College Football: 124 Teams, 124 Thoughts, Opinions and One-Liners

For the last few years I have compiled a list of random thoughts, opinions, questions and quips about all 120 teams in the FBS level of college football. 

This year, I got to add in four new teams to the ranks.  I also got to rearrange things thanks to restructuring and realignment. 

ACC

Boston College—A lot returns for the Eagles. Still probably going to finish in the middle.

Clemson—West Virginia just scored again.  Not sure if that joke will ever get old. 

Duke—You still have a football team?

Florida State—Seems to be the band wagon team of the year. 

Georgia Tech—Play the conference runner-up in Game 1 on a Monday night. 

Maryland—More new uniforms.  Still not sure what is going on at Under Armour. 

Miami—I still find it odd to not consider Miami a top team, but that’s how it is. 

North Carolina—Ineligible for the postseason. Could have been a contender. 

North Carolina State—Why is almost no one giving them a chance with Tennessee? I don’t see that big of a difference.

Virginia—Only four starters back on defense? Yikes.

Virginia Tech—Favored to win the division and play the other favorite in first game of the season on a Monday night. 

Wake Forest—Price is back as third-year starter at QB. What more could you ask for? Oh other skill players and a line would have been nice.

Big XII

Baylor—Welcome to the big time Baylor, oh no more RGIII, so never mind. 

Iowa State—I really bought Rhoads as the guy to turn the program around, but now it’s just hit a plateau. 

Kansas—Charlie Weis could not win at Notre Dame.  You think it will be easier at Kansas? 

Kansas State—New project for Kansas State science department, clone Bill Snyder. 

Oklahoma—Since 2008, Oklahoma has finished first, third, first and third in the conference.  I’m going with the trend and say that it finishes first this year.

Oklahoma State—One big season and gone, or will it have staying power?

TCU—Time to put up or shut up.  Significant upgrade in competition. 

Texas—Anyone else feel like this will be Brown’s last year at the helm of the Longhorns?

Texas Tech—First losing season in over a decade.  Another and seats could start warming up. 

West Virginia—Done dominating the Big East, let’s try the Big XII. 

Big East

Cincinnati—QB Munchie Legaux.  That’s all I have to say. 

Connecticut—I could see UConn going 8-5 like in 2010 but without the BCS bowl.

Louisville—Charlie Strong has the Cardinals on the rise.  Maybe his last year here.

Pitt—ACC called, it said do well so the decision to bring you in looks good. 

Rutgers—No Schiano. Still a conference favorite.  Not that the Big East is going to be tough. 

South Florida—I keep picking its team to win the conference, and it keeps letting me down, and yet I pick it again anyway.

Syracuse—You do know it was your basketball team that the ACC wanted, right?

Temple—The Owls are in the Big East. What is this 2004?

Big Ten

Illinois—New head coach Tim Beckman, I like that hire.

Indiana—On the bright side, I don’t think it can get worse than the 1-11 from last year. 

Iowa—Seems weird not hearing much about Iowa this offseason.  Iowa went 7-6 last year and only still starters will do that. 

Michigan—No Denard, you could not beat Bolt.

Michigan State—I hope the defense is ready to carry you; so much is gone from the offense.

Minnesota—Maybe you should go back to the dome.  The new stadium is not really working for you. 

Nebraska—Solid first year in the Big Ten.  Should be another.  Tough division though.

Northwestern—I guess Northwestern is happy with an average team.  Keeping Fitzgerald another year. Another seven-win season?

Ohio State—Not eligible for postseason. Welcome Urban. 

Penn State—New era, that’s all I am going to say about that.

Purdue—Lucked out not playing Michigan State or Nebraska from the other division. 

Wisconsin—Nation's top running back for yard returns.  I’m guessing Wisconsin will run the ball a lot.

Conference USA

East Carolina—Despite having a record that was worse in year two than year one, I feel like McNeill should have a great year three now that his system and players are in place. 

Houston—A move to the Big East could have been good a few years ago.  Now maybe, not so much. 

Memphis—Moving to the Big East in 2013: not a football move but a good basketball one. 

Marshall—I kinda hate the fact that I can no longer hear the name Marshall without my head going “We are Marshall!!”

Rice—One winning season in five years.  If it becomes six, Bailiff might be out. 

SMU—Jumping to the Big East in 2013; it has come a long way since its death penalty.

Southern Miss—Larry Fedora out, Ellis Johnson in.  I don’t like it. I don’t think Southern Miss fans will either. 

Tulane—I feel like it is reaching by naming a WR coach as the head coach with no past head coach experience.  Seems like a gamble for a team that is not that good anyway.

Tulsa—It always seems favored.  Wonder if it will live up to this year.

UAB—I miss Joe Webb.  I’m sure it does too.

UCF—Postseason ban. Not even the little guy is safe.  Final year in CUSA.

UTEP—Mike Price needs to do something this year or else his seat is going to be heating up. 

Independent

Army—Run, run,run.  That was the game plan last year and should be this year too.  Multiple 1,000-yard rushers aren't out of the question.

BYU—The move to independence was a good one in year one.  Should be in year two as well. 

Navy—A couple more years as an Independent then a jump to the Big East. 

Notre Dame—Not an Irish fan. Less so that it wants me to get up for a 6am kickoff from Ireland.

MAC

Akron—1-11 last year was not good.  New head coach Terry Bowden is a good hire though. 

Ball State—No defense last year. The good news is, it really can’t get worse.  

Bowling Green—If it could improve the run defense, it would be pretty good.  Pass defense will still be the strength. 

Buffalo—Brandon Oliver could be one of the top backs in the nation this season.

Central Michigan—CM has had a good run of coaches. Enos has not been one of them.  Could be out.

Eastern Michigan—You can’t just put that W next to Eastern Michigan anymore in the MAC. 

Kent State—The team almost returns intact.  Improvement should be obvious right away. 

Massachusetts—Stepping up to the MAC from the FCS level. 

Miami OH—Roller coaster time. Win it all in 2010, go 4-8 in 2011.  Now should contend in 2012. 

Northern Illinois—I’m calling for a back-to-back MAC titles.  Losing Harnish will hurt though.

Ohio—How does it still not have a MAC title under Solich.  Seems like Ohio is always contending for it.

Toledo—Points for everyone.  Top 10 scoring offense last season.  Should do it again.

Western Michigan—Cubit has been up and down at Western Michigan but solid.  Could be his year to win the conference. 

Moutntain West

Air Force—The picture of the fire and smoke over the stadium was one of the craziest things that I saw this offseason. 

Boise State—Lost 15 starters but still favored to win the conference. 

Colorado State—Jim McElwain is the new head coach.  Good hire but it’s Colorado State.

Fresno State—New conference, new coach—could make for an interesting year. 

Hawaii—The Chow era in Hawaii is here. 

Nevada—New conference and already a contender.  Not sure if it will get to 10 wins though.

New Mexico—It will be different seeing Davie as a coach again and not an analyst. 

San Diego State—Oh you are joining the Big East? Because San Diego screams east coast. 

UNLV—I wonder what odds Vegas is giving for Hauck to still be the head coach next year.

Wyoming—Could have the best QB in the conference, right behind Carr of Fresno State, that is. 

Pac-12

Arizona—Rich Rod should find more success in Arizona than at Michigan.  Maybe not as much as in WV though. 

Arizona State—Because it’s Graham’s dream job, again. 

Cal—Back in Memorial Stadium, still hard to predict. 

Colorado—First year in the PAC was not great.  Can’t get much worse, can it?

Oregon—Three-time defending conference champs and top five team but not the favorite to win again?

Oregon State—Steady decline over the years.  Never underestimate Riley, though. 

Stanford—No more Luck.  Survived losing Heisman finalist RB, then head coach. Will do it again.

UCLA—New coach, new attitude.  Mora has never coached college though. 

USC—Eligible for the postseason again. Already No. 1 in the country.

Utah—First live game on the Pac-12 network. Could be a big year for Utah.  

Washington—Offense was fine. I hope the defense improves.

Washington State—Enter Mike Leach. It was ninth in passing last year and could be higher this year. 

SEC

Alabama—Defending national champions. Beat a conference opponent to win it all and still not No 1. 

Arkansas—All the pieces in place for a good season, and the coach pulls one of the biggest bonehead moves of all time. 

Auburn—It’s been a big dropoff since the national championship; I don’t see it getting better.

Florida—If the offense does not improve on last season, it could be a long season.  Good thing that the D is strong.

Georgia—Could be Georgia’s year.  Remember when people had Richt on the hot seat?

Kentucky—I wonder when the last time Vanderbilt was picked ahead of them.  

LSU—No Honey Badger, no problem. Still a top team. 

Mississippi—Hugh Freeze was a solid hire, but SEC is a big step up from the Sun Belt. 

Mississippi State—Investigated by the NCAA? But, you are not even very good.

Missouri—Yeah, because I think of Missouri when I think of the Southeast.

Tennessee—Mixed signals on this one.  Is Dooley on the hot seat or is Tennessee a surprise team?

Texas A&M—Who’s idea was it that a 7-6 Big XII would have better luck in the SEC?

South Carolina—First game of the season, and it’s a divisional game in the conference.  Way to start it.

Vanderbilt—Kick off the season with a divisional favorite—no big deal. 

Sun Belt

Arkansas State—Nice hire of Gus Malzahn.  Who scheduled Oregon and Nebraska in the same year?

Florida Atlantic—New head coach.  Only the second coach in team history. 

FIU—Could win the Sun Belt this season before heading to Conference USA in 2013.

Louisiana Lafayette—Blaine Gautier, Alonzo Harris and Javone Lawson all back is a good thing for the Cajuns. 

Louisiana Monroe—Offense will be solid but the defense is rebuilding. 

Middle Tennessee—Rick Stockstill has had a solid run. If it has another bad year, will it keep him?

North Texas—Last year in Sun Belt, headed to Conference USA.

South Alabama—Welcome to the Sun Belt.  Have fun being a sacrifice for the SEC. It’s what we do here. 

Troy—Oh remember the days when Troy would just win the conference by showing up? And then last year happened.

Western Kentucky—Did not it just move up to the Sun Belt? And it is already one of the better teams?

WAC

Idaho—So Independence huh? Cool, see ya later. 

Louisiana Tech—Could be the last WAC football champion before conference dissolves and LT goes to CUSA. 

New Mexico State—Left out in the cold with no where to go next season.  Independence it is. 

San Jose State—With all the better teams leaving, SJS has a chance at the WAC.  Joining the teams that beat up on them in the MW in 2013.  Makes sense. 

Utah State—Mountain West lost BYU and Utah? Ok, I’ll be right over. 

Texas San Antonio—Welcome to the WAC. Oh what’s that? You’re gonna leave in 2013 for Conference USA? Thanks for stopping by. 

Texas State San Marcos—Welcome to the WAC. Wait you’re leaving too?  For the Sun Belt?