Any early picks for the playoff/champion?
Go Bulls!!!
I'll watch some games, but I really just don't care.
Roll Tide and War Eagle!!!!
I'm looking at recruitment classes and thinking. No predictions yet.
It can't get here too soon. :)
You tried. :P 
Fair enough 
War Eagle AND Roll Tide? You sound very conflicted. :P 
No. I lived in Alabama most of my life. My family has alumni from both but mostly Auburn. Auburn in my #1 team. I actually went to Samford myself but all of my husband's family went to Auburn and one of my girls did as well. Never conflicted. I want them both to win every game until they play each other, then I have to sit with the Tigers. I still find time to watch and root for the Samford Bulldogs too. :)
Two of my good friends are going to Auburn and Bama this year. Should be interesting to see how that plays out, they're twins.
Sorry, I've grown digusted with the corrupt exploitation of near-slave labor.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/the-shame-of-college-sports/308643/
If there is a school out there which consists entirely of walk-ons (i.e. no football "scholarships"), they are by default my favorite college football team. The rest can go to blazes.
Right on man, fight the power! 
Not sure if serious or sarcastic.
Not sure either. Slave labor? I already have classes with some of these guys. A large number of them have free rides, free meals, and free housing. I'm having trouble feeling bad for them when there are thousands of students paying their own way.
@Paynuts -- Imagine you applied for a job that paid $10/hour no matter what. If you were twice as productive as your fellow employees: $10/hour. If you switched to another company in the same business: $10/hour. And, if you quit your job, you had to wait one year before hiring on with any other company in the same business. At which point, you'd be paid $10/hr. If you were so freaking brilliant at your job the company's revenues increased five-fold, you'd still be paid $10/hour. No bonus, no stock options, no profit sharing. Nope, $10/hr.
You'd find that situation an intolerable violation of anti-trust and labor laws, and no court in the land would permit it.
The "free housing" and so forth you claim student-athletes get is paid for by the dozens of hours they put in every week getting ready to make money for the university, money which they never see a dime of.
Imagine if Wal-Mart set up a "scholarship fund" for Wal-Mart employees. Wal-Mart pays for tuition, housing (of Wal-Mart's choice), and meals (of Wal-Mart's choice) while also not paying for any student costs that are not in those categories (e.g. books, student fees, lab fees, etc.)...oh, and scholarship recipients have to work 35 hours per week at Wal-Mart as Wal-Mart dictates for zero pay. You'd think the situation was insane.
Yet that's EXACTLY what college athletes are subject to.
I'm actually OK if private universities want to spend their money in this way. If ONLY private universities were involved in selling college sports, the courts would slap them silly for their illegal cartel arrangments so fast their collective heads would spin. Why taxpayer-funded state institutions are involved in this makes ZERO sense to me. When the highest-paid state employee in multiple states is the head football coach at the state's largest public university, things are seriously warped.
Thankfully, numerous challenges and lawsuits are threatening the status quo, and I expect college sports will be radicially different within 20-25 years.
Yeah, I'm cool with schools paying their athletes also if they want to. I'm just not shedding any tears for these athletes when they are getting a "free" education while other students are paying $25k+ a year.
I might sound heartless saying this, but if they consider it slave labor, they can always quit the team and pay their own way like everyone else.
Oh that's great though. Both are great schools, but of course, I lean toward the beautiful plains we call Auburn. The town is wonderful too. I have a lot of friends who never left. My husband graduated from Alabama but went to grad school at Auburn so we were down there a couple of years. I didn't want to leave but his business required us to go back to Birmingham. I wish them all well. What will you be doing in the Fall. You may have told me. I know you are a huge Big Orange fan.
@Paynuts -- Yes, you DO sound heartless.
I received Pell Grants as part of my college education funding. I only had to qualify for them, not spend 30 hours a week picking up litter along the roadway.
Many college students receive partial or full scholarships which, again, require nothing beyond the students fulfilling the necessary academic qualifications.
Why should student athletes be required to labor on behalf of the university (often at great risk of personal injury) for their scholarships? How does that benefit the university's educational mission?
But, boy, that pagentry and mock combat on autumn Saturdays sure is fun, isn't it?
What college athletes get in the way of "free stuff" is plenty. Slave labor............I'm playing my violin! The whole idea of paying them is just part of trying to tear down anything that represents competition and strength. My America is not the land of crybabies and wussies. Anyone who goes to college free with free books, free room, free meals, and still complains should have the opportunity to walk....................all the way home.
@OS
Why should student athletes be required to labor on behalf of the university (often at great risk of personal injury) for their scholarships? How does that benefit the university's educational mission?
Ummm, because they're athletes, who are on scholarship to PLAY SPORTS. If they don't want to get hurt, don't play the game. Your argument is purely based on greed.
I'll be here at UT in the fall. I'm actually doing summer school there currently. 
Ohio State has had some great recruiting classes. We lost a bunch of players to the NFL including several underclassmen but I think we will be in the hunt for a playoff spot.
I dare say there are quite a few, but I am not one.
All of the kids in my family in your age range are in school this summer; one up in Gainesville, FL, one at Auburn, and one at Central Florida. I hope you enjoy every moment. You'll always remember these years. :)
Thanks Thrifty. I'm really excited about it. 
