Pyle of List

We all want football season to start as soon as possible. So now that it’s August, we here at Pyle of List are tired of waiting. We have so much beautiful football inside us, it needs to be let out much like the musical creativity that resided inside Dirk Diggler. So we’ve devoted the entire month of August to football. BOOYAH!

Without further ado, here are our picks for the 2009 BCS Champion. We’ve also thown in a dark horse and a pretender that most definitely WILL NOT take home the trophy with the crystal football.

Lunchbox

Why You Should Listen to Me: College football season is the greatest time of the year. I can spend all week reading up on the games for the weekend. Then on Saturday there’s games from the time I wake up, all day, until I’m ready to pass out in the evening. Then I can spend Sunday recuperating in time to do it all over again the next week. I love it. Around June is when I really start to get anxious about the coming season.
Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Me: I’m a regionist. I think the Big East and the Big 10 are a bunch of chumps with a bunch of annual disappointments and a few surprises mixed in. I think the SEC relies on its reputation too much sometimes. The Big 12 reminds me of a puppy that can’t help but step in its own poop. I try to ignore the fact that the Pac-10 has about six or seven teams every year that don’t even live up to low expectations. Oh yeah, I also endorsed Kirk Ferentz and his group of losers from the Big 10 as a sleeper last year. Oops.
2009 BCS Champion: It pains me to say this. It really does…ugh. The Florida Gators. Tebow is on a mission from God to do two things: talk about God and win football games. He does both of them exceedingly well. This year Urban Meyer will have a good running back for the first time since his move to Gainesville, Emmanuel Moody. Moody, a former Trojan, wanted to go someplace where he didn’t have to compete with anyone for the starting job. Mission accomplished. These guys have speed and good defense. Other than the road trip to Athens, they have a desirable schedule as far as the SEC goes. They get LSU at home and avoid playing Auburn. In what I think will be a down year for the middle pack of the SEC, Florida should have a better than even chance to win out.
2009 BCS Dark Horse: The other Bulldogs should be tough again this year after a down year last season. I’m not saying they will challenge for the title, but I think they’ll have a great chance at making a BCS game coming out of the WAC. If they play up to their ability, they should be rewarded the way their WAC brethren, Boise State and Hawaii, have been in recent years. Fresno State’s Pat Hill doesn’t mess around when it comes to making a college football schedule. His non-conference games this year are against Rutgers (too bad Ray Rice is gone), Wisconsin, and UCLA. The world wide leader has taken notice of them this year too. Fresno State will be televised on six national broadcasts this year. Go Bulldogs!
2009 BCS Pretender: Will I be excommunicated from all my friends for this? I don’t think USC will be as strong as everyone is thinking they will be. My concern lies with the offense. The defense should be one of the best ever in the land of Troy. But I think their offense will be the Achilles heel in their bid for another national championship game appearance. Mark Sanchez is going to be a good QB, but he’s no Matt Leinart. The team is stacked at running back, but the offensive line is completely different than a year ago when it had Sam Baker and three other starters that will not be back this year. It makes it tough to run when there aren’t any holes to run through. The wide receivers have been disappointing Trojan fans ever since Dwayne Jarrett left. Trust me. I’ve seen holes punched in doors and walls of my friends’ apartments to prove it. There’s rumors floating about that I made some of them myself. Anyway, the receiving corp doesn’t have super-stud, Big Fred Davis, at tight end this year to bail them out. Just to summarize: good defense, no where to run, no one to throw to.

Philguard

Why You Should Listen to Me:I am the college football fan that every other true fan hates. I have the knowledge of the game without the blinding passion for any particular team. I like any and all things Texas and hate any and all things Oklahoma, but I can actually survey the college football scene and give real unbiased analysis.
Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Me:It’s not that I don’t like college football but the pro game has always been where its at. So I really only pay attention to players that I see moving on to the next level. Imagine my surprise when Tebow won the Heisman.
2009 BCS Champion:I gotta go with the Oklahoma Sooners….man that hurts. Let’s face it, Sam Bradford might be one of the most composed QB’s I’ve seen in a while and the Big 12 has the worst group of pretenders currently ranked in the top 25 (see below)
2009 BCS Dark Horse:Wisconsin - While the Big 10 has been focused on the Big Game at the end of the season I just feel like the Badgers are due. And if Ohio State drags their butt into another National Championship Game only to bore me for 4 hours on a Monday night in January I’m flying to Columbus and choking someone with a sweater vest.
2009 BCS Pretender: Take your pick of teams from the Big 12 ranked in the top 25 right now. Missouri (not sneaking up on anyone this year), Texas (as Colt McCoy goes…see the Chris Simms)

JP

Why You Should Listen to Me: I’m a big college football fan and regularly spend Saturday consuming every game I can get my hands on. From the SEC to the Pac-10, I love watching it all.
Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Me: I picked Iowa as a sleeper last year.
2009 BCS Champion: Georgia. Perhaps they’re the obvious pick, but they’ll have to overcome a heck of a lot to get there. The SEC is as strong as its ever been this year which means they can’t have any let-downs against inferior opponents. With the strength of the SEC, I’d wager that a tough loss (or possibly even 2) will still put them in the title game. With the momentum they generated to end the season in 2007, I have a great feeling about them this year.
2009 BCS Dark Horse: Clemson. If they beat Alabama in Week 1 at home, they should go undefeated the rest of the way. Then they should have enough momentum to win the ACC Title and catapult into a BCS Championship Game bid. Their two great RB’s (Spiller and Davis) should be able to carry the offense, meaning Harper only has to manage games at QB. And the defense should be OK despite losing a host of LBs and they’ll likely have a great chance to stay off the field with the Tigers’ potent running game.
2009 BCS Pretender: Oklahoma. They lost too much to the draft on defense to be elite. Plus, West Virginia blew last year’s team out and I don’t regard them very highly. Bob Stoops is 1-4 in his last 5 Bowl Games and I feel a sophomore slump for Sam Bradford coming on. It will likely be brought by the new D-coordinator at Texas, Will Muschamp, who has a whole year of film on Bradford and an aggressive approach to defense.

DLamp

Why You Should Listen to Me: You know that secretary in your office who always wins the March Madness pool by picking teams based on color/mascot/coin flip? That’s me. I have zero knowledge and therefore can’t over think things.
Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Me: I know absolutely nothing about college football.
2009 BCS Champion: USC. This is a pretty safe pick for me. I know they are good because I have to hear about it constantly. That’s what happens when your city doesn’t have a pro team.
2009 BCS Dark Horse: The U. Always bet on black! Or is it never bet on black? Either way, I pick Miami.
2009 BCS Pretender: West Virginia. Are they even considered a contender by experts? That is how little I know. I pick them because I believe they lost their head coach (could be wrong) and I think that will mess with their spread offense (could be wrong about general offensive strategy as well).