2013 College Football season predictions

[Ballboy534]

That is such a small part on how good a team is or how they are coming on. Yes, the teams that aren't Alabama, LSU, aTm, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina have to play those teams. Those same teams of Tennessee(which will be good again soon), Ole Miss, Arkansas, Auburn, Missouri, Vandy, Miss St get to lose to the top teams and trade loses with each other so many will be under .500. But I would love to make some good money and if you would like to take that comment a step further I am more than willing to let a lot ride on it!

Do you not realize many of the teams your Canes will play closely would be those very same cupcakes for the top SEC teams? My gosh Auburn, who was destroyed by all the top teams in the SEC except LSU, had Clemson on the ropes last year. Just a reminder, Auburn did not win an SEC game last year. We all know Clemson beat LSU in the bowl game but they pulled a mircale out of their ass to do it!

 

[RegentDenali]

Yeah, I have to agree with you here.

Boise State is very, very young with 43 freshmen. Plus UW is getting stronger with opening a new Husky stadium....I don't see Washington losing this game to anyone outside of the top 15 and as good as Boise State is -- we are not Top 15 to open the season.

Although Boise State will give a good hard fight. Count on that. should be a great game to watch. I have Washington winning by 7 perhaps even 2 scores if Prince gets rolling.

It will be a great game out of the gate. I'm not calling some blowout. Huskies by 7-10 points, and lots of scoring. But these first games of the season can also be filled with rust and dumb mistakes. And BSU could get a W if the Huskies come out flat. I love OOC games with matchups like this. My only gripe is with all the PAC12 network / braodcast deal scheduling gaga, this game was given a later start time. With the new stadium premiere, wish it could of been like a 1-4pm start time.

Go Dawgs!!!

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Sorry BoiseStateFan27. The Huskies are not losing their home opener at the new Husky stadium against BSU.

But besides that, your analysis of their schedule was solid. Add the win against BSU, and I'm giving them a 9-3 record this year.

We've heard that story before sir

with that being said, it will be a very close game, I'm hoping Petersen has some tricks in his bag late in this one

plus two of your top recievers are in trouble right now

 

[Boise4Life]

We've heard that story before sir

with that being said, it will be a very close game, I'm hoping Petersen has some tricks in his bag late in this one

plus two of your top recievers are in trouble right now

As crazy as it sounds, I bet they don't suspend ASJ. I bet they play him. They need him. If the tables were turned, Petersen would never play him in a million years, but I bet Sark does.

Who's the WR who's in trouble? Do you know what he did? It's not Kasen Williams is it?

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

As crazy as it sounds, I bet they don't suspend ASJ. I bet they play him. They need him. If the tables were turned, Petersen would never play him in a million years, but I bet Sark does.

Who's the WR who's in trouble? Do you know what he did? It's not Kasen Williams is it?

It is, I can't remember exactly what it was, it was some sort of driving while impaired charge(either drinking or other drugs) in May

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

It is, I can't remember exactly what it was, it was some sort of driving while impaired charge(either drinking or other drugs) in May

Report: Washington WR Williams faces discipline over misdemeanor - CBSSports.com

 

[Boise4Life]

It is, I can't remember exactly what it was, it was some sort of driving while impaired charge(either drinking or other drugs) in May

Oh wow. I had not known that. That's their best WR. Looks like he was smoking weed and drinking and driving. He did come in under the legal limit at .06 but he's also underage. Evidently that's not a DUI in the state of WA when they're underage yet under the limit. It is in many states. No matter. He'll play too. For sure he will.

 

[Sox33OSU]

Oh wow. I had not known that. That's their best WR. Looks like he was smoking weed and drinking and driving. He did come in under the legal limit at .06 but he's also underage. Evidently that's not a DUI in the state of WA when they're underage yet under the limit. It is in many states. No matter. He'll play too. For sure he will.

He shouldn't get a damn thing. I'd be willing to bet that several college football players have gotten tickets for texting/emailing and driving, and that's been proven to be far, far worse than driving at a .08, let along a .06.

He had a .06. Big frickin deal. Don't waste the court's time with stupid shit like this. I'd truly hope they have bigger fish to fry.

 

[Boise4Life]

He shouldn't get a damn thing. I'd be willing to bet that several college football players have gotten tickets for texting/emailing and driving, and that's been proven to be far, far worse than driving at a .08, let along a .06.

He had a .06. Big frickin deal. Don't waste the court's time with stupid shit like this. I'd truly hope they have bigger fish to fry.

Well, he was smoking weed too. There's that.

 

[Boise4Life]

Kasen Williams is another guy they need. Like I said he's their best WR hands down. He also abused Deyonte Deayton in the bowl game. He had to have had close to 100 yards on Boise.

 

[Sox33OSU]

Well, he was smoking weed too. There's that.

Depends how much. I agree it isn't a good thing to smoke and drink and then drive, but you could have 2 beers and be at a .06.

On a side note, since pot is legal in Washington, how to they immediately test for it to see if someone is high right at that moment?

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Time to look at the

WEST

1. Toledo Rockets 10-2(7-1) - Toledo has themselves a very talented team this year, especially on offense and special teams, these guys will light up the scoreboard this year, they have two disadvantages compared to Ball State and Northern Illinois, they play a tougher non-conference schedule, and they face Bowling Green and Buffalo as cross-division opponents, while Northern Illinois and Ball State get significantly easier cross-division opponents, Toledo is the best team in the Mac, but they will be hard pressed to win it, despite this all, I like their talent and am picking them anyways. Toledo opens up on the road against the Florida Gators, pretty much everyone has them chalked up to lose including me, but the Gators are a team that does lack effort at times, and they can't afford to give little effort against this good Toledo team or they will be upset. Toledo does get their upset over an SEC team by beating Missouri the following week, Toledo then wins the next two before taking down Ball State in a big Mac West battle. Toledo beats Western Michigan, then beats Navy after having an extra week to prepare for their option offense. Toledo suffers their first Mac loss on the road to cross-division rival Bowling Green. Then wins the next two over Eastern Michigan and Buffalo. After the bye they take on Northern Illinois at home in Wednesday night Maction, Northern Illinois enters the game unbeaten with BCS bowl aspirations, but Toledo ends those with an upset victory, and then Toledo wins on the road over Akron the following week to seal the Mac West crown.
2. Northern Illinois Huskies 11-1(7-1) - Northern Illinois had an amazing year last year losing one game, and making a BCS bowl, unfortunately the bowl itself didn't go too well, this was actually a pretty young team last year especially on offense, this year the offense returns 8 starters. Northern Illinois once again starts out the season against Iowa, this time I have them winning it, last year they lost by 1, with most of their offense starting in their first game so this year I can see a more experienced team beating Iowa. Northern Illinois wins the next two in blowouts, then beats an easier Big 10 team in Purdue, before facing a test on the road against Kent State which they win. After that Northern Illinois rolls in the next 4 games. After the bye Northern Illinois will face Ball State in a key matchup on some Wednesday night Maction. Northern Illinois wins it, but unfortunately during the following Wednesday night Maction they find themselves upset on the road to Toledo which ends their hopes of a repeat BCS bowl appearance, along with costing them the Mac title. They do end the season with a win over Western Michigan.
3. Ball State Cardinals 10-2(6-2) - Pete Lembo has been doing an incredible job with this program the past few years and no one has really noticed(he's actually been better here than Brady Hoke was). This year is his best team, if they can shore up the offensive line and linebackers they could very well find themselves with a 12-0 regular season like they did in 08 under Brady Hoke, which will no doubt get Pete Lembo's name on a lot of college programs lists for next offseason. Ball State wins the first 4 games easily, but then is taken down by Toledo in a big Mac West battle. After that comes a road game against Virginia which they do manage to win, that gets a few people to notice. They win the next 4 games with not too much trouble, and that's when people notice their 9-1 record heading into a showdown against Northern Illinois on Wednesday night Maction. Unfortunately Ball State loses in a close one, but beats Miami(oh) at home to end the season, despite the fact that the home team has lost 8 straight in the series between those two, Ball State is much better than them this season.
4. Western Michigan Broncos 4-8(3-5) - It really goes downhill now, Western Michigan has a new coach in PJ Fleck who has inserted a big sign of life in this program, unfortunately with non-conference games against Michigan State, Northwestern and Iowa all on the road, they won't be in a bowl this year. Western Michigan opens with a loss to Michigan State, they win the next one over Nicholls State who will have played Oregon the week before, Western Michigan then plays 6 straight games against teams who should have 6 wins or more this season and Iowa. They lose all 6 of those games. It gets a lot easier for them and they win their next 3 before losing to Northern Illinois in the finale.
5. Central Michigan Chippewas 3-9(2-6) - Central Michigan was really up and down last year, in week 3 they pulled a major comeback upset over Iowa, and looked good, then lost 5 out of the next 6 and looked dead in the water, suddenly they won their last 3 and were bowl eligible, and actually ended up in a bowl because of a major error by Louisiana Tech's AD(Ohio replaced La Tech, if they didn't Ohio likely would have been in CMU's bowl) Central Michigan actually won the bowl over favored Western Kentucky, saving Dan Enos' job. Central Michigan will find it a lot tougher this year with only 3 home games in their first 10 games, and two of them are against teams(Toledo and Northern Illinois) that they have little chance to beat. Central Michigan opens with a loss to Michigan, beats New Hampshire before losing the next 8 games, there's a good chance Dan Enos is fired, with an interim coach they still beat Umass, and beat Eastern Michigan as there's a good chance there's an interim coach there too.
6. Eastern Michigan Eagles 1-11(0-8) - Eastern Michigan is a very difficult place to win and one of the toughest jobs in the Mac, despite this Ron English led them to a 6-6 record back in 2011, he probably should have jumped ship while his stock was high, as they faded back to normal Eastern Michigan level after that. This year's team should be improved, but the schedule will prevent them from showing it. Eastern Michigan wins the first game against someone named Howard, before losing the rest.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

these dadburn character limits


EAST
1. Bowling Green Falcons 10-2(7-1) - Bowling Green for the past few years has had a very young team, and haven't performed too well, last year they surprised and won 8 games, when this was the big year for them. Now they're really experienced(19 returning starters) and there's a lot of high hopes for the Falcons, They return a lot on offense, making it what should be Dave Clawson's best offense yet, while the defense which was one of the best in Bowling Green history should be improved or at least as good as last year, despite the loss of 6th round pick Chris Jones. Bowling Green starts out with a season opening win over Tulsa, then wins two tough road games against Kent State and Indiana. Bowling Green wins the next 3 at home easily. They then face Mississippi State in a tough late season road game, Mississippi State has a lot of talent, so Bowling Green will probably lose that one. After the bye Bowling Green beats Toledo, then wins on the road over Miami(oh). Bowling Green then wins a huge Mac East battle over Ohio in Tuesday night Maction. Bowling Green beats Eastern Michigan then suffers an upset loss to Buffalo.
2. Ohio Bobcats 10-2(7-1) - This Ohio team was a tough team last year, they had a lot of talent but suffered an unreal amount of injuries yet kept winning until it finally fell apart later in the year as they lost 4 of their last 5. Frank Solich will have this team good again though. Ohio opens with a loss to Louisville, but you can't completely count them out of that one. Ohio easily beats North Texas, but is challenged by Marshall, they still win that one though. Ohio has no issues at all winning the next 4 games, that win streak continues with revenge over rival Miami(oh), followed by a tough road win over Buffalo. Ohio's unbeaten Mac run ends on Tuesday night Maction against Bowling Green, but Ohio wins the last two.
3. Buffalo Bulls 7-5(5-3) - Every year there's one Mac team that comes out of nowhere to have a good year, signs point to Buffalo being that team. Last year they had a pretty talented team(outgained the Georgia Bulldogs 243-188 in the first half of that game) but were undone by injuries and turnovers. This year 18 starters return and they figure to have less turnovers and injuries this year, so they will be the most improved Mac team. Buffalo still opens with losses to Ohio State and Baylor in some really tough games, Buffalo wins the next game then picks up a big win over UConn. Buffalo wins the next 3 games easily, before losing the next 3. Buffalo then ends the season on a two game winning streak including an upset over Bowling Green.
4. Kent State Golden Flashes 6-6(4-4) - About the Mac team that comes out of nowhere to have a good year, that was Kent State last year, Kent State had easily their best season in school history last year, but unfortunately coach Darrell Hazell left for a bigger job. With a new coach and a tougher schedule they won't have as good of a season this year. Kent State opens with a win, but then loses the next 3 in a tough stretch of playing Bowling Green, LSU, and Penn State. Kent State beats Western Michigan before losing the next two. Kent State pulls their season together by winning the next 4 games and getting bowl eligible, but they end the season with a loss on the road to Ohio.
5. Miami of Ohio Redhawks 3-9(3-5) - Miami of Ohio will have a very difficult year with the loss of Zac Dysert at QB(though Austin Boucher isn't bad), and they lost Nick Harwell to a transfer, Don Treadwell famous for stepping in and winning a few games as interim coach of Michigan State a few years ago when Mark Dantonio had his heart attack, has struggled here surprisingly. He may not make it out of this year, he is an alma matter of the school so they might give him one more year. Miami of Ohio will lose their 4 nonconference games against Marshall, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Illinois, before winning 3 in a row in Mac play, unfortunately after that they will face 5 of the toughest Mac teams and lose all those.
6. Akron Zips 2-10(1-7) - Terry Bowden took over the Zips in disaster pretty much, but they have the best facilities in the Mac so he could really bring this program up in a few years. For now they will struggle, even though Terry Bowden had them playing much more competitive last year, this year they will be even better, unfortunately the schedule is very difficult so it won't show with their record. Akron will open with a loss, but should beat James Madison(though we said that about VT a few years ago too), Akron will then face 5 very good teams in a row, they will lose all of those. Their best chance to win in this tough stretch is on the road against Miami of Ohio, but it is not too likely, it should be a close one though. Akron then loses games against Ball State and Kent State. After a bye they play on the road against UMass, though its a road game Akron should win it. Akron loses their finale against Toledo.
7. Massachusetts Minutemen 1-11(0-8) - The struggles of moving up to the FBS level, UMass should be competitive in a few years, but for now they will struggle as they need to recruit FBS talent. They only return 11 starters, but should still be better, but also young. UMass has a brutal non-conference slate as well, everyone wants to pick on the new guy. UMass opens with a loss to Wisconsin, but does beat Maine for what will be their only win of the year. They could put up a fight in some other games but will be hard pressed to win a second game.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Time for the next conference, they apparently have a new logo.

1. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 9-3(6-1) - Western Kentucky had a great year last year making their first ever bowl, and they haven't been in FBS that long. They lost a great coach in Willie Taggert, but hired another great well known coach in Bobby Petrino, I now call them the Fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky. They will have a good season. The fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky opens up the season very strongly by beating in-state foe Kentucky. The next week they suffer a close loss to Tennessee, before winning the next two games easily. The fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky then plays Navy, they don't really have much experience against the option, and Navy ran wild on them two years ago, with not much experience against the option I say Navy wins. The fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky then suffer a conference loss to UL-Monroe. After the bye they take down the Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette. The fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky aren't really challenged again until they play Arkansas State in the finale, they win that one too though. The Sun Belt crown goes to them, as they will likely be the highest ranked, seeing that Bobby Petrino is the coach giving them publicity and they will have suffered their last loss the earliest.
2. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns 9-3(6-1) - Louisiana-Lafayette ended up having themselves a great year last year once again as the program is at higher heights than ever. They started out the year struggling but Terrance Broadway really came on late in the year, after he had actually come in for their injured starter. Louisiana-Lafayette's biggest but also toughest moment of the season was when they nearly took down the Florida Gators in what would have been the biggest upset in school history, but a blocked punt returned for a TD ruined it. This team could well be Mark Hudspeth's best yet, along with the best in Ragin Cajun history. Louisiana-Lafayette opens the season with road games against Arkansas and Kansas State, which they lose both, but it would not be a surprise if they pulled an upset in either of those games. They should win their next 3 rather easily, before going on the road against the Fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky, and losing that one. UL-Lafayette wins a tough one on the road against Arkansas State, then wins the final 5 games as well, but UL-Monroe will easily be the biggest challenge of those 5.
3. UL-Monroe Warhawks 9-3(6-1)- UL-Monroe had themselves easily the best season in the history of their program last year as they opened their season with an upset over then #8 Arkansas, and very nearly took down both Auburn and Baylor as well, UL-Monroe saw some struggles with injuries throughout the year, but still made their first ever bowl. Unfortunately they were destroyed in the bowl loss, with took out some optimism, but they return 17 starters this year, so they could be even better than they were the year before, which is downright scary. UL-Monroe opens with a road opener against Oklahoma, there's a good chance they put up a good fight in that one, they could even pull the upset if Oklahoma somehow overlooks them. After that UL-Monroe plays Grambling, I'm not sure what that is but they win against it, then they go on the road for another tough one this time against Wake Forest, which is one I think they do in fact win, before once again going on the road to Baylor, UL-Monroe puts up a fight in that one but loses. They then beat Tulane, take down the fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky and continue on to win the next 4 also, Troy and Arkansas State will put up a fight in those. UL-Monroe then ends the regular season with a bitter loss to rival Louisiana-Lafayette, this unfortunately costs them the conference crown.
4. Arkansas State Red Wolves 8-4(4-3) - Arkansas State has had a whole lot of success these past few years, but this year they do have a new QB, and their 4th head coach in 4 years. Bryan Harsin is a good one, so things won't fall apart here, he probably won't be coaching in the SEC after this year like the last two have. Arkansas State opens with an easy win, then plays their former coach in Gus Malzahn at Auburn, Arkansas State will likely put up a fight in that one but lose. They then take on Troy and Memphis in the next two which should be wins. Arkansas State faces another tough challenge going on the road to Missouri, Arkansas State manages to pull off the upset in that one. Arkansas State wins the next game against an inferior opponent, before losing a tough one at home to Louisiana-Lafayette. Arkansas State wins the next one, then loses to UL-Monroe, before winning the next two and losing the finale to the fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky.
5. Troy Trojans 5-7(3-4) - Troy used to be the dominant program in this conference, but lately has been surpassed by the rise of other Sun belt programs. They have been rather successful in transitioning from Div II to 1-AA to FBS all under coach Larry Blakeny, but there is a worry that he may be on the hotseat this year after their struggles the past two years. Troy opens up by winning the first two games then play on the road against Arkansas State which will likely result in a loss, before going on the road against both Mississippi State and Duke, both are not completely unbeatable but Troy will probably lose those. Troy does win the next two games before losing 4 in a row in a tough stretch. They end the year with a win over Texas State.
6. Texas State Bobcats 4-8(2-5) - These guys really jumped into FBS with a bang last year beating Houston 30-13 in a game in which they were 36 point underdogs, they faded to a 4-8 record, but it wasn't a bad year to start out. This year the schedule is a little more difficult, but there's a decent chance they might exceed these predictions. They open with a loss, but win the second game. They enter a tough 4 game stretch, with games they will likely lose, but they hit a good part of their season and win 3 in a row, before losing the final 3 games.
7. South Alabama Jaguars 2-10(1-6) - South Alabama is also in their second season in FBS, they started playing football in 2009, they won their first 17 games in their history which is very impressive. Before their first season in FBS last year they had won 85% of their games, another impressive stat, but expectedly they plummeted to a 2-11 record last year, but they actually were competitive in those losses, their worst margin of defeat was by 24 to NC State. Unfortunately even though winning is clearly in this program it will be another year before they're winning a lot of games, they open out with a win, and win the second to last game against newcomer Georgia State but that will probably be it, they have a pretty tough schedule.
8. Georgia State Panthers 3-9(0-7) - Georgia State is going to have a lot of work to do in order to be competitive, they went 1-10 against a mostly FCS schedule last year, this year they figure to have an improved team, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say they beat the 3 FCS teams on their schedule(Samford, Chattanooga and Jacksonville State) but lose the rest.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

well now this is getting a little depressing, I'm doing the last conference, conference usa predictions, and if I feel like it, independents as well, if I get independents done, predicted end of regular season top 25.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

here we go, last conference

EAST

1. Marshall Thundering Herd 9-3(7-1) - These guys were 5-7 last year, but they return a lot and thanks to some departures from the league, they should have the best offense in the league, the schedule overall is easier for them, so it should be a good year for these guys. Marshall opens winning the first two games, before losing back to back road games against Ohio and Virginia Tech. After that the next 5 games aren't too tough and they should win them all, before facing cross-division opponent Tulsa on the road, they lose that one, but win over FIU in the following game and beat ECU at home to take the division crown.
2. East Carolina Pirates 8-4(7-1) - East Carolina is a team that should be pretty good this year too as they return 18 starters! The non-conference schedule is very difficult, but they could really help the perception of the league if they pull an upset in one of the 3 games they play against ACC schools. ECU opens by winning the first two before losing to Virginia Tech and North Carolina. Tulane and Southern Miss will both be challenges but ECU wins those. ECU beats FIU, then wins a big home game over Tulsa, then UAB the next week before losing the last two on the road to NC State and Marshall, the Marshall game costing them the division crown.
3. University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers 7-5(6-2) - now here's an unexpected program on the rise, as this program has struggled for a while but Garrett McGee has really pumped some life into the program, UAB has a very talented team that could exceed these predictions, they gave South Carolina a tough time last year though it did not show on the scoreboard, and they actually outplayed unbeaten Ohio State for much of that game, but settling for 3 FG's costed them that one. UAB opens with losses to Troy and LSU, before winning the next game and then losing to Vanderbilt. They win the next 4 games, but then lose out on the division crown as they lose 2 in a row on the road against Marshall and ECU. They pull off big wins over Rice and Southern Miss in the last two games though.
4. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles 6-6(5-3) - Southern Miss really suffered an unexpected disaster last year as they somehow went from being a top 25 team the year before to an 0-12 team just like that, ending a streak of 18 consectutive winning seasons, turnovers and injuries definitely hampered them, good news is they're bound to not have those that bad again, there's clearly talent in this program and Monken could easily take them to a bowl. They open with a win over Texas State, then lose the next 3 on the road to Nebraska, Arkansas and Boise State, before beating FIU then losing on the road to ECU. Southern Miss beats North Texas, loses to Marshall then wins the next 3 games before losing the finale to UAB.
5. Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders 5-7(3-5) - Middle Tennessee State really pulled themselves together and had a good year last year including a stunning 49-28 win over a Georgia Tech team that made it to the ACC title game and beat USC in their bowl, but somehow got robbed of a bowl despite the 8-4 record. This year they bring back 16 starters, but the move to the new conference poses a giant struggle. They open with a win before losing to North Carolina, but they win the next two games, before really struggling and losing the next 5. They beat FIU, lose to Southern Miss then beat UTEP in the finale.
6. Florida Atlantic Owls 2-10(1-7) - Florida Atlantic has really struggled these past few years, really disappointing after the strong start this program was off to, Carl Pelini will have another year before really getting a chance to turn this program around. Florida Atlantic will have a better team this year, but the schedule isn't kind. They start out 0-10 before winning the last two games against New Mexico State and FIU, to end strong and avoid last in the division.
7. Florida International Golden Panthers 1-11(0-8) - FIU really should fire their AD for the bonehead decision he made to fire Mario Cristobal who was a riser in the coaching ranks who had a bad year with injuries being the issue, before this past year he had brought them to their first two bowls, including their first ever winning season. Now they hired a retread coach, this program was promising two years ago, but is now doomed to the bottom of Conference USA for a while. They win a home game against Bethune-Cookman in the 3rd game of the year, but that's it.

WEST
1. Rice Owls 8-4(7-1) - Rice ended last year as one of the hottest teams in college football and won their bowl, on top of it all they return 19 starters. Rice will take some beatings in the non-conference and lose their first 3 before going on a 7 game winning streak which includes a win over Tulsa. They lose on the road to UAB and win at home against Tulane to end the regular season.
2. Tulsa Golden Hurricane 6-6(6-2) - Tulsa has started to establish themselves as a very good program, this year will be a little down for them with only 10 returning starters(only 3 on defense, yikes) and their non-conference schedule isn't easy either, conference schedule isn't much better as they get the top 2 from the East division, I still can't see Tulsa missing a bowl though. Tulsa actually opens up 0-5 in those tough games, but then rolls off 3 straight wins, before losing on the road to ECU, but they beat Marshall at home and win the two after to be bowl eligible.
3. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 7-5(5-3) - Louisiana Tech had an incredible year last year, as just about everything went well at least until later in the year, as they lost the last two games, dropped out of the top 25, missed out on a bowl thanks to an error by their AD and lost their coach to Cal. Luckily with them moving to Conference USA Skip Holtz has a lot of experience winning in this league, but the failure at USF brings worry. Louisiana Tech doesn't have a very tough schedule. They lose the opener, win the next two games, before losing to Kansas. They win 4 games in a row but then hit a tough part and lose the next 3 and then win the finale over UTSA.
4. Tulane Green Wave 6-6(4-4) - Tulane is another program surprisingly making progress, they have been struggling for a while now, back in 1998 this program actually had an unbeaten season but didn't get into any sort of big bowl. Curtis Johnson has seemed to have revived this program as they seem to have some talent, here and he's been recruiting well also. Tulane starts out winning the first two games of the year before losing 3 straight against some tougher opponents, they beat North Texas then lose two more in a row. Tulane then goes on a 3 game winning streak to hit 6 wins and be bowl eligible, they lose the regular season finale to Rice though.
5. North Texas Mean Green - Dan McCarney is a coach starting to improve this North Texas program, so far it's been steady improvement, once Conference usa settles next year this program could rise to the top. This year's team is McCarney's best team yet with 17 starters back but it will be tough with them entering a new league. North Texas opens with an easy win, before losing 4 straight, they beat Mid Tennessee State before losing 3 more in a row, they then win two in a row over UTEP and UTSA, before losing the finale to Tulsa.
6. Texas-El Paso Miners 3-9(2-6) - UTEP has been struggling with bad breaks the past few years and that ended up getting Mike Price fired, Sean Kugler is a very good college position coach, but doesn't have much head coaching experience. UTEP doesn't have a very experienced team, the offense could have some firepower with Jameill Showers transferring from Texas A&M, he almost beat out Manziel for the starting job so he has talent, Nathan Jeffery is a very talented running back, he tore up Oklahoma's defense in the season opener last year, but he has issues staying healthy, if he can stay healthier UTEP may exceed these expectations. UTEP opens with a loss, but wins the next two games over New Mexico State and UTSA, but then it gets tough as they lose 6 in a row. They notch a win over FIU before losing the final two games.
7. Texas -San Antonio Roadrunners 0-12(0-8) - UTSA had a really good first season of FBS play as they went 8-4, but they also had a team called Northwestern Oklahoma State on the schedule last year, this year they don't even have an FCS team on the schedule, not only that but the easiest game they have is on the road against North Texas, that even isn't very winnable for a new program like this, rough season this year but I don't think this program will be down for long, they will rise to the top half of Conference-USA soon.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Independents are next, they don't get a logo

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-4 - Notre Dame had a really good year last year, going unbeaten, but it didn't end well as Alabama crushed them. Notre Dame did have a little luck with not many turnovers and close wins. The loss of Everett Golson really hurts the team, because without him they're doomed to suffer from mediocre to bad quarterback play. Notre Dame doesn't have trouble with Temple to open the year, but they end up losing to Michigan, they win on the road against Purdue without much trouble then beat Michigan State in a game where there will likely not be an offensive touchdown scored, Notre Dame continues to struggle with offense as they are beaten by Oklahoma, and then play perhaps their worst game of the year losing to Arizona State, they use the bye week to prepare to start a different QB other than Rees, and it works, Notre Dame goes on a winning streak winning the next 5 games before losing on the road to Stanford to end the year.
2. BYU Cougars 8-4 - BYU didn't have too bad of a year last year, they looked good in most of their games except for the end of the Utah game when they were given 3 opportunities to win it but couldn't win any of those times, then against Georgia Tech and later they were dominated by San Jose State, San Jose State passed for more yards on their first 3 drives that game than BYU had usually allowed on average throughout the year, they're lucky for prides sake they only lost that one by 6. BYU faces their most challenging independent schedule yet. They open with a win at Virginia, before playing Texas at home, they put up a fight in that one but end up losing. They play Utah after the bye, normally you would say they would win that one, but they couldn't beat Utah with 3 easy opportunities to win last year, so I'll pick them to lose that one again. BYU does go on a roll and win the next 5, which include some really good wins, biggest of which being over Boise State at home, BYU loses on the road to Wisconsin after the bye, though you can't count them out. BYU then thinks that they're in the SEC because they play Idaho State in November, BYU then loses a tough one on the road to Notre Dame, before winning at Nevada to end the year.
3. Old Dominion Monarchs 8-4 - Old Dominion enters FBS with a pretty solid team, including namely record breaking QB Taylor Heinicke, I can't wait to see him play a full slate of FBS schools, it will be interesting. Old Dominion is a very new program only been playing since 2009, but impressively have only lost 10 games so far. This year Old Dominion is transitioning still, they play only 5 FBS schools, they go 1-4 in those games losing to ECU, Maryland, Pitt and North Carolina, they do beat Idaho and beat the FCS schools they play.
4. Navy Midshipmen 7-5 - Navy and their tricky option offense are tough to predict, but they have a very good QB for the option system in Keenan Reynolds, so this season could be better than what I'm predicting. Navy does play a tough schedule though. Navy opens with a loss on the road to Indiana, then beats Delaware, the Fighting Bobby Petrinos of Western Kentucky, Air Force and Duke. Navy goes in a tough stretch and loses the next 3 to Toledo, Pitt and Notre Dame. They win two games against Hawai'i and South Alabama before losing to San Jose State, they win win their annual rivalry over Army.
5. Army Black Knights 2-10- Army has been struggling for years now, this year looks no different, it's tough to find wins for them, though with how Army has been they will likely win two unexpected games and lose the two I predicted them to win. They should open with a win over Morgan State, but they lost 23-3 to Stony Brook last year, they lose the next 5, then should beat Eastern Michigan, but last year they gave up 48 points to them in a loss, so you never know. Army loses the last 5.
6. New Mexico State Aggies 2-10 - it's going to be a tough year for them, as they lost their head coach really late, they still might have a better team than in year's past but the schedule is one of their toughest ever. New Mexico State has a tough stretch to open the year, they open the season 0-7 before beating Abiline Christian, who is in their first season of FCS football, then losing on the road to Louisiana-Lafayette and winning at home in one of the most random games of the year against Boston College, no one really knows how that happened. New Mexico State loses at Florida Atlantic then wins at home over Idaho.
7. Idaho Vandals 0-12- Idaho doesn't return a lot of starters, and play a tougher schedule, with a new head coach, plus they're Idaho. This will not be a good year for them, most likely they don't win a game this year.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Tomorrow will be the conference championship game predictions

here's the Matchups

SEC

Alabama Crimson Tide 11-1(7-1) vs Georgia Bulldogs 11-1(7-1)

Pac-12

Stanford Cardinal 11-1(8-1) vs UCLA Bruins 7-5(5-4)

Big 10

Ohio State Buckeyes 12-0(8-0) vs Nebraska Cornhuskers 11-1(7-1)

ACC

Clemson Tigers 9-3(7-1) vs Virginia Tech Hokies 10-2(7-1)

MWC

Fresno State Bulldogs 10-2(6-2) vs Boise State Broncos 10-2(8-0)

MAC

Toledo Rockets 10-2(7-1) vs Bowling Green Falcons 10-2(7-1)

Conference USA

Marshall Thundering Herd 9-3(7-1) vs Rice Owls 8-4(7-1)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

looks like Washington won't be suspending anyone, so I have them beating Boise State now, and Boise State beating Utah State

 

[Sox33OSU]

That is some good stuff man. Thanks for all the work and analysis.