Hawaii: Nick Rolovich led the Rainbows to a bowl win during his first season in 2016, but
he followed it up with a disappointing 3-9 record during the 2017 campaign. Hawaii seemed
to have the pieces needed to post back-to-back winning seasons, but injuries and lack of
depth shut down any chance of making another post season run. The offense has been hit
hard, with twelve players who made multiple starts last season departing the program. Now,
Rolovich will have to find five new offensive linemen plus a new starting quarterback. There
are question marks throughout the offense which will likely make it difficult to have a winning
season.
Sidenote: Betting AGAINST Hawaii in conference play has been money the past five years.
he followed it up with a disappointing 3-9 record during the 2017 campaign. Hawaii seemed
to have the pieces needed to post back-to-back winning seasons, but injuries and lack of
depth shut down any chance of making another post season run. The offense has been hit
hard, with twelve players who made multiple starts last season departing the program. Now,
Rolovich will have to find five new offensive linemen plus a new starting quarterback. There
are question marks throughout the offense which will likely make it difficult to have a winning
season.
Sidenote: Betting AGAINST Hawaii in conference play has been money the past five years.
Texas: The Longhorns went 13-1 in 2009 and lost the BCS championship game. Since
then, Texas hasn't won more than nine games in any season, and it only accomplished
that once (9-4 in 2012). The Horns have finished with losing records four times in that
same span. Texas finished with a 7-6 mark in 2017. The program over the last decade
has consistently underachieved. On a positive note...the 2018 recruiting class finished
3rd in the country so things could be moving in the right direction.
Auburn: After considering a jump to the NFL, quarterback Jarrett Stidham's return is
significant for a Tiger team that gets receivers Ryan Davis, Darius Slayton and Nate
Myers back. Add fellow receivers Eli Stove and Will Hastings who both suffered knee
injuries in spring practice and the passing attack could be problematic for this season's
opponents. Stidham was solid in his first year as the starting QB passing for 3,158 yards,
18 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and a 66.5 percent completion average while taking the
Tigers to the SEC championship game. Keeping Stidham healthy this season will be a top
priority for the Tigers.
LSU: The athletic department is paying its ten football analysts a combined $595,000 in salary
this year according to The Advocate. The individual salaries center around the $50,000 range
but vary from $76,500 on the high end to $30,000 on the low end. Butch Jones (former Tenn
head coach) is being paid $35,000 for his analyst position with Alabama. The analyst jobs have
become a way for fired coaches and others wanting to learn a better coaching job.
then, Texas hasn't won more than nine games in any season, and it only accomplished
that once (9-4 in 2012). The Horns have finished with losing records four times in that
same span. Texas finished with a 7-6 mark in 2017. The program over the last decade
has consistently underachieved. On a positive note...the 2018 recruiting class finished
3rd in the country so things could be moving in the right direction.
Auburn: After considering a jump to the NFL, quarterback Jarrett Stidham's return is
significant for a Tiger team that gets receivers Ryan Davis, Darius Slayton and Nate
Myers back. Add fellow receivers Eli Stove and Will Hastings who both suffered knee
injuries in spring practice and the passing attack could be problematic for this season's
opponents. Stidham was solid in his first year as the starting QB passing for 3,158 yards,
18 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and a 66.5 percent completion average while taking the
Tigers to the SEC championship game. Keeping Stidham healthy this season will be a top
priority for the Tigers.
LSU: The athletic department is paying its ten football analysts a combined $595,000 in salary
this year according to The Advocate. The individual salaries center around the $50,000 range
but vary from $76,500 on the high end to $30,000 on the low end. Butch Jones (former Tenn
head coach) is being paid $35,000 for his analyst position with Alabama. The analyst jobs have
become a way for fired coaches and others wanting to learn a better coaching job.
Wisconsin: The Badgers are coming off an undefeated regular season that came up short
of a playoff berth because of a loss to Ohio State in the Big 10 championship game. They
have all the key factors to again be the favorite in the Big Ten West. They return all of a
standout offensive line, which should help workhorse running back Jonathan Taylor become
a Heisman candidate. Moreover, quarterback Alex Hornibrook came on strong last year and
ended the season with four touchdown passes in the Orange Bowl. Wisconsin also has a top-
five scoring defense the past two seasons. The schedule provides challenges at Penn State
and Michigan but expect the Badgers to have another big season under second year coach
Gary Anderson. I expect Wisconsin to get another shot in the conference title game again this
year.
of a playoff berth because of a loss to Ohio State in the Big 10 championship game. They
have all the key factors to again be the favorite in the Big Ten West. They return all of a
standout offensive line, which should help workhorse running back Jonathan Taylor become
a Heisman candidate. Moreover, quarterback Alex Hornibrook came on strong last year and
ended the season with four touchdown passes in the Orange Bowl. Wisconsin also has a top-
five scoring defense the past two seasons. The schedule provides challenges at Penn State
and Michigan but expect the Badgers to have another big season under second year coach
Gary Anderson. I expect Wisconsin to get another shot in the conference title game again this
year.
Mississippi State: Former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead inherited a
good situation when he was brought in to replace Dan Mullen (Florida) as head coach.
Moorhead takes over a team with 19 returning starters, including a stud quarterback
in Nick Fitzgerald. The schedule that includes home games against Auburn, Florida,
Texas A&M and Arkansas is manageable. Moorhead might have challenges as a recruiter
going forward, but the team he'll put on the field in 2018 should be a good one considering
combined experience and talent. The Bulldogs return:
100 percent of passing yards
100 percent of RB rushing yards
71 percent of receiving corps yards
80 percent of offensive line starts
82 percent of overall tackles
92 percent of tackles for loss
Beware of the Bulldogs this season.....................
good situation when he was brought in to replace Dan Mullen (Florida) as head coach.
Moorhead takes over a team with 19 returning starters, including a stud quarterback
in Nick Fitzgerald. The schedule that includes home games against Auburn, Florida,
Texas A&M and Arkansas is manageable. Moorhead might have challenges as a recruiter
going forward, but the team he'll put on the field in 2018 should be a good one considering
combined experience and talent. The Bulldogs return:
100 percent of passing yards
100 percent of RB rushing yards
71 percent of receiving corps yards
80 percent of offensive line starts
82 percent of overall tackles
92 percent of tackles for loss
Beware of the Bulldogs this season.....................
Michigan State: When a team's biggest priorities during the spring are identifying a backup
quarterback, No. 2 tailback and replacements for only three departed starters, it's a good
sign that this team is going to be a championship contender. The Spartans bounced back from
a 3-9 disaster in 2016 to finish 10-3 last season, and it might not be too much of a stretch
to think they might even end up being the best team in the Big Ten this coming season. After
all, they get Michigan and Ohio State at home in 2018. The offense has plenty of reasons for
optimism with quarterback Brian Lewerke (2500 passing yards, 500 rushing); tailback L. J.
Scott who has rushed for over 2,500 yards during his career and receiver Felton Davis who
caught 55 passes with 9 touchdowns during 2017. Only two starters leave the defense that
ranked in the top 10 nationally in run defense and total defense. Expectations are running high
for Michigan State this season.
Alabama/Georgia Recruiting: The battle for recruits is heating up. After Georgia knocked Bama
off the perch of being No. 1 in recruiting, Saban and staff or on a mission to regain the top status.
Alabama has 12 commitments composed of eleven 4-stars and one 5-star. Georgia has three 5-stars
and five 4-stars. The Dawgs also have commitments from the top two ranked wide receivers. This
recruiting war is going to be fun to watch this year.
quarterback, No. 2 tailback and replacements for only three departed starters, it's a good
sign that this team is going to be a championship contender. The Spartans bounced back from
a 3-9 disaster in 2016 to finish 10-3 last season, and it might not be too much of a stretch
to think they might even end up being the best team in the Big Ten this coming season. After
all, they get Michigan and Ohio State at home in 2018. The offense has plenty of reasons for
optimism with quarterback Brian Lewerke (2500 passing yards, 500 rushing); tailback L. J.
Scott who has rushed for over 2,500 yards during his career and receiver Felton Davis who
caught 55 passes with 9 touchdowns during 2017. Only two starters leave the defense that
ranked in the top 10 nationally in run defense and total defense. Expectations are running high
for Michigan State this season.
Alabama/Georgia Recruiting: The battle for recruits is heating up. After Georgia knocked Bama
off the perch of being No. 1 in recruiting, Saban and staff or on a mission to regain the top status.
Alabama has 12 commitments composed of eleven 4-stars and one 5-star. Georgia has three 5-stars
and five 4-stars. The Dawgs also have commitments from the top two ranked wide receivers. This
recruiting war is going to be fun to watch this year.
Ohio State QB, Joe Burrows, graduated on Sunday and announced yesterday he will transfer to either Nebraska, Florida, or LSU with 2 years of eligibility remaining. He was a 3-star QB in 2015 class, #24 QB in the country and has appeared in 10 games in mop-up duty for the Buckeyes.
love the new focus by Saban to prioritize recruiters for his '18 staff. Dunbar and Daboll were probably the two worst recruiters in the history of Saban's Bama staff and it really showed by missing out on so many defensive lineman, wide receivers, one 3-star RB (missed out on about 6-7 others), and not signing a single QB. Saban and Bama off to their best recruiting start in history (scary thought) and are absolutely crushing it this spring.
Florida: The Gators will pay its 10 assistant coaches a collective $4.725 million in 2018.
Defensive coordinator Todd Graham will be the highest paid assistant at $1.39 million.
He is followed by three assistants tied at $565,000 in co-offensive coordinators Billy
Gonzales and John Hevesey and defensive line coach Sal Sunseri. Special teams coach
Greg Knox will earn $440,000 and quarterback coach Brian Johnson $415,000. Secondary
coaches Ron English and Charlton Warren will make $325,000 and $190,000 respectively.
Rounding out the assistants are tight ends coach Larry Scott at $190,000 and linebackers
coach Christian Roberson at $80,000. I don't know why but Roberson took a huge cut in
pay from 2017. Head coach Dan Mullen will make $6.1 million for 2018.
Defensive coordinator Todd Graham will be the highest paid assistant at $1.39 million.
He is followed by three assistants tied at $565,000 in co-offensive coordinators Billy
Gonzales and John Hevesey and defensive line coach Sal Sunseri. Special teams coach
Greg Knox will earn $440,000 and quarterback coach Brian Johnson $415,000. Secondary
coaches Ron English and Charlton Warren will make $325,000 and $190,000 respectively.
Rounding out the assistants are tight ends coach Larry Scott at $190,000 and linebackers
coach Christian Roberson at $80,000. I don't know why but Roberson took a huge cut in
pay from 2017. Head coach Dan Mullen will make $6.1 million for 2018.
Oregon State: The program has been on a steady decline since 2012 when the Beavers
won nine games. In five ensuing seasons, OSU has a Pac-12 worst 19 wins. After a 1-5
start during 2017, head coach Gary Andersen quit the team. The school moved quickly
during the offseason and hired Jonathan Smith who was the offensive coordinator under
Chris Petersen at Washington. Smith's arrival has injected some much needed optimism
into the fan base. It will take some time for that to translate into wins as the staff works
to build depth at key positions. The defense has finished near the bottom of the Pac-12
conference the past three seasons in total defense allowing 43 points per game during 2017.
The Beavers were next to last in the league in creating turnovers and the secondary had a
conference worst seven interceptions. For 2018, Oregon State has a major rebuilding project
to look forward too.
Sidenote: Oregon State is 16-3 against the spread after playing Washington State.
won nine games. In five ensuing seasons, OSU has a Pac-12 worst 19 wins. After a 1-5
start during 2017, head coach Gary Andersen quit the team. The school moved quickly
during the offseason and hired Jonathan Smith who was the offensive coordinator under
Chris Petersen at Washington. Smith's arrival has injected some much needed optimism
into the fan base. It will take some time for that to translate into wins as the staff works
to build depth at key positions. The defense has finished near the bottom of the Pac-12
conference the past three seasons in total defense allowing 43 points per game during 2017.
The Beavers were next to last in the league in creating turnovers and the secondary had a
conference worst seven interceptions. For 2018, Oregon State has a major rebuilding project
to look forward too.
Sidenote: Oregon State is 16-3 against the spread after playing Washington State.
Sidenotes:
Former Arkansas head football coach BRET BIELEMA continues to work with the New England
Patriots staff after the draft and look for him to be involved with coaching duties as the team
begins its rookie minicamp.
Former Alabama 5-star quarterback recruit BLAKE BARNETT who transferred from Alabama to
Arizona State is on the move again. The redshirt graduate transfer will join South Florida and
compete for the starting job. He started the season opener for Bama in 2016 against Southern
Cal but was later replaced by Jalen Hurts. Barnett will have to contend with redshirt junior
Brett Kean and redshirt sophomore Chris Oladokun for the starting job.
As for as I know, Ohio State blue chip quarterback recruit JOE BURROW still has not announced
which school he will transfer too. The 6-foot-3, 220 pound signal caller was ranked as the No. 8
overall dual-threat quarterback and the No. 11 recruit in the state of Ohio for 2015. After red-
shirting his freshman season, he was the team's primary backup in 2016 before falling down the
depth chart this past season. Nebraska, Florida, LSU, Texas, Cincinnati, Boston College and Pitt
have all been mentioned as landing spots. My guess is he chooses Nebraska where his father and
two brothers played.
Listed below are the latest revenue figures for all 14 football programs in the Southeastern
Conference.
Tennessee ($110.7 million), Alabama ($108.1), Georgia ($93.3), Auburn ($91.7) LSU ($86.2)
Florida ($82.8), Arkansas ($70.4), Texas A&M ($70.4), Ole Miss ($62.7), South Carolina ($60.3)
Kentucky ($36.4), Miss State ($35.7), Missouri ($29.2), Vanderbilt ($29.0)
One thing consistently stays clear year after year, football programs in the SEC continue to make
money...especially the most historic teams.
Former Arkansas head football coach BRET BIELEMA continues to work with the New England
Patriots staff after the draft and look for him to be involved with coaching duties as the team
begins its rookie minicamp.
Former Alabama 5-star quarterback recruit BLAKE BARNETT who transferred from Alabama to
Arizona State is on the move again. The redshirt graduate transfer will join South Florida and
compete for the starting job. He started the season opener for Bama in 2016 against Southern
Cal but was later replaced by Jalen Hurts. Barnett will have to contend with redshirt junior
Brett Kean and redshirt sophomore Chris Oladokun for the starting job.
As for as I know, Ohio State blue chip quarterback recruit JOE BURROW still has not announced
which school he will transfer too. The 6-foot-3, 220 pound signal caller was ranked as the No. 8
overall dual-threat quarterback and the No. 11 recruit in the state of Ohio for 2015. After red-
shirting his freshman season, he was the team's primary backup in 2016 before falling down the
depth chart this past season. Nebraska, Florida, LSU, Texas, Cincinnati, Boston College and Pitt
have all been mentioned as landing spots. My guess is he chooses Nebraska where his father and
two brothers played.
Listed below are the latest revenue figures for all 14 football programs in the Southeastern
Conference.
Tennessee ($110.7 million), Alabama ($108.1), Georgia ($93.3), Auburn ($91.7) LSU ($86.2)
Florida ($82.8), Arkansas ($70.4), Texas A&M ($70.4), Ole Miss ($62.7), South Carolina ($60.3)
Kentucky ($36.4), Miss State ($35.7), Missouri ($29.2), Vanderbilt ($29.0)
One thing consistently stays clear year after year, football programs in the SEC continue to make
money...especially the most historic teams.
Florida Atlantic: Lane Kiffin's first season with FAU was a big success as the he took the Owls
from just nine wins the previous three seasons to a 11-3 record. This year, everything is in
place to do it all again. The offense averaged over 40 points per game and gets star running
back Devin Singletary (1,920, 32 TDs) back along with almost all the key receivers, and possible
upgrade at quarterback. Last year's starter is gone and now Florida State transfer DeAndre
Johnson and Oklahoma transfer Chris Robinson will battle for the quarterback job. The O-Line
needs to replace three starters, but both tackles are back and both are good. The defense was
more than good enough last year but doesn't have a lot of size, but it's deeper and for more ex-
perienced, welcoming back a slew of all-stars among the ten returning starters. It may be hard
to replicate the success of 2017 because of a more difficult schedule and sky-high expectations,
plus they won't slip up on anyone but Florida Atlantic should make a run at another C-USA title.
Sidenote: FAU outscored opponents 307-141 in the first half during the 2017 season.
@Oklahoma...Air Force...Bethune-Cookman...@Central Florida...@Middle Tennessee...Old Dominion
Open Date...@Marshall...Louisiana Tech.....@Florida International...Western Kentucky...@North
Texas...Charlotte
from just nine wins the previous three seasons to a 11-3 record. This year, everything is in
place to do it all again. The offense averaged over 40 points per game and gets star running
back Devin Singletary (1,920, 32 TDs) back along with almost all the key receivers, and possible
upgrade at quarterback. Last year's starter is gone and now Florida State transfer DeAndre
Johnson and Oklahoma transfer Chris Robinson will battle for the quarterback job. The O-Line
needs to replace three starters, but both tackles are back and both are good. The defense was
more than good enough last year but doesn't have a lot of size, but it's deeper and for more ex-
perienced, welcoming back a slew of all-stars among the ten returning starters. It may be hard
to replicate the success of 2017 because of a more difficult schedule and sky-high expectations,
plus they won't slip up on anyone but Florida Atlantic should make a run at another C-USA title.
Sidenote: FAU outscored opponents 307-141 in the first half during the 2017 season.
@Oklahoma...Air Force...Bethune-Cookman...@Central Florida...@Middle Tennessee...Old Dominion
Open Date...@Marshall...Louisiana Tech.....@Florida International...Western Kentucky...@North
Texas...Charlotte
Thanks DL, you are on the money sir.
The blog I read listed Robinson as the LB coach at Florida last year when it was factually
Tim Skipper who earned $447,000. Robinson at $80,000 the next two seasons is probably
doing well when you consider he could be coaching high school.
Probably doesn't matter but would Nick Saban hire a fulltime assistant for $80,000? Not
a chance in hell my friends.
The blog I read listed Robinson as the LB coach at Florida last year when it was factually
Tim Skipper who earned $447,000. Robinson at $80,000 the next two seasons is probably
doing well when you consider he could be coaching high school.
Probably doesn't matter but would Nick Saban hire a fulltime assistant for $80,000? Not
a chance in hell my friends.
