Are You Ready For Some College Football?

College football is upon us and I don’t think that I have ever been as excited for a college football season as I am for this one. After the excitement, upsets, and turn-arounds last year, I can’t wait to see what this season has in store for us. Here are some predictions and things to watch for this year:

National Championship

Jumping right in, for the National Championship game I have Ohio State vs. Notre Game in a rematch of the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State lost some very important players on defense (A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter to name a couple), but the Buckeyes will find ways to fill the gaps left by these players. On the offensive side, QB Troy Smith is back for his senior season and looks to lead the Buckeyes to a national title. Although, this is a young and fairly inexperienced team I think they have a good shot at winning that national title.

Brady Quinn and the Irish will be looking to exact a little revenge against Ohio State for the shellacking they took last year in the desert. The Irish will have some challenging games early in the season in Penn State and Michigan but I predict that Quinn will lead the Irish all the way to the National Championship game.

Although this game will be a battle, I predict Ohio State pulling out a close victory for Troy Smith in his senior season.

Heisman Race

The two quarterbacks I just mentioned, Smith and Quinn, will be at the top of the running throughout the season and while I feel that Smith should win, I see Brady Quinn being picked as this year’s Heisman Trophy winner. Ohio State has a stronger offense so that will cost Smith some votes giving Quinn the Heisman.

Conference Winners

I won’t run through all the conferences, but I will make some predictions about who will win the major conferences.

ACC: This conference is always exciting with perennial powerhouses like Miami and Florida St. This conference will come down to these two teams with the winner being decided by who wins the Sept. 4 game. I see Miami winning the game and the ACC.

Big East: You never know what’s going to happen in the Big East, but I see West Virginia taking the conference. Louisville will offer a fight, but in the end I think the Mountaineers will prevail to walk away with the Big East.

Big Ten: Year after year this conference is decided in the final weeks of the season but I see Ohio State winning the conference and eventually the National Title. But Ohio State will not just run away with it, especially in games against Michigan (always unpredictable) and Penn State who shocked everyone last year.

Big 12: Even with the loss of Vince Young, Texas will win the Big 12. Oklahoma looked to threaten, but with recent troubles (star QB Rhett Bomar was kicked off the team) they don’t seem to have that good of a chance to stand up to Texas. The Longhorns do, however, need to be on the lookout for rivals Texas Tech and Texas A&M who will be gunning for the Longhorns.

Pac-10: With the loses of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, along with others, the USC Trojans stand ready to finally be toppled in the Pac-10. Although the are still a strong team I see Cal winning the conference and ending USC’s reign on top of the Pac-10. Also watch for Oregon coming up with some big wins in the Pac-10 this year. (Editor’s note: Yes, look for Oregon to come up with some big wins…as in ALL OF THEM.)

SEC: In the ever-competitive SEC, there are quite a few teams who will be competing for the conference. In the end, I see Georgia walking out of the bedlam on top with Auburn close at their heels. But don’t forget about Alabama. The Crimson Tide will be looking for a return to the Cotton Bowl and they know how to win a football game.

Other teams to watch for

Keep an eye out for TCU this year coming out of the Mountain West conference. After shocking Oklahoma and the nation last year the Horned-Frogs are back and ready to go. Watch for these guys to head to a bowl game, especially with the apparent ease of their schedule.

Keep in mind that I am no expert of college football…only a huge fan of the sport. These are only predictions and as any fan knows college football is utterly unpredictable. So let’s sit back and enjoy another great season of college football.