2008 Previews: USC

USC is ninth in our preview lineup. Previews of all 65 BCS conference schools, plus Notre Dame and state school, will be posted daily in no particular order. To view all previews, click here.

I’ve been racking my brain for days on what to make of this Trojan squad.

They will, of couse, be among the most talented teams in the country yet again. They should be outstanding on defense with seven starters returning from a pretty good unit last year.

The questions lie on offense.

Mark Sanchez takes the reins for good at quarterback. I was not particularly enamored with him in his three starts last season when John David Booty was injured, and wouldn’t be incredibly surprised to see a few Mitch Mustain sightings over the course of the year.

And compounding the problems for a young quarterback will be just one returning starter on the offensive line.

Of course, they have about a bajillion superstar running backs they can hand the ball off to to take the heat off Sanchez, but will they be able to find running room behind the young line?

Their wide receivers were also a bit disappointing last season.

They get all their toughest games at home, where they’ve lost only once since 2001, so they’ll be in good shape there. I can’t quite decide how I think they’ll do, so let’s look at the schedule:

Aug. 30: at Virginia
This will be a good tuneup for the Super Bowl two weeks later ...

Sept. 13: Ohio State
One of the bigger non-conference games in recent memory could well decide one of the national championship game participants in just the third week of the season. I really can’t see the Buckeyes going West and winning this one, but with USC’s youth on offense there’s no telling. But we really do need USC to spare us another “Ohio State getting drilled by Team X” national title game.

Sept. 25: at Oregon State
They couldn’t beat the Beavers in Corvallis last time around, and could be coming off a tough loss (or huge win) so this is certainly a mild upset alert.

Oct. 4: Oregon
USC gets revenge for the loss in Eugene last year.

Oct. 11: Arizona State
Look out for the Sun Devils. If they’re going to lose one at home this would probably be it (assuming the Sun Devils have someone who can block this time around)

Oct. 18: at Washington State
Trojans cruise on the road

Oct. 25: at Arizona
And if they’re going to have some random stumble, this is probably the best candidate.

Nov. 1: Washington
Blowout city

Nov. 8: California
Cal has played USC tough almost every year in the last few years (including their triple-overtime win in 2003), but I don’t think they’re going to have enough to come into LA and win.

Nov. 15: at Stanford
There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth in this one after last year.

Nov. 29: Notre Dame
ND’s not stopping this six-game losing streak.

Dec. 6: at UCLA
Pete Carroll vs. Rick Neuheisel. There’s bound to be some guitar playing once this one’s over.

There’s really no possible way USC goes worse than 11-1. They probably should be 12-0, but I have a feeling they’re going to stumble somewhere (but not against Ohio State).

2008 Previews: Oregon State

Preview 8 on our list is Oregon State, home of the Beavers. Previews of all 65 BCS conference schools, plus Notre Dame and state schools, will be posted daily in no particular order. To view all previews, click here.

Oregon State has had a strange habit the last few seasons.

Slow starts, including embarrassing beatdowns on ESPN2, have been followed by strong finishes and bowl wins, with each season ending at 9-4.

This year will certainly feature the slow start Whether they’re able to turn it around or not is anyone’s guess.

The Beavers return two proven quarterbacks in Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevao (who you may remember from this crushing block last season). I’m not sure which will get the nod come gametime (Phil Steele and Athlon disagree on which it might be), but whoever it is they should be okay there.

Everywhere else is another story.

OSU returns a grand total of 74 rushing yards from its running backs, although they say they have another Steven Jackson in redshirt freshman Ryan McCants.

They must replace three starters on the offensive line, but they did get an extra year for their best receiver, Sammie Strougher, who missed most of last year with personal issues and a kidney problem.

The Beavers were pretty strong in rush defense last year, allowing only 70 yards per game. But they return no starters from the front seven and only three starters overall.

Their biggest advantage may be their disorienting uniforms, as they apparently decided last season they wouldn’t let their biggest rival, Oregon, corner the market on ugly duds.

Here’s the schedule:

Aug. 28: at Stanford
A Thursday night game against the Fightin’ Harbaughs to open the season. They should be too fast for the Cardinal.

Sept. 6: at Penn State
I’m not all that high on the Nittany Lions, but OSU doesn’t have a good track record on the road in non-conference play (0-6 in the last five years).

Sept. 13: Hawaii
No June Jones equals a return to the doldrums for the Warriors.

Sept. 25: USC
The last time the Trojans visited Corvallis they saw their 27-game Pac-10 winning streak ended. They won’t lose this one.

Oct. 2: at Utah
A third Thursday night game in five games for OSU. This will probably be the game that decides whether the Beavers are bowl eligible or not.

Oct. 11: Washington State
It seems like a long time ago now that WSU was ranked in the top 10 for all or part of three straight years, doesn’t it?

Oct. 18: at Washington
It seems like even longer ago that the Huskies were relevant. UDub will be improved this year, but probably not enough to make it to a bowl.

Nov. 1: Arizona State
This was a bad pick for homecoming.

Nov. 8: at UCLA
In the past two seasons the Beavers have beaten everyone in the conference except for the Bruins. They won’t beat them this year, either.

Nov. 15: California
The Golden Bears will probably have recovered from their epic meltdown to end the season last year by this point.

Nov. 22: at Arizona
Another huge game. OSU will be fighting to become bowl eligible and the Wildcats will be fighting for bowl positioning.

Nov. 29: Oregon
That two-game winning streak in the rivalry is probably coming to and end.

The Beavers will be somewhere between 4-8 and 6-6. If they can get that sixth win they’ll probably be able to find a bowl somewhere that’ll have them.

2008 Previews: South Florida

Part VII of our preview series takes us to South Florida, which isn’t really in southern Florida. Previews of all 65 BCS conference schools, plus Notre Dame and state schools, will be posted daily in no particular order. To view all previews, click here.

USF kind of terrified the college football world last year.

They were sort of like some young punk coming through town and vandalizing everything in sight as they moved all the way to No. 2 in the ranking midway through the season.

Of course, they were eventually put in their place, finishing 9-4. But not before they scared the living daylights out of the natives (the old guard).

And you know what? They’re probably going to be even better this year.

Ten starters return from an offense that showed occasional signs of brilliance and should only be better with another year of experience, and seven starters return on defense. They do have to replace two fantastic corners and a good linebacker, but they still have George Selvie reeking havoc at defensive end to take some heat off the secondary.

Jim Leavitt has built a sleeping giant, and if they stay healthy and avoid the stumbles they suffered last year at midseason they could very well be playing West Virginia on Dec. 6 for not only the Big East title, but maybe even a trip to the national title game.

Here’s the schedule:

Aug. 30: Tennessee-Martin
A year after shocking Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium, they’ll be playing a team that looks like the Tigers’ JV squad, and the game will probably look like they’re playing a JV squad, too.

Sept. 5: at UCF
The Bulls had their most dominant performance of the year against the Golden Knights last year, and with Kevin Smith gone might beat them even worse this time around.

Sept. 13: Kansas
This game will tell whether the Bulls are a true title contender or not. And it should be one of the more entertaining non-conference tilts of the year.

Sept. 20: at Florida International
This one will be ugly.

Sept. 27: at N.C. State
The Wolfpack will be better this year, but they won’t be good enough to win this one.

Oct. 2: Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh could very well come into this one undefeated and riding a lot of momentum.

Oct. 18: Syracuse
Something is seriously amiss with the world when Syracuse will be at least two touchdown underdogs against South Florida.

Oct. 25: at Louisville
The Bulls absolutely destroyed Louisville last season, and with Brian Brohm gone homefield advantage probably won’t be enough to help the Cardinals.

Oct. 30: at Cincinnati
AMBUSH ALERT! A Thursday night game in Cincy will be a stiff test.

Nov. 15: Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights ended USF’s undefeated run last year by throwing the kitchen sink at them with trick plays. They probably won’t be so lucky in Tampa.

Nov. 23: Connecticut
A random Sunday contest. The Huskies have had some success since joining the Big East (including a win over USF last year) but are probably going to slip a little this year.

Dec. 6: at West Virginia
If this game doesn’t have several players ejected by the time it’s over I’ll be shocked. There are bound to be some bad feelings after the Bulls ruined the Mountaineers’ season two years in a row.

This team could very well run the table. A 10-2 season might be more realistic, but if you’re looking for a darkhorse national title team the Bulls might not be a bad pick.

2008 Previews: Ole Miss

No. 6 on our list is Ole Miss. Previews of all 65 BCS conference teams, plus Notre Dame and state schools, will be posted daily in no particular order. To view all previews, click here.

Following the 2003 season, Eli Manning left Ole Miss, and with him, apparently, the Rebels’ ability to find a competent quarterback.

David Cutcliffe, who had done a fine job during his six years there, was fired after a 4-7 season in 2004, leading to the disastrous Ed Orgeron Experience, a sterling 10-25 record over three years (and 3-21 in conference play).

While Orgeron wasn’t much of a head coach or leader of men, he was one heck of a recruiter, leaving a healthy stable of talent for Houston Nutt, who is a good coach (albeit a bit bananas).

The presence of Nutt, along with a lot of young talent that has had the opportunity to learn under fire, should pay big dividends for the Rebels this year.

A big key will be the development of Texas transfer Jevan Snead, who played in six games for the Horns in 2006 before transferring and sitting out a year. He played well in limited duty, and as long as he works out better than their last transfer QB should do well.

Replacing the fantastically-named BenJarvus Green-Ellis will be no easy task, but Enrique Davis, whom the Rebels plucked from Auburn this recruiting season, is expected to step right in and fits Green-Ellis’ physical style.

The Rebs return virtually everyone else on offense and defense from a team that was just a few plays away from being 6-6 last year.

All things being equal, I think this could be a good year in Oxford.

Here’s the schedule:

Aug. 30: Memphis
Pretty much regardless of how good Ole Miss is or isn’t, they’ll win this game. But we should get a good glimpse of how good they are.

Sept. 6: at Wake Forest
And regardless of how good they are or not, they’re not winning this one. But the measuring stick will be the same.

Sept. 13: Samford
A good rest from two physical games with conference play looming.

Sept. 20: Vanderbilt
Whatever headway the Commodores may have made in recent years, they’re going to have a long season.

Sept. 27: at Florida
The Rebs played the Gators tough last year in Oxford, but they’re no match for this team at all in the Swamp.

Oct. 4: South Carolina
This is going to be a huge game for Ole Miss. They aren’t as good as South Carolina, but could definitely steal a win on homecoming. If they get this game they’re assured of a bowl.

Oct. 18: at Alabama
This will likely be a war, with Bama coming out on top in the end.

Oct. 25: at Arkansas
This is another huge test. The Razorbacks should be borderline terrible this year, but winning in Fayetteville isn’t easy in any year. They need to win this one.

Nov. 1: Auburn
There’s the slightest of slight possibilities Ole Miss could steal this one, with Auburn coming off a tough game at West Virginia and the biggest part of their schedule looming. I don’t see it happening, though.

Nov. 15: Louisiana-Monroe
As Bama learned last year, you can’t sleep on the Warhawks. But Ole Miss will be playing for a bowl (or maybe even bowl positioning) at this point and won’t look past them.

Nov. 22: at LSU
For some reason the Rebels seem to play LSU better in Baton Rouge than in Oxford (at least over the last decade), but LSU’s way too good for Ole Miss to steal one in Death Valley.

Nov. 28: Mississippi State
The Rebels will no doubt remember their choke job in Starkville last year, and MSU hasn’t won in Oxford since the day Tommy Tuberville announced he’d be leaving town in a pine box.

I think the Rebels can go 7-5 this year, but they’ll have to beat both South Carolina and Arkansas to do it. 6-6 might be more likely.

2008 Previews: Pittsburgh

Preview No. 5 in our series features the Pittsburgh Fightin’ Wannstaches. Previews of all 65 BCS conference schools, plus Notre Dame and state schools, will be posted daily in no particular order. To view all previews, click here.

Up until about Dec. 1 of last year, Dave Wannstedt’s hire at Pittsburgh had been an unmitigated disaster.

Taking over a team that had been to five straight bowl games under Walt Harris (and coming off a Big East title), Wannstedt had led the Panthers to a 15-19 record with just one game to go in his third season.

Then he got a contract extension.

Then I laughed, hard.

Then the Panthers shocked No. 2 West Virginia at their house, denying them a shot at the national title game and holding their vaunted offense to 183 yards and 9 points (2 of which came on an intentional safety at the end).

Now, all of a sudden, they’re conference title contenders.

I don’t quite buy that, but there’s no reason to think this team won’t have a good season, or at the very least be improved, even with Wannstache’s questionable track record.

Three quarterbacks who received signifcant playing time and performed reasonably well considering their inexperience last year are back, along with electric running back LeSean McCoy (if you watched their Navy debacle last year, you know what he can do).

Seven starters are back from the defense that shut down the Mountaineers and drastically improved overall over the last half of the season.

The schedule’s not easy though, since the only easy out in the Big East is Syracuse, and they have a couple of non-conference tests.

Here it is:

Aug. 30: Bowling Green
The Falcons are never an easy out, but the Panthers have more talent.

Sept. 6: Buffalo
Buffalo has gotten a lot better under Turner Gill, but they aren’t strong enough to come into Pittsburgh and win.

Sept. 20: Iowa
This will be the ultimate test: Two teams that I don’t believe in under any circumstances, but both whose numbers say they should be good this year. I think the Panthers can win this one, but if they don’t it’s probably going to be another .500 year.

Sept. 27: at Syracuse
Syracuse isn’t beating anyone of any consequence.

Oct. 2: at USF
The Bulls have the potential to be super good this year (more on that when I get to them), and there’s no way Pitt goes into Tampa on a Thursday night and wins.

Oct. 18: at Navy
The Panthers should atone for that horrible double overtime loss last year against a group of Midshipmen in flux.

Oct. 25: Rutgers
This is another measuring stick game for Pitt. Rutgers is probably going to slip back down the ladder a bit in the Big East, so it’s crucial that the Panthers be able to win this one, and they’d especially better win this one as there’s a decent chance they won’t win any of their last five.

Nov. 1: at Notre Dame
I haven’t soured on Charlie Weis as much as many have, and I think the Fighting Irish will be decent this year, and decent enough to win a game like this in their house.

Nov. 8: Louisville
With this game being at home, the Panthers will probably have enough to win it, but Louisville should start returning to form this year.

Nov. 22: at Cincinnati
Pitt’s not winning this one.

Nov. 28: West Virginia
I have a feeling the Mountaineers will make Pitt pay dearly for last year.

Dec. 6: at Connecticut
Another toss-up, but one I think the Panthers can take.

So I’m going to call for either 7-5 or 8-4, but with Wannstedt in charge it really could go either way.