College Football Predictions 2011: Five Shocking Statements to Ponder

The summer has come and gone and it is finally time for some football.  Welcome week is here and most students are partying, just hopefully the players are not going to sponsored parties... just another scandal waiting to happen.  As the school year begins again so does college football and all the excitement leading up to the BCS National Championship game.  Here is a few things that you can expect to happen this year.

Andrew Luck Will Win the Heisman

What a surprise, I know.  I just don't think that there is any way that Andrew Luck does not win the Heisman and get drafted No. 1 overall.  Yes he lost his head coach Jim Harbaugh, but he still has the same man calling the plays; David Shaw and Luck clearly have great chemistry already.  Even if Luck gets injured this season, I still think he will be the top draft choice.  According to ESPN, Luck plans on raising his completion percentage to 75.7 percent this season which will essentially lock up the Heisman, and if Luck sets a goal he usually achieves it.

There Will Be Controversy over a Playoff

Every year teams get screwed out of playing for the BCS Championship.  Last year TCU, Stanford, Wisconsin, Boise State and plenty of other teams have valid arguments as to why they should have played in the championship game rather than Auburn and Oregon.  Even though it was a great game, and Auburn probably was the best team in college football last year, I am still very much in favor of a playoff. 

It would just be so much more exciting, and make the bowl games mean something. With 35 bowl games projected again for this year, each bowl means less and less and is just an excuse for the school to make more money.  Right now college football could use some positive news, and a playoff might fix some of the mistakes that have arisen in the past couple months.

Alabama Will Win the National Championship

After the shellacking of Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl, Alabama looks to carry that momentum into the 2011 season, and ride it to a championship.  With an incredible 10 returning starters on defense, the team that held Michigan State to only seven points, will be even tougher to score on this season.  With two preseason All-Americans in their secondary, Alabama is one of the teams that would actually make Andrew Luck look bad this season, if they even played each other. 

The offense might be a bit of a problem as they will shuffle possessions at quarterback with AJ McCarran and Phillip Sims, but they will have a steady running game with beast tailback Trent Richardson.  The running back will have to battle Oregon's LaMichael James, South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore, and Texas A&M's Cyrus Gray for the Doak Walker award this season, but it should be a great fight.  With a steady diet of stout defense and a great running game, it will be surprising not to see the Crimson Tide as the BCS Championship victors. 

The Death Penalty Will Be Instated

If its not the University of Miami, it is going to be another school that gets the book thrown at them.  The NCAA has to be getting sick of all this bad press and are going to start handing out harsher repercussions.  After all of this corruption in the past couple years, I almost expected this to happen again.  When it happened to SMU, they were never the same after that.  Not saying I wish this on any team, but if any team does deserve it it is Miami.

Mack Brown Will Be Fired

After going 5-7 last year and having the first losing season of his tenure at Texas, Mack Brown is on the top of my hot seat for coaches.  He may be the first Texas coach to achieve over 200 victories, but with all the competition in the Big 12 and foe Oklahoma at the top of the preseason polls, the Longhorns are going to have to have a great season for Brown to keep his job.  With the contract Mack Brown is getting (set to make $5.1 million this season) it would not be hard to find a replacement.  It is downright embarrassing to miss making a bowl game and the Longhorn faithful wont put up with another disappointing season.  It is going to have to be a top 10 finish or bust for Brown and the Longhorns.