With Delaware joining Div 1A there is now an official tie for ugliest uniforms Real football is back baby! And we will be able to enjoy football for every week until February 8th of next year. So buckle your seats – it’s going to be a fun ride.
Before we get into the first bets of the season let’s start with a big welcome to the two new Div 1A football teams. There are now 136 teams at the top level of college football as Delaware Blue Hens and Missouri State Bears join Conference USA this fall. Both teams will be hoping to emulate the quick success that fellow Conference USA teams Jacksonville State and Sam Houston have had when moving up.
Both teams have had success at the FCS level, The Bears have reached the NCAA playoffs four times, most recently in 2020 and 2021 under then-coach Bobby Petrino. Delaware won the FCS championship in 2003 behind QB Joe Flacco and reached the semifinals in 2007, 2010 and 2020.
But before you start thinking about rooting for the Blue Hens, check out their uniforms. That’s right. It’s virtually identical to that cheating, on probation, team down south. When David M. Nelson, a former Michigan player, became the head coach of Delaware in 1951, they began using the putrid blue and gold winged helmet, which they pathetically use to this day.
Another change this year is to the playoffs. Last year, the top four conference champions that made the field got the top four seeds and first-round byes. No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Georgia were the top two seeds, while No. 9 Boise State was the No. 3 seed and No. 4 Arizona State was the No. 4 seed. ACC champion Clemson got the No. 12 seed as the fifth-highest ranked conference champion at No. 16 in the rankings.
Then, all four teams that got first-round byes lost in their first playoff games. So, this season, the top four teams in the final rankings will get the top four seeds regardless of their status as a conference champion. That means we’re likely to see a conference get multiple first-round byes. A year ago, both the Big Ten and SEC would have had two teams with first-round byes.
Before we get into the first bets of the season let’s start with a big welcome to the two new Div 1A football teams. There are now 136 teams at the top level of college football as Delaware Blue Hens and Missouri State Bears join Conference USA this fall. Both teams will be hoping to emulate the quick success that fellow Conference USA teams Jacksonville State and Sam Houston have had when moving up.
Both teams have had success at the FCS level, The Bears have reached the NCAA playoffs four times, most recently in 2020 and 2021 under then-coach Bobby Petrino. Delaware won the FCS championship in 2003 behind QB Joe Flacco and reached the semifinals in 2007, 2010 and 2020.
But before you start thinking about rooting for the Blue Hens, check out their uniforms. That’s right. It’s virtually identical to that cheating, on probation, team down south. When David M. Nelson, a former Michigan player, became the head coach of Delaware in 1951, they began using the putrid blue and gold winged helmet, which they pathetically use to this day.
Another change this year is to the playoffs. Last year, the top four conference champions that made the field got the top four seeds and first-round byes. No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Georgia were the top two seeds, while No. 9 Boise State was the No. 3 seed and No. 4 Arizona State was the No. 4 seed. ACC champion Clemson got the No. 12 seed as the fifth-highest ranked conference champion at No. 16 in the rankings.
Then, all four teams that got first-round byes lost in their first playoff games. So, this season, the top four teams in the final rankings will get the top four seeds regardless of their status as a conference champion. That means we’re likely to see a conference get multiple first-round byes. A year ago, both the Big Ten and SEC would have had two teams with first-round byes.
Faking an injury will cost a timeout. Some rule changes are in place this year. The most significant is the one to prevent fake injuries. A team will be charged a timeout if its athletic training staff has to enter the field to tend to a player who fell to the ground after the ball was spotted. If a player goes down after the ball is spotted and the team doesn’t have any timeouts, the team will get a 5-yard delay of game penalty.
Hitting the QB will now be more controversial as the NCAA added language about passing posture when hitting the QB. When a quarterback is in a passing posture with one or both feet on the ground then a defensive player rushing unabated can not hit him forcibly at or below the knee. The defensive player also may not initiate a roll or lunge and forcibly hit the quarterback in the knee area or below.
Exceptions for these types of hits occur when:
Hitting the QB will now be more controversial as the NCAA added language about passing posture when hitting the QB. When a quarterback is in a passing posture with one or both feet on the ground then a defensive player rushing unabated can not hit him forcibly at or below the knee. The defensive player also may not initiate a roll or lunge and forcibly hit the quarterback in the knee area or below.
Exceptions for these types of hits occur when:
- the passer becomes a runner, either inside or outside the tackle box;
- the defender grabs or wraps the passer in an attempt to make a conventional tackle;
- the defender is not rushing unabated or is blocked or fouled into the passer.
Don't go around shooting defenseless players or something like that A violation applies when defenders are rushing unabated to the quarterback, and will result in a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty. I don’t know, seems like we are going to get even more booth reviews and booing fan bases.
Another rule change - Players won’t want to use fake guns a.k.a "brandishing a weapon" as a celebration tool or else it’s going to be an automatic penalty. Don’t shoot your pretend gun. Don’t show that you have one tucked away. Don’t act like there’s any recoil. Just leave your weapons on the bus. In fact, don’t do any violent celebration acts at all. The throat slash is out too.
And finally, in the it’s all about the money, tradition be damned, the Rose Bowl will now kick off at 4:00 ET rather than the legendary 5:00. I was there. It was fantastic when the sun set at half time with the 5:00 kick off but money talks and the Sugar Bowl didn’t want to start at 8:45 so another grand tradition is out the window.
With the groundwork laid, time to make the first investments of the season.
Another rule change - Players won’t want to use fake guns a.k.a "brandishing a weapon" as a celebration tool or else it’s going to be an automatic penalty. Don’t shoot your pretend gun. Don’t show that you have one tucked away. Don’t act like there’s any recoil. Just leave your weapons on the bus. In fact, don’t do any violent celebration acts at all. The throat slash is out too.
And finally, in the it’s all about the money, tradition be damned, the Rose Bowl will now kick off at 4:00 ET rather than the legendary 5:00. I was there. It was fantastic when the sun set at half time with the 5:00 kick off but money talks and the Sugar Bowl didn’t want to start at 8:45 so another grand tradition is out the window.
With the groundwork laid, time to make the first investments of the season.
Jalon Daniels after an injury plagued last season Kansas -14.0 vs Fresno State – One area I like to invest in early in the season is taking the team with more stability. Stability defined as same HC, same coordinators, same starting QB (not transfers), along with returning starting starters on offense and defense. There a great mismatch in stability between with Fresno getting a new HC, coordinators, new QB and just eight starters from last season.
Kansas returns its coaches along with star QB Jalon Daniels and 10 starters from last year. Kansas will be debuting their brand new stadium and place will be rocking.
Western Kentucky vs Sam Houston over 60.5 - SHSU not only who lost their head coach (Rich Rod going back to West Virginia), but also their DC, and the top 16 tacklers from last year’s rock-solid defense. They are going to take a monster step back on that side of the ball.
On the other side of the ball, first-year Bearkats head coach Phil Longo has only one speed: Fast. His offensive pace has long doomed his teams’ corresponding defenses at Wisconsin and North Carolina. Longo will not slow down, no matter how much of a liability his defense may be.
Meanwhile, Western Kentucky lost the top 12 tacklers from last year’s defense, and brought in a new DC. They are also going to take a monster step back.
A few years ago, the WKU brought in an OC-QB combo from Houston Baptist. Bailey Zappe went on to set the FBS record for passing yards and touchdowns in a season. This year they will go back to that well by in OC- QB combo of Rick Bowie and QB McIvor from Abilene Christian. They went to the FCS playoff last season behind nearly 4,000 passing yards and 30 passing touchdowns. Expect plenty of fireworks in this game with fast paced offenses against terrible defenses.
And for all the games, times, spreads, picks and much much more here is the 2025 Week 0 Bettors Guide.
Kansas returns its coaches along with star QB Jalon Daniels and 10 starters from last year. Kansas will be debuting their brand new stadium and place will be rocking.
Western Kentucky vs Sam Houston over 60.5 - SHSU not only who lost their head coach (Rich Rod going back to West Virginia), but also their DC, and the top 16 tacklers from last year’s rock-solid defense. They are going to take a monster step back on that side of the ball.
On the other side of the ball, first-year Bearkats head coach Phil Longo has only one speed: Fast. His offensive pace has long doomed his teams’ corresponding defenses at Wisconsin and North Carolina. Longo will not slow down, no matter how much of a liability his defense may be.
Meanwhile, Western Kentucky lost the top 12 tacklers from last year’s defense, and brought in a new DC. They are also going to take a monster step back.
A few years ago, the WKU brought in an OC-QB combo from Houston Baptist. Bailey Zappe went on to set the FBS record for passing yards and touchdowns in a season. This year they will go back to that well by in OC- QB combo of Rick Bowie and QB McIvor from Abilene Christian. They went to the FCS playoff last season behind nearly 4,000 passing yards and 30 passing touchdowns. Expect plenty of fireworks in this game with fast paced offenses against terrible defenses.
And for all the games, times, spreads, picks and much much more here is the 2025 Week 0 Bettors Guide.
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Remember the 2025 Go Jumbo trip is Nov 15th at the Westgate SuperBook
