Rambling's 2013 Week 1 CFB Picks

Week 1 baby... another college football season is upon us. The inaugural week is always an interesting study of teams challenging themselves, easing in versus FCS teams or low major payment games or in some cases starting their conference seasons. As I have done the last couple of years I will pick the winners and against the spread (ATS) for each top 25 game not against an FCS opponent and games that catch my fancy each week. I will try to write a recap each week but once in a while it just won't happen. Thanks for reading hope you still with me all year.

Thursday, August 29th, 2013:

North Carolina at #6 South Carolina, 5:00 pm ESPN, North Carolina loses the best offensive weapon they had last year in Giovanni Bernard, but Bryn Renner is back at QB which is definitely a positive. South Carolina brings Jadaveon Clowney to terrorize offenses and Connor Shaw will be the anchor of an offense with a lot of RB turnover. I think South Carolina cleans up in this game and stretches the lead out to two to three scores at the end of the game. Winner: South Carolina ATS: South Carolina -11

Ole Miss at Vanderbilt, 8:15 pm ESPN, This game intrigues me because I'm not sure what either one of these teams is gonna be when we finish the season and that fascinates me to no end. Vandy is at home and that's why I lean that way, but Ole Miss has an infusion of talent with Hugh Freeze's arrival in Oxford but I'm not sure week one is where we will see that impact. Winner: Vanderbilt ATS: Vanderbilt +3.5

#24 USC at Hawaii, 10:00 pm CBS Sports Net, USC should run away with this game but USC is breaking in a new quarterback more than likely and that tempers the week 1 expectation. The rest of the team has talent but depth and health will be the keys for this years Trojans. Winner: USC ATS: Hawaii +23

Saturday, August 31st, 2013:

Buffalo at #2 Ohio State, 11:00 am ESPN2, Ohio State has Big Ten and National championship asperations and Buffalo shouldn't be much of a hinderance for either. Ohio State wins this going away and Braxton Miller puts on a show in week 1. Winner: Ohio State ATS: Ohio State -36

UMASS at #23 Wisconsin, 11:00 am BTN, Another in the long line of non-competitive yawners on the week 1 Big Ten schedule but we'll get to see who is named the starter for Gary Anderson's first Wisconsin game. The running back duo for the Badgers should torch a UMASS defense that still hasn't caught up talent-wise to the FBS level. Winner: Wisconsin ATS: UMASS +44.5

Toledo at #10 Florida, 11:21 am ESPN3, Florida will have a talented defense once again this year and special teams always seems to be a strong suit but the offense seems to be progressing backwards. This is a team that with a decent offense will go a long way but it's going to take a couple games to believe that. Toledo won't have much of a chance here but unless they give up a couple defensive scores I think it stays close. Winner: Florida ATS: Toledo +24

Rice at #7 Texas A&M, 12:00 pm ESPN, Manziel or no Manziel this game will be a blowout as A&M has enough offensive talent to make the day long for the Rice defense. Rice's offense won't have enough firepower to really press the A&M defense. Winner: Texas A&M ATS: Texas A&M -27

Mississippi State vs #13 Oklahoma State, 2:30 pm ABC/ESPN2, Oklahoma State looks like a legitamate contender in the Big XII once again but the QB situation needs to settle itself, sooner than later. Mississippi State has been stagnant for a few years now but I think they take a step back this season. Oklahoma State wins by 3 scores. Winner: Oklahoma State ATS: Oklahoma State -12.5

Temple at #14 Notre Dame, 2:30 pm NBC, Notre Dame has a lot of questions and many start with Tommy Rees but Temple is not the team to challenge those weaknesses. Winner: Notre Dame ATS: Notre Dame -29.5

Central Michigan at #17 Michigan, 2:30 pm BTN, Michigan State didn't have an offense last year but the defense was elite and Central Michigan isn't going to be the team to force the Spartans to score. Winner: Michigan ATS: Michgan -31.5

Northern Illinois at Iowa, 2:30 pm BTN, Iowa won this matchup last year at Wrigley but Northern Illinois got better as the season went along where as Iowa, well didn't. I think the Huskies have enough returning talent and the Haweyes are a touch worse on defense and just as dreadful on offense. Winner: Northern Illinois ATS: Northern Illinois +3

#1 Alabama vs Virginia Tech, 4:30 pm ESPN, I want to say that Virginia Tech will keep this close but they have 27 underclassmen suiting up for this game and have lost a couple of starters to injuries. Alabama is building a dynastic resume and this game shouldn't slow them up. Winner: Alabama ATS: Alabama -20

ULM at #16 Oklahoma, 6:00 pm, ULM upset Arkansas and almost upset Baylor last year in the nonconference schedule but Oklahoma has a much higher base level of talent than either of those teams. Oklahoma may be down this season but they still far outpace the Warhawks at just about every position. Winner: Oklahoma ATS: Oklahoma -23

#5 Georgia at #8 Clemson, 7:00 pm ABC, Georgia opens the season against a Clemson team that comes off a bowl win over LSU and returns much of it's potent offense from last season. Most importantly is Tahj Boyd who made strides in his ability as a passer last year but he loses top target DeAndre Hopkins. The key in this game will be the defenses, Georgia's lost much of a steller unit last year and Clemson's had some moment of less than inspiring play last season. I will take the team that doesn't need to replace two-thirds of it's defense on the road in week 1. Winner: Clemson ATS: Clemson +2 

New Mexico State at #15 Texas, 7:00 pm LHN, New Mexico State is in the bottom 5% of teams in the country. Texas has one of the deepest recruiting bases and talent coffers. Texas wins this one going away. Winner: Texas ATS: Texas -42

Wyoming at #18 Nebraska, 7:00 pm BTN, Wyoming is going to sneak up on some teams this season, as incremental improvements have put them in much better standing amongst all FBS teams. Nebraska should have one of the best offenses in the Big Ten and perhaps the country on a per play basis. Nebraska will win this one but it'll be close for three quarters before Nebraska pulls away. Winner: Nebraska ATS: Wyoming +29

#12 LSU vs #20 TCU, 8:00 pm ESPN, TCU has been hit by a rash of injuries in the weeks leading up to the week 1 and at some key positions, which means that week 1 will be all that much tougher. LSU has lost a bunch on defense but they bring back one of the deepest running back groups in the country. TCU for it's part has one of the best coaches (Gary Patterson), Casey Pachall and his experience back at QB and there defense is woefully underrated by most fans. I think LSU wins but by no more than a TD. Winner: LSU ATS: LSU -4

#19 Boise State at Washington, 9:00 pm FOX Sports 1, Boise State has had a few good not great years since Kellen Moore's senior season and attrition has been steady since. Washington hasn't progressed since the second season of the Steve Sarkisian era and they've been at 7 wins since. This  season they bring a talented offense back behind QB Keith Price and the renovated Huskies stadium should be rocking. I think Boise wins because they have the best coach and has a good amount of returning talent on defense. This should be a great game  Winner: Boise State ATS: Boise State +4

Nevada at #21 UCLA, 9:00 pm Pac-12 Network, This should be the best Nevada team since Kaepernick left but that isn't saying much and UCLA will be a top 4-5 team in the Pac-12. UCLA pretty easily. Winner: UCLA ATS: UCLA -19

#22 Northwestern at California, 9:30 pm ESPN2, Northwestern heads to Cal and with the team that returns to Northwestern this game seems like a no brainer but the big question mark from last season still looms in the Wildcats secondary. This one flaw could prove fatal as the Synn Dykes' staff runs a variation of the Air Raid and should pick apart the Northwestern secondary if improvements were made. I think Northwestern pulls out a squeker on the road, but don't get too comfy. Winner: Northwestern ATS: Cal +6.5

Sunday, September 1st, 2013:

Ohio at #9 Louisville, 2:30 pm ESPN, Louisville is the AAC favorite this season by a wide range and Teddy Bridgewater has darkhorse Heisman status. The Cardinals are a good team but Ohio shouldn't cause this team any trouble week 1. Ohio disappointed last season but they have some talent back and should makes some noise in the MAC this season. Louisville walks away with this one and the country will pile on the Louisville bandwagon hard with a big win. Winner: Louisville ATS: Louisville -20.5

Monday, September 2nd, 2013:

#11 Florida State at Pittsburgh, 7:00 pm ESPN, Welcome to the ACC Pittsburgh as a welcome gift we give you a Florida Stat team that has been told it will be average and not much of factor in the national race. Pittsburgh does get the Seminoles at home but the talent gap is so large here and the fanfare of the first ACC game will be quickly replaced by a beatdown. Winner: Florida State ATS: Florida State -10

Well there you have it the first week of pics for the new season hope everyone enjoys and I'll see you in this space on Sunday or Monday to recap just how poorly I've done.

2013 CFB Season Preveiw: SEC

I know there has been a lot of noise made by a certain coach from the Big XII about the depth and strength of the SEC but last season the conference placed five teams in the top ten and six in the top fifteen. The amount of top tier teams at the top of the conference makes up for the dregs at the bottom, however this does not extend to any individual schedule within the conference. This year the conference looks to have a great roster once again with Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, LSU, Georgia and Texas A&M all having legitimate cases to win the conference. This is the last preview this off-season and we are only two weeks from the start of games. (Big XII, Pac-12, B1G, ACC, MWC and Conference rank previews)

East: |last year W-L, returning offensive starters, returning defensive starters, %yards returning, %tackles returning|
Best Team: Florida|11-2, 6, 5, 55.2%, 47.3%| The East division of the SEC is getting better and this year is the best iteration in a couple of years and that makes it difficult to pinpoint the winner. I gave the nod to Florida in my preseason preview because I believe more in it's ability to replenish the roster. The secondary lost a lot of NFL talent but the two deep was especially strong last season and they should be able to fill in nicely. The biggest question however, on this team is once again the offense. The running threat has always been fine, the stable is filled with very good talent from within the state of Florida and will be steady again with a stout o-line. The question is at the skill positions where the QB and WR play have been abysmal, the latter maybe an effect of the first, Jeff Driskel returns to once again take the field and if he can get his sacks under control the skill position play could be much better this season. It will undoubtedly be ugly but it should be winning football once again.

Worst Team: Kentucky|2-10, 6, 7, 81.1%, 78.3%| Mark Stoops is bringing excitement to Lexington which isn't something that has been seen on the football side very much in the last decade or two. This year however will test that excitement because none of the high profile recruits are in this year or have officially signed for next year yet. This is a team that lost to WKU last season and looked absolutely horrific in it's conference slate. The good news is that a new staff has a better chance to squeeze something new out of the current roster than the last staff did but that is all that can be expected of this years version of the Wildcats.

Intriguing Team: South Carolina|11-2, 9, 8, 68.4%, 41.8%| South Carolina brings back a good amount on offense, loses some key players on defense and has a manageable schedule which all point to a team that should probably have the header of "Best Team". The running game has never really bounced back after the loss of Lattimore to a knee injury, with a steady but just above average run game. I have faith in Connor Shaw, I can't explain why and it feels weird but I think he makes this team dangerous on offense and they need that. On defense everything revolves around Clowney and we should all enjoy watching that, but the loss of two starters and a key rotation piece on the line is a cause for concern. Along with the line losses the entire starting linebacker crew has moved on and they lost their top DB in D.J. Swearinger. The Ol' Ball Coach will have this team ready to play this year and hopefully wear shirts to all games.

West:
Best Team: Alabama|13-1, 6, 7, 81.4%, 70.5%| Alabama has been one of the two best teams in the country for the last four years, and they have a very good chance of being right there in this mix again. This years team is reminiscent of the team from a couple years ago that didn't win the championship, but this years team has a few advantages. First and foremost the offense should be potent, with AJ McCarron, T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper. The offensive line loses a few starters who were very good, but they have a couple returners coming back and enough recruited talent to make them serviceable at worst. On defense, the line loses four players who played in every game last season, most notably starter Jesse Williams. The biggest losses, however, are in the secondary where they lose Dee Milliner and Robert Lester and in the linebacking corps Nico Johnson is gone. Overall this team has talent out the wazzou (river, not the school) and should be a beast for any team that doesn't play a disciplined and hard nosed game.

Worst Team: Mississippi State|8-5, 7, 6, 70.9%, 64.7%| How to put this... I think thath Auburn & Arkansas have greater chances to be the worst team in the West but Mississippi State has been stagnant now for three years after a promising couple of years in the Mullen era. The defenses have steadily progressed to average, the offenses have always been meh and the overall performance of the team has moved back to the median as well. There is talent on defense we've seen it flash in the past but with stagnation and fresh blood at cross state rival Ole Miss have been enough to make the talent level stay at, at best an above average handle.

Intriguing Team: LSU|10-3, 8, 5, 81.6%, 50.4%| LSU has been one of handful of teams to be the consistently great in the SEC the past 5 or so years. Florida had an off year, Georgia had a lull, South Carolina never quite reaches the pinnacle, Auburn had the Newton year and then nothing, but LSU and Alabama have been the stalwarts. The defense once again loses a bunch of talent to the NFL most notably both defensive ends and a couple defensive backs. The staff in Baton Rouge are use to this yearly ritual and the recruiting and depth are strong enough that they may take a small step back but will still be well above average. The offense has another new offensive coordinator and Mettenberger is back behind center and he will just need to be good or maybe a bit better than last year. The backfield has an abundance of talent back again this year in Blue, Hill & Hilliard and the line will be as stout as ever to battle the Florida, Alabama and South Carolina fronts. The offense should have some ability to make plays and pick up any slack left by the defense.


Conference Standings:
East: Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky
Legends: Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi State
Championship Game: Alabama vs. Florida Winner: Alabama

Alright, this is the last of my conference previews, thank you if you read them and the season starts in about a week. I should be able to get predictions up for week 1 by wednesday night and I'm jacked for the season.

2013 CFB Season Preview: Big XII

The Big XII has been the second best conference in America the last couple of years with a depth at the top surrmounted only by the SEC. The conference still has a bottom with Texas Tech, Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas isn't the worst but has two to three that are bad each year. Ultimately, the Big XII has 1-2 teams in the top ten but will place five or six in the top 25 range and has done this consistantly. This year there are questions at the top but this should be a very exciting race for the championship once again. (Pac-12, B1G, ACC, MWC and Conference rank previews)

Big XII: |last year W-L, returning offensive starters, returning defensive starters, %yards returning, %tackles returning|
Best Team: Texas|9-4, 10, 9, 92.3%, 83.3%| Texas has been the butt of most of the countries jokes over the last three seasons and for good reasons, with the resources available to the team there is no reason for such a lapse. The team though has been making strides since hitting rock bottom and the staff has continued to recruit well. The defense and offense have both shown flashes and inconsistant young players are no in position to make this team very dangerous in 2013. The biggests questions here are at QB and along the d-line. Quarterback has not been a quality position since the departure of Colt McCoy and that has made the pass game woefully inconsistant. The d-line on the other hand has not been stout against the run game but with talent like this and a highly paid staff, I will put my trust them to make the adjustments necessary.

Worst Team: Kansas|1-11, 5, 6, 68%, 51.3%| This is a slightly more talented JUCO team this season, in year 2 of the decided schematic advantage. The talent at Kansas is abysmall and the team on the field has been putrid. It has become so bad that Weis called out all of the players on the team at Big XII media day by saying one of his recruiting pitches is about all the opportunities with all of the horrible play on the field. This team will be bad again especially in such a deep conference.

Intriguing Team: TCU|7-6, 6, 9, 71.4%, 84.8%| TCU has been affected by injuries during fall camp this year which may put a bit of a damper on the Horned Frog's season, but they remain intruiguing none-the-less. Casey Pachall is back after a year off to get better control of his life and should provide an improvement at QB. Gary Patterson's defense was better last season on a per play basis (more useful to decipher because of vast tempo differences) than his first in the Big XII and it should continue to grow under a very good staff. The keys will be to replace the injuries and to continue to making the incremental improvements that have been in the works since the move from the Mountain West.

Intriguing Team: Oklahoma|10-3, 7, 4, 42.2%, 40%| Oklahoma lost much of last years team to graduation and the NFL which is par for the course but they have a big question at QB for the first time since before Sam Bradford came to the Sooners. Landry Jones is gone after a career that was good if not great and all of the replacements have quesiton marks. The Sooners also have holes to fill at LT, RB and its top 2 WRs on offense, along with both DTs, a DE, a LB, 2 safeties and a CB. That's a lot to fill for a team that is expected to challenge for a conference and national title on a national basis. The good news is that the Sooners have a very good recruiting staff which will put many talented players in position to replace those who have left. So we will just have to wait a couple of weeks to see if the Sooners can keep up their past consistancy.

Conference Standings:
Big XII: Texas, Oklahoma, TCU, Oklahoma State, Baylor, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas

2013 CFB Season Preview: Pac-12

A conference that just a decade ago was dominated by one team now has had an impressive duo at the top since the Reggie Bush saga but a damper on USC. Oregon an Stanford have represented the Pac-12  in the BCS the last four years and both have made BCS bowls in two of those four but they fall at the bottom of this tier because there have been some breakouts but nothing sustained and a very weak bottom. UCLA, Oregon State, Arizona, Washington and California have all shown flashes but none has been able to sustain that success the way Oregon and Stanford have sustained their jump. Overall the Pac-12 has a strong top a deep middle but also a deep bottom of the conference. (B1G, ACC, MWC and Conference rank previews)

North: |last year W-L, returning offensive starters, returning defensive starters, %yards returning, %tackles returning|
Best Team: Oregon|12-1, 8, 7, 73%, 72.5%| Oregon loses Chip Kelly to the NFL but he likely would not have been part of this team because of the NCAA's show-cause penalty. He is replaced by Mark Helfrich, who has been on the staff at Oregon since 2009 and has spent the majority of his coaching career in the Pac-12. Even with the loss of Kelly and a few players to graduation and the NFL, this is still a very talented team that returns a majority of players. Mariotta and Thomas come back on offense and that should scare any team on the Ducks schedule. The key question will be whether a defense that was bad but wasn't far above average can take a step up with talent returning. This team looks like it can and should create another great race in the Pac-12 North.

Worst Team: Washington State|3-9, 7, 8, 83.9%, 85%| We all love Mike Leach, I mean who doesn't love a modern day pirate in college football, but that doesn't help him with the talent inherited by his staff at Wazzou. They have a lot coming back and with Leach on offense that should be a plus but on defense they don't have the players to make much noise in the Pac-12.

Intriguing Team: Stanford|12-2, 8, 7, 30.9%, 80.6%| Stanford was also considered for best team and why shouldn't they have been. Stanford has been equally as good as Oregon the last four years or so and beat the Ducks last season. Kevin Hogan returns at quarterback this season but he loses a lot of help on offense, both of his main TE targets were maybe the most important. They do however bring a lot of experience back on the line and that should create the opportunity for offensive success. On defense the 3-4 football that the Cardinal play brings back most of last years contributors to a top 10 defense. This is a team that has kept Oregon in check for most of the past two games and should make them challengers for the Pac-12 and national championships.

South:
Best Team: USC|7-6, 8, 7, 47%, 69.3%| The biggest question for USC is at quarterback and then most recently if there will be long term ramifications with the Lee injury. USC has recruited well at QB and should be able to find a serviceable replacement and starter but the bigger question is whether for the 3rd year in a row a lack of death will lead to crippling attrition. The defense should be much better and I have faith that the replacement of Monte Kiffin will be a positive that will show a better diffence.

Worst Team: Colorado|1-11, 10, 7, 80.4%, 77.8%| This program is a mess and Mike McIntyre was a great hire but 2013 will be as bleak as the past couple because the talent on this team is Sun Belt level in a top tier conference. There are not a whole lot of bright spots, so let's just watch the Buffaloes season and hope that someone breaks out and gives all of us a reason to chear for Colorado.

Intriguing Team: UCLA|9-5, 7, 6, 67.9%, 59.5%| Most will have the Bruins as the best team in the Pac-12 south and I see the logic in this UCLA won the division last year and beat USC under the tutelage of Coach Mora. I think, however, that people are underestimating the losses of the best players on both sides of the ball in Jonathan Franklin and Datone Jones. Jones was a disruptive force who played in the opponents backfield and forced QB pressures that helped to mask some of the secondary issues they had last year. Jonathan Franklin keyed everything on offense last year, Hundley made strides but Franklin was the threat that defenses schemed for. This is all to say that UCLA is going to be good again this year, the last was certainly not a fluke but I think the Bruins may come up short.


Conference Standings:
North: Oregon, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington, California, Washington State
Legends: USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah, Colorado
Championship Game: USC at Oregon Winner: Oregon

2013 CFB Season Preview: Big Ten

The Big Ten stays put at 12 teams this season with Rutgers and Maryland headed to the conference next season. The conference should be a bit better at the top this season with Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Northwestern as solid to 25 teams and the first five all have the ability to be anywhere from 5-15 for most of the season. The big question will be whether we continue to see the improvement at the quarterback position to make that jump possible and see better post season results. The bottom with Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue isn't going to help with perception issues but a strong top cures all issues. (ACC, MWC and Conference rank previews)

Leaders: |last year W-L, returning offensive starters, returning defensive starters, %yards returning, %tackles returning|
Best Team: Ohio State|12-0, 9, 4, 95.3%, 53.5%| Let's start with the worries for this year's squad. The Buckeyes lose the entirety of D-Line and a good chunk of the O-Line, even with those concerns optimism runs high in Columbus. Urban Meyer has a track record of success in the second year, both at Florida and at Utah, plus Meyer brings back Braxton Miller at QB and lots of skill position talent (95% of last year's yards coming back). On defense they should have enough talent from the last couple recruiting classes to fill holes and should be carried by a pretty good secondary.

Worst Team: Illinois|2-10, 9, 3, 92.7%, 56.2%| Ron Zook left nothing in the cupboard for Tim Beckman and his staff. I shouldn't say nothing, I'm sure the kids left behind from the Ron Zook era are good kids but the football talent is weak at best and a 2-10 record tells all you need to know. 12 returning starters total should be a sign of optimism but, as has been the case with most of my worst teams, a lot of non-talented returing starters isn't going to be much help. Illinois needs to bring some talent on the roster but patience is the key for Beckman going into and coming out of year 2.

Intriguing Team: Wisconsin|8-6, 8, 7, 75.4%, 66.4%| Wisconsin did the semi-impossible, they followed a living legend at coach with his handpicked replacement and he managed to take the program to arguably even greater heights. Bielema is now gone for the Ozark but his time the Badgers went outside the program to find his replacement. Gary Anderson takes over a program in great shape but possibly at the zenith of its potential. Anderson's resume speaks for itself and his rebuilding of Utah State was a masterpiece of coaching, his new Wisconsin team will certainly be less of a project but not without its challenges. Anderson and staff will be transitioning the defense to a 3-4 and the lack of depth along the line should make the transition good along with an underrated linebacker corps. The core competency for this team will still be its ability to run the ball with James White and Melvin Gordon behind one of the best offensive lines in the county once again.

Legends:
Best Team: Nebraska|10-4, 9, 4, 80%, 34.3%| The offense will be potent in Lincoln this season with an abundance of talent returning, Taylor Martinez at QB, Kenny Bell at WR and only the loss of Rex Burkhead as a major contributor from last year's team. The o-line returns a lot of talent as well which should continue to open up big lanes for the offense. The defense is another story all together, with only a third of the tackles returning and more than a few years of disappointing if not bad play on defense has left much to be desired from the Blackshirts. The success of this team will rest at the feet of Pelini and staff to maximize the talent on defense to allow the offense to win what are shaping up to be shootouts.

Worst Team: Iowa|4-8, 7, 7, 48.7%, 72.8%| I'm not sure what happened in Iowa City, Ferentz had this team performing above expectations most years and competing for championships ocsaionally. Then AIRBHG kicked in, the team had some bad bounces and the overall quality of the team dropped off. The talent on defense has still been there but the graduating students at Iowa haven't seen quality quarterbacking in their time at the #1 party school in the country. The defense should be stout again but will there be any offense to speak of this year or will Hawkeye fans wish they were drunk all season.

Intriguing Team: Michigan|8-5, 6, 6, 54.1%, 69.3%| Michigan enters the year with fewer questions at the quarterback position but with the same issues on defense they have had for the last 8 years it seems. With their best defensive lineman injured and a secondary that underperformed just about every standard last year I can't shake the feeling that the defense won't be able to make much improvement this season. The offense on the other hand should benefit from the stability of Devon Gardner being in control all offseason and the return of much of the skill positions will be a major plus. Lastly Taylor Lewan will hold down an above average offensive line that will give the skill guys the ability to use thier highly recruited talents to their fullest potential.


Conference Standings:
Leaders: Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois
Legends: Nebraska, Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa
Championship Game: Ohio State vs. Nebraska  Winner: Ohio State

2013 CFB Season Preview: ACC

I previously previewed the Mountain West conference and did a ranking of the conferences this off-season. The ACC comes into the year off a postseason that saw Clemson and Florida State winning BCS bowl games, the former over LSU and the later over Northern Illinois. 2013 also sees the first of two seasons of changes to the league membership with the addition of Syracuse and Pitt to the conference. Syracuse will join Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, NC State, Boston College and Wake Forest in the Atlantic; Pittsburgh will join, Miami (FL), Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia and Georgia Tech in the Coastal. The conference might once again have two participants in the BCS but the second more than likely won't be as strong and Pittsburgh will certainly make the bottom of the league worse.

Atlantic: |last year W-L, returning offensive starters, returning defensive starters, %yards returning, %tackles returning|
Best Team: Clemson|11-2, 7, 6, 67%, 64%| Clemson certainly loses some pieces from last years team, but the return of Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins should help to offset the loss of Andre Ellington and DeAndre Hopkins to the NFL. There is still plenty of talent thanks to an uptick in recruiting under Dabo. Defense will still have some issues but they will only have to do so much with an offense that should put up points in droves.

Worst Team: Wake Forest|5-7, 8, 8, 85%, 65%| Wake Forest brings back a good amount of talent on both sides of the ball, although how much will that really make a difference. A bad team in 2012 returns much of the same core for 2013 begs a question of how much hope there is and with the other teams at the bottom of the Atlantic (division not ocean) looking in better shape than '12 as well Wake looks poised to stay much closer to the bottom of the conference than the top.

Intriguing Team: Florida State|12-2, 7, 4, 43.5%, 64%| Florida State loses a boatload of talent this off-season as is reflected in their returning yards this season. The biggest of which may be at QB and DE. The biggest question should be whether precious and talented youngsters can step up and fill in the many holes left on both sides of the ball. Also good luck guessing which easy win is a loss on the schedule.

Coastal:
Best Team: Miami (FL)|7-5, 10, 9, 84%, 79%| Miami brings back a team that outdid most projections in 2012. This was a team left for dead with bowl sanctions and distractions left and right. Miami brings back a sophmore who broke on the scene as a freshman at running back and enough talent to make them favorite in the Coastal. Returing talent shouldn't be the issue but with the NCAA ruling reining over them again this season the distarction still has the ability to derail what should be a successful team for Al Golden and co.

Worst Team: Pittsburgh|6-7, 5, 9, 21%, 76%| This is a team that lost to Youngstown State in 2012 and almost beat Notre Dame as well. The season turned out middling at best and that is probably the best thing that could be said. Most of the offense is gone from last year and a couple of dismal recruiting seasons leave little to get excited about in the Steel City. The defense has a chance to be fringe average to above average which will ultimately just make this season worse because of low scoring affairs with little excitement.

Intriguing Team: Virginia Tech|7-6, 4, 9, 66%, 76.5%| 2012 was a disappointing year for the Hokies, with a defense that wasn't up to par and an offense led by Logan Thomas. The Hokies underperformed the expectation of a Frank Beamer team and there in lies the problem, we expect Beamer's teams to win the Coastal even if it isn't the best team in the division. Logan Thomas will be the key here, Thomas was sub-par in decision making but he still has the ability to make a major difference on every game.

Conference Standings:
Atlantic: Clemson, Florida State, Syracuse, Maryland, NC State, Boston College, Wake Forest
Coastal: Miami (FL), Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh
Championship Game: Miami (FL)  Winner: Clemson