College Football: From USC to Florida, It Has Begun

Ah, it has reached that time ladies and gentleman.  The time where the drought is almost over, fall practice has started, and the masses are getting anxious for the event that graces every Saturday from Labor Day weekend til the first week in December, then through the holidays into January of the next year.

College Football.

Yes, every fan gets ready and gears up for the wondrous, and always controversial, football season that is less than a month away.  The writers on the Bleacher Report, mainstream media, bloggers, etc. are posting everything from previews to crazy prognostications. 

It is a sign that life will resume its normal course of insanity come that first college football Saturday.  I, for one, am looking forward to the season.  It is about bloody time it has come around again.  I know my fellow fans in the SEC are going stir crazy over all the commotion that is happening right now.

But enough of the pleasantries, lets get right down to it.  Time for some early peeks into the season, along with some hints of prognostications:

1. The PAC-10, Big Ten, and Big East champions.

Lets face it, until someone actually knocks out the three champions from these leagues, it'll be a pretty safe bet to find USC, Ohio State, and West Virginia will be back in the BCS mix. 

Though seasons have proved the consensus wrong in the past, these three teams look to be primed to make another run at their respective conference's championships.  Though USC vs. Ohio State and Auburn vs. West Virginia will make for interesting national non-conference games this season.

2. The Big XII will have someone new in the mix.

The Big XII looks very competitive at the upper echelon this season.  Oklahoma and Mizzou look to be the favorites in their respective divisions, but they will have some competition. 

I look for the Red Raiders to jump the Texas Longhorns in the standings this season, and depending if they don't lose a game they should have won, they could very well challenge Oklahoma for the South division title. 

Kansas will not completely go in the toilet this season.  They can make some noise and get after Missouri this season.  And then lets not forget the wild card in Nebraska. 

3.  The ACC is muddled in questions.

Can anyone help me?  Will the 2008 ACC favorite please stand up?  Though Clemson shows to be the top team this season, knowing their track record, it's hard for me to take them all the way for the conference championship. 

Florida State has an easier road to the ACC title game, but consistency will be the key word down in Tallahassee. 

And the Coastal Division?  There are only two teams with more than 12 returning starters this season.  Anyone wanna guess?  Bet you didn't guess North Carolina and Duke.  The other teams in the division will have some holes to fill.  Anyone else see the winner in this mud puddle?

4. The SEC will dominate again.... over each other.

The SEC has favorites Florida and Georgia coming out of the East, and Auburn and LSU coming out of the West.  If you think it stops there, your sadly mistaken. 

Alabama will show some improvement and get off their 6-6 record skid, Ole Miss and Mississippi State will not exactly be pushovers this season, and Arkansas... well, it'll be a rough transition into the season for the Hogs. 

Tennessee looks to be a sleeper if they can beat at least either Florida or Georgia.  South Carolina is a television soap opera with its players, but if they can get it together, they will overachieve.  Kentucky and Vanderbilt, well, Kentucky has some things to work on, and Vandy will be Vandy.

5. Hopes for a BCS crasher are nice, but it may not happen.

With all the talk of BCS crashers, people seem to forget that there is talent growing in the mid-major conferences.  Some of these conferences can hold surprises much like any BCS conference. 

BYU is the trendy pick this season, but one former party crasher in Boise St could also get into the mix.  Lets also not forget that in order for these teams to jump into the BCS madness, they basically have to go undefeated.  Not an easy feat for any football team.

So these are some things to munch on while I find the time to start on my SEC predictions, which should be coming out soon. 

WAR EAGLE!