By: Brian Stubits (CBSSports.com) –
As a die-hard college football fan, there is nothing worse than the offseason. Nothing.

You can only sit around and wait so long for the calendar to hit August, when you can begin reading about what’s going on at practice. Even at that point, the first game feels like an eternity away and that you are being punished for every impure and unnatural thought you’ve ever had.

Damn karma.

Then the waiting game shifts to anticipation for the first real game, and on and on it goes in a terrible, vicious cycle.
Sure, recruiting will hold over the biggest fans a little bit, but that’s hardly enough to cure an insatiable hunger for pigskin Saturdays.

After a while it makes you a little delirious, this football famine. I’m sure I’m not the only one finding myself being distracted by thoughts bouncing around in my head, occasionally at completely inappropriate times — be careful of what you say! — about the upcoming season. If I am alone, then I need help. My fiancée certainly thinks so.

Maybe I’ve read too many stories over the years about things being overrated and underrated — what in this world of hyperbole and everything — but my mind sort of defaults to thinking in terms of team’s perceived ratings. So here I present my summer college football thoughts in that aforementioned, always argumentative format.

First, a caveat: a quick refresher on the definition of overrated. Saying something is overrated doesn’t mean something isn’t good. For example: the second-best team in the country can be overrated if it’s declared to be the best team in nation. Capiche?

Overrated — Virginia Tech: Look, I have great respect for what Frank Beamer has done in Blacksburg, I really do. It’s one of the best program-building stories in college football. But I don’t see a top 5 team this season. The Hokies won the ACC — which was much improved last season and should be even better this year — last year and return almost every essential part, including quarterback Tyrod Taylor. However, at least in this writer’s opinion, teams in the top 5 are legitimate candidates for the national championship, and I don’t think this team is in that conversation. I guess we’ll know a lot more after Week 1′s showdown in Atlanta vs. Alabama.

Underrated — Oregon: People know the Ducks are good, but I’m not sure they are given enough credit(maybe everybody is too distracted by their uniforms). Team Nike has become a perennial threat to beat anybody under former coach turned AD Mike Bellotti. The question now is, how will they fare drugs no prescription under Chip Kelly? My guess is with an explosive offense, they will still be fantastic for the foreseeable future. Will Kelly be able to recruit the same way Bellotti did to keep the program up? I don’t know, but again, I’m guessing that too, won’t change.

Overrated — Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State: I can hear Buckeyes fans everywhere in an uproar, but I’m in the show-me camp with Pryor. My eyes scan stories with him appearing on Heisman watch lists for the coming season. I put on my glasses. He’s still there. That’s where I get overrated. He still has to prove he can do an essential part of quarterbacking — pass effectively. In his first season he only attempted more than 20 passes in one game. Not to mention, I’m still having a hard time ignoring back-to-back 5 for 13 games against Michigan and Texas to close out his freshman campaign. Can he be as great as the hype? Surely, but right now I don’t see how people get their expectations based off his college track record.
Underrated — Russell Wilson, N.C. State: I wanted to put down Robert Griffin here, but I think buzz has grown around him, so I’m going in a different direction. Sure, a lot of fans know about Wilson, but I just want to remind people how good this guy looks. How about that 17-to-1 TD/INT ratio as a true freshman? He’s a playmaker, flat out, and can deliver with his arm, legs or whatever is needed. It will be fun to watch Wilson, Griffin and Pryor develop as they are all kind of similar players from the same class.

Overrated — Erin Andrews: Blasphemy, you say? Perhaps. Don’t get me wrong, I think she’s fantastic at what she does, but we all know why she’s really so popular: she’s easy on the eyes. I’m not saying she isn’t gorgeous, but I must be missing what most college football fans are seeing out there as they pegged her the Queen of Saturdays. Heck, any day. People talk about her as the best-looking woman this side of Jessica Biel. I respectfully dissent.

Underrated — Ron Franklin: Listed next to Andrews? Hey, they’re both in the broadcasting business. I always enjoyed listening to Franklin calling the main game on Saturdays as his voice became synonymous with SEC/ACC night games for me. I usually switch to the Four Letter’s second-tier game to hear Franklin’s crew instead of Mike Patrick. It appears Brad Nessler will be the main primetime guy this season, but as long as Franklin is around for at least one game a week, I’m a happy viewer.

Overrated — Bowl games: I find quite a few reasons to dislike bowl games, but strictly from a fan standpoint, they aren’t all that intriguing. Except the real biggies. Full disclosure: I’m a University of Miami alumnus and I ventured up to Atlanta for the 2005 Peach Bowl debacle against LSU. You remember, 40-3? Postgame tunnel skirmish? Well, maybe I soured on them from that day. I just feel the atmosphere is lacking when you have a crowd split down the middle, where nobody is at home with turf to defend. Not to mention, the stakes are minimal. For those wondering, I’m no fan of neutral venues, either.

Underrated — Road trips: This is what makes college football so great and why I prefer Saturdays over Sundays. Sure, fans in the NFL travel and teams have homefield advantages, but they don’t compare. There’s nothing like hopping in the car with your buddies and trekking to a hostile environment, flying your car flags high the whole way to signal to everybody the enemy is coming. Maybe I’m a masochist, but I love getting jeered — as long as the lines aren’t crossed — as I walk to the stadium. Plus, you get to see other schools’ great traditions and such. Best experience in college football.

Overrated — Eight-team playoff: When the playoff argument comes up, I usually see people go right to this format. Why? It won’t solve many of the issues regarding access to the games for smaller conferences. If you’re going to do it, do it right.

Underrated — 16-team playoff: This makes so much sense to me that it’s baffling why there is so much opposition. All 11 conferences get an automatic bid, — yes, even the Sun Belt — so everybody is happy there. I say you play the first-round games at the stadium of the higher-seeded team. That clears up some logistical issues. From then on, you can go to the big bowls for the rest of the games, and the first-round losers are eligible for bowl bids. It’s not a perfectly presented argument, but really, once expounded, it’s the best format.

Overrated — Sundays: — Sorry

Underrated — Saturdays: What did you expect?

Overrated: The word overrated

Underrated: Good, solid analysis

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