College kickoff 2009

You feel that? That's September air we're breathing, which can only mean two things: 1) Going back to school and 2) Football season is upon us. High school football kicked off last Friday (at least here in Illinois it did), college football begins this Thursday and the NFL starts a week after that. With Tim Tebow's return, Jay Cutler's arrival and a horrible Cubs team, I am more than ready for some pigskin action.

Just as I've done the last few seasons, I will be posting my weekly NFL picks on the blog, along with a Monday 'Football Thought of the Week'. And just as I did with 'Thought of the Day' over the summer, the picks and football ramblings will be labeled, so that you can go back through the archives and see my wonderful prognostication skills. To kick things off, here are some predictions for the upcoming college football season.

Football Thought of the Week

• Despite history saying otherwise, Florida will finish 14-0 and win the National Title. No team from the SEC has finished undefeated and won the National Championship since Tennessee in 1998 (Aubun ran the table in '04 but didn't play for the crystal trophy), but the Gators are so stacked, I don't see them falling in 2009. The offense will have sort through some kinks at first, due to the loss of receivers Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy. But with easy opponents early on, a dominating defense and of course Tebow, the Gators should be rolling by the time the meat of their schedule begins. One game to watch out for: Oct. 17 versus Arkansas. Coming off a tough game at LSU, the Gators better be ready for the Hogs.
• Behind the steady play of Darryl Clark and ferocious defense, Penn State improves upon their impressive 2008 and runs the table in '09. Their toughest game isn't the November 7 showdown versus Ohio State in Happy Valley, but instead road games at Michigan (Oct. 24) and Michigan State (Nov. 21). Survive the Great Lake State and JoePa's squad will play for a National Title.
  
• Both Texas and Oklahoma will finish the regular season with a loss, meaning whoever wins the Red River Rivalry will go down at some other point. This won't stop UT from winning the Big XII South and Colt McCoy from winning the Heisman, as voters feel bad for shafting the Longhorns and their star QB in 2008.
• Thanks to starting a talented freshmen quarterback, USC will both win and lose a game they shouldn't. (Note: That loss won't be to the Irish in South Bend) My predictions for the Trojans -- a loss at Cal, but a close win at Ohio State. And of course, another Rose Bowl victory.
• Speaking of Notre Dame, they'll go 8-4 in the regular season followed by another New Years Day Bowl loss. L's in '09 will come against Michigan (UM has to win that one), USC, Pittsburgh and Stanford.
  
• Top 5 over-rated teams: Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, LSU and Florida State
• Top 5 under-rated teams: Penn State, TCU, Kansas, West Virginia and Arkansas (and potentially Northwestern if they can find a reliable running back)
• A few high-profile coaching jobs will open up this winter, most notably at Miami and Colorado. Also former rivals Bobby Bowden (Florida State) and Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) will both retire from college football.
  
• Conference champs: ACC- Virginia Tech, Big Ten- Penn State, Big XII- Texas, Big East- West Virginia, Pac-10- USC, SEC- Florida
• Heisman winner: Colt McCoy, Texas (Top vote getter besides McCoy, Tebow and Bradford is Penn State QB Darryl Clark
• National Championship: Florida 31, Penn State 14