Spring Preview 2009

The 20 Big Questions ... No. 13

Spring Preview 2009 20 Big Questions - No. 14 - Why no Big East love? - No, 15 - Does the Big Ten suck? - No. 16 - Was the Big 12 exposed? - No, 17 - Just how good is the ACC? - No. 18 - Are we any closer to a playoff? - No, 19 - Potential BCS Busters - Top 50 Non-Conference Games (No. 1 to 10) - Top 50 Non-Conference Games (No. 11 to 20) - Top 50 Non-Conference Games (No. 21 to 30) - Top 50 Non-Conference Games (No. 31 to 40) - Top 50 Non-Conference Games (No. 41 to 50

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