Best Week 1 Game; Bama's Rebuilt O-line; USC Hot Seat
From @Zach_grant: What games are you most looking forward to in the opening week?
I'll be in studio for CBS in New York City the first two weeks of the season, but if I could be at one game opening week it'd be Georgia-Clemson. Both teams have experienced QBs and question marks on defense. I also think if these teams can show that their defenses are strong enough, they each have a shot to get to the BCS title game. It's a great opportunity for Aaron Murray to silence some critics who say for all his production, he can't win "big" games.
For Tajh Boyd, one of the most talented QBs in the country, this could serve as a springboard to the top of the Heisman race, much as it could for Murray.
Other really intriguing games for Week One: TCU-LSU; Boise State-Washington and Texas Tech-SMU.
From @BrainstemTime: Whats the real downside of letting players make $ in an Olympic-style model (ads, comp for likeness,etc)?
My hunch is that it'd be where you'd have schools and boosters using this as their most convenient way to funnel more money to players by paying, say, $10,000 for a signed picture or something. Word is, over the past decade people have been able to find ways to get players taken care of, whether that means having boosters donate money to a recruit's church or providing free airline tickets for prospects to travel in for unofficial visits.
I guess the NCAA could try to regulate that part of the "image" business, but I suspect people would still find a way to exploit it but that doesn't mean the idea shouldn't be examined.
No matter what, you're never going to stop people from bending the rules. There will always been people trying to get an edge any way they can.
From RobertBRameyJR: Is Alabama's O-Line good enough this year to get them back into the title game?
From talking to someone inside the Bama program, it sounds like they have the personnel to be excellent again up front. Cyrus Kouandijo at left tackle is a great foundation for the Tide to start with. He could be a Top 10 draft pick. His brother, Arie, also has emerged nicely and that should anchor the left side. Anthony Steen is very solid on the inside and Ryan Kelly is a star on the horizon, I'm told. Another big plus is having such an experienced QB in AJ McCarron to run the…
Related articles
- Sports & Swag Preseason Top 10 Heisman candidates for 2013..... (sportsandswag.com)
- Bama lands commit from top-rated 2015 QB Town (alabama.247sports.com)
- SEC: Expert Predictions (cbssports.com)
- University of Alabama Atlanta alumni plan events for season kick-off (al.com)
- Alabama Football: Players show Bama leads in 'mental edge' (isportsweb.com)
- Exclusive: How Bama Took Down Manziel (loserswithsocks.com)
- Bama Bound (twicethemen.wordpress.com)
for more features.