Spring
Preview
2008
The 20 Big Questions - No. 15
By
Pete Fiutak
- 2008 Spring Questions
No. 20 - Top 40
Non-Conference Games
No. 16-19 - BCS Busters,
Rule Changes & More
15. Which conference will be the best in 2008?
11. Sun Belt - The league took a monster step forward last year
with Troy shocking Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic beating Minnesota
and Memphis, and in one of the biggest upsets in an upset-filled season,
UL Monroe stunning Alabama. Troy, Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee
will be strong, while North Texas could have the most exciting offense
this side of Texas Tech.
The best team should be ... Florida Atlantic
10. WAC - As always, the WAC will be top-heavy. Fresno State
and Boise State will be top 25-worthy, if not higher, all season long,
and even though Hawaii will take a step back, it'll still be potent.
Nevada will probably be the league's third or fourth best team, it would
probably win the MAC. The key will be the expected improvement of teams
like San Jose State, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State. If the
mid-range teams are better, the league should probably be boosted up a
bit.
The best team should be ... Fresno State
9. MAC - After two down years with everyone seemingly fully reloaded,
this could be the best the league has ever been. Bottom-feeders like
Eastern Michigan and Temple should have their best teams in several
years, while Buffalo have its strongest team ever. Central Michigan
is terrific again, Miami is good enough to repeat as East champions,
Ohio is better than it's ever been under Frank Solich, Western Michigan
gets everyone back on defense, Toledo, Bowling Green and Ball State will
light up everyone like Las Vegas, and teams like Kent State and Northern
Illinois, who struggled last year with injuries, will be improved. In
other words, the league should be great from top to bottom.
The best team should be ... Central Michigan
8. Conference USA
- Where's the buzz? Put it this way; the league had two, 2,000-yard
backs last year (UCF's Kevin Smith and Tulane's Matt Forte) and you
didn't hear boo about it. It's a conference in transition with major
coaching changes among some of the top programs like Houston and
Southern Miss, while SMU will be one of the season's most interesting
curiosities with June Jones taking over. While the conference might not
be anything fantastic overall, it could be among the most entertaining
with teams like Tulsa and Rice certain to put up huge offensive numbers.
The best team should be ... Tulsa
7. Mountain West - After a slightly disappointing season, with
TCU not up to predicted snuff, the conference should come out roaring
with BYU and Utah each good enough to be BCS busters, with the right
breaks. TCU will likely sneak up on everyone now that the spotlight is
off, Air Force should be solid again now that head coach Troy Calhoun
has had a year to work, and UNLV, San Diego State, Wyoming and Colorado
State will be occasionally dangerous, even if they're not all that
great.
The best team
should be ...
BYU
6. Big East - Call this a wait-and-see choice for the sixth
slot because the Big East has the potential to be fantastic if the
transfer of power at West Virginia is smooth, and if there's improvement
in Louisville. Pitt is loaded with as much talent as anyone in the
league, but now it has to start playing like it. Cincinnati has to build
on a big first season from Brian Kelly, South Florida must be more
consistent, Connecticut has to prove that 2007 wasn't a fluke, and
Rutgers has to play up to its potential. If all four of those things
happen, and if Syracuse isn't horrific, this will be a fun race
week-in-and-week-out.
The best team should
be ... West Virginia
5. ACC - It's all up to the big names and how fast they
reload. Miami and Florida State should be good in 2009, but they might
need this year to gear up. On the plus side, the worst team, Duke, will
be better and there might not be another true dog in the bunch, but
there also might not be a killer outside of Clemson, Virginia Tech, and
possibly Boston College (who'll also be loaded in 2009). The mid-level
teams like Georgia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest and Virginia might be
interchangeable.
The best team should be ... Clemson
4. Pac 10 - USC isn't without its big question marks with a
battle going on for the starting quarterback spot and with the receiving
corps a concern. Even so, it's still a national title contender. While
the league should be better from top to bottom, the jury is still out on
whether or not Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon, Cal, or someone from out of
the blue will be BCS-caliber.
The best team should be
... USC
3. Big Ten - The perception will be that the league is down
after Ohio State's second straight national title loss and with Michigan
in a state of flux, but the reality is that things weren't really that
bad last year and there are several good teams returning. Wisconsin will
be at least as good, if not better defensively, Penn State will be
strong if it can find a quarterback, Illinois isn't going anywhere, and
Michigan State will be better. The bottom teams like Minnesota,
Northwestern and Iowa should all be far better.
The best team should be ... Ohio State
2. Big 12 - Remembering that Iowa State started to come on at
the end of the year, outside of Baylor, where's the weak link? 11 teams
will be going into the season with an honest goal of going to a bowl
game, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma will be at least as good as last
year when they were all in the national title hunt, Texas will be Texas,
Oklahoma State will be dangerous, and Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas
State should be better. And then there's Texas Tech, who'll assault the
record books with a jaw-dropping offensive season, even by its own
standards, while it'll play a little D, too.
The best team should be ... Oklahoma
1. SEC - But it's closer than you might think. Georgia,
Florida and LSU could be the three best teams in America, but there's a
ton of upheaval across the rest of the conference. Tennessee, Ole Miss,
Auburn, and Arkansas are all undergoing major changes. Mississippi State
will still be looking for some offense, and Kentucky should take a step
back. In other words, it's still the best conference going, but it
could become a tad top-heavy.
The best
team should be ...
Florida
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