Sorry it's been a while, but with the season right around the corner, we should have something to talk about almost every day from here on out. I haven't forgotton about the Lindy's preview, but since I got a chance to talk to Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Spielman from ESPN yesterday on a conference call, I thought I'd highlight a few of their thoughts. The story I wrote that appeared in today's Trentonian should be online at some point. When it is, I'll put up a link. The analysts were promoting "College Football Live," a show that will debut on Monday at 3:30 on ESPN2 with Ray Rice as one of the guests.

Herbstreit and Spielman were both very high on the Big East and fairly high on Rutgers. Herbstreit said he thinks the Scarlet Knights weren't a fluke last year and should win at least 10 games this year. He also said that Ray Rice will be right there in the Heisman mix if the Knights have a good season. Same goes for the other Big East Heisman hopefuls: if their teams are in the BCS picture, they'll be in the Heisman picture; if their teams have disappointing seasons, their Heisman hopes won't be as high.

I thought a few things they said were particularly interesting, including the following:

• Spielman said he thinks West Virginia QB Pat White is the closest thing in college football to Vince Young, and that "there's not a bigger threat in the country than Pat White." Everybody is high on White -- though teammate and fellow junior Steve Slaton generally gets more attention -- but to call him the biggest threat in the country is very high -- though certainly not unwarrented -- praise.
• Both analysts said West Virginia and Louisville could be darkhorse national title contenders. They both think Rutgers is a notch below those two, which was the general consensus in the pre-season Big East media poll, in which the Knights were picked third. (Although they did get one first place vote)
• Herbstreit on newly hired NC State head coach Tom O'Brien, who coached at Boston College before being hired by the Wolfpack: : "They hired the most underrated coach in college football. You look at what they did at Boston College. In the last five years he won nine games, eight games, nine games, and 10 games. He won five straight bowl games." He also had nothing but good things to say about the "other" new coach in North Carolina: UNC's Butch Davis.
• Herbstreit and Spielman both went to Ohio State, but neither picked the Buckeyes to repeat as Big 10 champs. Speilman went with the most conventional pick: Michigan, which has one of the most explosive offenses in the country and a bona fide Heisman candidate in RB Mike Hart. Herbstreit went a more unorthodox rout, picking Penn State to jump past Michigan, OSU and Wisconsin to win the conference.
• Both of them were very high on defending champion Florida, especially when it concerns sophomore QB Tim Tebow. They both think Tebow is capable of making the throws necessary to carry the offense, in addition to his well-known ability to run with the ball.

Check back soon for some Trentonian links.

- Ben