College Football Preview
By: Great Lakes Sports
Welcome to another exciting College Football season and we here at Great Lakes Sports will give our predictions for the NCAA Top Ten and who we think will win the National Championship and as always good luck this season from Great Lakes Sports.
1. USC- The USC Trojans does return nine starters back on offense but lost starting QB Mark Sanchez to the NFL, and with the Trojans only returning three starters back most people would say this is a rebuilding year for the USC Trojans. We here at Great Lakes Sports look for the Trojans to keep reloading under one of the more respected coaches in the country in Head Coach Pete Carroll. The Trojans had a lot of depth last year, and they are led this year by sophomore QB Aaron Corp who will lead the high power USC offense this season, and with a strong running game, and a great receiving corp led by 6’1” junior Damian Williams 58 receptions for 869 yards we here at Great Lakes Sports look for the USC Trojans to beat the Florida Gators for the national championship.
2. Florida- The Gators lost a couple of their skill position players on offense but they do return seven starters back on offense and are led by Heisman Trophy Candidate 6’3” senior Tim Tebow who threw for 3,286 yards last year with an amazing 32-6 ratio so scoring points will not be a problem for the Gators this season. The Florida Gators also return everyone back on defense as all eleven starters return, and they only questions we at Great Lakes Sports is their schedule in the rugged SEC conference as they have tough road games with LSU, and Georgia. We will call for the Florida Gators to be runner up in the country and finish number two.
3. Texas- The Longhorns return nine starters back on offense and seven starters back on defense from a team that went a stellar 12-1 last season and could have easily been playing for the NCAA championship. The Longhorns are led by another high profile QB in 6’3” senior Colt McCoy who threw for a very solid 3,859 yards with a 34-8 ratio and completing 77% of his passes, and he also led Texas in rushing with 561 yards with eleven touchdowns. We look for tough road games at Missouri, Oklahoma State, and a the River Red shoot out with the Oklahoma Sooners to be Texas demise as they will lose one of those games. We will call for a third place finish, and a BCS bowl berth.
4. Oklahoma- The Oklahoma Sooners could be in a nice spot here with five starters back on offense and nine starters back on defense, and the Sooners also have another high profile QB in 6’4” junior Sam Bradford who threw for a stellar 4,720 yards with an outstanding 50-8 ratio. The Sooners do have tough games with BYU, at Miami Florida, and on the road against a much improved Nebraska team not including the River Red shoot out against the Texas Longhorns. We here at Great Lakes Sports look for the Sooners to lose one of those games, but they will end up with a BCS bowl berth, and we like them as the fourth best team in the country.
5. Ohio State- The Buckeyes have lost a lot on the offensive side of the ball with only five returning starters but do return seven starters back on defense. Ohio State is led the top freshman QB in the country last year in Terrelle Pryor. The Ohio State Buckeyes bolstered their recruiting with one of the top recruiting classes in the country led by 6’1” LB Dorian Bell and 5’11” RB Jaamal Berry. We look for their defense not to miss a beat, and if Pryor can lead his offensive troops the Buckeyes will win the Big Ten conference. The key game here is September 12th against the USC Trojans, and if they can win this game their could be talk of a possible BCS title game in Buckeye country, as for now we like the Buckeyes to finish number five in the country with a trip to the Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes.
6. Virginia Tech- The Hokies have a very nice team coming back this year with 16 starters coming back (9 on offense, and 7 on defense), and leading the way is won of the more versatile running backs in the ACC conference in 6’0” sophomore Darren Evans who rushed for 1,265 yards with a eleven touchdowns. The only problem we see is their lack of depth on the defensive side of the ball, and with a tough schedule off the bat against a very good Alabama team and with tough games against Nebraska, and Miami Florida this could be too much for head coach Frank Beamer squad to handle. This is why we like Hokies to finish number six in the country and a possible BCS bowl berth.
7. Mississippi- This will be Great Lakes Sports surprise team this year with eight starters back on offense, and eight starters back on defense from a team that went a very respectable 9-4 last year behind first year coach at Mississippi in Houston Nutt. The Rebels are led by 6’3” junior Jevan Snead who threw for 2,762 yards with a26-13 ratio, and with a very easy non-conference schedule this will be a break out year for the Rebels. We here at Great Lakes Sports look for the Mississippi Rebels to end up with ten or eleven wins with the Mississippi Rebels getting to a New Years Day Bowl Game, as for now we will call for the Mississippi Rebels to finish ninth in the country.
8. Penn State- The Nittany Lions return five starters back on offense and only four starters back on defense but they do have a lot of depth, and are led by senior QB Daryll Clark who threw for 2,592 yards with a 19-6 ratio last season. The Penn State are not only legitimate Big Ten title contenders with an easy non-conference schedule but if they get by the Ohio State Buckeyes at home their maybe NCAA title talks in Penn State country. We look for the Penn State Nittany Lions to end up in second place in the highly competitive Big Ten conference and we look for Nittany Lions to finish in eighth place in the country and end up in a New Years day bowl.
9. California- This could be one of the more talented Golden Bears teams in recent memory, as they return seven starters back on offense, and eight starters back on defense behind a squad that finished 9-4 last year. The Golden Bears do have road tough games at Oregon, and Arizona State but they do have USC at home, and unfortunately the Golden Bears do not have the athletic ability or the depth to beat the Trojans this season. We will call for the California Golden Bears to finish ninth in the country this season with a possible New Years day bowl berth.
10. Alabama- The Crimson Tide only has four starters back on offense, but they do have nine starters back from a team that went a very solid 12-2 last year. The Tide’s defense which only allowed a stellar 14 ppg last year will be the cornerstone of their success this season as they have a lot of depth on the defensive side of the ball but with tough games against Virginia Tech, at Mississippi, LSU, and rival Auburn this could be a tall order for Alabama, and this is why we look for Alabama to finish tenth in the country with an outside shot at a New Years day bowl berth.