With looming NFL and NBA lock outs it may well be that the only sport to follow this Fall will be college football. Preseason/first week rankings are a silly silly excercise but a little crystal ball viewing of potential contenders to the Mythical Championship game well that's just the kind of stupidity I can embrace:
Potential Contenders
The SEC
LSU/Alabama.
At this point right or wrong the SEC with it's structural advantages (cheating cough cough) basically has a lock on one of the two spots in the championship game. Which brings us to link Saban and Saban's ex-squad. Both have good defenses that return just about everyone. Both have questions at QB. Can LSU's Jefferson become more consistent? Can the hyped AJ McCarron replace the departing senior McElroy? That said the SEC East is weak so that leaves LSU/Alabama to claim the South's automatic bid.
The Teflon
Oregon/Oklahoma
Both Oregon and Oklahoma have been frankly awful in big bowl games. Yes OU snapped it's 5 game losing streak by beating UConn but does that really count? Oregon now has a 2 game losing streak in big bowls. Both though return all of their key offensive players, should be highly ranked and frankly don't have more than 2 tough games.
The Coupled
TCU/Boise State
It's odd to think that these two programs are so linked that you almost can't say one without the other. This is the last year we can do that as TCU moves on to the Big East next year. However for one year the perennial super powered non-BCS will face each other in the regular season. Boise also has it's BIG NON-Conference Game. This time against Georgia.
Odds and Ends
Stanford/FSU
Stanford loses it's coach and a ton of offensive lineman but Andrew Luck should keep them in the spotlight. FSU loses Christian Ponder but Jimbo Fisher seems to have them pointed in the right direction. With the ACC and Florida on the fritz FSU could use the moment of weakness to leap back into the national contender spotlight.
You'll note I didn't include any Big 10 team. Looking like a down year for the Big 10 overall. I'll spotlight the Big 10 next week....
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1 comment:
1) I can't stand the SEC. What series of events do we need for their "spot" in the championship game to be vanquished? Anarchy? Everyone to have 2 losses in the conference?
2) Oregon and Oklahoma - very good point. Oregon got beat up by the Ohio State University last year. A very strange set of circumstances, though they still are more talented than Auburn, they just had a bad game (that they almost saved, had it not been for that Auburn's RB's knee being ruled down. Instead, he scampered untouched for 30 more yards).
3) TCU/Boise State will be fun next year. Don't forget, I think BYU is still in the Mountain West next year also.
4) Big 10 makes me sad. What about Nebraska? Do they have a shot?
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