I like to disagree with the masses from time to time. Why? Because it's fun to generate my own opinion. I disagree with most when it comes to 5 things in the upcoming college and even NFL seasons. Will I be vindicated with all of my opinions? Probably not, but I would be surprised if all of them are wrong.
1. Illinois is a team on the rise: The Illini haven't put back to back winning seasons together since 1989-90, are coached by Ron Zook, and lost their three best players to the NFL draft. Do I need to say anymore?! I do like QB Nathan Scheelhaase and believe he may lead the B1G in total offense. They also return a very good offensive line, but I don't think they have a lot of weapons on the outside other than receiver A.J. Jenkins, who will be double teamed on a regular basis. They also lost RB Mikel Leshoure who accounted for more than 1/2 of Illinois' rushing yards last year. Illinois also lost playmakers Clay Nurse, Corey Liuget, and Martez Wilson on defense. All of those losses coupled with their history, makes me seriously doubt Illinois this year.
2. Minnesota will finish last in the Legends Division: For those people who don't know or care much about the Minnesota program, and rightfully so, after all the Gophers haven't won a Big Ten Championship in over 40 years, they will just automatically right off this program. They will see that the Gophers hired a coach from Northern Illinois, finished 3-9 last year, including a loss to FCS South Dakota at home and are competing in a Division with teams that have had much more success recently: Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska. What those people don't know is that the Gophers have arguably the conferences most athletic QB (with all apologies to Denard Robinson), hired a coach with a career winning percentage of .635, which would rank third in the conference behind only Bo Pelini, Joe Paterno, and Brett Beilema. Tim Brewster landed some talented recruits and Jerry Kill will "coach em' up" in year 1.
3. Florida will struggle this year: Paul Finebaum is without question the Bible when it comes to covering college football in the South. His radio program is one of the most popular in the country and easily the most popular in the south. He even fielded a call from the knucklehead Alabama fan who declared himself "Al from Dadeville" aka Harvey Updike who admitted on his program that he poured herbicide on the famous Toomer's Corner Oak trees on the campus of hated rival Auburn. Now that we know how powerful Finebaum is and how much his opinion matters in the South, let's get to one of his sentiments about the SEC this year.... He said flat out that Florida will suck this year on his program after the Florida spring game. With all due respect to the most powerful media man in the SEC, I am going to disagree. In fact I believe Florida will win the mediocre SEC East. Finebaum hates the hiring of Charlie Weis as Offensive Coordinator, and I absolutely love it. Weis has been unbelievably successful as an offensive coordinator in both the NFL and college. He was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots early in Tom Brady's career, and as a head coach was instrumental in the short revitalization of the Irish program, and last year helped the Kansas City Chiefs once anemic offense put up very good numbers, which helped the Chiefs make the playoffs for the first time in years. Weiss has helped quarterbacks such as Tom Brady, Brady Quinn, and Matt Cassell, expect him to work wonders for the career of John Brantly. The Gators have plenty of athletes and will have little trouble on either side of the ball. Florida Head Coach Will Muschamp was quoted as saying he will let Charlie Weis handle the offense and he will handle the defense. Given what Muschamp did at Texas with the Longhorns defense that sounds like a match made in heaven.
4. Tim Tebow will not make it as an NFL quarterback: I have heard it all from both the media and scouts alike. Tebow has an awkward throwing motion, he runs too much, he isn't accurate, he's sanctimonious, and my favorite recent one is he looks awful in practice. When I look at a quarterback I want to know one thing. Does he have that "it" quality? Tebow does in spades. I am a realist though, I understand that Tebow is not as polished of a passer as Kyle Orton right now, but guess what? Not many QB's in their second year are as polished as a 6 or 7 year vet like Orton. Does he need to work on his throwing mechanics? Absolutely! Does he need to work on his accuracy? Absolutely! Does he need to work on his footwork in the pocket? You bet, but so do all young quarterbacks. I want my quarterback to have that "it" quality, a strong work ethic, and to have that drive to not accept failure. Put me in the camp that sees Tebow as a starting QB in the NFL. Tebow won't ever be Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, or Aaron Rodgers when it comes to throwing the football, but this guy will get it done and write a new chapter in the evolution of the quarterback in the NFL.
5. Iowa is not a Top 25 team: Go ahead and doubt Kirk Ferentz and Iowa, but I have read this book before. Iowa enters a season of low expectations and crushes the competition. The Hawkeyes are loaded offensively: James Vandenberg may be the best pure passer in the conference and has targets like: Keenan Davis, Marvin McNutt, and C.J. Fiedorowicz to throw to. He has a workhorse tailback in Marcus Coker and a staunch offensive line. The Hawkeyes will be strong defensively per usual and will contend for the Legends Division crown and a spot in the innaugural B1G Championship game in Indianapolis.
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