2013 College Football season predictions

[yeodonie]

You better keep your boots on their throat, any slip ups in Eugene and they will come roaring back

Yeah. I'm hoping we put a stake in their heart this year in their new home. They are really feeling their oats right now. They'll be as unbearable as a Duck fan going to the Natty if they beat us this year.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

next conference is

1. TCU Horned Frogs 9-3(7-2) - TCU finds themselves much improved this year after a tough year last year thanks to injuries and Pachall's issues. This year TCU opens with a tough opener against LSU, it's a hard fought game and TCU loses just barely thanks to a little rust from Pachall. TCU wins the next 3 games, only struggles come from Texas Tech, they go on the road against Oklahoma and surprisingly win that one. They win the next game easily before a big game against Oklahoma State on the road, the Oklahoma State offense proves to be too much as they get a big play late to give TCU a loss. TCU does recover and wins another big game against Texas the following week, TCU wins the next two, Iowa State does give them a fight for a half. TCU then loses on the road to Kansas State. Finally after the bye they take on rival Baylor and win that one, it ends up being a great year for them as they win the Big 12, though as you will see the Big 12 has a lot of good teams, but they all beat each other up.

2. Texas Longhorns 9-3(6-3) - It took me a few minutes to figure out who's second, Texas is hoping this is the year they finally reach the top again I see them falling a little short, but they still are much improved, it's just a tough Big 12, with so many teams that are really good, but not dominant. Texas wins the first game with ease, BYU gives them some issues on the road but Texas escapes, they dominate Ole Miss, but then they lose to Kansas State at home, as it seems like Kansas State has had Texas's number when Bill Snyder is their coach. Texas beats Iowa State on the road in a sloppy one as they are focused on the next game, against rival Oklahoma, Texas comes into this one focused wanting to end their 3 game losing streak against the Sooners and they succeed to pull off the victory for what will be the highlight of their season, Texas loses on the road to TCU the following game, before winning the next two games easily. Texas then wins a big conference tilt over Oklahoma State, then beats Texas Tech after the bye, they are tied for the conference lead but unfortunately with TCU so they lose the tiebreaker, to add insult to that they lose to Baylor in an upset the following week, luckily thanks to Texas's win over Oklahoma State they avoid losing all the tie-breakers for Big 12 teams with 3 conference losses, and instead win the first tie-breaker by being the highest ranked.

3. Oklahoma State Cowboys 9-3(6-3) - Oklahoma State is another expected to be much improved this year, they should field a great offense with a better than usual defense. Oklahoma State wins their first 4 games with little trouble, before Kansas State gives them a little trouble but they win by double digits. Oklahoma State then faces TCU in a key game, they win that one with a late 4th quarter score, unfortunately the following week, Iowa State strikes again in Ames and pulls the upset, Oklahoma State doesn't recover and loses another upset to Texas Tech, they take it out on the fatman and Kansas the next week but lose out on their chance to truly be back in the Big 12 race by losing to Texas, they end strong by beating Baylor and rival Oklahoma at home. They get the tie-breaker for 3rd by beating both Baylor and Kansas State.

4. Kansas State Wildcats 9-3(6-3) - Kansas State loses QB Collin Klein and most of their defense, but if you doubt Bill Snyder he usually makes you look foolish, Kansas State doesn't look good at first, they struggle with North Dakota State and are actually in danger of losing but escape in a low scoring game, Louisiana-Lafayette gives them fits the following week before Kansas State finally hits strides against Umass, then beats Texas on the road as Snyder has seemingly had Texas' number. Kansas State loses their first game on the road against Oklahoma State, but they win a big one at home against Baylor week, after the bye they beat West Virginia and Iowa State. They then are upset in a tough road game against Texas Tech, but then keep themselves in the Big 12 race by upsetting TCU, but they lose at home against Oklahoma to end their Big 12 hopes, they take it out on the fatman and Kansas. They get the tie-breaker over Baylor.

5. Baylor Bears 9-3(6-3) - Baylor ended the season incredibly strong and look to bring that momentum into this year, but they have a new QB who is promising. Baylor opens with an easy win, before having some struggles for a half with the Buffalo Bulls, they then beat UL-Monroe after the bye in a game that proves challenging, Baylor then beats West Virginia, before Kansas State gets revenge on them for last year, Baylor then wins the next two easily. After the bye week comes the difficult 5 game stretch to end the year, Baylor starts it strong with wins over Oklahoma and Texas Tech, Lache Seastrunk's Heisman declaration starts to sound like a possibility especially after a huge performance against Oklahoma, but Baylor then loses to Oklahoma State and TCU ending his Heisman consideration and Baylor's Big 12 title hopes, Baylor does end strong with a win over Texas.

6. Oklahoma Sooners 8-4(5-4) - Oklahoma has been surprisingly not dominant the past few years, this year unfortunately turns out to be a tough one with few returning starters and a defense that will see struggles. Oklahoma see's a surprising challenge from UL-Monroe in week one but escapes, they win the next two with little issue, before going on a bye then beating Notre Dame on the road to avenge last year's embarrassment. Oklahoma then loses at home to TCU, and then suffers their biggest disappointment by losing to a motivated Texas team, Oklahoma does win the next two games, but they then lose to Baylor as Lache Seastrunk runs free against Oklahoma's struggling run defense, Oklahoma does beat Iowa State and Kansas State to get on a strong run but then they end up losing to rival Oklahoma State.

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders 7-5(4-5) - Texas Tech made a good hire in Kliff Kingsbury, it's already reigniting the Texas Tech fanbase, I see an improvement of Texas Tech's homefield advantage like they used to have. Texas Tech struggles a little against SMU in week one before winning the next one easily, they see their first loss come against TCU though, before winning the next 3 games with not much trouble. Texas Tech loses the next two on the road to West Virginia and Oklahoma, before coming back home and seeing the highlights of their season as they upset Oklahoma State and Kansas State in consecutive weeks, they lose their last two though.

8. West Virginia Mountaineers 6-6(3-6) - West Virginia had a disappointing first year in the Big 12 as the increased competition gave them issues, this year they lose a lot of starters especially on offense. The season starts with an easy win before losing to Oklahoma, they win over Georgia State easily but have some issues with Maryland before winning, West Virginia loses the next two games. After the bye they beat Texas Tech at home, but lose the next 3 before winning the last two over Kansas and Iowa State.

9. Iowa State Cyclones 5-7(2-7) - I never want to underestimate Paul Rhoades but with only 9 returning starters it's tough to see Iowa State winning a lot of Big 12 games this year, Iowa State starts with an easy win, and does beat rival Iowa, before finishing the non-conference with a win over Tulsa. Unfortunately the Big 12 gets really tough after that, they lose the next 4, but do pull a major upset over Oklahoma State for a season highlight, but lose 3 more before beating Kansas to avoid the Big 12 cellar.

10. Kansas Jayhawks 3-9(0-9) - Kansas is a very tough place to win, and unfortunately they lack talent right now, on the bright side we get to see the fatman struggle. Kansas actually starts 3-0 with wins in the non-conference, but don't win any games in the Big 12, they start to get closer to winning late in the year and put up a good fight in the last 3 games.

 

[WhiteMamba]

Good predictions on the Big 12...

So far your conference ranks go

1 SEC
2 PAC
3 Big 12

Same as I would have it although top to bottom Big12 could be ahead of PAC. Oregon and Stanford give PAC the slight edge IMO as well.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Good predictions on the Big 12...

So far your conference ranks go

1 SEC
2 PAC
3 Big 12

Same as I would have it although top to bottom Big12 could be ahead of PAC. Oregon and Stanford give PAC the slight edge IMO as well.

Big 12 is the deepest conference in my opinion(as evidenced by 80 % of the teams making bowls, and TCU being the only team to lose a non-conference game) but the Big 12 lacks a team with the ability to contend for the title. SEC and Pac-12 both have that, Oregon and Stanford would beat anyone in the Big 12, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona State and UCLA, matchups vs Big 12 teams would depend on the weaknesses of those teams.

 

[TexasExes98]

Excellent analysis. I too, have TCU winning the conference and being a dark horse this year. Mack has been saying that 2013 would be the year Texas returns to the top 10 and should be playing in a BCS bowl, so we'll see. I'm still not convinced that defense is fixed. Manny Diaz is the worst DC out there and he still has a job. Should have been fired at halftime of the OU game last year. Our offense will be sick and we might have the best stable of RB's in the country. I'm glad Mack has finally gone back to the offense that helped win a BCS title and played for another one. Why he changed it, I'll never understand. This is also the type of offense David Ash ran in high school, so this is going to suit him better.

I wouldn't count out OU. One thing about Stoops is he handles his business in conference play. Stoops might be the worst bowl game coach in the country as his teams get brutally raped time and time again, but he knows how to win the conference. Mack is the opposite: awful coach in conference play, but one of the best bowl game coaches in the country.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Excellent analysis. I too, have TCU winning the conference and being a dark horse this year. Mack has been saying that 2013 would be the year Texas returns to the top 10 and should be playing in a BCS bowl, so we'll see. I'm still not convinced that defense is fixed. Manny Diaz is the worst DC out there and he still has a job. Should have been fired at halftime of the OU game last year. Our offense will be sick and we might have the best stable of RB's in the country. I'm glad Mack has finally gone back to the offense that helped win a BCS title and played for another one. Why he changed it, I'll never understand. This is also the type of offense David Ash ran in high school, so this is going to suit him better.

I wouldn't count out OU. One thing about Stoops is he handles his business in conference play. Stoops might be the worst bowl game coach in the country as his teams get brutally raped time and time again, but he knows how to win the conference. Mack is the opposite: awful coach in conference play, but one of the best bowl game coaches in the country.

Usually anyways, as of late it seems like he's slipped a bit. I think Oklahoma will take a leap back to normal next year though

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Texas on the other hand, I think the defense will see some improvement with Jordan Hicks and other lost defensive players back

 

[WhiteMamba]

Usually anyways, as of late it seems like he's slipped a bit. I think Oklahoma will take a leap back to normal next year though

Jury is out for me on Oky. Have no idea what to expect from Belldozer as full time QB

 

[WhiteMamba]

If you are going off of QB play I think Baylor will be a player in the conference. If they can get any resemblance of improved defense that is... But I really like what I have seen from Bryce Petty. Kid has an eye popping arm.

Pachall could very well lead TCU to the Big12 title. But I cant put that in stone just yet. My contenders are Oky State, TCU, and ???

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Jury is out for me on Oky. Have no idea what to expect from Belldozer as full time QB

I agree sir, he's a good runner, but his passing skills are in question

we don't know how he's going to turn out, will he be a Cam Newton or a Logan Thomas? right now I predicted something in between.

If you are going off of QB play I think Baylor will be a player in the conference. If they can get any resemblance of improved defense that is... But I really like what I have seen from Bryce Petty. Kid has an eye popping arm.

Pachall could very well lead TCU to the Big12 title. But I cant put that in stone just yet. My contenders are Oky State, TCU, and ???

I think Bryce Petty can easily carry on the recent Baylor Bears QB success, Baylor's defense made a lot of strides late last year too. I quite honestly think any of the top 6 teams I had could win the Big 12 this year

 

[TexasExes98]

I agree sir, he's a good runner, but his passing skills are in question

we don't know how he's going to turn out, will he be a Cam Newton or a Logan Thomas? right now I predicted something in between.



I think Bryce Petty can easily carry on the recent Baylor Bears QB success, Baylor's defense made a lot of strides late last year too. I quite honestly think any of the top 6 teams I had could win the Big 12 this year

Bell Dozer is just a FB. He's used to rush for 1 yd TD's. I don't think he'll be a good QB for OU. Yeah, don't count out Baylor. People thought Baylor was going back to being a doormat after RGIII left and Florence stepped in and did just fine in his only season as a starter. IMO, at the end of the year last year, Baylor and Aggy were playing the best ball in the country. Watch out for Baylor.....

 

[WhiteMamba]

agree... Easily the most wide open conference. I also think yalls conference is wide open and SUPER competitive.

Lots of very good QBs. Fales, Keaton, Carr, Fajardo, and I believe Southwick joins those names this year as one of the conferences best. 2nd year in Coach Petersen's offense is usually a recipe for success. Moore just did it in all 4 years.

 

[TexasExes98]

agree... Easily the most wide open conference. I also think yalls conference is wide open and SUPER competitive.

Lots of very good QBs. Fales, Keaton, Carr, Fajardo, and I believe Southwick joins those names this year as one of the conferences best. 2nd year in Coach Petersen's offense is usually a recipe for success. Moore just did it in all 4 years.

Keep an eye out for Carr at Fresno. THis kid is legit, doesn't receive much hype b/c he plays for FSU, but I saw him play a couple of times last year. Dude threw for over 4000 yds and 37 TD's last year.....

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Bell Dozer is just a FB. He's used to rush for 1 yd TD's. I don't think he'll be a good QB for OU. Yeah, don't count out Baylor. People thought Baylor was going back to being a doormat after RGIII left and Florence stepped in and did just fine in his only season as a starter. IMO, at the end of the year last year, Baylor and Aggy were playing the best ball in the country. Watch out for Baylor.....

I agree sir, Baylor was playing amazing ball, blowing out unbeaten Kansas State 52-24 is a good way to show it LOL, A&M of course beat Bama. Baylor is definitely one to watch, this team could even be better than the RG3 teams.

agree... Easily the most wide open conference. I also think yalls conference is wide open and SUPER competitive.

Lots of very good QBs. Fales, Keaton, Carr, Fajardo, and I believe Southwick joins those names this year as one of the conferences best. 2nd year in Coach Petersen's offense is usually a recipe for success. Moore just did it in all 4 years.

our conference is going to be pretty challenging, I'm hoping not super-competitive, we can only afford one loss to make a BCS bowl this year, and that one loss CAN'T be against Utah State, if Utah State beats us they might take the division and ruin our BCS bowl hopes. David Fales is the best pro prospect in the conference, Keeton is the playmaker, Carr is just a great player, he could be better than his brother, but his brother being a bust in the NFL might hurt his draft stock somehow, Fajardo is a good one too, I'm not sure how Nevada is going to perform this year with a new coach. I can tell you one thing the MWC won't be 7th in my conference rankings

I'm excited for what Southwick could do this year, he struggled early last year but got a lot better as the year went on, his ratio was 19-7 last year, I was surprised by how good he did in the bowl game though, he played great against what was a tough Washington defense. I'm interested to see how our playbook looks this year as we changed it up a bit(good thing too since Wilcox used to be our dcoordinator LOL)

Keep an eye out for Carr at Fresno. THis kid is legit, doesn't receive much hype b/c he plays for FSU, but I saw him play a couple of times last year. Dude threw for over 4000 yds and 37 TD's last year.....

Carr is a very good QB, he was the sole highlight of a 4-8 Fresno team his first year, last year some playmakers developed around him and he was amazing, right now the NFL sees him as a midround pick too.

 

[occupant]

Bell Dozer is just a FB. He's used to rush for 1 yd TD's. I don't think he'll be a good QB for OU.

I can't wait to find out!

From Scout:
QB Blake Bell of Bishop Carroll Catholic High School is rare talent with tremendous upside. Having played the position for only a year, Bell brings to the table a lightening quick release, excellent vision, pocket awareness, and intangibles that far exceed his experience. Bell is also an athletic QB and though he can beat you with his feet, he'd rather beat you with his arm. - Baron Flenory; Midland Region Manager


Biography:
Talented quarterback prospect who played wide receiver as a sophomore. He's a big, strong kid who is in line for a big junior season.

Bell threw for over 3,200 yards and 32 touchdowns as a junior and he also rushed for another 11 touchdowns.

 

[bigred472]

Well, if you think about it there's four SEC teams that will for sure start in the top 10 in Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia, and South Carolina. And those teams deserve to start off there. Then you have two more fringe preseason top 10 teams in Florida and LSU. Hey man, it's a tough conference. Half of the top 10 probably should consist of SEC teams in most recent seasons.

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I won't argue with you about the SEC being a tough conference per se. But I think the overkill myth is being as good as everyone thinks they are. Cases in point. Georgia (and don't get me wrong, I'd give my left nut if Nebraksa had Richt as its HC.) Yet just because just because they had a two loss year (and that's not been their consistant benchmark) they don't necessarily deserve to start in the top 10. Same for South Carolina. Correct me if I'm wrong but the ol' ballcap er ol' ball coach has never done better thatn two losses since he's been at South Carolina.

Even TAMU, although i truly respect their new HC, what truly did they do other than beat Alabama to deserve a top 10 preseason ranking. Until last year, (during their Big 12 years) they were at best spoilers. They ocassionally beat a top 10 team yet fininshed most of the time unranked.

 

[bigred472]

I wouldn't count out OU. One thing about Stoops is he handles his business in conference play. Stoops might be the worst bowl game coach in the country as his teams get brutally raped time and time again, but he knows how to win the conference. Mack is the opposite: awful coach in conference play, but one of the best bowl game coaches in the country.
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Agreed, I think Oklahoma will take the conference....period. Stoops has his brother (Mike) at DC. and that will make a world of difference. Mike may have been a crappy HC but the guy knows his defense.

 

[BTHOtu]

I wouldn't count out OU. One thing about Stoops is he handles his business in conference play. Stoops might be the worst bowl game coach in the country as his teams get brutally raped time and time again, but he knows how to win the conference. Mack is the opposite: awful coach in conference play, but one of the best bowl game coaches in the country.
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Agreed, I think Oklahoma will take the conference....period. Stoops has his brother (Mike) at DC. and that will make a world of difference. Mike may have been a crappy HC but the guy knows his defense.

When was the last shitty season that OU had under Stoops?
2012 10-3
2011 10-3
2010 12-2
2009 8-5
2008 12-2
2007 11-3
2006 11-3
2005 8-4
2004 12-1
2003 12-2
2002 12-2...
Stoops is kind of a dewsh. But I respect him. Just because they lost their QB and a bunch of other seniors doesn't exactly open the Big 12 up. Stoops can win 10 games because that's what Stoops does.

I think tu has the best advantage to win the B12. They would have to get out of the Cotton Bowl with a W and Mack hasn't done well in Dallas since Cart McCry left.

TCU is my dark horse. I like the way they ended their season and they finally got their stud QB off the bottle.

Boylol is another that will make it tough. Briles has turned the program around. Need Defense.

OSU - Don't count Gundy out either.

 

[4down20]

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I won't argue with you about the SEC being a tough conference per se. But I think the overkill myth is being as good as everyone thinks they are. Cases in point. Georgia (and don't get me wrong, I'd give my left nut if Nebraksa had Richt as its HC.) Yet just because just because they had a two loss year (and that's not been their consistant benchmark) they don't necessarily deserve to start in the top 10. Same for South Carolina. Correct me if I'm wrong but the ol' ballcap er ol' ball coach has never done better thatn two losses since he's been at South Carolina.

Even TAMU, although i truly respect their new HC, what truly did they do other than beat Alabama to deserve a top 10 preseason ranking. Until last year, (during their Big 12 years) they were at best spoilers. They ocassionally beat a top 10 team yet fininshed most of the time unranked.

2 loss teams almost always end up in the top10. 3 loss teams end up in teh top15 and 4 loss teams end up in the top20. Extremely weak SoS causes the exceptions.

It's always easy to dump on a team and say well they lost this game or they lost that game. But here is my challenge to you: Give us your top10 and show us the teams you think belong in above them.

 

[pabartl787]

I predict Penn State will not go to a bowl game this season....but will have a lot of fun playing spoiler.