Predictions and Thoughts for the 2008 College Football Season

College football starts this week and I can't tell you how geared up I am. I've been soaking up all the sports talk radio I can (most of which is pretty pathetic) and DVRing College Football Live each day (Jesse Palmer still sucks at his job). Here are some thoughts and predictions for this season.


Tim Tebow will not win the Heisman, even though he will be a better player this season. Florida will depend on other players to carry more of the rushing load and Tebow will be spelled some by Cam Newton if Urban thinks he can handle it. Tebow will be better, but will not repeat as the Heisman winner.

The Ohio State University will win at the Colesium on September 13. These teams have the two best defenses in the country, but the Buckeyes are a better team than the Trojans top to bottom. Ohio State is solid at every position and the Trojans lack playmakers in the passing game. Ohio State wins in L.A.

Notre Dame will not be as good as the guys on ESPN seem to think. They all seem to predict about 7-10 wins for ND. It won't happen. The schedule is a bit easier this season, but they will still lose to USC, Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Michigan State, and I'd wager they will lose two of the three games against Boston College, North Carolina, and Purdue. That will leave them 6-6, which probably puts them in position for a BCS bowl game because, hey, they're Notre Dame...

Florida and Auburn will meet in the SEC championship game.

Teams that will be better than people expect: Oklahoma State, Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon State, Northwestern, Ole Miss, Michigan.

Teams that are overrated going into the season (by most experts): Virginia Tech, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Fresno State, Pittsburgh.

Best player you might never have heard of: Dan Lefevour, Central Michigan. Last year he threw for over 3500 yards with 27 TDs and rushed for over 1100 yards with 19 TDs. Those numbers are insane.

BYU will be undefeated this year. Until November 22.

Clemson will lose to a team they should destroy. I'm not talking about losing to a team like Alabama or Wake Forest - the Tigers will lose to a team that they should crush.

Please get off the Fresno State bandwagon. They won't even sniff the BCS.

Michael Crabtree will solidify himself as the best player in college football.

A team that will make impressive strides this year and might be awesome in 2009: North Carolina. Watch out for them. They lost six games last year by a touchdown or less. They have 15 returning starters (which is an overrated statistic, so forgive me for using it) and have a bunch of young talent from Butch Davis's recruiting efforts. I wouldn't be surprised to see UNC in the ACC championship game against Clemson.

Kansas will again be good, but they will come back to earth a bit. The schedule is much tougher this year: they play South Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech. They didn't play any of these teams last year. Add to that the fact that they play Missouri, and KU could go from an 11-1 regular season to 7-5 this year.

Oklahoma will go undefeated. So will The Ohio State.

USC's passing offense will be down this year. Sanchez is a good quarterback, but USC has nowhere near the playmakers at receiver that they've had in the past. No Jarrett, Williams, or Smith means that the Trojans will have to rely on the running game, which will be pretty freaking good.

Chase Daniel will absolutely destroy Texas on October 18. Daniel is from Texas and the Longhorns didn't recruit him - and he remembers that. Missouri will beat Texas handily and Daniel will have a huge day.

Illinois will drop off this year. Juice Williams is one of the most overrated quarterbacks in college football, they lost Rashard Mendenhall, and the defense gave up too many yards last year in a conference not exactly known for offense. Plus, teams coached by Ron Zook can't seem to sustain good play from year to year. It's a shame too because the guy can really recruit.

A team outside of the top 15 that could play into the national title picture is Tennessee. They break in a new qb (who is super talented), but their offensive line is awesome and Foster is one of the best tailbacks in the country. The defense is young but talented. If the defense puts things together quickly, watch out for the Vols.

I don't know what to make of Penn State. Anyone else have a prediction?

If the old ball coach can get the South Carolina offense moving, watch out for the Cocks because the D is sick.

Beanie Wells will win the Heisman.

BCS matchups:
Sugar (SEC champ vs. at-large): Florida vs. Wisconsin
Fiesta (Big 12 champ vs. at-large): Missouri vs. Arizona State
Orange (ACC champ vs. at-large): Clemson vs. West Virginia
Rose (Big 11 champ vs. Pac 10 champ): Georgia vs. USC (they'll pass on the weaker Big 11 runner up to, for once, give us the USC-SEC matchup)
BCS Championship (BCS #1 vs. BCS #2): Oklahoma vs. The Ohio State

It is done.