11. Sun Belt - It'll once again be one of college football's most interesting races with all eight teams having a shot. 2005 newcomers FIU and Florida Atlantic should be better, while North Texas will find its groove again after struggling with its offense last year.
The best team should be ... UL Lafayette
10. MAC - The star power isn't there with the loss of Bowling Green QB Omar Jacobs and Toledo QB Bruce Gradkowski, but NIU's Garrett Wolfe will be among the nation's rushing leaders. The division races should be fun with Ball State and Western Michigan sure to challenge NIU and Toledo in the West and Ohio sure to be better in the East.
The best team should be ... Northern Illinois
9. WAC - It's a top-heavy league with Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada good enough to hang around with anyone in America, but the bottom is really bad. Even so, New Mexico State and Utah State can't be worse while San Jose State has the potential to be much better.
The best team should be ... Nevada
8. Conference USA - This is potentially the most even league in the country. Remember that UCF was coming off a winless season and still came this close to winning the title. If that can happen, then SMU and Tulane should have a ray of hope. Fine, so Rice won't pull a UCF, but the other 11 teams should wage a fierce war with a few upsets over BCS teams sure to happen.
The best team should be ... UCF
7. Mountain West - All talk of being better than the Big East should be put to rest after this year, but this is still a solid league with TCU, Utah and BYU as good as any mid-level BCS conference team and New Mexico, San Diego State, Colorado State and Wyoming sure to be competitive. Air Force and UNLV should be better.
The best team should be ... TCU
6. Big East - All Big East bashing was well warranted last year; the league, as a whole, was awful. While the conference is still on an island ranking far behind the other five BCSers and comfortably ahead of the Mountain West, it should be better. Cincinnati and Syracuse can't be worse, Pitt and UConn will rebound, Rutgers and South Florida should be at least as good as last year, and Louisville and West Virginia should be national title contenders.
The best team should be ... West Virginia
5. Big 12 - Texas should be the preseason No. 1 and Oklahoma is close to being Oklahoma again, but there's still too much mediocrity. Nebraska is coming off a huge bowl win against Michigan and Missouri had a nice victory over South Carolina, but is the North really any better? Oklahoma State and Texas A&M should be more completive and Texas Tech is becoming more of a player, but this should be the fifth best league in the pecking order.
The best team should be ... Texas
4. Big Ten - The conference should take a step back this year. Everyone seems to be blowing off the loss of the stars in Ohio State's defensive back seven, Michigan might really be that mediocre, Penn State isn't going to be the same without Michael Robinson, and what you saw out of Iowa last year is what you'll get this year. You know what you'll get out of Minnesota, Wisconsin will overachieve before getting blasted by a good team, and Northwestern will be worse without Brett Basanez. On the plus side, Purdue and Michigan State will be better.
The best team should be ... Ohio State
3. ACC - I've been the Grand Marshal of the ACC-is-top-to-bottom strongest parade, but not anymore. Is Miami down, or is it a case of having problems playing in a good conference? I really like Florida State this year, but is this going to be the year the ship completely turns back around? The rest of the league (cough, Virginia Tech, cough) is way too flaky. While Boston College, Clemson, Maryland, NC State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia are all good, are any of them great? Clemson might be and Georgia Tech has potential, but the league is third ... for now.
The best team should be ... Florida State
2. Pac-10 - It's far better than you think. USC might not be the juggernaut of the past few years, but it's not going to fall far. Cal should be incredible, Arizona State's offense will be unstoppable, Washington State should be one of the year's surprise teams, and UCLA and Oregon should be bowling. Arizona and Stanford will be much better, and Washington isn't going to get any worse.
The best team should be ... USC
1. SEC - Vanderbilt showed last year that it can be competitive and Mississippi State should have a killer defense. Ole Miss will be better in Ed Orgeron's second year, and Kentucky will be decent, even if the record doesn't show it. Everyone else is really, really good. Even though Georgia should take a step back, the league is amazing with Florida, LSU and Auburn national title contenders and Alabama, Arkansas and South Carolina good enough to beat anyone in the league. Tennessee should be one of the year's top turnaround teams.
The best team should be ... Florida :D
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5337986
The best team should be ... UL Lafayette
10. MAC - The star power isn't there with the loss of Bowling Green QB Omar Jacobs and Toledo QB Bruce Gradkowski, but NIU's Garrett Wolfe will be among the nation's rushing leaders. The division races should be fun with Ball State and Western Michigan sure to challenge NIU and Toledo in the West and Ohio sure to be better in the East.
The best team should be ... Northern Illinois
9. WAC - It's a top-heavy league with Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada good enough to hang around with anyone in America, but the bottom is really bad. Even so, New Mexico State and Utah State can't be worse while San Jose State has the potential to be much better.
The best team should be ... Nevada
8. Conference USA - This is potentially the most even league in the country. Remember that UCF was coming off a winless season and still came this close to winning the title. If that can happen, then SMU and Tulane should have a ray of hope. Fine, so Rice won't pull a UCF, but the other 11 teams should wage a fierce war with a few upsets over BCS teams sure to happen.
The best team should be ... UCF
7. Mountain West - All talk of being better than the Big East should be put to rest after this year, but this is still a solid league with TCU, Utah and BYU as good as any mid-level BCS conference team and New Mexico, San Diego State, Colorado State and Wyoming sure to be competitive. Air Force and UNLV should be better.
The best team should be ... TCU
6. Big East - All Big East bashing was well warranted last year; the league, as a whole, was awful. While the conference is still on an island ranking far behind the other five BCSers and comfortably ahead of the Mountain West, it should be better. Cincinnati and Syracuse can't be worse, Pitt and UConn will rebound, Rutgers and South Florida should be at least as good as last year, and Louisville and West Virginia should be national title contenders.
The best team should be ... West Virginia
5. Big 12 - Texas should be the preseason No. 1 and Oklahoma is close to being Oklahoma again, but there's still too much mediocrity. Nebraska is coming off a huge bowl win against Michigan and Missouri had a nice victory over South Carolina, but is the North really any better? Oklahoma State and Texas A&M should be more completive and Texas Tech is becoming more of a player, but this should be the fifth best league in the pecking order.
The best team should be ... Texas
4. Big Ten - The conference should take a step back this year. Everyone seems to be blowing off the loss of the stars in Ohio State's defensive back seven, Michigan might really be that mediocre, Penn State isn't going to be the same without Michael Robinson, and what you saw out of Iowa last year is what you'll get this year. You know what you'll get out of Minnesota, Wisconsin will overachieve before getting blasted by a good team, and Northwestern will be worse without Brett Basanez. On the plus side, Purdue and Michigan State will be better.
The best team should be ... Ohio State
3. ACC - I've been the Grand Marshal of the ACC-is-top-to-bottom strongest parade, but not anymore. Is Miami down, or is it a case of having problems playing in a good conference? I really like Florida State this year, but is this going to be the year the ship completely turns back around? The rest of the league (cough, Virginia Tech, cough) is way too flaky. While Boston College, Clemson, Maryland, NC State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia are all good, are any of them great? Clemson might be and Georgia Tech has potential, but the league is third ... for now.
The best team should be ... Florida State
2. Pac-10 - It's far better than you think. USC might not be the juggernaut of the past few years, but it's not going to fall far. Cal should be incredible, Arizona State's offense will be unstoppable, Washington State should be one of the year's surprise teams, and UCLA and Oregon should be bowling. Arizona and Stanford will be much better, and Washington isn't going to get any worse.
The best team should be ... USC
1. SEC - Vanderbilt showed last year that it can be competitive and Mississippi State should have a killer defense. Ole Miss will be better in Ed Orgeron's second year, and Kentucky will be decent, even if the record doesn't show it. Everyone else is really, really good. Even though Georgia should take a step back, the league is amazing with Florida, LSU and Auburn national title contenders and Alabama, Arkansas and South Carolina good enough to beat anyone in the league. Tennessee should be one of the year's top turnaround teams.
The best team should be ... Florida :D
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5337986
