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College Football: A Look Ahead

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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2008

SIX FUN EARLY GAMES

Here are some interesting early season non-conference games.

•Alabama vs. Clemson (Georgia Dome, Atlanta), Aug. 30 - The Crimson Tide and Tigers haven't met since 1975.

•Hawaii at Florida, Aug. 30 - The June Jones/Tim Tebow confrontation won't happen. Jones has brought his "system" to SMU.

•Auburn at West Virginia, Sept. 6 - Kudos to the Mountaineers for scheduling an SEC opponent of this magnitude.

•Ohio State at USC, Sept. 13 - Trojans go for six straight wins against the Buckeyes in ABC-TV's prime-time offering.

•Kansas at USF, Sept. 13 - KU's Todd Reesing against USF's Matt Grothe makes for nice QB duel.

•Georgia at Arizona State, Sept. 20 - It's true: Dawgs will actually venture west of the Mississippi River.

SIX HEISMAN FAVORITES

Names to consider for the 2008 Heisman Trophy race:

1. QB Tim Tebow, Florida - We have a sneaking suspicion his numbers won't match 2007 production.

2. QB Patrick White, West Virginia - Only if he can avoid inconsistency.

3. QB Chase Daniel, Missouri - Master of the spread offense.

4. RB Chris "Beanie" Wells, Ohio State - Any big-time Buckeyes running threat must be considered.

5. QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma - Could he become the second sophomore to win the Heisman?

6. RB Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - School's best runner since Herschel Walker.

PRESEASON TOP SIX

The short list of teams that could make next season's BCS Championship Game at Miami:

1. Ohio State - QB Todd Boeckman and RB Chris "Beanie" Wells are back, but will any of the defensive stars jump to the NFL?

2. Georgia - Bulldogs, led by QB Matthew Stafford, have served notice they're the SEC's team to beat.

3. USC - Trojans will be breaking in a new QB, but there's also RB Joe McKnight and a stacked defense.

4. LSU - QB Ryan Perrilloux takes over and the defense, even without DT Glenn Dorsey and SS Craig Steltz, will be fearsome.

5. Oklahoma - Or will this simply position the Sooners to lose (gulp) their fifth consecutive BCS bowl game?

6. Florida - Tons of highly regarded recruits could be coming into their own, and RB Emmanuel Moody, a USC transfer, will be ready.

PICKING SIX BCS CONFERENCE WINNERS

•ACC (Tampa) - Clemson over Virginia Tech

•Big East (no title game) - West Virginia

•Big Ten (no title game) - Ohio State

•Big 12 (Kansas City) - Oklahoma over Missouri

•SEC (Atlanta) - Georgia over LSU

•Pac-10 (no title game) - USC

SIX FEARLESS PREDICTIONS FOR 2008

•Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain becomes USC's starting quarterback.

•Freshman QB Stephen Garcia leads South Carolina to the Outback Bowl.

•Michigan struggles early under Coach Rich Rodriguez (but watch out for 2009).

•Penn State's Joe Paterno passes FSU's Bobby Bowden on the all-time Division I-A victory list.

•Hawaii doesn't qualify for a BCS bowl game.

•Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino gets linked to another job.

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