2009 NCAA Football Projections: The SEC Rules Again

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Spring football has opened for a majority of schools, and the excitement of college football is in the air again.

Granted, it is quite a while before we reach the opening kickoff of the 2009 season, but there seems to be certain team who we can already project to be contending for the BCS title in the coming season.

There are many things that can occur between now and August that could substantially affect these projected results, but I predict we will see a lot of the same players, and perhaps a few new faces contending for the better bowls. This, then, is a projection of potential team power, not a prediction of actual results.

To the chagrin of many college football fans, I am projecting Florida to repeat as National Champions. The Gators are pretty much loaded and return the vast majority of their starters, including Tim Tebow. They have tremendous depth in terms of talent and will once again, punish their opponents.

LSU took a step back last year and I hope you enjoyed it. I believe the Bayou Bengals will return to their previous form this year. Last year they had to overcome not having a seasoned quarterback, which won't be the case this year.

Though they had some losses in players, they have sufficient depth and talent to win the SEC West and make another run at the SEC Championship Game, which they will lose to Florida.

Georgia should surprise some people this year. Everyone expects Georgia to have a down-year with the loss of Stafford and Moreno, but all Georgia needs at quarterback is someone to manage the game and not make mistakes.

With great recruiting classes over the last four years, they have the talent on campus to play well enough to be in the mix this year, but they won't make it to a BCS Bowl.

Texas will be back. I'm sorry Oklahoma fans, but Texas wins the shootout in Dallas again this year, as well as the Big 12 South. They are loaded as well this year and with the boy wonder, Colt McCoy, back at quarterback, the Longhorns will find themselves in a BCS Bowl this year.

They return 16 starters.

USC will again assert themselves in the Pac-10. How can they not? They are annually deep in talent at virtually every position. The biggest question they have this year is at quarterback, and that isn't much of a question for them.

I expect that Mitch Mustain, a strong-armed, intelligent quarterback that transferred from Arkansas will be their starter. He is the latest "heir to the throne" of the next greatest USC quarterbacks.

Oklahoma will again have a great team, Unfortunately for them, the Big 12 South Division can easily be rated the second most difficult conference, behind the SEC, in all of Division I football. 

Stoops and his troops will more than likely find themselves in a BCS Bowl again over the Big 12 North predicted champion Nebraska, but not one that leads to a chance at the national championship.

Will they win that game? Based on their previous results, I would have to say no. But they are "due" to win, regardless of who they play. Bradford and his cohorts have an axe to grind.

Rich Rodriguez and his Michigan Wolverines were much maligned last year. Obviously, the results were not what anyone expected. With tremendous recruiting classes to lean on in the past four years and 17 starters returning, Michigan is my pick to win the Big Ten.

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