![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
ESPN Who?
The (not-so) Real Rankings in College Football
September 3, 2019
The 2018 college football season brought a lot of fun games to watch, from Texas A&M and LSU’s record-breaking seven-overtime game ending in a score of 74-72, to Trevor Lawrence rolling over Alabama in the national championship. In 2019, the stakes are high, as the top 10 teams all have a shot at the college football playoff. Here are my pre-season top rankings for the 2019 season.
NOAH’S TOP 10 ANALYSIS
Clemson
Clemson has proven that they are one of the most dynamic teams in the country. This year, they are coming off of a National Title win against Alabama (44-16), who was also once known as the most powerful team in the NCAA. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is rumored as “the best college QB ever,” according to ESPN. He established the way that his team played all year, and plans to do the same this year. Clemson will be a fun team to watch this year as they opened their season with a big win over Georgia Tech, 52-14.
Alabama
Alabama has been a strong team for a while now, beginning in 2010 with their win against Texas in what was the BCS National Championship. Since then, Alabama has proven that they are a top contender, year in and year out. Alabama’s quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, previewed his athleticism when he was a sophomore in the 2018 College Football Playoff Championship. He showed the world that he always comes to play, throwing a touchdown late in the game to beat Georgia. Alabama is expected to come out strong again this year, as I have them ranked number two. They pulled in their first victory over Duke, 42-3.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is going to be an interesting team to watch this season. Transferring from Alabama, starting quarterback Jalen Hurts is going to be running the field after Heisman Trophy Winner Kyler Murray got drafted into the NFL. Bleacherreport, ESPN, and CBSSports all predict that Hurts will do just fine adjusting to a different playbook. Against USC in 2017, Jalen Hurts showed that he has the potential to run all over teams. Hurts is going to be calling the shots this year at Oklahoma, and it’s going to be a blast to watch. Oklahoma came out on top against Houston, 59-31.
Michigan
After finishing 10-3 in the 2018 season, Michigan is one of the more underrated teams in college football. This season, I could see Michigan getting into the College Football Playoff. They have multiple quarterbacks who can run the field, one of them being Shea Patterson, and Jim Harbaugh is one of the most dynamic coaches in all of the NCAA. Michigan is going to show out this year after defeating Middle Tennessee, 40-21.
LSU
LSU has been a team who plays in Alabama’s shadow, but Tiger fans are hoping for a good year. One of the craziest games of the 2018 season involved a stunning seven-overtime ending between LSU and Texas A&M, with A&M taking the win 74-72, the highest-scoring game in the 2018 season. Coming off of a 10-3 regular-season record and Fiesta Bowl upset over the only undefeated team in the NCAA, UCF, LSU is slated to have a solid season this year in 2019. LSU rolled over Georgia Southern, 55-3.
Ohio State
Ohio State seems to be a hit or miss team. They have had some of the best quarterbacks that the NCAA has ever seen, such as Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett, and Braxton Miller, who now plays receiver for the Cleveland Browns. If you’ve seen the Netflix original series called “QB1,” you’ve heard Justin Fields’ name before. He takes the first snaps of the 2019 season, as former Ohio State QB Tate Martell transferred to Miami (FL) due to playing time needs. Fields is a very dynamic quarterback and he’s more than ready to show the world why he earned the starting spot at Ohio State. Fields and the Buckeyes beat Florida Atlantic, 45-21 in week one.
Georgia
Georgia has been chasing the natty for almost 30 years and it’s been a roller coaster to watch. Sometimes, they are obliterating opponents on the road, but other times, they’re losing to Texas in 2019 Sugar Bowl. Over the years, Georgia has slowly become more and more overrated, in my opinion. They had a good stint between 2015 and 2018, but going into the 2019 season, most of their talent has left to the NFL. This season will be interesting for Georgia to see how they can stack up with new faces on the field. The bulldogs gave Vanderbilt their first loss, 30-6.
Texas
Since their 2005 national title win over USC, Texas has been having a lot of struggles in recent years, but ever since Tom Herman took over in 2017, the Longhorns have slowly climbed their way back to the top. Former Westlake quarterback and current Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger has been running over defenses ever since his first snap in a Texas uniform, making him a top contender for the Heisman Trophy. Coming off of a strong win against Georgia in the 2019 Sugar Bowl, Texas is expected to be a powerhouse out of the Big 12 in the 2019 season. They already have a strong start going into the biggest game of their season against LSU after beating Louisiana Tech, 45-14.
Florida
Thankfully for gator fans, this year they’re expected to be really good. They have created a lot of momentum rolling into the 2019 season, already with one win under their belt against Miami (FL). Technically, Florida has the best record in the NCAA at this point in time, but we’ll have to watch them and see if they can hold up their end of the SEC with a strong season.
Notre Dame
Notre Dame has always been a team who sits in the middle of the pack. Their showing in the College Football Playoff last season had a lot of people surprised, and while most people thought that they were going to roll over Clemson, they got beat, 30-3. Notre Dame is a team that has shown that they aren’t a good team to contend for the National Championship, in that they seem to fold under pressure. Notre Dame will remain to be a threat for top-ranked teams to look out for, but this year will be a good look into their competitive basis. They already have a 1-0 record, after beating Louisville, 35-17.
This season is going to be amazing to watch, so be sure to cheer on your teams and check out all of the games. We’ll see how my rankings stack up at the end of the season.
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901-600x400.jpg)
