College Football Predictions 2011: 10 Teams Ready for a Free Fall

I know, I know, some of you are saying it is way—to—early to be talking college football rankings and predictions. 

Guess what though? 

We aren't talking about rankings here, this is going to be a discussion of who is going to fall of the map in 2011.

Teams like Texas, Iowa, Georgia and Tennessee were among the disappointments of the 2010 season.

Who will it be in 2011?

Ohio State Buckeyes

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NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 04: Head coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome on January 4, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/G

2010 Record: 12-1 (7-1)

The Buckeyes have five players who are suspended their first five games of 2011: Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Dan Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, offensive tackle Mike Adams and defensive end Solomon Thomas.

The Buckeyes accumulated 8,803 yards last season on offense; Pryor, Herron and Posey totaled 4,775 yards, thats 54 percent of the Buckeyes offense.

Joe Bauserman is the backup quarterback behind Pryor who had just 174 yards on 22 passing attempts in 2010.

Herron's backup, Jaamal Berry was a freshman this past season who had only 32 rushing attempts, but did average 8.3 yards a carry with 266 yards.

Tight end's Jake Stoneburner and Reid Fragel were the only other two receiving options in 2010 to have at least 120 yards receiving.

All of these numbers should be serious red flags for all you Buckeye faithful.

Is there going to be anyone to step it up in those first five games in 2011?

TCU Horned Frogs

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PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: The TCU Horned Frogs kneel prior to playing the Wisconsin Badgers in the 97th Rose Bowl game on January 1, 2011 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

2010 Record: 13-0 (8-0)

TCU loses many of its star players from 2010, who had a great season defeating Wisconsin 21—19 in the Rose Bowl.

Among the key players the Horned Frogs lose are quarterback Andy Dalton and receivers Jimmy Young and Jeremy Kerley, along with 24 other seniors.

Head Coach Gary Patterson always manages to have a top—ten defense and has majority of his defensive starters returning in 2011.

The problem with the Horned Frogs in 2011 will be the fact that running back Ed Wesley—1,078 yards and 11 touchdowns— is going to have to work very hard next season.

I say this because sophomore Casey Pachall will be the starter under center in 2011 who has no experience at the next level. 

They have two other reasonable running backs in junior Matthew Tucker and sophomore Waymon James.

Which points signs that TCU might be running the ball a lot more than they think, if Pachall has a rough start.

This will make it easier for teams to prepare for the Horned Frogs and focus more on the run game in 2011.

The defense could be what wins games for TCU next year.

Auburn Tigers

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SCOTTSDALE, AZ - JANUARY 11: Head coach Gene Chizik of the Auburn Tigers stands with the (L-R) Associated Press, Football Writers of America, MacArthur Bowl and the Coaches trophys during a press conference for the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game

2010 Record: 14-0 (8-0)

Auburn has plenty of holes to fill this upcoming season if they want a shot at defending their SEC title and BCS title.

Heisman Trophy winner quarterback Cameron Newton and All—American defensive tackle Nick Fairley, both respectively the cornerstones on offense and defense will be difficult to replace.

The Tigers will hopelessly miss four starting offensive lineman, including All—American left tackle Lee Ziemba and All—SEC center Ryan Pugh.

Newton scored 50 percent of Auburn's offensive touchdowns last season.  Back up quarterback Barrett Trotter who will most—likely be the starter in 2011 had zero impact last season and running back sensation Michael Dyer had only five touchdowns last season.

One thing is for sure, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will rely on Dyer who will certainly have more than five touchdowns.

A big issue for Auburn next season will be how they play on the road; As the play at South Carolina, at Arkansas, at LSU and at Georgia in 2011.

Stanford Cardinals

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MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 03: Andrew Luck #12 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrates after he threw a 38-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against the Virginai Tech Hokies during the 2011 Discover Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on January 3, 2011 in Miam

2010 Record: 12-1 (8-1)

Losing coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL's San Francisco 49ers is going to be a huge deal for the Stanford Cardinals, they just don't know it yet.

Yes, the Cardinals do return Heisman candidate Andrew Luck under center, but he also loses three of his starting offensive lineman.

Co—defensive coordinator Derek Mason will have some work to do this off—season losing seven defensive starters.

Stanford will battle for the PAC—12 title with Oregon, but Oregon will most likely run the tables again in 2011.

Arkansas Razorbacks

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NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 04: An Arkansas Razorbacks fan watches in the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome on January 4, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty I

2010 Record: 10-3 (6-2)

The Razorbacks lose quarterback Ryan Mallett—3,869 passing yards, 64 percent completion percentage and 32—to–12 touchdown—to—interception ratio—due to entering the NFL draft.

Running back Knile Davis will be a junior in 2011 who got the job done in 2010 with 1,322 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.

Davis's numbers may have been inflated though due to the talent of Mallett and teams constantly not knowing whether they were going to pass or run.

Arkansas will have to battle on the road against Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas and also play at Alabama and at LSU.

Utah Utes

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PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: Offensive Coordinatorm Norm Chow of the UCLA Bruins watches warm ups before the college football game against the Arizona Wildcats at the Rose Bowl on September 13, 2008 in Pasadena, California. The Wildcats defeated the Brui

2010 Record: 10-3 (7-1)

The Utes join the new Pac—12 in 2011. A much different conference then the solid but not respected Mountain West Conference.

Utah will shortly fined out that their new conference is on a whole other level—the Utes are .500 against PAC—10 teams in the BCS era.

Road games at USC, Cal, Arizona and a pastry game at Washington State will be tougher than they think.

Luckily they don't have to face Oregon or Stanford in 2011, but they do also play at BYU and Pittsburgh.

Utah could struggle in the passing game on defense, losing their entire secondary.

Losing top running back Eddie Wide and receiver Jereme Brooks, not to mention four of their top five receivers, three running backs and two good offensive linemen.

With questions on both sides of the ball, the Utes could find the transition process a tough task to handle.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

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ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 04: Head coach Bo Pelini of the Nebraska Cornhuskers leads his team against the Oklahoma Sooners at Cowboys Stadium on December 4, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. The Sooners beat the Cornhuskers 23-20. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty

2010 Record: 10-4 (6-2)

The Cornhuskers make their move to the Big Ten in 2011.

It might be a tougher move than they originally thought; losing three of their last four games in 2010, including an unpleasant loss to Washington 19—7 in the Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl.

Young quarterback Taylor Martinez started off hot last season, but had a rough finish to his first season, constantly battling his confidence and head coach Bo Pelini's decision to periodically bench him.

The Huskers will suffer a loss at running back Roy Helu Jr.—1,245 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 2010.

Standout cornerback Prince Amukamara and safety Eric Hagg are big loses on defense.

Nebraskas Big Ten schedule is no easy task to come in 2011: Home games against Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa and road games at Wisconsin and Penn State.

South Carolina Gamecocks

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ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Bryce Sherman #22 of the South Carolina Gamecocks against the Florida State Seminoles during the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl at Georgia Dome on December 31, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

2010 Record: 9-5 (5-3)

The SEC East champions in 2010 have a great receiving core led by Alshon Jeffery and a solid running game in Marcus Lattimore.

South Carolina got stumped by Auburn 56—17 in the SEC title game and faced a tough lose to Florida State 26—17 in the Chick—fila—A bowl.

Not a great way for Head Coach Steve Spurrier to finish out his best season yet as a Gamecock.

Spurrier has quarterback Stephen Garcia returning in 2011, but still didn't seem completely satisfied with his play in 2010.

Garcia could find himself battling sophomore Connor Shaw for the starting job this upcoming season.

The Gamecocks schedule isn't the easiest either in 2011: Road games at Georgia, Mississippi State and Arkansas and will host Auburn and Florida.

Florida Gators

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TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 1: The mascot of the Florida Gators directs the play of the band against the Penn State Nittany Lions January 1, 2010 in the 25th Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

2010 Record: 8-5 (4-4)

There is only two reasons why Urban Meyer decided to leave Florida this past season; Either he knows they are going to struggle for a year or two including last season or he is just bored.

Former Texas defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, takes over for the Gators in 2011.

Muschamp already made a move at offensive coordinator, hiring former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator.

Having Charlie Weis as your offensive coordinator is a great thing, but he runs a complicated and different offense from Meyers spread offense.

Weis likes to run the pro—style formation which could be difficult to learn for quarterback John Brantley as he has been used to the spread formations and playing out of the shotgun while at Florida.

Unless Weis adapts to what works best for his quarterback in 2011, the Gators offense could struggle.

The Gators and Muschamp have an easy start in 2011 with four of their five games at home; After that things get tough, on the road at LSU, Auburn and South Carolina and a tough home game against Florida State.

Virginia Tech Hokies

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MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 03: The Virginia Tech Hokies marching band performs prior to the Hokies playing against the Stanford Cardinal during the 2011 Discover Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on January 3, 2011 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty

2010 Record: 11-3 (8-0)

Losing the majority of their offensive firepower from 2010, after quarterback Tyrod Taylor graduated and running backs Darren Evans and Ryan Williams entered the NFL draft early.

The three musketeers listed above accumulated for 4,942 yards on offense last season, good enough for 58 percent of the Hokies total yards.

Sophomore Logan Thomas will try and step in at quarterback, but it still remains a question if he can run the type of option—offense the Hokies like to run.

David Wilson, will take over at running back who has a solid frame at 5'11" and can make an impact on the return game as he took two returns back for scores in 2010.

With an easy schedule to start the season: Facing Appalachian State, Arkansas State, and games on the road at East Carolina and Marshall the young Hokies could let the early success go to their head.