The 10 Most Interesting Teams in College Football This Season

These are the ten college football teams (in no particular order) I'm most interested in seeing this year. Feel free to throw your opinions my way!

1. Ole Miss Rebels: Houston Nutt's second year, and they're the only team to knock Florida off in 2008. Many have them pegged as a preseason top 10 team, and those are some lofty expectations. Interested to see if Jevan Snead can live up to the hype at QB.

2. Tennessee Volunteers: Lane Kiffin sure has done a great job at running his mouth about other teams and coaches in the SEC. I have a feeling he's got some payback coming in the worst way this year. I've had this blog post linked on a Knoxville newspaper site, so I'll discuss Tennessee a bit more now. While Lane Kiffin has obviously run his mouth and attracted a lot of attention, as was likely his goal, I do think he will turn things around in Knoxville in time. He definitely has no shortage of recruiting tools. Between Neyland Stadium, a nice campus, a rich tradition, and the opportunity to go up against SEC teams every week, Kiffin sits on a goldmine. The only real question is if he can cash in. I'm curious to see what kind of production they get from the QB position and if Eric Berry can live up to preseason hype. When your school starts an aggressive Heisman campaign for you, you know you've got a lot to live up to, especially in Knoxville, where competing at the highest level is expected year in and year out.

Oh, and thanks http://www.govolsxtra.com/ for posting the link, and thanks for the "interesting" comments on that site (username finn and murrayvol in particular!) and the insightful comments on here.

3. Oregon Ducks: Besides the fact that they once again have some of the most horrid jerseys known to sports, they should be pretty tough. If they can win their first game (Thursday, September 3 at Boise State), I think they can stop USC's run atop the Pac-10, even with a new coach (Chip Kelly).

4. Michigan Wolverines: Rich Rodriguez's second year at the helm of the Big Blue should be interesting. Rodriguez just came out and said he plans to have all 3 of his competing quarterbacks play in their season opener! Now that he finally has some players (albeit young ones) that fit his spread offensive system, we'll see what sort of progress he can make in year two. Given the recent success of rivals Ohio State and Penn State, and the up-and-coming Michigan State program, I have every reason to believe the Big Blue faithful will not be practicing patience if the Wolverines struggle this season like they did last year.

5. Oklahoma State Cowboys: Everyone's dark horse pick in the Big 12 South, the Cowboys have a lot of firepower on offense with the trio of QB Zac Robinson, RB Kendall Hunter, and WR Dez Bryant. Question is, is it enough to knock off Texas and/or Oklahoma? OSU has proven that it can play with the big boys the last few years, but it hasn't proven it can beat the big boys. Is this the year Mike Gundy breaks through? I forget, how old is he? 30? 50? Is he a man? Can't remember, haha.

6. Cincinnati Bearcats: Last year's Big East champions return a lot of their core on both sides of the ball, and coach Brian Kelly now has the opportunity to prove that Cincinnati is not just a one-year wonder. They'll have to contend with a tough West Virginia team, as well as underrated Connecticut and definitely Rutgers, but they have the talent and coaching to make a run at a repeat conference title.

7. Florida State Seminoles: A lot of experts are picking the 'Noles to return to their lofty perch above the ACC, but I'm a bit skeptical. Bobby Bowden is definitely nearing the end of his coaching career, and a lot of his success this year will be dependent upon the prowess of his assistants. Not to mention they're not exactly a juggernaut on offense. No matter though. FSU has always relied on their defense to win big games, and I suspect they'll do the same this year. Watch out for Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina in the ACC.

8. UCLA Bruins: Year Two of Rick Neuheisel's tenure atop the Bruins program will certainly be interesting. He's got an improving talent pool on offense, and a young defense. I can see them winning 6 or 7 games and getting to a bowl game, which would be a good next step in the progression of the program. Rick Neuheisel just needs to be careful to temper excitement around LA though, and keep on reminding people that Rome wasn't built in a day. Just ask Pete Carroll, who went 6-6 in his first year at rival USC.

9. Alabama Crimson Tide: Nick Saban surprised a lot of people when 'Bama burst onto the national scene last year, and having to break in a new quarterback this year will probably help him fly a bit under the radar, until they take on Virginia Tech in Atlanta on opening weekend. Should be quite the measuring stick for both programs. I refuse to pick against Saban on this one. He'll have his troops ready to play. Only question I have is, can he keep his players on an even keel throughout the season?

10. Baylor Bears: Anyone who knows me well knows that I've been waiting for a Baylor season that results in more winning than losing for a long time. This looks to finally be the year! With Robert Griffin III running the offense (only threw 3 interceptions all season, while also setting the NCAA record for most passes to start a career before throwing an INT), the Bears should be able to put up some serious offensive numbers. The only questions are whether Griffin will have to carry too much of the load on offense, and if the defense will continue to improve. The biggest thing the Bears need on defense is improved numbers from their defensive line, and that should come via Penn State transfer Phil Taylor. When Coach Art Briles says Taylor is going to be one of the best defensive linemen in the country, I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. I think the Bears are finally going bowling this year!

Honorable Mention: Stanford, LSU, Arkansas, Miami, North Carolina, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan State, Kansas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, BYU