Kind of OT: I need a college team to support

[upstater1]

i join Gomezcat request...

i was thinking about Notre Dame

is it the 'right' or, anyway, a 'good' choice ?

An Italian only has one choice: Joe Paterno at Penn State. There is no other choice for an Italian fan. Paterno eat's Sue's pasta every night. Think about it. He's also the winningest coach in the history of div. 1 college football. Be proud of your paesano.

 

[upstater1]

There are some excellent answers, guys. Box's answer is of course pure Box. Here's my thinking: Texas is up there for reasons I will reveal at a later stage, but I really love the idea of Joe Paterno's tough, blue collar ethic. That story about the entire team going on cleaning duty really, really impressed me. The Northern Englishman in me (Manchester is my hometown) likes the blue collar thing.

The half- Irishman in me likes the idea of Notre Dame but I prefer underdogs (bear in mind that I started following the Pats in 1986). I wouldn't want to support a perennial #1. I don't think I would go for BC, as I have already been inveigled into being a de facto Red Sox supporter, because of the board.

Box's Wesleyan idea REALLY got me thinking, though....


The perverse liberal in my make up quite fancies supporting a team from a Southern red state. FTW's suggestion of UGA makes a lot of sense and that dog is really quite lovable in a funny way.

Another bit of my perverse make up likes Rutgers; a recent receptionist at work was from Central Jersey. She was proud of not having watched a Football game at the Uni, or having a Joisey accent, and it really got up my nose. She was clearly stereotyping Football fans. This from a woman who sat in the office, wearing headphones and singing. HELLO, LOOK AT ME!!!



The other thing I didn't say was why I want to follow college FB. I found the whole mock draft thing really absorbing and think that I could gain something more by rooting for a team, watching them (where possible) and watching kids develop.

I'll make a decision by end of the weekend.... Thanks again.

You have to realize something about the Jersey woman. Until last year, she was like 99% of Rutgers people who had never been to a football game. That school has the most moribund football team in college football history. 100 years to have a bowl team that left the state. She's not so unusual.

 

[upstater1]

There is a winner and it is the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Now you have to consider who are the former and current Nittany Lions who played for the Patriots.

The notables in order of importance:

Bill Lenkaitis
Sam Gash
Sean Farrell
Michael Timpson
Todd Rucci
Kyle Brady
Matt Bahr

Others who had a cup of tea:

Shawn Mayer
Matt Kranchick
Leroy Thompson
Jon Williams
Rogers Alexander
Rob Holmberg
Justin Kurpeikis
Dave Rowe
Tom Sherman

 

[upstater1]

Mmm ... I respect your decision, although, you've got to face it, so long as colleges recruit professional athletes as "athletic scholars", the whole business is pretty dubious. (And, believe me, you do NOT want to root for a team in the Ivy League which is, I believe, the only one with no athletic scholarships.) But certainly some programmes are more dubious than others and applying at least some standards of conduct to the players is admirable ...

For some reason, I don't seem to be able to enthuse about any particular college team. Last season, I was very impressed with Rutgers and Wake Forest on the underdog principle (the Demon Deacons! I ask you!) Also, if you ever manage to watch some games, I liked watching the offense-oriented West Coast colleges (Berkeley, Oregon, for example).

(By the way, on Bunzoburns' criteria, I think that it has to be USC -- the Beach Boys had it right!)

By and large, you're right about the odious business of college football. But I can say there are bigtime programs that do NOT pay players under the table, and they expect them to go to class, and graduate, and I can tell you this is true from the inside. I have spent many hours writing reports for Paterno's football players. The coaches watch those kids like hawks to make sure they're progressing in class, and when they don't, they sit (Jurevicius and Enis skipped a couple classes and were benched for a huge bowl game when I was there).

Luckily, Gomezcat picked a school that does it right and takes the student part of the equation seriously.

 

[TommyD4207]

D-IAA (Or Playoff Subdivision or whatever they call it now)

 

[gomezcat]

Classic headline not shown on ESPN: Anteaters Devour Slugs!

Is this a sign we're all going insane in the interminable wait for training Camp?

Yes, in a word. This part of the offseason is like some kind of purgatory.

 

[gomezcat]

Now you have to consider who are the former and current Nittany Lions who played for the Patriots.

The notables in order of importance:

Bill Lenkaitis
Sam Gash
Sean Farrell
Michael Timpson
Todd Rucci
Kyle Brady
Matt Bahr

Others who had a cup of tea:

Shawn Mayer
Matt Kranchick
Leroy Thompson
Jon Williams
Rogers Alexander
Rob Holmberg
Justin Kurpeikis
Dave Rowe
Tom Sherman

Ah. Thanks for the list. I was trying to think of PSU alumni and none came to mind immediately. Didn't Bill Lenkaitis play on that great O line in the 70s, and then go on to be a Dentist?

 

[Asante4prez]

Ahhh New England....where there is absolutely no college football whatsoever....

 

[TeamPats]

Ahhh New England....where there is absolutely no college football whatsoever....

While off topic. And might I add that I am honored to be the deciding factor in this selection. A cool little statistic is that Joe Paterno owns the record for most Interceptions in a season in the Ivy League. Both he and his brother got scholarships to play at Brown University, a New England college football program, and both were great football players. I believe the record is 10 in a season while Joe played Corner but I am not 100% sure about that. But I do know he has the record. Great choice Gomezcat...I know I personally will be at the Notre Dame game come week 2 of the CF season. Gonna be tough against Charlie, but we Nittany Lions welcome the challenge.

 

[TeamPats]

Also Gomezcats. To get an early start on your Mock Draft, we have a great Inside Linebacker named Dan Connors who played next to Poz last year who many believe is a better suited pro then Poz while he may not share the same class and discipline that Poz had. He is projected to go first round and maybe even top 15 depending on what kind of seaosn he has. I would love to see the Pats take a peak at him. We will see how he plays this year but it should be a lot of fun.

Oh and we also have a great Cornerback named Justin King but he is only a Junior. He also is projected first round...the only thing is...umm...he was kind of sort of one of the 4 guys who were in that fight and I think will be sitting out the first few games. But just thought I'd drop some names for you to watch for Mock 08

 

[gomezcat]

Ahhh New England....where there is absolutely no college football whatsoever....

Ah, but you have to remember that I am not from New England. I thought it would be fun to root for a non- New England team. Pretty much every sports team in which I have any interest comes from either New England (Pats, Red Sox) or the Greater Manchester area in Old England (Manchester United, Salford, Lancashire and Sale, at a push).

 

[gomezcat]

Also Gomezcats. To get an early start on your Mock Draft, we have a great Inside Linebacker named Dan Connors who played next to Poz last year who many believe is a better suited pro then Poz while he may not share the same class and discipline that Poz had. He is projected to go first round and maybe even top 15 depending on what kind of seaosn he has. I would love to see the Pats take a peak at him. We will see how he plays this year but it should be a lot of fun.

Oh and we also have a great Cornerback named Justin King but he is only a Junior. He also is projected first round...the only thing is...umm...he was kind of sort of one of the 4 guys who were in that fight and I think will be sitting out the first few games. But just thought I'd drop some names for you to watch for Mock 08

Yeah, the name of Connors comes up a lot. I also remember reading that some fans think that Anthony Morelli should be replaced as QB. What do you think? Isn't it a bit harsh to ditch him after one full campaign?

As for the mock, I'm going to ask for a team near the top of the draft. This year, I had Indy. Ok, Jon Beason dropped to #32, but I got very much the runt of the litter after that.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

As a UConn season ticket holder I must throw in my .02.

Jump on the bandwagon now. A team on the rise. Entering their sixth year as a 1-A program, the first to go from 1-AA to a BCS league, they have already won a bowl and put several players in the NFL. One of the newest stadiums in the nation which is almost always sold out, and brand new on campus training facilities which recruits say are the nicest in the land.

Recruiting has picked up with the transfer of a JUCO-all american qb Tyler Lorenzen, an Army All American in linebacker Jarrell Miller, and the recent transfer of former ND and top 5 qb Zach Frazer.

We've begun to beat out larger programs for recruits (PSU for a wr, BC for a fb) and have a solid recruiting base in Florida, Jersey, and PA and a lot of the top New England talent is choosing UConn.

UConn is on the way up, a few years away from competing for a top spot in the league and a larger bowl. Get on the bandwagon while there is room!


(though if you pick one of the big schools above I won't hold it against you)

 

[Asante4prez]

As a UConn season ticket holder I must throw in my .02.

Jump on the bandwagon now. A team on the rise. Entering their sixth year as a 1-A program, the first to go from 1-AA to a BCS league, they have already won a bowl and put several players in the NFL. One of the newest stadiums in the nation which is almost always sold out, and brand new on campus training facilities which recruits say are the nicest in the land.

Recruiting has picked up with the transfer of a JUCO-all american qb Tyler Lorenzen, an Army All American in linebacker Jarrell Miller, and the recent transfer of former ND and top 5 qb Zach Frazer.

We've begun to beat out larger programs for recruits (PSU for a wr, BC for a fb) and have a solid recruiting base in Florida, Jersey, and PA and a lot of the top New England talent is choosing UConn.

UConn is on the way up, a few years away from competing for a top spot in the league and a larger bowl. Get on the bandwagon while there is room!


(though if you pick one of the big schools above I won't hold it against you)

As a USF Bulls fan, I have some differences in opinion. You guys have a brand new stadium, a growing fan base and some good young talent. But the Big East is going to be all bulls in a year or so...so get used to it. We are the eight largest college in America, with an enrollement of close to 40,000 and in just ten years of being a football team, we have joined the Big East, won a bowl game and this year will for the first time, could start the season in the top 25. We are the future of college football....

 

[TeamPats]

Yeah, the name of Connors comes up a lot. I also remember reading that some fans think that Anthony Morelli should be replaced as QB. What do you think? Isn't it a bit harsh to ditch him after one full campaign?

As for the mock, I'm going to ask for a team near the top of the draft. This year, I had Indy. Ok, Jon Beason dropped to #32, but I got very much the runt of the litter after that.

I am a recent grad so I remember when Morelli de-committed from Pitt to play for PSU which was a huge deal because Chad Henne was also from PA and left for Michigan. The rumor out of State College is that Morelli is one of the "slowest" players on the team and he can't pick up the playbook. However, I thought he played pretty admirably last year following Michael Robinson in his first year in the system which is not easy. A lot of the reason is that another player, Pat Devlin de-committed from Miami to come to PSU and he has impressed a lot of people in practice. But when ti comes to arm strength no one can top Morelli kind of like Drew in his prime. He has the physicals, but decision making at times can be questioned. But I think he deserves to start again this year from Day 1 and we'll see if he falters and go from there.

Running Back will be real interesting because of the departure of Tony Hunt. Austin Scott was a blue chip recruit when he came in his freshman year and simply refused to work hard. And a very weak prospect named Tony Hunt came in and took over. But since Scott red-shirted last year, he has one last year to prove his hype and we'll see if he takes advantage.

 

[IceColdBruschi]

Oh and we also have a great Cornerback named Justin King but he is only a Junior. He also is projected first round...the only thing is...umm...he was kind of sort of one of the 4 guys who were in that fight and I think will be sitting out the first few games. But just thought I'd drop some names for you to watch for Mock 08[/QUOTE]

Justin King will not be sitting for any games next year. He actually tried to break up the fight and stayed to apologize to the owners of the house. King is my favorite player on the team. He shut down Ginn and Meachum as a sophomore last year. You made a great choice picking PSU.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

As a USF Bulls fan, I have some differences in opinion. You guys have a brand new stadium, a growing fan base and some good young talent. But the Big East is going to be all bulls in a year or so...so get used to it. We are the eight largest college in America, with an enrollement of close to 40,000 and in just ten years of being a football team, we have joined the Big East, won a bowl game and this year will for the first time, could start the season in the top 25. We are the future of college football....

A strong USF is essential to a top notch big east. When USF came to the Rent in 05, their fans were pretty cool. A fun team to watch.

 

[drewdagreat]

Easy. Florida State.

 

[upstater1]

As a USF Bulls fan, I have some differences in opinion. You guys have a brand new stadium, a growing fan base and some good young talent. But the Big East is going to be all bulls in a year or so...so get used to it. We are the eight largest college in America, with an enrollement of close to 40,000 and in just ten years of being a football team, we have joined the Big East, won a bowl game and this year will for the first time, could start the season in the top 25. We are the future of college football....

First you're bashing New England football, then you admit you're a USF fan??? :singing: :singing: :singing:

 

[upstater1]

A strong USF is essential to a top notch big east. When USF came to the Rent in 05, their fans were pretty cool. A fun team to watch.

I was at the game. It was pretty freakin' cold. And I was in the end zone as UConn fans made a lot of noise and forced a huge delay of game penalty on USF as they were threatening on the goal line late in the game. USF didn't score, and UConn just barely beat them.