1

Clemson

If I had an equally intriguing choice at the top spot, I would take it. However, the ACC is so thin that I have to go with the erratic Clemson Tigers in this division. They are a dangerous team, but too often that is only to themselves. But for the particularly daring prognosticator, I also think they might make a nice sleeper pick for an appearance in the big game in Miami.

2

Wake Forest

I'm still high on Jim Grobe and I expect he will continue to put together solid teams for years to come. I'm surprised nobody has given him a job at a bigger school, though his grind-it-out style probably doesn't interest the bulk of the potential suitors.

3

Boston College

A steady performer every year that can be relied upon to get bowl eligible. The loss of their starting quarterback won't help them, but the weakness of the rest of the division will keep them floating near the top.

4t

Maryland

Do you remember when Maryland was supposed to challenge Florida State for ACC dominance?

4t

Florida State

Do you remember when Florida State was dominant?

6

North Carolina State

Tom O'Brien should have stayed in Boston. It would be one thing if he had taken a bigger job, but this was really just a lateral move to a team that recruits about the same level of athlete. And now he doesn't even have the weather advantage over the other teams in the last month of the season.

1

Virginia Tech

The Hokies invented erratic, Clemson is just trying to fit in with the popular crowd. Virginia Tech's quarterback situation is a mess, since Frank Beamer has a choice between two bad options. But during their rise to prominence, the Hokies have only had one truly noteworthy quarterback (Michael Vick), so a problem at that position shouldn't hurt them too much.

2

Virginia

Al Groh just keeps hanging around. But that seems to be the best that can be expected at Virginia. They are one of those schools that seems like they should have a better football program. Fortunately for all involved, the ACC will help both the Cavaliers and Al Groh look good this year.

3

Miami

Randy Shannon is in a race against time. He needs to get the Hurricanes back up to the top level before people start questioning his ability to get them there. Unfortunately, the weight of expectation is going to be pressing on him more and more every year. I think the expectations are so heavy that they are going to crush him even if he has some success.

4t

Georgia Tech

Whether or not the triple option can work at the highest level of college football, it is a very complex offense with a lot of nuances to learn, meaning that it will take time before the Yellow Jackets figure it out. Which also means that it's going to be a rough year.

4t

North Carolina

Even if Butch Davis can bring North Carolina back to respectability, they are still a long way from there right now. It's going to be hard to keep Tarheel minds off of basketball this fall. Moreso.

6

Duke

I dare you to name a Duke football player.

1

Missouri

The best team available in the North and the only real threat to teams in the South. I remember Gary Pinkel from his days at Toledo and I'm fully expecting him to continue to do good things at Missouri. Actually, I was surprised at how long it took him to finally piece everything together in the Show-Me State.

2

Kansas

Their losses were greater than those of Missouri, so I think they will have a tougher time of it. However, they are still dangerous, so the other teams' wariness when approaching the Jayhawks is well-founded.

3t

Colorado

Look, I'm not all that sold on Colorado, but there ain't a whole lot of options in the Big XII North. I think they will end up in third place in the division, but I doubt they will do a whole lot to make anybody happy about it.

3t

Nebraska

Bo Pelini is in an odd position. I think there is an expectation that he will bring back old-style, hard-nosed Nebraska football, but football has changed since Tom Osbourne -- or even Frank Solich -- was there coaching old-style, hard-nosed Nebraska football. Pelini doesn't have the personnel to run the old-style option, he doesn't have the personnel to run the new-style spread option, and his team isn't all that great at running the standard spread they were specifically recruited for. Oh, and the defense is terrible. But he's not Bill Callahan, so there is a ray of hope.

5

Kansas State

Talking about how your team is not afraid of anybody, then backing out of a game with Fresno State is not the way to fire up the troops and get them ready to bust some heads. I don't care how impressive Fresno State has been, there is no way you should be scared of Fresno State.

6

Iowa State

Last year, I questioned Gene Chizik's decision to take the head coaching job at Iowa State and I still question it. He was the most talked-about assistant coach in the country and everyone knew he was going to be moving up to a head coaching job very soon. He could have punched his ticket to a number of different schools, but he chose Iowa State. The Cyclones are practically invisible and they have a long tradition of being horrible at this sport. Even Dan McCarney, who led them to several good seasons, couldn't get another job offer. It's not the most promising spot to start a coaching career.

1

Oklahoma

It's hard to get genuinely excited about Oklahoma these days. Their last two bowl losses have left them seeming almost listless and unsure of what they want to do with themselves. I think they need a good non-conference series going to have something to get fired up about. But they don't start the Ohio State series until 2016, so I hope they have something else lined up in the meantime. But fired up or not, they are still the best team in the division and probably the entire conference.

2

Texas

Another team that could use a quality kick in the pants. They don't have any big non-conference games to get excited about following the Ohio State series, so I think they need a little something to get the blood flowing outside of more of the same. It's not as though they have a shortage of rivals, but they could use something unusual to get them moving. A home-and-home with Florida State comes to mind first, since Florida State could also use something to get excited about. But until then, they are a solid team this year with a quarterback who seems to get hurt a lot. So they may beat Oklahoma only to drop games against Texas Tech and Texas A&M.

3

Texas Tech

Everyone's favorite darkhorse in the Big XII, they are a team that many are saying is on the verge of a breakthrough. Unfortunately, they have shown a lot of problems on defense in the Mike Leach era, so I am not sold. Everybody is pointing to this year's team, which means that they have the attention of everybody on their schedule. That's an awful lot of attention for a school that does not have top-level talent across the board.

4t

Texas A&M

If Dennis Franchione would have just manned up and beat down his opponents between the tackles last year, Texas A&M could have had a much different season. Against Miami, they were playing an undersized defensive front seven... and they decided to run sweeps and a some sort of attempt at a spread-style passing game. Jorvorskie Lane, a 290-plus pound tailback with surprising speed for a man his size, got something like one carry for the game. If you are so incompetent as to waste such an advantage, you deserve to be fired. Oh, and this year's coaching staff will also waste their advantages on offense too, because coaches are now allergic to using a size advantage.

By the way, I had Texas A&M all alone in 4^th place, but then I read that Mike Sherman moved Jorvorskie Lane to fullback in order to run an I-formation offense with a pro-style passing game. He does not have the players to do this, A&M has never recruited the sort of players who could do this, and now the Aggies' best player has been relegated to the no-man's-land of the fullback position. This is just depressing, particularly for Lane, who I rather like.

4t

Oklahoma State

Not a bad team. Not quite a good one neither. But they do have Bedlam, baby! Bedlam!

6

Baylor

Do you really think this requires explanation?

1

West Virginia

Still the best team in the conference. The loss of Steve Slaton and Darius Renaud will sting, but the bigger loss of Owen Schmidt may be ameliorated by the fact that he was wildly underutilized. But if they can put together a genuine passing attack and both get Noel Devine loose and keep him healthy, then they have another season of making big waves on the national stage. The loss of Rich Rodriguez shouldn't hurt too badly -- at least not this year.

2

South Florida

The rise of the Bulls has been something of a surprise, though the glut of Florida talent shouldn't make it too surprising; particularly in a conference spread as thinly as the Big East. They return some quality players, they run a quality scheme and they have the talent to make some waves. But they are still a ways away from being a top-tier team nationally.

3

Connecticut

They play hard-nosed defense, which is the key to the growth of any program. You play defense well, you will always at least be in a position where you can win any game. Unfortunately, West Virginia tends to make a lot of defenses play very poorly, so they need to come up with an offense to get some hardware for the field house.

4

Cincinnati

A program that some would have struggled to name as a Division I-A or I-AA team ten years ago has turned it around and put themselves on the football map. It was a surprising appearance from an unexpected direction, and they seem to have some life in them. Finishing the year ranked was unthinkable even four years ago, but there they were. The Bearcats have a long way to go, but even the fact that they might be on their way is startling.

5

Rutgers

With the loss of Ray Rice, the Scarlet Knights lose their identity and a large part of their ability to do what it is that they do best: beat the holy hell out of the team across from them. They have come a long way, but one season does not a national power make.

6

Pitt

This legendary program has fallen on some serious, serious hard times. They made some strides under Walt Harris, but winning a conference title was not enough to save his hide. Now they couldn't sniff a conference title if it was covering in pig dung.

7

Louisville

After a stellar, near-magical season in 2006, the wheels came off. It's going to be a tough road back. They have been on the fringes for about two decades now, yo-yoing between national consciousness and obscurity. After last season, they are at the bottom and learning Walk the Dog.

8

Syracuse

Greg Robinson is a moron. Just the way he lines up his quarterback in that ridiculous half-shotgun position is like him screaming to everyone in the stadium, "I, Greg Robinson, am a moron!" Everything else that happens after that is just redundant.

1

Ohio State

I have a lot of misgivings concerning Ohio State, as I saw a lot of holes in the team last year that were never really addressed or sorted out during the season. Some of them may have been related to the fact they were starting a first-year quarterback. Some of them may have been related to an undersized defensive line. One situation will definitely no longer be true, another may not be, but there had better be a few needed changes. But some issues, in my own estimation, were the fault of the coaches and we shall see early on whether those issues have taught the necessary lessons.

2

Wisconsin

Wisconsin still runs that same brand of smashmouth football that Barry Alvarez ran to such perfection: Beat the other team senseless between the tackles and grind them into paste. Then, late in the game when the defense is worn down, they'll be biting on fakes and they are going to give up big yards. Running that sort of game requires an underestimated skill, and I doubt that Brett Bielema has the knack for running it as well as Alvarez did.

3

Penn State

Look, I will grant that Anthony Morelli may have been the best option the Nittany Lions had at quarterback, but being the best option available is different than being a good option. I watched Daryll Clark in the Alamo Bowl and I came to the conclusion that I, as an Ohio State fan, am not going to like him very much in the years to come. I think he'll help Penn State win some games they shouldn't this year and rev up a stale offense.

4

Michigan State

I've been expecting the Spartans to pop out some good years for a while now, but I've been disappointed every time. Yet I just keep going back for more. I think Mark Dantonio is a very good coach who should be able to bring some pride back to the green and white. He did some of it last year and I think he does more this year.

5t

Iowa

The Hawkeyes have been down for the last few years, despite improved recruiting following the success of Kirk Ferentz. But improved recruiting doesn't always equal wins. I'm going to go on a limb and say that Ferentz should be able to bring some glimmers of magic back this season.

5t

Illinois

Last season's run to the Rose Bowl was a great ride for the Illini. However, there were a lot of smoke and mirrors required for it to happen. Without Rashard Mendenhall, Juice Williams becomes target number one. When he's on, he is a canny performer who can work some unexpected magic -- as he was against Ohio State, when he threw zero interceptions. When he is off, he is painful to watch. But now he's the man, so we'll see what he can do. However, the loss of J Leman sticks out even more to me. He was an absolutely reliable performer in the middle and his leadership and sure tackling will be hard to replace.

7

Michigan

I think I speak for everyone when I say that I have no effing clue how Michigan's season is going to turn out. They are going to struggle early -- everyone knows this. But if they can get a handle on the offense and start running it well late in the season, they will be a terror to the second half of the schedule. If they don't, it's going to be more family time than they had hoped for around Christmas.

With that said, watch out for Brandon Minor -- he strikes me as exactly the sort of back who will blossom in this offense. He's had fumble problems in the past, but he'll have some games where he holds on to the ball and he will be truly scary when he does.

8

Purdue

The new-fangled spread offense that Joe Tiller brought to Purdue is now outdated and stale. Such is college football and so will be the spread option. Honestly, I didn't think Tiller would be able to keep it going this long, so color me very impressed with his coaching ability.

9

Northwestern

I'm torn on Pat Fitzgerald. I think he is smart enough and dedicated enough to make good things happen at Northwestern. But he may have gotten a little too far a little to fast, so that he may still have some wrinkles to sort out in his coaching style. But I don't believe he's going to do much with this team this year, no matter how good a coach he is.

10

Indiana

Making it to a bowl last season was a great tribute to Terry Hoeppner. But that was last year. Now, they are an undertalented team with a lot of work to do.

11

Minnesota

Thank goodness Tim Brewster is there to generate excitement. Because there ain't going to be too much of the stuff coming from the team he puts on the field.

1

USC

Their overwhelming preponderance of talent compared to the rest of the league is ridiculous. They are well-coached and practically a shoo-in to win the conference. However, part of the problem with continued success is that it breeds an expectation of success rather than an effort toward success. That makes even the best-intentioned of young men lackadaisical. They are going to win a lot, but they are going to get bitten in-conference. Nobody is even close as of right now, but the pack is slowly whittling at that lead.

2t

UCLA

Having Rick Neuheisel as your coach is like dating a really hot chick/dude. First you are excited, "Wow, I've got this really hot chick/dude. He/She's awesome!" and you brag to all of your friends. Then you start having to spend time with him/her and you start thinking that maybe he/she isn't so great. Then it occurs to you that he/she really isn't that great a person, but having him/her on your arm kind of makes you look good. Then you realize that the person is really just a pushy, obnoxious, self-centered moron that you absolutely hate and all he/she does is act like an ass and embarrass you in public. And, if you're really lucky, you'll be able to dump him/her -- but he/she will probably do it first and rob you even of that satisfaction. But even if you do manage to do the dumping, all your friends will ask, "What did you do that for? He/She was hot!"

2t

Arizona State

I rather wonder if Dennis Erickson will be taking any job offers that come his way, or if he will stay at ASU for a while. He's not the sort of guy who likes to stay in one place forever, but there aren't that many spots that are a step up from Arizona State. And those spots generally don't want to hire coaches with greasy reputations like Erickson's. But he is a heck of a football coach.

4

Stanford

I think the win over USC will give the Cardinal some idea that they should work a little harder in the offseason and then, maybe, they wouldn't suck so badly. Perhaps that is being too optimistic.

5t

Oregon, Oregon State, Washington

I just can't shake the feeling that one of these teams is going to have a very good year this year, but I can't decide which one I like for the job. All of them seem like possibilities, but none of them jumps out as a good idea. So I think one finishes in second, the other two finish probably seventh and ninth. So we'll just lump them together here in the middlish and call it a wash.

8

Cal

They had their chances and couldn't cash them in. Jeff Tedford learns the hard fact of coaching at Cal: it's hard to get good football players to come to Cal.

9

Arizona

Pundits have been saying for years that Arizona is bowl-ready, only to be proven wrong once again. I'm not drinking that Kool-Aid, fine thanks; I already had the Clemson and Michigan State flavors.

10

Washington State

The only Pacific Northwest team I've ruled out. This may bode well for them.

1

Georgia

Because they are next in line.

2

Florida

Because nobody seems all that interested in beating them.

3t

Tennessee

Because Phil Fulmer is a very good coach with a lot of work to do.

3t

South Carolina

Because even Steve Spurrier can't do much with South Carolina.

5

Kentucky

Because they are still just Kentucky.

6

Vanderbilt

Because they aren't even at the same level as Kentucky.

1

Auburn

I'm still a Tuberville man. He has done an excellent job with the Tigers, who have largely stepped out of the shadow of the Crimson gorilla down the road. However, their first year with a new offense will take some nibbles out of them.

2t

Alabama

I think they're a year away from real contention. Their fade down the stretch last year shows me a team without the depth required to make it through the long haul. And relying on freshman to fill gaps means that there are going to be freshman mistakes.

2t

LSU

Just too many losses on both sides of the ball. But they should still be pretty good, all told.

4t

Mississippi State

If they could score, they'd be dangerous. They are not dangerous.

4t

Arkansas

No Jones or McFadden means that miracles are no longer in the playbook. It's going to be a rough time for the Hogs.

6

Mississippi

They stink. We all know this.