College Football 2012

[Chief Petosky]

It's almost here! My favorite time of year.

Early favorites? Dark horses? Small Conference upstarts? Contenders/Pretenders? Major disappointments?

Glad my Cats got a basketball championship because it's gonna be a dismal year for them in football (dismal for them...which is really bad). I heard that season ticket sales decreased by double digit percentage for the second year in a row. That's what happens when you're not playing well and you run an extremely uncreative/boring offense and there seems to be no energy around the coaching staff/team.

At least Louisville looks to have a good year.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

Early favorites are at the top of the pre-season poll.
Dark horses are in the middle of the pre-season poll.
Contenders/Pretenders make up the bottom half of the pre-season poll.

So far, that honey badger meme er, guy at LSU is a major disappointment.

So, all your questions have been answered.
Looking forward to Mich-Ala at Arlington, Texas, 9/1 at 5PM (PDT). Or at least the first quarter.

[Is This Wilt Chamberlain?]

If USC can stay healthy, I think they can play with anyone. With the thin numbers, though, I see them getting worn down and dropping a game at some point.

Losing Mathieu hurts LSU some, but they'll still be right in it. They'll have their shot when Bama comes to Baton Rouge in Nov. Big question is will Mettenberger be better than the last few years at QB..can't be any worse right?

Oklahoma should be in the mix. I really like the Landy Jones/Kenny Stills combo, don't know anything about their defense, though.

Now I'm biased as a fan, but I think Alabama is the team to beat. Saban has recruited like he's playing a PS3 NCAA Football dynasty, so the dropoff from players leaving should be minimal. If RB Eddie Lacy stays healthy, he'll definitely be at the Heisman ceremony. OL might be the best in the country. Should be favored in every game this season, including at LSU.

A few things I'm curious to see play out:
Mike Leach's offense at Washington St
Rich Rod at Arizona
Can Missouri win the SEC East? Wouldn't shock me.

[The Wizard of Awe]

My predictions:
1) USC runs the table and wins the Pac 12 Championship game en route to a National Championship birth. However, they suffer injuries in the Pac 12 Championship win over upstart Cal and lose the National Title game to undefeated West Virginia (Big 12 Champs).
2) In the SEC Championship game, Alabama (who advanced due to tiebreakers after they lost at Arkansas, who lost to LSU, who lost to Alabama) defeats Georgia (who actually lives up to the preseason hype and goes undefeated with their "easy" SEC schedule).
3) Clemson wins the ACC Championship over Virginia Tech, but they dropped their final game of the regular season to South Carolina.
4) Even though they lost to both Alabama and Nebraska, Michigan beats Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game. Michigan advances there after Nebraska chokes against Minnesota and Iowa in back-to-back weeks.
5) Someone wins the Big East, but nobody cares because they're awful and get blown out in their BCS bowl.
6) And upstart Louisiana Tech runs the table, but finishes #12 in the final BCS voting and is overlooked for the BCS at-large bids. Louisiana Tech then joins the Big East hoping to claim the BCS bowl the following season.

[The Wizard of Awe]

I apologize for spoiling the season for you.

[The Wizard of Awe]

Originally Posted by Is This Wilt Chamberlain?

A few things I'm curious to see play out:
Mike Leach's offense at Washington St It would be nice for WSU to actually be good. Like in 2015 or 2017
Rich Rod at Arizona Eh.
Can Missouri win the SEC East? Wouldn't shock me.Agreed

My thoughts

[willel2338]

Early favorites:
Saban has UA on a dynasty track. Two national championships and three losses in three years and they've been steadily improving. It will take a lot to beat Bama.

1. South Carolina pitched a perfect game in 2010 with Stephen Garcia, Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery unstoppable in the first half. Even then, the game wasn't put away until the last minute.
2. The most transcendent player ever architected a 27 point comeback en route to the 2010 national championship.
3. LSU won an OT thriller.

The razor sharp focus hasn't stopped; every player on Bama's roster was recruited by Saban; they're physically imposing at every position. Such is life that it would be horribly disappointing if they dropped two games. The rest of the country will know all it needs to know about what to expect from Bama after the first week of the season.


I think USC will be there at the finish line. They have too much defensive talent for the rest of the Pac 12, especially with the good, young linebackers and TJ McDonald at safety. However, they'll likely have to beat Oregon twice, which could be tough. Utah and Notre Dame won't be easy and Washington is getting better quickly, but they'll be favored in every game.


Dark horse: Michigan State. They've got D Line + Linebacker + O Line + RB = can run the ball + stop the run. They're not a national title contender, but they might win 10 games.


Contender: Florida State, Oklahoma
Pretender: Virgina Tech, Texas

Major disappointment: Michigan. They're going to lose to Alabama, Michigan State and Ohio State. Their fan base is expecting bigger things than 3+ losses.

Small conference upstart: Arkansas State. They'll beat Nebraska on Sept 15. You heard it here first.

[Westley]

Mizzou is in the SEC East? Did not know that lol. I'm sure they just couldn't break up whatever matchups they had, but still lol.

[Is This Wilt Chamberlain?]

Well with A&M and Mizzou joining, someone had to be in the East. Maybe they'll reshuffle the divisions at some point so they make more sense.

Any MO fans have info on James Franklin? He helped me win a fantasy football title last season, and I was hoping to get in on that again. How is his shoulder coming off that surgery? Do you think he can put up good numbers against SEC defenses?

[The Cuddling Wingman]

Ohio State, Michigan and West Virginia are all going to benefit from Penn State's downturn in upcoming seasons