Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the five part series of the football previews! Each week, I'm going to break down an aspect of the NCAA and NFL by giving my predictions on the outcomes of the season. This week, we will take a look at the BCS conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10, and SEC) on the players to watch for, teams to watch for, and the games to watch. So without further ado...
ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference has struggled with trying to find a National Championship contender since Florida State's dominance in the 1990's, but ever since adding in Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004, and Boston College the following year, the conference has struggled in mediocrity ever since. Last year, the Atlantic Division was a mess as all six teams finished a game within each other, and I'll expect the same this year, just don't count on two-time defending division champ Boston College to retain their crown due to a new coach and QB. Florida State looks like the team to beat in the division due to their experience. The Coastal Division was a bit more tame as Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech fought for the crown, with the Hokies winning, and I'll expect the same for the third year in a row. Both teams have running QB's, but VT QB Tyrod Taylor can actually throw better than GT QB Josh Nesbitt, if need be. If Virginia Tech stays focused, they can reach their third straight Orange Bowl in a not-so-impressive conference.
Conference Ranking: 5th out of 11
ATLANTIC
1. Florida State Seminoles
2. North Carolina State Wolfpack
3. Clemson Tigers
4. Wake Forest
5. Maryland Terrapins
6. Boston College Eagles
COASTAL
1. Virginia Tech Hokies
2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
3. North Carolina Tar Heels
4. Miami Hurricanes
5. Virginia Cavaliers
6. Duke Blue Devils
ACC TITLE GAME
Virginia Tech d. Florida State
10+ WIN TEAMS
Virginia Tech
BOWL TEAMS
Clemson
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Miami
North Carolina
North Carolina St.
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jonathan Dwyer (HB from Georgia Tech)
He had nearly 1400 yards in Paul Johnson's triple option offense as a sophomore and there's no reason on why he cannot improve upon that.
GAMES TO WATCH
1. ACC Title Game (December 5th in Tampa)
2. Virginia Tech v. Alabama (September 5th in Atlanta)
3. Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech (October 17th)
4. Miami @ Florida St. (September 7th)
5. Georgia @ Georgia Tech (November 28th)
BIG TEN
Say what you want about the Big Ten (slow-paced conference, cannot win the big game, hard to adapt to change, etc...) but they have put two teams in BCS games over the last three years while Ohio State was the only constant from all three years and the other three teams (Michigan in 2006, Illinois in 2007, and Penn State in 2008) got their butts handed by USC in the Rose Bowl. I believe that Ohio State will finally make the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997, but that might not stop another team from possibly traveling to Pasadena, as Penn State has a good team and favorable schedule to possibly go the National Championship Game held there. Now, if that is not the case, then the Rose Bowl will do. However, wouldn't we like to see an 83-year old Joe Paterno win a national title, in this day and age where the norms of tweeting on Twitter, updating Facebook statuses, or sending messages on Myspace don't apply to him?
Conference Ranking: 4th out of 11
1. Penn State Nittany Lions
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Minnesota Golden Gophers
4. Illinois Fighting Illini
5. Michigan State Spartans
6. Iowa Hawkeyes
7. Michigan Wolverines
8. Wisconsin Badgers
9. Northwestern Wildcats
10. Indiana Hoosiers
11. Purdue Boilermakers
10+ WIN TEAMS
Ohio St.
Penn St.
BOWL TEAMS
Illinois
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan St.
Minnesota
Ohio St.
Penn St.
Wisconsin
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Eric Decker (WR from Minnesota)
Who says that the Big Ten is only "three yards and a cloud of dust"? He had over 80 receptions and 1000 receiving yards last year, and he can do it again if the switch from the indoor Metrodome to the outdoor TCF Bank Stadium doesn't affect him during those cold Minnesota days.
GAMES TO WATCH
1. USC @ Ohio St. (September 12th)
2. Ohio St. @ Penn St. (November 7th)
3. Illinois v. Missouri (September 5th in St. Louis)
4. Ohio St. @ Michigan (November 21st)
5. Notre Dame @ Michigan (September 12th)
BIG 12
If you love high-scoring affairs with also a style of play that can only be duplicated in a game of NCAA Football, then this is the conference for you! Over the past couple of years, the Big 12 has seen an offensive explosion that made players like Vince Young, Roy Williams (Texas), any Texas Tech QB, Vernand Morency, Adrian Peterson, Brad Smith flourish into stardom but all of that was eclipsed in 2008. If not for Tim Tebow, the Heisman race could have consisted of only Big 12 QB's as Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Graham Harrell, Chase Daniel, and Todd Reesing were all worthy of recognition along with Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin. The motto was simple last year: "First to hang half-a-hundred on your opponent wins the game", and Oklahoma took that heart by hanging 60 points five games in a row against Nebraska, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Missouri, while scoring ONLY 58 against Kansas State in the game before the streak. Oklahoma will be the team to beat again in the South Division and the whole conference as they will be looking for their fourth straight Big 12 title, but Texas still looms despite losing some key targets and Oklahoma State will most definitely be a darkhorse. The departure of Daniel and Maclin means that Missouri's days of ruling the North might be over meaning Kansas could be the favorite after stumbling a little in 2008, and Nebraska has an outside shot with mentality to make the defense like the "Blackshirts" of old.
Conference Rank: 2nd out of 11
NORTH
1. Kansas Jayhawks
2. Nebraska Cornhuskers
3. Missouri Tigers
4. Colorado Buffaloes
5. Kansas State Wildcats
6. Iowa State Cyclones
SOUTH
1. Oklahoma Sooners
2. Oklahoma State Cowboys
3. Texas Longhorns
4. Texas Tech Red Raiders
5. Texas A&M Aggies
6. Baylor Bears
BIG 12 TITLE GAME
Oklahoma d. Kansas
10+ WIN TEAMS
Oklahoma
Oklahoma St.
Texas
BOWL TEAMS
Colorado
Kansas
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma St.
Texas
Texas Tech
PLAYER OF THE YEAR (other than Bradford or McCoy)
Todd Reesing (QB from Kansas)
You like how I threw in that disclaimer, don't you? Reesing was great in 2007, but without the heavy press coverage like his counterparts in the other division, he won't have a lot of pressure to succeed like them along with an easier time.
GAMES TO WATCH
1. Oklahoma v. Texas (October 17 in Dallas)
2. Big 12 Title Game (December 5th in Arlington)
3. Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma (November 28th)
4. Missouri v. Kansas (November 28th in Kansas City)
5. Georgia @ Oklahoma State (September 5th)
BIG EAST
If you ask anyone that knows the Big East about the national appeal that it has now as compared to five years ago, you can figure out on why it actually shouldn't be a BCS conference (or at least one that can be taken off the board if a non-BCS conference champ does better than theirs). Miami and Virginia Tech left in 2004, Connecticut arrived in 2004 just shortly after joining the 1-A, Boston College left in 2005, Temple was booted that year in favor to keep Rutgers, while the conference extended invites to Louisville (a great non-BCS team), Cincinnati (a decent one), and South Florida (an upstart). The result was that there's been only one consistent and respectable team that can beat anyone from any conference, which is West Virginia. The Mountaineers are poised to win the Big East for the third time in five years, thanks to Noel Devine and Jarrett Brown. Look for South Florida to also make noise to behind Matt Groethe and George Selvie, as their willingness to play with the big boys and their meteoric rise over the last 15 years from no team to good contender is amazing.
Conference Rank: 7th out of 11
1. West Virginia Mountaineers
2. South Florida Bulls
3. Cincinnati Bearcats
4. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
5. Pittsburgh Panthers
6. Louisville Cardinals
7. Connecticut Huskies
8. Syracuse Orange
10+ WIN TEAMS
West Virginia
BOWL TEAMS
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
South Florida
West Virginia
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
George Selvie (DE from USF)
The NCAA's most feared defender lies here in USF, and he looks poised to terrorize offensive linemen, running backs, and quarterbacks.
GAMES TO WATCH
1. West Virginia @ South Florida (October 30)
2. West Virginia @ Auburn (September 19)
3. South Florida @ Florida State (September 26)
4. Miami @ South Florida (November 28)
5. Cincinnati @ Oregon St. (September 19)
PAC-10
When the vote was passed to add in a 12th game to the NCAA schedule in 2006, teams either went the extra mile to schedule a hard opponent and national power OR they scheduled a cupcake team from some directional school that you may have never heard of. That was not the case in the Pacific 10 Conference, where they added an extra conference game, therefore allowing every team to play everyone every year. You also gotta like the different regional rivalries that the conference has so that the regions of Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Southern California, and Arizona can have bragging rights at the last week of the year. However, the conference's bragging rights have gone to USC for this decade as they are the favorites to win again this year too. For those of you that think that USC will dominate, think again, because the margin of error will be closer this year than in previous years, so expect Oregon, California, and Oregon State to challenge just in case the inevitable may happen, but at the end of the day, expect USC to be at the Rose Bowl, possibly beating the hell out of an unsuspecting Big Ten team.
Conference Rank: 3rd out of 11
1. USC Trojans
2. Oregon Ducks
3. California Golden Bears
4. Oregon State Beavers
5. Arizona Wildcats
6. Stanford Cardinal
7. UCLA Bruins
8. Arizona State Sun Devils
9. Washington Huskies
10. Washington State Cougars
10+ WIN TEAMS
USC
BOWL TEAMS
Arizona
California
Oregon
Oregon St.
USC
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jahvid Best (RB from Cal)
People are comparing him to Reggie Bush, and after running for nearly 1600 yards while averaging over eight yards a carry, you can see why he's the front-runner for this honor (another was running for 311 against Washington)
GAMES TO WATCH
USC @ Ohio St. (September 12)
Oregon @ Boise St. (September 3)
Oregon St. @ USC (October 24)
USC @ Notre Dame (October 17)
Washington St. @ Washington (November 28...don't laugh, both teams can be winless by then, lol)
SEC
The Southeastern Conference has been very consistent this decade as the toughest conference to win in. No games are actually gimmes (just ask Florida when they lost to Ole Miss last year), every team is tough (yes, even Vanderbilt who was ranked and won a bowl game last year), and the fan bases are just phenomenal. The past three national champions reside here thanks to the 2006 & 2008 Florida Gators, and the 2007 LSU Tigers. This year, Florida should cakewalk to the Eastern Division title as Georgia's rebuilding and they are really, really irate at Tennessee and South Carolina (well, just only "The 'Ol Ballcoach"). The Western Division will be tough as always as LSU, Ole Miss, and Alabama will battle for the crown, but watch out for Arkansas as a darkhorse team.
Conference Rank: 1st out of 11
EAST
1. Florida Gators
2. South Carolina Gamecocks
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. Kentucky Wildcats
5. Vanderbilt Commodores
6. Tennessee Volunteers
WEST
1. Mississippi Rebels
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
3. LSU Tigers
4. Arkansas Razorbacks
5. Auburn Tigers
6. Mississippi State Bulldogs
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Ole Miss d. Florida
10+ WIN TEAMS
Alabama
Florida
LSU
Ole Miss
BOWL TEAMS
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Ole Miss
South Carolina
PLAYER OF THE YEAR (other than Tebow)
Jevan Snead (QB from Ole Miss)
This guy is the best PURE QB in the SEC, and you can understand why South Carolina voted for him as best QB (well maybe), Ole Miss better be counting their blessings after he was passed over at his last university for another Heisman caliber QB...Colt McCoy of Texas.
GAMES TO WATCH
SEC Championship Game (December 5 in Atlanta)
Florida @ LSU (October 10)
Tennessee @ Florida (September 19)
Virginia Tech v. Alabama (September 5 in Atlanta)
LSU @ Ole Miss (November 21)
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