Stewart Mandel's Follow up to the survey

Nice picture of McFadden. He's the best player, but if we don't win 9, will it matter?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/08/06/survey.intro/index.html

College Football Week 1

Yes, the Hogs play Troy. It's the first game of the season, so the Razorpod crew is pretty psyched. But you'll also hear a lot about The Studio in the coming weeks. It's the Saturday gathering place for the boys when they're not in Fayetteville or at a wedding.

Here are some interesting opening week games. Picks for these games and more will come in the weeks to follow.

Thursday, August 30th
LSU v. Mississippi State (ESPN)
Tulsa v. Louisiana - Monroe (ESPN 2)

Saturday, September 1
Colorado v. Colorado State (11:00 am)
UCLA v. Stanford (2:30)
Notre Dame v. Georgia Tech (2:30)
Wake Forest v. Boston College (2:30)
Ole Miss v. Memphis (2:30)
Washington State v. Wisconsin (2:30) ABC
Nevada v. Nebraska (2:30) ABC
Oklahoma St. v. Georgia (5:45) ESPN 2
Arkansas v. Troy (6:00)
Kansas St. v. Auburn (6:45) ESPN
Tennessee v. Cal (7:00) ABC

Monday, September 3
Florida State v. Clemson (7:00) ESPN

SI's Player Survey

Sports Illustrated's player survey (one starter from each of the 119 D-1A teams) turned out good for McFadden, as he was the overwhelming choice to win the Heisman (58%). Any thoughts on who the two players were who picked Arkansas to win the National title ( the rule is, you can't vote for your own team)?

Kicking Woes

The more information I get on Alex Tejada, the more I wonder if he is more hype than substance. 7 of 17 last year for Springdale. Admittedly, many of those were from deep (7 of 10 misses from 47 or more yards), and the article doesn't say where his makes were on the field. Like all kickers, guess it's best to reserve judgment. But if he can't beat out Jeremy Davis we're in for another long year in the kicking department.

This is an odd quote from Nutt:

“ We weren’t done with practice yet and Alex had made a few in a row, ” Nutt said. “ Coach [Chris ] Vaughn said to him, ‘ nice job. ’ Most freshmen would have said something back or said thank you but not Alex. He just stared right through him. Alex has that Tiger Woods focus and I like that, especially from a kicker. ”

I don't really know what Nutt's talking about, but that's nothing new.

McFadden Returning Punts?

Sure we can find a way to get McFadden is 30 touches without having him field punts.

Big Red-Left Handed and Will Continue To Be So!

As you may or may not know, the Razorpod crew (especially one Jimmy Gee) are huge fans of Bill Walton a/k/a "Big Red." Walton is a frequent contributor to ESPN's Mike & Mike in the Morning, and his birthday wishes to Mike Greenberg is worth a listen.

Classic Walton. Let's dedicate this thread to Big Red.

McFadden Tops Dennis Dodd's Preseason Heisman List

CBS Sportsline.com college football writer Dennis Dodd released his Preseason Heisman Top 10. Here's the list.

1. Darren McFadden, RB Arkansas: No. 2 in Heisman voting last season. No other team has this kind of dual-threat (tailback, quarterback).

2. Steve Slaton, RB West Virginia: Does he even need an offensive line?

3. John David Booty, QB USC: The recent history of USC senior quarterbacks is, uh, good.

4. Brian Brohm, QB Louisville: If the QB stays healthy, the Cardinals will get their second consecutive Big East title.

5. Patrick White, QB West Virginia: Left-hander is an underrated thrower.

6. Colt Brennan, QB Hawaii: Dare we suggest the possibility of 60 touchdown passes?

7. Ian Johnson, RB Boise State: From Statue of Liberty to the altar. Will married life slow down the Fiesta Bowl hero?

8. Ray Rice, RB Rutgers: He's bigger, which means Rutgers is better.

9. Michael Hart, RB Michigan: He's p.o.'d about the way the season ended. The Big Ten better duck and cover.

10. P.J. Hill, RB Wisconsin: Bret Bielema just yells, "Next!" for his next star tailback.

ESPN Columnist Calls Out Hogs

Mark Schlabach, writing for ESPN.com, has his season preview column up today. Darren McFadden gets a shout out under HOT running backs. Arkansas coach Houston Nutt gets a different kind of shout out under NOT Hogs and Horns. Notes Schlabach, "Who would have guessed winning the SEC West would lead to such a summer of discontent in Arkansas? Hogs coach Houston Nutt better win the SEC to save his job -- and his privacy."

This is sure to come up in Week 2 of Razorpod. They'll be previewing the SEC East as well, so looks for predictions here in the coming days.

Razorpod will be posted here every Thursday.

Coaches's Poll

The new coaches poll is out. The Razorbacks are in at No. 20. First preseason ranking since 1999 as I recall.

RAZORPOD crew discusses CFN rankings

In a heated exchange this morning, the RAZORPOD crew spoke about the new CFN rankings that were released today.

"They don't think much of the league this year, said Tom Logan.

"I think those rankings are bunk, and I don't just mean the Hogs. UT,
Auburn, Georgia, bama, and the Hogs all outside the top 25? Gimme a
break. I'm sure they've got powerhouses like Louisville and Rutgers
ranked pretty high," observed Johnny Fayetteville.

I think Johnny Fayetteville needs to do his own Top 25
poll and release it on Razorpod next week, since he doesn't think any of the
"experts" know what they're talking about," challenged Jimmy G.

"You agree that the SEC should have only 3 teams in the top 25? I said that
I disagreed, and not just about the Hogs. Jimmy G's "expert" opinion had us going 5-7 last year. I predicted 10-2. Draw your own conclusions about who is the expert re: the Hogs," responded Fayetteville.

The RAZORPOD crew will announce their preseason Top 10 next week, and they'll take a look at the ultra competitive SEC East.

The Razorbacks report to practice tomorrow, so it's officially football season.