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Covering the SEC, ACC, CUSA, Sun Belt, and other Southern Schools
Covering the SEC, ACC, CUSA, Sun Belt, and other Southern Schools
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50 National Questions
The Badgers have to be considered a darkhorse national championship contender, but will they win it?
50 College Football Questions in 2011
1. What Coach faces the most pressure in 2011?
A. Dabo Swinney Clemson- Swinney was hired to replace Tommy Bowden, who wasn't able to produce an ACC Championship, but did own Clemson's Rival South Carolina. Swinney hasn't produced an ACC Championship and is the first coach at Clemson to lose 2 straight to the Gamecocks in 40 years. In the ACC Clemson has the best fans, best facility, and top notch tradition. There is no reason Clemson should be stuck with one of the worst coaches in the ACC.
2. What player faces the most pressure in 2011?
A. Dayne Crist QB Notre Dame- Being the Notre Dame QB always comes with pressure, but this is the Irish's best chance to get to a BCS Bowl in 5 years. To get there Crist must be able to deliver in big game situations. If he struggles early in the year, Tommy Rees is more than capable of coming in and leading the Irish attack.
3. Was BYU's move to Independent status good for the football program?
A. No- There really was no reason for BYU to leave the Mountain West Conference. The league did lose TCU, but it gained quality programs with Nevada, Fresno State, and power Boise State. BYU is still going to have to go undefeated to get in a BCS Bowl and while the program is loved by those of the Mormon Faith nationally, they don't have the overall appeal of a Notre Dame. BYU's football program isn't going to collapse, but there was more potential with this program staying in the MWC. The bowl affiliations that BYU has been able to gain isn't that impressive.
4. Was TCU's move to the Big East good for the football program?
A. Yes- Travel for the school won't be that bad considering TCU was taking trips to Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. Now that the Horned Frogs are in a BCS League they no longer have to go 12-0 to make a BCS Bowl. TCU is also able to pitch to Texas recruits that they are in a BCS league and recruiting has picked up for Gary Patterson's program. This should also help with attendance as fans are likely to be more interested in playing Big East schools than MWC schools. TCU has proven it can win conference titles in the SWC, WAC, MWC, and CUSA. There is no reason to think they won't do the same in the Big East.
5. Who is the nation's most underrated player?
A. Chris Polk RB Washington- In his first 2 seasons Polk had 1,000 yards rushing each season. Last year he ran for over 1,400 yards, but few outside of the PAC 10 noticed. This year Polk has a chance to become Washington's all time leading rusher, passing Napoleon Kaufman. You won't find him on any Heisman Lists yet, but a big year for the Huskies in 2011 could lead to Polk getting some mention.
6. Who has the toughest schedule in the country?
A. Colorado- 1st year head coach John Embree doesn't get any scheduling breaks in year 1. Embree and the Buffs play 13 regular season games that includes 10 games against PAC 10 teams(the California game is an out of conference game). Out of conference Colorado takes a tough road trip to Hawaii, plays instate rival Colorado State, and then travels to Columbus to play Ohio State.
7. What BCS team has the easiest schedule in the country?
A. Illinois- Ron Zook's team toughest out of conference game in 2011 will be a home game against an Arizona State team that went 6-6 last year. In conference play Illinois' road opponents Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, and Minnesota combined to finish 19-30 a year ago. They avoid Nebraska in conference and get both Ohio State and Wisconsin at home.
8. What new rivalry should College Football Fans look forward to?
A. Nebraska playing Iowa- With Nebraska's program returning to the nation's elite and Iowa only 2 years removed from an Orange Bowl win, this rivalry has plenty of potential. The states border each other and are home to two of the best college football fans in the country. Nebraska leads the series 26-12-3, but most of those wins came prior to 1950. With this game being on national TV the day after Thanksgiving it will get the spotlight it deserves. Council Bluffs and Omaha will be great cities to be in when these two meet.
9. What team that has never won a National Championship has the best chance to
do so in 2011?
A. Wisconsin- The Badgers have 12 Big 10 Championships to its credit, but they have never finished higher than #3 nationally. With the addition of Russel Wilson at QB, Bielema has the most athletic QB in the Big 10 and the best running back in the conference. If they can survive back to back road trips to Michigan State and Ohio State, then this team could be playing for its first national championship
10. What player has the best chance at winning the Heisman in 2011?
A. Landry Jones QB Oklahoma- The Sooners start the year #1 nationally and Jones is their highest profile player. Andrew Luck is likely to be the NFL's #1 draft pick, but expect OU to have the better overall season and Jones will put up better stats.
11. What freshman will have the biggest impact in 2011?
A. Isaiah Crowell RB Georgia- Crowell will see plenty of action in 2011 due to the departures of Ealey and King. Crowell already has the size to be a big time runner in the SEC and will have a Marcus Lattimore type impact for Georgia.
12. What is the best out of conference game in 2011?
A. LSU vs Oregon in Dallas- This game will be the first site for ESPN's College Gameday in 2011 and will feature two top 5 teams. Oregon was in the National Championship game last year and LSU is mentioned by many to be a contender in 2011. The Tigers will have a slight advantage in fans attending the game, but for the most part this will be a neutral crowd at a great football stadium.
13. What is the worst out of conference game in 2011?
A. Missouri State at Oregon- The Bears were picked last in the Missouri Valley Conference during media days. Missouri State is going to have a difficult time stopping the Ducks fast attack. Missouri State plays Oregon and Arkansas in the first 3 weeks of the season. Ouch!
14. What will College Football first big upset of 2011 be?
A. Baylor will upset TCU- This is a Friday Night game in Waco during week 1. Baylor returns 9 starters on offense, including Robert Griffin who had over 4,000 yards total offense a season ago. TCU only bring back 8 starters from a year ago and will be starting a new QB in place of Andy Dalton. This will be a close game, but in the end the experience of Robert Griffin will pay off for the Bears.
15. Every year a FCS school upsets a FBS school what game could we see this happen in?
A. North Dakota State at Minnesota- The last time these two met NDSU pulled the upset in 2007. NDSU beat Kansas last season
Northern Iowa at Iowa State- NIU nearly knocked off Iowa 2 years ago. This is a good FCS program that could pull off the upset
Richmond at Duke- The Spiders have actually won the last 2 in this series
16. Other than Boise State, what Non BCS team could contend for a BCS Bowl in 2011?
A. Southern Miss- This is Fedora's best team since he's been at USM. Austin Davis is a very good QB and he has plenty of weapons to use. The defense struggled last year, but returns most of its play makers from a year ago. Virginia is the toughest out of conference opponent for USM and the Golden Eagles beat the Hoos in 2009.
17. How do the conferences rank this year?
A. SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, Big XII, ACC, Big East, Mountain West, CUSA, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt
18. How do the divisions in college football rank
A. SEC West, PAC 12 North, SEC East, Big 10 Leaders, Big 10 Legends, ACC Coastal, PAC 12 South, ACC Atlantic, CUSA East, CUSA West, MAC West, MAC East
19. What team has the best group of offensive skill players in the country?
A. Arkansas- The Hogs have one of the nation's top RBs with Knile Davis and the deepest WR group in the country with Greg Childs, Jarius Wright, Cobi Hamilton, and Joe Adams. Behind Davis at running back are two back with plenty of potential, Ronnie Wingo and Dennis Johnson.
20. What team has the best groups of defensive skill players in the country?
A. Alabama- Hightower and Upshaw make up the best linebacker duo in the country and the secondary of Barron, Lester, and Kirkpatrick is just scary.
21. What team will have the best defensive line in the country?
A. South Carolina- Devin Taylor is likely to be a NFL first round draft pick and freshman Jadeveon Clowney might be the best freshman defensive prospect in a decade. Add Melvin Ingram, Travian Robertson and Kelcey Quarles to this group and you have a line that will allow very little on the ground in 2011.
22. What team will have the best offensive line in the country?
A. Wisconsin- Despite losing 2 All Americans the Badgers will once again have a great line. 74 career starts return led by possibly the nation's top center in Peter Konz. This is always the best coached group in the country and I'd expect more big things from this huge group(average 6'5 325)
23. Who has the nation's best special teams?
A. Georgia- Blair Walsh was 20-22 last year kicking FGs including being 4-5 from 50+ yards. Drew Butler will be punting in the NFL one day. The Dogs return both their KR and PR in 2011.
24. Who will be the nation's most improved player in 2011?
A. Geno Smith West Virginia- Smith had a good season lat year, expect a huge season in 2011. Dana Holgorsen has had 3 of his last 6 QBs total 5,000 yards in total offense. Smith has the potential to put up crazy numbers in the passing and running game. The fact that WVU returns 8 starters on offense won't hurt.
25. What was the best coaching hire last year?
A. Miami hiring Al Golden- After 2 straight poor coaching hires, the Canes finally got it right with Golden. In the last 2 seasons Golden was 17-8 at Temple and took the program to their first bowl game in 30 years. Golden has proven he can win at a small private school in a big city. This seems like a perfect fit and Golden will win big at Miami.
26. What was the worst coaching hire last year?
A. Colorado hiring Jon Embree- Embree was only hired because he is a Colorado Buffalo. No other team in the FBS would've given this guy a chance. Hiring one of your own always is popular at first, but it rarely works when the man you are hiring has no head coaching experience.
27. If I'm an AD at an elite program who are the top 10 coaches in the country I'm
calling tomorrow if my job opens?
A. Nick Saban, Bob Stoops, Gary Patterson, Bobby Petrino, Bret Bielema, Bo Pelini, Jimbo Fisher, Pat Fitzgerald, Chris Petersen, and Brian Kelly
28. What can we expect for Ohio State in 2011 following their offseason troubles.
A. Ohio State is going to be a good team, but not the great team they could've been without all the off the field issues. Expect Ohio State to be a top 25 team, go bowling in Florida, and win some big games but they won't be in the Big 10 Championship game. Ohio State will land a big name coach to take over its job in 2011, but it won't be someone who's won a National Championship before.
29. Which historic program that has struggled the last few years is closest to being a National Champion contender...... Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Miami, Nebraska, or Tennessee?
A. Florida State- The Seminoles have the talent in place to be a NC contender and will be in the top 5 for most of the coming season. Michigan, Notre Dame, Miami, and Nebraska all have the right coaches for their program and will be back contending in the next few seasons. I'm not sold on Tennessee returning to elite status yet as they are still struggling to catch several SEC teams.
30. Who will be the most improved team in 2011?
A. Houston- The Coogs lost 7 games last year, but this was mostly due to injuries at the QB position. Case Keenum returns and Houston will once again light up the scoreboard. I could see Houston improving by as many as 6 wins in the win column!
31. What big NCAA record will break in 2011?
A. Case Keenum will become the NCAA's alltime leading passer- Keenum currently ranks 5th on the alltime list. With 3,487 yards passing in 2011 Keenum will break the NCAA record currently held by Timmy Chang of Hawaii. As long as he stays healthy he will shatter this record
32. What two programs open new stadiums in 2011?
A. North Texas and Florida Atlantic- Both SunBelt Conference schools open 30,000 seat stadiums in 2011. With both schools having large student enrollments, this should bring a huge boost to attendance and also help the potential of these programs.
33. What program that has never been to a BCS Bowl has the best chance to get to one in 2011?
A. South Florida- Skip Holtz was on top of Conference USA when he left East Carolina and he will soon be on top of The Big East. The Bulls return QB BJ Daniels, who now will be in his 3rd year as a starter . They also bring in a one time #1 RB recruit in the country with Colorado transfer Darrell Scott. The December 1 game against West Virginia could end up being the Big East Championship game.
34. What transfer will have the biggest 2011?
A. Bryce Brown RB Kansas State- Russel Wilson is going to have a big 2011, but the running game of Wisconsin will take away from his stats. Bryce Brown is a transfer from Tennessee that at one time was considered the nation's top high school running back. Daniel Thomas ran for nearly 1,600 yards a year ago in Snyder's offense and I would expect similar stats for Brown in 2011.
35.On a scale of 1-10 how attractive is the North Carolina job now that Butch Davis has been fired?
A. 4- If the NCAA weren't sniffing around then this would probably be a 6. UNC has a solid group of fans and has improved their facilities, but this is still a program that when all is normal in the ACC is mid tier at best. Miami and FSU are both on the rise, Virginia Tech isn't going away anytime soon, and Clemson will eventually get rid of Dabo. This program should always be in a bowl, but rarely challenge for a championship. If Butch Davis couldn't win a championship it will be hard to find someone who will.
36. Who is the hottest offensive coordinator in the country?
A. Gus Malzahn Auburn- Malzahn is coming off a national championship season where he coached a Heisman Trophy winner. Malzahn also was Rivals OC of the year in 2006 at Arkansas and he's the only offensive coordinator to coach a 5,000 yard passer, 1,000 yard rusher, and three 1,000 yard rushers in the same season.
37. Who is the hottest defensive coordinator in the country?
A. Kirby Smart Alabama- The 2009 Broyles Award Winner doesn't have the experience of a Bud Foster, but his youth puts him ahead of Foster. It also doesn't hurt Smart that Saban assistants are now head coaches at Tennessee, Florida State, Florida, and Michigan State.
38. What team in the preseason top 10 Coaches Poll will have the worst season?
A. Stanford- Andrew Luck will have a solid season, but this team won't match what it did a year ago. The offensive line isn't very experienced and overall this team only returns 11 starters. Stanford will finish in the top 25, but a ranking to #6 is to high. A 9-3 season with losses to Oregon, Notre Dame, and Southern Cal would be my prediction. Texas A&M will also fail to stay in the top 10, but will finish higher than Stanford.
39. What unranked team will finish the highest?
A. Miami- The Hurricanes have the talent and now the coaching to be better than nearly everyone in the ACC. This team will win at least 9 games and finish the year ranked near the top 15.
40. Which legend retires first? Spurrier, Paterno, Brown, Snyder, Beamer, Ault, or Schnellenberger?
A. Howard Schnellenberger- In his years at Florida Atlantic Schnellenberger has done a great job building a program. He's the first and only coach in school history. With a new football stadium being built and Howard now in his mid 70s, he will retire and bring in some new blood to the school. This job should be able to bring in a good up and coming coach. Good size school, nice place to live, and tons of high school recruits in your backyard.
41. Which of the legends above will last the longest?
A. Steve Spurrier- There is no reason Spurrier would retire now. South Carolina is the most talented team in the SEC East and the talent is only getting better as South Carolina continues to recruit well. If Spurrier is able to turn one of Garcia's backups into a great SEC QB, then he could be around for another 5-6 years. With coaching turnover at Florida, Tennessee, and possibly Georgia the Gamecocks are in good shape for the future.
42. When the Big East Expands to even out its league numbers who should it add?
A. Central Florida- Coming off an 11 win season and a bowl win over Georgia a year ago the Knights have shown their potential on the field. Off the field the Knights have tons of potential with over 40,000 students, a new stadium, and a great area to recruit to.
43. Will Boise State finally beat a SEC School?
A. No- The Broncos are 0-4 against SEC schools and haven't played any of the teams close with the exception of a comeback loss to a 6-6 Arkansas team in 2000. The Broncos are more talented than those previous teams, but playing inside of the Georgia Dome infront of a near 70,000 Dawg fans will be to tough. UGA wins 31-20.
44. Will Mike Leach find a job in 2011?
A. Yes- Leach is one of the hottest names in coaching right now. I'd expect him to end up somewhere on the West Coast possibly at UCLA or Washington State. Leach would be perfect for a UCLA program that should be much better. Washington State was used to wide open offense a decade ago and Leach has proven he can win in small towns like Pullman. Clemson would be the most likely position to open up for Leach on the East Coast that would interest him.
45. Will Urban Meyer find a job in 2011?
A. No- Urban seems happy at ESPN and will sit out at least 1 year. Many think he'll take the Ohio State job, but I don't think the timing is right for Urban to head to Columbus this season.
46. What was the worst offseason decision made by the NCAA?
A. Implementing the new touchdown celebration penalty- This answer needs no explanation
47. What coach had the worst suggestion for rule changes in the NCAA?
A. Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano- The Rutgers head man thinks it would be a good idea to eliminate kick offs in college football. The NCAA did the right thing by eliminating the wedge a few years back. There aren't enough injuries on the kickoff to justify eliminating it.
48. Does Nebraska fit in the Big 10?
A. Yes- Nebraska is a perfect fit and the best choice the Big 10 could have made. Husker fans might miss some of the rivals, but their best rivalry(Oklahoma) was ended when the Big XII started 15 years ago. Nebraska brings to the Big 10 the best fans in the country and the Big 10 brings the Cornhuskers an overall better athletic conference.
49. Who does better in the PAC XII Colorado or Utah?
A. Utah- A decade of you I would've gone with Colorado, but in their current state Utah is the obvious answer. The Utes have great facilities and have a proven coaching staff. Utah should also benefit with instate prospects now that they are in a BCS league and BYU is in no league. Colorado has some financial issues and is several years away from competing for the PAC XII Championship.
50. Who wins the BCS Championship in 2011?
A. Oklahoma- The Sooners will go undefeated this year and play a 1 loss Alabama team in the title game. Bama will lose early in the year to Arkansas, but recover and win out. The Sooners will win the game with better play at the QB position and win their first championship since 2000. The SEC streak will end.
Matt Barber
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