College Football 2008

From today through Wednesday, I'll be updating my blog with College Football predictions for 2008. I'll preview the Nebraska Cornhuskers specifically on Wednesday. For now, JB will break down his top 10 teams and will also provide some predictions for the season in the "JB Sez" column. Without further ado, here is my top 10 (the top 10 will be updated through Tuesday).

1. Southern California-A favorable scheduele for USC this year features all tough non-conference and conference games at home (including a September 13th showdown against The Ohio State University). Quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was injured in fall camp appears to be healthy and ready to take the full reigns as the next great Trojan QB. He is surrounded by tremendous talent which include Wide Receiver's Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton (former five star rivals recruits) and tailback Joe McKnight (another former five star rivals recruit.) Brian Cushing and Rey Maulauga lead what is undoubtedly the best linebacking core in college football Stoday and both could be top 10 picks in the NFL Draft come next spring. With it becoming ever harder to go undefeated in college football, it would be hard to argue that a one loss USC team would not belong in the BCS National Championship game.

2. Ohio State-In reality, Florida or Georgia should probably be #2, but the SEC is the toughest conference in the country, and this is the year I think they will finally all cancel each other out and keep each other out of the national championship game. Ohio State is clearly the class of the Big 10 and they return 9 starters on offense and defense including Junior Runningback Chris "Beanie" Wells. Terrell Pryor, the consensus #1 recruit in the country, will arrive on campus this fall and is expected to provide an immediate impact to the Buckeyes. Don't expect him to start, but his role could be similar to what Tim Tebow did in Florida in 2006.Expect the Buckeyes and Trojans to have a rematch in the Orange Bowl in Miami this coming January.

3. Florida-All day I debated between Georgia and Florida for this spot. In the end, I chose Florida thanks to a softer schedule and the presence of defending Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow. Florida does have some issues on the defensive side of the ball (see Michigan torch the Gators in the Citrus Bowl); however, Florida overhauled their defensive staff and return at least 9 players who started on defense last year. I don't know if Florida will beat Georgia on November 1; however, a softer schedule bodes well for Florida to return to the SEC Title game on the first Saturday in December.

4. Georgia-The Bulldogs were undoubtedly the best team at the end of the college football season last year. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they had some tough losses early on and failed to qualify for the SEC title game. The Bulldogs return key offensive players at all positions, lead by QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno. What could doom Georgia is a tough tough schedule which features road games at LSU, at Auburn, along with the traditional Jacksonville contest with the Gators.

5. Oklahoma-Although the Sooners flamed out in the BCS, they yet again won the Big 12 title, handing Missouri their only two losses in the season, including a 38-17 thrashing in the Big 12 title game. The Sooners are loaded on the offense side of the ball, returning Sophomore QB Sam Bradford and RB Demarco Murray, who is a star waiting to be born. The Sooners also return all 5 starters on an experienced offensive line. With the offense in place, defensive minded Bob Stoops should have no issue getting his defense in order, along the way to another Big 12 title. Its a definite possibility that as long as Oklahoma can avoid losing more than one game, they have a good shot at the National Championship come this January.

Rest of the Top 10.

6. Missouri-Heisman Trophy Candidate Chase Daniel and All American Candidate Jeremy Maclin return to lead the Tigers. With Kansas having the toughest schedule in the north, and no other contendor in site, the Tigers will have no problem returning to the Big 12 title game.

7. Clemson-Features the best Runningback combo in College Football with James Davis and CJ Spiller. Can Tommy Bowden finally cash in on a weak ACC conference?

8. West Virginia-With Pat White returning to run the offense and super sophomore Noel Devine, the Mountaineers should see no immediate drop off in their first year with Rich Rodriguez as Head Coach

9. LSU-The Tigers have a lot of talent, but a lot of inexperience. Its still unknown who will be the QB for LSU, but don't count out Les Miles making stars out of his loaded recruiting classes.

10. Texas Tech-10 starters return on offense including QB Graham Harrell and WR Michael Crabtree, who both are likely Heisman Trophy candidates. Tech's commitment to defense slide them into my top 10 for the first time ever.