Monday, Dec. 31 - Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl

California vs. Air Force 

If you would have told me after Cal’s week one blowout of Tennessee that the Golden Bears would be finish the year in the Armed Forces Bowl, I would have suggested a trip to the Betty Ford clinic should be somewhere in your future. Injuries paired with inconsistent efforts in Pac-10 conference play (not to mention a pair of three-game losing streaks) earned Cal a trip to Fort Worth to play Air Force on New Year’s Eve. On name recognition alone, but you overlook the 9-3 Falcons of the Air Force Academy at your own peril. For Cal, the key to winning this game could be whether or not sensational junior wide receiver DeSean Jackson plays (Jackson missed time this year with a thigh contusion, including Cal’s inexplicable loss to a three-win Stanford team in The Big Game). When healthy, Jackson is the most electrifying player in college football by far but the receiver has struggled to get open this season, pulling in just 60 receptions for less than 700 yards and 5 touchdowns on the year. Cal quarterback Nate Longshore and his ability to be accurate in the passing game could be the key for the Golden Bears. Longshore and a trio of talented receivers that include Jackson, seniors Lavell Hawkins and Robert Jordan might have a big day against this Air Force pass defense, which ranked dead last in the Mountain West. On defense, Cal will have to figure out a way to stop the run. Air Force’s offense, led by senior tailback Chad Hall, is averaging a jaw-dropping 293 yards a game on the ground, which doesn’t bode well for a Cal defense giving up 152 yards a game against the run. With Jackson in the lineup, I like Cal by air in this one.

Monday, Dec. 31 - Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl 

Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State

In this one, the Yellow Jackets, far and away, have more talent on both sides of the ball than Pat Hill’s Fresno Bulldogs but the coaching situation at Georgia Tech is anything but settled. Chan Gailey got shown the door after a seven-win season, Tech hired a great coach in Navy’s Paul Johnson but Johnson won’t coach the team in their bowl game and the team’s interim coach, Jon Tenuta, the team’s defensive coordinator, has been named in connection with both the Michigan head coaching job and the recently vacated LSU defensive coordinator position. Still, you gotta like Georgia Tech in this game. Senior tailback Tashard Choice has been consistently great all year, finishing the season with 1,400 yards on the ground and Tenuta’s defense features an explosive pass rush, which lead the ACC with 47 sacks. Fresno State must protect quarterback Tom Brandstater and give him time to find open receivers, which they have done thus far, allowing fewer than 20 sacks on the year. Still, with a rushing defense that was second to last in the WAC against the run matching up against such a prolific runner in Choice, the Bulldogs can’t be feeling good about their odds. Look for Tashard Choice to have a big day and the Ramblin’ Wreck to take it on the blue turf up in Boise.

Monday, Dec. 31 - Brut Sun Bowl 

South Florida vs. Oregon

Two teams that, at various points in the year, had their sights set on a trip to the national championship land west of New Orleans in El Paso, Texas. For Oregon, the key will be scoring points.. any points on offense. After the Ducks lost senior quarterback Dennis Dixon, they struggled mightily to generate any type of offense.  To win, Oregon must predict whichever freshmen (the battle between Cody Kempt and Justin Roper is being decided in practice) starts at quarterback from George Selvie, one of the nation’s elite pass rushers. For USF, the key will be letting quarterback Matt Grothe do what he does best — improvise and make plays with his feet. Grothe finished the season averaging 275 yards per game in total offense and actually finished sixth in the Big East in rushing. If Oregon can keep Grothe in the pocket and force turnovers, they have a very good chance of winning this one. With a freshman quarterback lining up under center and one of the nation’s best pass rushers coming off the edge, I just don’t like Oregon’s chances in this one. I’ll take USF in a close one.

Monday, Dec. 31 - Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl 

Kentucky vs. Florida State 

Rich Brooks returns to the scene of last year’s bowl win against Clemson that helped the Wildcats get to 8-4 and will look to do the same thing against Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles in Nashville this year. Let’s face it, for the most part Florida State has been a hideously bad football team all year wrong and somehow lucked into their win against Boston College, nine times out of 10 BC wins that game. Kentucky senior quarterback Andre Woodson may very well be playing for his NFL draft stock against the Seminole on New Year’s Eve. I fully believe Woodson will slice and dice the Florida State defense with the help of tailback Rafael Little, receiver Keenan Burton and tight end Jacob Tamme and exploit mismatches in the Florida State secondary. Though Kentucky is giving up an average of 390 yards a game in total offense, Florida State’s offense has been anemic at best, managing just 350 yards a game in total offense. I’ll take Woodson’s senior leadership and the ‘Cats in a big win.

Looking at this week’s schedule, part of me is glad I will miss the majority of Saturday’s action during my trip to Orlando. I guess I’d compare the action, excitement and debate generated by all of the great matchups of week 3 to a Master and Commander-style naval war epic and what do we make of week 4? Well if the schedule is any indicator, it’s shaping up to be a splash fight between two slow-moving elderly folks aboard those plastic paddle boats where you are propelled forward by your legs. None the less, there are some games that are worth watching, if you really have nothing better to do.

Game of the Week: #12 South Carolina at #2 LSU - 3:30 P.M. - CBS

I think it says something about the sorry state of early season college football when a team like South Carolina, a team that has one, count ‘em, one somewhat quality win to their credit is considered one of the top 15 teams in America. None the less Spurrier takes his Gamecocks to Death Valley for an afternoon showdown with the Bayou Bengals. The line on this one? Tigers by 16. Not usually what you would expect from a game between the 2nd best and 12th best teams in the country. This should give fans a pretty good idea of just how inflated USC’s record really is. I think the Gamecock defense will fair better than Virginia Tech’s defense did at slowing down the Tigers running game but I don’t think South Carolina has an answer for Early Doucet, Trindon Holliday and Brandon LaFell. If I were Steve Spurrier, I would seriously consider having backup quarterback Chris Smelley warming up and Baton Rouge General on standby when Blake Mitchell hits the field in Baton Rouge. Consider the following quote from Steve Spurrier in today’s edition of Columbia, S.C.’s The State newspaper:

“At times (with) our pass protection, we don’t block the guy,” Spurrier said. “We ‘offer’ at him a little bit. Next thing we know our guards are watching him go by.”"

Saturday, “the guy” that Spurrier is referring to will be Glenn Dorsey, you might have heard of him. He’s like the best defensive player in America and sure-fire, can’t-miss first round pick in next year’s NFL draft. The concussion-inducing proposition of the nation’s best defensive line going against one of the SEC’s most porous offensive lines is enough to make you tune in to see Blake Mitchell and his lame barbed wire, or tribal armband tattoo get knocked around a little bit. Expect the Tigers to win and win big.

O.G.I. - Other Games of Interest 

Washington at UCLA - 10:15 PM ET - Fox Sports 

A week after getting exposed as the frauds they are, UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell and his Bruins have Ty Willingham and the rebounding Huskies coming to town. Washington and their quarterback Jake Locker is a team that I find very intriguing and could pose some serious matchup problems for UCLA. The Bruin defense struggled last week to stop Brian Johnson and Utah and the similarities between Johnson’s strengths and those of Locker are striking.

#22 Georgia at #16 Alabama - 7:45 PM ET - ESPN

Can lightning strike twice? Can Nick Saban and the new era Tide beat ranked opponents in consecutive weeks? Forget about the rankings for a minute. Georgia is still a pretty good football team and Saban appears to have Alabama on the road back to glory (I don’t know about 16th best team in America but I digress). For Georgia, the formula should be real simple. Run the stupid football and limit turnovers. Get Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown the football early and often and repeat. Oh and make sure they don’t cramp up towards the end of the game. ‘Bama gave up almost 6 yards a carry last week in their pseudo-victory against Arkansas and had Darren McFadden not watched the end of the game from the sideline, the outcome of said game might have been different. If Matthew Stafford can take of the ball and not commit costly turnovers, Georgia has a real good chance of knocking Alabama back out of the top 25 and throw the brakes on the Tuscaloosa-based Saban worship — for this week at least.

#20 Texas A&M at Miami (FL) - 7:30 PM - Thursday - ESPN

I find this game interesting but not real interesting. Randy Shannon is trying to restore what is left of the legacy that was “The U” and Dennis Franchione is trying to keep the Aggies from becoming the fourth best team in the Big 12 … again. Franchione should have been looking at how Oklahoma’s offense dismantled the Miami defense and try to emulate that as best he can. Controlling the line of scrimmage will be huge for Texas A&M if they don’t want to get stung at the Orange Bowl.

Under the Radar Game of the Week - #21 Kentucky at Arkansas - 6:00 PM - ESPN2

In the words of Michael Scott, “Fool me once, strike one but fool me twice… strike three.” Last week, I thought Arkansas had every chance of beating Alabama and an atrocious first half inevitably cost them the game. Against my better instincts, I’m going with Arkansas to defend their home turf and shut down the resurgent Wildcats, who are riding  high after upsetting #9 ranked, intrastate rival Louisville last week. I don’t give Kentucky’s defense enough credit to be able to consistently stop Darren McFadden and Felix Jones despite that they gave up only 101 yards on the ground to Louisville. But let’s be fair, the Cardinals aren’t anywhere near as dedicated to a solid rushing game as Arkansas is and their 27 rushing attempts is proof of that. Arkansas defense particularly it’s secondary, which was dreadful last week against Alabama and made their receivers look like.. well, like Florida’s receivers, has to step up effectively defend Keenan Burton, Jacob Tamme and Rafael Little. Can they do it? We’ll see. But it is certainly gut check time for the Razorbacks. I promise though, if they don’t win this week, I’m never picking this team against another good-to-mediocre team for the rest of the year.

Upsets are fun to watch but are absolutely brutal on my college football picks and subsequent winning percentage. There were some upsets that surprised me over the weekend (Auburn, Iowa) and some that didn’t (Kentucky, UCLA). A little bit on UCLA before the notes. Why was this team ranked in the top 15 to begin with? Make no mistake, the Bruins appearance towards the top of the polls was undeserved and based solely on their win against a sleeping USC team in the last week of the regular season. I, like everyone, was surprised that Utah came out and had the offense day they had after they struggled to score points against Oregon State and Air Force. UCLA still has the potential to be a dangerous team but their loss to the Utes in Salt Lake City shouldn’t have been all that surprising.

Game of the Week - Tennessee at Florida

No big plays. When I think about this game and why Tennessee lost, in deciding fashion, to the Gators in 2007, those three words will ultimately come to mind. I’ve watched the Vols play twice this year and twice they’ve lost for the same reason. Against a team with superior speed and athleticism on defense, they’ve tried to quick slant, bubble screen and 5-yard comeback route their way to victory. And twice they’ve gotten absolutely destroyed. In the first half Tennessee was plagued by a chronic inability to finish drives and put points on the board. On one such drive with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter, Florida countered with two touchdown drives of their own. Finally, the UT offense showed a sense of urgency, like they emerged from their coma and realized that they were down 28-6 and were able to punch in a score at the end of the first half. The second half began promising enough for the Vols after true freshman Eric Berry picked off a pass and took it to the house for six. I’ll say this about Tim Tebow, he’s a heck of an athlete but a terrible open field tackler. He just totally whiffed on Berry. And then there was the fumble. I wonder at what point you have to sit Erik Ainge because he can’t make the exchange to the team’s tailbacks. You can’t have a quarterback that can’t hand the ball off. It’s really that simple. To have Ainge backhanding exchanges is unacceptable and in this case, costs Tennessee the game. I think there is a growing fissure on the Volunteers between the offense and the defense. After Ainge throws that ball into Arian Foster’s chest, the defense appeared to be just demoralized and realized that no matter what they did unless Eric Berry picked the ball off and took it the distance four more times, there was nothing they could if the offense wasn’t going to put up points. But the story of the game for me was Florida’s ability to make big plays. Just to paint the picture for you, Florida was average more than 8 yards per offensive play and more than 21 yards per reception. I am not yet ready to put Florida in the top 3 with Oklahoma, LSU and USC but the Oct. 3 matchup between the Gators and Tigers in Baton Rouge promises to be epic but I think the development of Riley Cooper and Louis Murphy as legitimate scoring threats alongside Tebow and Percy Harvin is a scary proposition for the SEC and the rest of college football. For Tennessee, there were just too many blown opportunities and missed chances. The real low point in an otherwise pretty entertaining game for me was the mind-numbing interview with that balding midget Kenny Chesney and his cheesy, fratty faded Red Sox hat. A die hard Red Sox fan from Tennessee? Take a trip to Southie and see how that works out. And while we’re on the subject, can we vote to do away, once and for all, with the celebrity fan interview and cameo and the girlfriend/father/mother/brother/cousin cam?

Overrated win of the week: Alabama

For the true Alabama football fan, not the starved-for-recognition-and-for-God’s-sake-a-win-against-Auburn Alabama football fan, you have to know that you didn’t deserve that one. If you need two questionable pass interference calls on the final drive at the end of a game at home to win, that win has to feel a little hollow. Let’s be honest for a second Tide fans. Well if we’re really being honest, those Houndstooth baseball caps are just horrifyingly tacky and secondly, if this game were being played in Fayetteville instead of Tuscaloosa, you probably don’t get one or both of those calls. At the beginning of that game, there was a lot to feel good about if you’re an Alabama fan. The defense created turnovers, the normally deer-in-headlights John Parker Wilson looked good in the pocket and picked apart a ghastly Arkansas secondary. But then there’s that second half. You know, the whole blowing a 21-point-lead in the second half at home thing. Against a better team, a team who’s best player (who also happens to be a Heisman Trophy candidate) isn’t on the sideline cramping, you get beat and beat soundly when you give up that kind of a lead. No doubt the win against Arkansas is the first significant win of the Saban-era Tide but this isn’t the signature win this program needs to return to its former glory. My hats off to Houston Nutt and the Razorbacks for not giving up when everyone, myself included, thought they were destined for a blowout.

Best Win of the Week: Kentucky

This upset really wasn’t a surprise to anyone who knows anything about college football. Rich Brooks has this program on the way up and given that Andre Woodson, the SEC’s best quarterback, has an array of weapons including Jacob Tamme, Rafael Little and Keenan Burton to throw to, you knew the Cardinals were in for it at Commonwealth Stadium Saturday night in Lexington. In addition to proving that last year’s 8-4 record wasn’t a fluke for Brooks and Kentucky, the win against the number 9-ranked Cards proves that the Big East really is a laughably weak football conference. When your best (or second best, let’s not split hairs) team is getting beat by the 6th or 7th best team in the SEC, you have no claim to the national championship as a conference. The Big East is continuing its tradition as a second-rate Thursday night football conference.

Win of Affirmation: USC

Saturday night confirmed what many of us already knew: USC is a pretty good football team. There were moments during Saturday’s game in Lincoln against the Huskers that USC looked a little sloppy, played a little undisciplined and John David Booty proved that he is not the Heisman trophy winner, playing more like a game manager than a game changer. But USC is still really good. Nothing that Nebraska tried on offense was the least bit successful and there was nothing the Blackshirts could do to prevent Stefon Johnson (who looked like LenDale White only skinnier and faster) and C.J. Gable from running all over them. You’re not going to beat too many Div. 1-A teams giving up 313 yards on the ground and over 8 yards a carry. Nebraska, meanwhile, will likely win the Big 12 North by default but will get absolutely annihilated by Oklahoma, who has one of college football’s most exciting young tailbacks in Demarco Murray, in the Big 12 Championship. I will say that Sam Keller’s demeanor during the game was impressive to me. He never seemed to get too up or too down but I don’t think he ever recovered from the first interception he threw. I am not convinced that during the course of a game Keller can keep things from going from bad to worse. Many across the country, particularly in the South, were looking for a reason to vault LSU up to that top spot but the Trojans proved that they were worthy of all the preseason hype by beating Nebraska in convincing fashion.

Team I will never pick against for the rest of the season: Boston College

Make that three ACC wins in three consecutive weeks to open the season for Boston College. Matt Ryan, to put it simply, is the truth. Ryan carved up the much-hyped Georgia Tech defense to the tune of 435 yards on 30 of 44 completions for a touchdown and no interceptions in Atlanta. He seems to be right at home in new head coach Jeff Jagodzinski’s offense and any Heisman conversation that doesn’t include Matt Ryan isn’t a serious one. The Eagle defense stepped up Saturday night as well and held Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice, who ran all over Notre Dame and Samford, to just 31 yards on 15 carries. Though the game finished 24-10, BC had a 21-0 lead going into the fourth quarter. At this point in the year, Jagodzinski is my pick for coach of the year and his Eagles have to be the favorite to win the watered-down ACC. The rest of the Eagles schedule reads like a Who’s Who of teams that were supposed to be great but for one reason or another are just average after three weeks of play. The Eagles still have to travel to Virginia Tech, to Maryland and to Clemson and must host the Miami and Florida State. I don’t think this time will run the table and go undefeated, there is at least one landmine in there somewhere but winning Saturday in Atlanta against Georgia Tech is a big win for this football team.

Most Disappointing: Auburn

Everyone knew how good USF was and anyone who was surprised that Matt Grothe, Jim Leavitt and the Bulls traveled up to Auburn and beat the Tigers hasn’t been paying attention to the recent rise of that program. But to get beat by the Fighting Crooms the following week at home is unbelievable. Lest we forget that this was a Mississippi State team that tallied a grand total of 41 yards through the air and just over 170 on the ground. How did this happen? Well quarterback play. Or in the case of Auburn bad quarterback play. Brandon Cox got the hook after his first two passes were picked off and his replacement, freshman Kodi Burns, didn’t fair much better and threw an interception of his own. Many believed that this team would only go as far as Brandon Cox could take them and we have found out just how far that is. You can’t turn the ball over 5 times and expect to beat anyone in college football and if Auburn doesn’t learn how to take care of the ball, they could easily fall short of six wins and be home come December. One could argue that this is a Auburn team that could still feasibly upset someone later on in the year but given their turnover problem and now there are issues at quarterback, I just don’t see that happening. This could be the year that Alabama finally bests Auburn.

This is when things start to get really interesting. Week three of the college football season is here and with it come some very interesting non-conference matchups and some early season conference showdowns and rivalry games.

Game of the Week - #22 Tennessee at #5 Florida - 3:30 PM ET - CBS

In conversation, a friend of mine asked me the other day how good Florida really is? I thought for a moment and realized that no one had any idea how good college football’s reigning champions actually were given the opponents they faced in weeks 1 and 2 (Western Kentucky and Troy). We know far more about their opponent this week, Phillip Fulmer, Erik Ainge and the #22 Vols, than we do about the Gators at this point in the year. If I were a Tennessee fan what would concern me most about this game isn’t where it’s being played, playing on the road in the SEC is difficult regardless of whether you’re at Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn.. you get the point. Crowd noise is crowd noise is crowd noise in the SEC. The players should be used to it. What would concern me most is Florida’s speed. The Vols frankly had no match for Cal’s speed in their week 1 drubbing at the hands of the Golden Bears and the Gators are every bit as fast particularly on the outside with Percy Harvin. Thankfully the Gators offense isn’t anywhere near as effective on the ground as California was with Justin Forsett and freshman Jahvid Best and so pressuring Tim Tebow in the pocket and making him as uncomfortable as possible will be huge for John Chavis and this Tennessee defense. This game is the first in a long line of SEC matchups with potential National Championship implications.

O.G.I. - OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST

#1 USC at #14 Nebraska - 8:00 p.m. - ABC

Gameday will be in Lincoln and Husker Nation is frothing at the mouth to get a shot to knock off the nation’s best team. In fact, the nation’s top ranked team has not made an appearance in Lincoln as the visiting team since Oklahoma visited Memorial Stadium in 1978. For many college football fans, this game will be their first exposure to the much-hyped Trojans who played Idaho in week 1 and were idle last week. Many will tune in to see just how good USC is and if they are worthy of the top spot in college football as Oklahoma and USC turn up the heat at the top of the polls. From watching the Nebraska game last week at Wake Forest I can tell you that I don’t think the Huskers are ready to beat USC. Sam Keller who, despite taking an 18-point lead into the locker room against the Bush-Leinart Trojans in 2005, was picked off five times en route to a 28-38 loss will be looking for revenge. And if you’re a Husker fan the idea of Sam Keller trying to be the hero has to scare you to death.

#21 Boston College at #15 Georgia Tech - 7:00 p.m. - ESPN2

Two weeks, two ACC victories and Boston College goes to Atlanta looking for their third against a wildly overrated Georgia Tech team who’s ranking is inflated largely by their 33-3 stomping of an atrociously dreadful Notre Dame team. Nonetheless, Georgia Tech gets a chance to show that last year wasn’t a fluke and they have what it takes to be a powerhouse in the watered-down ACC for the second consecutive year. For Matt Ryan, the game could be a chance to cement his Heisman candidacy after two big games against NC State and Wake Forest. Ditto for GT running back Tashard Choice.

#16 Arkansas at Alabama - 6:45 p.m. - ESPN

This game is a tale of two coaches. Arkansas’ Houston Nutt has found himself firmly on the hot seat after the world’s worst offseason despite coming off an SEC West championship a year ago. Nick Saban on the other hand, after beating Western Carolina and Vanderbilt, finds himself a college football deity in the state of Alabama and a God amongst men with the goofballs and fratboys wearing houndstooth baseball caps demographic. The keys for Saban’s Tide will be stopping the run with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in the backfield and watching out for that Wildcat package where McFadden lines up under center and not being fooled by any trickery.

#9 Louisville at Kentucky - 7:30 p.m. - ESPN Classic

After seeing Louisville give up 42 points last week to Middle Tennessee at home, I am none too confident about their ability to stop Andre Woodson, Rafael Little and Keenan Burton. For Rich Brooks and the Wildcats, the game against Louisville in Lexington presents the perfect opportunity to assert to the SEC and the rest of college football that Kentucky football is on the rise. Brian Brohm will be Brian Brohm and put up gargantuan numbers but the Louisville defense will have to make Woodson’s life difficult and exploit Kentucky’s weak offensive line if they’re going to win this one. This could be the year that Kentucky bests Louisville.

Under the Radar Game of the Week - #12 Ohio State at Washington - 2:30 - ABC 

Tyrone Willingham was able to coach up his Huskies last week and end Boise State’s 14-game winning streak but the test of just how far this program has come — and where it could be headed — will be tested big time when Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes head to Seattle for this afternoon game. This will be Ohio State’s first real test of the season after beating up on Akron and seemingly perennial punching bag Youngstown State at The Horseshoe. Aside from the coaching matchup, the game pits sophomore quarterback Jake Locker against all-universe linebacker James Laurinaitis, Vernon Gholston, Malcom Jenkins and the Buckeye defense and could be the proving ground for first year starter Todd Boeckman at quarterback. Look for the Buckeyes to use Beanie Wells to control the tempo of the game by pounding the ball and letting their huge offensive line lean on and wear out the Huskies defensive front, keeping Locker and the offense on the sideline for as long as possible. At game’s end I would anticipate the Buckeyes to have a distinct advantage in time of possession and the win. If you don’t feel like watching Florida/Tennessee, this game could be worth your time.

It was pretty difficult not to notice Kentucky’s ascent to SEC credibility last season. The 8-4 season the Wildcats tallied last season was enough to revamp excitement about the program in Lexington and throughout the state and earned head coach Rich Brooks a new four-year deal. Despite returning what has to be one of the most promising and exciting offenses in the conference, 2006 will prove to be a tough act to follow.

Offensively, you can’t say enough about this team. They have the SEC’s best quarterback, that’s right best quarterback, in senior Andre Woodson, an explosive returnman/tailback in Rafael Little, second-team all SEC wideout Keenan Burton and first-teamer tight end Jacob Tamme. But then there’s that offensive line, which is a frightening assemblage of new players and transformed players. Just how bad is it for UK’s O-Line? The line’s only two returning starts, junior tackle Garry Williams and junior left guard Christian Johnson, were suspended in the spring because of academic difficulties. But it’s Andre Woodson, one of the Bottom Line’s Top 5 breakout stars for the ‘07 season, that makes this offense worth watching. Woodson is returning from a season where he threw just seven interceptions and 31 touchdowns. With just 13 picks in 760 career attempts, the senior signal-caller currently owns the lowest interception ratio in SEC history. Rafael Little returns at tailback and will be a versatile and complex scoring threat and defenses will need to know where he is on the field at all times. He could line up in the backfield, in the slot or out wide. One of Brooks’ favorite formations is to go empty backfield with Little and Burton lined up on the shortside and letting them run option routes. UK returns an underrated crew of receivers led by Burton and Dicky Lyons, who caught 50 balls for 822 yards last year. But Lyons may not be a sure thing at that no. 2 receiver spot. Senior Steve Johnson, Jr. came on towards the end of last season and impressed during the spring and had offensive coordinator Joker Phillips singing his praises, saying the 6-3 receiver was actually better off press coverage than Keenan Burton. Expect Phillips to stretch the field with senior tight end Jacob Tamme, who was the Wildcats third leading receiver last season. Initially recruited to Kentucky as a receiver, Tamme’s speed and hands mimic that of a wideout and make him a deep threat. If the offensive line can mature and find some cohesion, the Kentucky offense could be hands-down the best in the conference.

While the offense was spectacular last season, the defense was anything but. Bluntly put, the defense was hideous last year. Finishing second to last in all of Div. 1-A football in pass defense and total defense and surrended more than 200 yards a game on the ground, good for 108th in the country. The area that the defense did excel in was creating turnovers. The Wildcat D forced 32 turnovers (18 of which were fumble recoveries) making for a 1.15 turnover ratio that was good for second best in the country. But to expect any defense to repeat that feat would be wishful thinking. The defensive line is a mess, returning only two starters on a defensive line that was pushed around and dominated for much of last season. (The UK defense surrendered 351 yards on the ground last year to Louisiana-Monroe). D-Line coach Rick Petri will need young guys to step up and step up fast. At linebacker, the team returns SEC-first teamer Wesley Woodyard, who had a team high 122-tackles last year at Will linebacker. Junior Braxton Kelley returns at middle with junior Johnny Williams returning at Sam. If the Kentucky front seven is to be anything close to respectable, it will have to improve on their 46.5 percent success rate on third down, which ranked worst in the conference last season. Sophomore Trevard Lindley could become one of the SEC’s best young corners this season shoring up the right cornerback spot. The battle for the starting left corner spot is anything but steady with sophomores E.J. Adams and Paul Warford battling for the start. After an explosive offseason, Marcus McClinton returns at free safety after almost being kicked off the team. In March, McClinton was temporarily suspended from the team after being arrested for setting off homemade explosives in his apartment (one of the aforementioned explosives injured the safety), reportedly consisting of dry ice inserted into bottles of water. McClinton and returning strong safety Roger Williams are experienced if not unspectacular and will need to be leaders on a unit that gave up 270 yards per game through the air. In a conference where Early Doucet, Percy Harvin, Marcus Monk and Earl Bennett line up wide, this relatively young unit will be put to the test early and often. Expect to see some track meets.

Grueling. That’s what comes to mind when you look at Kentucky’s schedule. The Wildcats travel to Arkansas, Vandy, South Carolina and Georgia. And play host to Florida, Tennessee and LSU. The Wildcats also play host to their Commonwealth rivals, Louisville in Week 3.

Bottom Line prediction: 5-7. Chalk up losses against Louisville, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and LSU. I would not be at all surprised if UK tallies an upset or two (maybe against South Carolina or Georgia at home) but I wouldn’t bet on it. A game of interest for me will be the Sept. 15 matchup against Louisville at home. My guess is that Kentucky will give the Cards all they can handle but the Louisville offense is just too much with Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia.

My purchase of the Athlon College Football preview has become an annual tradition for me and I think it’s my subconscious telling me that it’s officially alright to start thinking about college football again. Less than 8 more weeks until kick-off.

This is my first official post for the 2007 college football season and I thought I’d start out a little simple. Here’s five players that are poised to have a breakthrough in ‘07 and become household names.

Keith Rivers - LB - USC

Watching some of the USC games it was difficult to miss Keith Rivers. The kid plays sideline-to-sideline, loves to hit, is very athletic and pretty good in pass coverage. Rivers led the Trojans as a senior last year with 85  tackles and 47 solo tackles. My beef with Rivers in watching him last season was that he had a great motor but sometimes played a little undisciplined. Hopefully playing with what has to be the best linebacking corps in the nation with Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing will settle him down some. Expect Rivers to be a Butkus Award finalist along with teammates Maualuga.

Jonathan Stewart  - RB - Oregon

Making an appearance on the Maxwell Award watchlist, Jonathan Stewart could become a big-time playmaker for Mike Bellotti and the Ducks this season.  Though he finished with less than 1,000 yards last year, look for Stewart to exceed last year’s numbers and then some. He’ll also likely be featured more in the pass game. Though the Pac-10 is still USC’s to lose, stopping Stewart and Jeremiah Johnson will be essential if the Trojans are to make it out of Eugene on Oct. 27.

Earl Bennett - WR - Vanderbilt

The first college football game I watched last season was Vandy’s week 1 trip to The Big House to play Michigan. What I saw was a feisty, young and exciting team led by Bennett and quarterback Chris Nickson hang around the Wolverines much longer than they should have. Last season, Bennett proved that maybe he didn’t need Jay Cutler to be a potent offensive weapon and caught an SEC-best 82 balls for 1,146 yards and 6 TDs as a sophomore. As a junior, Bennett is on pace to set the SEC career record for both receptions and yards. If the Commodores are to get to their first bowl game in more than 20 yards, they’re going to get there on the back of Earl Bennett.

Andre’ Woodson - QB - Kentucky

It’s hard not to feel good about last season if you’re a Kentucky football fan. The team not only made it to a bowl game but beat a pretty heavily favored Clemson team along the way. Riding that high the Wildcats come into the ‘07 season with an offense featuring three of the SEC’s most electric offensive playmakers in Woodson, RB Rafael Little and WR Keenan Burton. If UK is to continue their winning ways and find six wins in a schedule that features road games against Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia and tilts at home against Florida, LSU and Tennessee, they’re going to need Woodson to show the consistency he did last year when he completed 63 percent of his passes. Limiting turnovers will also be essential for the UK offense, who’ll need to put up points on the board to counteract a defense that was 108th and 118th in the country against the run and the pass. If Woodson can repeat his 2006 campaign, where he threw for more than 3,000 yards with 31 touchdowns and just 7 INTs, Rich Brooks could become the Vince Lombardi of Lexington.

Dan Connor - LB - Penn State

This might seem like kind of an obvious choice but I firmly believe that Dan Connor will step out of the shadow of Paul Posluszny and make a name for himself. There are some that believe, like I do, that Connor was actually the better, more athletic player of the two and actually led the Nittany Lions with 113 tackles (70 solos) and two interceptions. With his move from outside linebacker to middle to fill in for Posluszny, who graduated last year, Connor is bound to draw comparisons to his predecessor but utilizing his great closing speed, an excellent nose for the ball and diagnosing plays and that Penn State, Linebacker U toughness, Connor will have little problem making the transition inside after three seasons at outside linebacker. Connor, along with Maualuga and Tennessee’s Jerod Mayo are my early favorites for the Butkus award.