Football Friday - Why Alabama Will Win the College Football Playoff

For the past decade, Alabama has been the most dominant force in college football.  They have also been one of the most consistent. Characterized by great coaching, incredible defense, and a rock solid offense, Alabama will be the team to beat for many years to come. This season will be no different. 

Alabama is returning QB Jalen Hurts, who matured a lot throughout last season, and this season he will continue to impress. They return Heisman hopeful Bo Scarborough who has shown to be an effective runner for the Tide. 

The defense, while losing some absolutely incredible players, will continue to impress, as that is what Alabama is known for. Couple this with the fact that Nick Saban is still the coach and you have a recipe for success. 

The Tide do face CFP contender Florida State to start the season. Get past the Seminoles, and the rest of the season should be no problem for Alabama. The real difficulty for Alabama will be when they get to the college football playoff.  This is where, in my opinion, they will have to play either USC, Penn State, or Oklahoma State. These are three teams projected to start the season in the top 10, and in some polls, the top 7. Of course, you can never overlook teams like Florida, Georgia and Ole Miss, but I have seen nothing as of yet to show that these teams could beat Alabama. 

Next week, we will continue our preview of the 2017-2018 College Football Playoff as I present "Why USC Will Win the College Football Playoff"

Thank you for reading!

Daniel Snyder 

DanDanTony Sports - Episode 14: NBA's Most Underrated

The 14th installment of DanDanTony Sports is finally here! Listen as Dan, Dan, Tony, Dan, and Chuckles debate the Lebron James vs. Michael Jordan argument and give you the players they selected as the most underrated at each position. As always, you can listen here on the embedded player, on SoundCloud, or by subscribing on iTunes!

Our This Week in Sports History info can be found here!

Thank you for listening!

Football Friday - South Florida

Since the Big East imploded and split into two conferences (only one for football), the Power 6 conferences became the Power 5. Despite the fact there are former BCS teams in the American Conference, the teams just don't get the respect that they used to. This may get called into question this season as the University of South Florida has a legitimate chance of going undefeated. This begs the question, are they a College Football Playoff team? This post will examine that.

In the 2017 season, the South Florida Bulls will be one of the teams to watch. This season, they play against two teams that were ranked in the top 25 last season. In addition, they have a new head coach who was most recently the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. They will be ranked in the top 25 to begin the season, and face a schedule where they are favored to win in every game they play. If South Florida goes undefeated, should they be considered for the College Football Playoff?

I argue yes! The reason why is three fold. The first being that if the committee truly values wins like they claim they do, then they should not be able to deny an undefeated team the right to play in the CFP. The second reason is that they used to be a Power 6 team, and the quality of the teams has not decreased with them being in the American Conference, but teams like South Florida have elevated other teams like Tulsa and Temple to become legitimate, solid football teams. The third is that they play a schedule with multiple teams that were ranked in the top 25 last season, and will most likely be ranked in the top 25 again this season.

If they do make it to the CFP, would their resume be strong enough to tell a 1 loss, lets say USC, for example, that they will not make the playoff? Will strength of schedule get a team with more losses into the CFP instead? Will South Florida go undefeated? If not, who beats them? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Thank you for reading!

Dan Snyder

DanDanTony Sports - Episode 13: DanDanTony Sports Trivia Challenge

Hello peeps! Here is the latest episode of DanDanTony Sports. Listen in as we discuss the NHL/NBA Finals and play our very first DanDanTony Sports Trivia Challenge! Find out who won right here! You can listen on iTunes, on SoundCloud, or right here on the embedded player!

Our This Week in Sports History can be found here!

As always, we hope you enjoy!

Football Friday - How the SEC Lost It's Crown

Since the BCS era began in 1998, The SEC has been the most dominant conference in college football. Since then, the SEC has had 5 teams (Alabama, Florida, LSU, Auburn, and Tennessee) that have won 10 of the 19 National Championships. The ACC has the second most in that time frame with 4, most recently won by Clemson in the 2016-2017 National Championship game.

However, in the 2016-2017 season, the SEC did not display it's usual dominance. This is shown by the fact that only 1 team of the 14 had a win total of 10 or more games. The league as a whole produced an average of 7.5 wins. Rounding that number up to 8, that leaves you with 3 teams winning more than the conference average. The Big Ten had an average of 7 wins, which is less than the SEC average, but had 6 teams win more than the conference average of games. In addition, The Big Ten and Pac 12 each had 4 teams with double digit wins. The ACC and Big 12 each had 3 teams with double digit wins, making the SEC the conference with the least double digit win teams of the power 5 conferences.

The Big Ten and Pac 12 conferences really stole the show last season, with incredible play in both conferences. Penn State had what many consider to be the win of the year as they defeated Ohio State in Happy Valley. USC, despite getting manhandled by Alabama in a 52-6 loss, came on strong toward the end of the season thanks to Quarterback Sam Darnold. Ohio State, while not the winner of the Big Ten Championship, represented the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff, where they would go on to lose to Clemson. Washington had a great outing against Alabama in a losing effort. Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin were also at one point ranked in the top 25, as was Colorado from the Pac 12.

The SEC is by no means a weak conference. LSU, Auburn and Florida were good teams, but they never reached that level of greatness that we have come to expect from the SEC. Tennessee looked like they might be a great team, but they tipped their hand too many times, and got lucky on a few occasions. They eventually showed their flaws losing to South Carolina and Vanderbilt, two very bad teams.

I fully expect the SEC to be a strong conference again, but their time of conference dominance is over. The Big Ten and the Pac 12 are gaining on them, and gaining fast. Alabama may be the number 1 team in the nation, but they are definitely not a part of the best conference.

Which Power 5 Conference is the best? Leave a comment here to or on our Facebook page!

Daniel Snyder

DanDanTony Sports - Episode 12: Favorite Sports Team Names

Hello all! Here is our most recent episode of DanDanTony Sports! While we do not use excessive profanity, this episode is not suitable for children. There are innuendos that are adult in nature. In this episode, we discuss our favorite team names in all of sports! We had a lot of fun, and you can hear it as soon as you click play! As always, listen on iTunes, SoundCloud, or here through the embedded player!

Our  This Week In Sports History can be found here! One quick edit, in the episode, we say May 5th, and we obviously mean June 5th!

Football Friday - Heisman Hopefuls

The Heisman Trophy is one of the most coveted awards in all of sports. The list of Heisman winners is a long lineage of elite football talent. From Davey O'Brien to Barry Sanders, there is not a better list of incredible football players. This year, there will be a large crop to choose from as well. This post will examine 10 athletes who I believe are Heisman Hopefuls. There are 5 obvious picks, and we will of course discuss them. However, there are 5 others that I have identified that I believe should be taken more seriously. 

The 5 "realistic" candidates are:

Sam Darnold - QB from USC. Many people believe that USC was the hottest team to end the 2016-17 season. Sam Darnold is also the projected number 1 draft pick in the 2018 NFL draft. 

Saquon Barkley - RB from Penn State. Penn State was another "hot" team to end the 2016-17 season. The incredible running of Saquon Barkley was the catalyst that helped Penn State win the Big Ten Championship.

Baker Mayfield - QB from Oklahoma. Baker Mayfield was a spark plug for the Oklahoma Sooners. Other than the Ohio State game, Mayfield was exactly what Oklahoma needed to bring hope back to a once dominant team.

Bo Scarborough - RB Alabama. Bo Scarborough was an absolute monster for the Tide last season. This year, with no Fournette or McCaffrey, Bo will be in a 2 pony race for best RB with Saquon Barkley.

Lamar Jackson - QB Louisville. The reigning Heisman winner will certainly be looking to defend his title. He fell off at the end of the season, but his early accomplishments solidified him as the trophy winner after just a few weeks into the season. He will need to have a similar start to the season to win the trophy for a second time.

The 5 "others":

Luke Falk - QB Washington State. The Cougars have a coach who is known for a high flying offense and a Quarterback who is more than capable of being something special. One of the best in a draft class that will be extremely Quarterback heavy, Luke Falk could be the real deal.

Mason Rudolph - QB Oklahoma State. The Big 12 is an offense heavy league, and having a great Quarterback like Rudolph could not only lead to a Big 12 title, but potentially a Playoff berth.

Jake Browning - QB Washington. Jake Browning led a weak-ish Washington team to a great showing against Alabama. Look for Jake Browning to continue his success despite losing John Ross to the NFL draft.

Nick Chubb - RB Georgia. The reason Nick Chubb isn't on the top list is simply because he shares the Running Back duties for the Bulldogs. He is without a doubt one of the top players in the country, let alone Running Backs.

Quinton Flowers - QB South Florida. The Bulls play in the American Conference, which means they get to play a high scoring game. This will benefit Flowers as he tries to make the Bulls the Group of 6 team to beat. Look for a big season from him.

Did I miss any? Who do you think should be on this list? Who on my list should be taken off? Leave your comments either here, or on the Facebook page!

Thank you!

Dan Snyder

DanDanTony Sports - Episode 11: NHL/NBA Finals

Hello everyone! This week's episode is available and you have a few different ways to listen! You can enjoy it right here through the embedded player, you can subscribe on iTunes and get it downloaded automatically (easiest method, requires no work), or you can listen on SoundCloud! This week we discussed the NHL and NBA Finals.

Our This Week in Sports History information can be found here!

Football Friday - Bottom 10

Hello everybody! Last week we went into some detail about the top 25 teams to start the season. This week, we will be focusing on the other side of the coin, the "Bottom 10". All of these teams finished with a losing record, and don't seem to be getting better this season. Of course, one of these teams will inevitably prove me wrong and make the Playoff. This list will be a mix of both Power 5 and Group of 6 teams. Without further adieu, the Bottom 10:

10) Michigan State - They are without a doubt a tough team, but tough doesn't always mean good. The reason they are number 10 is because the rest of the Big Ten may have gotten worse than it was last season.

9) UConn - I don't think there is much to say as to why UConn is on this list. They are bad.

8) Virginia - The ACC outside of Florida State, Louisville, Miami and Clemson, the ACC is pretty bad. Thats putting it very nicely

7) UMass - I feel kind of bad putting them here, but they're kinda bad. They haven't been an FBS team for very long, but there are teams that have the opposite experience. Appalachian State has been successful in their short time, so we can't let UMass off easy.

6) Oregon - Oregon was absolutely awful. They can only get better. Despite the fact that they are not good, they are still fun to watch.

5) Buffalo - They lost to Albany. No offense to the Great Danes, but that isn't good for the Bulls.

4) Arizona - the Pac 12 is such a strong conference, that teams will inevitably have to be bottom feeders. Arizona is one of those teams.

3) New Mexico State - Again, not much to say except this is a list of bad teams. They fit right in.

2) Fresno State - Not to sound like a broken record, but see above.

And the worst team in FBS is......

1) Rutgers - Rutgers is TERRIBLE. They are the doormat to the cellar. This is honestly one of the worst teams I can remember. They're bad on offense, can't stop anybody, and to make matters worse, they're not even fun to watch. I would be shocked if Rutgers gets 2 wins this season.

Well there you have it! Tell me what you think! Did I miss any teams? Do you think I am too critical of any of the teams on this list? Tune in next week when I break down the Pre-Season Heisman watch list with 5 that have a shot, and 5 that could surprise us all!

Thanks for reading

Dan Snyder