Tim Brando picks UCLA 1st, Gamecocks 5th, and manages to upset college football fans everywhere
By Sydney Hunte
Tim Brando has long been an SEC guy.
Before being hired away by ESPN (his home from 1986-1994, where he helped launch College Gameday) as a studio host for the SEC Network, Brando was the host of the SEC on CBS from 1999 until January, when he left the network amid a rift between him and the Eye Network about where he’d fit in in the future.
Now, Brando’s managed to rile up college football fans across the country, and he did so with less than 140 characters. Here, now, is his
top 10 for 2014:
My Preseason CFB Top 10:
— Tim Brando (@TimBrando) June 20, 2014
10. LSU
9. Wisconsin
8. Oregon
7. Alabama
6. Baylor
5. South Carolina
4. Michigan St.
3. Oklahoma
2. FSU
1. UCLA
And as you might imagine, everyone except UCLA fans think that he’s intentionally hating on their school.
@TimBrando Of course you kept Ohio State out. #hater
— BucksInsider (@bucksinsider) June 20, 2014
@USCBully I didn't know @timbrando did a comedy act in his spare time... Westwood at No. 1, that's hilariously funny...
— The Mind of Mark®️ (@PoweredbyBMW) June 20, 2014
Definitely some bold picks, and very interesting to see that the Southeastern Conference isn’t represented within the top four. In fact, what’s also interesting: the South Carolina Gamecocks are the highest ranked SEC team in the top 10–Alabama is #7 and LSU is #10. Auburn, the national runner up, isn’t even on there.
But look closely. This is Brando’s preseason top 10. This is how he thinks the teams stack up before the season, not necessarily how they’ll finish. And from the looks of it on Twitter, that fact seems to have been lost on his detractors.
I’ve been told by Tim Brando Show update anchor Patrick Netherton that it is indeed Brando’s predicted order of finish:
@sydh Just read your article about Brando's top 10. It is indeed how he thinks they will finish. He has UCLA/MSU and FSU/OU in the playoff
— Patrick Netherton (@PTNetherton) June 23, 2014