Picture courtesy of USA Today
With college football finally kicking off tonight and the long suffering of the Charlie Weis Era coming to an end for this fan I figured I would give you some predictions.
BCS TITLE GAME: Florida vs. Ohio State
Let's face it the BCS Title game doesn't exist without a SEC team in it. I don't think Florida is going to go undefeated but I think they have the most talent in the country while also being led by one of the elite coaches in Urban Meyer. Some people expect them to falter now that God, I mean Tim Tebow, is off to the NFL. I'm not one of them. John Brantley will step in and do an excellent job and I actually expect them to put more points on the board. Their defense will be nasty with probably the nation's best defensive line and secondary. I can see them slipping up on a trip to Alabama on October 2nd but I think after that they will run the table and beat either Bama or Auburn in the SEC Championship. The Buckeyes have the best offense and defense in the Big Ten. Sorry Hawkeyes fans. They are also due for a breakout season from Terrelle Pryor. They have tough road games with Wisconsin and Iowa but other than that the schedule is manageable with Miami, Penn State, and Michigan all coming to Columbus. As much as I don't want to see the Buckeyes in the title game over an undefeated Boise State the pollsters and computers will get them there because of the BCS affiliation of the Big Ten.
ROSE BOWL: Iowa vs. Stanford
The Hawkeyes lose only one game all year and a chance to play in the BCS Title game with a narrow defeat at home to Ohio State in late November. They travel to Pasadena to face a Stanford Cardinal team that has shocked the nation all season. Andrew Luck will have a Heisman worthy season and Jim Harbaugh will get coach of the year nods.
ORANGE BOWL: Miami vs. Notre Dame
The old "Catholics vs Convicts" rivalry. This is another huge reach since I have my doubts either one of these teams is really elite. Miami could start off 1-3 and still make the Orange Bowl. They have road games with Ohio State(loss), Pittsburgh(75% chance of winning), and Clemson(60%) to start off the season. Wow that is rough. Jacory Harris will be sporadic at best but the Canes will ride an experienced defense to win the ACC. Notre Dame will lose at least two games(my guess is Michigan State/Stanford and USC) but under Brian Kelly they will have an explosive offense that will keep voters voting for them in the human polls. And with the economy the way it is there is no way the Orange Bowl passes on a sure fire sellout and the television ratings a Notre Dame program would bring to Miami.
FIESTA BOWL: Boise State vs. Nebraska
Boise State goes undefeated but gets passed over by a one loss SEC team. Sucks but it's going to happen. The smurfs beat the bag out of Virginia Tech to start the season but then struggle to beat Nevada at the end of the year and thus lose some key votes. Nebraska benefits from Texas being down this year and Oklahoma not showing up in the Big 12 title game to win the conference in their last season. This will be one of the more entertaining matchups.
SUGAR BOWL: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Both Bama and Oklahoma lose in their conference championship game with a chance to reach the BCS Title game. If this game does happen I would expect nothing less than a Bama blowout.
HEISMAN TROPHY: Andrew Luck, Stanford
Luck edges out Terrelle Pryor in an extremely close vote.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Losingham and Weis both won the honor their first seasons under the Golden Dome, why not Kelly?
LOMBARDI AWARD (TOP COLLEGE LINEMAN): Adrian Clayborn, Iowa
DOAK WALKER AWARD (BEST RUNNINGBACK): DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma
BILETNIKOFF AWARD (BEST RECEIVER): A.J. Green, UGA
MACKEY AWARD (BEST TIGHT END): Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame
BUTKUS AWARD (TOP LINEBACKER): Greg Jones, Michigan State
THORPE AWARD (BEST DEFENSIVE BACK): Patrick Peterson, LSU
NATIONAL CHAMPION: Florida Gators
There is no way I can take a Big Ten team over a SEC team in the championship. I may be dumb but I'm not that dumb.
And oh yeah, the DickRod experiment ends in Ann Arbor after a 5-7 season. John Harbaugh will be the leading candidate to replace Rodriguez but he declines. The second candidate will be Les Miles but he will also decline it. They wind up with Chris Petersen from Boise State. Great consolation prize if you ask me.