College football

Here are my picks to win the six BCS conference titles, plus a little bit about those that won't.

ACC
I think the conference championship will come down between Virginia Tech and Miami. Even though I don't have the high confidence in Michael Vick's little brother Marcus that ESPN's college analysts do, I still think their defense and special teams is strong enough. They get Miami at home and don't play Florida State. Miami's got a stout defense, Devin Hester on special teams and no more Brock Berlin, but their conference schedule is tougher. The only other team I really see challenging those two is Florida who should win the Atlantic Division, but I think they'll lose the conference championship game. The rest of the ACC is typical ACC. Duke will suck. Wake Forrest will scare some teams, but still manage to finish last in their division. North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia Tech will shuffle around between 3 and 5 in the Coastal Division. NC State, Boston College, and Maryland will do the same for 2 thru 4 in the Atlantic. Tommy Bowden will be fighting for his job (again) at Clemson by week 4.

Big East
I think this is clearly a two team race. Pittsburgh is a good team with a lot returning talent, but I think Louisville will take it. I may be biased, but I think UL has the players to make up their losses to the NFL, plus they get Pitt at home. West Virginia will probably be a perennial contender most years, but they are in such a rebuilding mode, I'm not sure they'll be able to hold off an up-and-coming team like Rutgers for third. Of course, until their defense begins to match their offense, Rutgers is capable of imploding every year. UConn seems to have become a real solid program, but replacing Dan Orlovsky at QB could be hard. Ditto with South Florida, at least as far as having a solid program. Syracuse has some tradition, but they have some big changes in coaching philosophy going on, so I don't see anything coming out of there this year. Cincinnati lost a lot of players, so even though they have a good coach, I think they'll really struggle.

Big Ten
I could easily see one of four teams winning this conference - Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, and Iowa. I'm a little bit concerned with the number of close games that Iowa and Michigan won last year. Add to the fact that Iowa has to play at OSU and Purdue and I toss them. I think Michigan's defense is a bit too susceptible to a mobile quarterback running hog wild on them, so I'll toss them. While I think Ted Ginn Jr is an amazing talent at wide receiver, I'm still not sold on Ohio State's offense, so forget them. Purdue doesn't face Ohio State or Michigan and play Iowa at home. Bingo. As for the rest, I could see Michigan State making a jump if they can keep QB Drew Stanton healthy. Wisconsin and Minnesota are both pretty solid bowl teams, but no threat for the Big Ten title. Joe's got to go at Penn State. Their defense was really good, but their offense last year was atrocious. Northwestern lost a lot of starters from a mediocre team, so I see a dropoff. Indiana hired a good coach, but they are still Indiana. Ron Zook drove Florida damn near into the toilet in two and half years, so why should I think he can make Illinois good.

Big 12
In the North, I think Colorado has the most talent and was a decent team last year. So, they'll win the North again over Iowa State which is turning into a decent program. I think Nebraska will actually take a step forward, which at this point means a winning season. Kansas is actually a team on the rise that could make some noise. Kansas State is really slumping, and I don't see that changing, but a winning record wouldn't be impossible. Missouri is fun to watch when Brad Smith is on, but I don't see them doing much as a whole. In the South, I like Texas to win the division and the title game. They are the most talented team of the whole conference and have a star in Vincent Young. And they will get by Oklahoma who I think could actually drop behind Texas A&M and Texas Tech. The Aggies will have their best team in years behind Reggie McNeal, while Tech has a high powered offense and a defense that is actually improving. Oklahoma will have Adrian Peterson, but I think there will be quite a drop off on offense without 12th year senior Jason White. I think Baylor will move ahead of Oklahoma State this year. Baylor has improved over the last couple of years, and Oklahoma State is bringing in a coach to completely change their offense which could lead to some growing pains.

PAC 10
While I don't think Southern Cal will win the BCS, I do think they'll win the PAC-10. Mainly because I see at least two conferences losses for the other teams. Cal is the closest thing to a second contender, but I'm not sure if they're good enough. Arizona State finished the season on a high note, but they looked like crap in most of their big games last year. While Oregon State lost their QB, they've got a lot of talent returning from a team that finished strong last year. UCLA should have a strong offense, but their defense will keep them from moving up. Last year may have been a momentary blip for Oregon, but I'm not too quick to put them back into the mix for the PAC-10 title. Washington State isn't the WSU of a few years back, but they could finish mid-pack and make a bowl. Arizona is a team on the move, but they started so low that it could be a long climb. Washington finished 1-10 last year, and 10 losses is 10 losses. Stanford blows.

SEC
In the West, LSU is obviously the most talented, but I think Alabama could sneak in and take. Their defense is great, but their whole season will probably hinge on how well they keep Brodie Croyle healthy. LSU does have the talent to contend, but I'm not sure new coach Les Miles is the type to make the quick jump to the top. People conveniently forget that Auburn was considered an underachieving team before last year, so I won't be surprised to see them drop off quite a bit with the losses to the NFL that they suffered. Arkansas is an interesting case. Houston Nutt's team was rebuilding last year when they went 5-6 in his first non-bowl season, but he's apparently on the hot seat. He's a good coach, and while I don't think they have the talent to win the West, I think they can screw it up for someone else. The Mississippi schools aren't very good, so mediocrity would be a plus for them. Unlike Miles, I think Urban Meyer is a coach who can step in and immediately contend. With the talent he has at Florida, I think he can win the East and the SEC title game. I'm not buying Tennessee as a national title contender. They choked at home against a weak Notre Dame, and for God's sake, they almost lost to UK. And Vandy. I think Georgia will be pretty good, but definitely a step down from the past couple of years. South Carolina may be a year or two away, but I wouldn't count out Steve Spurrier hurrying up the timeline. UK and Vandy fight for the cellar again.