College Football Pre Season 2007

Alright, we are back for another great college football season. Last year saw the Gators cut shot the Buckeye dreams of a repeat, what is in the cards this year? Seems to be a wide open year, besides that team that resides in Southern California. But they have a tough slate to navigate through this year, with plenty of oppurtunities to trip up. This year I am going to get a little more detailed in my conf breakdowns, and also give you my Top 25 Preseason edition. Lets get right into my conferences breakdown, a breakdown that correctly predicted every division winner last year sans Wake Forest, whom nobody had.

SEC: Lets start in the East. This division without question is the toughest 6 team division in college football, and will remain very top heavy in the foreseeable future. And this happens to be where the defending champs reside, so lets look at the Gators. They have to replace Leak, a four year starter with Tim Tebow, who got considerable action last year. Thing is, he came in and mostly ran the rock, catching defenses off guard. It is a much different and tougher spot to come in and play all downs, be consistent, and handle those tough road atmospheres of the SEC. The Gators still lack a RB, but have great athletes on the outside. Defensively, they have a lot to replace, but certainly have the athletes to do it. Tennessee has experience at QB with Ainge, solid RBs, but are weak at WR with the lose of Meachem. Defensively, they have a lot of talent and will be the best in the SEC. They open with a big one on the West Coast against Cal, where we will learn a lot about this team as the seat is certainly heating up on Fullmer. Georgia brings back Stafford, their second year QB who has a lot of talent, and now one year of experience under his belt. Their backfield and wideouts are formidable, but not up to National Title contender status at this point. They will be relatively strong with their back seven, but their DL leaves alot to be desired, and pushes their overall defensive rating to a middle of the pack SEC team. South Carolina under Spurrier is improving, as he continues to get his players in his system, and things are only looking up in Columbia. They will be solid at QB and RB with very good players, that are experienced returning, but they will be a little weak on the outside, and that spot is key to Spurrier teams. They will be led defensively by a strong secondary. Vandy and Kentucky will be bringing up the rear once again, but are a threat this year to pull off and upset or two at home against the heavy weights. UK is led by Woodson, and potential Top 10 QB in next years NFL draft. Vandy also is led by their QB, and will have some strength on the outside. But both teams still arent where they need to be defensively to challenge for their division title, and dont figure to get there in the near future. With all that said, here is the way I see this division shaking out:

1. Florida (slight edge against Florida because their game is in the Swamp)
2. Tennessee (edge of UGA because of schedule strength, and experience at QB)
3. Georgia (last top tier team in this division)
4. South Carolina (improving but still a little away from challenging)
5. Kentucky (Woodson will lead them to a solid season)
6. Vanderbilt (things are just too tough in his division)

In the West, things are slightly easier than the East, but things are still no bargain. LSU, a national title contender resides in this portion of the SEC, and are clearly leading the way. The only question mark with the Tigers is at QB, where Flynn is taking over for last year's numbers one pick. Good depth and speed in the backfield, and outside will help the adjustment to the new QB. Defensively the Tigers will just be completely stifling, led by the best defensive line in the country. Their front seven is only rivaled by USC. The secondary has to replace some talent, experience and leadership, most notably Laundry, but they certainly have the athletes to take care of this on the Bayou. Auburn is led by Cox, heading into his final season down on the Plains, and some will classify his career as a disappointment. Could he pull a Chris Leak and lead his team to a title his Sr. season after taking the brunt of complaints for three straight year? Once again the Tigers have an unbelievable backfield, but need to replace some parts on the outside, most notably Taylor. Alabama, led by Nick Saban in his first year, will certainly stir the pot some this year. JP Wilson returns at QB, whose experience will help the Tide. They also have one of the top wideout sets in the SEC, and the country, but will be a little short in the backfield. Their defense is very average, and will be middle of the pack in the SEC, with no one position standing out good or bad. Arkansas will be led by heisman candidate McFadden, but have too many issues with qb play, and sheduling to not allow a run like last years. And once again, for what seems like the 10th straight year, Mississippi State and Ole Miss bring up the rear and do not even deserve any chatter in his post. Here is how things will shakeout:

1. LSU (national title contender)
2. Auburn (led by experience, could be a sleeper pick of national title if they can win at LSU)
3. Alabama (things looking up in Tuscaloosa)
4. Arkansas (going to be tough to follow up last year)
5. Mississippi (bad)
6. Mississippi State (worse)

Florida will beat LSU in the SEC title game, in an upset and it will keep the Tigers out of the National Championship game in their own backyard.

BIG 10: OSU has led the way for many, many years....and that will change this year. They have some rebuilding to do, most notable losing QB Smith after a helluva run the last couple years. The Bucks do have Wells coming back at RB, athletes on the edge (with not much experience losing Gonzalez and Ginn) and a pretty good OL, but its gonna take time to start playing at a National Title level again. Defensively they are replacing a lot, and again have the ahtletes, but its going to take time. Michigan appears to be leading the way for the Big 10 this year, returning a bunch of offensive starters which could easily be the most potent offense in the country. Henne, Hart and Manningham are a mean trio, and Long is awesome leading another strong UM line. Defensively, they are replacing a ton, but I beleive they will be better at the end of the year than they were last year. Wisconsin has a shot this year at making it to Pasadena, but do not see them going to New Orleans. A new qb steps in, but will Hill in the backfield, things are certainly an easier transition than most would experience. They also have a very solid trio of WRs that could start for most teams in the country. And its the Badgers, you know they have a good OL and DL. PSU needs Morelli to step up, along with those gifted WRs and form one of the better passing games at least in the Big Ten. Iowa will rebound from last years disappointing year, look for them to return to the Top 15 teams in the country. Purdue will have a nasty passing attack, but still will struggle beating the upper echelon teams in the conference. Northwestern has a sneaky good team this year, watch out for the to possibly reach .500 in the conference and play in a nice bowl game. Minnesota will be able to run the ball, but will have some growing pains with the new coach. MSU doesnt have much back and should be among the bottom 3 teams in the conference. Illinois is improving, and has a bunch of playmakers on offense. They just have to be more consistent, and play better on D. Indiana will have to adjust to the death of their coach in the offseason, look for them to get maybe 1 win this year. Here is my breakdown:

1. Michigan (offense could lead UM to title)
2. Wisconsin (can they beat UM at home in Nov?)
3. Iowa (things are going to turn around)
4. Ohio State (slightly down year breaking in new QB)
5. Penn State (potential to be even better than this, but have to beat top teams first)
6. Purdue (strong passing attack, might pull of big win, and have terrible loss)
7. Northwestern (decent year)
8. Illinois (trust me, will be a top 5 big ten team in two years)
9. Minnesota (new stadium will only help)
10. Michigan State (bad, bad year and things are only looking worse in near future)
11. Indiana (nothing to say here)

I will be back later this weekend to go over the remaining conferences.