About the author: Kevin O’Neill is an author, researcher, publisher, and handicapper, as well as director of content for www.ConsumerBet.com. Readers can claim a free subscription to Kevin’s weekly e-letter Sports & Gaming News and his get a free copy of his report “Profit Strategies of Professional Gamblers”. Get both these report right now by clicking here.

ACC

Projected Champion: Virginia
Usually a winning team that outgains only three opponents would look ripe for a fall. But that is not the case in Charlottesville, where Al Groh is rebuilding Virginia at a rapid pace. Last year, with the youngest roster in Division 1A college football, UVA won nine games. The Cavs capped things off with a devastating 48-22 bowl win over West Virginia in a game that really wasn’t that close. Groh has recruited up a storm and the Cavs have speed and talent all over the field.

Virginia is thin in some spots. The Cavs had to cancel their spring game when injuries and attrition left them without a healthy center. With their youth, some will probably view them as a year away from greatness. But with loads of young talent, a solid coach, last year’s conference MVP (Matt Schaub) at QB, and the confidence developed during last year’s stretch run, we’ll put the buy sign out of the Cavs and call for them to win a wide open conference crown over contenders Maryland, NC State, and FSU. Don’t be surprised if Virginia is a dominant team in the ACC in two or three years.

Spotlight Team: Florida State
With Virginia, NC State, and Maryland on the upswing, and a world of internal problems, FSU may be a program in decline. Of course, a decline at Florida State isn’t quite a decline at say, Wake Forest or Duke. There is still talent by the bucket in the Sunshine State and FSU has been able to recruit nationally over the years. But the days where the Seminoles were simply a farm team for the NFL may be over and a series of scandals may do some pretty serious damage in Talahassee.

Chris Rix will be the quarterback once again, but last season was called out for his performance by teammates in a way rarely seen at this level. If he makes the same kind of mistakes he has made in the past there could be quite a bit of internal dissension among the ‘noles. With their talent level down a bit, it could be catch up time for others in the ACC. Don’t be surprised if news breaks over the summer about considerable scandal at Florida State and the consensus in Tallahassee becomes that the great Bobby Bowden is reaching the point where the welcome mat begins to be rolled up a bit. They’ll still have talent. They’ll still have speed. But they ain’t what they used to be and FSU may have some serious problems that result in player suspensions and NCAA probation.

Big East

Projected Champion: Miami
The Hurricanes have lost absolutely staggering amounts of talent yet again this year. The eight draftees, four of whom went in the first round, brings the three year total to Draftees: 26, First Rounders 13. Despite this loss, the Hurricanes have 13 returning starters from a team that was one late, late, late, late, late flag away from a second consecutive national championship. You can expect that they will be just as dominant this year. Before worrying too much about the loss of Willis McGahee, keep in mind that he wasn’t even supposed to be the starting running back for the Hurricanes last year. That distinction would have gone to Frank Gore had Gore not torn up his knee in the spring.

The defense did slip a bit last year, giving up 19 points per game after allowing only 10 the previous year. But they still allowed only 285 yards per game and the pass D was nearly impenetrable. The run defense was soft with big leads late in games, but that can be expected. Great linebackers, inexperienced defensive line, but most of those d-linemen will likely be NFL draft picks in the future. Expect a defense that is top five in speed, athleticism, talent and production.

“At Virginia Tech” is one of four road games vs. teams that won 9 games or more last season. Other than the schedule, not a lot of reason to buck what seems obvious here. Another slight drawback is that when Brock Berlin (blue-chip Florida transfer) won the quarterback job Derrick Crudup, Jr.’s meddling father claimed it was racially motivated. Crudup, Jr. apologized but it will be interesting to say how the Hurricanes, most of whom are African-American, will react if Berlin, who is white, gets off to a shaky start.

24-1 Larry Coker clearly isn’t the worst coach in the world, and he should keep the ‘canes on task. Look for Miami to win another Big East title and be a major player in the national championship chase.

Spotlight Team: Rutgers
Following the 2000 season Greg Schiano left the Miami staff and the Garden State native took over at Rutgers, calling it “the best job in the country”. Yes, he really said that. A couple weeks later Butch Davis left Miami for the Cleveland Browns and Schiano would have been co-frontrunner with Larry Coker for the ‘canes job. Schiano could be 24-1 instead of 3-20 right now but for the vagaries of timing.

The entire Rutgers staff is from New Jersey and they have recruited extremely aggressively in the state. Some blue chippers are getting to the point where they have been around for a couple of years and should start contributing this fall. There has been some attrition in the ranks, transfers, players leaving the program, etc. but the Scarlet Knights are on the right path in their efforts to keep players home in this talent-laden state.

Still, it is a steep hill to climb, and with only five offensive starters back from a team that averaged 14 points and 214 yards last fall, don’t look for the scoreboard to be lit up in New Brunswick. If the ACC expands to include Miami, BC, and Syracuse, Rutgers could soon find themselves without a football conference. If that happens the Rutgers job could go from difficult to impossible in a hurry.

Big Ten

Champion: Ohio State
Ohio State drew 57,000 for their spring game and are the only BCS conference school in football-mad Ohio. Add in all the tradition and there are few other schools with such built in advantages. The 14-0 record and national championship gives them a serious bump in the recruiting world, where they have never suffered to start with. Jim Tressel is clearly as tremendous coach at the Division 1 level as he was at Division 3, and not only for his splendid onfield performance and propensity to win close games. Tressel has completely transformed a dysfunctional Ohio State program, instilling discipline and recruiting a higher caliber individual than did his predecessor. Buckeye fans should be pleased that their club is in such good hands.

If Ohio State had a weakness last year it was their offense, which despite criticism averaged 29 points per and 364 yards per game. They should improve on that side of the ball with all eleven starters returning. Their ferocious 13 points per game defense returns six starters and you can be certain that there is some precocious young talent in Buckeyeland. 14-0 with 16 returning starters makes Ohio State the call for Big Ten supremacy.

Spotlight team: Iowa
Four years ago Iowa told Bobby Stoops they would get back to him after he interviewed for the Hawkeyes job. Stoops and his brother Mike played for Iowa and their dad, a high school football coach in Ohio, was buried in a Hawkeye jersey. It would have been difficult to say no to the alma mater if they came after him hard. When they dawdled, Bobby Stoops accepted the Oklahoma job, brining Mike in as his defensive coordinator. Kirk Ferentz seemed like a booby prize in comparison but what a job he’s done. Iowa was an absolute mess when he took over the program. Last season they were a fourth quarter collapse against Iowa State away from playing for the national championship.

The six offensive starters that Iowa loses include QB Brad Banks (2573 passing yards), but NFL types will tell you that Ferentz and his staff are among the best in the land at player development. Banks, who was not drafted, was a huge surprise last year and we can expect that Nathan Chandler will be productive. RB Fred Russell was outstanding last year (1338 rushing yards) but there isn’t the quality depth expected as Jernelle Lewis (5.8 yards per rush last season) tore his ACL in the spring. The skill people play behind Robert Gallery, possibly the best offensive lineman in the nation.

The defense has seven returning starters and looked great in the spring. The linebacking corps is a particular strength for the Hawkeyes. On special teams, Nate Kaeding won the Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker. Coach Ferentz defelected interest from the NFL this offseason, as he was under consideration for the Jaguars job and signed a lucrative contract extension to stay in Iowa City. As long as Frenentz is at Iowa, expect the Hawkeyes to be a perennial challenger in the Big Ten.

Big Twelve

Projected Champion: Oklahoma
When picking a champ out of this conference, why go anywhere else? Oklahoma simply has the best coaching staff in the nation and are superior in big games. When the Sooners are up for a game, there is no tougher squad. The problem the past two years has been that you can’t be up for every game, as consecutive losses to Oklahoma State and last year’s defeat at Texas A&M show. The Sooners proved susceptible to the long ball in their losses last season.

The Sooners are 36-4 the past three years and return nine defensive starters to a stop unit that has given up an average of 15 points or less and fewer than 300 yards per game the past three years. The linebackers are spectacular and DL Tommie Harris, last season’s Sports Illustrated cover boy, is over the injuries that hobbled him last year. Oklahoma has their usual question marks at QB but Coach Stoops was pleased with the offense in spring practice and the opportunistic D will create plenty of scoring opportunities.

Texas will have a world of talent once again, but we’ve seen who the superior coaching staff is in the Red River Rivalry. Texas A&M and Oklahoma State are both on the upswing. But Oklahoma is the clear call, and may have both the best defense and top coaching staff in the country.

Spotlight Team/ Projected Division Champion: Kansas State
Kansas State just keeps on plugging away, winning eleven games four of the past five years. The remarkable consistency goes back further, as other in their injury riddled 2001 season the Wildcats have won nine games or more every year since 1993. Bill Snyder pulls in a lot of talent, as he doesn’t exactly work under a lot of restrictions from the admissions department at KSU. The Wildcats always have loads of speed, and turn their athleticism into defensive and special teams points more efficiently than anyone else in the country.

The Wildcats have plenty of skill position talent back on offense, especially Darren Sproles at RB. They need to replace their tackles on the line and QB Ell Roberson has been productive but struggles when the running game isn’t clicking. K-State is always strong on defense and is bolstered further this fall by junior college transfer Marvin Simmons, a monster linebacker who originally signed with Southern Cal but didn’t make grades out of high school. KSU always has significant jucos in their recruiting class who are ready to contribute immediately so there is less reason for concern when they only return 12 starters, as they do this year.

With their consistency, talent, killer instinct, and the recent decline of the Nebraska program, we’ll look for Kansas State to win the Big 12 North. We have them losing to Oklahoma in the championship game but don’t be surprised if the Manhattanites make a strong run at Snyder’s first national championship.

Conference USA

Projected Champion: South Florida
South Florida has had a football team only since 1997 (losing to Elon, Drake, and Southern Illinois), but they’ve made incredible strides since then and it would not shock us to see them win the CUSA title in their initial year in the league. The Bulls went 9-2 last year as an independent, beating all four Conference USA teams they played. With a stream of Sunshine State talent ending up in Tampa, USF may just be the best program in the league.

They return 12 starters and their stellar defense allowed only 19 points and 309 yards per game last year on 2.3 yards per rush. The defense dominated the spring game but the offense should be OK, with seven returning starters. QB Marquel Blackwell is gone, but Ronnie Banks was outstanding in limited relief opportunities and several productive receivers return. 31 points per game might be tough to match, but there will be enough production to support the defense.

The Bulls enter CUSA in a year where there doesn’t seem to be a team ready to make noise nationally in the league. East Carolina and Southern Miss both return 13 starters but neither is as strong as they were a couple of years back. Southern Miss, Cincinnati, Louisville and TCU all return 11 starters or fewer. The Bulls get Louisville, TCU and Cincinnati on their strong home field, where they’ve won 19 straight games since losing to Hofstra (yes, Hofstra) to close the 1999 season. South Florida got screwed by the bowls despite last year’s 9-2 mark. Don’t look for that to happen again this year if, as we expect, they make some noise in their first season in Conference USA.

Spotlight Team: East Carolina
East Carolina has been known for their offensive wizardry in recent years under Steve Logan, but last year the Pirates crashed from 35 points and 423 yards per game to averaging only 28 points on 339 yards. Logan was fired, perhaps unjustly. Logan had never really received the support you would think he deserved for the long term job he did at ECU.

The real problem in Greenville was the defense, and the past two years the Pirates defense has been a sieve. They allowed 30 points on 429 yards in 2001 and efforts to improve those numbers were fruitless, with 33 points and 446 yards allowed in 2002. New coach John Thompson inherits 13 returning starters, eight on offense and five on defense. East Carolina will likely become a much more defensive oriented program under Thompson, who did fine work as a defensive coordinator at Memphis, Arkansas, and Florida.

The Pirates have won only four of their last fifteen games, but look for improvement at ECU. The offense should improve due to the eight returning starters. The defense should improve due to Thompson’s prowess on that side of the ball and penchant for stunting and blitzing. The recent decline of performance in Greenville should begin to turn around this fall.

MAC

Projected Champion: Marshall
Marshall is now 46-6 since joining the MAC and several of their losses have occurred in meaningless games where a championship game berth had already been decided. The Herd have won bowl games each of the past five years. Despite the loss of Byron Leftwich, Marshall should thrive under Stan Hill. Hill threw for four TD’s and scored the game-winning TD with one second left over Miami of Ohio in his lone start for the Thundering Herd. He’s a talented player and we could be seeing a long line of outstanding Marshall QB’s started by Chad Pennington. Hill has been in a couple of relatively “drunk ‘n stupid” legal flaps in the past year, so he has to clean up his act in that regard.

With only twelve starters returning, it might be trendy to look to beat Marshall, but the train just keeps a rollin’ in Huntington. The offense is there (Marshall’s production actually DROPPED to 35 points and 496 yards last fall) and the defense improved by 95 yards per game from 2000 to 2001. Marshall is the class of the conference and it will take the best of a quality opponent to keep them from another MAC crown.

Spotlight Team/ Projected Division Champion: Toledo
As Marshall has been the class of the conference overall, Toledo has been dominant in the Western Division the past few years. Although the 49-45 championship loss to Marshall was terribly disappointing and giving up 51 points on 491 yards to Boston College in the Motor City Bowl stung, the Rockets are still the best in their division.

Guard Noah Swartz (Cowboys free agent) and wideout Carl Ford (Packers 7th round pick) both have shots to be playing on Sunday this fall and four other offensive starters will be missed. QB’s Bruce Gradkowski and Cedric Stevens both impressed in the spring and they will continue to compete for the signal caller’s slot in the fall. The defense is in better shape, with eight returning starters. There is room for improvement on the stop side, as Toledo gave up 31 points or more in four of their five losses last fall.

A lot of mid-major programs would sag after losing a top name coach to the BCS world, but the Rockets haven’t missed a beat under “Toledo” Tom Amstutz. With 13 returning starters we will call for the Rockets to impress once again. Toledo won’t score 37 points or more eight times like last year, but an improved defense will make life tough for those visiting the Glass Bowl this fall.

Mountain West

Projected Champion: BYU
BYU had a terrible year last year but they still possess advantages unmatched by any in the conference. They have the biggest fan base, best facilities, and the most money of anyone in the Mountain West as well as all the other advantages that come from being a central focus of Mormon Church life. The biggest problem last year was the collapse of the offense, which went from 44 points and 523 yards per game in 2001 to a pathetic 23 points and 382 yards last season. Injuries and poor quarterback play was responsible for much of that. With Gary Crowton entering his third season and starting to have a majority of contributors being people he brought into the program, look for last year’s offensive troubles to be an exception to what should be an outstanding offensive tradition.

Lost in last season’s 5-7 disappointment was the improvement of the defense. The Cougars improved by 52 yards. With all eleven starters back on defense we’ll see the development on that side of the ball turn reflected on the scoreboard as well as in yardage.

BYU should react well to last season’s problems. You often hear of the “maturity” brought on by having a player marriage rate 30 times that of the Pac 10, Big 12, and Big 10. Another advantage that BYU has is a preponderance of thickly-muscled South Pacific natives. In fact, 30% of all Cougar players are either Tongan or Samoan. Look for the Cougars beautiful new indoor practice facility to be an advantage when it starts snowing in Provo in October or so. Don’t be surprised if all these advantages lead BYU to become the conference dynasty they were in the 1980’s.

Spotlight Team: Air Force
Entering his 20th year as head coach in Colorado Springs, Fisher DeBerry is used to the limitations of coaching at a military and the past three years has returned only 8, 7, and 10 starters to his Falcon clubs. What a nice surprise for DeBerry this season to have the most starters back in his coaching career. 15 returning starters fill the Air Force roster, which is unheard of in academy circles.

Chance Harridge returns at QB for Air Force, and it is always a load off an option coach’s mind to have a triggerman who knows the system, understands timing, etc. The Falcons started 6-0 before being dominated by a much bigger Notre Dame team in a 21-14 loss where they were outgained 447-161. Notre Dame is not on the schedule this season but the Falcons catch their tougher conference foes on the road, with games at BYU, at Colorado State, and at New Mexico. With all these starters back from a team that played mighty Virginia Tech so tough in a 20-13 bowl loss, look for the Falcons to have another strong year under a coach who is a sure-fire future Hall of Famer.

Pac Ten

Projected Champion: Southern Cal
Pete Carroll is going to be a good college coach. His enthusiastic approach, even if it is somewhat self-serving at times, fits well into the college game. Back at NC State, David Rivers thrived under the tutelage of offensive coordinator Norm Chow as a true freshman. That’s why it was so surprising when the incredibly talented Carson Palmer struggled in his junior year under Chow. His senior Heisman campaign showed that Palmer was just a bit slow on the uptake and the offense should continue to succeed this fall, as all Chow offenses have for the past three decades. Matt Leinert will likely start at QB and whoever gets the job should be productive.

A tough opener at Auburn will help prepare the Men of Troy for further tests down the road. Despite being located in a slum, USC has a lot of built in advantages that come with their tradition and glamour. They return six starters on each side of the ball, and that’s a good number to have considering their dominance down the stretch last year. To earn a 550-323 yardage against a team as good as Iowa was positively eye-opening. After underachieving for more than a decade, the Trojans may be a program on the upswing and we’ll call for them to win the Pac Ten title this fall.

Spotlight Team: Arizona
While we admired the willingness of the Arizona administration to back their coach after last season’s player revolt, it is clear that retread John Mackovic was not the right man for the job. The Wildcats would be in better shape right now had they kept Dick Tomey and it is unlikely that they would have lost 14 of 23 games the past couple of years with Tomey on the sidelines. ESPN had a documentary camera crew following the Wildcats during his initial season and it was obvious that the players were not responding to him. In the trendy west we see hot, young coaches like Jeff Tedford at Cal and Dirk Koetter at Arizona State making waves, and to hire a guy who has been around the block as much as Mackovic clearly didn’t excite anybody.

In addition to the player revolt last season Arizona has had disciplinary problems this offseason, with a couple of players possessing large quantities of dope. West coast recruiting analysts have not been impressed with the caliber of athlete choosing to go to Arizona. You can imagine that other Pac Ten recruiters made sure that high schoolers, their parents, and coaches were well aware of the internal problems in Tuscon. If the 13 returning starters step up, Arizona could have a decent year, but more likely, the Wildcats will be looking for fresh face to head up their program in a year or two.

SEC

Projected Champion: Georgia
Georgia has been a sleeping giant of a program and Marc Richt has provided the awakening. The Peach State has never lacked for talent but Ray Goff had trouble making the best use of his talent and during his reign the Bulldogs consistently had guys who didn’t do a lot in Athens turn out to be stars in the NFL. Under Jim Donnan the inmates sometimes seemed to be running the asylum. Since Richt took over Georgia has made substantial steps towards improving the character of their players. Freshman are required to take an early morning class once a week on making the right decisions, honesty, treating women, and other character attributes that far too many coddled athletes in today’s society don’t get growing up. That didn’t prevent a minor drug scandal this spring, as five freshman were discovered to be smoking pot in a dorm room. All five will receive two game suspensions.

David Greene is a tremendous leader at QB and there is plenty of talent surrounding him. Only two of the ten are also returning starters, however. Look for the offensive line to struggle at times, as they can’t expect to have nearly the cohesiveness of last year’s all-senior lineup. Seven starters return on defense and the Atlanta papers were buzzing about he performance of Odell Thurman at linebacker. The sophomore’s arrival may mean the Bulldogs miss Boss Bailey a little bit less than anticipated.

With Florida down a bit and Tennessee underachieving the past couple of years, we’ll look for the Bulldogs to pull out the close games thanks to the clutch QB Greene. Georgia will split with their two aforementioned nemeses but they’ll win the division and the championship game on a home-away-from-home field in Atlanta.

Spotlight Team/ Projected Division Champion: Auburn
At the start of last season Tommy Tuberville was on the hot seat after a collapse down the stretch in 2001. The Tigers had their high moments, however, and it is difficult to overstate how important their upset win at Alabama was to the fan base. Tuberville is not under the pressure had has felt in the past and it could be a big year in the Prettiest City on the Plain.

QB Jason Campbell should improve now that he is not looking over his shoulder at Daniel Cobb. RB Carnell “Cadillac” Williams is terrific and returns in the backfield. When he went down with injury last year (yes, the Cadillac was in the shop) Ronnie Brown was a far superior replacement than anyone could legitimately hope for. The defense had one of the top linebacking corps in the country last year and should once again, as both Karlos Dansby and Dontarrious Thomas return. If there is a question mark on defense it is among the DB’s, and the young, talented youngsters will get to prove their worth in the backfield.

With a powerful running game and strong defense, Auburn should make some noise with their 16 returning starters. Look for the Tigers to beat out LSU and Ole’ Miss for Western Division honors and make it to the championship game in Atlanta.

Sun Belt

Projected Champion: North Texas
North Texas may be following in the mold of a Central Florida or South Florida, building a moderately successful low-budget program with the leftovers in a talent-laden state. Former Kansas State quarterback Darrell Dickey is doing a great job with the Mean Green. North Texas went 6-0 in conference last season and has an 11 game league winning streak. The season culminated in a surprising bowl win over Cincinnati. The Mean Green return 13 starters, none of last year’s seniors were considered NFL prospects, and their conference opponents regularly lose to Division 1-AA teams. They should be able to get the job done again this year.

Scott Hall, who was injured last year, will likely reclaim the starting QB job from Andrew Smith. Hall to Ja’Mel Branch should prove to be a potent combination that adds some needed aerial punch to an offense that failed to reach 100 yards passing on seven different occasions last season. The running game notched 200 yards or more on seven different occasions last season and despite some personnel losses the running game should work in conference again, but probably not out of conference against stronger programs.

The clear star of this defense is Brandon Kennedy, a monstrous defensive tackle who could be a first round choice in the NFL draft. The D will be the strength of this club, and shows promise after holding Texas to 214 total yards last year and limiting TCU to 178 yards. The Mean Green held their first four conference opponents to a total of 14 points and the punchless offenses in their conference should have similar trouble this season.

Though saddled with a brutal early schedule at Oklahoma, at Air Force, and at Arkansas, North Texas should roll through the shoddy Sun Belt. The title may come down to the final game at New Mexico State on November 25th. With an air of confidence based on recent success and more talent and depth than the rest of the conference, we’ll call for the Mean Green to continue their winning ways. Look for the last two seasons’ Sun Belt Coach of the Year Darrell Dickey to start to attract attention from some more prestigious schools.

Spotlight Team: Middle Tennessee State
2002 was an odd and disappointing year for MTSU. The Blue Raiders were virtually a unanimous choice to win the Sun Belt Conference heading into last year and head coach Andy McCollum was seen as a coach on the upswing. MTSU returned 14 starters from the previous year, including Dwone Hicks, a running back of some accomplishment. With Hicks hurt and no proven quarterback, the Blue Raider offense struggled, going from averaging 37 points on 482 yards per game in 2001 to an average of 25 points on 363 yards. Without the offense pop to overcome their usual poor defense (28 points, 481 yards) MTSU slipped from 8-3 to 4-8.

Now Hicks is gone. His productive backfield partner Reshard Lee is gone. Playmaking receiver Tyrone Calico was drafted in the second round by the Titans. Only ten starters return in all. Coach McCollum needs to provide a fresh spark of enthusiasm in Murpheesboro, where the Blue Raiders drew less than 10,000 for their home finale. At the start of last year MTSU looked like a team on the come. Now they’re just a team returning fewer than half their starters after losing to SE Missouri State, Arkansas State, and Idaho last season. The low level of play in the Sun Belt helps their cause, they should have better talent than many in the conference, but last year’s disaster doesn’t offer much confidence.

WAC

Projected Champion: Boise State
Returning starters analysis would not lead you to select Boise State in the WAC. The Broncos return only 3 starters on offense, 7 on defense. But the three starters on offense are at QB and in the line, while their backs and receivers seem to thrive due to the incredibly prolific offensive system. Let’s remember that this is a team that hasn’t returned any more than seven starters on either side of the ball in the three seasons previous to this one. Boise’s dominant offense leads us to choose them for the WAC crown this fall.

The Broncos have an incredible 40 wins of the past four years and they are clearly the most consistent team in the conference. Their average game last season was a 46-18 win. They beat Hawaii by 27, Fresno by 46, Louisiana Tech by 26, and in their home bowl game they took out Big 12 opponent Iowa State 34-16. Their defense was excellent, giving up only 340 yards per game despite the fact that their quick-strike offense kept putting the D back on the field. This is simply one impressive program.

Although they return only the three offensive starters look for Dan Hawkins’ offensive system to continue to impress. The Broncos travel to Louisiana Tech, Hawaii, and Fresno but they are 5-1 against those three the past two years. They won the conference two years ago when traveling to all three tough venues as well. Look for Boise State to overcome their inexperience and win the WAC.

Spotlight Team: Tulsa
After going 1-21 in his last 22 games, Tulsa replaced the overmatched Keith Burns with Steve Kragthorpe, who was most recently the Buffalo Bills quarterback coach. Kragthorpe had previously coached at Texas A&M and Boston College, and was the offensive coordinator for Texas A&M teams that went to bowls in three successive years.

Tulsa is a tough situation. The Golden Hurricane have not had a winning season since 1991 and play in the enormous shadow of the Oklahoma Sooners and must deal with the growing presence of Oklahoma State as well. If they’re ever to improve this should be the year. The 16 returning starters should pay attention to the high regard their coach is held in by such NFLers as Drew Bledsoe and enthusiasm and belief can be powerful tools for college athletes. There is not a prodigious level of talent at Tulsa, but the WAC contains some beatable teams and Tulsa could be at team on the improve. They couldn’t get any worse, at least.

About the author: Kevin O’Neill is an author, researcher, publisher, and handicapper, as well as director of content for www.ConsumerBet.com. Readers can claim a free subscription to Kevin’s weekly e-letter Sports & Gaming News and his get a free copy of his report “Profit Strategies of Professional Gamblers”. Get both these report right now by clicking here.