BullHubbs surprise teams of '09

[Hubbs]

I have 5 teams that I think could make some noise on the national level in 2009. JMO

1.) Nebraska - I watched their bowl game last season and I saw something with the Huskers. They are going back to what Nebraska football is all about. No they are not running the option, but they are playing defense and running the ball. In a league where offense seems to be the bread and butter, watch out for Nebraska and a stingy defense to make some noise.

2.) Louisiana Tech - They are not going to be in the top 10. They are not going to make a lot of national headlines. They are going to beat somebody and get a lot of press for that. I just hope it's not opening weekend. 18 starters return.

3.) Clemson - Call me crazy. I know, I know. Clemson??? Thats right. I think Clemson has a run in them this season. The ACC is a meh conference right now. By the end of the season it will be more respected. Clemson will be a huge reason why.

4.) Arkansas - It will all depend on how much their defense improves. Incomming transfer Ryan Mallett has had plenty of time in Petrino's complicated offense to flourish. Look out for the transfer at RB to add depth to a position lead by 5 ft nothing 100 and nothing lb M. Smith. He is the real deal. You had better not sleep on Arkansas. You can still throw on them, but they will put up 30 a game IMO.

5.) Notre Dame - In large part to an easier schedule I look for Notre Dame to win 9 or 10 games and get a BCS berth. I expect Clausen to be better and Weis knows it is now or never. Not a huge surprise here, but the way ND has played the past few seasons 9 or 10 wins is surprising.

JMO - Who are your surprise teams in '09. We are close friends!!!

[Hero1957]

2.) Louisiana Tech - They are not going to be in the top 10. They are not going to make a lot of national headlines. They are going to beat somebody and get a lot of press for that. I just hope it's not opening weekend. 18 starters return.

Hubbs, I know what it is like to lose to Tech.
You better hope you are wrong.

The young coach comes from good stock.

[NCT]

Hubbs, I know what it is like to lose to Tech.
You better hope you are wrong.

The young coach comes from good stock.

Very good stock -- even though that stock has roots in the state of Alabama (McGill Institute, Mobile) and AU, specifically.

[Hubbs]

in the front 22 on both sides. I think that it will be close for about 2and 1/2 quarters and then go downhill for Tech. We have the players to beat tech. They CAN beat Auburn if no QB emerges. With adequate QB play and better rezone scoring Auburn will be better. Not a contender, but better.

Todd's arm is 95%. He was playing at 80% tops last season. If his shoulder holds up we win 7 this season including an upset or two ;)

[James Beam]

I can't pick one team, but a member of the Big East will have a chance to make some noise.

If Pitt can avoid its embarrassing losses against MAC opponents and get some decent play from QB, the Panthers could be good.

West Virginia will have a pretty solid defense, but losing Pat White is huge. The O line is young, and WVU has to find a punter and a kicker.

South Florida has real playmakers on both sides of the ball. What is this, Grothe's eighth year? Selvie is just outstanding.

Brian Kelly is a fine coach at Cincinnati, and that team could be interesting because of his leadership. Pike, the QB, is pretty good.

And some see Rutgers as a possible BCS contender. The OOC schedule is favorable (weak), and the Knights have very good coaching.

UConn, Louisville and Syracuse all have too many barriers to win the league title.

One of five teams could get hot and run the table. Then, of course, the champion gets a BCS bowl berth.

I find it amazing that so many college football fans dismiss the Big East. Big East teams have played pretty well during the post season the past four or five years. This year, the conference has parity (or uncertainty), but that doesn't mean the Big East has forgotten how to play football.

It's possible that a Big East team could get hot and run the table and play in the BCS title game. That's not a prediction -- just a possibility.

[Blue Hen]

Big East talent is underappreciated as well. There were more BE players per conf member drafted in April than from any of the 'hyped' leagues. Might be a shocking factoid for those perception driven CF fans.

[MasterBevo]

Big East talent is underappreciated as well. There were more BE players per conf member drafted in April than from any of the 'hyped' leagues. Might be a shocking factoid for those perception driven CF fans.

I was a little surprised by that data when you showed it. It was interesting, but... I'm not sure it was all that meaningful. When you look at that data on a "per conference member" basis, it smooths out differences.

The TOP teams, I would think, would tend to have more NFL talent... (Fla, Bama, USC, Texas, etc... )... But, the bottom teams are all pretty much the same.... So, when you divide the total by 12 teams, or more... the, average "per conference member" isn't going to be all that different. And, could be skewed with just a few players in a given year.

I haven't seen the numbers recently (past 1-2 years)... but, they last time I did, the SEC was clearly in the lead in % of players in the NFL. That number means more to me.

[Blue Hen]

I agree that actual players on NFL rosters tells you more. Getting drafted doesn't guarantee that prospect will be an NFL FB player, but the BE did, indeed, provide a higher density of draft talent than any other league in 09.
By my unofficial count there were more ACC players on opening day NFL rosters than SEC players.

The NFL #s among the P10, B10, ACC and SEC are very close , year by year. Very equal talent in those 4 conferences....contrary to perception.

[NCT]

I agree that actual players on NFL rosters tells you more. Getting drafted doesn't guarantee that prospect will be an NFL FB player, but the BE did, indeed, provide a higher density of draft talent than any other league in 09.
You're wrong about the SEC ....at least in last year's NFL. There were more ACC players on opening day NFL rosters than SEC players.

The NFL #s among the P10, B10, ACC and SEC are very close , year by year. Very equal talent in those 4 conferences....contrary to perception.

SEC Leads All Conferences in NFL Opening Rosters (http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=2&url_article_id=11509&change_well_id=2) (9/11/2008)

SEC: 259
ACC: 254
B10: 227
P10: 178
B12: 170
BE: 87

The SEC obtained the numbers from the National Football League. Where'd you get yours?

Oh, ESPN ran an article about how the SEC led all conferences on NFL opening day rosters, too, on 9/11/2008:

SEC players dot NFL rosters (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sec/0-1-367/SEC-players-dot-NFL-rosters.html)

[Don]

I think he is talking about the 2009 draft only.

......................ACC....Big 12..Big East..Big Ten..Pac 10....SEC
# player............33......28.........27........28. .......32.......37
# teams............12......12..........8.........11. ......10.......12
#plyrs/#tms...2.750 .....2.333....3.375....2.545...3.200....3.083

[MasterBevo]

One other thing to consider now... the NFL doesn't have as many draft rounds as they used to. There are quite a few players now on each team that were NEVER drafted... signed as free agents.

So... actual players ON ROSTERS means much more than "drafted".... to me.

[MasterBevo]

SEC: 259
ACC: 254
B10: 227
P10: 178
B12: 170
BE: 87



What do you know? My perception was, that the Big East had a lower talent level... and the reality is the same. I'm not too surprised by the Big 12 numbers either... Until last year, it's been a 2 team conference for nearly ten years.

[Blue Hen]

I went to NFL.com and counted every NFL team roster, counting only the 53 man active rosters, not practice squad or injured reserve guys. I got :

ACC - 21.33 per (256)
SEC - 21.08 per (253)
B10 - 20.09 per
P10 - 17.50 per
B12 - 13.83 per
BEC - 11.13 per

Could probably be the very day that these two counts were made as these rosters fluctuate almost daily. For example the # of players for UGA in the NFL/SEC post is 36. I counted 37. LSU -35, I counted 36.
Anyway, I accept your post's numbers as being far more official than my personal count, so thanks, NCT.

[GatorGrad]

"The SEC has led the country in the number of players on NFL opening-day rosters since 2001."

[MasterBevo]

. For example the # of players for UGA in the NFL/SEC post is 36. I counted 37. LSU -35, I counted 36.



Texas currently has 50 former players on active NFL rosters... not too bad! :)

Something I found interesting while looking through some stats; My junior year (1980) was the year Texas had the most players selected in the 1st round of the NFL draft... three. 1984 is when we set the record (probably never to be broken) of 17 players drafted... but, only one was 1st round.

In 1980, our team was mediocre at best... Defense as awesome, but.. offense was conservative (Akers) and boring. But, we did lose a few damn good players...


Johnny "Lam" Jones WR 1st New York Jets
Johnnie Johnson DB 1st Los Angeles Rams
Derrick Hatchett DB 1st Baltimore Colts
Steve McMichael DT 3rd New England Patriots
Ricky Churchman DB 4th San Francisco 49ers
Bill Acker DT 6th St. Louis Cardinals
Charles Vaclavik DB 12th Pittsburgh Steelers


Ricky Churchman was one of the hardest hitters I ever saw play the game.. he was INSANE!

I played Intra-mural basketball against Johnnie Johnson... the jock team crushed us.

I've posted before how I got to know Acker and Churchman, since my roomate grew up with them in Freer, Tx.

And... Johnny "Lam" Jones, although a speedster, would be my nomination for WORST draft pick of all time. I THINK, the Jets took him #1 overall in the draft... for sure, it was very high. They should have asked me... I knew, Lam had BRICKS for hands.... but, he had one good game.. his last in college against Baylor... with something like 12 catches for 250 yds and 2 Tds... with pro scouts in the stands. :p

[HellYeahHokie]

I played Intra-mural basketball against Johnnie Johnson... the jock team crushed us.


Ha! I played interamural basketball against Bruce Smith and others from the football team. Dude was huge. Oh yeah, they wiped the floor with us.

[Blue Hen]

When the final cuts are made I would estimate Texas to have between 28 and 34 players on the final 53 man rosters. We'll see. Texas`was 8th among schools last year with 31 on opening day. It's always fun to count 'em up and we can do that in 2 weeks.

[MasterBevo]

Ha! I played interamural basketball against Bruce Smith and others from the football team. Dude was huge. Oh yeah, they wiped the floor with us.

Bruce Smith?? Ouch! :eek:

I tried to rebound against a guy named Kenneth Sims. He was ~ 6'7", probably 800 lbs... I was.. uh,... ineffective. Johnson was DUNKING the damn ball on us.

We had a decent team. I was player/coach. We had three guys who played HS ball, and one guy who actually played on the UT baseball team (our mini-jock). We won 70% of our games against "normal" people.

We were proud to have held them under 100 (many teams didn't)... and, not have any broken bones. ;)