I’ll probably go more in depth about this stuff over the weekend but wanted to get my initial thoughts on what 2009 will look like in college football, now that all the dust has settled in terms of who is going pro and who is coming back to school. Off the bat, its going to be another offensive year across the nation just because the multitude of quarterbacks coming back. Not included is Mark Sanchez which is a big loss for USC as well as the Pac 10 who find themselves replacing a lot of talent at the qb position. Have to say, that Pete Carrol’s open criticism of Sanchez’s decision lacks some class. Not shown in the video below is Carrol leaving the press conference and jetting by Sanchez without breaking stride. It’s cool not to agree with the decision, but how can you not be supportive on a big day for one of your players.
Below are my top 10 qbs’ returning which include all 3 Heisman finalists. 1) Tim Tebow- Florida 2) Colt McCoy- Texas 3) Sam Bradford- Oklahoma
4) Zac Robinson- Oklahoma State 5) Max Hall- BYU 6) Todd Reesing- Kansas 7) Daryl Clark- Penn State 8) Jevan Snead- Ole Miss 9) Riley Skinner- Wake Forrest
10) Adam Weber- Minnesota Guys who also may have breakout years or resurgent years include: Christian Ponder (FSU), Juice Williams (Illinois), Kellen Moore (Boise State), TJ Yates (UNC), Kellen Lewis (Indiana), Terrele Pryor (Ohio State), and Robert Griffin (Baylor) Next year’s contenders Next year’s top ten should look something like this. Keep in mind pre season rankings DO a play a role in what 1 loss/2 loss teams gets BCS game berths. 1) Florida- return Tebow and the entire defense. Schedule is easier next year too.
2) Texas- slight edge over the Sooners
3) Oklahoma- The Sooners had a better shot with 08’s team, but will be in contention in 09.
4) USC-No Sanchez and a good amount of talent departing but still you got to like USC’s chances to reload and contend again.
5) Oklahoma State- The Cowboys lost all their big games in 08, but may have the experience needed now to turn the corner.
6) Penn State- Lots of attrition at PSU, but with Ohio State at home and no big out of conference games, you have to like their chances.
7) Ohio State- A home game at against USC, a road trip to Penn State, and Terelle Pryor’s first trip to Ann Arbor. It will be telling a year for Tressel and Pryor.
8) Ole Miss- Everyone’s “suprise” team. Not really a suprise team when you beat Florida, LSU, and Texas Tech the year before.
9) Oregon- Hard to give the nod to which is the better team in Oregon. However the ass whooping they put on the Beavers 2 months back is a good tie breaker.
10) Kansas- Chase Daniels is gone, but the schedule is still pretty brutal.
Not far behind…. Boise State, Alabama, LSU, USF, and Virginia Tech 2009 Conference Rankings People pay way too much attention for this. Next year I think we are going to see quite the shakeup in conference prestige which is mainly dictated by out of conference games and bowl games. These rankings are how I see conference prestige after next year’s bowl season shakes out. Also don’t call me a Big Ten homer….The stars are just lined up for a rebound year while the SEC is a lot thinner at the top then in year’s past. The Big 12 is swinging a big dick going into 09 with the talent they are returning. 1- Big 12- The defenses should be a bit better. Regardless though, there is a lot of firepower in this conference as well as improving teams in Baylor and Nebraska. 2- Big Ten- The conference has bottomed out and will have the benefit of a lot of experienced quarterbacks coming back. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois will all be much improved and Northwestern, Minnesotta, and Iowa should all be back in bowls as well. 
3- SEC- Its a murky conference after Florida. New QB’s at Bama and Georgia. New coaches at Auburn and Tennessee. The conference as a whole will be strong but not too much cream will rise to the top ten as years before.
4- ACC I think the ACC may actually give some of the conferences above a run for their money. FSU, Wake Forrest, BC, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Georgia Tech are all pretty solid squads. The questions is are any of them true top ten teams? 5- Pac 10 Plain and simple, after 2 year’s of improved play the conference will have a tough time replacing guys like Tuitama, Sanchez, Malauga, and even Carpenter. Hopefully Washington and Washington State don’t continue to play like powder puff teams. 6- Big East This conference sucks. Pat White is gone and while I like what USF is bringing to the table in 09, Lousiville, Rutgers, and Uconn have a ways to go to bring this conference out of the cellar.
