This season’s first roundtable is up, and we have a good set of questions coming from Hey Jenny Slater. This year it’d be nice to hear what everyone has to say about each weeks questions. So if you have a minute, read through and post your answers in the comment section. No need to explain your response, simply the team name or player will do just fine. Unless, of course, you feel like going into a little more detail. Regardless, here are the first 5 questions of the season:

1.     Without naming names, a few teams seem to have popped up frequently on everyone’s “overrated” lists in the preseason, so let’s forget about them for the moment and concentrate on a different group: sleepers. Which currently unheralded team are you currently putting at least a few of your chips behind in the hopes that you’ll be able to say “totally called that” once they’ve accomplished big things by the end of the season?

I’m going to go with Illinois on this one. Zook has been doing some good things with the program, and with the return of Juice Williams at QB they should improve upon the finer moments of their previous season. The uncertainty mainly rests on the defensive side of the ball, I don’t see the offense having much trouble scoring. If they can squeeze past Ohio State or Penn State, look for them to have a shot at the Big 10 title.

2.     In a similar vein, pick a sleeper player on your team whom nobody’s talking about right now and tell us why we will be talking about them by December.

Will Jefferson. This true freshman wide receiver came into fall camp and proved that he’s ready to make the jump to college football. The coaches are impressed with his hard work, dedication, and play making ability. In an area where we are spread very thin, this is a player who has the potential to come in and make a huge impact in the passing game. Hawkins has already stated he will be one of the three freshman playing this Sunday against CSU, and hopefully his ability shines through right away.

3.     Florida is about as big a consensus favorite as we’ve seen in recent years, but remember, USC got 62 out of 65 first-place votes in the AP’s 2007 preseason poll and still managed to lose to Stanford. Given how difficult it is to go undefeated period these days, where do you think the Gators are most likely to stumble in the regular season?

The game at LSU is where the Gators need to be careful. I was torn between this and the Georgia game, but LSU just has a more potent team than the Bulldogs. And playing in Tiger stadium is a setback in itself. Although I think the Gators are way too experienced to let things like home field advantage get to them, look for Louisiana to be the place where Florida might run into some problems.

4.     Which regular-season game not involving your team or conference are you most looking forward to this year?

Oklahoma-Texas would be my number one choice but seeing as how that is a Big 12 game I had to reconsider. That is why I have to choose the Florida-LSU matchup. Those two games are almost the exact same in respect to having the two top teams fighting it out for their conference title. Despite being an intense rivalry, this game will be a fight between two of the top SEC teams. If Florida can make it out of Louisiana with a win, look for them to show up at the Rose Bowl.

5.     In honor of Georgia’s opening-weekend opponent and their most prolific booster, let’s say you somehow come into T. Boone Pickens money and can buy anything you want for your program — facilities upgrades, an airplane for recruiting, buy out the contract of that coach you hate, you name it. Where does your first check go?

I think the first check should go to an actual indoor practice facility. Yes, we do have “the bubble,” but in all honesty that is a poor attempt at an indoor field. The team can’t even work on special teams because it is too small. And there are restrictions to when it can be put up and taken down because it’s in a flood plain. Not only would it help us in off-season workouts during the unpredictable winter and spring seasons here in Boulder, it would also help tremendously with recruiting. We have good facilities, but an indoor practice field would take us to the next level.

Related posts:

  1. Darrell Scott: Playing the Field or Not the Person we Thought?
  2. Another Roundtable… Finally!
  3. Roundtable, Take 2