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SEC WEST:

ALABAMA
Start of spring practice: March 21
Spring game: April 16

ARKANSAS
Start of spring practice: March 15
Spring game: April 16

AUBURN
Start of spring practice: March 23
Spring game: April 16

LSU
Start of spring practice: March 11
Spring game: April 9

MISSISSIPPI STATE
Start of spring practice: March 4
Spring game: April 9

OLE MISS
Start of spring practice: March 28
Spring game: April 16

SEC EAST:

FLORIDA
Start of spring practice: March 16
Spring game: April 9

GEORGIA
Start of spring practice: March 10
Spring game: April 16

KENTUCKY
Start of spring practice: March 30
Spring game: April 23

SOUTH CAROLINA
Start of spring practice: March 15
Spring game: April 9

TENNESSEE
Start of spring practice: March 22
Spring game: April 16

VANDERBILT
Start of spring practice: March 18
Spring game: April 17

UNC hopes to have one of the top defenses in the nation in 2011 football season. Experience will definitely point them in the right direction in 11 players returning with starting experience.

After a season of turmoil in 2010 that saw several Tar Heels suspended including safety Brian Gupton, safety Da’Norris Searcy and cornerback Kendric Burney, many young players got extended playing time and will return.

Defensive end Linwan Euwell and safety Jonathan Smith also saw suspensions for 2011 and are expected to compete for starting spots.

It is probably best for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft ONLy if theythink they can go in the first round. Many of these guys will, but some of them are delusional:

SEC (14)

Alabama: Marcell Dareus, DE; Julio Jones, WR; Mark Ingram, RB – these three could go in the top 15.
Arkansas: Ryan Mallett, QB – mid-first round to mid-second round
Auburn: Nick Fairley DT; Cameron Newton, QB; Darvin Adams WR – UnFairley should go top 10; SCam in late 1st round; Adams 3rd round
Florida: Will Hill, S – meh, shoulda stayed
Georgia: Justin Houston, DE; A.J. Green, WR – AJ is a top 10 pick. Houston probably 2nd round or later
Kentucky: Randall Cobb, WR/KR/QB – interesting prospect but not a first rounder; maybe 3rd
LSU: Patrick Peterson, CB; Stevan Ridley, RB – Peterson is top 5; Ridley, are you kidding me?
Ole Miss: Jerrell Powe, DT – 2nd to 3rd round
South Carolina: Tori Gurley, WR – insane

ACC (9)

Clemson: Da’Quan Bowers, DE; Jamie Harper, RB – Da’Quan is a top 10
Georgia Tech: Nick Claytor, OT
Maryland: Torrey Smith, WR/KR; Kenny Tate, S
Miami: Brandon Harris, CB
Virginia: Zane Parr, DE
Virginia Tech: Darren Evans, RB; Ryan Williams, RB

BIG TEN (7) – I am truly surprised none of the Ohio State Tattoo-gate 5 are going pro.

ILLINOIS: Mikel Leshoure, RB; Corey Liuget, DT; Martez Wilson, LB
INDIANA: Tandon Doss, WR
IOWA: Tyler Sash, S
WISCONSIN: John Clay, RB; J.J. Watt, DE

BIG 12 (3)

MISSOURI: Blane Gabbert, QB; Aldon Smith, DE – not good for Mizzou. Blane will be 2nd or 3rd rounder
TEXAS: Aaron Williams, CB

BIG EAST (5)

CONNECTICUT: Jordan Todman, RB
PITTSBURGH: Jon Baldwin, WR; Henry Hynoski, FB; Dion Lewis, RB
WEST VIRGINIA: Robert Sands, S

PAC-10 (7)

ARIZONA STATE: Lawrence Guy, DT
CALIFORNIA: Shane Vereen, RB
OREGON STATE: Jacquizz Rogers, RB
UCLA: Akeem Ayers, LB; Rahim Moore
USC: Jurrell Casey, DT; Tryon Smith, OT

CONFERENCE USA (1)

SOUTHERN MISS: DeAndre Brown, WR.

MID-AMERICAN(1)

TEMPLE: Muhammad Wilkerson, DT

MOUNTAIN WEST (2)

UTAH: Brandon Burton, CB;  Sealver Siliga, DT

INDEPENDENT (1)

NOTRE DAME: Kyle Rudolph, TE

Coming off an 8-5 2009 season, Georgia football coach Mark Richt made the insinuation that the Class of 2011 recruits in the state of Geoergia might all come to UGA and be a “Dream Team”. Despite, Georgia going 6-7 in 2010, many of Georgia’s elite bought into the slogan.

Below are recruits from Georgia with a Rivals.com rating of 4-stars or higher (updated 2/7/11):

The Bulldogs ends up with eleven of the Top 22 players in the state of Georgia. Only time will tell if the “Dream” pans out.

Okay, how can you have a Military Bowl with no military teams in it? Oh well. Maryland (8-4) vs. East Carolina (6-6) Washington D.C. Dec. 29 2:30 p.m. ESPN zzzzzz…

Texas Bowl Wake me when it’s over. Illinois (6-6) vs. Baylor (7-5) Houston, Tex. Dec. 29 6 p.m. ESPN

Alamo Bowl Unlike the original Alamo, the Cowboys win this one big. Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. Arizona (7-5) San Antonio, Tex. Dec. 29 9:15 p.m. ESPN

Why is the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas? There is nothing about that city that makes me think of the Armed Forces. It seems to me they are preying on our patriotism.  SMU (7-6) vs. Army (6-5)    Dec. 30 Noon ESPN

Pinstripe Bowl Who thought outdoor sports in New York City in December was a good idea? Football at Yankee Stadium has been done. It was boring. So are these teams. Kansas St. (7-5) vs. Syracuse (7-5) Bronx, N.Y. Dec. 30 3:20pm ESPN

Music City Bowl North Carolina disappointed to be 7-5 vs. Tennessee thrilled to be 6-6. Nashville, Tenn. LP Field Dec. 30 6:40pm ESPN

Holiday Bowl Oh, come on now! Hasn’t Washington’s Jake Locker (6-6) suffered enough from his stupid decision to return for his senior year? Nebraska (10-3) romps. San Diego Qualcomm Stadium Dec. 30 10pm ESPN

The Florida International fans’ dilemma: “Okay, kids. What do you want to do for Christmas this year: go to the beach or go to the Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit? Okay. Don’t forget the suntan oil.” Toledo (8-4) vs. Florida International (6-6) Dec. 26 ESPN 8:30pm

The Karma Bowl (aka: Independence Bowl) Last year the Georgia Tech fans had a good laugh at Georgia fans for going to the Indy Bowl in Shreveport, La. The tables have turned, Nerds. Air Force (8-4) vs. Georgia Tech (6-6) Dec. 27 ESPN 5pm

If the St. Petersburg Bowl was played in Russia instead of Florida, I might be interested. But instead, I think I will get a head start on my taxes. The yard needs raking. Maybe I’ll take a nap. Louisville (6-6) vs. Southern Miss (8-4), Dec. 21 ESPN 8pm.

The Crybaby Bowl (aka: Maaco Las Vegas Bowl) pairs the two biggest BCS complainers in Utah (10-2) and Boise State (11-1). There is only one answer and listen good: PLAY A TOUGHER NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE! Dec. 22 ESPN 8pm.

The Poinsettia Bowl will have an interesting crowd. San Diego State (8-4) is going to their first bowl since 1998 on their home field. However, the USA’s biggest Naval base is also in San Diego. Rest assured there will be some boisterous sailors to cheer on Navy (8-3). Dec. 23 ESPN 8pm.

Hawaii Bowl How fair is it for a team to play a bowl game on their home field? Not very, but if you normally play football in a dust bowl, this is like a dream come true. Hawaii (10-3) vs. Tulsa (9-3), Dec. 24 ESPN 8pm.

What have we done to deserve this?

December 18 brings us the first three of 35 bowl games of the season and boy are they stinkers.

The Toilet Bowl (aka the New Mexico Bowl), Albuquerque, N.M. The poster child for too many bowls: BYU (6-6) vs. UTEP (6-6). I think I’d rather watch that video from “The Ring” but if you dare: ESPN 2pm.

The Freeze Your Nurtz Off Bowl (aka: Humanitarian Bowl) played on the most ridiculous field in America. Forecast for Boise, Idaho is a high of 35°F and 80% chance of snow. This is Northern Illinois‘ and Fresno State‘s punishment for thinking they are viable programs. ESPN 5:30pm.

The Unnecessary Bowl (aka the New Orleans Bowl) played – guess where – in a dump stadium in a dump city. Sorry to sound insensitive but Brangelina are mistaken. That city is through. If you go and value your life, do not stray too far outside the French Quarter. Troy vs. Ohio. ESPN 9pm

With 35 bowl games, 72 teams became bowl eligible.

2 left out:
W. Michigan – no big surprise at 6-6 – MAC
Temple – a small surprise in that they were 8-4. But, MAC had 4 teams with better overall+conf records. Nobody wants the 5th place MAC team in their bowl.

1 screwed themselves:
Arizona State upset Arizona to get to 6-6. However, two of their wins were against I-AA teams and count as one win. They filed a waiver but no dice. Schedule stronger, Sun Devils.

6-6 teams in bowl games:
Florida Intl – tied Troy for the Sun Belt championship – lamest conf ever.
Middle Tenn – #3 Sun Belt
E Carolina – C-USA had 6 bowl tie-ins. ECU was #5
UTEP -  #6 C-USA.
BYU – playing UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, ugh.
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Illinois
Kentucky
Louisville
Tennessee
Washington
Clemson
Army – 6-5 and probably loses to Navy this Saturday.

1 loss is all it takes:
Boise will play Utah in the Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas on December 22. Fittingly enough, that is a Wednesday – one of their favorite days to play on.

10 Bowls we can do without:
New Mexico Bowl, Albuqurque, NM – BYU (6-6) vs. UTEP (6-6) – zzzzzzzzzz…
New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, LA – Troy (7-5) vs. Ohio (8-4) – N.O. already has the Sugar Bowl. Do they really need another in that run down old relic?
St. Petersburg Bowl, St. Petersburg, FL – Louisville (6-6) vs. Southern Miss (8-4) – another crappy game in another crappy dome.
Military Bowl, Washington DC – Maryland (8-4) vs. East Carolina (6-6) – no offense to our armed forces but these two bowls are just useless.
Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, TX – SMU (7-6) vs. Army (6-5) – I love our military but do we really need two of these bowls using up money that could go to the actual military?
Pinstripe Bowl, New York, N.Y – Syracuse (7-5) vs. Kansas State (7-5) – football in Yankee Stadium with two mediocre teams…yawn. Been there, done that.
GoDaddy.com Bowl, Mobile, AL – Miami (Ohio) (9-4) vs. Middle Tennessee State (6-6) – they will be lucky to half fill the stadium
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, AL – Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Kentucky (6-6) – that name just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Humanitarian Bowl, Boise, ID – Northern Illinois (10-3) vs. Fresno State (8-4) – YES! Idaho in December! That is exactly where I want to be!
Little Caesars Bowl, Detroit, MI – Toledo (8-4) vs. Florida International (6-6) – Right, I am spending my Christmas in Detroit instead of Miami.

74½:
The over/under is for Auburn vs. Oregon is 74½. Take the over!

I predicted that Oklahoma would lose. I just didn’t expect it so soon! Mizzou plays a perfect game at home 36-27. UO will still lose the Big XII championship game to Nebraska.

Notre Dame dominated by Navy in a game played in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ 35-17. There’s nothing like a high-profile game to expose your weaknesses.

Hey! How did a Big Least team sneak their way into the rankings?! Shoo! SHOO! West Virginia goes down to Syracuse at home 19-14.

I am not sure if Texas deserves a HHAHA. A “WTF’’ might be more appropriate. Last years BCS runner-up loses its third game in four. This time it is to unranked Iowa State 28-21. The one victory in that span was against Nebraska who was #5 at the time.

Georgia Tech got all full of themselves after beating weenie teams Wake Forest, Virginia and Middle Tennessee. Clemson smacked them back down to earth 27-13.

This just in, Boise is still a joke.