As the NCAA College Football 2008 kicks off next week with a 14-game schedule, NCAA College Football teams have already geared up and made up the adjustments to win the coveted crown in College Football.
There are three exciting games that you should not miss next week, August 28 as the 23rd seed Wake Forest Demon Deacons visit the Baylor Bears to mark the start of the NCAA College Football 2008.
Last season proved that Wake Forest’s 2006 success was no fluke and that the program will continue to be a contender in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The success was not as substantial, but still the Demon Deacons put together a nine win season and hung in the Atlantic division race. With a host of defensive players returning and a majority of the skill players on offense, Coach Jim Grobe will look to take the next big step this year.
With 15 starters returning, Wake Forest doesn’t go into the season with a whole lot of questions, which is a major change from past seasons.
“We’ve been in the position before where we’ve come into August without a very good feel about our starters,” coach Jim Grobe says. “We’re in a pretty good situation now where we’re trying to develop our depth.”
Other key returnees for Wake Forest in this year's NCAA College Football 2008 are LB Stanley Arnoux, LB Aaron Curry, CB Brandon Ghee, OT Jeff Griffin, QB Brett Hodges, LB Chantz McClinic, G Barrett McMillin, S Kevin Patterson, DE Matt Robinson, K/P Sam Swank.
With Riley Skinner’s efficient quarterback play and a quality tight end like Ben Wooster, the offense just needs a decent running back to be effective. Enter Josh Adams. As a freshman Adams rushed for 953 yards and 11 touchdowns and is expected to become one of the top backs in the conference now that he has a year of experience under his belt.
For the home team of the Baylor Bears, there is more excitement in Waco for NCAA College Football 2008 right now than there has been for a long, long time. New head coach Art Briles will bring his high octane offense to the Bears, but does he have somebody who can run it?
The system’s glory days were at Houston under quarterback Kevin Kolb. Returning starter Blake Szymanski is not Kolb and neither is Miami transfer Kirby Freeman, but those two will battle it out for the starting job. Even if Szymanski or Freeman picks up the offense quickly and the defense can manage to stop somebody, the conference is loaded this year.
This should be a better team overall and at least there is excitement and hope with the new coaching staff, but the record will probably look about the same as it did last year.
Another exciting game College football fans should not miss is the game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the South Carolina Gamecocks. The good news for the NC State Wolfpack is Jamelle Eugene is back after rushing for a team high 667 yards last season, but more importantly so are Andre Brown and Toney Baker after missing much of last season with injuries.
Add sophomore Curtis Underwood to that list and the Wolfpack suddenly have four quality runners. However, there are just so many holes to fill and none are more important than at quarterback. Daniel Evans took a majority of the snaps last year, but his 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions did not endear him to anybody.
South Carolina Gamecocks’ side - this is the supposed to be the year where everything comes together for Coach Steve Spurrier at South Carolina. After a few years of getting his players into the program, Coach Spurrier finally has some quality depth to work with. A couple upsets here and there is not good enough anymore and consistency will be the key if Coach Spurrier is ever going to make the Gamecocks a winner in the Southeastern Conference. The breakthrough season has not arrived yet, and 2008 might be the year for South Carolina Gamecocks.
South Carolina lost its last five games of 2007 and will be breaking in new starters at quarterback and tailback. There is also a new defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator this coming NCAA College Football 2008.
The third featured game of this season opener will be Oregon State Beavers battling Stanford Cardinal.
Oregon State Beavers have overcome the doubters and slow starts the past two seasons to finish third in the Pac-10 each year and record 19 total victories. Questions will be answered on the importance of Yvenson Bernard to Oregon State’s offense. His running back averaged over 110 yards per game during his senior season and reached the endzone a total of 14 times. Redshirt freshman Ryan McCants has the potential to be better than Bernard but he still has to prove it. Senior Patrick Fuller only carried the ball ten times last year and it seems like it is already McCants time to shine.
Carry over the momentum for the Standford Cardinal as they ended last year’s season with a resounding victory over California. Defense will be the goal for the Cardinal’s to reach a bowl game. And with nine starters returning to the unit, that should not be a problem. Linebacker Clinton Snyder is coming off a great year in which he tallied 96 tackles, eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. The junior is expected to become even more of a leader on the field now that he is an upperclassman. With Pat Maynor and Chike Amajoyi also back, the linebacker corps will be extremely strong. Safety Bo McNally will lead the secondary.
Indeed, this will be an exciting NCAA College Football 2008 as teams will slug it out to win the championship in NCAA College Football.
There are three exciting games that you should not miss next week, August 28 as the 23rd seed Wake Forest Demon Deacons visit the Baylor Bears to mark the start of the NCAA College Football 2008.
Last season proved that Wake Forest’s 2006 success was no fluke and that the program will continue to be a contender in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The success was not as substantial, but still the Demon Deacons put together a nine win season and hung in the Atlantic division race. With a host of defensive players returning and a majority of the skill players on offense, Coach Jim Grobe will look to take the next big step this year.
With 15 starters returning, Wake Forest doesn’t go into the season with a whole lot of questions, which is a major change from past seasons.
“We’ve been in the position before where we’ve come into August without a very good feel about our starters,” coach Jim Grobe says. “We’re in a pretty good situation now where we’re trying to develop our depth.”
Other key returnees for Wake Forest in this year's NCAA College Football 2008 are LB Stanley Arnoux, LB Aaron Curry, CB Brandon Ghee, OT Jeff Griffin, QB Brett Hodges, LB Chantz McClinic, G Barrett McMillin, S Kevin Patterson, DE Matt Robinson, K/P Sam Swank.
With Riley Skinner’s efficient quarterback play and a quality tight end like Ben Wooster, the offense just needs a decent running back to be effective. Enter Josh Adams. As a freshman Adams rushed for 953 yards and 11 touchdowns and is expected to become one of the top backs in the conference now that he has a year of experience under his belt.
For the home team of the Baylor Bears, there is more excitement in Waco for NCAA College Football 2008 right now than there has been for a long, long time. New head coach Art Briles will bring his high octane offense to the Bears, but does he have somebody who can run it?
The system’s glory days were at Houston under quarterback Kevin Kolb. Returning starter Blake Szymanski is not Kolb and neither is Miami transfer Kirby Freeman, but those two will battle it out for the starting job. Even if Szymanski or Freeman picks up the offense quickly and the defense can manage to stop somebody, the conference is loaded this year.
This should be a better team overall and at least there is excitement and hope with the new coaching staff, but the record will probably look about the same as it did last year.
Another exciting game College football fans should not miss is the game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the South Carolina Gamecocks. The good news for the NC State Wolfpack is Jamelle Eugene is back after rushing for a team high 667 yards last season, but more importantly so are Andre Brown and Toney Baker after missing much of last season with injuries.
Add sophomore Curtis Underwood to that list and the Wolfpack suddenly have four quality runners. However, there are just so many holes to fill and none are more important than at quarterback. Daniel Evans took a majority of the snaps last year, but his 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions did not endear him to anybody.
South Carolina Gamecocks’ side - this is the supposed to be the year where everything comes together for Coach Steve Spurrier at South Carolina. After a few years of getting his players into the program, Coach Spurrier finally has some quality depth to work with. A couple upsets here and there is not good enough anymore and consistency will be the key if Coach Spurrier is ever going to make the Gamecocks a winner in the Southeastern Conference. The breakthrough season has not arrived yet, and 2008 might be the year for South Carolina Gamecocks.
South Carolina lost its last five games of 2007 and will be breaking in new starters at quarterback and tailback. There is also a new defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator this coming NCAA College Football 2008.
The third featured game of this season opener will be Oregon State Beavers battling Stanford Cardinal.
Oregon State Beavers have overcome the doubters and slow starts the past two seasons to finish third in the Pac-10 each year and record 19 total victories. Questions will be answered on the importance of Yvenson Bernard to Oregon State’s offense. His running back averaged over 110 yards per game during his senior season and reached the endzone a total of 14 times. Redshirt freshman Ryan McCants has the potential to be better than Bernard but he still has to prove it. Senior Patrick Fuller only carried the ball ten times last year and it seems like it is already McCants time to shine.
Carry over the momentum for the Standford Cardinal as they ended last year’s season with a resounding victory over California. Defense will be the goal for the Cardinal’s to reach a bowl game. And with nine starters returning to the unit, that should not be a problem. Linebacker Clinton Snyder is coming off a great year in which he tallied 96 tackles, eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. The junior is expected to become even more of a leader on the field now that he is an upperclassman. With Pat Maynor and Chike Amajoyi also back, the linebacker corps will be extremely strong. Safety Bo McNally will lead the secondary.
Indeed, this will be an exciting NCAA College Football 2008 as teams will slug it out to win the championship in NCAA College Football.