College Football: 10 Preseason Predictions We Got Wrong in 2010
After one week of November football, we've seen quite a bit of crazy action happening in college football.
We've seen three No. 1 teams go down in consecutive weeks and some surprises in the top 10 of the BCS polls.
And the biggest thing that we have seen is how no matter what methods people use to make predictions, sometimes perception is not always correct.
With only four more weeks left in the season, here are 10 preseason predictions that have been wrong so far.
1. John Brantley Will Make People Forget About Tim Tebow
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Before the start of the season, Florida Gators fans though that although the team might struggle slightly, John Brantley would be good enough to make people forget about Tim Tebow eventually.
The harsh reality was Tebow's intangibles were not so easily replaced.
Not only did Brantley have his struggles throwing down the field, but he did not necessarily show the kind of leadership and poise that Tebow played with, thus making the Gators offense look pedestrian compared to previous seasons.
The biggest indicator of his personal struggle and how his team has struggled on offense is that he only has eight passing TDs in nine starts this season—only one more than he had in 2009 on backup duty.
2. Texas Will Still Be the Class of The Big 12 South
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After watching Garrett Gilbert almost lead Texas from behind against Alabama in the BCS Championship Game last January, Longhorn fans had to have major hopes for the 2010 season.
But Texas' hopes vanished very quickly with one shocking loss after another.
And Gilbert has not played well at all this season, throwing 14 interceptions compared to only seven TDs passing and three on the ground.
It hasn't helped the Longhorns that none of their RBs have stepped up and helped to take pressure off of Gilbert, with no player rushing for more than 300 yards on the season.
With losses to UCLA, Baylor and at Kansas State by 25, ideas of firing Mack Brown have loomed large and there are questions about whether or not he has lost his team.
But for the moment, Texas is the only team in the Big 12 South with a losing record and is in last place.
3. Michigan State Could Only Finish Fifth at Best in the Big Ten
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In defense of the prognosticators, Michigan State surprised everyone this season, especially those who said Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio State were the only teams that could win the Big Ten.
But with one fake kick after another, Sparty rolled to an 8-0 start before being rolled at Iowa.
Right now, Michigan State is tied for first in the Big Ten and No. 11 in the BCS still with a shot of getting to the Rose Bowl.
After being considered MSU's most talented roster in years, Mark Dantonio's Spartans have finally lived up to the hype and become a surprising force in the Big Ten title race this season.
And with games left against Purdue and at Penn State, 11-1 would be quite a success for Michigan State, whether or not they are left out of the BCS.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
4. Brian Kelly Would Take Notre Dame Back to Respectability
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The hiring of Brian Kelly as coach of the Irish was certainly hailed as a move that would trigger the resurgence of the program, especially with a guy like Kelly who seems to get what it means to be the coach there.
So far, it seems as if the Irish still have work to do.
The Irish are 4-5, but Kelly should get a little pass since QB Dayne Crist is out for the season.
But with Crist in the lineup, the Irish were still blown out at home against Stanford and at Navy, and might miss a bowl game again with games left against Utah, Army and at USC.
A second year with a healthy Dayne Crist could help make a difference, but they need more help defensively and in the running game to get to the next level.
5. Terrelle Pryor Would Be the Favorite to Hoist the Heisman Trophy
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No player in the country has had to deal with as much hype and expectations as Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor.
And this year, he was expected to be the favorite for the Heisman Trophy.
But because of a lingering knee injury and the loss at Wisconsin which has pushed OSU completely out of the media spotlight, Pryor's Heisman chances are an afterthought.
In Heisman discussions, the only two players ever mentioned are Oregon's LaMichael James and Auburn's Cameron Newton.
Pryor may be a candidate to make the trip to New York City along with possibly Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon or Stanford's Andrew Luck, but his name never pops up in Heisman discussions anymore.
It doesn't help that his team can't escape the BCS computers and find its way back into relevance in 2010.
6. Alabama and Ohio State Will Be the Elite Teams in the Country
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Most fans believed that Alabama and Ohio State were the two favorites to face off in January.
They may still get to face off, but it may end up being in the Capital One Bowl instead of the BCS National Championship Game.
Neither team has lived up to their lofty expectations, as Alabama has fallen victim twice to one of the hardest schedules in recent memory with six opponents coming off bye weeks.
Ohio State has been victimized by a massive string of injuries and the inability of the teams they have beaten to win games and boost the Buckeyes' computer ranking.
OSU still has a very good chance to play in a BCS bowl game with a very slim chance of playing for a title, but Alabama will be very lucky with two losses to get back into the at-large picture.
7. Boise State Has the Best Shot of Any Mid-Major to Play for the Title
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This seemed to be Boise State's year that if enough top teams would lose, and with big-name opponents in Virginia Tech and Oregon State on the schedule, they could play for a title.
Now, not only are their big wins not looking as good, they are not even the highest-ranked mid-major in the country. That honor belongs to TCU.
It always helps when you go on the road and beat a top-five team—albeit a Utah team that maybe was ranked high because of their perfect record—by 40 points and look completely dominant in the process.
The Horned Frogs have a defense that can be comparable with powers like LSU, Ohio State and Nebraska, and an offense that is just as good.
Because of what TCU has been able to do to many good offenses, including a Baylor team which has scored over 30 points in eight games in 2010 and was held by the Horned Frogs to 10 points, they deserve a shot at the title this season.
After all, the BCS is all about what have you done for me lately?
8. Dion Lewis and Pitt Would Give the Big East a Respectable Team
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For the past few seasons, the Big East has not looked like a conference worthy of a BCS bid, outside of West Virginia's bowl successes.
And this year, Pitt and freshman sensation RB Dion Lewis were expected to be the favorites and be a strong team worthy of a BCS bid.
The harsh reality is that Pitt is the only Big East team to get votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, with five—behind teams such as Northern Illinois, San Diego State and Temple.
Pitt is the only team undefeated in conference play, but at 2-3 outside of its conference and tied with WVU at 5-3, no one in the Big East appears worthy of a BCS bowl game this season.
And even crazier is that no team in the Big East is bowl-eligible yet and Syracuse, with six wins, has the most wins of any team in the conference.
What of Dion Lewis? He is second on his own team in rushing yards, over 200 yards behind leading rusher Ray Graham.
9. Oklahoma Will Be a Legitimate Title Contender
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Oklahoma has no doubt proven that they are a much better team than they were a season ago.
But they seem to be one year away from being title contenders, even though they are still a very good football team.
Even though their offense has been very good this season through the air, the defense could still use some work.
Right now, the Sooners are fourth in the Big 12 South and are second in their own state to Oklahoma State at No. 10 in the latest BCS.
Oklahoma will get a shot at the end of the season to beat OSU and get a chance to go to the BCS, which would be a huge step for this team in the process of bouncing back from a painful 2009 season.
10. Jake Locker Will Show Why He Should Be the No. 1 Pick in the 2011 NFL Draft
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Jake Locker came back to Washington and gave up potential first-round status to try to get to his first bowl game of his career and improve his draft stock.
While his numbers have been solid, we haven't seen the improvement in Locker that we all believed was going to happen.
Locker's Huskies are 3-6, and bound to leave him with an 0-fer in bowl games in his college career. No matter what your skillset is, the mark of a franchise QB is the ability to win, and Locker hasn't proven it.
As it stands, Locker is far and away the third-best QB in the 2011 draft class—if Andrew Luck goes pro after this season—behind Luck and Ryan Mallett, and could fall further if he doesn't finish his career well.
But he failed to live up to breakout expectations, costing himself millions of dollars.
This article is featured on The BCS Blitz. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
