Sports

Colleges

Around the nation

By Times staff
Published August 31, 2007

---

ADVERTISEMENT

Big Ten

1. Michigan: Top stars are back, including QB Chad Henne.

2. Wisconsin: Badgers get Michigan at home on Nov.10, a week after they play at Ohio State.

3. Ohio State: LB James Laurinaitis is the Big Ten's best on defense.

4. Penn State: Must replace LB Paul Posluszny.

5. Iowa: Kirk Ferentz's team is coming off its first losing season in six years.

6. Purdue: Consecutive games against Notre Dame, Ohio State and at Michigan.

7. Indiana: Shaken by the death of coach Terry Hoeppner.

8. Northwestern: TB Tyrell Sutton (1,000 yards on the button) and QB C.J. Bacher return.

9. Michigan State: Defensive-minded Mark Dantonio takes over as coach.

10. Minnesota: Off-field problems led to four players being banished from the team.

11. Illinois: Has one of the Big Ten's most exciting players in QB Juice Williams.

NOTABLE: Michigan has lost four straight bowl games and has a three-year drought against rival Ohio State. ... Wisconsin TB P.J. Hill is coming off a 1,569-yard season and will take pressure off as the Badgers break in a new QB. ... Purdue has 18 starters back, more than any time in coach Joe Tiller's 10 seasons. ... Illinois has nine starters back on both offense and defense.

Big 12

SOUTH

1. Texas: Colt McCoy threw for 2,570 yards and completed 68 percent of his passes.

2. Oklahoma: Most of the line is back, as are the top five receivers.

3. Texas A&M: 15 starters back, including quarterback Stephen McGee, who threw for 2,295 yards.

4. Oklahoma State: WR Adarius Bowman (60 receptions, 1,181 yards, 12 TDs) might be a Heisman Trophy contender.

5. Texas Tech: Had the nation's third-best passing offense in 2006 (370 yards per game).

6. Baylor: Had the worst rushing defense in the Big 12 (191 yards per game) in 2006.

NORTH

1. Missouri: QB Chase Daniel (3,527 yards, 28 TDs) is one of nine starters returning for an offense that averaged 426 yards and 30 points per game.

2. Nebraska: Nonconference slate includes game at Wake Forest and home against USC.

3. Kansas State: Road schedule is brutal, at Auburn, Texas, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Fresno State.

4. Colorado: Had the Big 12's worst offense in 2006, averaging 16 points and 291 yards.

5. Kansas: Eight starters return for a defense that ranked third in the league against the rush (109 yards per game).

6. Iowa State: Coach Gene Chizik, from Clearwater, was hired to shore up a defense that gave up 31 points and 392 yards per game last season.

NOTABLE: Texas' McCoy says he's fully recovered from a pinched nerve in his neck that hampered him in the finale against A&M. ... The Sooners might not miss Adrian Peterson all that much. Senior Allen Patrick (761 yards, four TDs) and sophomore Chris Brown (343 yards, six TDs) shared the load when Peterson broke his collarbone last year, and coach Bob Stoops thinks redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray might be the most explosive back of the three. ... The same day Texas plays Oklahoma, Missouri hosts Nebraska in an equally pivotal game in the Big 12 North. ... Arizona transfer Sam Keller steps in to replace Nebraska QB Zac Taylor (3,197 yards, 26 TDs) who was the league's top offensive player in 2006.

Pac-10

1. USC: Looking for the next Reggie Bush? Freshman TB Joe McKnight might be it.

2. California: Pass defense ranked 103rd in the nation last season and must replace CB Daymeion Hughes.

3. UCLA: 10 starters back from the defense that shut down USC in the final regular-season game.

4. Oregon State: Left-hander Sean Canfield takes over at QB.

5. Oregon: RB Jonathan Stewart has scored 20 touchdowns in two seasons.

6. Arizona State: QB Rudy Carpenter had an erratic sophomore season, passing for 2,523 yards and 23 TD but with an efficiency rating of 133.68.

7. Arizona: CBs Antoine Cason and Wilrey Fontenot might be the top duo in the league.

8. Washington: Schedule is brutal with home games against Boise State and Ohio State.

9. Washington State: Breaking in two new cornerbacks, scary stuff in a league with so many good passers.

10. Stanford: Coach Jim Harbaugh has made headlines, first saying Pete Carroll would leave USC after this season and then by calling the Trojans potentially the greatest team ever.

NOTABLE: Eight of the top nine passers from last fall are back, led by Southern California senior John David Booty, who has emerged as a preseason Heisman Trophy contender. ... A trio of potential NFL linebackers leads a USC defense that might be the best in the country. OLBs Brian Cushing and Keith Rivers and ILB Rey Maualuga could all be All-Americans. ... California All-American DeSean Jackson has returned five punts for TDs in his career.

Conference USA

PREDICTED FINISH: East - Southern Miss, East Carolina, UCF, Marshall, Memphis, UAB. West - Houston, Tulsa, SMU, UTEP, Rice, Tulane.

NOTABLE: Southern Miss has had 13 consecutive winning seasons and returns RB Damion Fletcher, who rushed for 1,388 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman. ... Defending champion Houston has 17 starters back, including senior running back Anthony Alridge, who averaged a 10.1 yards per carry last season, rushing for 959 yards. ... Former UCLA coach Bob Toledo takes over at Tulane, which now has practice facilities and a home stadium (the Louisiana Superdome) that have been rebuilt and even upgraded since Hurricane Katrina struck two years ago.

Mid-American

PREDICTED FINISH: East - Ohio, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Akron, Bowling Green, Temple, Buffalo. West - Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Toledo, Ball State, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan.

NOTABLE: The FBI continues to keep its case open against former Toledo running back Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr. though it dropped point-shaving charges against him. McDougle denies that he recruited teammates to participate in a scheme arranged by a Detroit gambler. ... Defending champion Central Michigan returns QB Dan LeFevour, who threw 26 TD passes and topped 3,000 yards passing as a freshman. His classmate and favorite target, Bryan Anderson, is back, along with 12 other starters. ... Six starters are back from an Ohio defense that held opponents to 18 points a game.

Mountain West

PREDICTED FINISH: TCU, Utah, BYU, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado State, San Diego State, Air Force, UNLV.

NOTABLE: TCU has nine starters back from a dominating defense. ... BYU has a 10-game winning streak, but must replace quarterback John Beck - the MWC offensive player of the year who threw for 3,885 yards and 32 touchdowns - 1,000-yard rusher Curtis Brown and prolific receiver Jonny Harline. ... Utah gets back a top-notch quarterback with the return of Brian Johnson, who sat out last season after knee surgery. He threw for 2,892 yards (with 18 TDs) and ran for 478 yards in 2005, when he led the MWC and was fourth nationally in total offense.

Sun Belt

PREDICTED FINISH: Troy, Middle Tennessee, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Florida International.

NOTABLE: Troy QB Omar Haugabook, the 2006 conference player of the year, is back. He threw for 2,401 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also rushed for 313 yards and five TDs. ... Seven Middle Tennessee starters are back on defense, including team leaders in sacks, tackles for losses, and interceptions. ... FAU won five of its last eight games in 2006 and two of its three losses were by a touchdown or less to Sun Belt champion Troy and to Louisiana-Lafayette. Almost all of its starters are back, so the Owls could be a dark horse.

 

Western Athletic

PREDICTED FINISH: Hawaii, Boise State, San Jose State, Fresno State, New Mexico State, Nevada, Idaho, Utah State, Louisiana Tech.

NOTABLE: The season could boil down to a Nov.23 showdown between Hawaii and Boise State in Honolulu to decide the conference crown and possibly a second consecutive BCS berth for the WAC. ... Hawaii QB and Heisman candidate Colt Brennan's numbers in 2006 were staggering. He topped 400 yards nine times and capped his season with 559 yards passing and five touchdowns against Arizona State in the Hawaii Bowl. He finished with 5,549 yards passing and an NCAA-record 58 TD passes. ... San Jose State CB Dwight Lowery is the WAC preseason defensive player of the year. He had nine INTs last year, tied for No.1 in the country. ... New Mexico State QB Chase Holbrook was second in the country to Brennan in yards passing (4,619), and broke the NCAA for yards passing by a sophomore, set by Ty Detmer (4,560 in 1989).

Independents

NOTABLE: With only three starters back on offense and five back on a defense that has struggled the past two seasons, it appears to be a rebuilding season for Notre Dame. The Irish have just 16 seniors and 14 juniors and is switching to a 3-4 defense. Four of the first six games are on the road. ... Western Kentucky is in the first stage of a move from I-AA, which will be complete in 2009. ... Coach Stan Brock, a former NFL QB, takes over as Army coach with 15 starters returning. He was on Bobby Ross' staff last season. ... RB Reggie Campbell (1,778 total yards and 16 TDs in two seasons) returns to lead Navy, which has won eight or more games the past four years.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

[Last modified August 29, 2007, 09:49:54]

[an error occurred while processing this directive]