.  I don’t see BC winning a conference game this year.

* Clemson -3 over Auburn – I am really high on Clemson this year.  Sadly this means I think they beat VT later in the season, but it also means they beat Auburn in Atlanta. 

* Duke – 3 over FIU – Duke is back! Well, not really, but I think this is the year they finally put together some ACC wins.  They won’t beat anyone good, but will surely beat FIU by more than a FG.

Michigan +14 over Alabama – Alabama will win this game.  But, since I am high on Michigan this year, I’ll take them to make this game closer than expected.  Also, it should be noted that this line has risen 3 pts over the week, meaning that Vegas thinks Michigan will make it closer than 14 pts.  And Vegas is usually right…

Virginia Tech -7 over Georgia Tech – I will put out a full game preview this weekend and break down this game a little more.  But for now, I think VT comes out strong.  I think their offense shines and outscores GT.  I can see a score similar to last year.  Right now I’d say VT 31 GT 21.  That could change over the weekend though.  

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Power Rankings - Preseason

The Dallas Hokie Power Rankings - Preseason Edition

1)     Alabama
2)     USC
3)     Oregon
4)     LSU
5)     Georgia
6)     Oklahoma
7)     Michigan
8)     Arkansas
9)     West Virginia
10)   Florida State
11)   South Carolina
12)   Clemson
13)   Virginia Tech
14)   Michigan State
15)   Nebraska

On the verge – Texas, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State

For more fun predictions check out the BCS Bowl and Conference Race Projections.

Note: While I have picked Alabama #1, I also picked them to lose @ LSU and to not make the national championship game.  They have earned this spot by being the defending national champs.  

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

BCS Projections

As promised from yesterday, here are my Preseason BCS Projections for this coming year.  

Keep in mind that again this year the Orange Bowl has the last pick of teams, so they will most definitely be stuck with the Big East champion.  Fiesta gets the first pick.  Keep a lookout tomorrow, for the first ever Dallas Hokie Power Rankings


BCS Title Game:  USC (Pac-12 Champ) over LSU (SEC Champ)

Rose Bowl: Oregon (At-Large) vs. Michigan (B1G Champ)

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma (Big12 Champ vs. Florida State (At-Large)

Sugar Bowl: Georgia (At-Large) vs. Michigan State (At-Large)

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech (ACC Champ) vs. South Florida (Big East Champ)

If you want to see my thoughts on these pics, check out yesterdays Conference Race Projections.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Preseason Conference Projections

Its that time of year again! I have done a moderate research and some random guessing to come up with my Preseason Conference Champs and BCS Bowls Projections! It will be a two part post with the Bowl Projections coming out tomorrow.  I will also be keeping my own top 25 this year, so that should be fun too.  Keep a look out later in the week for my weekly picks as well as other thoughts on the season.  

Below I have written up how I think each major conference will play out this year. And yes, I still included the Big East.

In order to make this interesting, I’m going to pick the top 3 teams from each conference.  For conferences with a championship game, that will include the two division champs and then a third “wild card” team.  For the others it will just be the top three.  The rankings next the team represent their "pre-conference championship game" record. 

SEC
LSU – West (12-0)
Georgia – East (12-0)
Alabama – (11-1)

Georgia wins the East by not having to play any of the powerhouse teams from the West.  With probably the easiest schedule in America, the bulldogs go into the SEC championship game undefeated.  They lose big in the championship game.

PAC-12
USC – South (11-1)
Oregon – North (11-1)
Washington State– (9-3)

USC wins the south and beats Oregon twice in the process.  They will have home field advantage for both the regular season game and the championship game and win both in close fashion.  USC will lose one close game this year on the road.  Washington State will have a nice under new head coach Mike Leach. 

B1G
Michigan – Legends (10-2)
Wisconsin – Leaders (9-3)
Michigan State – (10-2)

If anyone beside Wisconsin wins the Leaders division, it will be the biggest upset of the year.  With OSU and PSU ineligible, all they have to do is beat Illinois, Indiana, and Purdue.  On the other side Michigan finally beats MSU and clinches the Legends division and then beats a worse than expected Wisconsin team. 

BIG12
Oklahoma (11-1)
West Virginia (10-2)
Oklahoma State (9-3)

West Virginia will beat both Oklahoma and Texas in their first season in the Big 12 but won’t be able to avoid the upset (twice).  That leaves OU and OSU to fight it out in the bedlam, which (sadly) Oklahoma should win.  

ACC
Virginia Tech – Coastal (10-2)
Florida State - Atlantic (11-1)
Clemson – Atlantic (10-2)

Virginia Tech will lose to both FSU and Clemson during the regular season, but will still win the Coastal.  They will avenge their loss to FSU in the conference championship game.  FSU beats Clemson and I don’t trust any ACC team to not trip up at some point (thus the loss for FSU and for Clemson).

BIG EAST
USF – (8-4)
Louisville – (8-4)
Rutgers – (7-5)

This is a crap shoot of a conference these days.  I pick USF because they are from Florida and should be able to recruit better players (in theory).  It really doesn’t matter…