2008 Football Predictions, Part 1

Man alive, it's early. Here are my predictions for the 2008 college football season, minus the SEC.

Western Athletic Conference

This year is nowhere near as difficult to pick. June Jones is gone, Colt Brennan is gone, and Hawai’i should be on a close-to-hideous downslope, especially with the non-recruiting Jones did while he was on the island. Boise State is going to take this one home with them. There’s just no doubt. And belive it: they’ll get better in the off-season, too. Not only have they had alternate-year success lately (2004 undefeated until their bowl game, 2005 four losses, 2006 undefeated and Fiesta Bowl victory, 2007 three losses), but they’re going to want revenge for losing to East Carolina in the Hawai’i Bowl last year. Time for a one-loss or undefeated year, Boise State! The table is set for them to achieve just that, as their only tough game comes in Week 3 against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene.

Sun Belt Conference

Well, now it’s a toss-up. Troy’s lost their offense as Tony Franklin has gone to Auburn, and they’ve probably still got a hangover from coughing up the Sun Belt title to the Fighting Schnellenbergers in the last game of the 2007 season. On the other hand, Big Howard has the Owls flying high, and unlike that other upstart Florida school that just started a football program, FAU won its very first bowl game last December. So I’m thinking it’s going to come down to FAU and Middle Tennessee, with the slight edge going to the Owls. Troy and FAU don’t play each other this year, though, so a true split might come into play. Circle September 30th on your “Gee, I guess I’ll watch that game” calendar, though, as the FAU-MTSU game will probably decide the Triple-A conference of Bowl Subdivision football.

Moutain West Conference

I’m not backing down. This year is Texas Christian’s year. I promise. BYU’s gotta lose sometime, don’t they? Then again, look out for Utah, as good as they looked towards the end of last season.

Mid-American Conference

This has turned from an exciting conference featuring regional powers and national dark horses to a toothpick sculpture held together with chewing gum and snot. It’s a pick ‘em, so I’m going with the Athens-rooted Ohio Bobcats, headed up by Frank Solich. It’s kind of like Keno; you just keep picking the same numbers till a few of them win. I’m going to go Ohio in the East, Central Michigan in the west, and an upset by the Bobcats that sends them to Detroit.



Conference USA

Skip Holtz has been chewing at the bit long enough. East Carolina will not only win Conference USA this year, they will be the national media darling of 2008, much the same way that Boise State, Utah and Hawai’i have been in recent years. First off, good God did you see what Chris Johnson did to Boise State in the Hawai’i Bowl last year? I know, I know, he’s going to the NFL, but he didn’t run that way by himself. He had a great line in front of him. East Carolina gave Virginia Tech a run for their money last year, and the program in Greenville is only getting better. Does it matter who wins the west? I’d imagine either Houston or Tulsa will take it, but they’re not going to be able to compete with the Pirates this year. With a schedule that starts off with Virginia Tech and West Virginia, look for ECU to start 0-2 before going on a tear and running the table the rest of their season. That’s right, NC State, that means you lose to the Pirates this year. And I wouldn’t assume a loss in the WVU game…don’t forget that they lost their coach in controversial fashion, and will probably be looking past a rinky-dink ECU squad. Give ‘em hell, Skip!

Independents

As much as I enjoyed it last year, I just can’t imagine Notre Dame having as bad a year in 2008 as they had in 2007. They still don’t really have a quarterback, but with Paul Johnson leaving to coach the North Avenue Trade School and the rest of the Independents consisting of Army and Western Kentucky…then again, the Hilltoppers had a hell of a year last year…nah! I’m going Notre Dame. I’m thinking they win seven games or so. No BCS sweetheart deal for you this year, Charlie, and it may be a good thing. You might have a chance to take home a bowl victory for the Irish’s first since 1993. Maybe the bowl coalition could put you up against South Carolina so you can give Steve Spurrier the distinction of being the losing coach on both ends of that drought.

Atlantic Coast Conference

What do you say about the ACC when it’s as unexciting to watch on the court as it is on the gridiron? There’s no doubt about it, the conference has gone downhill since the expansion to twelve teams, and they probably deserve it. Once again the thing is top-heavy, with Virginia Tech, Clemson and Boston College the likely championship combatants for the next few years. Boston College will have a down year this year, after losing Andre Callendar, Kevin Challenger, and Matt “Flutie, pt. II” Ryan. No matter what Butch Davis did at Miami or what Tom O’Brien did at Boston College, I’m not so sure that either of them is going to have real success at their new ACC schools, though the Wolfpack is far more likely to win games. Meanwhile, Jim Grobe is still keeping standards high at Wake Forest; their only losses this year should come against Clemson and Virginia Tech. Then again, with the exception of their ACC Championship year in 2006, Wake Forest tends to embarrass Clemson in Winston Salem. A one-loss season puts them in the game in a rematch against VaTech, which they’ll most likely lose. But it will also put them in the Chik-Fil-A Bowl against an SEC opponent and playing on New Year’s Eve. So I’m going Wake Forest to win the Atlantic, the Hokies to take the Coastal and the ACC title, and the rest of the conference to fester like the disgusting pustules that they are.

Big East

There is just no way that the Louisville defense can be as bad this year as they were last year, is there? West Virginia, as I stated before, is going to be in a funk this year. The shine is off the Rutgers apple, and while I don’t think South Florida is going anywhere, I don’t think they’re going to be a challenge for Louisville if Louisville comes back the way they should. If they don’t, however, and the defense stays the way it was in 2007 then it’s really anybody’s conference. Hell, Cincinnatti could run away with it if they have a few more defensive performances like they had against South Florida in ’07 and Rutgers in ’06. So I’m going to officially put my “Most Exciting Conference to Watch” sticker on the Big East this year simply due to the fact that, since West Virginia is never truly out of it and I might be wrong about the condition of the Scarlet Knights’ fruit, the conference is going to be in the midst of a five-team race this year.

Oh, wait, did I forget UConn? Didn’t they split the Big East with West Virginia last year? Good Lord, is this going to be a six-team affair? Well, I’ll pick Louisville. But I won’t feel good about it!

Pacific 10

Sigh…USC. Again.

Big Ten

This is the only conference where I have to look at everybody’s schedule, assess possible wins and losses, and then just blindly pick Ohio State anyway because the rest of the conference sucks so hard that it’s decided in The Big Game anyway, so why bother. The real X-factor here is the Fighting Zookers out of Champaigne, Illinois. The loss of Rashard Mendenhall is going to hurt them, but Zook’s a great recruiter and I’m betting he’s got a stud just ramming its head against the stable door waiting to get out. Juice Williams should be much more mature this year, and let’s face it, Illinois’ offense is something that the Big Ten just hasn’t seen before. It’ll take a little bit for Rich Rodriguez’ system to take hold in Ann Arbor, and we saw what Illinois did to Ohio State last year. The big problems on the radar for the Illini are Wisconsin, whose defense will probably shut them down, and Ohio State, who’s getting everybody back and doesn’t have to play Illinois until the eleventh game of the season. I think Illinois stays a 9-3 team this year, losing to Wisconsin, Ohio State and Missouri in their opener. I think Michigan will probably lose to Illinois before going on a tear through the conference and losing to Ohio State again. And Ohio State? Well, that loss to USC in Los Angeles will probably take them out of the national title picture, since the rest of their non-conference schedule consists of Youngstown State, Ohio and Troy. They’ll win the Big Ten and play in the Rose Bowl, though.

Big 12

If I could type a fart sound, I would. This conference is supposed to be second-only to the SEC in quality of play and athleticism of its…well…athletes. But it’s more top-heavy than Anna Nicole Smith balancing the Encyclopedia Britannica on her head. Make no mistake: last year’s Kansas team was a fluke, and that fact will be borne out this year since their schedule includes both Texas and Oklahoma. In fact, their border rival Missouri Tigers are the only real threat to the Texas-Oklahoma hierarchy that’s dominated the Big 12 picture since its inception. Colorado: fart sound. Baylor: fart sound. Iowa State: fart sound. Texas Tech: double fart sound. A&M will be serviceable this year, as will Oklahoma State. Nebraska will make a slight comeback under Bo Pellini, but they’re not going to be close to being where they need to be. So here are my projections:

North: Missouri, who arrives at the Big 12 Championship Game to a chorus of fart sounds.
South: Oklahoma, who beats the nose off of Texas again.
Champ: Missouri. Yeah, they’re not going to get caught napping again. Last year was enough
of a wake-up call, especially since they know they could have beaten Ohio State.

dapolla, man, you've thought about this a lot.

Yeah...my job requires me to sit in front of a computer all day long on the days I don't teach. What can I say? I don't do fantasy football or baseball, so this is how I \"waste\" company time...