Light at the End of the Tunnel

                                                        By: Popeye

It’s almost time. Across America, grills are being repaired, coolers are filling up, face paint is selling like hotcakes and fans of all ages are bracing for an exciting year. God bless college football! This week, I bring an end to all the preseason talk and hype as we ease into a relatively quiet first week of the 2002 season. First, let’s finish looking at how conferences stack up. Last week, we got a head start on the powers in college football. As a reminder I had Miami and Texas to win their respective conferences and meet in Tempe on January 3^rd. However, the remaining conferences have some swagger as well and look to pounce on the preseason favorites. I’ll tell you something, college football is so close I can almost taste it.

                                          Big Ten

            The Wolverines will win the Big East. That’s right you heard me. Maybe you’re sitting there thinking I’m crazy not to go with the incumbent, but it’s not like I haven’t warned you before when it comes to my predictions. Michigan will bring another conference title home. Sure, the quarterback has efficiency problems (completed less than 50% last year), the halfback has production problems, and the wideouts are only fairly solid. That being said, early in the season the team will lean on the defense while the offense learns to click, and the D will respond in a big way. Watch out for Ohio State though as a sleeper. If Michigan is not able to lock up the conference before their annual tilt with Ohio State, Ohio State will dot the ‘I” and could come away with the whole enchilada.

                                  Pac 10

            Call me a prick, rude, or just another biased writer, I’m not covering the Pac 10 in my prediction section more than saying they complain way too much. The Pac 10 is the red headed stepchild of college football, and with good reason. I will say that I see Washington taking this conference. Until this conference plays well year in and year out, they will be ignored. So here are my predictions as to why most people won’t care about the Pac 10 this season.

1. Real Heisman candidates don’t need posters in Times Square
2. Games come on way too late (i.e. after the 5^th beer)
3. Harrington, their best player, is gone
4.  They whine about everything
5. Nobody wants to watch the next over ranked “contender” fall on its face (see Oregon St last year and Washington State this year).

                                  SEC

            Ahhh, what a nice change from PAC to SEC football. As any college fan knows, the SEC is almost always home to excellent football, and legitimate title aspirations. I can appreciate the glory of SEC football, but I still hate this conference. Call it the lingering effects of Arkansas beating Texas in the Cotton Bowl a few years back, call it jealousy, call it what you will. Here’s where I go with a surprise pick for conference champion. I’m taking Georgia for one reason: they play Tennessee at home. That game is the pivotal game in the east. Out west look for ‘Bama to make some noise, but ultimately LSU to repeat as division champs.

There you have it! That’s how this writer sees the conferences going in 2002. To recap:

ACC: Florida State
Big 12: Texas
Big East: Miami
Big 10: Michigan
Pac 10: Washington
SEC: Georgia

                                             BCS Picture

            As for my BCS predictions, let me say this: Hook ‘em Horns! On Jan 3, 2003, the Horns will bring the Fiesta to Texas, and the Sears Trophy. Granted, the road ahead is tough and winding, but Texas has just too many weapons on the field to screw this up.

Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. Washington: WASHINGTON
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Oklahoma: OKLAHOMA
Orange Bowl: Florida State vs. Tennessee: FLORIDA STATE
Fiesta Bowl: Miami vs. Texas: TEXAS

2002 Is Here:

            I’m not flirting around much with Week 1 coverage, because let’s face it, not much is going on around the country. It’s great that football is FINALLY here but we’ve only got seven games to look at and analyze, none of them of BCS caliber. But let’s lay this out for the rest of the season. Each week you can expect that: I will predict several games of real interest, with and without the lines; I will predict the upset of the week for all the gamblers out there; I will give in-depth analysis of games that I deem important; and I will track Heisman and BCS races.

Week 1 Matches: (favorites in bold)                                 Popeye’s Pick
                                                                                    Straight                       Line
Texas Tech (+7) at Ohio State                                    Ohio State                    Texas Tech
Arizona State (+22) at Nebraska                                 Nebraska                     Arizona State
Fresno State (+7) at Wisconsin                                   Wisconsin                     Wisconsin
Florida State at Iowa State (+22)                                Florida State                 Florida State
Arkansas State (+37.5) at Virginia Tech                     Virginia Tech                Virginia Tech

Upset of the Week:

            If you have to find an upset this week, I think you should keep an eye on Texas Tech. Kingsbury would love to start off his Heisman campaign with a solid outing. Also, Ohio State has some question marks in their secondary and he has the ability to pick them apart.