Curator & Coach - Week 1

We are excited to once again be offering our flagship publication at ABG CFB, Curator and Coach. We'll once again be presenting our weekly preview and giving some commentary on the progression of the season. We start this season of C & C by discussing a few teams we are excited or at least interested to see this year. These may be up and coming, or in transition, or in some other way they have our attention. 

Thanks for reading along.

Curator Sam Burnham

Topic of the Week: 
Stanford: This is always a solid team but I'm watching for Bryce Love. I'm not even talking the Heisman. Good North Carolina kid, a "4 Star" who is contending for the Heisman, a Human Biology major, great student, great player. Can run and catch. I want to see what he can do this year. 

The ACC: The SEC gets a lot of press and for good reason. But I'm looking at the ACC and thinking this may be the next big thing. Closing in on the SEC while getting recruits from the same places. There are several ACC teams I'm wanting to see. Clemson, VT, Miami, possibly FSU, Louisville still hanging around, UNC, NC State. Definitely deeper than the Big 12, probably the Pac-12, and maybe even the Big Ten. You want a conference that can stand toe-to-toe with the SEC, this is the one.

Georgia: I'd be failing in my duties as Curator and as a Georgian if I did not mention the Dawgs. Georgia graduated an NFL franchise last year. But, by all accounts, they have reloaded. The talk around Athens is that this crop of running backs may be even better than the previous one. Jake Fromm seems to be emerging as the leader in the rumored quarterback controversy. Throw in another hungry defense and we're left wondering if the Dawgs win the SEC again. I suspect they will. 

Coach Drew Burnham

Topic of the Week:
​Nebraska: Scott Frost built what proved to be a legitimate contender at UCF. It didn’t happen overnight there, but it certainly didn’t take long. Can he pull the magic with him to his Alma Mater and start shaking things up in the Big 10? I will be very intrigued to watch this team progress as the season develops. I’m not saying anything crazy, but they’re definitely one to keep an eye on.

Texas A&M: If he doesn’t win a single game the Aggies owe Jimbo $144,000 a week for the next 10 years. He has likely the highest assistant coach salary pool in America. With that kind of money being dumped into the staff, I can only imagine that expectations are through the roof. It’s been said that the “Stars at night are big and bright” and for the foreseeable future Jimbo is the star of the show. How will he do deep in the heart of Texas?

Memphis: What’s kickoff weekend without a good old bold mid major prediction? If you were a C&C reader last season you know I love the Tigers. With UCF regrouping – the AAC is there’s for the taking. A trip to Mizzou is the biggest mark on the schedule outside of a final week pairing with Houston at home. Is this the year the Tigers get over the hump? Expect a lot of firepower from the offense. This will be a fun bunch to watch.

Week 1 Picks:
Colorado vs. COLORADO STATE
MIAMI vs. LSU
Michigan vs. NOTRE DAME
Florida State vs. VIRGINIA TECH
Washington vs. AUBURN
West Virginia vs. TENNESSEE
TEXAS vs. Maryland
UNC vs. Cal
WYOMING vs. Washington State
NORTHERN ILLINOIS vs. Iowa

Week 1 Picks:
COLORADO vs. Colorado State
MIAMI vs. LSU
Michigan vs. NOTRE DAME
Florida State vs. VIRGINIA TECH
WASHINGTON vs. Auburn
WEST VIRGINIA vs. Tennessee
TEXAS vs. Maryland
UNC vs. Cal
Wyoming vs. WASHINGTON STATE
Northern Illinois vs. IOWA