Team-by-team CFB experts info thread

[illadelphia]

Let's use the other thread to have people pick teams to cover and/or make fun of K-State. This one will be for the actual info.

I will get the ball rolling with USC.

3 biggest strengths:

1. Wide receiver
It’s hard to find a school that has a better pair of WR than USC has with junior Robert Woods and sophomore Marqise Lee. Last season Woods and Lee combined for 184 reception, 2,435 yards and 26 touchdowns and seemed to complement each other very well. Woods is sure-handed and reliable yet also capable of big plays. Lee is a deep threat with extraordinary leaping ability and body control.

2. Quarterback
Everyone talks about senior Matt Barkley being a potential Heismen winner or No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL draft. But he provides so much more than on-field production for USC. Matt is an Orange County kid who I have never heard a bad thing about from a personal standpoint. He is a team leader who set the tone for this season when he announced he’d return to school to complete some “unfinished business.” He is the current face, voice and soul of USC football. Backups, redshirt freshmen Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, have the ability to start but won’t see the field unless there is an injury or a major blowout.

3. Safety
USC goes three-deep at both free & strong safety. The leader is senior T.J. McDonald, who, like Barkley, postponed NFL millions for one more shot at college-football glory. His probable partner is classmate Jawanza Starling, who made several big plays over the second half of last season. But athletic junior Demetrius Wright is challenging Starling for playing time. Senior Drew McAllister is a classic ball hawk with starting experience. Add in transfers Josh Shaw and Gerald Bowman, and the Trojans are teeming with talent at this position.

3 biggest areas for concern:

1. Defensive line
USC lost three starters from last season’s line, including 1st rounder Nick Perry. Then a part-time starter, senior DE Devon Kennard, suffered a possible season-ending torn pectoral muscle in late July. That left only two linemen, senior DE Wes Horton and redshirt-sophomore DT George Uko, with any real starting experience. However, Lane Kiffin wasn’t totally unprepared for this. USC brought in 6 D-linemen in 2011 and 3 more in 2012. Many of them have to and will play; how effectively they play remains to be seen.

2. Left tackle
Matt Kalil, the 4th pick in the 2012 NFL draft, left a huge hole at LT. USC has a big man that is capable of filling it. But even Kiffin acknowledged that massive sophomore Aundrey Walker (6-6, 300 lbs) is something of a mystery due to his lack of experience. “He’s never played the left side,” Kiffin said. “He’s never been in a game over there. It’s going to be interesting.” Kalil rarely needed help protecting Matt Barkley’s blind side last season; Walker might, at least early in the 2012 season.

3. Overall depth
If there’s one thing that could derail USC’s championship dreams, it’s injuries. Obviously this is true for almost any program but especially so at USC. As a result of being under NCAA sanctions the past few years, the Trojans will have 10 fewer players than is normally allowed. Silas Redd’s arrival boosts the depth at tailback, but depth is still lacking at other positions, including MLB. The scholarship limitations also could hinder USC’s ability to conduct competitive practices. The Trojans were able to avoid significant injuries for the most part last season. Seeing as how DE Devon Kennard (pec) and RB Tre Madden (knee) already have gone down in the 2012 preseason suggests that this year might not be as kind as last year.

[Beyond the Bets]

Use the following format (note: Team name in the subject line) for your updates. That way, it's organized neatly. I reserve the right to edit anyone's posts to make it look nice. Updates can be anything you want - long, short, in-depth, vague, whatever. Include links as often as possible. Injury updates are useful, too.

[LOLstradamus]

Hmmm - should we use this thread or create one separately for each team?

[illadelphia]

Last year USC punted 39 times. Punter Kyle Negrete landed almost half (19 of 39) of those inside the 20-yard line without a single touchback.

This is a nice piece of info to have when betting in-game on USC in certain situations.

[louiemdj]

(08-04-2012 05:13 PM)LOLstradamus Wrote:  Hmmm - should we use this thread or create one separately for each team?

Last year there was a weekly CFB experts thread, and there was a write up for each week's matchups by each expert.

[Beyond the Bets]

NOT INTERESTED in a thread for every team. Master threads are preferred.

[Jgisland]

Here is the complete CU depth chart released on the 26th.

Highlight below:

2 FR starters (WR-z, LCB), 6 SO starters (WR-x, LG, RG, RB, LDE, RCB)...24 FR/SO in 2 deep

Special Teams as well...CU will be starting a FR/SO at P, K, PR, KR, and Holder...in fact Top 4 at KR + PR all FR/SO

There are just 8 SRs on #CUBuffs 2 deep depth chart (lowest of any in the country), and only 5 starters (TE, DT, ILB, OLB, FS)

[BetThemDogs]

(08-27-2012 04:31 PM)Beyond the Bets Wrote:  NOT INTERESTED in a thread for every team. Master threads are preferred.

Where do we do the weekly analysis? In a weekly thread, or here?

[railbird]

Barkley is interception prone, not last yr but the 4 before that. and will be a int machine again in the nfl

[railbird]

99% of posters are steam chasers, and do not handicap or follow teams.

[Skating Tripods]

Entering the 2012 football season for the South Carolina Gamecocks, there are a fair amount of question marks that will need to be answered if the team is to win the SEC East and get that all-important spot in the SEC Title Game in the Georgia Dome on December 1.

What we know for sure is that South Carolina will be athletic. Steve Spurrier and his staff always find talented, fast, athletic players with a lot of size that just need to be rounded into complete football players. The key for the Gamecocks this season will be to have their athleticism carry them until they get more experience and get into a groove. Also, the Gamecocks have the luxury of knowing their QB and RB. Both Connor Shaw (65% completion percentage LY) and Marcus Lattimore (5 ypc, 10 TD in 7 gms) return to the lead the offense.

There are some question marks on offense, however, that could dictate how far the Gamecocks go this season. For one thing, they will be replacing three of last year's starting linemen. Also, they lose second-round pick Alshon Jeffery to the NFL, along with kicker Jay Wooten.

Those question marks may not be as big of an issue for the Gamecocks as it may seem. Redshirt freshman Brandon Shell, who was out last year due to a shoulder injury, is a highly-touted recruit who may have won the left tackle job last season had it not been for his injury. The leader of the offensive line is senior center TJ Johnson, and having a steady force in the middle of the line should help sophomore Mike Matulis at right tackle and whoever wins the right guard spot between junior Ronald Patrick and JUCO transfer Kaleb Broome (6'7" 332 lbs.).

With a very talented offensive line, the losses there should be easier to handle. That may not be the same at wide receiver. Alshon Jeffery, who caught 49 passes, 20 more than anybody else, makes the jump to the NFL, leaving a big hole at WR for Connor Shaw. Shaq Roland will get the first shot at filling Jeffery's shoes. Roland, a 6'1" freshman, and the 6th-ranked recruit nationally at WR out of Lexington High School in South Carolina, was the state's Mr. Football as a senior. Ace Sanders returns to the team, but he is limited with his 5'9" 175 lbs frame. DL Moore is a big 6'5" target, but doesn't possess very soft hands. Justice Cunningham returns at TE, which should help the inexperienced tackles and gives Shaw a big 6'4" target in the middle of the field. No matter what happens with the receiving corps, having a full season of Shaw will help. The Gamecocks used Stephen Garcia early in the season before he was kicked off the team.

Even with the loss of Jeffery and a re-designed offensive line, the defense is the part of the team that most skeptics are looking at. They lost four players to the NFL, two of them first rounders in Melvin Ingram and Stephon Gilmore, and also lost Antonio Allen and Travian Robertson. Even with the losses, they will still have one of the best front sevens in the SEC East. Jadeveon Clowney is a year more experienced and it's his defensive line now. DeVonte Holloman moves back into the linebacking corps after spending some time at safety last season.

One area of concern for South Carolina will be in the secondary. Akeem Auguste, who the team had high hopes for, will miss the first four or five games with an injury. That leaves them with very little experience at corner. That could be a problem for South Carolina as new defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward, the former defensive backs coach, will reportedly blitz more frequently than former DC Ellis Johnson (new head coach at Southern Miss). He'll have to trust his DBs in single coverage in order to draw up more blitz packages. Good passing teams may be able to take advantage of South Carolina's secondary.

Overall, this could be an 8-win season for the Gamecocks, or they could win as many as 10. The schedule is rough for South Carolina this season as their month of October is very dangerous. On October 6, they host Georgia. After that they play back-to-back road games at LSU and at Florida. On October 27, they return home to play Tennessee. They will get a bye week prior to hosting Arkansas for Homecoming on November 10, a game that they have not won since 2008. As always, they end the regular season against Clemson with this season's matchup in Death Valley.

[illadelphia]

(08-27-2012 06:07 PM)railbird Wrote:  Barkley is interception prone, not last yr but the 4 before that. and will be a int machine again in the nfl

If I follow, you aren't talking about last year (2011 - 7 ints) but "the 4 before that".

Here are those numbers:
2010 - 12 ints
2009 - 14 ints
2008 - 18 ints*
2007 - 9 ints**

* Sr year at Mater Dei HS
** Jr year at Mater Dei HS

Based on the above, I have no idea what you are talking about.

I am always open to look at the other side of things but it is hard to do without a somewhat coherent counterargument supported by facts or stats. Please don't continue to clog this thread with personal musings...unless you want to pick a team and provide us with some info about them.

[RickRude]

When are we breaking down week 1? I'm guessing we're not doing that in this thread.

[illadelphia]

(08-27-2012 06:46 PM)RickRude Wrote:  When are we breaking down week 1? I'm guessing we're not doing that in this thread.

Whenever you get around to it. Hopefully before the game.

Then post it and all of your other updates in this one thread throughout the entire 2012 CFB season and just change the name at the top in the subject. Add week 1 if you want to the subject to make it more specific.

See my example at the top of this reply post

[Dana_Lane]

We are only three days away from the UNLV opener against Minnesota. I will have my preview done tomorrow. I'm happy to be writing about the Rebels as I believe they will be stronger.

You also can find me from time to time selecting games in the Las Vegas Review journal so I'm excited to do something that allows me to expand my love for writing about UNLV and sports handicapping.

Dana Lane
@danblackdiamond

[LOLstradamus]

Moving forward I'll include Notre Dame updates in this thread. I've already done a write-up for the season outlook as well as the upcoming Navy matchup. You can find it in the link below.

http://www.beyondthebets.com/forum/threa...all-thread

[RyanParrill]

I'm going to compile everyone's information into a thread called "CFB Experts Team Previews".

Another thread will be titled "CFB Experts Week 1" where you'll officially make your analysis and then pick.

[Doustism]

(08-28-2012 08:18 AM)RyanParrill Wrote:  I'm going to compile everyone's information into a thread called "CFB Experts Team Previews".

Another thread will be titled "CFB Experts Week 1" where you'll officially make your analysis and then pick.

[Orlandon't]

When are some of you guys gonna start giving your picks??? South Carolina fan quoted half the media guide but no pick in one of the most intriguing games of the week!!! Not to mention its tomorrow night for Pete's sake.

[illadelphia]

(08-29-2012 05:42 PM)Orlandont Wrote:  When are some of you guys gonna start giving your picks??? South Carolina fan quoted half the media guide but no pick in one of the most intriguing games of the week!!! Not to mention its tomorrow night for Pete's sake.

Relax.

It's right here
http://www.beyondthebets.com/forum/threa...rts-week-1