College Football: 15 Bold Predictions for the 2011 Football Season

The 2011 college football season is almost upon us!

Today marked the release of the Associated Press (AP) Poll preseason poll, which had some notable differences from the USA Today Coaches Poll, released a few weeks before.

With that said, here are 15 bold predictions sure to shock college football fans.

Should these come true, that preseason poll could look a lot different come January.

Feel free to comment below if you agree or disagree.

15. Notre Dame Will Play in a BCS Bowl

A lot of people are jumping on the 2011 Notre Dame bandwagon.

In head coach Brian Kelly’s first season, the Irish showed major improvement from last couple of teams under now-Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.

Notre Dame has been undone in recent seasons by inconsistent play by the defensive and special teams units. Then again—to be fair—the offense hasn’t set the nation alight, either.

The defense should be much improved this season. They return one of the best linebackers in the country in Manti Te’o, who had 133 total tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss in 2010.

Also returning is quarterback Dayne Christ, who looks primed to win a training camp quarterback battle before leading the Irish offense this fall.

The Irish only need to win 10 games to be automatically qualified for a BCS bowl.

Expect the Irish to notch that total, with their only loses coming to Michigan in Week 2 and the final game against Stanford.

14. Auburn and Arkansas Won’t Finish in the Top-25

The fact that the coaches put Auburn in the preseason top 25 is a bit of a joke.

While I understand that their 2010 national championship probably weighed on sportswriters' minds, losing the best offensive and defensive players from that team to the NFL will inevitably lead to a performance drop.

Auburn will find no lulls in competition in the loaded SEC West, and will likely lose at least 5 games in 2011.

On to Arkansas.

The Razorbacks will have a disappointing season, due to reasons beyond their control.

The loss of leading rusher Knile Davis (1,322 rushing yards and 13 TDs) to a season-ending injury will prove too great a hurdle to overcome.

The Razorbacks will lose to Alabama, Texas A&M, South Carolina and LSU in 2011. Their cupcake non-conference schedule (Missouri State, New Mexico, Troy) will not be enough for the 'Backs to remain in the top 25, no matter how big a hammering they lay on the Lobos.

13. Texas Will Not Play in a Bowl Game

I was shocked that Texas was ranked No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll. The name on their jersey, while quite prestigious, should not be enough to automatically place them in the top 25.

Texas’ offense in 2010 was ugly to watch. Their O-Line failed to protect new starting quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who suffered through a trying season.

Gilber has not shown he is a top-level quarterback so far, throwing 17 interceptions with only 10 TDs a season ago.

To make matters worse, Texas ended with a pitiful -12 turnover difference.

Head coach Mack Brown decided it would be best to essentially change his entire coaching staff, and it will show this season. Losing defensive coordinator—and former coach-in-waiting—Will Muschamp will prove particularly painful.

Even with a pretty light schedule in 2011, the Longhorns won’t finish the regular season at .500.

Expect Brown’s seat to be scorching.

12. Jimbo Fisher Will Win the Coach of the Year Award

While Fisher's path to head coach at Florida State was a bit questionable, there is no doubt Seminoles fans have to be happy with his results thus far.

In his first season in Tallahassee, Fisher brought FSU close to its glory years from the late ‘80s to the early 2000s.

Florida State has a laughable schedule with only Oklahoma and maybe Florida posing potential problems.

Florida State will be back in the BCS. You can quote me on it.

Fisher will be the coach of the year in college football in 2011.

11. Wisconsin Will Win the Big Ten in a Landslide (by at Least 2 Games)

Early this offseason I had Wisconsin as the slight favorite to win the Big Ten, with only scandal-rocked Ohio State giving the Badgers a run for their money.

I have two reasons why Wisconsin should encounter little trouble on the way to the Big Ten title, and may even nab a bid for the national championship.

The first was the controversy in Columbus with “the” Ohio State University.

The Buckeyes will be forced to cope without four top players—lost to suspension—for their first five games. They lose their starting quarterback (Terrelle Pryor) as well as their head coach (Jim Tressel.) I expect Ohio State to struggle in 2011 (will discuss later.)

The second cause for Badger brilliance will be the transfer of quarterback Russell Wilson from North Carolina State.

Traditionally a run-happy offense, Wilson provides them with the kind of playmaker that will make them a multidimensional offense.

10. Georgia Will Fire Mark Richt

This will be at no fault of his own.

Richt has had several great seasons in his 10 years with the Bulldogs, but now he has come under a lot of scrutiny after two subpar seasons.

The Georgia Bulldogs finished last season 6-7 (3-5) and many Bulldogs fans are barking for Richt’s departure.

To be perfectly honest, the Bulldogs never seem to have recovered from being ranked the 2008 preseason #1 by—you guessed it—the Associated Press.

I expect the Bulldogs to finish the season with four losses at the very least—an unacceptable number when you’re expected by many to win the SEC East.

Sorry coach Richt, you will soon be kich-ted—out.

9. Darron Thomas Will Be a Heisman Trophy Finalist

A lot of college football fans think of LaMichael James (and rightfully so) when they think of the Oregon Ducks. This will change in 2011.

Head coach Chip Kelly has already said he believes the team should have gone to the air more during a tense, timid display against Auburn in the 2011 national title game.

Thomas will play a big part in making the Ducks a better aerial threat offensively.

Oregon has the most talented running back tandem in the country, and their depth goes four players deep. James will share more of his carries with Kenjon Barner and Lache Seastrunk.

Thomas will pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 500 on the way to being named the best player on the Oregon Ducks football team in 2011.

8. Ohio State Will Lose Four Games (Gasp!)

I’m sure that this will spark quite a debate.

Ohio State losing Terrelle Pryor will prove to be insurmountable. Look at another high-profile program—Texas—who struggled mightily in 2010 after losing a two-plus season starter in Colt McCoy. Or Florida handing the reigns to John Brantley.

Quarterback transition is never easy. Just ask Matt Saracen.

Now a quarterback battle between the “inexperienced” veteran Joe Bauserman and the true freshman Braxton Miller rages with no clear-cut winner.

The remaining “tattoo five” will miss the first five games of the season, which may account for a loss or two. The season could easily spiral out of control from then on.

Should Miller start under center, can you remember the last time a true freshman led a top program to glory?

Newly appointed head coach Luke Fickell will have a bad first season (by Ohio State's lofty standards).

Buckeyes fans, this will be a rebuilding year. Get used to it.

7. West Virginia and Pittsburgh Will Finish in the Top 25

I was really surprised that West Virginia didn’t make it into the USA Today Coaches Preseason top 25 Poll. Then again, I was shocked that no Big East team was voted into the top 25, either.

Yes it is a terrible conference that in no way deserves an automatic BCS Bowl bid, but that doesn't mean voters should be prejudiced against talented programs such as West Virginia and Pittsburgh.

With TCU's move to the conference just a season away, this season represents a chance for either program to make a statement.

Also, with the conference being so bad, these two teams will have soft schedules and will work their way into the rankings.

At least the media was smart enough to put the Mountaineers in the top 25. Despite the turmoil surrounding the Morgantown campus this offseason due to the coaching-change fiasco, look for WVU to excel in 2011.

6. Stanford Will Not Play in a BCS Bowl Game

A lot of people are sold on Stanford. I am not.

Though they bring back the best player in the country in quarterback Andrew Luck—who is a once-in-a-decade type of talent—the transition from John Harbaugh to David Shaw at head coach will not be seamless.

The Stanford Cardinal lose their top 2 receivers from 2010, as well as three starting lineman and their starting full back/linebacker Owen Marecic.

On defense they need to replace four of their starting front seven and will be incredibly inexperienced.

And on top of all of this, they lost their head coach to the NFL. Why exactly do some people have them ranked in the top 3?

I expect the Cardinal to win nine games in 2011.

5. Arizona State Will Finish in the Top 10

A lot of people wonder how a team that went 6-6 (4-5) and didn’t even play in a bowl game can be getting so much hype.

Well, here is why.

A lot of people are picking them as their sleeper team, which irritates me to no end because I’ve been calling for the Sun Devils to succeed in 2011 since the middle of last season.

The Sun Devils offensively will have their best unit since 2007—head coach Dennis Erickson’s first season in Tempe.

They bring back their entire offensive line, and have a star in the making with the 6'8" former Gonzaga Bulldog basketball recruit Brock Osweiler at quarterback.

The Sun Devils will also have one of the nations best defenses, led by linebacker Vontaze Burfict (90 tackles 8.5 tackles for loss) who is one of the nation’s elite defensive players, and famously picked the Sun Devils over USC on Signing Day 2009.

The Sun Devils have proven they can hold up with the nation’s best, losing close games to Stanford, Wisconsin and Oregon.

Arizona State is the real deal.

Look for them to wear these sweet new threads well in 2011.

4. No SEC Player Will Be a Heisman Finalist

Here is another one that is sure to get a lot of angry comments.

The SEC will not have a Heisman finalist in 2011. And here is why.

There are no star quarterbacks in the SEC. When Aaron Murray and Tyler Wilson are the best your conference has to offer, you know it’s bad.

The SEC is stacked defensively, but defensive players don’t win the Heisman except in the rarest of occasions.

There are only three SEC players with any chance of winning the Heisman. Those are Marcus Lattimore, Alshon Jeffery and Trent Richardson.

None of these players will get an invite to New York. That’s just the way it is.

3. Texas A&M Will Win the Big-12

While it seems everyone is ready to crown Oklahoma as the conference winners, I say “not so fast my friend”.

A&M returns a remarkable 18 starters, including quarterback Ryan Tannehill who threw for over 1,600 yards and 13 TDs despite only playing half of last season.

The Aggies endured a disappointing loss against LSU in the 2011 Cotton Bowl, but they will have the first three weeks of the season to prepare for a showdown against Oklahoma State on September 24th.

The game on November 5th against the Sooners in Norman should decide the Big 12 champion.

Expect A&M to make it two in a row over the Sooners.

2. South Carolina Will Win the SEC

Yes. The South Carolina Gamecocks will win the SEC in 2011.

The triumvirate of (five-time suspended) Stephen Garcia, Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery might be the best playmaking bunch in the entire country. It's taken some time, but the “Ole Ball Coach” Steve Spurrier has built something special in Columbia.

South Carolina brings back it’s entire starting secondary, and their one question mark on the defensive side of the ball is the defensive line.

With top defensive end recruit Jadaveon Clowney coming in—who could very well be a Freshman All-American, that need might well be addressed.

This Gamecocks team will turn heads and will be playing in the national title game.

1. Boise State Will Win the National Title

The Boise State Broncos have made it a goal of playing a tough non-conference team to start out each of the past two seasons.

In 2009 Boise played Oregon on the “smurf turf” and absolutely dominated a terrific Ducks offense.

Then, in 2010 the Broncos took on Virginia Tech in front of an almost entirely Hokies-friendly crowd, and smacked them in the mouth on the way to a win.

Now comes their biggest challenge and most needed test. Playing an SEC team on the road.

When Boise State goes on national television and hands it to the Georgia Bulldogs, their ranking will rise deep into the top-5 in both polls. From then on, they will run the table and finish the season as the only undefeated team in the nation.

They've waited a long time to earn a national championship bid. Expect quarterback Kellen Moore to lead the team to a victory. Believe it.

(Assuming they can make a field goal against Nevada this year.)