Florida State Got Robbed

The College Football Playoff is all set. Michigan is the 1 seed, Washington 2, Texas 3 and Alabama 4.

I do think all four teams had some good reasons for being picked. Michigan won every game and the Big 10. Washington won every game and the Pac 12. Texas won 12 games, won the Big 12 and beat Bama. They did get beat by Oklahoma, who is very good, but that was early and they more than made up for it. And Bama ended Georgia's 29 game win streak, lost to Texas early on in the season, but won every other game. So, do I think these teams are deserving of a playoff spot? Yes. But, do I think the committee got it right? Absolutely not.

This has been a topic of much debate since the four playoff teams were announced yesterday. People have had takes either way, supporting the decision or disagreeing with the decision. I wanted to sit on my thoughts for a day before I made up my mind. And I absolutely believe that Florida State was snubbed big time. This may be the biggest snub in the history of college football bowl games. That may sound like a bit much, but to the players, coaches and that university, this is a big deal. Florida State won the ACC. They won it going away in fact. They beat three top 25 teams. They beat LSU, who will most likely have the Heisman winner this weekend, in a humongous prime time matchup this season. The main thing that FSU did this season though, they won every game. Texas did not win every game. Alabama did not win every game. But FSU did. They had their schedule set, they played the teams on that schedule and when those games were over, FSU was the winner of each and every one of them. That is their job as a power 5 football team. That has been the unwritten rule of the college football playoff committee. They have said time and time again that if you play in a power 5 conference, win the conference title game, and win every other game on your schedule, that should be more than enough to get you in the playoff. But for some reason this season the committee decided to change things up.

Now, I fully understand, as does the committee, that the playoff is a television event. They want to get as many viewers as possible. And putting Michigan up against Alabama is going to bring a ton of viewers. But it is not like FSU is some also ran. They are blue bloods themselves. They have won multiple national titles. They have had multiple first round picks. They have a storied history. So to pass over them for Alabama, that shows the bias that the committee and ESPN, where all the playoff games will be broadcast, have. This is clearly ESPN and the committee cowtailing to the SEC and Bama. They want them in these games to get the talking heads and fans all riled up. During the SEC title game they kept showing a placard on the screen saying that the winner of the SEC title game has never missed the CFP. No one on ESPN, CBS, Fox or NBA were talking up FSU at all Saturday night, even as they were winning the ACC title game. And when ESPN premiered the final playoff game reveal and rankings, of course most of their talking heads were saying this was the correct choice, to leave FSU out in favor of Bama. Rece Davis, a Bama grad, loved it. Kirk Herbstreit, who I like, said weeks ago that if FSU finished undefeated, they'd be a shoe in. He immediately disregarded that statement and praised the committee for their choice. Paul Finebaum basically said he could care less about FSU and that Bama deserved the spot. He hosts a show on ESPN's SEC network. The only analyst that seemed to be bothered by this was Booger McFarland. He made some real good points I thought too. If anyone that is a college football fan is on the fence about this choice, go watch what McFarland had to say yesterday. It was the best argument for FSU being in the playoff that I saw. But after yesterday it is more apparent than ever that this committee and ESPN could care less about what occurs on the field. They are going to bend over backwards to get a team from the SEC in this field if there is the slightest possibility.

I do not like FSU, not one bit, but they were snubbed, and snubbed hard by the CFP committee yesterday. This is not what is supposed to happen when you win every game and win your conference as a power 5. This is clearly a move motivated by viewers, not players. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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No More

When is enough going to really be enough? I just do not know what to do anymore. I do not know how to keep fighting. I am at a total loss. This cannot continue to happen, yet here we are yet again.

There was another mass shooting in Texas yesterday. The count at this point is insurmountable. It is astronomical. And it just continues to happen. I could easily make a post on social media where I leave the state, date and place different with words surrounding it stating, "there was another mass shooting in America today". I'm sick to my stomach. I just don't get it. I don't understand.

I think this one has hit me harder because it happened at an elementary school. That is one of the few places kids should feel safe. School, their home and their grandparents' home. Those are supposed to be safe places. I see the signs at my kid's school everyday. They are big and they state, "this is a safe space". And I'm sure the school in Texas had a similar sign. Yet here we are. Children are dead. That makes me shudder. Teachers are dead. These people went to school without a care in the world yesterday, and now they are gone forever. It makes me want to cry. I am fighting back tears as I write this. It is so sad.

These actions could, and should, have been avoided. This should not keep happening. We are supposed to be one of the leaders of the world. But guns are such a big part of the US, and it is a real problem. Guns should not be this easy to get. There should be so many more rules than just being 18 years old and not having a criminal record. But nope, that is seemingly all it takes an America to get a weapon that can easily kill people. A psychopath can get one and take it into an elementary school and murder people. I know this sounds harsh, and it may trigger some, but that is what happened yesterday, and seems to happen daily in the US.

I have tried and tried to avoid politics and news for the last few months, and I have been relatively successful. It has really quelled my anxiety. But this story was unavoidable. I saw it everywhere. And I needed to see it. It kind of kicked my butt back into gear. We need gun reform in this country ASAP. I'm sick of waking up every single day and seeing another mass shooting. It is too easy to attain guns in the US. Guns are glorified in this country. People who shouldn't have that power can get it too easily now. We need to make changes. We need to do something. Things need to change and change now. I don't know how we go about that change, and it will be a long hard fight. But it is a fight we need to do, and I am more than willing to fight with like minded people.

I cannot imagine the pain and suffering the families in Uvalde are going through right now. The survivors are going to be traumatized forever. Those parents will never get to see their kids again. The loved ones of the teachers will never get to see them again. My kids both asked me about this yesterday and it was a conversation I have never, ever imagined having with a 10 year old and a 6 year old. I explained to them what happened and they were horrified. These people were no harm. They didn't pose a threat. They did not wake up ready to fight yesterday. They did not expect to lose their lives when they arrived at school. They were just going about their day and then tragedy struck. Again, it makes me both sick and sad. It is an atrocity.

The US is so far behind other countries on gun control. We need to take the lead from other places. We need reform immediately. We need to be better. We need to make sure our kids feel safe. We need to make sure our educators feel safe. We need to do something about guns. I know getting rid of them as a whole is impossible, but we can make it so much harder to get one. We can make it a thorough process. We can make it take months or years of background checks and tests and anything else that may make a mentally ill and deranged person unable to attain guns. I have never held a gun. I despise the notion of a gun. But I know we cannot rid ourselves of them. But we can, and should, make big changes. Please let there be swift action on gun reform. I cannot take these stories anymore. They hurt my soul. My heart breaks for every person that has lost loved ones to mindless gun violence. This is an epidemic in the US, and we have the power to stop it. We just need to take the steps.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Oklahoma and Texas in the SEC Makes No Sense

The other day while looking at college football news I saw the big story that Texas and Oklahoma have inquired, or were at least thinking about, joining the SEC. At first I thought it was just a rumor. I took zero stock in the report. I did not think that the two most notable Big 12 teams would bolt to go play in the SEC. It didn't make sense at the time.

Why would these teams make the move? Texas hasn't been great as of late. They are a lot like Michigan right now. They get overhyped, fall on their face when they shouldn't and close out seasons at 7-5 or 8-4. It is eerie how similar Texas and Michigan have been the past ten to fifteen seasons. Oklahoma basically runs the Big 12. Ever since Lincoln Riley took over they seem to win it every season. They have multiple Heisman winning QB's. They have been to the playoff. They go out and torch other Big 12 teams. They are the university of Ohio State or Alabama of the Big 12. So I just thought it was odd that they would want to join the SEC. It doesn't make sense.

It still doesn't make sense to me a few days later. Apparently talks are ramping up on both teams leaving. I saw that neither will resign with TV companies that cover the Big 12 in 2025 when the contract is up. I saw that a few current SEC teams, and former Big 12 schools, Missouri and Texas A&M have come out and said they do not want Texas and Oklahoma to join. I wonder what other SEC teams think. I'm sure Alabama could care less. As long as Nick Saban is coaching they will be the pick to win the SEC every year. Georgia looks to be really good this upcoming season, and their recruiting is setting them up to always be good. Auburn is up and down, but they are entrenched as an SEC school. Florida is big time in the SEC. Even schools like Kentucky and South Carolina are way, way more SEC than Texas and Oklahoma could ever dream of being.

I also do not understand the want for Texas, and even more so, Oklahoma to leave the comfort of the Big 12. If they were to leave the Big 12 in three years both of their schedules get immediately tougher. There is no Kansas in the SEC. SEC teams usually play one really tough out of conference opponent. SEC teams do get that one cupcake team late in the season, but the Big 12 fills their out of conference schedule with cupcakes. For example, Oklahoma's three non conference games this year are Tulane, Western Carolina and Nebraska. Those are all very easy wins for them. Texas plays Louisiana Lafayette, Arkansas and Rice. Again, all very winnable games. Alabama on the other hand has a game with Miami. While they are not as good as they used to be, it is still Miami. They will still be a tough opponent in the ACC. They are better than all of the other teams I just mentioned. Auburn plays Penn State in week three. Ole Miss plays Louisville. In week one Georgia is facing Clemson. Mississippi State faces Memphis, who has been very solid the past few years, in week three. And Vanderbilt has Stanford. Those games are all much more difficult than anyone Texas and Oklahoma face in their first three weeks. Then we have the conference schedule. Texas and Oklahoma get to play West Virginia and Texas Tech and Baylor. They also face Kansas State and Kansas. And there is TCU. Iowa State is the only real threat to Oklahoma, but this is a team that just got good two years ago. The SEC has all those teams I mentioned above, plus teams like LSU, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri to name a few.

If I were Texas and Oklahoma I would think about this a bit more before deciding. I like that they want tougher competition, but they can schedule that out of conference. They can schedule two or three tough opponents, then run the gamut in the Big 12 and have a much better shot at the playoff. And if they are both to leave, it will not be too long until we go to three or four super conferences. The Big 12 would be done without these two schools. The rest of the conference would look elsewhere. The Big 10 could absorb some of the schools, but where would the other southern schools go? Would they also join the SEC? Would the ACC survive? How does this affect the Pac 12? There would be a TON of questions to answer if this comes to fruition. But right now, the way I see it, Texas and Oklahoma are better off staying put and wiping the floor with their current conference in Oklahoma's case. We will have to see what happens. But a change from these two schools would cause a seismic shift in the college football landscape.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Mack Brown Goes Back to North Carolina Football. Why?

I promised I'd talk about 2 "new" college football coaches yesterday, and I come to you today with the second "new" one. This is now official. I saw a quick little snippet of a press conference on "PTI" last night. Mack Brown is officially back as the new head coach of North Carolina's college football team.

I had forgotten until yesterday that Brown coached there before moving on to Texas. Whenever I see Mack Brown now, I think of Texas football. And he was great there. He won a national title, was a perennial top 25 team and regularly won 9 or 10 games every year. But, much like Les Miles and Lloyd Carr, he kind of got lost in the new world of college football. He was still coaching as if he was coaching in the early 21st century. And the Texas fans and boosters got tired of it. Suddenly he couldn't beat Oklahoma, and 8 wins and a solid bowl game weren't enough. He "retired" just like Carr, but it really seemed like a forced retirement.

Texas still hasn't fully recovered since he left. I feel like they didn't give Charlie Strong a real chance, and while I know they are a top 15 team right now, it doesn't feel like the same Texas teams from the past. They are stuck in a similar limbo that Michigan is stuck in. I do think, while he is a scumbag of a human being, Tom Hermann will turn it around, but I wish it was Charlie Strong reaping the benefits instead.

Back to Brown. While I feel like he was pushed out, the time had come for him to step away. As I said, he couldn't, or wouldn't, adapt to the new world of college football. The moment Colt McCoy graduated, Brown and Texas took a step back. Now though, after 5 years away, he is back where it truly all began for him. After realizing he previously coached at UNC, I looked some stuff up. He was pretty good there. He won double digit games a few times. He had UNC in bowl games pretty much every year, and he turned it into a bigger, and higher paying, head coaching job. But, this hire feels a lot like Herm Edwards being hired by Arizona State last offseason. That hiring puzzled me. Edwards had never coached college football, and he had been away from coaching all together for a decent amount of time. He was an analyst. He worked for ESPN. The exact same things can be said about Brown. Brown was one of ESPN's main college football in studio guys. He has been away from coaching for 5 years now. I just assumed he was done and was going to continue getting paid with his cushy and easy job. But I guess the allure of coaching is too much to resist for guys like Edwards and Brown.

So Brown is now back. He is back in a power 5 conference. He is coaching a power 5 team. He will be going up against teams like Miami, FSU and Clemson every year. This all feels a lot like Miles at KU, except UNC has a slightly better upside, at least to me. UNC is a basketball school. People in Chapel Hill only really care about the college basketball team. If the football team is good, that is just an added bonus. I cannot remember the last time UNC football mattered. You may say, Mitch Turbisky played there. I say, did he ever win more than 8 games as a starter? You may say that Butch Davis had them in the top 25. I say, look at the mess he left when he was caught cheating. UNC football is just not much of a program. And while that will give Brown the same long leash that Miles has at KU, and while this school will give him all the time he needs to rebuild.

I ask, what is the ceiling with Mack Brown as the head coach at UNC? Just like Miles, he is going to have to fight against better football schools for big time recruits. Brown was able to pull these 4 and 5 star kids in at Texas. He won't find it as easy at UNC. If he is recruiting against the likes of FSU, Miami and Clemson, I feel like most big time recruits will have Clemson as their top school, then Miami and then FSU. UNC will, at best, be fourth on any major recruit list. For me, success for Brown at UNC will come easier than it will for Miles at KU. UNC is in a worse conference. The ACC, while it has gotten much better, is not at the Big 12's level. So I think the ceiling for Brown is 8, maybe 9 wins, and maybe, possibly, a New Year's Day bowl. I do not think they will be able to compete with the upper echelon of the ACC. They are coming off a 2 win season. They have been getting crushed by the likes of Clemson, NC State, Syracuse and even Duke. And while I know FSU and Miami struggled this year, I feel like that is an aberration. With UNC, I feel like this 2 win season, while bad, is more towards the norm. Mack Brown will make them marginally better, but just marginally. As I said, I feel like year one will be tough, year 2 will be slightly better, and by year 3, he should have them at bowl eligibility, but that is the best they can be. UNC is not a national title contender. Mack Brown will not turn them into a national title contender either. He may make more people talk about them because of his name, but as far as on the field stuff goes, Brown is going to find out that the game has changed even more since he left 5 years ago.

UNC got a big name, just like KU, but I feel like it will be pretty much the same for both guys. They will struggle, and I think they may get more frustrated than anything else. College football has changed so much since Miles, and now Brown, have come back to coaching. It is going to be a punch in the gut for both of them.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. With all these announcers going back to coaching, Ty is waiting for Lee Corso and Lou Holtz to jump on the bandwagon. Oh what joy to not have to see those two every Saturday.

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College Football Proved in Week One Why it is the Best

The first weekend of the college football season is officially in the books, and I have some quick thoughts about what we saw this past weekend.

First off, isn't it great to have football to watch again? Look, I like baseball, but nothing, not even basketball, compares to my love for football season. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. I spent my entire Saturday watching college football games.

My first main takeaway, RD was right and I was way wrong on Oklahoma. I assumed that they had the firepower and talent to overcome their head coach ineptness. Well, Houston made me look stupid, and made RD look right. When they got out to an 11 point lead, Oklahoma that is, I thought that they'd cruise from there. That was not the case. Houston took the first punch, then punched back way more than Oklahoma could handle. The 109 field miss return was the icing on the crap cake that has become Bob Stoops' calling card. Oklahoma could not recover, and they have a big hill to climb if they want in the playoff at the end of the year. They can still do it, but their chances are very, very slim. And how good did Houston and Greg Ward Jr look? They are truly a team worth watching, and they could definitely crash the playoff this year. Their last 2 wins, Florida State last year in the bowl game, and Oklahoma to open this season, are legit, and so is Houston.

The Thursday before, the games were mediocre. The only "marquee" team was Tennessee, and they struggled. Appalachian State is an okay team, and they will forever haunt me for what they did to the Wolverines all those years ago, but Tennessee was supposed to crush them, especially at home. Well, that did not happen. They needed a fourth quarter comeback, and had it not been for a miracle play from their running back, they would have fumbled away their win. Tennessee may not be as good as some thought they would be. But, it is only week one. 

Friday night had some good games, most notably Stanford-Kansas State. This game was closer than I thought, but we still got to see some great running by McCaffery. He made great cuts and zipped through holes and ran over tacklers. That kid is good. Michigan State looked a bit disjointed in their game against Furman on Friday night, but they won. It was sloppy, but it goes down as a W. 

Saturday was the real kickoff. I mentioned the Houston-Oklahoma game, but there were a lot of other things I saw in those early games. The Big Ten, save for Northwestern, looked pretty good. Ohio State and JT Barrett absolutely pummeled Bowling Green. Michigan crushed Hawaii. Iowa ran all over Miami of Ohio. The mid to lower level teams, like Maryland, Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska pummeled their opponents. Nebraska also did a fantastic tribute to their fallen punter. It was moving. Yeah, Northwestern got beat, but don't sleep on Western Michigan. They are a good football team. And as far as Rutgers goes, they stink.

The biggest win for the Big Ten came in the afternoon games, when Wisconsin beat LSU. LSU was supposed to be the second, or first overall team in the SEC. They have a great, great running back that was going to run all over Wisconsin. Wisconsin was also coming off an okay season, but they were breaking in a new QB, and their running back was coming off injury. Well, Wisconsin completely controlled every facet of that game. They "held" Fournette to under 150 yards, and forced LSU's QB to try and win the game, which he did not, throwing one of the most errant interceptions I have ever seen. But, I don't put this loss solely on Brandon Harris, I put it on Les Miles. He has become so vanilla. His offense is so predictable, and when you can get them out of their comfort zone, you have a great chance at beating them. The game was ugly, but it was exactly what Wisconsin wanted it to be, and they won. LSU is still a ways away from competing big time in the SEC.

In some other afternoon games, the competition looked good. UNC-Georgia was a very good game. I think I may have been a little low on Georgia in fact. If Nick Chubb can stay healthy, Georgia can be a very good team. Maybe they become the team that challenges Alabama in the SEC. Washington looked good, absolutely crushing Rutgers, Rutgers is not good. But, Washington looked pretty good. UCLA laid an egg against Texas A&M. They had no flow and Josh Rosen looked like he may have taken a step back. A&M won, but I don't think they are great either. Trevor Knight does not appear to be an elite QB, but that is the best they have. And, as I said, they got the win. Other ranked teams, like TCU, Oregon and Oklahoma State crushed their opponents, but TCU and Oregon both gave up more points than they should have against their opponents.

The night games on Saturday, one was great, the other, not so much. Alabama let USC stay in the game for one quarter, then realized that they are Alabama, and dismantled USC. That was an old fashioned whooping. USC looked like a very overmatched JV team against a very young, inexperienced Alabama team. As much as I loathe Nick Saban and Alabama, that team is great, and he is a great college coach. The Clemson-Auburn game was sloppy, but entertaining. Clemson won, but it was a dogfight, and Auburn had a chance at the end. Deshaun Watson did more than enough, at least in my eyes, to prove why he is the best player in college football. The game was also played at Auburn, which is a tough spot for any team, and Clemson still pulled out the victory.

 Sunday featured one game, Notre Dame-Texas, and that game was incredible. I fervently despise both teams, but that game was great. There was little to no defense played, but it was fun. Brian Kelly lost that game for Notre Dame. And, before you call me out for being a Notre Dame hater they would have won if he kept Deshon Kizer in at QB. But, he kept taking him out, and Kizer was unstoppable. So were the 2 Texas QB's. The freshman was more of a threat to throw, but Swoopes, man did he look good running the ball. And their running game was awesome. The way it ended, in double overtime, was excellent. That was a great, great game.

Last night, FSU came back and beat Ole Miss. For as bad as FSU looked in the first half, they looked great in the second half. The freshman QB calmed down, and the o line started to open holes for Dalvin Cook. Ole Miss is overrated. They came out guns blazing, but after the second quarter, they looked gassed, and it seemed that FSU figured them out. This game went as it was supposed to go.

There were a lot of good games, and this was a very good opening week. I don't like that they called the Oklahoma-Houston, Wisconsin-LSU and FSU-Ole Miss games, "neutral" site games. Houston got to play in Houston, Wisconsin got to play in Green Bay and FSU got to play in Orlando. Those are all home games. That was an unfair advantage for Oklahoma, LSU and Ole Miss, but that is just a nit picky thing of mine. Other than that, this season is off to a very promising start. I cannot wait for this Saturday to come so I can watch some more football. The best sport is finally back.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He can breathe easier this weekend because the Wolverines did not have their regular Rodriguez / Hoke bad loss in week one. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Chaos of the College Basketball Season will Extend Well into March

This season has even our ancestors confused

As I've done with the NBA, NFL and MLB seasons, I want to check up on my preseason preview for men's college basketball and see how I did and what I think will happen now that the regular is just about done.

First of all, this season of men's college basketball has been very, very ugly. There is no clear cut best team out there. The talent pool has been incredibly watered down by this new "one and done" culture. These kids don't go to college to learn how to play team basketball anymore, they go to increase their draft position. No one plays team basketball anymore. It's all one on one and let me show you my skills to prove that I can play at the next level. Adam Silver needs to focus more on changing the age limit rule for early entry in the draft and less on the "hack a whoever" problem. Men's college basketball is becoming a joke, and until they do something to remedy the "one and done", it will remain a big, big problem.

I really dislike college basketball at the moment.

With all that being said, I still watch because it is basketball and I love basketball. As I said before, there is no clear cut top five teams. Last year it was almost a foregone conclusion that Duke, Kentucky and Wisconsin would be three fourths of the final four. Michigan State making it was a surprise, but they are also a traditional powerhouse, so was it really that surprising? Nope. This year though, it's a total crapshoot. I bet gamblers hate how wide open it is this season. There is, at least, 10 teams that have a legitimate shot at making the final four and winning the title.

I'll start with the ACC. The ACC has the team that most consider the "best" team in North Carolina, but they just lost to an unranked Duke team at home. Sometimes UNC looks like world beaters, other days they look average. Duke has been wildly inconsistent this year. They were in the top ten, fell out of the rankings completely, then beat Virginia and UNC. They are a team that relies on streaky shooters and freshman and sophomores and their underclassmen are nowhere near as good as their underclassmen last year. Virginia has experience, but they play ugly offensive basketball. Notre Dame is okay, but they will lose an early round game in the tournament. Louisville gave themselves a bogus postseason ban, due to all their sex parties and their sex depraved head coach, but I don't think they would have made much noise in the tournament anyway. Miami may be the second best team in the ACC, but they are classic tournament chokers. everyone else is mediocre. UNC should be the cream of the crop, but I have no faith in them after what happened against Duke.

The Big East has two good teams and that's it. No disrespect to Georgetown, but they peaked early. The Big East is Villanova and Xavier. They played last night and number 5 Xavier knocked off number 1 Villanova. It was a good game, but the problem with these two teams, they always get seeded very high in the tournament and they always lose way earlier than they should. They both have experience, but like I said, that experience is used to getting knocked out of the tournament early. I'd love if they proved me and everyone else wrong and made a deep tournament run because I like both these teams, but I don't think that will happen.

The SEC has been very average this year. Kentucky was supposed to be great, signing another excellent class, but they have been one of, if no the, most inconsistent team in all of men's basketball. They have no go to scorer and their stud freshman have not lived up to the preseason hype. Texas A&M is ranked, but I couldn't tell you the name of one player on that team. LSU was supposed to be awesome since they signed Ben Simmons, the overall number one high school recruit, but they might not even make the NCAA tournament. Arkansas is mediocre, Ole Miss and Mississippi State both stink and so does the rest of the conference. Kentucky will still win the SEC, but they are not the same team that they were last year.

The Big Ten, my conference that I watch, has been very unpredictable. Michigan State is supposed to be the cream of the crop, but they've had to deal with multiple injuries and very inconsistent play. They are still really good, but not as good as I thought they would be. Iowa has come out of nowhere and put themselves into the top ten, but they have lost three straight and one of those losses was to a very bad Penn State team. Maryland, my preseason pick to win the title, has been as inconsistent as Michigan State. They started out on fire this season, climbing all the way up to the number 2 ranking, but they recently lost to a Minnesota team that was winless in Big Ten play. Michigan, my team, has been without Caris Levert for most of the season but, they've beaten the teams they are supposed to beat. But, when they played quality competition, they've been absolutely run out of the gym. Michigan State, Indiana, Iowa and Xavier all beat them by double figures and made it look easy. Indiana, the current leader of the conference, has looked good, but when they have to play on the road, they are not the same team. They get every call at home, but the road, where it's called fairly, they look average. Wisconsin has come on strong lately, but I have zero faith in them and their former coach, Bo Ryan, is a world class scumbag. Even with Indiana sitting atop the conference, Michigan State and Maryland are the two best teams in the Big Ten.

The Big 12 may be the best conference in college basketball this year. Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia, Texas and Baylor have spent the majority of the season in the top 25. Oklahoma and Kansas look really good. They are the two teams that may be the only "sure thing" in college basketball this year. The issue is that KU has a tendency to choke, and who knows with Oklahoma, especially since Buddy Hield has been in a mini slump. West Virginia plays suffocating defense, but very poor offense. Baylor seems to be good only when playing at home and Texas is still learning Shaka Smart's system.  KU has proven twice, beating Oklahoma at home and on the road, that they are still the best team in the Big 12.

The mid majors I mentioned in my preseason preview, Witchita State and Gonzaga have been major disappointments. Witchita State had everyone back from a team that almost made the final four last year, but they have been pretty mediocre this year. And Gonzaga has fallen off a cliff. I believe I had them in my preseason final four, but they have been pretty terrible this year. The mid majors are not going to crash the final four at all this year.

Even though it's been a rough year to watch, the major conferences will be well represented in the tournament and make the final four. Like I said, this season is wide open, but I will take a crack at the final four anyway. I guess, and I cannot stress how much of this is literally a guess, UNC, Michigan State, Kansas and Oklahoma will be in the final four and Oklahoma will win it all. Once again, total guess. So, there is my almost end of the regular season wrap up for men's college basketball. The one thing that will be fun, while it will still be a rough watch, at least the tournament will be exciting and all 68 teams that make it will have a shot at the title. Hell, maybe we will finally see a 16 seed beat a 1 seed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. This college basketball season may provide another big upset, like the Princeton UCLA game that the head editor will not shut up about. It is your duty to follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty's College Football Season Preview

Official ball from the 1988 all backyard suburban league championship

Today is August 17th, which means it is only 17 more days until the 2015 college football season kicks off.

This is the biggest "holiday" in my life. I'm as giddy as a kid opening a present when college football season starts. College football is, by far, my favorite sport. It may not be the cleanest, most ethical sport (what NCAA sport is?) yet it's so entertaining. College football, and sports in general, are the only TV show or movie that there's any real drama involved. There's dramatic TV shows and movies, but the outcome, for the most part, is positive. Not the case in sports. Sports can make you extremely happy and can depress you for hours or days, depending on how your team plays that particular day. College football, in my opinion, holds the most drama of all sports. College football also has the best die hard fans. We aren't fans, we are fanatics.

Which brings me to my main reason for my blog today, it's my college football preview. I will make this a yearly thing, so this marks the first annual, "Ty's College Football Season Preview". I'm not going to pick a preseason top 25, because that's stupid and pointless. I'm going to pick my winners of the major conferences, I'll talk about teams that can surprise, I'll give you my favorites for the Heisman and who I think the four playoff teams will be, and who I think will win the whole thing. So let's get started.

First, the Pac 12. You have the usual suspects competing for the Pac 12 title this year in Oregon, USC and UCLA. Of those three teams, I would pick Oregon to, once again, be in contention and most likely win the Pac 12 again. The transfer quarterback from Eastern Washington, Vernon Adams, will somewhat ease the loss of last year's Heisman winner, Marcus Mariota. It's always hard to replace a player like Mariota, but I think that Adams will run this offense very well, and they won't miss Mariota as much as other people think they will. USC returns star quarterback, Cody Kessler, but I don't think that Steve Sarkisian is the answer at head coach. The last time USC had this kind of preseason buzz was the year they started out as preseason number one, lost badly at Arizona State on a late Saturday night game, fired Lane Kiffin when they returned home and finished the year 7-6. I personally don't trust USC. UCLA also has to replace an all Pac 12 QB in Brett Hundley, but they have Myles Jack coming back, and they have a decent defense. They're good for 8 to 10 wins. Teams like Arizona, Arizona State and Washington will be decent too. Arizona won't be as good as last season, they played completely out of their minds, but they have a good young core and are led by the best linebacker in the country in Scooby Wright. Arizona State will be good on offense and sub par on defense, and Washington's opener versus Boise State will tell you everything about their season. If they win or win big, they will be a really good team, and if they lose, it will be a long season for the Huskies. With all that being said, I see Oregon winning the conference again this season.

On to the "powerful" SEC. I'd like to start by saying, I think the SEC is very overrated and I wish companies like ESPN would stop with the constant coverage, it drives me nuts. Anyway, here's another conference with the usual suspects. Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Georgia and Ole Miss are the class of the conference. Alabama is Alabama, they will be good for 10 wins at least, anything less is a failure. They will be good, probably great, all season. It's Alabama after all. Auburn and Ole Miss are very similar in my opinion. They both have decent offenses, Ole Miss is better with LaQuean Treadwell coming back after that horrific injury last season and they both have very good defenses. Auburn got a great hire in Will Muschamp as their new defensive coordinator. He was not a good head coach, but the guy is a defensive genius. They're also helped by the addition of graduate transfer, Blake Countess. That guy is a great cover corner. Ole Miss still has the Nkemdichi brothers, and Robert Nkemdichi is, by far, the best interior defensive lineman since Ndamonkong Suh. The guy is unblockable. Mississippi State has their QB, Dak Prescott, back and he runs Dan Mullen's read option to perfection. I don't think they'll be as good this season as they were last season, but they're still good for 8 or 9 wins. Georgia lost Todd Gurley, but replace him with Nick Chubb. They also have a decent defense. They should win at least 9 games. LSU and Arkansas are kind of a mystery to me. LSU has a lights out defense and probably the best running back in the nation in Leonard Fournette, but they have no QB capable of running an offense. Arkansas has a so so defense, but their running game is legit. Even with the injury to star running back, Jonathan Williams, they have a stable of guys willing to take his place. Missouri and Kentucky are probably your next level of teams. They'll compete, but if either of them wins more than 8 games, I'll be surprised. I'm going to have to go with Alabama to be the champ of the SEC again. Two conferences, two repeat champions.

Next, the Big 12. The Big 12 might be the most explosive offensive collection of teams in the country. First of all, there's Baylor and TCU. Baylor has to replace Bryce Petty, but it seems like anyone can come in there and throw for damn near 4,000 yards. That's how well their offense is coached and run by the players. On defense, they showed flashes, but disappeared late in games last season. Look at the Cotton Bowl loss to Michigan State last season for evidence. They do have a freakish athlete on that side of the ball. Go do a google image of Shawn Oakman and be aghast at how big and quick and nimble he is. The dude is a beast. TCU's offense is led by their explosive QB Trevoyne Boykin. He may be the best QB in the country and he runs their offense to a T. He's crazy accurate, can run if need be and makes the right decision 99% of the time. Their coach, Gary Patterson, is known for his defensive mind, but he will rely heavily on the offense this year. They shouldn't disappoint either. They should be one of the most explosive offenses in college football history. After these two teams, there's a pretty big dip. Oklahoma is Oklahoma. They should be decent, but they could also very well disappoint. That's the bummer of being an Oklahoma fan. They should compete every year, but they are on a down swing for them right now. Texas is still rebuilding, but you have to give them another two to four years before they are making any kind of noise in the national conversation. I do like their coach, Charlie Strong a lot. He doesn't take any crap from anybody. Oklahoma State has all these pending violations and recruiting problems that I think will affect their play on the field this season. Kansas State will be a 7 or 8 win team at best, and the same goes for West Virginia. I think that TCU basically runs away with the Big 12. Baylor will make it interesting, but TCU is going to be really special this season.

Next, the Big Ten. Full disclosure, I'm a die hard Michigan Wolverines fan, but that won't sway me from being biased. That being said, the story of this offseason is the hiring of Jim Harbaugh by Michigan. He's expected to return this team to glory, and with his track record, he should do that. In fairness, this season will be tough for him and my beloved Wolverines. I expect them to make a bowl game and I think they should have, at least, 7 wins, but their schedule is tough and we will see if the running game can finally live up to the hype and see if the defense can be as good, if not better than last season. Okay, I talked about Michigan. The Big Ten will be about two teams this season, Ohio State and Michigan State (ed note: That was the hardest sentence Ty has ever written). Ohio State is the defending national champions. They have three great QB's and one of them is now playing receiver(Braxton Miller). They have one of the best running backs in the country in Ezekial Elliot. But, I don't see many explosive receivers on this team and I think teams will stack the box on them. That doesn't mean they'll stop them, but they will be predictable on offense. I also think that both JT Barrett and Cardale Jones will take a step back. Cardale Jones made a mistake in not turning pro, because his stock will never be as high as it was at the end of last season. Ohio State has a great defense. Nothing more needs to be said. There defense will be hard to get points on. Michigan State has Connor Cook back and a highly aggressive, hard hitting defense. Cook is one of the top QB's in the country. A lot of his top receivers have graduated or are in the NFL, so he will have to find new guys, but he will, he's good. Their running game will be by committee, but that's what works for them. While having a great defense, they play undisciplined and get penalized a ton. They are one of the dirtiest teams I've ever watched, but that gets in other teams heads and takes them off their game. You do what works for you. I feel like this is Michigan State's last, best shot at doing something special. They better take advantage. After that we have, the aforementioned Michigan Wolverines, Penn State, Iowa and Minnesota. Penn State should be good, but they haven't really lived up to any expectations lately and their offensive line has got to play better for them to win. Iowa will be good on the ground, but the QB situation is clearer, with Jake Rudock transferring to Michigan, but we will see how CJ Beathard does as a full time starter. Their defense is in a down swing right now too. Minnesota is a good team. They're predictable, but they have an awesome offensive line and a bunch of good running backs. Mitch Leidner does exactly what the coaching staff asks him to do too. They are not great on defense and that will hold them back. Rutgers, Maryland and Northwestern are teams, like Missouri and Kentucky in the SEC, that will compete, but anything more than 7 wins will shock me. It boils my blood, but I think Ohio State will win the Big 10 once again (ed note: Sorry Ty).

Lots of the same conference champs for me. I'm going to bundle the ACC and the AAC, because these are both jokes of conferences. The ACC has only three teams that are legit. There's Florida State, Georgia Tech and Clemson. Georgia Tech will run the triple option really well and confuse a lot of opponents, but they will take a step back from last season. Florida State is replacing Jameis Winston with Everett Golson, so they will not miss a beat, They'll be good, but blow some games late, like they always do. Clemson should be really good this year and they may make the ACC look like a halfway decent conference. Duke will be decent again, but not as good as last season. I'm going to pick Clemson to win the ACC. I don't watch the AAC at all, but I know that Cincinnati is in the conference. The only other teams I know are UCF, SMU and maybe Temple. I know UCF was good a few years ago with Blake Bortles at QB, but this conference is such a joke, I guess I'll pick SMU to win it this year. That's just a blind guess on my part and for all my AAC fans out there, sorry but your conference stinks.

As far as independent and teams from other conferences go, I'd like to talk about Notre Dame, BYU, Boise State and Marshall. Notre Dame is kind of an enigma to me. At the start of last season they looked like world beaters to me, then they fell on their faces when they played Arizona State, but closed out the season with a bowl win over LSU. They will either be a 10 win team or a 6 win team to me. It all depends on how well new starter Malik Zaire plays. If he plays like he did against LSU, they'll be good, but if he regresses or gets found out, they will be lucky to win 6 games. He has good offensive players around him, but it's always on the QB. BYU gets QB Taysom Hill back, and he's almost unstoppable running the read option. The problem lies with him though, when he got hurt, they were terrible. I believe they lost 4 or 5 straight after he got hurt. That team is completely reliant on the health of their QB and that's a double edged sword. Boise State had a down year for them and they still won 9 games and played Ole Miss tough in the opener. The same goes for them as goes for Washington. It all depends on who wins that game to see who will have the better season. I think Boise State will be good this year. Marshall almost went undefeated last season. They were led by their all world QB, Rakeem Cato, but he's graduated, and I think this marks the end of Marshall winning double digit games. It's not happening.

As far as the Heisman Trophy goes this season, I see it coming down to a lot of running backs and one QB. I think we'll see Ohio State's Ezekial Elliot, Georgia's Nick Chubb, LSU's Leonard Fournette and TCU's QB Trevoyne Boykin get invited to New York. I see Boykin winning the Heisman in an almost landslide vote. He's going to have a special season if he stays healthy.

Now the playoff.  I see the Big 12 being represented by TCU, the SEC sending Alabama and the shocker being the Big 10 getting two teams in, in Ohio State and Michigan State. I think in order of ranking the final four teams, it will be Ohio State 1, Alabama 2, TCU 3 and Michigan State 4. So, we'll get an Ohio State-Michigan State game for the third time this season and I see Ohio State winning this time and we will get Alabama-TCU in the other playoff game and I see TCU pulling away late in that game to advance to the title game. So that leaves us with Ohio State and TCU playing for the championship. I see this game being close for about 2 and a half quarters and then TCU puling away and winning by at least 17 points. So, TCU will be your 2016 NCAA Football National Champions.

Tell me why I'm right or wrong in the comment section and sit back and enjoy watching football. It will be here before we know it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the co-host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The editor is eagerly awaiting his NCAA Division 3 football preview. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik