• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » College Football’s Preseason Primer
Life

College Football’s Preseason Primer

FacebookTweet
Josh Axelrod August 18, 2011

Anyone in the NFL who thinks an offseason can’t get worse than a lockout should be grateful they aren’t Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor, Butch Davis, or anyone from USC, Oregon and Miami.  In retrospect, the NFL’s biggest public relations issue besides the lockout was a loud-mouthed linebacker.  Could be a lot worse, right?  Unfortunately, there was no such luck for the college game.

Now that most of these problems have been or are in the process of being sorted out, publications like Sporting News have named their Top 25 teams for the 2011 season. Let’s pretend the only thing that matters in college football is the games.  There certainly have been some major conference shakeups, coaching changes, and team rebuilding projects, but as SN’s Matt Hayes puts it, “there is some semblance of order: the SEC still rules all.”

Perennial powerhouse Florida may still be trying to return to form and defending champs Auburn has only six returning starters, but the SEC is still poised to capture its sixth straight BCS national championship.  LSU is SN’s number one team for next season, followed closely by Nick Saban’s Alabama squad.  Teams like Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi State are good enough to also be in the fray. Buckle up SEC fans; the road to a prestigious bowl game won’t be smooth.

Then there are the Big Ten and Big 12, two conferences that basically just took part in the ultimate Freaky Friday-esque body swap: the former now has 12 teams and a conference title game while the latter dropped from 12 to 10 teams and decided to get rid of its conference title game.  Nebraska is looking to make a splash during its first year in the Big Ten, while Oklahoma and veteran quarterback Landry Jones will try to live up to SN’s number two overall ranking and maintain its Big 12 dominance

Most Big Ten stories will probably be drowned out by the attention-sucking vortex that is Ohio State.  A school that once was viewed as a shining example of what any program should aspire to be has been devastated by a rule-breaking quarterback, lying coach, and an athletic director/president willing to throw both of them under the bus.  No matter what the Buckeyes do they will be bigger news than anything a possibly much more fascinating team (Like, say, Boise State) does because of all the stigmas surrounding them.  Ohio State will become the Terrell Owens of college football, a media circus that isn’t worth the hype.

Speaking of Boise State, this will be its first season in the Mountain West after leaving the WAC.  As usual, the Broncos will be heralded as BCS busters.  They are number six on SN’s list and boast a Heisman trophy candidate in quarterback Kellen Moore.   Hayes claims “there are whispers of a national championship in Boise,” and those fans may be justified.  Who knows, this could finally be their year. 


trending

121

How Graduation is Causing Me a (Good) Existential Crisis

83

Adulting with Your Mom Is Fun

53

An Interview with ASU Tempe’s Student Body President


Less glamorous conferences like the ACC and Big East are aiming to put their names in the conversation as well.  The ACC’s Florida State is right behind Boise in the rankings and looking to rekindle their rivalry with Miami, another school ready to get back into contention.  The turtles of Maryland are riding momentum created last season by fired coach Ralph Friedgen, but it will be up to replacement Randy Edsall to keep it going.  In the Big East, both Pitt and West Virginia have new coaches – Todd Graham and Dana Holgorsen respectively – after indiscretions got their predecessors fired.  Watch for the Backyard Brawl between these two teams to be particularly heated.

The Pac-10 is now the Pac-12 with the additions of Colorado and Utah. BYU has become an independent, Texas has its own Longhorn Network. Joe Paterno is getting tackled by his players…so much has changes!  One thing is for sure: anyone who thinks soap operas have died should look no further than our nation’s collegiate learning institutions for a show that no writer could script better.  Daytime Emmys, take notice.

About Josh Axelrod

Freshman > Journalism > University of Maryland

Why You Shouldn’t Go for a Run on the Hedonic Treadmill

5 Ways to Survive Grueling Summer Classes 

What To Do Next When You Don’t Know What To Do

Q&A with ASCEND app Creators Sydney Campos and David Richeson

How a Last-Minute Gap Semester Changed My Life

Is Online Learning Right for You?

10 Things All International Students Understand

5 Pre-Finals Rituals to Follow for Optimum Study Time

Life Lessons I Learned in Fitness Classes

Previous Post:Flashback: Top 8 Songs of the 90s
Next Post:From the Seniors: What Should I NOT Do Freshman Year?

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding