2010 College Football Preview

No need for a lengthy intro. It's GAMEDAY! I hope to have a top 15 games of the week post up by tomorrow (though I have already made picks for all the Thursday games, just not posted them here).

Atlantic
1. Clemson
2. Florida State
3. Boston College
4. NC State
5. Wake Forest
6. Maryland

Coastal
1. Virginia Tech
2. Georgia Tech
3. Miami (FL)
4. North Carolina
5. Duke
6. Virginia

THOUGHTS: Virginia Tech clearly the class of this conference, should finish around 10-2...Georgia Tech will be solid once again, despite the loss of playmaker Jonathan Dwyer...Miami (FL) could be the sleeper to upset both VT and GT at the top...Not sold on either UNC or FSU. Maybe they'll prove me wrong...Clemson lost C.J. Spiller but should be solid enough to capture the Atlantic...NC State gets back into a bowl game with QB Russell Wilson returning from injury

ACC Champion: Virginia Tech


North
1. Nebraska
2. Missouri
3. Iowa State
4. Kansas
5. Kansas State
6. Colorado

South
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas A+M
4. Texas Tech
5. Oklahoma State
6. Baylor

THOUGHTS: Nebraska goes perfect in Big 12 play with only regular season loss coming at Washington...Dan Hawkins doesn't survive this season at Colorado as they hire a new coach for their impending move to the Pac-10...Texas beats Oklahoma but falls to Nebraska the next week...Oklahoma loses to Texas again, all but ending their title hopes...Texas A+M may not win the division but will challenge for it with some close games against the big boys...Baylor gets bowl eligible, thanks to return of QB Robert Griffin

Big 12 Champion: Nebraska


1. Pittsburgh
2. West Virginia
3. Connecticut
4. Cincinnati
5. Rutgers
6. South Florida
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse

THOUGHTS: Pittsburgh wins at least 10 games despite a tough non-conference schedule that includes Utah, Notre Dame and Miami (FL)...Connecticut lost all 5 games last year by a combined 15 points. I expect the same this year but they win a couple of those close ones...Slight drop off from Cincy but not because of Brian Kelly. Just because of losses on offense such as Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard...Louisville will improve under Charlie Strong, just maybe not in the win column this season.

Big East Champion: Pittsburgh


1. Ohio State
2. Iowa
3. Wisconsin
4. Penn State
5. Michigan State
6. Northwestern
7. Purdue
8. Michigan
9. Illinois
10. Indiana
11. Minnesota

THOUGHTS: Ohio State runs the table despite road games at Iowa and Wisconsin...Iowa finishes with the one loss thanks to a stout defense...Penn State struggles but finishes with 9 wins to send off Joe Pa in style with a New Years Day bowl game...Northwestern continues their great play under Pat Fitzgerald, who bolts for better job after the season...Michigan has the potential for 8 wins but falls short and only wins 5, meaning no bowl game and no 2011 for Rich Rod in Ann Arbor...Ron Zook also doesn't return to the Big Ten sidelines after falling short of a bowl game.

Big Ten Champion: Ohio State


1. Oregon
2. Oregon State
3. Washington
4. USC
5. Stanford
6. Arizona
7. UCLA
8. California
9. Arizona State
10. Washington State

THOUGHTS: Oregon wins Pac-10 without Jeremiah Masoli, but will trip up at least twice in the conference...Oregon State finishes in the top 3 of the conference again as Mike Riley keeps the good mojo going in Corvallis...Washington improves mightily with Jake Locker back under center...USC gets to 9 wins despite playing for nothing...I may be selling Stanford short, who could win this conference if their defense can maybe not stop, but at least contain some of these offenses...Washington State wins one game, giving coach Bill Wulff 4 wins in 3 years. That's not good.

Pac-10 Champion: Oregon


East
1. Florida
2. South Carolina
3. Georgia
4. Tennessee
5. Kentucky
6. Vanderbilt

West
1. Alabama
2. Arkansas
3. LSU
4. Auburn
5. Mississippi State
6. Ole Miss

THOUGHTS: Florida trips up against Alabama but Alabama trips up at South Carolina the week after...South Carolina finally wins 9 games under Steve Spurrier, thanks to an improved offense...Georgia improves on offense but defense struggles as they learn just how hard it can be to master the 3-4 defense in one season...Arkansas lives and dies by the arm of Ryan Mallett. Their defense can't stop teams from scoring less than 28 points though...LSU gets to 9 wins, but that won't be enough for Les Miles, who gets the boot but lands somewhere else (Michigan?)...Tennessee has a mediocre year as they play under their third coach in as many years.

SEC Champion: Alabama


1. TCU
2. Utah
3. BYU
4. Air Force
5. San Diego State
6. Wyoming
7. Colorado State
8. UNLV
9. New Mexico

THOUGHTS: TCU finishes at 11-1, leaving them out of a BCS bowl and any national championship talk.

Mountain West Champion: TCU


1. Boise State
2. Nevada
3. Fresno State
4. Idaho
5. Louisiana Tech
6. Hawaii
7. Utah State
8. San Jose State
9. New Mexico State

THOUGHTS: Boise State runs the table, waits on the final Saturday to see how Championship Week turns out to see if their 12-0 season is enough to make it to the National Title game

WAC Champion: Boise State


East
1. Ohio
2. Temple
3. Kent State
4. Buffalo
5. Bowling Green
6. Akron
7. Miami (OH)

West
1. Northern Illinois
2. Central Michigan
3. Western Michigan
4. Toledo
5. Ball State
6. Eastern Michigan

THOUGHTS: Ohio wins 10 games en route to the East division championship...Northern Illinois prevails in the West, despite a strong challenge from a Dan Lefevour-less Central Michigan

MAC Champion: Ohio


East
1. Southern Miss
2. Central Florida
3. Marshall
4. East Carolina
5. Memphis
6. UAB

West
1. Houston
2. SMU
3. UTEP
4. Tulsa
5. Rice
6. Tulane

Conference USA Champion: Houston

1. Middle Tennessee State
2. Troy
3. Arkansas State
4. UL-Monroe
5. Florida Atlantic
6. Louisiana
7. Florida International
8. North Texas
9. Western Kentucky

Sun Belt Champion: Middle Tennessee State

Independents
Navy: 9-3
Notre Dame: 8-4

FEARLESS PREDICTIONS:
Heisman Trophy: Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State
National Champion: Ohio State over Boise State