Spring Preview 2009
The 20 Big Questions ...
No. 13
By
Pete Fiutak
With
spring ball underway, here are the 20 Big Questions to start off the
offseason.
13. What BCS vs. Non-BCS Games Should You Care
About?
Scroll down for the big non-BCS storylines, the
pre-spring rankings, and the top position battles.
Every year it happens out of the blue. Just when
a big name team is looking ahead to bigger and better things, and just
when the rest of the college football world is looking elsewhere … WHAM.
East Carolina upsets Virginia Tech. Western Michigan stuns Illinois.
Toledo shocks Michigan. And then there are the expected battles that go
the non-BCS league’s way, like Boise State beating Oregon and Central
Michigan beating Indiana. With that in mind, here are the biggest BCS
vs. non-BCS games that you need to care about.
September 5
BYU vs. Oklahoma (in Arlington)
Central Michigan at Arizona
Colorado vs. Colorado State
Florida Atlantic at Nebraska
Louisiana Tech at Auburn
Middle Tennessee at Clemson
Nevada at Notre Dame
New Mexico at
Texas A&M
Ole Miss at Memphis
Oregon at Boise State
San Jose State at USC
Western Michigan at Michigan
September 12
Air Force at
Minnesota
Bowling Green at Missouri
Central Michigan at Michigan
State
East Carolina at West Virginia
Fresno State at Wisconsin
Hawaii at Washington State
Houston at Oklahoma State
Marshall at Virginia Tech
Oregon State at UNLV
Pitt at Buffalo
Rice at Texas Tech
TCU at Virginia
Troy at Florida
Western
Michigan at Indiana
September 19
East Carolina at North Carolina
Eastern Michigan at Michigan
Florida Atlantic at South Carolina
Florida State at
BYU
Middle Tennessee at Maryland
Rice at Oklahoma State
San Jose State
at Stanford
SMU at Washington State
Tulsa at Oklahoma
UL Monroe
at Arizona State
Utah at Oregon
Virginia at Southern Miss
September 26
Ball State at
Auburn
Fresno State at Cincinnati
Louisville at Utah
Missouri
at Nevada
Ohio at Tennessee
Southern Miss at Kansas
TCU at
Clemson
Texas Tech at Houston
UL Lafayette at Nebraska
Vanderbilt at Rice
October 3
Arkansas
State at Iowa
Boise State at Tulsa
Marshall at West Virginia
New Mexico at Texas
Tech
October 10
Houston at Mississippi State
Southern Miss at Louisville
October 17
Miami at UCF
Mississippi State at Middle Tennessee
October 31
Central
Michigan at Boston College
November 5
Virginia Tech at East Carolina
November 7
Western Michigan at Michigan State
November 14
Louisiana Tech
at LSU
Troy at Arkansas
November 21
Fresno State at Illinois
December 5
Wisconsin
at Hawaii
The Top 5
Non-BCS Players Who Need A Big Spring
1. Corbin Louks, QB Utah
2. Jacob Bower, QB Tulsa
3. Ryan Colburn, QB Fresno State
4.
Austin Pettis, WR Boise State
5. Kelly Page, QB Ball State
The Top 5 Position
Concerns/Battles
1. BYU offensive line
2. Houston defensive
line
3. TCU linebacker
4. Nevada secondary
5. Troy quarterback
The 5 Biggest Non-BCS Spring
Storylines
1. Will the
real BYU please show up? After the meltdowns at the end of last year,
will QB Max Hall and the offense come out and be more explosive and more
consistent despite the loss of Austin Collie?
2.
With almost everyone of note
returning for East Carolina, it’s Conference USA title or bust for the
defending champion. With West Virginia, North Carolina, and Virginia
Tech on the schedule, the team has to be thinking about being a giant
killer once again.
3. Can Tulsa continue to be among the nation’s
most explosive teams even though offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn left
for Auburn?
4. Will Fresno State be better after getting healthy? The
run defense was a disaster after injuries struck, but now this could be
the Bulldog team everyone was expecting to be so strong last year.
5.
Can Nevada stop the pass? The Wolf Pack will have one of the nation’s
best offenses, but it might not matter if the pass defense, the worst in
America last year, isn’t appreciably better. With an improved defense,
Nevada could challenge for the WAC title.
The Pre-Spring Call For Non-BCS
Players Of The Year
Conference USA – Case Keenum, QB Houston
MAC – Dan LeFevour, QB Central Michigan
Mountain West – Max Hall, QB
BYU
Sun Belt – Rusty Smith, QB Florida Atlantic
WAC – Colin
Kaepernick, QB Nevada
The
Spring Non-BCS Team Rankings
Conference USA
1. East Carolina
2. Houston
3. Southern Miss
4. Tulsa
5. Marshall
6. Rice
7. Memphis
8. UTEP
9. UAB
10. UCF
11. Tulane
12. SMU
MAC
1. Central Michigan
2. Western Michigan
3. Northern
Illinois
4. Temple
5. Bowling Green
6. Ball State
7.
Buffalo
8. Ohio
9. Kent State
10. Toledo
11. Akron
12.
Miami
13. Eastern Michigan
Mountain West
1. BYU
2. Utah
3. TCU
4. Air Force
5. Colorado State
6. New
Mexico
7. UNLV
8. Wyoming
9. San Diego State
Sun Belt
1. Troy
2. Middle Tennessee
3. Arkansas State
4. Florida
Atlantic
5. UL Lafayette
6. UL Monroe
7. FIU
8. North Texas
9. Western Kentucky
WAC
1. Boise State
2. Louisiana Tech
3. Nevada
4. Fresno State
5. Hawaii
6. San Jose State
7.
Utah State
8. New Mexico State
9. Idaho
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