TITLE SLEEPERS IN '07
LURKING IN THE SHADOWS OF THE FAVORITES, THESE ARE THE TEAMS POISED WITH AN UPSET TO BECOME THE FAVORITES.
Louisville/West Virginia -- The verdict is still out on the "new" Big East, even after the conference went 5-0 during bowl games last season. Between the two top teams there are three Heisman hopefuls in quarterbacks Brian Brohm (Louisville) and Pat White (WVU) and running back Steve Slaton (WVU). New Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe is a rising star in the coaching world and inherits a fast athletic defense along with a potent offense. West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez has built a program in Morgantown that is beginning to expect championships every year. The Mountaineers were the trendy pick to challenge for the national title in 2006. Expect the winner of this November showdown to challenge for the national title.Key game: Nov. 8 Louisville at West Virginia
Ohio State -- Just when people write off Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes, they suddenly surprise us. Well, don't be surprised anymore. The Buckeyes will be good again in 2007. All they have done the past five seasons is win 55 games, rack up four bowl victories and play for two national championships. Using what happened in Glendale as motivation, a 41-14 humiliation by Florida, the Buckeyes should be hungrier than ever. The defense is championship caliber and could very well position Ohio State for another title run.
Key games: Oct. 6 at Purdue, Oct. 27 at Penn State, Nov. 3 vs. Wisconsin, Nov. 17 at Michigan
UCLA -- The Bruins ecstasy after upsetting USC was followed up by devastation after a 44-27 thumping by Florida State in the Emerald Bowl. UCLA was scary at times but inconsistent during a mediocre 7-6 campaign in 2006. The 2007 Bruins return ten starters on a defense and 12 players with significant starting experience on offense. If QB Ben Olsen lives up to his pre-college hype, UCLA could turn a few heads on their way to big things.
Key games: Sept. 29 at Oregon State, Oct. 20 vs. Cal, Dec. 1 at USC
3 comments:
Pete: Boise State, national contender or fraud?
Boise State is not a national contender. The Broncos could be exposed as the fraud they are this year, but double-digit wins should be expected especially with their weak non-conference schedule. The offense still has a gimmicky attack, but will rely more heavily on a power running attack with junior Ian Johnson carrying the load. I expect QB Taylor Tharp will win the starting job and he looked more fundamentally sound than in mop-up duty than long-time starter Jared Zabransky ever did.
But the problem for Boise comes on the defensive side of the ball. They return only seven starters and lost the heart of their unit in middle linebacker Korey Hall. The run defense will look statistically good. The Broncos are only 3-5 against the Top 25 since joining Division I in 1996. It’s hard to argue they haven’t made it with their Fiesta victory last January, but I don’t think this year’s team is top 20 caliber.
Boise State will always be a fraud so long as they continue playing non-conference games against such powerhouses as Weber State, Wyoming, and Southern Miss. If a team from a weak conference like the WAC wants to be included in the national title conversation then it needs to schedule real opponents on their non-conference slate - Hawaii included! We shouldn't automatically fault these teams for playing in weak conferences, but their gripe about equal title consideration would be taken far more seriously if they would schedule and beat real teams from real conferences in their non-conference weeks.
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