Their home game against the Miami Hurricanes on Sept

They'll lose a lot of talent on defense to graduation, including Javier Arenas, the entire defensive line, one linebacker, and a safety (and possibly Rolando McClain), but Nick Saban has recruited outstandingly on defense.Besides the requisite growing pains on D, the Tide return the nucleus of their offenseGreg McElroy, Mark Ingram, and Julio Jonesbut lose Mike Johnson at guard and Drew Davis at tackle.They'll be the favorite to win the SEC, but there are some holes. Beating Tennessee will get them back to their winning ways after an up-and-down year and an uncharacteristically porous defense, but RYAN WILLIAMS RYAN WILLIAMS RYAN WILLIAMS. The ACC freshman of the year was a 1,500-yard rusher and an inexhaustible buster.Not to mention Tyrod Taylor, now in his senior year and with three years of experience in the system, looked good making throws on the run and scampering for a few scores of his own by year's end.Count on the Virginia Tech defense to keep motivated and the Hokies to contend with Georgia Tech for the ACC title Should be an outstanding game come October.. The Horned Frogs went through an unholy tear in the latter part of their schedule, complementing a ruthless passing defense with an offensive explosion courtesy of Mountain West Conference-leading passer Andy Dalton.Dalton will be back next year, along with outstanding wideouts Jeremy Kerley and Antoine Hicks. The Horned Frogs also return the two freshmen phenom tailbacks, Matthew Tucker and Ed Wesley, who teamed up with Joseph Turner to divide the load and keep the TCU offense surging with fresh legs.But it all comes down to the defense, and though they'll have to bid farewell to sackmaster Jerry Hughes, the TCU coaching staff also needed to replace seven starters from last year's defense, and they didn't miss a beat.Their 2010 schedule is still taking shape, so let's hope they can schedule some brave souls from the BCS conferences and stage another run for BCS-buster extraordinaire..

Cameron Heyward and Thaddeus Gibson should return, but the Buckeyes lose their two starting tackles, a linebacker, and both safeties from their defense and were already rebuilding after the major losses last year.Their offense remains relatively youngTerrelle Pryor will be a junior, and his wideouts all remain. They lose Jake Ballard at tight end and Jim Cordle at tackle, but the Buckeye recruiting machine has been going strong in the Midwest, and they should have no trouble plugging in big men to run the Power-O.Unless they get absolutely smacked in the Rose Bowlwhich I don't foreseeI'd say they have a more than legitimate chance at repeating as Big Ten champs for an unprecedented seventh year.Their home game against the Miami Hurricanes on Sept. 11 will be one of the top five out-of-conference games to watch.. The Ducks lose Ed Dickson at tight end, but aside from that, they return an entire offensive line that really gelled as the season progressed.

Breakout tailback LaMichael James and Jeremiah Masoli, the ball-fake king, return, as do his targets, D.J. Davis and Lavasier Tuinei.On defense, only end Will Tukuafu and tackle Blake Ferras depart, so the Ducks will rely on another scrappy crew that does just enough to get its explosive offense on the field.Banking on such a performance is never safe, but there was no stopping Oregon once that line came together, and the Pac-10 will be grasping at straws again next year until somebody figures it out. Holy crow. The Boise State Broncos lose ONE player to graduation (granted, it's shutdown cornerback Nick Wilson, a projected first or second round pick) and return their entire line on offense and defense, along with the nation's most efficient passer, Kellen Moore.They'll be able to test this team against Virginia Tech on the road and Oregon State at home, both of which (in my mind) are projected top 15 teams to enter the year.If Boise can avoid a cataclysmic setback in the Fiesta Bowl, keep it close, or even beat TCU, they'll enter the 2010 season in the top 10 with a legitimate chance of crashing the BCS gates in consecutive years.. Nebraska: I won't buy into the 2010 Huskers until they can show me they'll be able to live without all-universe DT Ndamukong Suh. Sophomore DT Jared Crick was also no slouch along the line, but the Husker offense was worse than terrible all year, and unless Bo Pelini reaches out to another OC, the Huskers will again play underdog against the big boys in the Big 12.Stanford: Toby Gerhart was, for better or worse, the identity of this team. Andrew Luck is a fine quarterback, but Gerhart taught teams to fear the Cardinal, and though the line is back, I'm not sure what the Cardinal identity will be next year Wait and see.Clemson: We'll judge the loss of C.J. Spiller for this team as the season progresses, but I'm also waiting on the Tigers because of what safety DeAndre McDaniel might do.

If the ACC co-defensive player of the year bolts early for the NFL, I don't want to be the one defending Clemson to an empty house.Tennessee: Y'all got a quarterback yet No Please hold.. Check out my analysis of where 10 of the most highly sought-after recruits will end up!. The NFC West is not only among the weakest divisions in football, but it may also be the wackiest.After the 49ers shocked the division-leading Cardinals 24-9 at Candlestick Park on Monday nightcompleting the season sweep of Arizona in the processoddsmakers in Vegas just might have to stop handicapping the division that's been incredibly unpredictable.A week after dominating Brett Favre and the Vikings in primetime, the national spotlight wasn't nearly as glamorous for the defending NFC champions. They turned the ball over seven times in a game that could've clinched the division.Certainly, failing to wrap up the NFC West on Monday night is a moot point for Arizona The Cardinals get the conference's two worst teams, St. Louis and Detroit, in the last three weeks of the season and should win their second straight division title. But a meager performance in San Francisco brought the Cardinals back down to earth. It took them from a top contender against Minnesotadetermined to earn a first-round byeto a middle-of-the-pack team that could be bounced on wild-card weekend with a mistake-filled effort.Instead of playing like the division crown was on the line, Arizona looked ill-prepared from their opening possession. They never got into the kind of rhythm offensively on which Kurt Warner thrives as an elite quarterback.To their credit, the 49erswho were minus-one in the turnover battle at Seattle last weekwere able to get pressure on the Cardinals' offense. With an effective pass rush, they disrupted Warner's rhythm-oriented passing attack and shut down the run game.A disappointing 20-17 defeat to the Seahawks seems like a distant memory now for the Niners, who bounced back in a big wayforcing seven takeaways and beating Arizona for the second time in 2009.Monday night's surprising win by San Francisco marks what has been a wacky trend in the division this seasonteams showing promising signs with stout performances only to return to NFC West mediocrity the next week.For the defending champions, Arizona, who have been surprisingly impressive on the road this year with a 5-2 record, there has been a pair of mishaps at the University of Phoenix Stadiumthe same home at which they went 8-2 in 2008, including the playoffs.Those two lossesa 31-10 defeat against Indianapolis and a 34-21 loss to Carolinaput serious doubt in the minds of many around the NFL that Arizona could actually repeat as conference champions, let alone division champions.Warner threw seven interceptions between the two letdownsfive picks to the Panthers aloneand his Cardinals were looking like a team, similar to the Steelers, that was suffering from a Super Bowl hangover. However, they rebounded with a three-game winning streak after each embarrassing defeat. For their part, the 49ers started 3-1, with a season-opening win in Arizona, and were a Favre-miracle away from winning their first four contests.Until beating the Cardinals again, to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, San Francisco had lost six of its last eight following the hot start. This all due in large part to inconsistent quarterback play and the absence of injured Frank Gore in the backfield.Even for a 5-8 Seattle team that's never been in the NFC West conversation this season, there was a point in the season that inspired hope in Seahawks Nation.A convincing 41-0 blowout over Jacksonville in Week 5 brought great excitement to the city, and it seemed as though Seattle had finally found its mojo offensively. They were starting to look like a legitimate playoff team.Matt Hasselbeck had four touchdown passes, two of which went to coveted free agent T.J.