Oh My, It's September Already...

In the interest of being open and honest, I'd like to admit that I'm far behind in my preparations for the upcoming college football season. It's impossible to responsibly entertain and inform my internet audience without doing significant research. By this point in years past, I'd have already purchased every pre-season publication I could find, spent hours listening to the alleged experts on television and radio, and scoured the internet for tidbits of fact or rumor I might have missed elsewhere. But this year I've done almost none of that.

I've been wondering how I will face my readers when they begin to realize what has happened. My first thought was that I would weep briefly and deny everything, but I see Rich Rodriguez has already used that approach. Then, since we are talking about college football, it dawned on me that I could prepare like I did when I was in school, and attempt to learn in just a few days everything I should have spent the entire semester studying.

After a short time cramming, I can leave you with a few initial observations...

If I had to bet my life on it, I'd take Florida to win every game they play. They have the talent, the experience, the schedule, the on-the-field leadership, and the coaching that make national championships possible.

Others in the running:

Penn State - they play only two teams ranked in the pre-season Top 25, and get both of those teams at home.

USC - they play four teams ranked in the pre-season Top 25, but get all of them on the road. Plus they have to play those pesky Oregon State Beavers. Hmmm.

Texas/Oklahoma - the winner of this game should have a great shot at playing for all the marbles. Oh wait, we're talking about the Big 12, aren't we? This is the league that last year had the folly of its tie-breaking methods fully exposed, and then chose during the offseason to do absolutely nothing about it.

Are there any others in the running? No. The national champion will be one of the five teams mentioned above.

Alabama and Virginia Tech should have great defenses. They will need them. Too many holes and/or inexperience on offense will leave both of them struggling to score points against quality opponents.

Does Ohio State really scare anybody outside the Big 10+1?

I think Mississippi will win the SEC West (they get Alabama and LSU at home), and then get pounded by Florida in the league championship game. Florida lost one game last season. Do you think they'd like a chance at a re-do?

Oklahoma State's key problem, besides a porous defense, is that they are in the same division as Oklahoma and Texas.

LSU will likely lose to Florida and Mississippi.

See? I didn't have to study all summer to figure that out. Besides, I am limited by the NCAA to 20 hours of work each week.