- 2006 Spring Questions
14-20
|
7-13 |
4-6 |
1-3
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2007 Spring Questions
No. 20 to
No. 16 |
No. 15 to
No. 11
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No. 10 to No. 6 | No. 5
and No. 4 | No. 3 (The
Heisman)
- No. 2 ... The Big
Things to Pay Attention to
1. The BCS matchups will be ...
No need to play the season (ha!). Here's the best way-too-early guess for the 2008 BCS
matchups ...
Rose Bowl
Wisconsin vs. UCLA
Yes, UCLA. There has to be at least one out-of-the-blue call
somewhere, and this is it for a veteran Bruin team that'll be head coach
Karl Dorrell's best yet. The Pac 10 is nasty, and a date at
Oregon State will be the biggest early road test to the BCS, but the
Bruins are good enough to get past Notre Dame, Cal, Arizona State and
Oregon at home before losing in the season finale at USC. Would 10-2 do
it for the Bruins? This year, probably.
If Wisconsin keeps its head on
straight in a dangerous home game against Iowa, and doesn't screw up at
Illinois or Penn State, it'll be a two-game shot at a big money game
going to Ohio State November 3rd and hosting Michigan on the 10th. A
split of the two games (with a win over Michigan being enough to get the
Rose Bowl nod in the tie-breaker), and a mea culpa from the BCSers after
not being able to include the Badgers in the BCS last year, will mean
the program's highest profile game since the 2000 Rose Bowl.
Orange Bowl
Virginia Tech vs. TCU
Boise State opened the door for the mid-majors, and now TCU will
kick it down in what might be the first really big test for the BCS
system. The Horned Frogs will likely lose at Texas on September 8th, so
will 11-1 be enough to get into a BCS game? This year, yes. What if TCU
wins in Austin? Would that be enough to start the national title talk? A
more natural fit for the Fiesta, TCU won't rematch with the Longhorns,
but could go to Glendale if there's a different Big 12 representative.
Virginia Tech has the type of team that can get to the national title
game as long as the quarterback situation works itself out, but a road
trip to LSU on September 8th and a road trip to Georgia Tech should be
just enough to keep it from happening. Georgia Tech could easily be here
in place of the Hokies.
Fiesta Bowl
Texas vs. West Virginia
Texas will be deep in the hunt for the national title all season
long, but a second dream season in three years could be derailed at
Texas A&M in the final game of the regular season or at Oklahoma State
in early November. Of course, Oklahoma could have plans for the
Longhorns on October 6th. Even so, Mack Brown should have the league's
best team (then again, that hasn't meant much in the past).
West
Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers will be in a dead-even heat for the Big
East's BCS spot. The Mountaineers get the nod after a home win over the
Cardinals, but the Scarlet Knights will come very, very close.
Sugar Bowl
Florida vs. Michigan
Oh would this be entertaining. Florida won't be as good as it was last year, or will be next
season, but the scheduling gods made things easier after a brutal 2006
slate. While road trips to Kentucky and South Carolina will be tricky,
realistically, two possible chances against LSU will make or break the
repeat title dreams. A win in Death Valley might mean a spot in the top
two, and then there's the SEC Championship to deal with. In the end, the
Gators will likely lose two games and be a solid representative in the
Sugar. Michigan has the firepower to play in the national title, but the
prediction here is a loss at Wisconsin the week before the Ohio State
game to screw it all up.
BCS Championship
USC vs. LSU
Remember, it's about the schedules as much as the team's talent. USC and
LSU have a nearly perfect combination of the two to get to the BCS
Championship in a showdown many wanted to see in the 2004 Sugar Bowl.
LSU has a national title-level game against Virginia Tech early on with
a chance to be firmly entrenched in the top three, gets Florida, Auburn
and Arkansas in Death Valley to possibly cement a spot in the top two,
and has a good-as-it-reasonably-gets-in-the-SEC road slate going to
Mississippi State, Kentucky, Alabama and Ole Miss. USC will likely be
the number one team from the word go, and it can make its national-title
statement early on at Nebraska. Road trips to Notre Dame, Oregon, Cal
and Arizona State over a five-week span in the second half of the season
might open the door for someone else to to get to New Orleans.
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