College Football Predictions: The Top 10 for 2010 and Regional Rankings
Can Boise State repeat as undefeated? Will LSU return to the top of the SEC? Can Jim Tressel take his Ohio State Buckeyes all the way? Is Miami back? Does Wisconsin have the best running attack? Will Auburn steal Alabama's thunder? Is Tennessee better off without Lane Kiffin? Is Oklahoma really No.1?
These and other questions will be answered this season.
To prepare for the onslaught of pigskin action we must first set the table, both regionally and nationally.
We will provide a basis, or jumping off point for the upcoming season, in the following pages.
Regional Rankings: The West
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It has been a while since the Washington Huskies contended for the national championship.
And they will not this season.
UW does possess one of the best players the northwest has ever seen in quarterback Jake Locker. So improvement is evident and a bowl season should be on the way in 2010.
But the king of the west will be the surprising Arizona Wildcats.
The Top Three:
1. Arizona
2. Oregon State
3. Oregon
Regional Rankings: The Mountains
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Interesting inside-the-family fighting is the order of the day in this region.
Utah will be checking out of the Mountain West to join Colorado in a new Pac-10 next season, but there is a little unfinished business to take care of among Bee Hive State brethren.
Utah has produced two undefeated seasons with BCS bowl victories in this decade. BYU has won a national championship, defeating Michigan to secure the 1984 title.
But it is the Boise State Broncos who are kings of the mountain territory.
The Top Three:
1. Boise State
2. Brigham Young
3. Utah
Regional Rankings: The Midwest
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Big John Clay of Wisconsin gives the Badgers a weapon that is effective when leading, making up a deficit, on the road, or at home. A smashing runner who refuses to be stopped.
In several previous seasons the Badgers would be the favorite to take the BCS title with the team they have this year. However, the cards in their own conference seem stacked against them.
As good as Ohio State looks on paper, they are even better in person. This is a dominating machine capable of winning every game by double digits. This may be Jim Tressel's finest squad.
Iowa is so big and strong they may run the table and win the BCS Title.
But it is the Nebraska Cornhuskers who get the nod as king of the heartland in 2010.
The Top Three:
1. Nebraska
2. Ohio State
3. Iowa
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Regional Rankings: The Southwest
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Well, what can you say? If the Longhorns still had number 23 last year, turning that corner and running back kickoffs, everyone would be asking if Texas could repeat as national champion in 2010.
But, they didn't, and so they will not be part of any such conversation.
Oklahoma has been promoted to the top spot in one major publication. Other fans present a theory that all Tommy Tuberville has to do is turn the key for the engine that goes by the name Red Raiders.
TCU has staked a claim as one of the best defensive teams of this era.
Houston has a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Case Keenum and the potential to break into a BCS bowl.
It will be an interesting year down in the old southwest.
The Top Three:
1. Oklahoma
2. Houston
3. Texas Christian
Regional Rankings: The East
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The East is full of great running backs year in and year out. This season is no exception.
The situation in the Big East is fluid, to say the least, and the other schools have provided enough question marks to cause a panel discussion.
There is a decided feeling among some who follow the "entertainment only" purposes of the week to week schedule that Navy has the potential to play in the BCS title game.
When the going gets tough, it is best to go with the toughest teams to win.
Let's follow that philosophy in 2010.
The Top Three:
1. Connecticut
2. Penn State
3. Pittsburgh
Regional Rankings: The South
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Since the invention of the BCS Championship Game as a stand alone event beginning in the 2006 season, no team in the country has won the title except for SEC teams.
Why is that?
Would you argue the SEC was weak in previous years? Certainly not, that would be absurd. Tennessee won the first ever BCS Title in the 1998 season and LSU won it in 2003.
Could it be that when the BCS title game was played as one of the four major bowls from '98 through '05 the competition was better?
That doesn't seem to be the case although it is arguable that Miami in 2001 and Southern California in 2004 were two of the finest teams in history, and the SEC was unable to win the title in those years.
The fact is since the invention of the stand alone game the SEC is 4-0.
While the rest of the nation is chasing the ghost of BCS past, the SEC is in perfect position to produce another contender for the championship in 2010.
The Top Three:
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Florida State
The National Top 10
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1: Nebraska
2: Florida
3: Ohio State
4: Boise State
5: Alabama
6: Iowa
7: Florida State
8: Oklahoma
9: Wisconsin
10: Connecticut
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