Connecticut—when you think of UConn, you probably think of the basketball team. With all four starters back at linebacker; the strength of the team is defense led by Scott Luturs.

Conclusion: Do not count out Louisville and Cincinnati however: West Virginia is too talented, too fast, and too strong for this conference. West Virginia should not have trouble winning the Big East.

Big Ten Conference

I will start by saying that Penn State, Purdue, Michigan State is a step too slow to seriously contend for the conference championship. All three teams should have nice seasons and nice bowl trips. Michigan has a new head coach in Rich Rodriguez and a new offensive system, the zone-read option system. It is unclear if this system will fit with the current roster of Michigan and the fans that are accustomed to the traditional run-first offense.

Illinois had a nice year last year. The Illini went to the Rose Bowl game courtesy of the benevelonence of the BCS system. A 49-17 whitewashing given by Southern California proved that Illinois is not there yet. As long as Juice Williams continues to improve his passing game, Illinois should be in the mix. Wisconsin is my second place finisher. RB PJ Hill may have to carry the load early until the Badgers can get reliable play at the quarterback position.

The team I pick to win is Ohio State. Here are a few names you will hear often this season. Running Back Chris “Beanie” Well, linebacker James Laurinitius, quarterback Todd Beckman and a good defense. What I see with Ohio State is, are the Buckeyes improved over last years BCS annilation given by LSU? Have they improved their team speed?

Conclusion: Wisconsin and Illinois will nudge Ohio State a bit before Ohio State wins the Big Ten championship.

Pacific Ten Conference Preview

In my opinion, the real race in the pacific ten is for second through fifth place. I will crown Southern California as the winner by default. The Trojans are fast, loaded and hungry to get to the BCS national championship game. Dennis Erickson is known for turning teams around. He has done that at Arizona State. Led by projected quarterback Rudy Carpenter, the Sun Devils are loaded offensively. Typically, teams that are loaded offensively are suspect defensively. Arizona State has to replace their entire defensive backfield. In the offensive minded Pacific Ten, teams need to play some defense. Can Oregon play defense? By Pacific Ten standards, I would say yes. The Ducks defense has to since their QB situation is murky, and their running game isn’t decided. Rick Neuheisal is the new boss at UCLA. He takes over a program that has the talent, but the Bruins have underachieved in recent seasons. With opening game vs. Tennessee and BYU, success early on is important. California is a team I cannot figure out. At one point last season, the talk was about the Golden Bears and the BCS; they ended up in the Armed Forces Bowl, squeaking out a 42-36 win over Air Force. Nate Longshore must step up and be the senior QB, team chemistry is important.

Conclusion: USC wins the Pacific 10 title. The race for second will be close.

Big Twelve Conference

I think Big twelve fans have a legitimate argument for being “the best college football conference” in America. In the Big 12 North, I think this is a two team race. Kansas was the “feel warm and fuzzy” story of last year. The Jayhawks were 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl game. Todd Reesing and company do not have the luxury to sneak up on anyone this year. The same applies to Missouri. Sophomore wideout Jeremy Macklin and Chase Daniel should keep statisticians busy. I know games are won on the field; however on paper, I give the nod to Missouri to win the North division.

In the South division, aside from Texas and Oklahoma is Texas Tech. I know that the Red Raiders pass the ball around and score points as if it was NCAA 09 video game. The question is can they beat Oklahoma and Texas? Unless the defense can stop somebody, Oklahoma will win this division because they will beat Texas in the annual Red River game.

Conclusion: A repeat of last year’s big twelve title game. Maybe Missouri will give Oklahoma a better game. The Big twelve title game is outside in Kansas City this year. Same old story, the Sooners win the big twelve.

Mountain West Conference

Utah and Air Force should provide stiff competition for my projected winner, Brigham Young University. The Utes season depends on their first game at Michigan. I think a win there will boost the confidence. Air Force, with the triple option is a plucky team that will give it their all every game. BYU has a team led by Max Hall and 8 starters back on offense. The key for BYU is how the defense will respond with only three starters return. Some say that the Cougars are talented enough to go undefeated and crash the BCS party. Not if they can find replacements.

Conclusion: BYU in a competitive Mountain West Conference.

“The Best of the Rest”

With all due respect to these conference and space, I will provide just the winners of each conference then discuss my method of operation for this year’s preseason top 25 poll.

In the Western Athletic Conference, Fresno State should edge out Boise State and Nevada. The Bulldogs, famous for their “Anybody, Anywhere, Anytime” motto when it comes to scheduling, play Rutgers, UCLA and Wisconsin. I see them beating UCLA and Rutgers. Three out of five offensive line starters return. For Fresno State to do well, the defense must find ways to keep opponents off the score sheet.

In the Mid-American Conference, Central Michigan vs. Miami, OH in the conference title game. The Chippewa’s have a nice quarterback in Dan LeFavour. The Redhawks are equipped nicely on the defensive side of the ball led by linebacker Clayton Mullins, Caleb Bostic and Joey Hudson. Ball State may play a role.

Conclusion: Miami, OH wins this conference.

The Atlantic Coast Conference is suffering when it comes to football. Their BCS representative cannot win a bowl game, Florida State and Miami are in my mind, mediocre teams that hang on to the past and Duke is just atrocious. Clemson and Virginia Tech should win the Atlantic and Coastal Division respectively. I like Clemson to win due to the running back duo of CJ Spiller and James Davis. I argue that the ACC, not Big East is the weakest of the BCS conferences as of right now.

Lastly, my preseason top 25 poll is out. This poll is an educated guess of how I see the team ranked. I always start with the defending champions being number one. That means LSU is atop the polls. It is clear to me, that early season polling is influenced by teams posting enormous margin of victory against lesser competition. I decided that I will not release a second poll until late September. I want to get an accurate poll of the best twenty-five teams in college football.