Fear not, Front Range football fans. There might not be a championship team in the state this fall, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the country doesn’t have great college football, fabulous players and intriguing stories.
You can start in the Big 12, where the best Heisman Trophy battle in ages will emerge from the best quarterback conference in the country. Say a few Hail Marys for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, and don’t book your tickets for Pasadena yet, Florida fans. Mississippi, which beat you last year, is the nation’s next power.
A thumbnail look at the upcoming season:
Five best story lines1. Heisman Trophy race. Even that statue in New York will watch. The 2007 winner in Florida’s Tim Tebow, the 2008 winner in Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and the 2008 runner-up in Texas’ Colt McCoy are the front-runners. All are quarterbacks, and two are friendly archrivals who meet Oct. 17 in Dallas.
2. Florida repeat. No one has won back-to-back BCS national titles, and no one has won back-to-back Associated Press titles since Nebraska in 1994-95. The Gators have 18 returning starters and visit No. 11 Louisiana State on Oct. 10. We’re all Gator bait, folks.
3. Big 12 quarterbacks. Sound familiar? Last year’s No. 1 story is still huge. Joe Ganz, Chase Daniel and Josh Freeman left, but back are Kansas’ Todd Reesing, Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson and Baylor’s Robert Griffin, along with Bradford and McCoy. That’s three of the nation’s top five efficiency leaders from last year.
4. Notre Dame. Was the 49-21 win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl a sign that Charlie Weis has turned it around, or a sign that Hawaii still only produces good tropical drinks? Ex-Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz says the Irish will play for the national title. Another 6-6 regular-season record with a relatively easy schedule and those echoes awakened will be more catcalls from coast to coast.
5. BCS busters. Never has there been more than three teams from non-BCS conferences ranked in the AP’s top 25 preseason poll. This year, four — No. 14 Boise State, No. 17 Texas Christian, No. 19 Utah and No. 20 Brigham Young — are in the top 20.
Five teams on way up
1. Mississippi.Two years after Houston Nutt took over, the Rebels are favored to win their first SEC West crown and are a trendy dark horse to win the national title. Quarterback Jevan Snead, the former transfer from Texas, leads 16 returning starters from 9-4 squad. Add in great interior lines, innovative Wild Rebel alignment and the all-SEC kicker.
2. Notre Dame. The defense still needs to mesh, but the Irish should be big favorites in road games against Michigan, Purdue and Washington State, with quarterback Jimmy Clausen and eight other offensive starters returning.
3. Nebraska. Sorry, Buff fans. The Bugeaters are back too. If quarterback Zac Lee stays healthy, they could easily play for Big 12 title two years after fielding the worst defense in school history. Running back Roy Helu Jr. has brought back memories of Cornhusker greats.
4. Stanford. Cardinal hasn’t been to a bowl since 2001; hasn’t won one since 1996 Sun Bowl. Both could change this year. In Jim Harbaugh’s second year, 5-7 Stanford showed huge improvement, and it has 17 starters back. That includes 1,100-yard rusher Toby Gerhart. Stellar sophomore Andrew Luck is its most talented QB since Trent Edwards.
5. Michigan State. From 4-8 to 7-6 to 9-4, the Spartans are knocking on Big Ten contention under third-year coach Mark Dantonio. They must replace tailback Javon Ringer and QB Brian Hoyer, but receivers are experienced and the defense will be deeper. Now, if they can just win a big game for once.
Five teams on way down
1. Auburn. It’s not a good sign when you suffer your second-worst record since 1976 then greet the new coach with a sign reading “We want a winner, not a loser.” Gene Chizik, the ex-Auburn D-coordinator, returns after “lifting” Iowa State to 3-9 and 2-10 records. He finds his old school with the nation’s No. 99 passing offense, and the QB job went to inconsistent senior Chris Todd.
2. Purdue. Joe Tiller got out at the right time. He left the cupboard bare for his replacement, Danny Hope, one year removed from Eastern Kentucky. Justin Siller, the expected starting quarterback, was booted from school for academic reasons. The top returning rusher gained 34 yards last year, although Jaycen Taylor is back after a broken arm in ’07 and a torn ACL in ’08.
3. Boston College. The Eagles were the ACC’s surprise team the last two years. It was also a surprise to see coaching wiz Jeff Jagodzinski get fired for interviewing with the Jets. Off a 9-5 team, he leaves Frank Spaziani with few stalwarts. They’re picked last in the ACC Atlantic.
4. South Carolina. After going 8-5, 6-6 and 7-6, coach Steve Spurrier should be flinging his visor by mid-September. He has 11 starters back, but none were among the three best players on offense and defense. He has reluctantly given the QB job to sophomore Stephen Garcia.
5. Connecticut. The Big East is down, and UConn is down even more. Four stars left for the NFL and a no-huddle attack will put more emphasis on a passing game without a reliable quarterback.
Coaches on hot seat
1. Charlie Weis, Notre Dame. The bowl rout in Hawaii appeased the subway alumni during the offseason. Still, the bottom line is Weis is 10-15 the last two years, the worst stretch for the Irish since going 7-12 in 1962-63.
2. Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville. Did Cardinals really win the Orange Bowl in 2006? It seems like 1906. They’ve gone 11-13 in Kragthorpe’s two years, including 1-6 in the Big East last season.
3. Al Groh, Virginia. He has survived despite mediocre seasons. Can he make it through another after going 5-7, 9-4, 5-7? Groh cleaned house after finishing 114th in scoring, at 16.1 points per game. He even demoted his son, Mike, the offensive coordinator.
4. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan. Forget the fact Rodriguez stiff-armed Michigan tradition when he arrived last year. Forget last year’s 3-9 record. The current investigation into alleged violations of practice limitations could trump them all.
5. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin. With his predecessor, Barry Alvarez, as the athletic director, Bielema likely won’t lose his job. However, few fan bases are angrier with his 8-8 Big Ten mark the last two years. They were a missed field goal from losing to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
Players on hot seat
1. Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame. He’s not only being asked to save the program but his coach’s job. He’s starting to live up to his press clippings, but he’s better than the people around him. He told The Sporting News in April, “Coach Weis will not get fired because of me.” In that case, you’d better carry the most famous program in the country, kid.
2. Matt Barkley, QB, Southern California. No true freshman quarterback has started for USC. No USC team has finished second or lower in the Pac-10 since 2001. He’s considered the top prep QB in the country last year, and has all the tools around him to continue the USC tradition.
3. Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma. The third-ranked Sooners’ lone weakness on paper is their offensive line. Williams has 28 of the unit’s 32 career starts and will protect Bradford’s blind side.
4. Jarrett Brown, QB, West Virginia. Mountaineer fans remember him well. He subbed a lot for Pat White, merely the best player in the program’s history. Now it’s Brown’s show.
5. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State. Can a sixth-ranked team be rebuilding? At Ohio State it can. Pryor is one of only four offensive starters back, and the whole linebacker corps is gone. He must develop more as a passer.
