College Football 2011: 25 Headlines We're Guaranteed to See This Season
Headlines this football season will anger or elate fans as their teams work through their schedules. With the NFL still negotiating, football fans will have to turn to the college league to get their fix.
As one will wake up to look over the happenings from busy weekends of college football, they will scroll down web pages seeing headlines that will garner a wide range of emotions from anger that your team lost the big rivalry game to a mid major upsetting a BCS conference program in the final seconds of a game.
This slide show predicts 25 headlines that you will be guaranteed to see on different team pages here on Bleacher Report as the college football season takes shape from early September through the National Championship game in January.
Texas Reenters the Top 10 After a Disappointing 2010
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While those fans that reside in Norman, OK would love to see Texas have a repeat of 2010, who really thinks the Longhorns will have back-to-back seasons of .500 football in Austin? Not many.
Mack Brown and Texas will have the cupboard reloaded with plenty of talent to challenge the aforementioned Sooners for the Big 12 Conference Title in 2011 as the league loses former yearly title threat Nebraska to the Big Ten and Colorado to the Pac-12.
Trent Richardson Leads All Heisman Candidates in 2011
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As many Heisman hopefuls have left for the NFL this past season, Alabama will have yet another Heisman worthy running back in the backfield in Trent Richardson. He will be the feature back in Tuscaloosa as the Crimson Tide are primed to avenge the poor 2010 by the standards of those in Alabama.
Florida State Avenges 2010 Blowout, Defeats Oklahoma in Tallahassee
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While the 2010 matchup turned into a blowout last September, the Seminoles will bring the top ranked recruiting class into this coming season. They have plenty of new weapons for new starting quarterback EJ Manuel to make up for the poor loss last year as Jimbo Fisher and Florida State will defeat Oklahoma in Tallahassee.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Nebraska Wins Legends Division, Earns Berth into Big 10 Title Game
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As the Cornhuskers leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten conference, they will make a huge splash in their debut season in taking the sort of ridiculous named Legends Division this year. They will get impressive wins over Michigan State and Iowa en route to the division title.
Auburn Goes from First to Fourth in the SEC West After National Championship
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After losing Heisman winner Cam Newton and a bunch of the players to the NFL this offseason, the Auburn Tigers won't be left for dead after those said players have moved on. However, with the SEC West being the most competitive division in all of college football, expect a finish near the bottom half of the SEC.
Notre Dame Begins 2011 with Six Straight Wins with Three over Historic Rivals
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With the first season of the Brian Kelly era in South Bend being impressive in 2010, Notre Dame will definitely improve on the success of last season. The Fighting Irish will jump into the National Championship picture in the early part of the season with big wins over Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue in the first half of 2011.
West Virginia Earns Biggest Home Win in the History with Upset over LSU
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While Mountaineer Field doesn't have the lore that Tiger Stadium possess over the years, the fans in Morgantown will make the Tigers' first trip to the Mountain State a rough one. The Mountaineers will make up for the poor offensive showing in 2010 as new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen will have the offense in high gear.
Virginia Tech Runs the Table in the Weak ACC
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As the ACC continues to be one of the weakest conferences in the FBS, Virginia Tech will likely repeat the tear the program went on last season after the Hokies started 2010 with two straight losses then followed those with 10 straight wins before losing to Andrew Luck and Stanford in the Orange Bowl.
Boise State Defeats Georgia on Opening Weekend
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Just like the season opener last season with Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in 2010, Boise State will again start their season with a high profile meeting. They meet the Georgia Bulldogs where the Broncos will again find a way in the late moments to knock off another marquee team from a BCS conference.
Alabama Returns to the BCS National Championship Game
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After a 2010 season that was disappointing by the standards of those in Tuscaloosa, Alabama will bring in yet another brilliant recruiting class to help bring the Crimson Tide through the tough SEC en route to a return trip to the BCS National Championship game on the back of Trent Richardson and the experienced defense of Nick Saban.
Oregon Wins the Program's Third Straight Conference Title
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The high-octane Oregon offense won't have any problems in slowing down this year as the Ducks will likely run the score up on teams just like in 2010. The transition to division play in the new look Pac-12 conference is just another thing for Chip Kelly's squad to outrun this coming season.
Arizona State Wins the Pac-12 South Division
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What's better than getting some new threads for the Sun Devils? How about earning the first Pac-12 South Division Title for a program that has only shared a portion of the conference title once in the past decade and a half.
Arizona State will have 14 starters returning to Tempe for what could be a magical season for the program that has failed to meet expectations over the years, especially in recent years under the guidance of coach Dennis Erickson, who might be let go if he doesn't produce this season.
Michigan Loses to Brady Hoke's Former Team San Diego State
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What could make the rebuilding job in Ann Arbor tougher for new coach Brady Hoke? How about a loss to your former program that you just left this past off season.
San Diego State will travel from the California coast to the Big House on September 24th in a game where the Wolverines will enter most likely 2-1 after wins over Western and Eastern Michigan and a loss to rival Notre Dame, all at home.
Ohio State, Without Tressel and Pryor, Lose to Michigan State in Big Ten Opener
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The run for a seventh straight Big Ten title by Ohio State will be knocked off course this season in the opening of conference play against Michigan State this October.
The last time these two programs played was a fairly one-sided affair as OSU defeated MSU 45-7 in 2008. But as the Spartans have a great deal amount of talent in East Lansing this season, the Buckeyes might be wanting their star players to return from the NCAA suspensions a week earlier.
Georgia Bounces Back from 2010, Wins the SEC East
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With the Bulldogs bringing in the fifth best recruiting class in the nation filled with playmakers, Georgia will have a more experienced Aaron Murray behind a talented offensive line in Athens to help claim the program's six division title in addition to the four in the tenure of Mark Richt helping the coach get off the hot seat from 2010.
Oklahoma Wins the Reformed Big 12 Conference
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Even if Nebraska and Colorado didn't bolt for the Big Ten and Pac-12, the Oklahoma Sooners would be the team to beat in the slightly altered conference. The program brought in yet another top 15 class of recruits for Bob Stoops and company, who are seeking an eighth Big 12 Title in Norman.
Florida Will Suffer Through Second Straight Disappointing Season in Gainesville
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As Urban Meyer leaves the program due to health concerns and family time after completing the worst Gators' season since 2003, former Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp steps in as coach along with Kansas City offensive coordinator Charlie Weis taking the OC responsibilities. Florida will look to bring the offense back to championship levels like in years past.
Landry Jones Will Be the Top Quarterback in Consideration for the 2012 NFL Draft
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Yes I know, what about Andrew Luck from Stanford?
With the talent that Landry Jones possess in Norman in addition to the loss of head coach Jim Harbaugh from Stanford to the NFL, Jones will win the Heisman for the Sooners in 2011. He will shoot up the draft boards.
Steve Spurrier Will Retire After the 2011 Season
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There are signs at this moment this might be the final season that the "Old Ball Coach" roams the sidelines in the SEC as Steve Spurrier has no official contract extension with the Gamecocks past this coming season.
Joe Paterno Will Not Retire from Coaching at Penn State This Season
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For the past nearly half century, Joe Paterno has been a staple of the college football landscape. As the head coach of Penn State, he has amassed more than 400 victories but who believes that JoePa will leave Happy Valley this season when the Nittany Lions have a good deal of talent on the team? It is very, very unlikely to happen, even though the legendary coach turns 85 this December.
Boise State Will Be Left out of the NC Game After Running the Table in 2011
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The folks in Boise must be getting tired of having an extremely successful football program producing multiple bowl game wins over major programs, but they are still on the outside looking in at the BCS National Championship.
Boise State again has the talent on the roster for coach Chris Peterson. Kellen Moore and the rest of the Broncos will look to make another run at a undefeated season as the program moves from the WAC to the Mountain West conference, which now looks almost like a lateral move after conference expansion of 2010.
Duke Will Be Bowl Bound for the First Time Since 1995
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While some of these headlines are pretty much a lock to happen this season, how about one that is completely off the wall for a program that hasn't had much success on the football field?
Head coach David Cutcliffe has been slowly turning around the Blue Devil program in his time at Durham. With the program slowly gaining some decent football talent, Duke might be bowl bound for the first time since the Bill Clinton presidency.
Urban Meyer Will Be Talked About for Every Coaching Vacancy
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As we conclude the top 25 headlines that you will see this coming season, what would it be without some silly season coaching rumors to go around as some coaches will be on the hot seat in 2011?
Among the coaches that are sitting on the proverbial sideline, former Florida coach Urban Meyer will definitely be on the radar as some of the top tier programs might be letting go of their current coach. Teams would love to gain the services of the two-time National Championship coach that left the Gators program citing health concerns and wanting more time with his family.
TCU Will Have the Best Defense in the Nation in 2011
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During his time in Fort Worth, coach Gary Patterson has built the Horned Frogs into a blossoming national power in the chase for a BCS berth. Their defensive unit is a strong foundation that has let the program grow by leaps and bounds.
Tyler Wilson Will Become a House Hold Name at Quarterback in the SEC
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If you caught the Arkansas-Auburn offensive slugfest last season, you know that Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino has quite a good quarterback to fill the place of departing Ryan Mallett in Tyler Wilson in 2011.
Wilson will have plenty of chances to duplicate the performance he showcased in relief against the Tigers this season as there are plenty of weapons at his disposal for Arkansas to improve on their Cotton Bowl trip from a season ago.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
