College Football 2011: Which Teams Will Be Out of the Running By October 1st?
The 2011 college football season may be nearly six months away, but when did such a time gap ever stop anyone from speculating?
Then again, spring practices are in full swing, and indeed, hope is springing eternal from coast to coast.
Just about every program—legitimate contenders and conference bottom feeders alike—thinks there are big things in store once fall rolls around.
That will turn out to be the case for a select few. For the rest, the grind of the season will bring dreams and aspirations to a disappointing halt.
And for some, the trials and tribulations of September will prove too heavy a burden to bear on the pursuit of conference crowns and national championships. The following are 10 such teams.
Utah Utes
1 of 10
We'll start from the "bottom" with Utah, which is on the cusp of most pre-pre-preseason Top 25 lists.
The Utes will be up against it in their first season in the newly-expanded Pac-12, and it won't take very long for the ex-Mountain West Conference member to find that life in a BCS conference is no cakewalk.
The long road begins with a road game against South Division foe USC at the Coliseum—not exactly the easiest way to start out.
And before Kyle Whittingham's team gets a chance to host Washington and Pac-12 title contender Arizona State in Salt Lake City, they'll have to trek across the state to Provo to take on regional rival BYU.
The Utes should have a least one win by October, though, in their season opener against Montana State.
Georgia Bulldogs
2 of 10
Like the Utes, the Georgia Bulldogs find themselves just outside the Top 25...and with a daunting September schedule to hurdle through.
Mark Richt's club, looking to bounce back from a disappointing 6-7 season, may instead start 2011 with an 0-2 record, thanks to a season-opener against Mountain West Goliath Boise State and SEC title contender South Carolina.
The next two games, against Coastal Carolina and at Mississippi, should be just a bit easier to win, not that the 'Dawgs' season won't be in any less of shambles once they dip into the heart of the SEC, with dates against Tennessee and Florida in October.
Yikes!
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
3 of 10
If you thought Georgia's September schedule was tough, have a look at Tulsa's.
The Golden Hurricane are on the brink of some Top-25 rankings, but they won't likely be for long once the fall officially begins.
Not after tilts at Oklahoma, at Boise State and against Oklahoma State, and without head coach Todd Graham, who moved on to Pitt after the 2010 season.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Missouri Tigers
4 of 10
Tulsa isn't the only team unfortunate enough to face preseason No. 1 Oklahoma in September.
That distinction also belongs to fellow Big 12er Missouri, which will likely find itself somewhere in the 20s of the preseason rankings.
However, before the Tigers take their talents to Norman, they'll have to journey west for a date with Arizona State in Tempe.
Not that such an out-of-conference venture will be any easier, especially with the Sun Devils expected to contend for the Pac-12 title.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
5 of 10
It's fairly common for teams to lose traction in the BCS chase in September, as there are only so many teams that can realistically contend for the big prize.
What's less common is being knocked out of conference title contention before the meat of the season begins, which could very well be the position that Mississippi State finds itself in by the time the calendar turns to October.
The Bulldogs have dates at Auburn and at home against national title contender LSU in September which, unfortunately, could make it difficult for Dan Mullen's team to take the next step after showing such stunning improvement in 2010.
Arkansas Razorbacks
6 of 10
Elsewhere in the SEC, Arkansas looks poised to get off to a fast start in 2011, with home games against "juggernauts" like Missouri State, New Mexico and Troy to ease Tyler Wilson into his newfound role as the starting quarterback in Fayetteville.
That will all change, and quite suddenly, at that, when the Razorbacks take to the road for a date with Alabama in Tuscaloosa on September 24th.
Chances are, Bobby Petrino and the rest of Hog Nation will be pining for the good ol' days of the Ryan Mallett era once that Saturday comes to a close.
Florida State Seminoles
7 of 10
Strangely enough, the ACC has yet to announce its conference schedule for the 2011 season, which makes an evaluation of Florida State's September slate somewhat incomplete for now.
Regardless, the Seminoles' BCS title aspirations under Jimbo Fisher may be derailed by a mid-month game against Oklahoma at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
And it certainly doesn't help that the 'Noles will still be breaking in a new quarterback, E.J. Manuel, when the Sooners roll into town.
Ohio State Buckeyes
8 of 10
All told, Ohio State's early season schedule is not particularly daunting, with the toughest game coming in the form of a road test against Al Golden's Miami Hurricanes.
The Buckeyes' season is much more likely to be derailed by the repercussions of recent off-the-field transgressions than by anything going on between the lines.
Things looked bad enough in Columbus when several rising seniors, including Terrelle Pryor and Dan Herron, were suspended by the NCAA for the first five games of the 2011 season for a number of violations, including accepting improper benefits and profiting from the sale of school-issued memorabilia.
Things didn't get any better when it was discovered that head coach Jim Tressel knew about these problems and others months before but didn't bother to tell anyone in Ohio State's compliance office, which resulted in a two-game suspension for the sweater-vest-clad coach.
As such, the Buckeyes' problems, while perhaps easy enough to gloss over in September thanks to a slate of fairly weak opponents, will come to the fore in a big way when the Big Ten seasons underway in October.
Oregon Ducks
9 of 10
Oregon was just a few minutes shy of winning the 2011 BCS national championship, trumped only by a miraculous run by Michael Dyer to set up the winning score for Auburn.
The Ducks may not find a second shot at the title so close at hand this coming season, as they'll have to emerge victorious from a veritable gauntlet in September if they are to have any hope of another magical run.
Chip Kelly's crew will first have to survive their season opener against LSU at Cowboys stadium. If they find a way to knock off the Tigers, the Ducks will then have to outlast a solid Nevada team in Eugene before traveling to Tucson to take on fellow Pac-12 contender Arizona.
And if that weren't enough, the Quack Attack of Darron Thomas and LaMichael James will have to play extremely well amidst losses among their team's offensive line, receiving corps and defense.
LSU Tigers
10 of 10
It may seem strange to include LSU on this list, after having already mentioned the Tigers in relation to Oregon, but they too have a difficult road to BCS title contention.
Aside from the game against the Ducks, Les Miles and company will have to travel to Mississippi State and West Virginia, all the while trying to figure out whether or not Jordan Jefferson is the right man for the job at quarterback.
As such, the Bayou Bengals will need to establish some early-season mojo to solidify their top-five ranking before diving into the meat and potatoes of their SEC gauntlet.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
