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With the BCS Title game done what better time to put together a Pre-preseason College Football Top 10 ranking. 2008 promises to be another year for the record books in College Football as a good amount of top schools are bringing back their star players and lesser known programs look to follow in the footsteps of Kansas and Missouri. Expect a great deal of chaos and change in the rankings / polls up until this time next year.

So, here is my first Pre-preseaseon College Football Top 10 Rankings*:

1. USC Trojans - Yup, a great deal of people will questions why I put USC up top but I don’t care. Joe McKnight is the real deal at running back and the Trojans should be bringing back the core components of their defense.
2. Georgia Bulldogs - The Bulldogs deserved to be in the title game, much more then Ohio State - sorry Buckeyes. Watch out for the Bulldogs in 2008, I am predicting a BCS Title game for them.
3. Oklahoma Sooners - Perfect example of a young team who will only get better. If the Sooner do not stumble early expect them to make a run at the top spot in October.
4. Missouri Tigers - With most of the same team returning I don’t think anyone can overlook the Tigers anymore - next year we will see if they are the real deal or not, but until proven otherwise I am ranking them high.
5. Florida Gators - Any team that returns a deal threat like Tim Tebow should be in the top 10. The Gators do have a series of question marks that will determine how good they really are…i.e. how good will Emmanuel Moody be?
6. LSU Tigers - How good will the new class be and how big will be the impact of all the players leaving this year?
7. Ohio State Buckeyes - Another young team who will not be getting any credit based on their BCS Title game issues and perceived weak conference / schedule. Their defense will have question marks around it until we know exactly who is leaving for the NFL (e.g. Laurinaitis will, but what about Gholston?)
8. Wisconsin Badgers - Seems like this time last year I was talking about how good the Badgers will be in 2007. I guess I didn’t learn from my mistakes and go with the Badgers being a top-tier team based on so many starters coming back.
9. West Virginia Mountaineers - The Mountaineers season and ranking all depend on whether or not Pat White and Stever Slaton head to the NFL or head back to the hills.
10. Kansas Jayhawks - The only big loss for the Jayhawks will be All-American CB Aqib Talib. So, now that Kansas cant take teams by surprise how good will they be? Oh and BTW - you know have a huge target on your backs. Welcome to big time College Football.

There we have it, my Pre-preseason College Football top 10 Ranking…let the arguments begin
* Subject to change whenever I feel like!

The annual Football Writers Association of America (FWAA?) meeting took place this morning and the idea of a “plus one” game in College Football was discussed. ACC Commissioner John Swofford and SEC Commissioner Mike Slive both said that any such game would have to be seeded - like a final four or be an extra game between two teams who played in a BCS bowl already. The two commissioners also said that the SEC, ACC, Big East and Big 12 are open to a “plus one” game but the Big Ten and Pac-10 are opposed to it.

Swofford is the incoming BCS chair so his opinion carries a great deal of weight, he used the example of the crazy 2007 college football season as a good reason why a “plus one” would work and is needed.  “There’s a comfort level with what we’re doing today,” Swofford said to the group, “In our conference, there’s much more open-mindedness about the plus-one than there was two years ago. There’s an interest in it … and a willingness to discuss it in full.” Slive, who is outgoing BCS chair agreed with what Swofford had to say.

Hopefully there will be some serious discussions about a “plus one” game at the college football commissioners meeting in April. I just don’t understand why anyone would be against a “plus one”, it makes sense on all ends…more money for the schools, great ending to the season and a clear cut champion. What are the negatives? The players would be out of school longer? Please someone tell me why they shouldn’t do it and don’t say anything about TV contracts because when it comes to money people would make it happen.

The biggest day in College Football has finally arrived, tonight the LSU Tigers will face the Ohio State Buckeyes to see who will hold up the crystal BCS championship trophy. However, from most people I talk to it seems as though playing the game is just a formality as many feel LSU will roll over Ohio State - just like the Florida Gators did last year. I would be careful of getting caught up in that type of thinking if I were LSU. Why? Ohio State has two very dangerous things on their side…first is motivation and the second is that they really have nothing to lose. Funny thing is that this is almost the complete opposite of last years Ohio State team that came into the title game being almost to cocky, will LSU fall victim to the same fate? Being a 2 loss team I can’t see LSU getting to full of themselves - but they have always been a cocky team.

Ohio State is probably the most disrespected 11-1 team ever to be ranked #1. All you have to do is look at their schedule this year and you will be underwhelmed by who they played and beat, granted they beat a Michigan Wolverines team that finally got some respect after beating the #9 Florida Gators in the Capital One Bowl. But the Buckeyes schedule is filled with cream-puffs…Youngstown State, Akron, Northwestern, Minnesota, Kent State - those are not teams I would be proud of beating. LSU on the other hand seemed to play a big game every other weekend - instead of cream-puffs the Tigers played football powerhouses.

So what do i see happing in this game? It is going to be a lot closer then what most people predicted - I see Ohio State keeping it close for most of the game, maybe even taking the lead at some point, but in the end LSU will make some big plays and pull ahead for good.

Final Score: LSU tigers 31 - Ohio State Buckeyes 24

Another topic, imagine if LSU - and their 2 loses - win the game? Get ready for another few months of everyone in the world ripping the BCS system and fans of the other 2 loss teams who won big bowl games ready to riot. Both Georgia and USC won and played like they belonged in the BCS title game. This is the perfect reason for some sort of playoff…but no of course that wont happen for like 15 years.

I don’t think many people were surprised by the outcome of the Georgia / Hawaii and USC / Illinois games. It was clearly obvious that both USC and Georgia are top tier teams, while Hawaii and Illinois might be teams on the rise but would be drastically over matched by true BCS worthy teams.

The Georgia Bulldogs and their defense didn’t give Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan any chance yesterday during the Sugar Bowl as he was sacked 8 times, threw 3 interceptions and fumbled twice - one fumble was returned for a touchdown. Brennan, a Heisman Trophy finalist, finished with just 169 passing yards, I am sure this wasn’t how he envisioned his college football career ending. Meanwhile the Bulldogs combined their suffocating defense with a well rounded offense attack. After this game, Georgia will have to be a pre-season top 5 next year. and a favorite for another BCS bowl game

In the Rose Bowl, USC showed everyone why they are much better then their ranking / record shows in dismantling the Illinois Fighting Illini 49-17. The USC Trojans looked good, no great, putting up 633 yards and led by John David Booty (255 yards passing, 3 touchdowns) and freshman running back Joe McKnight (125 yards rushing, 1 touchdown). The Illini were able to move the ball putting up 445 total yards but couldn’t score on the Trojans.

So what did we learn from these 2 games? Illinois is overrated, Hawaii is not Boise State, USC running back Joe McKnight is going to be awesome next year and of course College Football needs a playoff.

With most of the secondary college football bowl games complete it is now time to pick the winners of the big bowl games (and a couple not so big ones) that are starting tomorrow January 1st.

College Football Bowls

Tuesday, January 1st

Sugar Bowl
#10 Hawaii vs #5 Georgia
My Pick: Georgia
I am really excited to watch this game because I have always enjoyed watching Colt Brennan throw the ball. I would love to pick an upset here and hope that Hawaii can become this years Boise State, but I just don’t see it. Georgia is looking to make a statement and prove they are a better team, I expect both teams to come out swinging for the fences but in the Georgia’s depth will outlast and outgun the Rainbow Warriors.

Cotton Bowl
#6 Missouri vs Arkansas
My Pick: Arkansas
Is Missouri for real? Yes, I think that they are – but that doesn’t mean they can beat a good Arkansas team. Darren McFadden is going to have a career day and set the pace for a big Arkansas win.

Rose Bowl
#13 Illinois vs #7 USC
My Pick: USC
I see this game being the most lopsided of all the BCS bowl games. Illinois is a good team but USC has so much more talent. USC, playing almost a home game, will throw, run and do anything they want against Illinois.

Capital One Bowl
Michigan vs #12 Florida
My Pick: Florida
Remember that loss to Appalachian State? Remember their coach issues? Remember Tim Tebow and his Heisman Trophy? Florida wins this game, but it will be close.

Outback Bowl
#16 Tennessee vs #18 Wisconsin
My Pick: Tennessee
Both teams are good, but not great. This is going to be the closest one of the day.

Gator Bowl
Texas Tech vs #20 Virginia
My Pick: Virginia
Virginia’s defense is really good and Texas Tech wont be able to do much.

Wednesday, January 2^nd

Fiesta Bowl
#9 West Virginia vs #4 Oklahoma
My Pick: West Virginia
Another great game, the deciding factor for me is that West Virginia will be coming out with major motivation and will try and prove they are the best team in the nation – despite losing to Pittsburgh. The only thing the Mountaineers need to be careful of his keeping focused with the whole Rich Rodriguez moving to Michigan.

Thursday, January 3^rd

Orange Bowl
#8 Kansas vs #3 Virginia Tech
My Pick: Virginia Tech
Just like Missouri, Kansas will be looking to show that they belong. They will make it a came but I do believe that Virginia Tech’s talent is too deep and athletic for Kansas to stay with them all game.

Saturday, January 5^th

International Bowl
Ball State vs Rutgers
My Pick: Rutgers
Rutgers in a toss-up. Remember when we all thought the Scarlet Knights were a BCS contender going into the season?

Sunday, January 6^th

GMAC Bowl
Tulsa vs Bowling Green
My Pick: Tulsa

Monday, January 7^th

BCS Championship Game
#2 LSU vs #1 Ohio State
My Pick: LSU
Oh the big game everyone will be waiting for, the good thing of this match-up is that once LSU roles over Ohio State there wont be any argument as to whom is the real national champion. I have said all season that Ohio State is over-rated and LSU will prove me right. Go Tigers!

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons took out the UCONN Huskies in a battle between two schools that are better known for basketball then football. The Huskies scored 10 unanswered points in the first half but then the Demon Deacons returned the favor by scoring 24 unanswered points to win the Meineke Car Care Bowl 24-10.

The Demon Deacons were led by wide receiver Kenneth Moore who had 112 yards receiving and Josh Adams who had 66 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground.

Regardless of the outcome of the Meineke Car Care Bowl this was a tremendous season for both the UCONN Huskies and Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Huskies finished the season 9-4, cracked the top 25 and played in their second bowl game in school history. The Demon Deacons finished 9-4 tieing for the second most wins in school history, the most wins came last season.

This season could be the catalyst for both schools becoming true football powerhouses - winning can do wonders for a program, especially when it comes to recruiting.

The College Football Bowl season is upon us, so continuing with my early post - College Football Bowl Picks - Part 1, below are my picks for the next 10 Bowl games. Later this week I will be posting my College Football Bowl Picks - Part 3 that will cover all of the BCS Bowls, including in-depth analysis of each game.

Saturday, December 29th

Meineke Car Care Bowl
#25 Connecticut vs Wake Forest
My Pick: Wake Forest

Liberty Bowl
Central Florida (UCF) vs Mississippi State
My Pick: Central Florida (UCF)

Alamo Bowl
Penn State vs Texas A&M
My Pick: Penn State

Sunday, December 30th

Independence Bowl
Alabama vs Colorado
My Pick: Alabama

Monday, December 31st

Chick-fil-A Bowl
#15 Clemson vs #23 Auburn
My Pick: Auburn

Sun Bowl
#21 South Florida vs Oregon
My Pick: Oregon

Armed Forces Bowl
California vs Air Force
My Pick: California

Humanitarian Bowl
Georgia Tech vs Fresno State
My Pick: Georgia Tech

Music City Bowl
Kentucky vs Florida State
My Pick: Florida State

Insight Bowl
Indiana vs Oklahoma State
My Pick: Oklahoma State

In what has to be another case of bad timing, the University of Michigan athletic department made the announcement earlier today that West Virginia head football coach Rich Rodriguez will be leaving to head over to the Coach the Wolverines.

Rodriguez, who led the Mountaineers to a10-2 record and BCS bowl for the second time in three season, told his players today at a 1:30pm meeting. Obviously the players are upset that their coach chose to make the announcement before the bowl game - I also question his judgment. As with Bobby Petrino why no, for at least your players sake, make the announcement when the season is done? To me it is a very selfish move and one that will only negatively affect the coaches players.

Both current Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr and Rodriguez will coach their respective teams in their bowl games. Michigan is playing January 1st in the Capital One Bowl against #9 Florida and West Virginia is playing Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

Being Saturday without college football and the first bowl game coming up next Thursday I thought what better time to do some picks. So, below are the first 11 college football bowl games coming up - and my pick as to whom will win. Next week I will do another set of games, then follow that with in-depth analysis and picks for the BCS bowl games.

Thursday, December 20

Poinsettia Bowl
Navy vs. Utah
My pick: Utah

Friday, December 21

New Orleans Bowl
Florida Atlantic vs Menphis
My pick: Florida Atlantic

Saturday, December 22

Las Vegas Bowl
#19 BYU vs UCLA
My pick: UCLA

New Mexico Bowl
Nevada vs New Mexico
My Pick: New Mexico

PapaJohns.com Bowl
Cincinnati vs Southern Mississippi
My Pick: Cincinnati

Sunday, December 23

Hawaii Bowl
#24 Boise State vs East Carolina
My pick: Boise State

Wednesday, December 26

Motor City Bowl
Central Michigan vs Purdue
My Pick: Purdue

Thursday, December 27

Holiday Bowl
#12 Arizona State vs #17 Texas
My Pick: Texas

Friday, December 28th

Emerald Bowl
Oregon State vs Maryland
My Pick: Oregon State

Champs Sports Bowl
#14 Boston College vs Michian State
My Pick: Boston College

Texas Bowl
TCU vs Houston
My Pick: TCU