The McGlothin Report--College Edition

[dencyguy]

I've never done one of these for college, and I'm almost always wrong on the pro editions, so take that with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I'm not going to bother trying to predict every single position of every single conference, but here are some thoughts:

 

SEC: There's no reason to believe that Alabama will slip up in the west, but the east should be interesting--will Florida be able to not miss a step? Will Georgia's defense improve enough under Todd Grantham to make a run? My hunch is that the answer to both questions is yes, but ultimately I think Florida will win out.

 

SEC East

1. Florida

2. Georgia

 

SEC West

1. Alabama

2. Auburn

 

SEC Championship: Alabama over Florida

Other Big Storyline: Coaching hot seats--I think Georgia improves enough for Mark Richt to stick around, but anything more than two losses might doom Les Miles at LSU. My hunch: Bye, Les--we'll miss your insane gameplan of going for it on every single fourth down.

Whither Tennessee?: Not much, this year anyway. From everything I've heard, Derek Dooley sounds like a patient guy who does things methodically. If it works out, once the Vols turn the corner they should stay good for a while. The downside is that it will take at least 2-3 years of (at best) incremental improvement. My guess: 6-6 this year, maybe with a trip to the Music City Bowl.

 

Big Ten

It's Ohio State's conference to lose. Penn St. and Iowa will be good, but not great.

 

1. Ohio State

2. Penn State

3. Iowa

4. Michigan

 

Other Big Storyline: It's gotta be Rich Rodriguez's job security. I expect them to make a move this year--not big enough to beath Ohio State or make a run at the conference championship, but I like them to win at least 8 or 9 games this year.

Second Other Storyline: Come on, did anyone see Paterno at the Big Ten media games? My grandmother is more coherent, and she's senile and has been dead for ten years. Now that Bowden can't catch you, time to hobble away with some dignity, JoePa.

 

Big 12

I don't see a great team in the conference this year. Texas always has the potential, and Nebraska has been rising. OKlahoma should be good. Other than that, I see this conference as good, but not great.

 

Big 12 North

1. Nebraska

2. I dunno...Missouri? (who's the genius who put all of the good teams in the south?)

 

Big 12 South

1. Oklahoma

2. Texas

 

Big 12 Championship: Nebraska over Oklahoma

 

Other Storylines: How will the teams handle the impending divorce? And--not that this is a storyline or anything, just a question--how in God's name does Dan Hawkins still have a job?

 

Pac 10

Not the most relevant conference out there, but an interesting one nonetheless. Several pretty good teams, but no championship contenders.

 

1. Stanford

2. Oregon St.

3. USC

4. Oregon

 

Other Storylines: What else but the return of Hurricane Lane? I don't think he's going to be successful in the long run, but I don't think they'll suck enough to make it truly satisfying for Tennessee fans. That said, Chip Kelly is already thanking his lucky stars that there's a coach in the conference who runs a looser ship than he does.

 

ACC

Like the Pac 10, there isn't a championship-level team in the bunch. Also, I gotta say that this is just a boring conference. Meh.

 

ACC Atlantic

(note: these are total guesses; I don't even know if these schools are even playing football this year)

1. I dunno...Florida State?

2. Boston College, maybe

 

ACC Coastal

1. Miami

2. Virginia Tech

 

ACC CHampionship: I have no idea...Miami over Florida State. Or Duke over Maryland. Who gives a crap?

 

Other Storylines: What other storylines? It's the ACC, and it's football.

 

Big EastI'm an SEC guy, and I recognize that the Big Ten is the second-best conference out there this year. That said, I love watching Big East football. I'm a big fan of West Virginia. I admire what Dave Wannstedt has done at Pitt. Cincinnati is usually watchable. Syracuse...well, Syracuse used to have nice uniforms. I just like watching their games.

 

1. Pitt

2. West Virginia

3. UConn

4. Rutgers

 

Other Storylines: None, really

 

Other Questions

Will this be the year a non-BCS team gets a shot at the national championship? Don't be silly. That would make people think that there should be a playoff or something.

Will Notre Dame re-awaken the echoes this year? No. Brian Kelly is a better coach than Charlie Weis, but Notre Dame is irrelevant now. Also, that cliche sucks.

 

My Prediction for Every Bowl

Meineke Car Care Bowl: What is this, a sick joke? Screw that, and let's skip to the BCS

 

Rose Bowl: Penn State over Stanford: Paterno finally has a chance to go out getting carried out on the shoulders of his players. Or he keels over with shock after someone tells him that they won.

 

Fiesta Bowl: Required non-BCS token TCU over Nebraska

 

Orange Bowl: Pitt over...I dunno...Miami, I guess.

 

Sugar Bowl: Florida over...hmmm...let's make it interesting and go with Oklahoma

 

National Championship Game: Alabama over Ohio State (although I could see it going either way)

 

Dennis