50 days to kickoff, 50 questions and answers BY: Bill Bender - TopicsExpress

50 days to kickoff, 50 questions and answers BY: Bill Bender (SportingNews) July 9, 2014 1:07pm EDT Were 50 days away from the college football season. Why not celebrate that by asking 50 questions for the upcoming football season. Its never too early to ask questions. 1. Can Jameis Winston win the Heisman Trophy again? Since 1975, eight players tried to match former Ohio State running back Archie Griffins two Heisman trophies, including Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel. Billy Sims came the closest in 1979 when he finished second behind USCs Charles White. It wont be easy for Winston. 2. Who is the stiffest competition? Oregons Marcus Mariota, who averages 8.8 yards per pass attempt and 7.3 yards per carry the last two seasons. 3. What about a deep sleeper? If UCLA wins big and Myles Jack keeps making plays at both linebacker and running back, a Charles Woodson-like campaign is possible. Its going to be tough to overshadow quarterback Brett Hundley, however. 4. Go outside the Power 5. Who you got? Keep an eye on Marshalls Rakeem Cato and East Carolinas Justin Hardy. 5. What about Braxton Miller? Ohio States four-year starter — who has 24 straight regular-season wins — deserves a courtesy invite if he adds a Big Ten title to his resume. 6. Whats the best game on the schedule? Alabama at LSU. Theyve combined for an .850 winning percentage the last five seasons. Nick Saban had a 5-3 advantage in head-to-head meetings against Les Miles. 7. Second best? Iron Bowl. 8. Third best? Stanford at Oregon. 9. Whats the best nonconference matchup? Michigan State at Oregon. We have the early rights to Flash vs. Smash courtesy of Michigan State play-by-play man George Blaha. 10. Next best? Wisconsin vs. LSU in Houston. 11. One more? Alabama vs. West Virginia in Atlanta. 12. Whats the best rivalry right now? Iron Bowl. Alabama or Auburn has played in the last five national championship games, and somehow the games keep getting better. 13. Second best? Texas vs. Oklahoma. 14. Third best? South Carolina vs. Clemson. The back-and-forth jabs between Steve Spurrier and Dabo Swinney are priceless. 15. What about Ohio State vs. Michigan? The Buckeyes have won nine of the last 10, and Michigan hasnt won in Columbus since 2000. 16. Which school is a Power 5 sleeper? North Carolina averaged 36.4 points per game the last two seasons and brings in five-star running back Elijah Hood. They could match Dukes run from last season. 17. Which school is a Group of 5 sleeper? Cincinnati. Tommy Tuberville and Gunner Kiel will get your attention in trips to Ohio State and Miami. 18. Which new coach are you most excited about? Chris Petersen in Washington. 19. Then who? Charlie Strong at Texas. 20. After that? Bobby Petrino at Louisville. 21. Does Brady Hoke lose his job? If Michigan gets swept by Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State. 22. Does Will Muschamp lose his? If Florida gets swept by Georgia, Tennessee and Florida State. 23. What about Bo Pelini? Pelini keeps his job with another nine-plus wins. 24. Which freshman makes the biggest impact? LSU running back Leonard Fournette or Michigan cornerback Jabrill Peppers, but both are being counted on for too much too soon. 25. Who do the schedule gods love? Iowa. No Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State or Penn State in the new Big Ten format. The Hawkeyes toughest road game is either Minnesota or Pittsburgh. 26. Who do the schedule gods hate? Tennessee has a three-week stretch (Sept. 13-Oct. 4) with trips to Oklahoma and Georgia before welcoming Florida, and another three-week stretch (Oct. 18-Nov. 1) that sandwiches Alabama between road games at Ole Miss and South Carolina. 27. Is there a trendy reason to hate Notre Dame? The Irish play just three true road games this season (at Arizona State, at Florida State, at USC). The other three are at neutral sites. 28. Who is older: Brent Musburger or Verne Lundquist? Heres an upset, folks. Musburger is 75. Lundquist turns 74 on July 17. Enjoy both while you can. 29. What about Lee Corso? Corso turns 79 in August. Again, enjoy while you can. 30. Which coach needs a Twitter account? If only Steve Spurrier would give up his golf obsession for social media. 31. Which player will be seen taking it to the house? Baylors Antwan Goodley is a 4.41-vertical blur who averaged 18.9 yards per catch with 13 TDs as a junior. He had four TD receptions of 60 yards or more last season. 32. Who else? Wisconsins Melvin Gordon averaged 7.8 yards per carry as a sophomore. He could challenge all those dual-threat quarterbacks for the Heisman Trophy. 33. Who is the best defensive player in the country? Alabama linebacker Trey DePriest. 34. Next? Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley, who had 13 sacks last season. 35. Who will be the breakout defensive player? Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa had 7.5 sacks as a freshman. Hell get better playing next to future first-round pick Michael Bennett. 36. Which school havent we mentioned yet? Georgia. Preseason All-American Todd Gurley is back, and the Bulldogs are healthy. Dont sleep on Georgia. 37. Do conference championships work? The Big XII will find out the hard way if it doesnt get a team in the four-team playoff this year. 38. SEC championship? Alabama vs. Georgia. 39. Pac-12 championship? Oregon vs. UCLA. 40. Big Ten championship? Ohio State vs. Wisconsin. 41. ACC championship? Florida State vs. North Carolina. 42. Are there too many bowl games? Never. Always say yes to football during the holidays. 43. Which non-New Years Day bowl matchup would interest you most? How about Texas Tech vs. Washington State. First one to 100 passes wins. 44. How about another one? Arizona vs. Michigan in the Holiday Bowl. Rich Rodriguez would love that. 45. Will the College Football Playoff be bigger than the Final Four? Dont drink too much on New Years Eve. Jan. 1. is going to rival the NFL playoffs. 46. Can the SEC put two teams in the College Football Playoff? Not impossible. An Alabama-Auburn rematch might have happened last year if Florida State would have tripped up late. 47. Which four schools make the College Football Playoff? Oklahoma, Oregon, Alabama, Florida State. 48. Who do the networks want in the national title game? Ohio State vs. Alabama. Nick Saban vs. Urban Meyer, and the two craziest fanbases in Jerry World. Max eyeballs. 49. Who does Sporting News have in the national championship game? Oklahoma vs. Oregon. 50. Who wins it all? Two words: Boomer Sooner.