This college football is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable seasons ever. After seasons of some of the BCS conferences such as the Big Ten (Ohio State) and the Pac-10 (USC) being dominated by one team, only one BCS conference the SEC (Alabama) appears to have a clear cut conference favorite as the season gets ready to start. With non-BCS powers Boise State and TCU starting the season in the top 10 and a number of marquee conference and non-conference games, this season should once again prove why college football has the greatest regular season in all of sports. The entire season could come down to a huge showdown on Labor Day night.

10. Ohio State at Wisconsin, Oct. 16: If the Buckeyes want to continue their dominance of the Big Ten and compete for a national title, the road might start and end here. To team in the conference returns more starters than the Wisconsin Badgers who have 10 starters back on offense and 6 on defense for a team that finished 10-3. More importantly they get the Buckeyes at home, at night which should make for incredible atmosphere if both teams are undefeated which many people believe they will. The Buckeyes should also be good on offense with 9 returning starters led by potential Heisman candidate Terrelle Pryor. All-Americans Wisconsin running back John Clay and Ohio State defensive lineman Cameron Heyward will likely be major factors also.  

9. West Virginia at Pitt, Nov. 26: A hateful rivalry among the schools,

“The Backyard Brawl” was taking to new level of hate in December of 2007 when an unranked Pitt team defeated the 2^nd ranked Mountaineers 13-9 and cost them a shot at the national title. Some Mountaineer fans still have not recovered from that game. This match-up the day after Thanksgiving could very well decide the Big East title and BCS berth. The Mountaineers appear to be loaded with nine starters returning on offense and defense led by senior running back Noel Devine. The Pitt Panthers appear to be loaded also with Heisman hopeful sophomore running back Dion Lewis and Bilenikoff hopeful junior Jonathan Baldwin along with a defensive line that led the nation in sacks last season with 3.62 per game. Last season’s game was the most watched college football game in the history of ESPN2.

8. Virginia Tech at Miami, Nov. 20: If both if these teams play to their talent then this should be the title game for the toughest division in college football the ACC Coastal. Four teams have legitimate reasons to believe that they can win this division, along with Virginia Tech and Miami, defending ACC champion Georgia Tech and NFL ready defense at North Carolina are both talented teams with BCS dreams. However, the two best are Miami and Virginia Tech. By this point the season the Hokies defense should be rounding into its usually dominant self after replacing 7 starters, while the Hurricanes should be battle tested after road games at Pitt, Ohio State and Clemson in consecutive games and a road trip to Georgia Tech. Jacory Harris against Tyrod Taylor should be something special to watch.

7. Oregon at Oregon State, Dec.4: The best rivalry in the Pac-10, “The Civil War” has decided the Rose Bowl berth the last two seasons. In 2008 the Ducks defeated the Beavers to prevent them from going to the Rose Bowl and then last year the Ducks won again to clinch the Pac-10 and a Rose Bowl berth. This season with question marks at almost every school including these two it is not hard to see this season “Civil War” being for the Rose Bowl berth for a third straight year. The Beavers will likely continue to rely on the Rogers Brothers, wide receiver James and possible Heisman hopeful running back Jacquizz. The Ducks head coach Chip Kelly kicked their quarterback Jeremiah Masoli off the team for violating team rules are still loaded. They return 9 starters offense to help new starting quarterback sophomore Darron Thomas who at 6-3 and 212 lbs has been described as a better, stronger version of Masoli will need time to improve his decision-making which should not be a problem at this point in the season.

6. Auburn at Alabama, Nov. 26: The 75^th Iron Bowl could be a game with high stakes for both the Alabama Tide and the Auburn Tigers. Alabama could be playing to stay unbeaten and remain on their path toward a second straight BCS and SEC title. The Auburn Tigers will be looking to finished the job they started last season in a closer than expected 26-21 loss to Alabama, that saw the Tide trail 14-0 in the first half. This off season Auburn coach Gene Chizik wanted to improve the overall depth of the Tigers and it did so with a top 5 recruiting class that ranked ahead of Alabama and one of the best recruiters in the nation Nick Saban. Less than a year ago it appeared that a rivalry dominated by streaks was ready to be dominated by Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide, however Coach Chizik has made it clear that he and his program will not back down from the potential dynasty at Alabama, making this once again one of the best rivalries in football.

5. Texas vs. Oklahoma, Oct. 2, Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX): Quite possibly the best rivalry in all of college football, the “Red River Rivalry” at the Cotton Bowl is something special no matter what the records of the two schools. Both teams will likely be in the top 10 in the country when they meet. In the last the decade this game has been critical in BCS and Big 12 title games. In the 14 Big 12 title games that have been played, either Texas or Oklahoma has played in 12 of them and of the 12 BCS titles games one of these teams has appeared in half of them. The Longhorns are loaded on defense with possibly the best secondary in the nation led by Curtis Brown and Blake Gideon who helped lead the nation in rushing defense last season. The Sooners are loaded with playmakers on the offense led by running back Demarco Murray and wide receiver Ryan Boyles. Texas has won 4 of the last 5 games after a five game losing streak.

4. Ohio State at Iowa, Nov. 20: If the Buckeyes trip to Wisconsin does not decide the Big Ten title, this game likely will. These two teams played for the Big Ten crown last season and it was overtime classic won by Ohio State 27-24. The Iowa Hawkeyes will have the best defensive line in the nation with future NFL pick defensive end Adrian Clayborn. The line returns all four starters and the back ups as well. However, the Buckeyes return four starters on the offensive line but it could be difficult for quarterback Terrelle Pryor to make plays with his legs. The Buckeyes emotional level could also play a factor as this road game is right between home games against rivals Penn State and Michigan.

3. Texas at Nebraska, Oct. 16: One second is what kept Nebraska from upsetting the Longhorns and knocking them out of the BCS championship game last season in the

Big 12 title game. Then, Nebraska announced that it was leaving the Big 12 for the

Big 10 and placed much of the blame on Texas being treating differently then everybody else in the conference. This game could be preview of a Big 12 title rematch as both have been picked to win their divisions. Gone from the Cornhuskers is defensive standout Ndamukong Suh, however many are expecting the defense to be better this season than last year which was the #1 scoring defense in the nation and also in the top 10 in rushing defense and total defense. The key will likely be if the Huskers have enough offensive firepower to match up with the Longhorns who will not be lacking in offensive playmakers. 

2. Florida at Alabama, Oct. 2: The last two national champions, the two most powerful football coaches and programs in the country in the nation’s best football conference the SEC. The hype for this game will likely feel like a national championship game. Over the last two seasons these two teams have combined to loss a total of 4 games compared to 52 wins. The last time Florida traveled to Alabama for a regular season match-up, Alabama gave Florida coach Urban Meyer his first and worst loss at Florida, a 31-3 defeat. Both teams have questions on about their defense each losing more than 7 starters. This game will tell a lot about if those defenses are ready to compete for a national title. Offense will not be a problem for Alabama with 10 return starters including Heisman winner running back Mark Ingram, stud wide receiver Julio Jones and quarterback Greg McElroy who has not loss a game since the 8^th grade. The Gators will likely counter with the speed of Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. This will likely be the first of two titanic collisions between this superpowers. They have met in Atlanta for the SEC title the last two years and have more SEC football titles than any other programs.

1. Boise State vs. Virginia Tech, Sept. 6 (Landover, MD): In almost any other season the match-up between the last two national champions in the same conference would be the game of the year. However, this game could change the BCS forever. The Boise State Broncos are the most loaded team in the country. They return 21 of 22 starters and both their kicker and punter from 14-0 team that won the Fiesta Bowl. In their first two BCS bowl seasons the Broncos started to low in the polls to be a contender for the national championship. In 2006 they started the year unranked and last year they began the season ranked 14^th. However, this season will not be the same, the Broncos will being the season ranked 3^rd ahead of traditional powers such as Florida and Texas. Making this game even bigger is the fact that Boise State will likely only play one more ranked team (Oregon State) all season. Virginia Tech will be carrying the banner for all the BCS powers who do not want to see the Broncos out of a non-BCS conference playing for their title at the end of the year. The Hokies have the playmakers to make that happen with a outstanding backfield featuring the duo of Ryan Williams and Darren Evans a pair of 1,000 yard running backs along with senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor. The Broncos have the talent to run the table and play for the national title but the Hokies have the speed and athletes to cause Broncos problems they have never faced.

Miami at Ohio State; Florida State at Oklahoma, Sept. 11: A huge day for the ACC who is looking to repair its national reputation. A 2-8 record in the BCS bowls has caused many to believe that the ACC can not compete with the elite programs in the nation. A split here would be for the ACC, a sweep could help the conference return to elite status.

Pitt at Cincinnati, Dec. 4: A rematch of last season’s classic Big East title game. For the last two seasons Pitt has had a chance to clinch a Big East title and BCS bowl only to loss both to Cincinnati each year. The Panthers appear to have the talent to finally finish the job.

Washington at Oregon, Nov. 6: Washington quarterback is everybody’s first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and on everybody’s Heisman watch list. He could take a big step toward both goals by beating the conference favorite on the road.

TCU vs. Oregon State, Sept. 4, (Arlington, TX): This will be the first of two match ups with non-BCS powerhouses for the Beavers. TCU returns a lot of firepower on offense with 9 returning starters but the defense has some questions that must be answered. A loss here will make it almost impossible for TCU to return to the BCS this season.

Florida State at Miami, Oct. 9: Always a must see game, with speed and athletes all over the field. The latest classic in the rivalry was last season when a Florida State receiver dropped the game-winning touchdown in the end zone.

Oregon State at Boise State, Sept. 26: The Broncos last chance to play a BCS school, if they are undefeated after this game and finished the season that way it be hard to keep them out of the national title game.

Oregon at USC, Oct. 30: This game was turning point last year, the Ducks went on to the Rose Bowl, while USC struggled to their worst season in almost 10 years. With USC now facing NCAA sanctions this game could show how far the mighty Men of Troy have fallen.