|
 Here are my conference champion predictions for the 2011 college football season.
SEC Champion: Alabama Crimson Tide - Key offensive pieces Greg McElroy, Julio Jones and Mark Ingram are gone, but Nick Saban still has a team capable of winning the SEC and maybe even a national title. The schedule shapes up nicely for the Tide too as they don't play South Carolina or Georgia this year. Alabama is listed at +550 to win the BCS title. Big 12 Conference Champion: Oklahoma Sooners - If Oklahoma can get past Florida State in Tallahassee early in the season, it will have an excellent opportunity to roll into Stillwater undefeated on Dec. 3. With Nebraska moving to the Big Ten and Colorado to the Pac-12, Oklahoma won't have to survive a conference title game either. That greatly improves its national championship chances. College football lines makers have listed Oklahoma at +350 to win the BCS championship. Big Ten Conference Champion: Wisconsin Badgers - With everything that's unfolding in Columbus, Wisconsin emerges as the favorite in the Big Ten. Nebraska is a quality side, but it will be mighty tough for Big Red to win its new league in year one. Montee Ball and James White make up one of the best running back tandems in the country. They combined for over 2,000 yards and 32 scores last season. College football lines makers have Wisconsin at +3500 to win the BCS title. Pac-12 Conference Champion: Oregon Ducks - A tough three-point loss to Auburn in last season's BCS championship will drive the Ducks in 2011. Oregon boasted the top offense in the nation last year. With Darron Thomas and LaMichael James back, the Oregon offense should remain explosive. The Ducks are listed at +1250 to win the national title. ACC Champion: Florida State Seminoles - No Christian Ponder. No problem. At least that's what FSU is hoping for. Ponder was the school's best signal caller since Chris Weinke, but the program is very excited about EJ Manuel taking on a full-time role. Manuel was the 2010 Gator Bowl MVP and also came off the bench to help the Noles defeat South Carolina in last season's Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Odds makers have listed Florida State at +1050 to win the national championship. Big East Conference Champion: West Virginia Mountaineers -The Mountaineers have the chance to take the Big East by storm with Dana Holgorsen stepping in. He helped Oklahoma State become the most explosive offensive team in the Big 12 last year. The Mountaineers are listed at +2000 to win the BCS title. Mountain West Conference Champion: Boise State Broncos -The Broncos have an excellent opportunity to win the Mountain West in their first year in the new league. The MWC title could come down to a Nov. 12 meeting between Boise State and TCU. One would have to think Boise has the edge in that game on the blue turf, especially since it returns quarterback Kellen Clemens and TCU loses Andy Dalton. Boise State is listed at +1200 to win the national title. WAC Champion: Nevada Wolf Pack -Nevada is coming off a historic 13-1 season in which it upset Boise State. Losing Colin Kaepernick will hurt, but Chris Ault's Pistol offense has enough bells and whistles to put Nevada atop the WAC. Nevada is listed at +1500 to win the BCS championship as part of the field. Conference USA Champion: SMU Mustangs - The Mustangs bring back 18 starters from a team that tied for the Conference USA West championship in 2010. With that much experience returning, and with quarterback Kyle Padron very comfortable in June Jones' Run "N" Shoot, SMU has a chance to make some serious noise. SMU is also grouped among the field and listed at +1500 to win the BCS title. Mid-American Champion: Toledo Rockets - Toledo returns 17 starters from a team that went 7-1 in the MAC last year, and this team isn't feeling fat and happy. The Rockets missed out on the MAC championship game and lost their bowl game. Those things will serve as big motivators this season. Odds makers have listed Toledo among the field at +1500 to win the national title. Sun Belt Conference Champion: Troy Trojans - Troy has either won or shared five consecutive Sun Belt titles, and I don't see this streak coming to an end anytime soon. A defense that allowed nearly 410 yards and over 30 points per game leaves plenty to be desired but the league's best offense is good enough to carry this team to another championship. Troy is grouped among the field and listed at +1500 to win the BCS championship.
source: |
