FROM THE BENCH : Predictions, predictions, predictions ... OU’s Bradford for Heisman
Posted on Sunday, July 6, 2008
Can you believe it’s almost time for football season to start up again ?
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to call the Hogs. There’s nothing sweeter than hearing a jampacked Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium full of 78, 000 screaming fans bellowing out the famous “ Wooo Pig Soooieee. ”
In case you haven’t purchased your latest college football magazine, then let me be the first to say, “ What are you waiting for ?”
Every year, I look forward to the months of June and July because that’s when I get to catch up on my latest reading of every college football team from the tip of Washington to the bottom of Miami (Fla. ) and all points in between.
It’s the time of the year when I look into the crystal ball and cast my predictions for the upcoming season.
Of course, we all know who the Heisman Trophy front-runner is going to be, as well as who will probably be playing in the BCS National Championship, but let me go out on a limb and say that the nation’s top football player will not be from the state of Florida.
Yes, that’s right, Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow will not win the 2008 Heisman Trophy.
Only a select few athletes have what it takes to win the coveted trophy two years in a row and Mr. Tebow isn’t one of them.
Tebow, or shall we say ‘ Mr. ESPN’, will have a hard time winning the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division, especially with the likes of Matthew Stafford returning at quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Stafford and the Bulldogs, in my opinion, have what it takes to run the table this year, but they’re not my top team going into the season.
I still believe the nation’s best team, bar none, resides in Norman, Okla. Yes, this native Texan is picking the Oklahoma Sooners to win it all.
The Sooners are loaded and back in the BCS hunt. They have one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in sophomore sensation Sam Bradford. They have a fleet of running backs, led by sophomore standout DeMarco Murray, and their defensive line, anchored by junior captain Auston English, is among the best in the country.
To top things off, the Sooners ’ schedule should have them ranked first in the nation with a 5-0 record going into the ‘ Red River Shootout ’ against the Texas Longhorns on the second week of October in Dallas.
The only game the Sooners may lose, in my opinion, would be a slipup at home against Mike Leach and the pass-happy Texas Tech Red Raiders or in the Big 12 Conference Championship against another national title contender in the Missouri Tigers.
The Heisman Trophy will have already been picked by the time the Big 12 Conference Championship takes place, but can you imagine the setting inside Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City when Bradford and Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel tangle once again for all the marbles.
Daniel is a winner and a fearless leader, but yet, the former Southlake (Texas ) Carroll signal-caller will not be able to escape the pressure of English and Company.
So, who will be the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner ?
Well, how about another sophomore stealing the limelight ?
I’m going to say if all goes well and this guy stays healthy, the Heisman will return to Norman in the hands of Mr. Bradford.
In a conference loaded with so many talented quarterbacks, Bradford is head-and-shoulders better than Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell, Mizzou’s Chase Daniel, Kansas’s Todd Reesing and Texas’s Colt Mc-Coy.
Bradford is the best passing quarterback to come out of the state of Oklahoma since a guy by the name of Troy Aikman tossed the pigskin on the West Coast for UCLA and later led the Dallas Cowboys to several Super Bowl Championships.
So, now who will the Sooners play for the 2009 BCS National Championship ?
I know a month ago I made a prediction that Auburn and USC would be playing for the national title. Well, after reading these magazines and staring into the crystal ball, I’ve decided to change my pick. The Sooners will square off against Ohio State, and yes, the Buckeyes will fall once again to a team from the South on college football’s biggest stage. First, Ohio State falls to Florida in the 2007 National Championship, then to LSU in 2008. Come 2009, Oklahoma will be the next football powerhouse from the South to crush the Buckeyes’ title hopes. Get the banners flying now, “ Sam Bradford... Next Oklahoma Governor. ” The last quarterback to wear No. 14 for Oklahoma — Josh Huepel — won a national championship. Hmmm, I wonder who Bradford’s quarterback coach is now.
(Tim Ritter is the sports editor for the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader. He can be reached by email at timothyr @ nwanews. com. )
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