Posted on 07/18/2006 1:20:39 PM PDT by MikefromOhio
Notre Dame
Texas
USC
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Florida
West Virginia
Florida St.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
The Noles have an embarrassingly easy schedule next year, so they better turn things around.
Mike - Can you add me to the College Football ping?
First of all, how the teams would do against a 5A opponent isn't relevent. Its likely that SLC has as many people participating in athletics as Celina has in their entire school. 2A football teams have about 20-25 players suit up for varsity. SLC has probably 50 or more.
Second, SLC hasn't had a lot of solid division I talent there. There are few, if any, people you can name that came out of SLC that are current major conference all-conference. About the only somewhat big-name player is Garret Hartley of OU, and he's a kicker. Chase Daniel at Mizzou may start there, but he won't be a factor in the Big 12. Other than that, there aren't many DI players out of SLC.
In reality, the largest Texas high schools have over 5,000 students, and two of the biggest: Plano and Plano East, have that many on their campus which is entirely Juniors and Seniors. 2000 is barely enough to make 5A. In fact the cutoff this year was something like 1978.
Damn, the Gators have a brutal schedule this year.
FSU will probably win the ACC championship, but that's a reflection of how weak the ACC is more than anything else. Miami could contend, but they have a lot of unanswered questions going into the season, including how well a completely shaken up coaching staff will perform.
Frankly, I wonder if Bowden's got enough gas left in the tank for a national championship run. Watching him last year reminded me an awful lot of Steve Spurrier in his last couple of seasons at Florida - it was clear that he (Spurrier) just wasn't enjoying what he was doing any more, and was ready to move on.
My Dad always said that Notre Dame could put 11 paraplegic nuns in uniform and some asshat would rank them in the top 10 in the country.
No kidding - Tennessee and FSU on the road, and the cream of the SEC West. If they can survive that, it'll really say something about them.
I think the Gators are a year away from seriously gunning for a national tile, though. We shall see.
I think Leak is going to have a good year, but I hope Tebow gets plenty of playing time so he's ready for next year.
I think going 8-3 or 9-2 with that schedule would be par for the course for Florida this year.
That, and I hope we find a breakout running back.
I just want to know who was the idiot that scheduled LSU for UF's Homecoming opponent? Even the creampuffs on our schedule (Southern Miss and UCF) are no slouches.
florida can't realistically expect to be in the National Title game with that schedule.
9-3 would be a GREAT record with that schedule. Unfortunately, anything less than 11-1 will probably keep them out of the National Title hunt.
Realistically I think if Tebow develops, next year is the first year under Meyer where Florida will be a legit title contender.
We just better beat the Old Ball Coach this year.
Maybe SEC title contender.
Unless he's the next Matt Lienart, he's going to need a full year under center before he's fully ready for war.
I think Tebow will mirror what Troy Smith did very very closely. Although I think Smith threw a bit better at this point when he was a freshman but Tebow is much faster.
yeah, I agree. That move was made the season before I started going to UT, so I dont really remember the details like you do, but I do remember watching Applewhite and Simms and thinking the same thing.
The point I was making was that playing in 2A, McCoy did not face the level of competition that 5A players face. I'm not dissing small town football, I've been covering it professionally as a photographer for the last four years. I prefer going to a small town game over larger schools. However, I've also been covering college games from the sidelines (Division II). The increase in player size is astonishing. Speed is also significantly higher. I don't think we have any disagreement, but maybe I phrased my original post poorly.
BTW, one of the things that's kind of funny is that on a full week I do the 7th grade, 8th grade, and JV on Thursday, the Varsity on Friday and a college game on Saturday. At 7th grade, the field seems huge. Often the refs, coaches (and photographers, heh, heh, heh), will cheat in five or six yards from the sidelines. When a kid runs out of bounds, you put out an arm and catch him. By JV, you move to the side, cause they're too big to catch. With varsity players, you learn to duck and move, cause those guys can break bones if you're not ready. On the college teams, stay five yards off the sidelines, and they'll run over you like an eighteen wheeler hitting a Toyota.
I shoot some games as well and officiate football from 7th grade up to college. Some of the best football I've worked have actually been private schools. Well coached, decent talent, and evenly balanced teams. But when working as wing officials (line judge and head linesman), we don't cheat in from the sidelines, regardless of the level we are working. And I'm certainly not going to let coaches and photogs do that. An exception might be when the ball is placed on the far hash, we are in dim light, and are expecting a sweep to the other side -- but just for me!
I don't care what level you are working or shooting, these kids are faster than you and you don't want to be backpeddling out of the way. Fortunately, I've been on a football field so much that I can almost predict pretty much what's going to happen based upon formations, previous play calls, situations, etc. That helps when I shoot, as I did numerous times in the playoffs last year. Unfortunately, the lighting in most stadiums sucks so bad, Texas Stadium is about the only venue I shoot at now. When I have time, that is.
The difference between 2A and 5A is depth. But there are also a lot of 4A and 5A teams that have decent starters and no real depth, and are killed by injuries and grades. A good 2A team would still be competitive with a decent 5A team if both teams suited out the same number of players. 5A teams lose to mediocre 4A teams in non-district ALL the time. One team I know of (5A) lost to 2 pretty bad 4A teams last year.
Who is "we?" I didn't work Celina last year, but I did work a 2A game. I do virtually all 4A and 5A though.
As to referees not letting people cheat in and not cheating in, it depends on the refs. I've never seen it above 8th grade, but when a team's on the far hash mark in the lower grades, it's pretty common for the coaches and refs to cheat in. I've never seen anything close to a collision, because everybody gets back on play flow.
Do you have any shots from games you've photographed? What kind of equipment do you use?
I hope that the Pac 10 is tough this year (just because I'm on the left coast).
I shot the first half of Crawford's playoff game at Pennington Field last year -- don't remember the opponent, but I think they lost the game. The lighting was so bad, I left. That's what I like about Texas Stadium: no lighting issues and I can shoot 800ASA (sometimes 400), 1/250 or faster at 2.8.
I shoot Canon. Right now with a 20D and a 70-200/2.8, but if I shoot any next year, I'll get the 300. I like to shoot end zone shots and for the 200 to work well at all, they need to be inside the 25. The crop factor of the 20D helps, and its fast enough, but I wish it had a bigger buffer as I always shoot raw.
I don't let any coaches on the field and wouldn't dare let any non-participants out there even if a jr. high team is on the far hash. Our mechanics still have me on the outside of the sideline and I insist teams stay back. It isn't a safety issue as much as I don't want to have to run around anyone if the play goes long or if its a reverse or something. If I do that, I will drop a flag and then decide whether its a sideline warning (2 free ones, then 5 yards) or unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yards). Usually, it would be the first one unless the coach is being a jerk. Which reminds me. We're only a month out from scrimmages, and I better get back into the rule book!
As far as photogs, I don't have any trouble with them as an official. I did have one guy that wanted to play "tough guy" last year, but I finally convinced him he wouldn't win any war of wills and it was in his best interest to get his job done rather than get arrested -- or at least handcuffed. What a lot of guys don't know is that cops at sporting events will arrest someone the official(s) tell them to "take out." I have at times talked to them during time outs and such. Most everyone's pretty cool but you get your occassional prima donna.
You're right about the lighting. For a high quality field, it was very tough lighting. I shoot a 1DMII with the 70-200 2.8 and flash. I'd love to get a 300 lens, but the 2.8L is around 3K (OUCH!), and the other versions aren't really useable for night games.
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