All the rest of the previews

I can't avoid it any longer, so here's the rest of my conference previews:

ACC

have you ever wondered how you can keep straight who's in the "atlantic" division and who's in the "coastal" division? I mean, in the case of the eastern seaboard, those two words basically mean the same thing. that's like the SEC's divisions being named "Confederate" and "Dixie." there's no real rhyme or reason to it either. some natural rivalries were maintained, others were not. but for the record, it's like this:

atlantic - boston college, clemson, florida state, maryland, nc state, wake forest
coastal - duke, georgia tech, miami, north carolina, virginia, va tech

with me preseason ranking them at #4, i'm clearly predicting big things out of va tech. but this is really a feast or famine prediction for me, i could easily see 12-1 or 8-5 out of them. florida state should be better now with a new (significantly better) offensive coordinator. i don't see a huge leap over their 7-6 record of last season, though their schedule is favorable. less than 9 wins would be a disappointment. georgia tech will be better without easily the worst 4-year starting qb in the history of the universe, but worse off without the very gifted calvin johnson. i don't see a repeat appearance in the conference title game for either them or wake forest. i actually don't even see a winning record for wake forest. how did they even make the orange bowl last year? WAKE FOREST?? i'm done talking about this conference...

SEC
we are truly talking about conference strength here. obviously they have top recruiting classes every year, but what i think really sets the sec apart from the rest is this: think of how many of their coaches you can name just right off the top of your head: urban meyer, nick saban, steve spurrier, phillip fulmer. those are just the ones that won national titles recently. you've also got tommy tuberville, mark richt, and of course don't you forget their first (and only) black coach, sylvester croom. who says integration doesn't work in the South? anyway, as for the teams, i think lsu should take the west, and fairly easily. arkansas will be good and probably make the cotton bowl, but only because of darren mcfadden, who will then be a lock top 5 pick in the nfl draft next year, and then houston nutt will cry himself to sleep every night. the east will be strong as always. expect good bowl appearances from florida, georgia, tennessee, south carolina, and probably kentucky. kentucky also probably has the conference's best qb in andre woodson. this isn't actually saying all that much though, if you think about it, because the SEC is not exactly known for QB production. if i had to pick one team to win the east i'd have to go with florida, who i'd suspect would also beat lsu in the conference title game. but they'll still probably have 2 losses and thus not play for a national title because michigan didn't lose 2 games to the likes of indiana, northwestern, purdue, etc. just for the record, if michigan or ohio state played in the sec, they'd consistently lose 3 or 4 conference games every season. i will never back down from this statement.

Big 10
speaking of poop, the big 11 will be same as it always was, michigan and ohio state strong, somebody else (this year, wisconsin) fairly strong, and the media over-rating all three. the other 8 will be fully lousy but still half will make bowls because they play for what is undoubtedly the strongest conference in college football, nay, all of organized football, in all parts of this and every other planet in the solar system. let us bow to their greatness.

Pac 10
back to conferences that can count, thanks to usc's dominance over the past 5+ years, the pac 10 is experiencing an overall conference strengthening in recruiting not unlike what florida state did for the acc back in the middle late 90's. this is still usc's conference to lose though. i'm actually having a difficult time seeing them lose at all in the regular season. the game at cal is a possibility, but even if they were to lose that, it's still very possible that cal would lose 2 conference games, meaning the trojans would likely still win the conference and have a decent shot at a national championship. cal will probably finish 2nd or 3rd, depending on how well oregon state can build on their very good season last year. ucla should improve over last year with an amazing 22 of 24 starters returning. mike stoops is doing really good things at arizona and dennis erickson has a way of turning programs around quickly, so don't be surprised if the sun devils are half-decent too. oregon will probably decline a bit, stanford is still pitiful. i'm probably forgetting some other teams but whatever let's move on, i've still got more to type.

MWC
byu is the defending champ but will slide back a little without star QB john beck. still, they will be strong, and should push tcu for the conference title. i'll give a slight edge to the frogs based on their consistently strong defense. tcu is also one to keep an eye on for the annual "who's gonna bust the cartel of greedy conferences" discussion if they can shock texas. think it's impossible (limeade)? how about this tasty lick? will i write anything about the other teams? no i will not.

Temple
they are terrible. it's sad face time for bill cosby. or maybe it's jell-o pudding pop face time, who really knows? they started 22 different true freshman last year, which is an astoundingly high number. being in the MAC probably helps them so they can share in bowl money from other teams like miami of ohio and bowling green, since temple themselves will not be going to any sort of bowl, of questionable sponsorship or otherwise, anytime within the next 45 years.

WAC
ah what the heck, i'll give you a bonus preview. there's a lot of buzz about hawaii's chances of going undefeated this season, and i've gotta agree they have a good chance. i think their only real loseable game will be vs. boise state, and i think they will lose that game. speaking of the broncos, i'm betting they'll be quite a bit better than the pollsters in general are saying. i like them to win the wac, although not to reach a BCS bowl again. no big deal though, they'll always have this:



done and done

Conference Preview: Big XII

Back when the Big 12 was formed in 1994, I remember there being a hot fuss over their "pretentious use of roman numerals." I didn't know people cared that much about letters but I could sort of see their point. After all, they weren't the first of the modern super conferences, nor the first to hold an annual conference championship game (SEC). While I don't think the Big XII has ever been quite as big as it's hype, it has been home to some good football over the years. Back when it was first formed, the Huskguys were pushing people around and winning national titles. Colorado and Kansas State had pretty dominant teams, and even Iowa State and Missouri were above average. The North was clearly the stronger division for the first few years, but the balance of power began to shift toward the South in 2000 when Oklahoma was on it's way to a national title.

Here is my preview for the 2007 season, by division:

North - Braskypants is the strongest team in here. They are defending division champion and return plenty of starters. This is really their division to lose. Bill Callahan has done a pretty decent job installing the west coast offense as well as bringing back a semblance of the old black-shirt defensive toughness, which clearly they had lacked. I'd say that none of the other teams have more than an outside shot at dethroning them. I'll give Colorado a fair chance in a couple of years once Dan Hawkins has more of his own players in, but in the meantime, they will continue to suck. Iowa State, Missouri, and Kansas State will all hover at or slightly above the .500 mark. They all have decent players, so any one of them has the capability to rise up and knock off a ranked team, like the Wildcats did to Texas last year. Between these teams and Colorado, 2 of those 4 will make various bowls of dubious sponsorship. I'd throw Kansas in this same group except that Mark Mangino (sorry, no link here, this is a family blog) seems to have it a little more together over there. The next step for them should be a second place finish in the division this year and a berth in the Holiday Bowl. This would actually be a fairly major accomplishment for what is certainly more of a basketball school.

South - Oklahoma needs to find a capable replacement at QB. They haven't really had a good one since Heisman winner Jason White, who was not even drafted. Still, I will give them a slight edge over Texas (which, for the record, is not a true Southern state), as I think their coach and defense are better, and, for no reason whatsoever, I'll predict that Colt McCoy experiences a sophomore slump. Texas Tech should finish 3rd; their offense can just outscore enough of the opposition. Oklahoma State is decent, and could make a bowl. Baylor is still Baylor and is going nowhere. A&M is a trendy sleeper pick. I could actually see this happening, given their senior-laden O-line and the brick house that is Jorvorski Lane at RB. However, their QB and defensive play will probably be a little shaky, and their schedule is brutal. Honestly they could finish anywhere from 1st to 6th. I'll say Battery Acid Bowl.

Conference Preview: The Big East

Following the 2003 season, recruiting powerhouses Miami and Virginia Tech departed for the greener pastures of the ACC. Left with such football giants as Rutgers and Temple, the Big East quickly became a punchline in college football. Their 2004 conference champion (Pittsburgh) was thoroughly beaten like a red-headed stepchild in the Fiesta Bowl by a Mountain West school (Utah). Many people, myself included, called for the revocation of the Big East's BCS bowl rights. The conference also began to take on unfavorable nicknames, such as Big Least, Big Easy, and Big Feces Pile. These were dire straits for commissioner/mongoloid Mike Tranghese.

But since that debacle in Arizona, the Big East has done a fair job at resurrecting, as a pigeon rising from the ashes. Louisville joined the conference in 2005. The next year, they jettisoned Temple. So now the Big East reminds me more of a very cliched reference to a Clint Eastwood movie.

The Good: West Virginia, Louisville, Rutgers (Rutgers!), South Florida

West Virginia should be the favorites this year. They wisely gave coach Rich Rodriguez a contract extension so he wouldn't take the Falcons job (and Rich should be thanking God everyday he avoided that bullet). The Mountaineers return Heisman hopefuls Pat White at QB and Steve Slaton at tailback, and 7 starters on an above-average defensive unit.

However, the gap between West Virginia and the other 3 is not really all that large. Louisville made it's first ever BCS bowl last year and has established itself as a legitimate contender. Greg Schiano has basically worked miracles up in Piscataway. This is Rutgers we're talking about, people! Buttgers! They return a lot of starters too, including another Heisman hopeful at RB, Ray Rice. South Florida is a team that still seems to be sneaking up on people but shouldn't be anymore this year. They beat West Virginia on the road last year and won 9 games, including their first bowl game victory in their program's short 10-year history. Their coach, Jim Leavitt, is also really good.

The Bad: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Pittsburgh

I don't really have a whole lot to say about these guys. They suck, but at least one of them will manage a 6-6 record and make the Old Tires Bowl.

The Ugly: Syracuse

Paul Pasqualoni wasn't such a bad coach after all, was he Orange fans? He won 107 games from 1991 to 2004. However, many point to his inability to recruit Michael Vick as the crucial point leading to this program's downfall. Either way, it's sad face time for Mike Tirico. This team is truly awful. Things can only get better in 2007.