According to The Dallas Morning News, Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott confirmed that the University of Texas has declined an invitation to join the conference.

In a brief phone conversation, Scott said: "We've been informed by University of Texas president Bill Powers that Texas will stay with the Big 12. We have not received definitive details about this decision."

While a few details still need to be worked out, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has a deal in place to keep the 10 remaining teams in the conference.

Under the new structure, the ten teams will play in a round-robin format, ensuring that each team plays one another in the regular season. The annual championship game that was a hallmark of the founding of the Big 12 will not be played under the new structure.

To boost revenues, the Big 12 will sign a new television agreement (rumored to be with Fox Sports) in 2011 estimated to be worth $14-$17 million per year to most conference teams; however, the conference will continue to split revenues based on appearances, making the deal worth as much as $20 million per year for teams like Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M who's games are broadcast more often.

Schools will also have the discretion to launch their own television networks, an arrangement which could be worth an addition $3-$5 million per year to Texas.

The new league agreement will also include a very, very substantial penalty for any school that splits from the conference.

UPDATE

Texas A&M and Oklahoma have confirmed that they will stay in the Big 12.

The Pac10 has also released an official statement:

“University of Texas President Bill Powers has informed us that the 10 remaining schools in the Big 12 Conference intend to stay together. We are excited about the future of the Pac-10 Conference and we will continue to evaluate future expansion opportunities under the guidelines previously set forth by our Presidents and Chancellors.”

Details on this breaking story will be updated as more information becomes available.

According to multiple sources, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has been working behind the scenes to line prospective television deals, if the remaining Big 12 schools (sans Colorado and Nebraska) would remain in the conference.

As first reported on Rivals sister-site Orangebloods.com, Beebe has proposed the following for the ten remaining Big 12 teams:

- A new television contract in 2011 comparable to the SEC's deal, bumping revenues from the $7-$10 million per year to $14-$17 million per year. The numbers would be higher - perhaps as much as $20 million per year - for teams that appear on television more frequently, such as Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M.

- Each of the ten remaining schools would receive $2 million from the buyout fees being paid to the Big12 by Colorado and Nebraska, with the conference keeping nothing

- The Big 12 would allow individual schools to launch their own television networks, such as the Longhorn Network that Texas has been considering, without sharing revenues with the member schools or the conference

- The Big 12 would introduce a round-robin format, with each school playing one another every year.

- The remaining schools could elect to petition the NCAA to permit a conference championship game with only 10 teams; however, it's widely speculated that - since the Big 12 coaches have never been in favor of a championship game - the conference may forgo the game.

And it appears that "The Beebe Plan" is gaining momentum. While Texas A&M was said to be looking to secure a spot in the SEC, all ten of the remaining Big 12 schools sat down for a conference call this afternoon to review the arrangement. According to Orangebloods, the Texas Longhorns are leading the charge to keep the conference intact.

As they say... stay tuned!

UPDATE

IT'S OFFICIAL: Texas staying in Big12. Press conference @ 11a tomorrow. Pac10 reports UT has declined invite. Longhorns reps have confirmed that Big12 will stay together as 10 teams.]]> Comment on Deal in works to save Big 12...

Here's a quick what we know, what we can surmise....

- Colorado is officially joining the Pac10. It's unclear as to whether the Pac10 intends to hold at 11 teams, but we should expect the Pac10 to seek to add at least one additional member. For years the argument against expansion centered around the round-robin schedule format and - with 11 schools - that format is officially out the window for college football. Adding one more school would give the conference the option to conduct a CFB championship game in some of the largest television markets in the country. Does the Pac10 stop at 12 (Texas??) or expand further with Big12/MWC/WAC teams???

- The Big10 will have 12 teams with the addition of Nebraska. Will they stand pat at 12 teams or expand to 16 as had been rumored?

- The SEC has said that they will not sit idly by if the Big10 expands. Sports Illustrated has confirmed that the SEC has held discussions with Texas A&M. Is that prelude to further SEC expansion? Who, in addition to the Aggies, are on the SEC radar?

- The ACC & Big East seem to be awfully quiet. Are they targets or could a merger be on the table for the two conferences?

- The MWC will not offer membership to Boise State at this time, setting themselves up to be the home of any Big12 refugees. Is the MWC destined to become a BCS conference by default?

DISCUSS!!!

At first glance, it would seem to reward teams that played a tougher schedule rather than padding their record with cupcakes. The change would also give bowls more flexibility to create the most interesting matchup, potentially boosting revenues for struggling bowl committees.

Matt Sanderson, co-founder of Playoff PAC, told the San Diego Union Times that the rule could allow bowls with open slots for at-large teams to select power-conference teams with 6-6 records over smaller-conference teams with winning records.

Sanderson points to this season's GMAC Bowl, which took 9-3 Troy as an at-large team. Under the revised rules, the GMAC Bowl could have offered the at-large slot to 6-6 Notre Dame.

While the new provision still needs an OK by the greater NCAA, most rule revisions that make it out of committee are approved.

Suffice to say... no one wants to see a bad 6-6 team stink it up in a marquee bowl game. The reality is that - with new bowls coming on in Yankee Stadium and the Cotton Bowl - there are going to be 70 teams in bowl games this year. If a bowl needs to dig deep and get an at-large team, I would prefer them to create the most interesting game they can.

No disrespect intended, but I would *much* rather see a hypothetical 6-6 Southern Cal as an at-large against Alabama, for example, over a 7-5 Louisiana Monroe.

Just sayin.

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Date/Time/TV Bowl Site Matchup Saturday Dec. 19 2 :30 pm ET ESPN New Mexico Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Albuquerque, NM University Stadium Wyoming vs. Fresno State Saturday Dec. 19 8:00 pm ET ESPN St. Petersburg Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field Rutgers vs. Central Florida Sunday Dec. 20 8:00 pm ET ESPN R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks New Orleans, LA Louisiana Superdome Southern Miss vs. Middle Tenn St Tuesday Dec. 22 8:00 pm ET ESPN MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Las Vegas, NV Sam Boyd Stadium BYU vs. Oregon State Wednesday Dec. 23 8:00 pm ET ESPN San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium Utah vs. Cal Thursday Dec. 24 8:00 pm ET ESPN Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Honolulu, HI Aloha Stadium SMU vs. Nevada Saturday Dec. 26 4:30 pm ET ESPN Meineke Car Care Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium North Carolina vs. Pitt Saturday Dec. 26 5 :00 pm ET ESPN Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Detroit, MI Ford Field Ohio U vs. Marshall Saturday Dec. 26 8:00 pm ET ESPN Emerald Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Francisco, CA AT&T Park Boston College vs. USC Sunday Dec. 27 8:15 pm ET ESPN Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Nashville, TN LP Field Clemson vs. Kentucky Monday Dec. 28 5:00 pm ET ESPN AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Shreveport, LA Independence Stadium Texas A&M vs. Georgia Tuesday Dec. 29 4:30 pm ET ESPN EagleBank Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Washington, DC RFK Stadium Temple vs. UCLA Tuesday Dec. 29 8:00 pm ET ESPN Champs Sports Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Miami vs. Wisconsin Wednesday Dec. 30 4:30 pm ET ESPN Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Boise, ID Bronco Stadium Bowling Green vs. Idaho Wednesday Dec. 30 8:00 pm ET ESPN Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium Nebraska vs. Arizona Thursday Dec. 31 2:00 pm ET NFL Network Texas Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Houston, TX Reliant Stadium Missouri vs. Navy Thursday Dec. 31 Time TBA ESPN Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Fort Worth, TX Amon G. Carter Stadium Air Force vs. Houston Thursday Dec. 31 12:00 pm ET CBS Brut Sun Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks El Paso, TX Sun Bowl Stadium Stanford vs. Oklahoma Thursday Dec. 31 5:30 pm ET NFL Network Insight Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Tempe, AZ Sun Devil Stadium Minnesota vs. Iowa State Thursday Dec. 31 7:30 pm ET ESPN Chick-fil-A Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee Friday Jan. 1 11:00 am ET ESPN Outback Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium Auburn vs. Northwestern Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET CBS Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Municipal Stadium FSU vs. West Virginia Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET ABC Capital One Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Penn State vs. LSU Friday Jan. 1 5:00 pm ET ABC Rose Bowl presented by Citi Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl Ohio State vs. Oregon Friday Jan. 1 8:30 pm ET FOX Allstate Sugar Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks New Orleans, LA Superdome Florida vs. Cincinnati Saturday Jan. 2 12:00 pm ET ESPN2 International Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Toronto, Canada Rogers Centre South Florida vs. Northern Illinois Saturday Jan. 2 2 :00 pm ET ESPN PapaJohns.com Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Birmingham, AL Legion Field Connecticut vs. South Carolina Saturday Jan. 2 2:00 pm ET FOX AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Arlington, TX Cowboys Stadium Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss Saturday Jan. 2 5:30 pm ET ESPN AutoZone Liberty Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium East Carolina vs. Arkansas Saturday Jan. 2 9 :00 pm ET ESPN Valero Alamo Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Antonio, TX Alamodome Michigan State vs. Texas Tech Monday Jan. 4 8:00 pm ET FOX Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Glendale, AZ University of Phoenix Stadium TCU vs. Boise State Tuesday Jan. 5 8:00 pm ET FOX FedEx Orange Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Miami, FL Dolphin Stadium Georgia Tech vs. Iowa Wednesday Jan. 6 7 :00 pm ET ESPN GMAC Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Mobile, AL Ladd Peebles Stadium Troy vs. Central Michigan Thursday Jan. 7 8:00 pm ET ABC BCS National Championship Game Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl Alabama vs. Texas

The 2009 college football season will be capped by exciting college football bowl games, including the 2009 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the 2009 Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, the 2009 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, the 2009 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida and the 2009 BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena, CA.

The best college football teams from the major conferences, including the Big10 conference, Big 12 conference, Pac 10 conference, ACC conference, Big East conference, SEC conference, and Mountain West conference will face off in college football bowl games throughout December and into January.

If you're looking for updated matchups, odds, insights, betting lines and online wagering for the college football bowl games, please be sure to try BangTheBook.com.

1. Florida (53)
2. Texas (4)
3. Oklahoma (1)
4. Southern California (1)
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Penn State
9. LSU
10. Mississippi
11. Oklahoma State
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Oregon
15. Georgia Tech
16. Boise State
17. TCU
18. Utah
19. Florida State
20. North Carolina
21. Iowa
22. Nebraska
23. Notre Dame
24. Brigham Young
25. Oregon State

Others receiving votes (with 2008 records):
Kansas (8-5) 138; Michigan State (9-4) 136; Texas Tech (11-2) 114; Cincinnati (11-3) 90; Pittsburgh (9-4) 64; West Virginia (9-4) 55; Rutgers (8-5) 51; Miami (Fla.) (7-6) 46; Missouri (10-4) 44; Illinois (5-7) 38; Clemson (7-6) 30; South Carolina (7-6) 18; UCLA (4-8) 14; Auburn (5-7) 12; Nevada (7-6) 11; South Florida (8-5) 11; Kentucky (7-6) 9; North Carolina State (6-7) 7; Arkansas (5-7) 6; Wisconsin (7-6) 6; Northwestern (9-4) 5; Southern Mississippi (7-6) 4; Wake Forest (8-5) 4; Arizona (8-5) 3; Boston College (9-5) 3; Central Michigan (8-5) 3; East Carolina (9-5) 3; Colorado (5-7) 2; Maryland (8-5) 2; Navy (8-5) 2; Tennessee (5-7) 2; Houston (8-5) 1; Michigan (3-9) 1; Minnesota (7-6) 1; Troy (8-5) 1.

I know what you're thinking? Where's the ritual preseason vote for Duke? I have no idea. Although South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is voting this year in the coaches poll, he did not cast his annual vote for the Blue Devils. Perhaps the uproar of blaming his assistant for snubbing Tim Tebow hit a little too close to home.

And not to beat a dead horse, but I *hate* preseason polls. They are *not* accurate indicators of success. Case in point? Last year's preseason coaches poll failed to rank 14 of the 25 teams in final season coaches poll. That's right. The 2008 preseason coaches poll failed to rank 56% of the teams in the 2008 final poll.

So... if you like you're football indicators with a 44% accuracy, then - by all means - go nuts over this one.

Steele's methodology differs from the NCAA's own strength of schedule calculation in that it factors changes to the team for 2009. For example, Steele takes into account a variety of factors including number of starters returning per team, whereas the NCAA just looks at each team's record from 2008 and projects it into this coming season. The difference? historically, is that Steele's projections tend to be more accurate at this point in the season.

Without further ado....

PHIL STEELE'S 2009 TOUGHEST SCHEDULE RANKINGS

1. South Carolina 2. Florida St 3. Oklahoma 4. Mississippi St 5. Minnesota 6. Arkansas 7. Georgia 8. Virginia Tech 9. Tennessee 10. Michigan St

...

115. Ball St
116. Florida Atlantic
117. Boise St
118. Army
119. Ohio
120. Kent St

A couple of trends jump off the page right away:

First and foremost, the top ten is stacked with SEC East teams. Three big factors are at play here.
- The SEC returns an great percentage of starters almost across the board. There are a few key holes to fill, but no team is remotely close to starting from scratch.
- The SEC East scheduling in 2009 brings strong divisional matchups this season.
- And last but in no way least, the Florida Gators are hugely rated by Steele this season and six of the top ten teams have games scheduled against UF.

Secondly, if you're Boise State, you not only have to win every game but you need to play some scoreboard pinball in order to make into a BCS game. The Broncos aren't getting any help from their schedule this season.

Third, the WAC & MWC have broken the glass ceiling on the BCS, but don't expect the MAC to join the party any time soon. Seven of the ten weakest schedules are from the MAC. Ouch.

Finally, and this might be the most important item to remember, Phil Steele's rankings have been a good predictor but they don't factor into the BCS in any way. The BCS has its own strength of schedule component within the computer indexes.

To wet your whistle, here's a few ideas:

Tennessee vs Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway
You can pretty much bank on 170,000+ fans piling into BIS for this game. The high banking in the stands would provide great lines of sight for nearly every seat. Don't even get me started about the tailgating.

Army vs Navy on the National Mall in Washington DC
The crowd would be obscenely large - a boon for the service academies - but the seating would be less than ideal. With satellite screens set up, you could easily attract 300,000+ fans for the game.

Texas vs Southern Cal at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City
Bringing two of the nation's landmark teams to Mexico City would be a boon to college football, in general. The stadium had "only" 103,000 in attendance the last time the NFL was in town, but the capacity would likely be closer to 115,000 without upteen million NFL cameras in the way.

Illinois vs Northwestern at Wrigley Field
The NCAA has outlawed the "offensive" 'Sweet Sioux Tomahawk' trophy, so the Illini & Wildcats are getting a new trophy in 2009, so why not feature the game in a legendary venue? It might be the only way you get me to an Illini game, after all.

Auburn vs Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway
Can you imagine a crowd of 165,000 at the Iron Bowl? Boom!

Florida vs Notre Dame at Wembley Stadium in London
You know that Florida fans would be up for a chance to finally beat the Irish and Notre Dame fans, well, they're everywhere. The Brits love coming to Florida... so I'm thinking 105,000 for this one.

Alright, guys... whatchya got?

The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection hosted the hearings. Of the twenty-nine House members on the committee, three showed up to participate

The hearing leader, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), introduced the key guest, BCS coordinator John Swofford, as the commissioner of the Athletic Coast Conference. Rep. Rush, I pretty sure it's the Atlantic Coast Conference, although they do play athletics, so I guess we'll give you partial credit, Congressman.

Craig Thompson was introduced as the commissioner of the West Mountain. Seriously? The West Mountain? Is Thompson the chief ski lift operator there or something? Could someone not point out to the leader of the BCS committee hearing that MWC is an acronym for the Mountain West Conference and not West Mountain?

None of the congressmen attending the hearing was aware that all eleven major conferences are members and financial benefactors of the BCS.

I mean... seriously... is this how our congressmen prepare for an on-the-record House hearing? I cringe to think what would happen if the discussion was the future of medicare. In the words of Britney Spears, "Ding dang, y'all!"

Rep Joe Barton (R-Tex.), an outspoken advocate for scapping the BCS in favor of a playoff format, demonstrated his grasp of playoff proposals by insisting that a March Madness style bracket format may be the solution for college football.

"You could have a playoff system with 64 teams, and use every bowl that's currently in there," Barton said Friday. "You could do that."

No you couldn't.

"We'd still be playing," Alamo Bowl CEO Derrick Fox quipped.

Congressman, if 64 teams are play in a single-elimination format... then it takes 63 total games to determine the winner. That's how it works.

Barton has proposed legislation that would forbid the BCS from awarding a "national championship" trophy. Within the bill, any organization would be barred from "the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason game as a 'national championship' football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system. Violations of the prohibition will be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice."

Let me see if I understand the implication: Since the BCS does not award a National Championship trophy... the BCS would continue unchanged. Yep. The American Football Coaches Association would still hand out the Coaches Trophy. The AP would still crown its own champion as well. In other words, Barton's legislation would permit the BCS to continue unchanged.

So... Barton's bill means nothing to the BCS... at all? Well, yeah. Congressman Barton told Swofford during the hearing that the BCS wouldn't be obligated to institute any change.

"You don't have to change it. Our bill doesn't say you have to change it."

(That said... I would still love for someone to start handing out the "Barton Cup".)

Later Barton -- who's bill was the entire basis for the hearings -- left the committee meeting to catch a flight home.

Now maybe it's just me, but when you introduce a bill to change the BCS... that you GO OUT OF YOUR WAY to explain will not change the BCS... and then you leave your own hearing to fly home... I'm going to have a hard time taking you seriously. Maybe it's just me.

Rep. Rush went on to ask the Athletic Conference and West Mountain conference commissioners if they believed the current BCS system was fair. Thompson stated that the current system was "grossly inequitable." Swofford said that the revenue distribution "represents the marketplace", which is really just a nice way of saying some BCS teams are drawing 70,000+... for their spring practice games. Blutarsky points out that Georgia drew 42,458... which would have ranked them 54th in attendance last season (pdf!), just ahead of... UTAH!

Was Thompson hoping for a federal bailout with the "grossly inequitable" comment? Seriously, man... some of your schools don't even offer ESPN on campus cable networks??

But Thompson got in his own polite comment when asked if he believed Congress should intervene in the BCS.

"The U.S. Congress represents fans and constituencies," Thompson said. "Our university presidents work with that same group of constituents."

In other words, they guy who is paying lobbyists to push for an eight-team playoff would kindly like Congress to mind its own business and stay out of college football.

Well said, Commissioner. Well said.

The full hearing is posted online at CSpan, but -- I'm warning you -- regardless of where you stand on this one, you're probably going to hate yourself for enduring this.

College Football Coaches who Twitter

ACC Coaches
@DavidCutcliffe - Duke Blue Devils Football Coach David Cutcliffe
@CoachSwinney" - Clemson Tigers Football Coach Dabo Swinney
@ CoachFridge" - Maryland Terrapins Football Coach Ralph Friedgen

Big East Coaches
@CoachStewart - West Virginia Mountaineers Football Coach Bill Stewart
@jimleavitt - University of South Florida Bulls Football Coach Jim Leavitt
@dougmarrone - Syracuse Orange Football Coach Doug Marrone
@coachwannstedt - Pitt Panthers Football Coach Dave Wannstedt

SEC Coaches
@CoachUrbanMeyer - Florida Gators Football Coach Urban Meyer
@LSUCoachMiles - LSU Tigers Football Coach Les Miles
@LaneKiffinUT - Tennessee Volunteers Football Coach Lane Kiffin
@rollwiththetide - University of Alabama Crimson Tide Football Coaches (collectively)
@MarkRicht - Georgia Bulldogs Football Coach Mark Richt

Big10 Coaches
@Play4brew - Minnesota Gophers Football Coach Tim Brewster
@RonZook - Illinois Illini Football Coach Ron Zook
@UM_CoachRod - Michigan Wolverines Football Coach Rich Rodriguez
@JayPaterno - Penn State University Nittany Lions Assistant Football Coach Jay Paterno
@BretBielema - Wisconsin Badgers Football Coach Bret Bielema

Big12 Coaches
@BoPelini - Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Coach Bo Pelini
@mizzoufootball - Missouri Tigers Football Coach Gary Pinkel
@CoachSherman - Texas A&M Aggies Football Coach Mike Sherman

Pac10 Coaches
@CoachSark - Washington Huskies Football Coach Steve Sarkisian
@PeteCarroll - USC Trojans Football Coach Pete Carroll
@CoachWulff - Washington State University Cougars Football Coach Paul Wulff
@JimHarbaugh - Stanford Cardinal Football Coach Jim Harbaugh

MAC Coaches
@coachbeckman - Toledo Rockets Football Coach Tim Beckman
@ron_english - Eastern Michigan Football Coach Ron English
@TUCoachAlGolden - Temple Owls Football Coach Al Golden

Conference USA Coaches
@CoachFedora - Southern Miss Football Coach Larry Fedora
@UCFFootball - University of Central Florida Football Coaches (collectively)
@CoachCollins - University of Central Florida Knights Assistant Football Coach Geoff Collins
@CoachSnyder - Marshall University Thundering Herd Football Coach Mark Snyder

Mountain West Conference Coaches
@KyleWhittingham - Utah Utes Football Coach Kyle Whittingham
@Cowboysfootball - Wyoming Cowboys Football Coach Dave Christensen
@CoachFairchild - Colorado State Rams Football Coach Steve Fairchild
@Coachlocks - New Mexico Lobos Football Coach Mike Locksley

Sun Belt Conference Coaches
@coachdavidelson - Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Football Coach David Elson

Independent Coaches
@NDHFC - Notre Dame Football Coach Charlie Weis

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Graham Watson:

BYU offensive line: The Cougars will have to fill four of the five starting spots on the offensive line, but do have some depth there since several players received playing time due to injuries and some shuffling last year.

Boise State wide receivers: Boise State lost its three starting receivers, including Jeremy Childs, who left early for the NFL. Childs led the team in receiving yards and receptions last year and now quarterback Kellen Moore is going to have to break in some new playmakers.

Brian Bennett:

Louisville: The biggest bunch of newbies are at quarterback, where there are four candidates for the job but not one who's seen any significant playing time at this level.

South Florida: Look no farther than the offensive line, where four of five starters need to be replaced.

Tim Griffin:

Oklahoma offensive line: The departure of starting center Jon Cooper, tackle Phil Loadholt and guards Duke Robinson and Brandon Walker means that Sam Bradford will have an inexperienced group protecting him next season. Trent Williams moves to left tackle and Bob Stoops likes his incoming talent, if not its early work habits.

Texas defensive line: The major question dogging the Longhorns' national title hopes will be rebuilding a defensive front that loses All-American defensive end Brian Orakpo, defensive tackle Roy Miller, defensive tackleAaron Lewis and defensive end Henry Melton from last season.

Texas Tech offensive line: New quarterback Taylor Potts will be relying on a retooled offensive line protecting his blind side after left tackle Rylan Reed, left guard Louis Vasquez and center Stephen Hamby all departed from last year.

Chris Low:

Alabama: The Crimson Tide are replacing three-year starter John Parker Wilson at quarterback, but losing the threesome of Andre Smith, Marlon Davis and Antoine Caldwell on the offensive line leaves the biggest void. They were at the crux of just about everything Alabama did on offense last season.

Georgia: Much of the focus this spring will be on Joe Cox and the quarterback position, but the Bulldogs' most glaring weakness is the lack of a dominant pass-rusher from the defensive end position. They've got to find somebody who can consistently get to the quarterback.

LSU: Jordan Jefferson started the final two games at quarterback last season as a true freshman and enters 2009 as the favorite to win the job. His main competition will come from another true freshman, Russell Shepard, who graduated early and is going through spring practice.

Heather Dinich:

GEORGIA TECH -- Having lost three of four starters on the defensive line, it's easily one of the greenest groups in the whole conference.

MIAMI -- The Canes are still young everywhere, but remember quarterback Jacory Harris has only started two games and his backups have no collegiate experience.

NORTH CAROLINA -- The Tar Heels lost their top three receivers and will be counting heavily on inexperienced players to replace Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate and Brooks Foster.

Ted Miller

Arizona State -- QB: Combined starts of the five candidates to replace Rudy Carpenter at quarterback? Zero.

Oregon -- DT: Both starting defensive tackles are gone and this unofficial depth chart shows 14 combine tackles for seven potential replacements.

Oregon State -- DE: Sackmasters Victor Butler and Slade Norris and their 41.5 combined sacks over the past two seasons are gone. Sophomore Kevin Frahm and senior Ben Terry, who split two sacks between themselves in 2008, are in.

Adam Rittenberg

Ohio State's offensive line -- Don't be shocked if Ohio State enters 2009 with three sophomores (Mike Brewster, Mike Adams, J.B. Shugarts) and a transfer (Justin Boren) on its starting line.

Penn State's defensive ends -- Jerome Hayes should be back from another knee injury, but Penn State will be on the lookout for a proven pass rusher after losing Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans and Josh Gaines.

Purdue's wide receivers -- New coach Danny Hope made wide receiver a peak priority in his first recruiting class after losing Greg Orton and Desmond Tardy, who combined for 136 receptions and 1,596 yards last year.

Wisconsin's defensive line -- The Badgers lose three multiyear starters (Matt Shaughnessy, Mike Newkirk and Jason Chapman) and don't return many proven players aside from ends O'Brien Schofield and Dan Moore.

And -- of course -- everyone's favorite green unit:

Here's the complete rundown:

Alabama 22/1
Arizona 100/1
Arizona State 150/1
Arkansas 150/1
Auburn 150/1
Boise State 100/1
Boston College 100/1
California 60/1
Cincinnati 90/1
Clemson 60/1
Colorado 100/1
Florida 7/4
Florida State 30/1
Georgia 50/1
Georgia Tech 50/1
Illinois 80/1
Iowa 75/1
Kansas 75/1
Kansas State 175/1
Kentucky 125/1
Louisville 150/1
LSU 20/1
Maryland 200/1
Miami 35/1
Michigan 120/1
Michigan State 100/1
Missouri 90/1
Nebraska 55/1
North Carolina 45/1
North Carolina State 100/1
Notre Dame 30/1
Ohio State 17/2
Oklahoma 5/1
Oklahoma State 50/1
Oregon 20/1
Oregon State 100/1
Penn State 35/1
Pittsburgh 60/1
Rutgers 125/1
South Carolina 100/1
South Florida 80/1
Tennessee 100/1
Texas 8/1
Texas A&M 150/1
Texas Tech 60/1
UCLA 150/1
Utah 125/1
USC 5/1
Virginia 100/1
Virginia Tech 20/1
Wake Forest 80/1
Washington 200/1
West Virginia 75/1
Wisconsin 100/1
Field (Any Other Team) 20/1

And remember... entertainment purposes only... of course.

First, the method to their madness:

ESPN's Prestige Rankings are a numerical method of ranking the best FBS college football programs since the 1936 season. Point values were assigned for certain successes (win a national title, earn 25 points) and failures (get your program banned from the postseason, lose two points). The research department ran all the numbers through the computer to come up with the No. 1 program (and Nos. 2 to 119) of the past 73 seasons.

The full breakdown of how points were accumulated (and deducted) is online as well, with the "biggies" being National Championships, major bowl berths, major bowl wins, Heisman winners, and points for various finishes in the AP top twenty five poll.

The results are... pretty interesting. In fact, it's really hard for me to quibble over all but a few positions - and even that might be subjective.

ESPN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRESTIGE RANKINGS

1. Oklahoma
2. USC
3. Ohio State
4. Notre Dame
5. Nebraska
6. Alabama
7. Texas
8. Michigan
9. Florida State
10. Miami
11. Penn State
12. Tennessee
13. LSU
14, Georgia
15. Florida
16. UCLA
17. Washington
18. Georgia Tech
19. Arkansas
20. Texas A&M
21. Auburn
22t. Clemson
22t. Colorado
24. Ole Miss
25. BYU

Click here for positions 26 - 119

Again, this is more of a prestige spotlight list than a comparison of team A versus team B. That's obvious when you look at the criteria, and then also compare the rankings above with head-to-head records, for example. Case(s) in point... Oklahoma has a losing record all-time against Texas, but is ranked ahead in prestige. Florida State has a losing record all-time against both Miami and Florida, but gets the presige nod. The Noles have a winning record over both top five Notre Dame and Ohio State, but I digress.

Even still, it's hard for me to look back at the history of college football and not put the Sooners at or near the top of the list. Certainly Ohio State, USC, Notre Dame, and Nebraska all deserve to be near the top as well. You can debate where everyone falls (ie should "x" be #6,#7, or #8) but it's hard to see someone in the top 25 that doesn't belong.

Asher Allen CB 5-1 198 Georgia
Chris Baker DT 6-2 298 Hampton
Kenny Britt WR 6-4 215 Rutgers
Eben Britton OT 6-5½ 310 Arizona
Donald Brown RB 5-10 210 Connecticut
Everette Brown DE 6-4 252 Florida State
James Casey TE 6-4 245 Rice
Jeremy Childs WR 6-0 196 Boise State
Glen Coffee RB 6-1 198 Alabama
Austin Collie WR 6-2 206 BYU
Emanuel Cook S 5-10 203 South Carolina
Jared Cook TE 6-5 243 South Carolina
Michael Crabtree WR 6-3 214 Texas Tech
Andrew Davie TE 6-5 266 Arkansas
Nate Davis QB 6-1¾ 217 Ball State
Vontae Davis CB 5-11⅞ 203 Illinois
Josh Freeman QB 6-5½ 238 Kansas State
Shonn Green RB 5-10¾ 233 Iowa
Percy Harvin WR 5-10¾ 187 Florida
Darrius Heyward-Bey WR 6-1⅞ 203 Maryland
P.J. Hill RB 5-11 236 Wisconsin
Greg Isdaner OG 6-4 322 West Virginia
Ricky Jean-Francois DL 6-3 289 LSU
Paul Kruger DE 6-5 265 Utah
Jeremy Maclin WR 6-0 198 Missouri
Sen'Derrick Marks DT 6-0⅞ 289 Auburn
Aaron Maybin DE 6-3½ 250 Penn State
LeSean McCoy RB 5-11 205 Pittsburgh
Gerald McRath LB 6-3 220 Southern Miss
D.J. Moore CB 5-10 184 Vanderbilt
Knowshon Moreno RB 5-10¾ 207 Georgia
Captain Munnerlyn CB 5-9 185 South Carolina
Hakeem Nicks WR 6-1 215 North Carolina
Kevin Ogletree WR 6-2 189 Virginia
Jerraud Powers CB 5-9 191 Auburn
Mark Sanchez QB 6-2½ 225 USC
Andre Smith DT 6-4⅞ 341 Alabama
Sean Smith CB 6-2½ 212 Utah
Matthew Stafford QB 6-2½ 235 Georgia
Brandon Williams DE 6-5 246 Texas Tech
Chris "Beanie" Wells RB 6-1 235 Ohio State

Of course, it's worth mentioning a few standout players who are not going pro this year:

Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma
Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida
C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson
Greg Hardy, DE, Mississippi

Equally notable, FSU S Myron Rolle will leave the Noles, but isn't going to the NFL... yet. Rolle accepted a Rhodes Scholarship and will study medical anthropology at Oxford. Rolle was expected to be a top 50 or better pick, but will instead look to enter the 2010 NFL draft.

The NFL Draft is scheduled for April 26th and 27th in New York City.

With more returning starters than USC or Oklahoma, the early favorites of the talking heads are the Florida Gators and Texas Longhorns.

Here's a breakdown of the pundit pre-pre-preseason projections, with click-through links to their full lists.

Rivals.com
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. LSU
Highest Projected non-BCS: #9 - Boise State

Mark Schlabach (ESPN)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. Alabama
Highest Projected non-BCS: #8 - Boise State

Dennis Dodd (CBS Sportsline)
1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Virginia Tech
Highest Projected non-BCS: #15 - Utah

Mr. College Football Tony Barnhart (Atlanta Constitution-Journal)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma
Highest Projected non-BCS: #17 - TCU

Bruce Feldman (ESPN)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Oregon
5. Virginia Tech
Highest Projected non-BCS: None in Top 10

Matt Hayes (Sporting News)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Alabama
5. Ole Miss
Highest Projected non-BCS: #18 - BYU

So... if you believe the pundits... go ahead and book your reservations now, Gator & Longhorn fans. But... then again, that didn't work out too well for Georgia fans last year, so... maybe just watch the games, first.

PS - On a side note, let me just say that I am glad to be back in the saddle. It's nice to see the community has grown to the point where our contributors have taken over with amazing, self-generated content. Keep these great posts coming because... there is no off-season, boys.