The Bizniz, Volume 2, Issue 10 ARCHIVE

9/5/07

School started this week for me which means college football season is upon us. I freaking love college football. This year should be a lot of fun to watch, with a number of phenomenal players and teams. I give you my preseason top-10, major bowl predictions, Heisman hopefuls, and players and storylines to watch. Let's take a look.

Preseason Top-10 with Record (Returning Starters Off/Def; Key Games)

1.) USC 12-0 (6/10; @ Cal, @ ASU, UCLA)
2.) Virginia Tech 11-1 (8/8; @ LSU, Florida State, Miami)
3.) LSU 11-1 (6/8, Florida; @ Alabama, Arkansas)
4.) Oklahoma 10-2 (9/6; Miami, Texas, Texas A&M)
5.) Texas 10-2 (6/6; TCU, Oklahoma, @ Texas A&M)
6.) Wisconsin 10-2 (9/7; @ Penn State, @ Ohio State,Michigan)
7.) Michigan 10-2 (6/4; Notre Dame, @ Wisconsin, Ohio State)
8.) Florida 10-2 (6/3; Tennessee, @ LSU, @ South Carolina)
9.) West Virginia 11-1 (7/8; @ South Florida, @ Rutgers, Louisville)
10.) Louisville 11-1(7/5; @ West Virginia, @ South Florida, Rutgers)

USC is absolutely loaded on both sides of the ball. Pete Carroll has said that this year's squad boasts the best defense he's had at SC. 10 starters return on D, including playmakers like Lawrence Jackson, Rey Maualuga, and Keith Rivers. With Heisman candidate John David Booty leading the offense, and with a plethora of dynamic skill position guys, the Trojans will be almost impossible to beat. I really like Va Tech this year. They'll have a lot to play for emotionally each week, in light of the horrible events of April 16^th. Beyond that, they have a load of talent offensively and, as is always the case, defensively. Their LB corps are second only to USC. Everyone loves LSU and it's easy to see why. They bring back a ton of talent. They did lose JaMarcus Russell (maybe he can go back if he's never going to sign...), and both key wideouts, first rounders Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis. Oklahoma must bounce back from their Fiesta Bowl melt-down. They lose Adrian Petersen, which is huge. But they were 8-0 without him last year. Bob Stoops recruits as well as anyone and always has his dudes ready. Texas will be as good as Colt McCoy can make them, which is likely great. The frosh dynamo was amazing, but then so too was Rudy Carpenter of ASU, who had a big-time sophomore slide. McCoy's the genuine article and the 'Horns should be as well. Wisconsin benefited greatly from a soft schedule last year. Not so much this time around. Ohio State and Michigan in consecutive weeks...yikes. But P.J. Hill is money at RB and they have 16 returning starters. Michigan lost everyone, well...not quite everyone. They bring back QB Chad Henne and RB Mike Hart, who should both be outstanding, as should WR Mario Manningham. The D has big-time questions, though. Florida, too lost a ton of talent. Urban Meyer keeps restocking the cupboard, though. Tim Tebow gets his chance as the number one guy under center. Like Big Blue, the Gators must find some defensive playmakers. Rich Rodriguez spurned Alabama to stay at his alma mater West Virginia. He's got the dynamic duo of QB Pat White and RB Steve Slaton, a thought that surely keeps Big East D coordinators up at night. Louisville got Brian Brohm to come back to school, but lost key pieces on both sides of the ball. The Mountaineers and the Cardinals both are good, but not great teams, and their soft Big East schedules may cost them in the end.

Heisman Watch (in predicted order of finish)

John David Booty, Darren McFadden, Steve Slaton,
Colt Brennan, Ian Johnson, Brian Brohm.

Everyone loves Darren McFadden here, and he is out of this world, no question about it. I had him as my pick last year (at the end of the season, go back and check.) But J.D. Booty should put up 3,500 yards and 30+ touchdown-type numbers on a possibly undefeated team. The Hogs should lose 2 or 3, which will hurt McFadden. Again, the dude is as electric a player as we've seen in college. He'll be right there. Steve Slaton's sick, he'll be around 1,800+ yards/15+ scores on the ground, as will Ian Johnson in that video game Boise State offense. Speaking of video game O's, who knows what Brennan will do for an encore. What, 7,000 yards and 75 td's? Brian Brohm should put up big numbers as a prelude to being a top-5 pick next year.

Major Bowl Predictions

Rose-Michigan vs. Oklahoma
Sugar-Florida vs. Virginia Tech
Fiesta-Texas vs. Louisville
Orange-West Virginia vs. Wisconsin

BCS Title Game-USC vs. LSU

Interestingly, I had this same match-up in the BCS Title Game last year. I'll say LSU beats Va Tech at home and thus maintains an edge all season in the BCS algorithm, and thus wins a spot in this game. The Bayou Bengals should be firing on all cylinders at this point, coming off an SEC Championship win over Florida. But USC is just too good. The only way I see the Trojans losing at all is if they are stricken with injuries or overconfidence. The scary thing is, even with those factors USC is so deep they'd likely just plug someone else in. Pete Carroll has built a true dynasty in the City of Angels. And as a big Pac-10 guy, and someone who is consistently aggravated by the very real "East Coat bias", I love to see a West Coast team get recognized nationally. Looks like another year of "V for Victory".

One other college football note. Why in the hell are there two wack, no-name bowl games after New Year's? The International Bowl will be January 5 and the GMAC Bowl is Jan. 6. What a travesty to have any bowl game after January 1 not called Fiesta, Sugar, Rose, Orange, or the BCS Title Game. SI predicts matchups of Middle Tennessee vs. Ohio in the Internat'l, and Toledo vs. Tulsa in the GMAC. That says it all. How dare college football present such second rate forgeries of bowl games at all, especially after the once hallowed New Year's Day. Ridiculous. And they say college football has no profit motive...