2018 VIEWERS GUIDE VOL. 1

As I mentioned, we're headed back to our roots. Rooted early on on this forum was a game preview, that highlighted the week's biggest games, which soon evolved into a Viewers Guide, which was made more fun and interesting with picks where pride and money was on the line. 2018 will continue that tradition. Here is your Week 1 Viewers Guide....

THURSDAY NITE

It all starts Thursday Night. This year we may be lost on opening night because Sakerlina isn't the center of the College Football Universe on a Thursday in late August. Instead we get a smorgasbord of openers that features Peak B1G and The conFLiCT.

Main Screen -  Northwestern (+1) at Purdue - 8pm on the Mothership - Brohm is definitely the guy Purdue needs to grow the brand and program at Purdue. Gotta remember he's in year two. NW but close.
Secondary - UCF at UCONN (+23.5) - 7pm on the U - A game that features a trophy tthe winner doesn't want to acknowledge or bring home. Expect UCF, BIG.
Last Option - Wake Forest at Tulane (+6.5) -  CBSSN at 8pm - Y'all don't sleep on Willie Fritz. He's gonna land a big job in the next couple of years as long as he keeps up his momentum.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Friday doesn't really have any ballgames that jump off the screen at ya, but there are some sneaky ballgames that'll keep you plugged in.

Main Screen (Early) - Army (+14) at Duke - 7pm on the U -  I love the Army value this Friday. Duke should be solid, as the normally are under Cutcliffe. Army's Triple Option Threat was downright dirty last year and bested Duke nearly 9 months ago.
Main Screen (Later) - San Diego State (+14.5) at Stanford - 9pm on FS1 - San Diego State could give Stanford everything they can handle with so many questions looming at Quarterback for the Cardinal.
Secondary - Directional Kentucky Hilltoppers (+37) at Wisky - 9pm on the Mothership - Big Red is headed to a buzzsaw in Madison, but they'll force a late cover.
Last Option - Colorado at Colorado State (-7.5) at 9:30 on CBSSN - Bobo's hoping to bounce back. He will against in-state rival, Colorado.



FOOTBALL SATURDAY

High Nooners
The High Nooner slate features three ball games that I think you'll want to put action on a stay tuned in to. It also features a game we're putting on UPSET ALERT.
Texas at Maryland (+13.5) - Noon on FS1 - With all of negatives press swirling around Maryland, it just seems obvious that Texas is primed for a near letdown moment.
FAU (+21) at Oklahoma - Noon on FOX - Future University of North Carolina Head Coach Lane Kiffin looks to play spoiler in Norman in a year that the Sooners believe is "the year." It'll be a treat watching former stars from Last Chance U give the Sooners everything they can handle.
Ole Miss (+2.5) vs Tejas Tech in Houston - High Noon on the Mothership - The Landsharks are now official. Ole Miss is gonna surprise some folks this year as the program is still loaded with talent.
UPSET ALERT: James Madison over State in Raleigh...... BELIEVE

Mid-Afternooners
The Mid Afternoon slate has a bit more variety and excitement than the Nooners. We have a top 10 match up that could be repeated in the playoff and the door is oppen for more FCS Upsets.

Main Event - Washington (+2) vs Auburn in ATL... on the Mothership at 330 - Big game Chris Peterson makes an appearance early on in a city he's had success. Barners lose their mind shortly after.

Next Up - Tennessee (+10) vs WVU - 330 on CBS - Vol Nation starts a new era and I think they're gonna like what they see. 

Last Option - App State(+24) at Penn State on B1G Net at 330 - II sorta love the Neers for a value pick in this one.

UPSET ALERT - U of R over UVA. 

Night Games 

The night game slate should be so much better than it acutally is, but on paper there's a bunch of snoozers.

Main Event - Michigan at Notre Dame (-1) at 730 on NBC - Sorry Harbaugh.... I'm picking ND big at home at night. 

Next Up - Boise State at Troy (+10) - ESPN News at 6 - Never sleep on a Troy team at home. Never. 

Last Option - Louisville vs Bama (+24.5) - 8pm on ABC - Bama by 100 on this one. Bobby P will be interviewing for a new job this time next week.

UPSET ALERT - SDSU over Iowa. This would be PEAK Kirk Ferentz. Lose to SDSU, Beat Wisky and Penn State.

Late Night

Main Event - BYU (+12) at Zona - 1045 on the Mothership -BYU's gonna surprise some folks this year. Sumlinhas a lot to fix.

/TSA at Zona State (-17.5) -FSI at 1030 - HERMSSSSSSS BIG DEBUT

Navy (-11.5) at Hawai'i - 11 on CBSSN -  Hawaii Football afterdark means one thing and one thing only.... the GAWD 

WE BACK: INTRO TO 2018

Following that sappy post, it's time to get back to what we do best here: college football opinions, sometimes intelligent and insightful, with a sharp Carolina Tar Heel bias. After a disappointing 2016 8-5 campaign where Carolina couldn't find rhythm and a dreadful 3-9 season in 2017 littered with attrition, there seems to be some passive optimism that 2018 should provide an uptick in excitement. Let's explore to see the last times Carolina had a "dreadful season" and whether or not the program bounced back.

1988 and 1989 under Mack Brown - Both Seasons 1-10
Mack Brown posted the two worst football seasons in modern history his first two seasons at the helm as Carolina's Head Ball Coach. In a time when cross-town rival Duke was at it's late 20th Century Peak under Spurrier, it was a tough time to root for the Heels. Fortunately the off season prior 1990 brought Carolina the talent that helped Mack turn the program around and string together what would become the most prominent football years Carolina's ever had. 6-4-1 and 7-4 preceded Carolina's first bowl game under the Mack, when Carolina won the Peach Bowl and finished 9-3.

1999 under Carl Torbush - 3-8
Carolina hit a valley like they had a decade prior in Carl Torbush's second complete season, following up a somewhat disappointing 7-5 1998 campaign. This team, like 2017's Carolina squad was riddled with injuries. Rumors are school officials wanted to fire him following this season but player and fan support kept him around for another season. After another rough season in 2000, Torbush's time in Chapel Hill was up. 6-5 was not enough to keep around the man who led Carolina's wrecking ball, NFL talent filled defenses of the mid and late 1990s.

2003 Under John Bunting - 2-10
Bunting, a Carolina alum, led one of the most inconsistent eras in the history of Carolina Football. His first season at the helm produced an exciting 8-5 stint that included a huge upset of then 6th ranked Florida State. His 2001 was followed up with 3-9 in 2002 and 2-10 in 2003. Bunting assured folks around the program that they were on the right path and for at least one year, he walked the walk. Under Darian Durant, Bunting's squad posted a 6-6 record and earned a spot in the Continental Tire Bowl.

2006 Under John Bunting - 3-9
The 2006 Campaign was the final under Bunting's tutelage. His departure opened the door for Carolina to make the biggest name hire since the Mack, when the Heels brought on board Butch Davis. Davis, who built Miami back into a national power in the late 1990s, had just become available after a several year stint in the NFL. Butch had a new challenge ahead of him: to make Carolina a name.

2007 under Butch Davis - 4 -8*
I have to put an asterisk on that record for, while on paper, the record appears dismal, there was so much excitement and upward trajectory surrounding the Carolina program. Carolina lost 6 of 8 games by a touchdown or less and had just landed a top 10 recruiting class the previous February. Excitement was high for the program and Butch was building a foundation.

2017 under Larry Fedora - 3-9
Just two season removed from an ACC Coastal title and near upset of National Runner Up Clemson Tigers, Carolina sputtered to a 3-9 finish, which included 6 game skid in the heart of the schedule. The reasons for the set back of year mounted throughout the season and off season. Carolina saw wicked attrition on the offensive side of the ball from 2016, faced a plague of season ending injuries from 75% of the original 24 starters, and struggled with coaching cohesiveness as coaches shared play calling and formation duties. Carolina was forced to combat the attrition and youth with ramping back the offense and defense and focus on fundamentals. The team could barely tread water.

So where does this program go from here?

Of of the best ways to gauge a program trajectory in the college football realm is a combination of the following: previous results, returning experience and talent level, incoming/future talent level and player development through recruiting and coaching. Since Fedora set foot in Chapel Hill, he and his staff have preached recruiting the right type and best talent available and developing them through their system. His recruiting rankings at Carolina to date are as follows (Thanks 24/7 Sports for your composite rankings)
2012 (inherited class) - 41st nationally/6th in the ACC
2013 (first true class) - 28th/5th
2014 - 30th/4th
2015 - 28th/4th
2016 - 32nd/5th
2017 - 29th/5th
2018 - 20th/4th
2019 (current) - 64th/13th...

Despite Carolina's worst season since 1999, Carolina posted their best recruiting ranking since Larry set foot in Chapel Hill. Most of this was built off of the peak years during Larry's stint in 2015 and 2016, where Carolina was at the top of the ACC Coastal. However, sort of like how Carolina trailed off in the 2016 season and plummeted in 2017, next years recruiting rankings have taken a hit. Carolina only has two commits from the Top 50 recruits in the State of North Carolina, while state has several. If Carolina wants to get back to the level of play we saw in 2015 and parts of 2016, they have to get their recruiting back in order. At least for 2018 and 2019, Carolina should benefit the talent that's been brought in and developed the past few season. A positive, all of last year's suspensions yielded opportunities for Carolina to gain experience across the returning the two deep. The negative, 13 players were suspended for trying to make money off of their namesake (GOD FORBID) which was mostly comprised of returning starters (. Early on, Carolina will have to overcome the suspensions handed down and once again develop young, inexperienced talent. Carolina is able to stagger the suspensions to minimize the damage early on. With a September that includes roadies at Cal, ECU and The U and a home date against a hot UCF program, Carolina will need players to play above their heads as they ease into another season. 

Richmond is My Home and Future

30 plus months.....

Hard to believe it's been over 30 months ( or 984 days for those keep track at home) since officially signing off from my last post as the sole proprietor of Frats Pigskin Review. Not until recently did I decide to revamp and retry at this college football "bloggin" thing again. With failed experiments of trying to take this thing big time (RIP 104 Stadium Drive dot com), and the random twitter blast of picks from the 2017 season, we've decided to get back to our roots. We're back to providing y'all the Viewers Guides, the Picks, and the most biased and hottest takes related to all things Carolina and College Football. Much like in the last 30 months of today's world, yours truly has gone through some serious life and work changes.

Here's the necessary life update: First, I no longer call Pittsburgh my home and my future. I accepted an excellent work opportunity back in May of 2016, one that helped broaden my career and set up my current path for personal and career growth. In my first year at this job, my new path came at a significant cost, one that took me the better part of a year to come to grips with and accept. Yours truly was shipped out of the Burgh kicking and screaming back in November 2016. The life I had grown into and built in Pittsburgh became no longer part of my future and expected journey. With transition came what felt like a never ending spiral of heartbreak, physical and emotional distress. Having lived through several months of a personal hell, another move (with the same firm) gave me a window and a chance to build myself back up. This second move gave me the chance to truly start over, to truly give me the chance to finally let go and start living my life again. In the first several months, the work load didn't subside. I was stretched thin with 70-80 hour work weeks. All weeks filled with the mental and physical stress of a different daily construction crisis. These days turned to weeks and began to take a toll. It felt oddly too similar to the personal heartbreak that ripped my world apart just a few months earlier. I struggled to keep myself under control and to remain hopeful. Luckily, I listened to free advice. I was advised to "keep my head down, take care of myself physically, mentally, emotionally," and to just "keep scratchin', clawin' and pushin' that ball forward a little bit everyday." I was told to Just Keep Livin'. I give an incredible amount of thanks to those friends and family who gutted it out with me when I was at the brink. In due time work got a little better and easier. I kept living, I put my head down and sank into my support system. I lived for the folks who meant the most to me, embraced my new surroundings and kept taking care of myself. "Just Keep Livin' " remains my personal mantra. One year later, from the crater in my personal valley, I'm the happiest I've ever been.

Richmond became my new stomping grounds. I found a sense of place at work and in life. At work, I collaborated with 3 of the best professionals I've ever been around. Our team oriented mindset helped us achieve every personal and professional goal we set out to tackle. When the time on the road started to dwindle and our tour came to a screeching halt, each member of the team was fortunate enough to land where they wanted to. When I suspected our mission was set to end, I had one goal, solidify myself with an opportunity for career growth.

Richmond offered me another shot growing friendships and finding a gal that made me feel like the luckiest man in the world. After a few months of meeting new people and building on existing friendships, that amazing person walked into my life. Suddenly, I had THE REASON to make this new place home. This young lady, who challenges me on a daily basis to be the best version of myself, swept me flawlessly off my feet. I was fully dipped. She and I started a life together, one that grows every day. Whether it's renovating our house, exploring Richmond and the best the Commonwealth has to offer, or spending evenings on the couch with our Two Corgis, I live for her and I live for us.

As she and I grew closer and work topic became a reality, I knew what I had to do. It was finally time to choose life over work. It was time to prove to myself why I believe we're on put on this earth: to share a life with the one you love the most; to carry your morals, values, and opportunity through your children; and, to advance society through your work and stewardship. Thankfully, by the Grace of the Good Guy upstairs/Good Karma/The Stars and Planets were aligned, whatever you believe in, I secured that spot. I had finally made a move that was not only good for my career, but also I made the move that that is one for both my career and my life. Richmond and the blessings that have come with it, are my home and future.

I'm eternally blessed and grateful.