While some conferences around the nation have already begun conference play, many-like the Big Ten-also begin beating each other up this weekend. With that in mind, GameDay breaks out the crystal ball and tarot cards to predict who will emerge victorious come December.
The Big East
Last year the Big East said goodbye to two well-known football powers that moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia Tech and Miami. This year they lost Boston College. With all of these teams in the top 25, it is easy to see that the Big East has lost some of its luster.
The Big East did pick up some Conference USA teams, including the No. 10 Louisville Cardinals. Sophomore Cardinal quarterback Brian Brohm appears to be coming on strong. Against Oregon State last week he had 368 yards and five touchdowns. The schedule is also in Louisville's favor. They don't play a ranked team the entire season.
In one of this year's early shockers, Pittsburgh-with new coach Dave Wannstedt-has started 0-3. The Panthers have not done that since 1984. This has opened the door for a ready and waiting team in the West Virginia Mountaineers. They have started off 3-0 and look stay among the unbeaten against East Carolina this week. The Mountaineers first real test comes next week against No. 4 Virginia Tech.
Favorite: Louisville
Dark Horse: West Virginia
-Ryan Rampetsreiter
Atlantic Coast
In 2005, the ACC has a brand new look. With newcomer Boston College, the usually deep and powerful conference gets even better. BC makes it 12 total teams and sets the stage for two divisions. This new format has also opened the door for a conference championship between the two division winners.
The first big matchup took place the first week of the season between Miami and Florida State. In a game that could only be called a struggle, the Seminoles won 10-7. Both teams are strong as usual and should be at the top in the end, but Florida State has the advantage with the week one win.
Although Miami and FSU are the returning powers, Virginia Tech is looking to win the ACC on the arm (and legs) of junior quarterback Marcus Vick. They have started strong with wins against Ohio, Duke, and North Carolina State. The Hokies also have the schedule to their advantage the rest of the way. They play Miami, Georgia Tech and BC at home and avoid Florida State altogether. Vick looks like he has put the off-the-field problems behind him and is ready to follow in his brother's footsteps. With help from the Tech defense, which has already posted two shutouts, Virginia Tech hopes to win the ACC and make a run at playing in Pasadena.
Favorite: Virginia Tech
Dark Horse: Georgia Tech
-Ryan Rampetreiter
Southeastern
Of all the conferences in college football, not one is more formidable than the SEC. It boasts four contenders in the top ten rankings in the land (LSU, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee), and has the prognosticators stumped. While the Gators celebrate the arrival of offensive guru Urban Meyer, LSU instead suffered the loss of head coach Nick Saban to the NFL's Miami Dolphins. The pick to lead the pack is the 2003 national champion Tigers. Former Oklahoma State head coach Les Miles now takes the reins in Baton Rouge, presiding over last season's third-best defense in the nation that lost only four starters. Seniors Kyle Williams and Claude Wroten anchor a crack defensive line, and senior offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth is one of the best in the business. At quarterback, sophomore JaMarcus Russell did not disappoint in the team's debut at Arizona State, throwing for a touchdown and 232 yards. After a weekend off, a telling Saturday matchup against conference foe Tennessee awaits the Bayou Bengals.
Aside from perennial powers Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU and Georgia, keep an eye on Alabama. The Crimson Tide returns nine starters from a defense that finished second in the country last year, allowing 16 points per contest. 'Bama was afflicted with the injury bug last year, but with senior quarterback Brodie Croyle and junior running back Ken Darby healthy, the outlook is brighter. The Tide went to South Carolina last Saturday and crushed coach Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks, 37-14, for its first conference win.
Favorite: LSU
Dark Horse: Alabama
-Jon Bortin
Sun Belt
The Sun Belt Conference, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is home to eight largely mediocre teams. In this weak conference, the top spot is held by the North Texas Mean Green. As it is early in the season, the Mean Green and the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders are the only teams to have played a conference game. The Mean Green went 7-0 in the conference last season and waltzed their way to the conference title. They are the logical pick for the 2005 campaign as well, as they return nearly the same starting offense. The Sun Belt conference's pride last year, however, may have been Troy, who produced DeMarcus Ware, the 11th pick in the 2005 NFL draft. While these Trojans may not be from USC, look for them as dark horse contenders for the conference title this season.
Favorite: North Texas
Dark Horse: Troy
-Connor McKnight
Mid-American
Badger fans should be familiar with the early-season favorite in the Mid-American Conference. Bowling Green, lead by the sensational quarterback Omar Jacobs, really has their offense hitting on all cylinders. Jacobs has more than 800 yards and 10 touchdowns through two games. The Falcons better get used to scoring a lot, because their defense doesn't look to be much help. Bowling Green lost to Wisconsin 56-42 and beat Ball State 40-31. It appears the Falcons will have to get used to playing in shootouts.
The MAC also appears to be lacking depth this year with nine teams starting under .500 and only one starting 3-0. That team is the Toledo Rockets. Like Bowling Green, they have a high-powered offense. They are 3-0 and have amassed 160 points in those victories. Toledo averages 468 yards a game offensively and has more balance than Bowling Green. The Rockets average 220 yards rushing and 448 through the air so they are more than capable of beating a defense in both ways. The last game of the MAC season shows Toledo at Bowling Green that might determine the winner of the conference.
Favorite: Bowling Green
Dark Horse: Northern Illinois
-Ryan Rampetsreiter
Conference USA
Conference USA is taking on a new face this season. Six teams-Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and UTEP-join the ranks of East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane and UAB this year. The conference replaced some quality programs like Louisville, Cincinnati and TCU. Despite the changes, the conference still has a good amount of talent to make for some exciting football. The Marshall Thundering Herd has done nothing but win since it rose to Division 1-A status in 1997 and football fans can look for the Herd to be the top contender this year in Conference USA. Memphis, the runner up to conference champion Louisville last year, will not go easily into the night. A mainstay of the conference's football teams during the past few seasons, Memphis will look to give Marshall a warm welcoming when the two teams meet Nov. 26, just one week before the Conference championship game, which could well be the same two teams.
Favorite: Marshall
Dark Horse: Memphis
-Connor McKnight
Big 12
For the past several seasons the odds-on favorite in the Big 12 has been Oklahoma, but a changing of the guard appears in order this year. The NFL laid claim to ten Sooners, including quarterback Jason White and wide receiver Mark Clayton. After OU's first home loss since 2001 against TCU in the season opener and a loss Saturday to UCLA, it seems a foregone conclusion that the torch will be passed to the loaded Texas Longhorns. Last year's Rose Bowl victors have already won their toughest matchup of the season, defeating Ohio State in Columbus. Should Texas win the games it is supposed to, all that stands in its path is the wounded but still dangerous Sooners. Oklahoma has prevailed in the last five Red River Shootouts, but junior Longhorn quarterback Vince Young looks to buck that trend when he faces sophomore running back sensation Adrian Peterson and Oklahoma in the annual contest Oct. 8.
The fact both Oklahoma and Texas are in the Big 12's South Division has left wide speculation as to who will come out of the North. Iowa State is an up-and-coming team. Nebraska looks to improve in coach Bill Callahan's second season. In theory, any of the six could win it. But be on the lookout for Kansas State. Junior running back Thomas Clayton has been running roughshod over opponents so far, and junior Allen Webb has shown poise as the Wildcat's quarterback in the early going. A stiff test awaits the team in its October 1 showdown at Oklahoma.
Favorite: Texas
Dark Horse: Kansas State
-Jon Bortin
Pacific-10
Returning with the Heisman trophy winner, Matt Leinert, explosive All-American tailback Reggie Bush, and beating your opponents by an average of almost 50 points in the first two games does not just make Southern California the favorite in the Pac-10-it makes them the favorite to win the Rose Bowl and be crowned back-to-back national champions and a three-time Associated Press poll champion. So far this year, Reggie Bush is averaging more than 10 yards per carry and Matt Leinart shows no signs of slowing down from last year. Apparently, Leinart's ballroom dancing class does not seem to be causing too much of a distraction this semester. USC has a few road tests left on the schedule: No. 16 Notre Dame, No. 15 California and No. 18 Arizona State. It will not be a cakewalk for the Trojans, but the defending champions do not seem to know how to lose.
California appears to be USC's closest competition with wins over Sacramento State, Washington, and Illinois so far this year. They are ranked No. 15 going into this week and only have one remaining ranked team on their schedule, the Trojans at home. If Justin Forsett continues to run hard, perhaps they can gain some momentum and find a way to beat the champs.
Favorite: USC
Dark Horse: Arizona State
-Ryan Rampetsreiter
Mountain West
Every NCAA season has its feel-good story. Last year's just happened to come out of the Mountain West, the youngest of the Division I-A conferences. Utah became a BCS team last season under offensive mastermind Urban Meyer, who has since left for Florida. Alex Smith, selected number one overall in the NFL draft, also has departed. This should open the door for either Wyoming or New Mexico, who both have the potential to take the conference crown. The Cowboys have 17 holdovers from last season and seem poised to make a move under the leadership of senior quarterback Corey Bramlet, one of the Mountain West's top passers. Saturday they eked out a victory over Air Force on the road, but they will have to play much better to defeat New Mexico on Oct. 15.
Not to be overlooked in this conference is newcomer Texas Christian. As an offensive juggernaut, the Horned Frogs should feel right at home in an offensively minded league. They already handed Oklahoma its first home loss in four years, and escaped with a win over Utah last week with clutch play from senior quarterback Tye Gunn. Meanwhile, the defense is showing substantial improvement over last year, when it allowed an abysmal 34 points per game.
Favorite: Wyoming
Dark Horse: TCU
-Jon Bortin
Western Athletic Conference
Fresno State and Boise State notwithstanding, the WAC is a conference short on excitement. Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas El-Paso, and Tulsa have been replaced by Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State, all who do not figure to pose much of a challenge. Fresno St. had the conference's best defense last season. On offense they have a steady quarterback in senior Paul Pinegar and a running back who is more than capable of posting a 1,000-yard season in senior Wendell Mathis. For the Bulldogs, it is a non-conference game that will draw the most interest. On Nov. 19 coach Pat Hill's group will travel to USC and attempt to upset the Trojans.
It's difficult to imagine a team other than Fresno St. or Boise St. contending in the WAC this season, but if there is one squad that could, it is the Nevada Wolf Pack. Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault (.703 career winning percentage) will have his offense primarily running in shotgun formation. Junior wide receiver Caleb Spencer is evidently fitting into the \pistol"" offense, amassing over 100 yards receiving in each of Nevada's first two games, including a 133 yard performance in the Wolf Pack's 22-14 victory over UNLV last Saturday.
Favorite: Fresno State
Dark Horse: Nevada
-Jon Bortin
