The question I have is whether Alabama's near-inevitable swoon year will be this year or next. The majority of teams that have a new coach who comes in and immediately experiences success see a relative down year in either the third or fourth season. It's a natural gap that forms between the previous coaches' best players and the new coaches' good recruiting classes. Urban Meyer won a national title in his second year at Florida but won just nine games the next. Jim Tressel won a national title in his second year at Ohio State and eleven games in his third, but OSU won just eight games in his fourth. Les Miles won a national title in his third at LSU but won only eight games in his fourth too. Saban himself at LSU won a conference title his second year but won only eight games the next.
It is National Championship or Bust for the Gators. Win and the careers of Meyer, Tebow and Spikes are iconic. Lose and suddenly you're Matt Leinhart and Reggie Bush stumbling around, while Carroll whistles through a minefield of NCAA investigations. There is a fine line between the great teams and the dynasties in college football. These three men will determine on which side of the line the Gators go.
The Hokies will have to be successful running the ball against Terrance Cody and the Alabama front seven if they want to win their season opener.
Archie Manning as Vito Corleone: He was the founder and architect of the family dynasty. Despite coming from humble beginnings, he made a name for himself and established the empire his sons will inherit. His iconic status in his home territory is unparalleled and he has the capability of wielding absolute influence there, although he uses his power only sparingly. Although he generally is deemed above criticism, an honest assessment of him compels the admission that his traditionalism held him back by causing him to stick it out with the sad-sack New Orleans Saints or decline to enter the lucrative narcotics market with Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo.