Weekly TRR Discussion - Forecast The Buffaloes' Football Fate

Welcome back to the renewal of the weekly Ralphie Report roundtable discussion....table.

The format is a little different from last year's discussions, but I'm sure y'all will keep up. Please share your own answers in the comments. Let's get predicting!

Buffs Questions

1) Prophesize! WHICH Freshman in the two-deep of the Colorado depth chart will be a household name by the end of the CSU game?

Bob: Kenneth Crawley is the easy choice on defense. Offensively, I am excited to see if Bieniemy truly brings back a smashmouth running game which will feature the fullback and Christian Powell

Parker: Kenneth Crawley. Greg Henderson proved last year he's a good cornerback and it's hard to believe that CSU won't be testing Kenneth Crawley from the start. ESPN ranked him as the 18th best cornerback in the nation and he's got good size for a corner at 6'1" and good speed. If Crawley can't cover the CSU wideouts, Colorado could be in for a long day. However, the Colorado coaching staff has faith in him and so should CU fans.

David: Since Kenneth Crawley and Josh Tupou are just about already there since they've been named starters, I won't say either of them. I'm going to say John Stuart. He's backing up Juda Parker and I have a feeling that, at least in this game, he's going to get a surprising amount of playing time.

Ash: I'm gonna say Christian Powell. I really hope that he becomes the unsung hero of a successful bruising rushing attack. So that we can then sing about him.

Which Ralphie Report contributor is predicting Colorado to win the Pac-12??? Find out now!

2) Forsee! WHO will be the Buffs Offensive and Defensive MVP at the end of the regular season?

Jon: Offensive, I'm going to go with Tony Jones over Jordan Webb. It's hard to even find options outside of those too. On defense, I'll go with a revitalized Doug Rippy leading that strong linebacking unit.

Bob: Doug Rippy is my choice for defense, I think he rebounds from the injury and has a great year.

Offense is a little more difficult, especially if Paul Richardson is held out for the year. I will say Tony Jones to be safe but for the Buffs to make a bowl game this year, it would have to be Jordan Webb

Parker: 1) Hard to pick an MVP from the offensive side of the ball since there really isn't anyone who we can rely on from last year's team besides the offensive line. However, I think it's going to be Jordan Webb. He comes in during the summer and wins the job which means either our quarterback options are completely terrible and that's possible, or he really is a good quarterback. The obvious flaw to point out with Webb is his height; he's listed at 6' 1", but he has the repertoire and the support from coaches on the CU staff. More importantly, he has to be the MVP on offense for CU to have a successful season. It's optimism season right now as CU hasn't played a game and I'm going with Webb as the offensive MVP for this year.

Defensively, I'm going with a duo: Jon Major and Doug Rippy. Defense isn't as skeptical as offense this year and Major and Rippy have proven they can play very well at the linebacker spot as they enter their last years. They almost always wrap up and that's key for Pac-12 play with all the speed in the conference. With two proven linebackers it'll be hard to run on Colorado, which will help make offenses one dimensional. Major and Rippy are this defense's swagger and strength. Without the presence of these two, Colorado's defense is in shambles. They're healthy; they're seniors; they're poised to go out on a high note. As long as they don't get injured, expect over 150 tackles from this duo.

David: Offensive MVP: Nelson Spruce. Only because he's the one guy that will be integral to our Offense that hasn't produced anything yet. I liked his HS film and despite the comparisons to Scotty McKnight, I think he's a better athlete with a higher ceiling. If he's already drawing comparisons to McKnight's route running and ability to catch the ball, that's good news.

Defensive MVP: Either Jon Major or Doug Rippy. Whichever one can stay healthy will be the MVP.

Ash: On Defense I'll say Will Pericak, because we need him to be an MVP. Whether it's destroying a pocket or a hand-off, I'd love to see all the D-line coaches' hype pan out. If not him, then Jon Major.

Offense: I'm going with Nick Kasa. We don't have a Scotty McKnight to line up as a slot receiver (or even a slot receiver position!) so he's got to be the guy who can go over the middle and make a linebacker regret playing defense.

3) Predict! PER game the Buffaloes Win/Loss record this year.

Jon: 5-7
@ CSU W
Sac State W
@ Fresno St W
@ Wazoo L
UCLA L
Arizona St W
@ #1 USC L
@ #5 Oregon L
#21 Stanford L
@ Arizona L
Washington W
Utah L

Bob: 6-6
CSU W
Sac State W
@ Fresno St W
@ Wazoo L
UCLA L
Arizona St W
@ #1 USC L
@ #5 Oregon L
#21 Stanford L
@ Arizona L
Washington W|
Utah W

Parker: 5-7
W @CSU
W Sac State
L @Fresno State
W @Wazoo
L UCLA
W Arizona St.
L @USC
L @Oregon
L Stanford
W @Arizona
L Washington
L Utah
This brings Colorado to 5-7, which would be a great year.

David: 7-5
W @ CSU 1-0
W Sac State 2-0
W @ Fresno St 3-0
W @ Wazoo 4-0
L UCLA 4-1
W Arizona St 5-1
L @ #1 USC 5-2
L @ #5 Oregon 5-3
L #21 Stanford 5-4
W @ Arizona 6-4
L Washington 6-5
W Utah 7-5

Ash: 6-6
W @ CSU
W Sac State
L @ Fresno St
L @ Wazoo
W UCLA
W Arizona St
L @ #1 USC
L @ #5 Oregon
W #21 Stanford
W @ Arizona
L Washington
L Utah

NCAA Questions

1) Forecast! WHO do you think will win the National Championship?

Jon: I'm a homer. I don't care. Oklahoma rides Landry's senior season to a National Title and ends the SEC streak.

Bob: USC

Parker: USC. Barkley has started for 3 years, and this team wants revenge. I keep going back to that Oregon-USC game last year near the end of the season. Barkley was clicking with Marquise Lee and Robert Woods and they couldn't be stopped. Add in Silas Redd to an already lethal offense, and if the defense stays healthy, I don't think they can be beaten. Yes, there's the SEC, the best conference in the world according the national public, but out of those six straight national championships from the SEC, none of the champions had to face an offense as strong as this one. The last team to start out as the AP #1 and make the national championship game was USC in 2004 and they're going to do it again. USC- 28 Alabama- 24

David: LSU. I don't think that losing The Honey Badger will be as devastating as everyone seems to think. And I like them better than Alabama in general. So that's enough of a reason for me, I guess.

Ash: Oregon! I'm guessing that Chip Kelly will give another turn of the screw with their offense and produce something that nobody can describe or defeat. When they pass from a shotgun and run from the I, no-one will know what to do with themselves.

2) Adumbrate! (apparently) WHICH team will win the Pac-12?

Jon: USC may short on depth, but Oregon is starting a redshirt freshmen quarterback. Oregon wins the first game, the Trojans the second.

Bob: USC

Parker: USC (see above). Their only scare will be from Oregon, possibly twice, and the deciding factor will be USC's wideouts against Oregon's secondary and USC will win that matchup.

David: Oregon. I don't think USC's depth will hold out. I don't deny that they're incredibly talented, probably more than any other team in the nation in the first 22 guys, I don't think they can hold up by the end of the season.

Ash: Oregon, purely because I don't think they can make my other prediction come true without it. Who knows, though? Maybe we'll have another crazy college football season where #1 is a musical chairs position, and both teams in the NC game have a loss.

3) Pick 'em! WHAT will be the final score?

#24 Boise St @ #13 Michigan State
#8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama @ Arlington, TX
Hawai'i @ #1 USC
Georgia Tech @ #16 Virginia Tech
Colorado @ CSU

Jon:
#24 Boise St @ #13 Michigan State 27 - 17
#8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama 20 - 24
Hawai'i @ #1 USC 23 - 45
Georgia Tech @ #16 Virginia Tech 20 - 21
Colorado @ CSU 20 - 7

Bob:
#24 Boise St @ #13 Michigan St 27-21
#8 Michigan vs. #2 Alabama 28 - 17
Hawai'i @ #1 USC 42-17
Georgia Tech @ #16 Virginia Tech 27-20
Colorado @ CSU 17 - 14

Parker:
Michigan State- 31 Boise State- 21.
Alabama- 27 Michigan- 20.
USC-38 Hawaii- 17
Virginia Tech- 24 Georgia Tech- 10
Colorado- 21 Colorado State- 10

David:
#24 Boise St 31 @ #13 Michigan State 24
#8 Michigan 13 vs. #2 Alabama 27
Hawai'i 34 @ #1 USC 47
Georgia Tech 19 @ #16 Virginia Tech 23
Colorado 39 @ CSU 17

Ash:
#24 Boise St 21 @ #13 Michigan State 24
#8 Michigan 4 vs. #2 Alabama 5
Hawai'i 23 @ #1 USC 42
Georgia Tech 20 @ #16 Virginia Tech 10
Colorado 31 @ CSU 16

Awesome Question

1) Preference! WHICH Pac-12 Tie-in Bowl would you pick to be the Buffs' destination at the end of the season? (by preference of location, venue, etc; this need not have bearing in reality).

Jon: I'd say San Diego, but the stadium is too far away from downtown. I'll go with San Francisco, I like cold weather better than hot anyways and even though AT&T may suck for football, it's still one of the best ballparks in the country and it's right downtown.

Bob: LAS VEGAS!

Parker: Las Vegas Bowl. Buffs fans in Las Vegas would be quite a show. School would have just gotten out, and a lot of fans would definitely make the trip to Vegas for various reasons, a postseason berth for the Buffs included. I don't think the Buffaloes will be making a bowl, along with most fans, however, the Las Vegas Bowl would work out very nicely for the Colorado Buffaloes.

Ash: Having only physically been to the Rose Bowl, I'll pick the Fight Hunger bowl, too. I like the idea of Colorado playing in a charity football game, for all the kids CU sends to the Peace Corps, et al. San Francisco seems like a natural road trip for our 'prolific West-Coast fanbase' and for the crunchy granola tie-in, too.

Go Buffs! What do you think?