Spring
Preview
2008
The 20 Big Questions - No. 12
By
Pete Fiutak
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The 2008 Big Spring Questions
No. 20 - Top 40
Non-Conference Games
No. 16-19 - BCS Busters,
Rule Changes & More
No. 15 -
Ranking the
Conferences
No. 14 -
Who Could Be This
Year's Kansas?
No. 13 - 5 Teams That Could
Tumble
12. Five teams that could be this year's
Missouri and go from good to special ...
- Clemson
Has any program generated as much buzz and done exactly squat over
the last few years? Finally, this should be the season Tommy Bowden's
team puts it all together with eight starters returning on both sides of
the ball led by one of the nation's top backfields. QB Cullen Harper and
RBs James Davis and C.J. Spiller should be fantastic, while the defense
that finished ninth in the nation should be devastating. If the team
really is as good as expected, a road slate against Wake Forest, Boston
College, Florida State and Virginia, along with a date with Alabama in
Atlanta, should be manageable.
- Texas Tech
Oh ... my ... goodness. The nation's No. 2 offense and No. 1 passing
attack loses WR Danny Amendola. That's it. Everyone else, including
Biletnikoff
Winner Michael Crabtree
and QB Graham Harrell are back. Lost in all the fireworks was a defense
that finished third in the Big 12 and 45th in the nation, and while
there are a few significant losses, especially up front, but the holes
should be patched by a few JUCO transfers. While road games at Texas
A&M, Kansas and Oklahoma aren't going to be easy, Texas, Nebraska and
Oklahoma State have to come to Lubbock. The rest of the schedule is no
big whoop.
- UCLA
Yeah, there are some big losses on both sides of the ball, but the
cupboard is hardly bare for the new coaching staff. While Rick Neuheisel
takes center stage, the key is Norm Chow, the former USC offensive
coordinator who left for the Tennessee Titans and was in the running for
the Bruin job. Chow has free reign over the offense, and he should do
wonders with quarterbacks Ben Olson and Pat Cowan returning. The
recruiting class is loaded with ready-made players, but there are
already some excellent pieces in place to win right now. Four of the
first five games are at home, and if the Bruins can beat Fresno State,
likely the WAC's best team, Tennessee, and win at BYU, the tone will be
set for a huge year. The problem? Pac 10 road dates at Oregon, Cal and
Arizona State.
- Utah
One of the nation's hottest teams over the second half of the season
comes back
loaded with the Mountain West's best offensive line, a fantastic
backfield, with QB Brian Johnson and RB Darrell Mack returning, and the
defense welcoming back three of the four starting defensive backs from
the league's best pass defense. The defensive line and the receiving
corps needs some work, but the team will be really, really good. Watch
out for the August 30th game at Michigan. Utah's spread attack is much
better than Appalachian State's.
- Wisconsin
All the
Badgers have done is win 40 games in four years with four straight trips
to Florida on New Year's Day, with a 2-2 record against the SEC, but
they still don't get much in the way of respect. Maybe that's because
they needed everything in the bag to get by lousy teams like UNLV,
Citadel, Iowa and Minnesota and it's hard for any Big Ten team to get
any national love. The team was battered by major injuries on both sides
of the ball, and now it comes back loaded with a tremendous stable of
running backs, a nice offensive line, and a
no-name defense that'll be really, really good with LB Jonathan Casillas, FS Shane Carter and DE Matt Shaughnessy among the
Big Ten's three best
players. Easy schedules have never really mattered to Wisconsin, who
always seems to play down to its competition, but this year's slate
isn't bad if the team can get by a nasty early road trip to Fresno
State. If you're going to play at Michigan, this is the year, while the
other three road dates are at Iowa, Michigan State and Indiana. Ohio
State, Penn State and Illinois have to come to Madison.
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