College Football BCS Conference Pre-season Rankings

[Tidefan73]

by Tony Barnhart..

1. SEC: Two teams in the top three (LSU, Florida) in the coaches poll. Five teams in the Top 15 and six in the top 20. Four coaches (Steve Spurrier, Phillip Fulmer, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer) who have won national championships, more than any other conference. The defending national champions reside in this league. Can there be any argument?

2. Big Ten: This was a close call but the Big Ten gets the edge over the Pac-10 in a couple of areas. Yes Ohio State, which played for the national championship last season, has a lot of rebuilding to do. But the Big Ten does have three teams in the preseason Top 10: Michigan (5), Wisconsin (7) and Ohio State (10). Penn State is at 18. The Big Ten has three coaches who have won national championships: Jim Tressel (Ohio State), Lloyd Carr (Michigan), Joe Paterno (Penn State).

3. Pac-10: An argument can be made for the Pac-10 at No. 2. Southern Cal is going to be No. 1 in every major poll and will very like play in the BCS championship game on Jan. 7. California is No. 12, UCLA is No. 17 and there are a host of teams, like Arizona State under new coach Dennis Erickson, who are on the rise.

4. ACC: By any measure, the ACC had a down year in 2006 because Miami and Florida State, who were supposed to be running with the big dogs, were instead sleeping under the porch at 7-6. Both schools have shaken things up and are expected to rebound. Only two teams (No. 9 Virginia Tech, No. 21 Florida State) made the coaches top 25 but Boston College and Georgia Tech got enough votes to be tied for No. 26. There are four new head coaches in this league and the defending champions, Wake Forest, are going to be better than people think.

5. Big 12: Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M can play with just about anybody. Oklahoma State is not ranked but has a scary offense, as does Texas Tech. All of those teams, however, are in the Big 12 South. The Big 12’s North Division continues to hold this league back. Over the last four seasons the Big 12 North is 21-51 against the South. Seven of the North’s wins have come against Baylor. The fact that Missouri, not Nebraska, is picked to win the North Division this season tells you everything you need to know.

6. Big East: My Big East friends won’t be happy with this because the top of the league is so strong with No. 6 West Virginia, No. 11 Louisville, and No. 16 Rutgers. But the rest of this league is having a hard time getting any love. South Florida and Pittsburgh are headed in the right direction but I just don’t see any upsets where any of the bottom four beats the top three. And what in the world is going on at Syracuse?