Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

It's game week. Finally. I wrote a little thing in the print edition of the paper on Virginia Tech. The editors used my Top 10 teams, players and Big East outlook. Pretty neat stuff.

Also, some exciting news. You'll be able to hear me on the radio this fall. I'll follow with details when I have them. Stay tuned (pun intended).

Let's wrap up the conference rankings. We'll start with No. 1, scroll down to see No. 2.

I can't emphasize my excitement: It's game week!

SEC

No real surprise here. The Southeastern Conference's dominance continues and doesn't appear to be going anywhere as programs like Kentucky blossom. With Nick Saban at Alabama, it's just another program that's back in the mix.

Even the teams lurking at the bottom of the standings can't be slept on. Ask LSU about its 2006 overtime scare against the Rebels or Georgia about its home loss to Vanderbilt.

There's five teams who can pitch a fit for the SEC title this year and three others who could sneak in if the big boys beat each other up enough (Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina).

I don't know what else to say about the SEC that I haven't said this summer. Almost a quarter of my Top 25 is from the SEC, same goes for the AP and Coaches polls.

Actually, I will say watch out for Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson. The senior is getting a fair amount of preseason hype after a monster 2006 season. He's the best signal caller in the conference, sorry Tim Tebow. If you need a refresher, think back to his 299-yard, 3TD bowl game outing against Clemson.

And, just a news note: LaMarcus Coker has been reinstated by Phil Fulmer. Tennessee should be fine running the ball this season with he, Arian Foster and Montario Hardesty.

Predicted order of finish:

Champion: LSU

Big XII

Considering I spent a week defending my praise for Texas A&M and Nebraska and my lack of faith in Oklahoma, I've spoken at length about the Big 12.

The conference is really solid this year and it's not getting enough credit. Why, Adam, why do you say this?

It's simple. There are four legitimate contenders for the conference title. Compared to the conferences we've look at thus far, the Big XII appears more top heavy with Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas A&M:

Big 10: Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State
Pac 10: Southern California, Cal
Big East: West Virginia, Louisville, Rutgers
ACC: Virginia Tech

If you want to argue schools like Wake, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami are up for the ACC title, then they have to hope a very talented Tech team falters. They don't qualify as legitimate. As far as the conferences with three contenders, the Big 10 and the Big East, they lack the depth that the Big XII has.

The maturation of programs like Kansas, Texas Tech and Missouri, coupled with the quick turnaround at Kansas State gives the conference a lot of depth. Also, don't sleep on Colorado this year, the Buffs are somewhere in the middle of taking baby steps and strides. Whatever, just don't be surprised if Colorado is back in the bowl mix this year.

What intrigues me most is whether any of these conference contenders could pitch a fit in a national title game. I think Texas has the offensive weapons in Colt McCoy, Jamaal Charles and Limas Sweed to keep any defense honest, but we'll see what happens when they face a prolific offense. Can Mack Brown's 11 hold up against a grinding rushing attack in the Red River Shootout or regular season finale in College Station?

As much as I raved about Texas A&M two weeks ago, the team that everyone should be most scared of is Nebraska. The offensive pieces are in place and have a great coach steering that ship and the defense might just be good enough this season. Bill Callahan's team has the advantage playing in the weaker North division, which could spell BCS for the Huskers.

But enough about the big wigs, we've driven them into the ground the last month. It's teams like the Jayhawks, Wildcats and Tigers who are going to make the conference interesting.

Kansas: After a valiant 6-6 campaign, the Jayhawks have a serious shot at winning 7 or 8 games this season. What's missing this year is running back Jon Cornish (1,457 yards), but Jake Sharp was promising in limited action as a freshman last year. A bowl game is a must for Mark Mangino's boys.

Kansas State: When Ron Prince was hired everyone expected a quick turn around, and that's exactly what happened. After nine combined wins in '04 and '05, Prince came in, went 4-4 in the conference, picked up seven wins and made it to a bowl game. All of this was with a highly touted true freshman who threw four touchdowns and 12 INTs. Now that his head is not spinning 700 mph, Josh Freeman should lead the Wildcats to a similar season, but perhaps a bowl win this time around.

Missouri: The Tigers might have the best quarterback in the conference this year. Chase Daniel completed 64% of his passes, had 26 total touchdowns and led his team to an 8-win season (a nose hair from nine). If he continues to improve and running back Tony Temple has a big senior year, 10 wins is not out of the question (can't afford one slip up and they have to beat the two teams directly above them in this short list).

Predicted order of finish:

Predicted order of finish:

I know, the North looks the same as last year.

Champion: Nebraska