Today is an exciting day for college football fans. If you’re like me, you won’t tire of the preseason hype from ESPN and other outlets as professional analysts try to be prophetic about the outcome of the season. I recently had to laugh when I saw Lou Holtz and others try to make a prediction on who would win the national championship game between USC and LSU, as if the game between the two teams was already scheduled. The national championship game is four months away. With a full football season ahead, anything can happen. The outcome of the college football season is a permutation that includes so many immeasurable and unpredictable factors, such as a team’s motivation for a particular game, injuries, decisive coach decisions, referee calls, and much more. One of the most compelling aspects of college football is understanding that fans and participants alike are going for a ride that has more question marks than ready answers.

Here are some of my thoughts on some of the themes and highlights from the 2007 college football season.

Conferences – How do they compare?

It’s pretty well understood in the world of college football that the SEC presents the best teams and players Saturday after Saturday. Florida proved last year that the best of the SEC was too much for the best of the Big 10. It would have been interesting to see USC compete for the national title with the Gators last year, but they lost to UCLA, which then left to be managed by Florida State, who last season wasn’t even a run at ACC.

A recent MSN poll had 50% of respondents pick the SEC as the best conference, followed by the Big 10 (17%), the Big 12 (11%), the PAC-10 (9.2%) and the Great East (7.6%). and, lastly, the ACC (5.4%). As a fan of Florida State, it is difficult for me to see that our conference is so humbly perceived. The inclusion of Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Miami a few seasons ago in an already somewhat competitive conference was supposed to put the ACC on the same level as the SEC, but Miami and Florida State have been big disappointments recently, and other ACC teams haven’t either. performed well outside of the conference. I hope that changes this year, with Miami and Florida State regaining their places in the Top 10, and the competitive level of the entire conference climbing a few notches. By the way, how was the Mountain West Conference left out of that poll?

Heisman breed

As a former defensive player, it’s hard for me to admit that the Heisman Trophy is supposedly given to the “best” college football player, but scoring and offense make top movies more than hard shots and tough defense. True to tradition, the Heisman’s top contenders this year are all running backs and quarterbacks. Over the past twenty years, 11 times the Heisman has been awarded to a quarterback, 6 times it has been awarded to a running back, twice it has been awarded to a wide receiver. So, quick trivia question: Who was the only advocate to receive the award in the last twenty years? Answer: Charles Woodson won it at cornerback at Michigan in 1997. Good luck to the guys on the harder side of the ball, but I predict a quarterback will win it this year, be it John David Booty or Colt Brennan.

Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno

The battle continues this year between these two great-grandparents. I suppose something needs to be said about their competitive nature, but on the other hand, their shows are suffering because Bowden and Paterno haven’t learned to find hobbies that are as satisfying as walking on the sidelines during major college football games (and heck , Paterno can’t even walk on the sidelines anymore). Apparently neither of these coaches intend to stop training until 1) the other retires or 2) dies of old age. Personally, I think they could learn a lesson from LaVell Edwards. When he retired, there were Cougar fans who thought their time was up, but the fatigue was nothing like what has been experienced at FSU and Penn State for the past five or six years. Bowden’s relationships with disgruntled Florida State fans and, more importantly, financial supporters have soured as legitimate accusations of nepotism have been made. However, he has a new support staff that seems much more likely to effectively utilize the talent that has been prowling the state of Florida for the past few seasons. Paterno’s health is in obvious decline, and his team is not expected to win any victories over Bowden. The race to the finish for these two can come down to wins and losses (wins essentially the same difference) this season, and it will be difficult for Paterno to overcome the three-game deficiency. I hope Paterno announces his retirement this year and that Bowden follows soon after.

Find a good seat on the couch …

College football seems to be more exciting this year than ever. As of April, we have made up the 14 plays that were removed from each game last year. That will mean we will see more rallies at the end of the game and more football in general. Coverage of the games continues to expand so that a fan almost has to discipline himself to avoid an overdose of the game for the entire week. College football fans everywhere are now off to a fresh 0-0 start for their favorite teams. It will be quite a roller coaster ride between now and January.