My prediction

[Unleash Hell]

BCS conference champs
SEC: Alabama over South Carolina
Big 10: Wisconsin over Michigan St.
ACC: Florida State over Virginia Tech
Pac-12: Stanford over Utah
Big 12: Oklahoma
Big East: South Florida

Keep an eye on these teams
South Carolina: Defending SEC east champs, Return Stephen Garcia and Alshon Jeffery. Avoid LSU and Bama from west and have Florida at home.

Georgia: Only 4 road games and a pretty favorable schedule.

Mississippi St: Coming off 9-4 season, return 9 on offense, most of the toughest games at home.


Florida State: 10-4 last year, talent getting really good again and favorable schedule. Could be in the national title hunt once again.

Utah: Pretty favorbale conference schedule, avoiding Oregon and Stanford from the North. How do they adjust to more competitive conference?

Notre Dame: Finally have a good coach, coming off 8 win season and a favorable schedule. Could easily go to a BCS bowl.

Teams that will take a dive

Auburn: Only return 6 starters including their best player on offense and defense. Tougher schedule. Might struggle to make a bowl.

Ohio State: They might survive the non conference schedule, but the conference is gonna beat them up with new coach and loss of Pryor and other key guys. I'm calling for 4 or 5 losses for them.

Arizona: Tough schedule coming off a dissapointing finish to last year. Also lost their #1 WR for the season who would have been an AA candidate. Could easily start 1-5

Most overhyped team

Arizona state: I don't get it, I really don't. ASU didn't impress me last year, and I really don't think they will this year as long as that clown Erickson is running that show.

Non AQ's to watch out for

The only real threats I see are Boise state and TCU, however I see Boise losing to Georgia and TCU losing to Boise. SO I think this is a year that no non AQ's get in the BCS party.

Heisman

I think Andrew Luck is the best player in college football, but because of Stanfords losses on the line, I don't think he will put the numbers up like he did last year. Same goes for LaMichael James at Oregon with the Ducks losing a lot on the line. My heisman prediction is Oklahoma QB Landry Jones.

 

[Mick Ronson]

Okie State beats OU in Stillwater with Weedon and Blackmon back. for some reason OU plays at OSU for the 2nd year in a row. if you remember last year's game, OU ain't gonna get that lucky again. Pokes still lose to Texas and at Tech or ATM (too lazy to look up the schedule) and there's some screwy tiebreaker thing again.

 

[Duff Man]

Pretty much agree.

The only way Georgia does anything this year is if Isiah Crowell is Marcus Lattimore 2.0 this season. They have a budding superstar in QB Aaron Murray, but there are still a lot of holes all over the place.

One team to keep an eye is Virginia Tech. They are really young on defense, but they have one of the easiest schedules in the country. I am not ready to buy the hype surround Florida State just yet-I think they are a year away.

 

[MtnBuff]

It's going to be interesting to see how the other schools in the MWC respond to TCU for their last year in the conference. I think you are right in this being a down year for the non-AQ schools though. Could be intersting

For the umpteenth year in a row Notre Dame has a load of talent and again they have a new coach and everyone is excited, and again they will disappoint. Florida State and Georgia are similar in that they will manage to play below their talent level and dissapoint.

As much as I hate both schools, Texas has way to much talent to be down again and they have made some coaching changes. If they can beat OU they could be in the NC game even as bad as they were last year, if not they will still be a lot better than they were. In the Big 10 all the power is on one side of the league. I don't buy Michgan State as a contender, Iowa is good but not great. If kNU can get on a roll the fuskers could very well win that division of the Big 10 in their first year.

 

[Mick Ronson]

i will never believe in Michigan State.

OU will lose at FSU or OSU (as i say above)....and maybe to Texas. something is not right about Landry Jones. he has a self-destruct thing....throws a bad int at the worst possible time....unlike Josh Heupel who was a freak on 3rd down). i liked Brian Kelley at Cincy and i think he's a solid hire for ND, but this ain't the year.

I would pick Bama to win it all.

 

[Unleash Hell]

I think Nebraska could very well win the division and possibly conference, but they have some tough road games. Going to Wisconsin, Penn state and Michigan.

I actually think Michigan will be very improved if Robinson stays healthy and could be a threat for the division, I'm calling Michigan to finally beat Ohio state.

Michigan state did go 11-2 last year with a 8-0 start.

 

[77buff]

i will never believe in Michigan State.

OU will lose at FSU or OSU (as i say above)....and maybe to Texas. something is not right about Landry Jones. he has a self-destruct thing....throws a bad int at the worst possible time....unlike Josh Heupel who was a freak on 3rd down). i liked Brian Kelley at Cincy and i think he's a solid hire for ND, but this ain't the year.

I would pick Bama to win it all.

Too many good teams in the SEC for anyone to go undefeated.

 

[Mick Ronson]

Too many good teams in the SEC for anyone to go undefeated.

oh really? not been a factor in the last few years.

 

[Unleash Hell]

OOC Games to look forward to

Oregon vs. LSU in Dallas. BCS type bowl in week one!
Alabama @ Penn State. Two historic CF programs
Boise St @ Georgia. Get ready for another undefeated season for Boise if they win this.
Ohio St @ Miami, Fl. Rematch of the 2002 national title game
Washington @ Nebraska. 3rd meeting, 3 different locations in a year for these two.
Oklahoma @ Florida St. Noles have lost 5 in a row to OU.
Missouri @ Arizona St. Can Tigers deal with the heat?
Kansas St. @ Miami, FL. Always interesting to see KJSU play a decent to good team in OOC.
TCU @ Baylor. Non AQ power against a Baylor team that went bowling in 10
Texas @ UCLA. Can Longhorns get redemption from last years blowout loss at home to Bruins?
Arizona @ Oklahoma St. A Wildcat loss likely sets them up for a 4 game skid.
Colorado @ Ohio St. Can a CU team that struggles on the road upset a distracted and depleted Buckeye team?

 

[Unleash Hell]

Too many good teams in the SEC for anyone to go undefeated.

Theres been an undefeated team in that conference two years in a row.

 

[whatthebuff]

ASU is interesting because they only won 6 games last year (2 came against division 2 teams-lame). However they:

-were up on Oregon (bcs bowl) by 10 before losing by 11
-could not make an XP against Wiscy (rose bowl) and lost by 1
-lost to Stanford (orange bowl) by 4
-****ed up the kicking game again by missing a fg at the end of USC and lost by 1

So they had a fairly thrilling season that was, well, possibly a few plays away from being really good. I think the -USC south is wide open this year, so it's really now or never for them. Is Utah really going to be that good?

 

[Unleash Hell]

ASU is interesting because they only won 6 games last year (2 came against division 2 teams-lame). However they:

-were up on Oregon (bcs bowl) by 10 before losing by 11
-could not make an XP against Wiscy (rose bowl) and lost by 1
-lost to Stanford (orange bowl) by 4
-****ed up the kicking game again by missing a fg at the end of USC and lost by 1

So they had a fairly thrilling season that was, well, possibly a few plays away from being really good. I think the -USC south is wide open this year, so it's really now or never for them. Is Utah really going to be that good?

Good points about ASU, I still don't see it in them though. I can't buy them until I see it.

Utah will be very interesting to watch. They don't have Oregon or Stanford, but like I said, how do they adjust to playing quality teams week in week out? We should find out about Utah fairly quickly as they make a trip to USC just the second week of the season.

 

[Duff Man]

One thing about Utah, you can usually count on a solid pass rush. In a league with several good QBs, that could be huge.

BTW, I was shocked to find out we finished in the top 25 in sacks last season.

 

[buffs]

Nice write-up. Good to see you've been rational, and probably correct, but I would have pegged the Fuskers as most over-hyped. But then I hate those *****hole$. Guess old hate dies hard.

And now I'll step away from the keyboard....

 

[boulder77]

...for some reason OU plays at OSU for the 2nd year in a row.

Pretty sure that's because the Lite is going to a 9 game league schedule this year, and they probably had to do that (repeat games/locations) with several of the teams to get the schedule to balance out.

 

[somebody]

ASU is interesting because they only won 6 games last year (2 came against division 2 teams-lame). However they:

-were up on Oregon (bcs bowl) by 10 before losing by 11
-could not make an XP against Wiscy (rose bowl) and lost by 1
-lost to Stanford (orange bowl) by 4
-****ed up the kicking game again by missing a fg at the end of USC and lost by 1

So they had a fairly thrilling season that was, well, possibly a few plays away from being really good. I think the -USC south is wide open this year, so it's really now or never for them. Is Utah really going to be that good?

I watched some of the Wisconsin game and it seems like ASU got robbed for a score, too. Anyway, they have maybe the best defensive player in the country if he can avoid stupid penalties in Burfict, but the QB Osweiler lacks experience. They may have locker room issues based on the former WR calling for Erickson's head.

 

[White_Rabbit]

As much as I'd love to see ASU fall flat on their faces next year, they very well could be the south representative in the championship game.

Agree with most of unleash's predictions. Alabama is going to be tough. Oklahoma is going to win the B12, though. Texas is going to have a somewhat rough year imo. Not as bad as last year, but not usual Texas year. Wisconsin seems like a no brainer for the B10.

 

[4DemBuffs]

if Mich State wins the Big 10... fine. but they better not do it undefeated or in the #1 or #2 position in the BCS. i watched them several times last year and while they do have a solid football team, they will get absolutly taken apart in the MNC game. they just dont have the speed. they have enough speed along with toughness for the big 10. they just dont have the "south" speed. SEC or OU/Texas will absolutly destroy them.

just as last year when it looked like they may have a golden path to the BCS MNC game, i will be rooting against them. it would be an epic failure of a MNC game. It would put those OSU games to shame. And personally, i would rather see a Big 10 team win over an SEC or Big Mac team. It just aint gonna happen....

 

[The Guest]

if Mich State wins the Big 10... fine. but they better not do it undefeated or in the #1 or #2 position in the BCS. i watched them several times last year and while they do have a solid football team, they will get absolutly taken apart in the MNC game. they just dont have the speed. they have enough speed along with toughness for the big 10. they just dont have the "south" speed. SEC or OU/Texas will absolutly destroy them.

just as last year when it looked like they may have a golden path to the BCS MNC game, i will be rooting against them. it would be an epic failure of a MNC game. It would put those OSU games to shame. And personally, i would rather see a Big 10 team win over an SEC or Big Mac team. It just aint gonna happen....

I have no love for the SEC (though I respect them as a football conference), but I really, really enjoy watching the Big 10-ish get their collective asses kicked in out-of-conference play. It supports my world view that for the last decade that conference has fielded--at best--lackluster teams incapable of competing on the big stage. Minus 2002 OSU who was a very different team with and without Clarret (sp?) field.

 

[MtnBuff]

I have no love for the SEC (though I respect them as a football conference), but I really, really enjoy watching the Big 10-ish get their collective asses kicked in out-of-conference play. It supports my world view that for the last decade that conference has fielded--at best--lackluster teams incapable of competing on the big stage. Minus 2002 OSU who was a very different team with and without Clarret (sp?) field.

I'm not saying that the Big 10 is overrated but they tend to build their own little world and then believe that everybody should accept it. For the most part, the majority of Big 10 teams build a strong record OOC by beating up on a bunch of MAC teams. They also play a few against Notre Dame which is a big name but hasn't been very good for a long time and some service academy games. They then go into their league schedule and think everyone should bow down because they beat each other, the same thing that happens in every other conference.

Once they get outside this fairly limited world their record has been middling at best. Their OOC other than that mentioned above is nothing great and their bowl record is something they don't like to talk about.

You can argue strenths and faults about every conference but the perception of the Big 10 exceeds their actual accomplishments. On the field they certainly fall behind the SEC and the top of the Big XII and the PAC has a pretty strong arguement against them as well.

 

[The Guest]

I'm not saying that the Big 10 is overrated but they tend to build their own little world and then believe that everybody should accept it. For the most part, the majority of Big 10 teams build a strong record OOC by beating up on a bunch of MAC teams. They also play a few against Notre Dame which is a big name but hasn't been very good for a long time and some service academy games. They then go into their league schedule and think everyone should bow down because they beat each other, the same thing that happens in every other conference.

Once they get outside this fairly limited world their record has been middling at best. Their OOC other than that mentioned above is nothing great and their bowl record is something they don't like to talk about.

You can argue strenths and faults about every conference but the perception of the Big 10 exceeds their actual accomplishments. On the field they certainly fall behind the SEC and the top of the Big XII and the PAC has a pretty strong arguement against them as well.

I'm actually saying the Big 10 is overrated.

 

[Mick Ronson]

every big ten fan i know acts like beating a 4 win Purdue team is great stuff. heroic struggles. but, a 10 win Missouri team sucks.

 

[Duff Man]

As much as I'd love to see ASU fall flat on their faces next year, they very well could be the south representative in the championship game.

Agree with most of unleash's predictions. Alabama is going to be tough. Oklahoma is going to win the B12, though. Texas is going to have a somewhat rough year imo. Not as bad as last year, but not usual Texas year. Wisconsin seems like a no brainer for the B10.

Texas' season is going to come down to when Gilbert is replaced. If it is early, they have a shot to win 8-9 games. If not, they could be struggling to make a bowl. No reason that offense should be struggling with the young talent they have at WR (best since Roy Williams/Sloan Thomas/BJ Johnson days) and Malcolm Brown coming in at RB.

 

[Mick Ronson]

Texas' season is going to come down to when Gilbert is replaced. If it is early, they have a shot to win 8-9 games. If not, they could be struggling to make a bowl. No reason that offense should be struggling with the young talent they have at WR (best since Roy Williams/Sloan Thomas/BJ Johnson days) and Malcolm Brown coming in at RB.

now that Greg Davis is gonzo, it's hard to know but UT has always underacheived trying to play a dropback QB out of the I. Gilbert is pretty stationary as a run-threat.

 

[77buff]

Theres been an undefeated team in that conference two years in a row.

1998	Tennessee	13-0	Fiesta: Beat Florida St. 23-16	Phillip Fulmer
1999	Florida State	12-0	Sugar: Beat Va. Tech 46-29	Bobby Bowden
2000	Oklahoma	13-0	Orange: Beat Florida St. 13-2	Bob Stoops
2001	Miami, Fla.	12-0	Rose: Beat Nebraska 37-14	Larry Coker
2002	Ohio State	14-0	Fiesta: Beat Miami, Fla. 31-24 (2 ot)	Jim Tressel
2003	LSU (National Champs) USC (#1 in AP Poll)	13-1 12-1	Sugar: Beat Oklahoma 21-14 Rose: Beat Michigan 28-14	Nick Saban Pete Carroll
#-2004	USC	13-0	Orange: Beat Oklahoma 55-19	Pete Carroll
#-2005	Texas	13-0	Rose: Beat USC 41-38	Mack Brown
2006	Florida	13-1	BCS Championship Game: Beat Ohio State 41-14	Urban Meyer
2007	LSU	12-2	BCS Championship Game: Beat Ohio State 38-24	Les Miles
2008	Florida	13-1	BCS Championship Game: Beat Oklahoma 24-14	Urban Meyer
2009	Alabama	14-0	BCS Championship Game: Beat Texas 37-21	Nick Saban
2010	Auburn	14-0	BCS Championship Game: Beat Oregon Since the BCS started in 1998 there have been 5 different teams from the SEC that have won the championship. 2 teams Florida and LSU have won it twice. The last 5 champions have been from the SEC. Bama isn't going to cruise through Arkansas, at Florida, at Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, and at Mississippi ST. They can still go to the BCS Championship with 1 loss.	Gene Chizik

 

[Unleash Hell]

1998	Tennessee	13-0	Fiesta: Beat Florida St. 23-16	Phillip Fulmer
1999	Florida State	12-0	Sugar: Beat Va. Tech 46-29	Bobby Bowden
2000	Oklahoma	13-0	Orange: Beat Florida St. 13-2	Bob Stoops
2001	Miami, Fla.	12-0	Rose: Beat Nebraska 37-14	Larry Coker
2002	Ohio State	14-0	Fiesta: Beat Miami, Fla. 31-24 (2 ot)	Jim Tressel
2003	LSU (National Champs) USC (#1 in AP Poll)	13-1 12-1	Sugar: Beat Oklahoma 21-14 Rose: Beat Michigan 28-14	Nick Saban Pete Carroll
#-2004	USC	13-0	Orange: Beat Oklahoma 55-19	Pete Carroll
#-2005	Texas	13-0	Rose: Beat USC 41-38	Mack Brown
2006	Florida	13-1	BCS Championship Game: Beat Ohio State 41-14	Urban Meyer
2007	LSU	12-2	BCS Championship Game: Beat Ohio State 38-24	Les Miles
2008	Florida	13-1	BCS Championship Game: Beat Oklahoma 24-14	Urban Meyer
2009	Alabama	14-0	BCS Championship Game: Beat Texas 37-21	Nick Saban
2010	Auburn	14-0	BCS Championship Game: Beat Oregon Since the BCS started in 1998 there have been 5 different teams from the SEC that have won the championship. 2 teams Florida and LSU have won it twice. The last 5 champions have been from the SEC. Bama isn't going to cruise through Arkansas, at Florida, at Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, and at Mississippi ST. They can still go to the BCS Championship with 1 loss.	Gene Chizik

Thats all some fine and dandy stats there that I already knew, but it still doesn't take away the point I was making. You made it sound like it was impossible to get through the SEC undefeated when the last two years there have been an undefeated team. Keep jerking off to your SEC though 77, they aint gonna be the top dogs forever, especially with how college football is changing.

 

[MtnBuff]

Thats all some fine and dandy stats there that I already knew, but it still doesn't take away the point I was making. You made it sound like it was impossible to get through the SEC undefeated when the last two years there have been an undefeated team. Keep jerking off to your SEC though 77, they aint gonna be the top dogs forever, especially with how college football is changing.

I'm not a big fan of the SEC but I wonder which changes are going to make the SEC less dominant than they are now. Yes other conferences are getting more money for their media contracts but that money isn't at the expense of the SEC. Their media contract is right up there with anybodies and the next time it comes up for renewal they will continue to go up. At the same time their fan support continues to put them ahead of all other conferences. We all know how nuts Nebraska fans are about the huskers, in SEC land they are all like that, it is a religion.

They continue to get their share of the best HS talent, much of which comes from their own conference footprint and the culture allows them to put aside minor technicalities like recruiting rules and academic standards to insure that they get the kids they want.

I'd like to see other coferences, especially the PAC move up and take some of their glory but looking at the SEC top to bottom and the culture there and it is hard to see them dropping much.

 

[Daaah]

I'm not a big fan of the SEC but I wonder which changes are going to make the SEC less dominant than they are now. Yes other conferences are getting more money for their media contracts but that money isn't at the expense of the SEC. Their media contract is right up there with anybodies and the next time it comes up for renewal they will continue to go up. At the same time their fan support continues to put them ahead of all other conferences. We all know how nuts Nebraska fans are about the huskers, in SEC land they are all like that, it is a religion.

They continue to get their share of the best HS talent, much of which comes from their own conference footprint and the culture allows them to put aside minor technicalities like recruiting rules and academic standards to insure that they get the kids they want.

I'd like to see other coferences, especially the PAC move up and take some of their glory but looking at the SEC top to bottom and the culture there and it is hard to see them dropping much.

The only way the SEC stops being dominant is if someone decides to enforce rules and make them stop cheating.

 

[4DemBuffs]

I have no love for the SEC (though I respect them as a football conference), but I really, really enjoy watching the Big 10-ish get their collective asses kicked in out-of-conference play. It supports my world view that for the last decade that conference has fielded--at best--lackluster teams incapable of competing on the big stage. Minus 2002 OSU who was a very different team with and without Clarret (sp?) field.

right. but i have just about come to the point where i am tired of the SEC being what they are and would like to shut a few SEC mouths. i know it can never be done totally, but nothing would piss them off more than a big 10 team beating them in the MNC game and i am just about okay with that at this point. :lol:

its just a dream though. the big 10 just does not have the speed at this time.

 

[Unleash Hell]

I'm not a big fan of the SEC but I wonder which changes are going to make the SEC less dominant than they are now. Yes other conferences are getting more money for their media contracts but that money isn't at the expense of the SEC. Their media contract is right up there with anybodies and the next time it comes up for renewal they will continue to go up. At the same time their fan support continues to put them ahead of all other conferences. We all know how nuts Nebraska fans are about the huskers, in SEC land they are all like that, it is a religion.

They continue to get their share of the best HS talent, much of which comes from their own conference footprint and the culture allows them to put aside minor technicalities like recruiting rules and academic standards to insure that they get the kids they want.

I'd like to see other coferences, especially the PAC move up and take some of their glory but looking at the SEC top to bottom and the culture there and it is hard to see them dropping much.

If we get some 16 team super conferences SEC could be 2nd or 3rd best conference. Of course SEC could expand too.

Also, SEC hasn't always been king, conferences and divisions go in cycles. SEC will always be good, but sometime they wont be as dominant as they are now.