Predict The Conference Champions

#1

BeltwayVol

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#1
ACC- Miami over Florida St. The Canes use thier defense to win on the road in Blacksburg, wrapping up the Costal division. The Seminoles are in trouble with no Sexton, but the other teams in the division are too weak to catch them.

Big Ten- Purdue (After a wild three-way tie with Michigan and Ohio St, which would see the Boilermakers taking the title because of the weird Big10 Rule, that both Michigan (2004) and Ohio St (2002) have been the league's BCS representative more recently, so therefore the title and invite goes to Purdue. Purdue also has a very easy schedule in the Big Ten without division alignments, they escape playing BOTH Michigan and Purdue. Iowa, their big test, is in West Lafeyette.

Big XII- Texas over Colorado The Longhorn's schedule will keep them out of The Rose Bowl, but not out of the Conference Championship, and a BCS Bowl. However, this division will be one of the most exciting in College Football this season, as Texas A&M will more than likely head into the final three weeks undefeated, having to play at Texas Tech, at Oklahoma and home against Texas. It's that last game that will send the Aggies back to Dallas in January. In the North Division, everyone should beat up on each other again, and the team that wins this division, may not have enough wins to be bowl eligible if it loses the conference championship game. With that being said, it's an educated guess that Joel Klatt can get the Buffs there. They have a BRUTAL streatch that sees them playing at Miami, Oklahoma St and Texas and a visit from Texas A&M, but those games won't be enough to keep them from winning the division. If they win two of those, they should be bowl eligible.

Pac10- USC Easy pick here. The race for second is all that will be interesting. Cal lost a lot last season, but the schedule is easy enough, that they should gel before playing UCLA. The winner of THAT game will probably sniff the Trojan's butts from afar.

SEC- Tennessee No surprise here, with me making the homer pick, but I believe the hype. If the Vols survive games 2 and three, I can not see enough losses to keep them out of Atlanta. With ANOTHER return to the Ga Dome, and the opponent they will have, it should be an EASY win for the Vols over Western Division Champion- ALABAMA. That's right, I think the Crimson Tide will be healthy enough to make it to Atlanta, and as we know, Phil has ther Tide's number. LSU will lose to Tennessee and Florida for sure. That should open the door for the Tide who's only loss before meeting LSU in Tuscaloosa will be to The Vols. The Tide get Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and LSU all at Tuscaloosa, and that will propell them to Atlanta where a CLASSIC Game will ensue, setting the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry BACK where it belongs, on the field.

BigEast- Louisville should be able to move in and take the conference title in the first year. There isn't much depth after the Cards, except for Pitt and West Virginia who MIGHT both be bowl eligible.

Conference USA- The Eastern Division will be a battle between So. Miss and the Blazers of UAB. In the end, the Blazers may win the east, but will be over-shadowed by Big Brother UA at Tuscaloosa and will lose to UTEP who should win the west and cruise along to an undefeated season under head coach Mike Price. The schedule wont be good enough though for the new 114 voters in the Harris Poll, and that low ranking will keep the Miners out of the BCS after a Conf USA title game win.

Mid-American- There are four teams in this conference worth typing, and two of them are in each division, so it could make for some interesting football. Bowling Green and Miami OH are in the East, and Northern Illinois and Toledo are in the West. Bowling Green will have a chance to upset Wisconsin, Toledo plays at Fresno St, and No. Illinois plays at Michigan and Northwestern. Atleast two of those four games should be won by upset minded MAC teams, but which two, I couldn't say. The Conference title game will more than likely be Toledo and Miami OH with the Redhawks of Miami winning.

Mountain West- No league is more wide open than the Mountain West. I wish I lived out that way, I would go watch some games, because there should be some entertaining football played this season. Utah should fall back to earth after it's big season last year, but they may not fall far enough to lose the conference title. There are five other viable teams with the conference title on their mind and they are BYU, Colorado St, New Mexico, TCU and Wyoming. It very well may come down to which of these teams play better on the road. It's hard to say, but I'll go with Colorado St.

SunBelt- North Texas hasn't lost a conference championship game in the SunBelt since 2001, and UNTIL 2005. Middle Tennessee will be the team to beat them this year.

WAC- We shouldn't have to worry about either of this conference's powerhouses going undefeated and trying to muscle into the BCS. Fresno St plays USC and Boise St plays in Athens and against Oregon St. However, IF the Broncos pull off the upset in Athens, look out. They very well may go undefeated. But don't worry your pretty little BCS minds because games against Portland St and Idaho will keep them from being ranked high enough.

Independants- Well, Notre Dame, Army, Navy and Temple are this year's bastard babies. They have no conference to call thier own, although Temple moves into the MAC next season. Navy's schedule is so easy that there is little chance they won't be bowl eligible. The exact opposite could be said about Notre Dame. With games at Michigan, at Washington (Tyrone payback?), at Purdue, and home against USC and Tennessee, the Irish may not be able to find enough wins....even for them to make it to the postseason.

That does it. I will give you my BCS game match-ups as well......

Fiesta Bowl- Louisville vs. Texas
Sugar Bowl- Purdue vs. Alabama(at-large)
Orange Bowl- Miami vs. Michigan(at-large)
Rose Bowl- Tennessee vs. USC

These predictions were my own, done on my own time. I don't expect anyone to be as indepth, but feel free to list your picks without the extra if you want.
 
#2
#2
ACC - Miami
Big East - Louisville
Big Ten - Ohio State and Iowa
Big XII - Texas
C-USA - UTEP
MAC - Bowling Green
MWC - Colorado State
Pac-10 - USC
SEC - Tennessee
Sun Belt - Who cares?
WAC - Fresno State

As for bowl games... Who knows. I'm picking USC and Ohio State for the national title, and Miami and Tennessee to play in the Sugar Bowl. But that's it. Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, UTEP, Louisville, Boise St (if they beat UGA), LSU are also all contenders for a BCS game.
 
#4
#4
ACC- Miami

SEC- Tennessee

Big 10- Ohio State

Big 12- Texas

Pac 10- USC, though I hope I'm wrong.

Big East- West Virginia

MAC - Miami (OH)

CUSA - Southern Miss

WAC/Sunbelt...don't know/don't care
 
#5
#5
ACC- V Tech
SEC- Tennessee
Big 10- Michigan
Big 12- Texas
Pac 10- USC
Big East- Louisville
MAC - Toledo
CUSA - Memphis
 
#6
#6
Originally posted by oklavol@Aug 16, 2005 11:42 PM
SEC - Vandy
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Surely, you are not serious. If so, do you also have a fever? :moon2:

 
#7
#7
Originally posted by BeltwayVol@Aug 16, 2005 12:29 AM
ACC-  Miami over Florida St.  The Canes use thier defense to win on the road in Blacksburg, wrapping up the Costal division.  The Seminoles are in trouble with no Sexton, but the other teams in the division are too weak to catch them.

Big Ten- Purdue (After a wild three-way tie with Michigan and Ohio St, which would see the Boilermakers taking the title because of the weird Big10 Rule, that both Michigan (2004) and Ohio St (2002) have been the league's BCS representative more recently, so therefore the title and invite goes to Purdue.  Purdue also has a very easy schedule in the Big Ten without division alignments, they escape playing BOTH Michigan and Purdue.  Iowa, their big test, is in West Lafeyette.

Big XII- Texas over Colorado  The Longhorn's schedule will keep them out of The Rose Bowl, but not out of the Conference Championship, and a BCS Bowl.  However, this division will be one of the most exciting in College Football this season, as Texas A&M will more than likely head into the final three weeks undefeated, having to play at Texas Tech, at Oklahoma and home against Texas. It's that last game that will send the Aggies back to Dallas in January.  In the North Division, everyone should beat up on each other again, and the team that wins this division, may not have enough wins to be bowl eligible if it loses the conference championship game.  With that being said, it's an educated guess that Joel Klatt can get the Buffs there.  They have a BRUTAL streatch that sees them playing at Miami, Oklahoma St and Texas and a visit from Texas A&M, but those games won't be enough to keep them from winning the division.  If they win two of those, they should be bowl eligible.

Pac10- USC  Easy pick here.  The race for second is all that will be interesting.  Cal lost a lot last season, but the schedule is easy enough, that they should gel before playing UCLA.  The winner of THAT game will probably sniff the Trojan's butts from afar. 

SEC-  Tennessee  No surprise here, with me making the homer pick, but I believe the hype.  If the Vols survive games 2 and three, I can not see enough losses to keep them out of Atlanta.  With ANOTHER return to the Ga Dome, and the opponent they will have, it should be an EASY win for the Vols over Western Division Champion- ALABAMA.  That's right, I think the Crimson Tide will be healthy enough to make it to Atlanta, and as we know, Phil has ther Tide's number.  LSU will lose to Tennessee and Florida for sure.  That should open the door for the Tide who's only loss before meeting LSU in Tuscaloosa will be to The Vols.  The Tide get Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and LSU all at Tuscaloosa, and that will propell them to Atlanta where a CLASSIC Game will ensue, setting the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry BACK where it belongs, on the field.

BigEast- Louisville should be able to move in and take the conference title in the first year.  There isn't much depth after the Cards, except for Pitt and West Virginia who MIGHT both be bowl eligible.

Conference USA- The Eastern Division will be a battle between So. Miss and the Blazers of UAB.  In the end, the Blazers may win the east, but will be over-shadowed by Big Brother UA at Tuscaloosa and will lose to UTEP who should win the west and cruise along to an undefeated season under head coach Mike Price.  The schedule wont be good enough though for the new 114 voters in the Harris Poll, and that low ranking will keep the Miners out of the BCS after a Conf USA title game win.

Mid-American- There are four teams in this conference worth typing, and two of them are in each division, so it could make for some interesting football.  Bowling Green and Miami OH are in the East, and Northern Illinois and Toledo are in the West.  Bowling Green will have a chance to upset Wisconsin, Toledo plays at Fresno St, and No. Illinois plays at Michigan and Northwestern.  Atleast two of those four games should be won by upset minded MAC teams, but which two, I couldn't say.  The Conference title game will more than likely be Toledo and Miami OH with the Redhawks of Miami winning.

Mountain West-  No league is more wide open than the Mountain West.  I wish I lived out that way, I would go watch some games, because there should be some entertaining football played this season.  Utah should fall back to earth after it's big season last year, but they may not fall far enough to lose the conference title.  There are five other viable teams with the conference title on their mind and they are BYU, Colorado St, New Mexico, TCU and Wyoming.  It very well may come down to which of these teams play better on the road.  It's hard to say, but I'll go with Colorado St.

SunBelt- North Texas hasn't lost a conference championship game in the SunBelt since 2001, and UNTIL 2005.  Middle Tennessee will be the team to beat them this year. 

WAC- We shouldn't have to worry about either of this conference's powerhouses going undefeated and trying to muscle into the BCS.  Fresno St plays USC and Boise St plays in Athens and against Oregon St.  However, IF the Broncos pull off the upset in Athens, look out.  They very well may go undefeated.  But don't worry your pretty little BCS minds because games against Portland St and Idaho will keep them from being ranked high enough.

Independants- Well, Notre Dame, Army, Navy and Temple are this year's bastard babies.  They have no conference to call thier own, although Temple moves into the MAC next season.  Navy's schedule is so easy that there is little chance they won't be bowl eligible.  The exact opposite could be said about Notre Dame.  With games at Michigan, at Washington (Tyrone payback?), at Purdue, and home against USC and Tennessee, the Irish may not be able to find enough wins....even for them to make it to the postseason. 

That does it.  I will give you my BCS game match-ups as well......

Fiesta Bowl- Louisville vs. Texas
Sugar Bowl- Purdue vs. Alabama(at-large)
Orange Bowl- Miami vs. Michigan(at-large)
Rose Bowl- Tennessee vs. USC

These predictions were my own, done on my own time.  I don't expect anyone to be as indepth, but feel free to list your picks without the extra if you want.
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:good:
 
#8
#8
I like the Purdue pick, since the Big-X doesn't have a CG, as wrong as it may be it's theirs for the taking.

 
#9
#9
Well, they don't have Kyle Orton, but they do have a mean defense. But that was a hell of a choke last season.
 
#10
#10
Originally posted by milohimself@Aug 17, 2005 9:15 PM
Well, they don't have Kyle Orton, but they do have a mean defense. But that was a hell of a choke last season.
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and an easy schedule; no Ohio State, no Michigan, all they have to do is focus in on Iowa and Penn St. and the Big-X is theirs . I personally think Ohio State, Iowa, and Michigan are the best Big-X teams, but Purdue has its schedule going for it.
 
#11
#11
I dunno, I thought about it but I'm still doubting whether or not they've got what it takes to get it done. Sure, their schedule is probably the best a Big Ten team could hope for. But after that crash and burn last year... I mean, that was a terrible second half of the season for Purdue. They've got a serious turnaround to do if they want to compete for the Big Ten crown, even if they only have to play one of the three big boys.
 
#12
#12
Originally posted by milohimself@Aug 17, 2005 9:36 PM
I dunno, I thought about it but I'm still doubting whether or not they've got what it takes to get it done. Sure, their schedule is probably the best a Big Ten team could hope for. But after that crash and burn last year... I mean, that was a terrible second half of the season for Purdue. They've got a serious turnaround to do if they want to compete for the Big Ten crown, even if they only have to play one of the three big boys.
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Well I wouldn't put the ranch on it, but it would be a wake up call for the Big-X if it happened. I personally like Ohio State and Iowa in the Big-X, I’m sure Michigan deserves some respect, but I feel they get too much as it is.

But as a dark horse, I’m pulling for Penn State.
 
#13
#13
Hm... Maybe. Will be a tough year for the Nittany Lions, but hopefully JoePa can get somethin' done.

As for Michigan... I hate them with all of my being, but I have to respect the fact that they could very well be the second most-talented team in the country behind USC. Henne impressed last season, Hart as well, they have a solid OL, great WR's and an all-around good defense. I'm just hoping they end up with two losses by the end of the regular season.
 
#14
#14
SEC Tennessee
BIGTEN Michigan
ACC FSU
PAC10 USC
BIGTWELVE Colorado
BIGEAST West Virginia


Rose Bowl: Tennessee v. Michigan
Fiesta: USC v. Ohio State
Orange: West Virginia v. Oklahoma
Sugar: FSU v. Colorado
Cotton Bowl: LSU v. Texas
Capital One: Florida v. Purdue
Outback Bowl: Alabama v. Penn State
Peach Bowl: Georgia v. Virginia Tech
Music City Bowl: Arkansas v. Nebraska
How bout that?
 
#15
#15
What's the deal with West Virginia? They lost so much talent.

All Louisville has to do is keep their guys healthy, and they could win the Big East bound and blindfolded.
 
#16
#16
Originally posted by milohimself@Aug 17, 2005 9:50 PM
Hm... Maybe. Will be a tough year for the Nittany Lions, but hopefully JoePa can get somethin' done.

As for Michigan... I hate them with all of my being, but I have to respect the fact that they could very well be the second most-talented team in the country behind USC. Henne impressed last season, Hart as well, they have a solid OL, great WR's and an all-around good defense. I'm just hoping they end up with two losses by the end of the regular season.
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Now Milo, you're a better man than I. I respect Michigan but I still think we would kick their ass by at least 7
 
#17
#17
Um... I'm pretty sure they could compete with us on every level of the game next season.

Now that I'm thinking about it, going into next season, USC, Tennessee, Michigan and maybe Ohio State are the only teams that don't have any big question marks.
 
#18
#18
Originally posted by milohimself@Aug 17, 2005 9:59 PM
What's the deal with West Virginia? They lost so much talent.

All Louisville has to do is keep their guys healthy, and they could win the Big East bound and blindfolded.
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Don't count out Pitt
 
#19
#19
Them too. But I think Louisville still has too much offensive firepower to be stopped by anybody in the Big Least. I mean that firepower almost took out Miami last season, and their defense is pretty good.
 
#20
#20
Originally posted by milohimself@Aug 17, 2005 11:18 PM
Them too. But I think Louisville still has too much offensive firepower to be stopped by anybody in the Big Least. I mean that firepower almost took out Miami last season, and their defense is pretty good.
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Louisville is most certainly the class of the Nearly Big East. They will run through their conference schedulle like Sherman Went Through Georgia, i.e., "Rape, Pillage, Burn and lay to waste all the flora and fauna in the country"

Out of conference, Louisville will make menced-meat pie out of Kentucky.

:cool: :cool:
 
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