I'll be doing conferences in order by how strong I think they will be in order from greatest to worst, then the independents will follow that. I at first wanted to go from worst to greatest, but what school Dyer goes to looms large for the lower teams as it could allow them to pick up a few more wins, so I'll start from the top with the......
EAST
1. Georgia Bulldogs 11-1(7-1) - Georgia opens the season with a win over Clemson in a tough offensive game that comes down to the wire, the following week South Carolina takes Georgia down, as South Carolina makes some plays on defense while their offense manages to get enough points to win against a Georgia defense still adjusting to lost starters, Georgia see's a challenge from LSU but pulls away late, Tennessee gives the Georgia defense fits but Georgia escapes, Georgia then rolls the next few, then beats Florida, Gus Malzahn and Auburn are the only team that gives Georgia a slight challenge the rest of the way.
2. South Carolina Gamecocks 10-2(6-2) - South Carolina gets challenged at some point in the first 3 games but wins them all, they roll through the next two, but then are upset by Arkansas, then the following week an improved Tennessee team pulls off their marquee win of the year beating South Carolina as South Carolina sees their losses come in pairs. After that they get tough games from Florida and rival Clemson but win both.
3. Florida Gators 10-2(6-2) - Florida sees struggles in the offense again this year, as they get a tougher than expected challenge in week one from Toledo, they then barely escape against Miami(fl), Tennessee also gives Florida fits, but Florida escapes, they finally win one big against Kentucky, before having struggles with both Arkansas and LSU but again escape both with victories, they dominate Missouri, but see their luck run out against Georgia and they lose that one. Vandy gives them a challenge but they win again, they lose the next week against South Carolina though, they then beat Florida State in a rivalry game at the end of the year.
4. Tennessee Volunteers 8-4(5-3) - Tennessee finds themselves much improved this year, early on they have their struggles, after an easy week one win, they struggle with the fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky, but escape with the win, the Oregon Ducks blow them out, but it starts to turn around as they give the Florida Gators a challenge but lose, they win easy the next week, then give Georgia a tough challenge but still can't come up with the win, finally after the bye week it clicks and they upset South Carolina. The following week Alabama still pounds them, but after that Tennessee really gets rolling and ends the regular season on a four game winning streak.
5. Vanderbilt Commodores 7-5(3-5) - Vandy has been making a lot of progress the past few years but they take a bit of a step back this year, they actually start out strong at 5-1 with the loss being against South Carolina, but the schedule gets really difficult after that and they get back to back losses against Georgia and Texas A&M, they give Florida a challenge but lose that one, beat Kentucky, but lose to a hot Tennessee team, but end the season with a win over Wake Forest. James Franklin has exceeded expectations before, they do get a bye week before the Georgia and Florida games, so you never know.
6. Kentucky Wildcats 3-9(1-7) - Mark Stoops has really brought some excitement into this program, unfortunately it will be a bit before they're competitive, they lose a neutral site opener to the Fighting Bobby Petrionos of Western Kentucky, but beat Miami of Ohio the following week, their next 4 games are against teams who could all be in the top 10 at season's end(Louisville, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama) for a team with little talent like Kentucky, it won't end well, they get a bye then lose to Mississippi State but put up a fight, they finally get an easy game against Alabama State(though it would be more appropriate week one) and then beat Missouri at home for their lone SEC win, meaning the last 3 are losses.
7. Missouri 1-11(0-8) - Missouri struggled last year and the season was a disappointment, they don't look bad in week one against Murray State in an easy win, but they are then upset by a motivated Toledo team looking to avenge their close loss against the Gators the week before, after the bye a better than usual Indiana team beats them, it gets worse as Arkansas State joins the party, the SEC stretch of Vandy, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee all results in losses most of which aren't close and Pinkel is fired sometime during this stretch, the interim coach loses the final 3 to Kentucky, Mississippi and A&M.
Mentioning Oregon.... It's time for my next conference
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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.
Most Overrated: Arkansas Razorbacks- I thought they had some good talent on this team and figured someone other than John L Smith could do something with this team, turns out not.
Most Underrated: Auburn Tigers- do I really need to go into detail on this one?
Best Prediction Team: Alabama Crimson Tide- I thought they would lose a regular season game, just picked the wrong one.
Worst Prediction Team: Arkansas Razorbacks- I wanted to avoid Auburn since they surprised everyone, I thought Arkansas would surprise some, I was wrong.
Best Prediction Game: Ole Miss over LSU- managed to call this upset, just a gut feeling.
Worst Prediction Game: Arkansas over Texas A&M-
