+ There’s no question that Jimmy Smith held Michael Crabtree in the end zone on that fourth-down play. We’ve all seen cornerbacks flagged for less and if there’s a penalty on the play, then throw the flag, period. (That statement is in reference to those suggesting that the refs were right by “letting the players play.”) But a game is never decided by one play. Jim Harbaugh and Vic Fangio’s defense gave up 34 points after surrendering the second-fewest points during the regular season, and the Niners saved one of their worst performances for the biggest game of the year. They have every reason to be upset with the non-call on Smith, but they were also in control of what happened for 58 minutes prior to that play and they simply didn’t do enough to win the game.

+ The power outage was a disaster for the NFL. Millions of people had to wait 30 minutes for someone at the Superdome to find the fuse box and this was after waiting for what felt like an hour for Beyonce to wrap up her halftime show. Considering the NFL has priced out its fans at local stadiums and doesn’t allow any business to utter the words “Super Bowl” without wanting a fee in return, the delay was embarrassing for Roger Goodell and Co. The situation was most likely unavoidable, but embarrassing nonetheless.

+ Of course, I don’t know which corporation should have been more embarrassed during the outage – the NFL or CBS. The network supplied 10 hours worth of pre-game coverage but all of a sudden it had nothing to say during a 30-minute delay. Steve Tasker played the role of Monty from the “Major League” movies, painfully giving TV viewers his best play-by-play of the scene. If this situation didn’t expose television sideline reporters for how useless they are, I don’t know what will. To be fair, it’s not as if CBS was planning on having a 30-minute show four minutes into the third quarter. But something tells me FOX would have handled the situation with more aplomb.

+ There was one good thing to come out of the power outage: Twitter. People’s tweets during the delay were 10-times funnier than any commercial that was aired during the game. And it isn’t even close.

+ It’s going to be debated ad nauseam whether or not the power outage allowed the 49ers to settle down and avoid what seemed to be a surefire blowout. And hey, maybe it did. If they go three-and-out following Jones’ kickoff return, maybe Baltimore wins the game running away. Instead, the delay stunted the Ravens’ momentum and allowed the 49ers to regain their composure. Then again, it’s not as if San Francisco hadn’t shown the ability to battle back from double-digit deficits before. Two weeks ago it looked like the Falcons were going to soar into the Super Bowl after building a 17-0 lead in the first quarter of the NFC title game. It’s hard to quantify how much the delay meant to the Niners, but they’re not a team that’s easily rattled. Outage or no outage, the 49ers weren’t going to waive the white flag after trailing by 22 points and an entire second half yet to be played.

+ By completing 73-of-126 passes for 1,140 yards with 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions, Joe Flacco had one of the most impressive postseasons by a quarterback in NFL history. And now that he’s a Super Bowl MVP with a dazzling 9-4 postseason record, he’s worth every penny the Ravens will pay him this offseason.

+ Considering he’s never thrown for over 4,000 yards or 25 touchdown passes in a single season, there’s an argument to be made that he still doesn’t belong in the same category as Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Drew Brees. But he holds tremendous value to a team like the Ravens, who evaluate talent as well as any franchise in the NFL and who contends on a yearly basis. Baltimore needs a quarterback that can win in the postseason, which Flacco has now done for five straight years. He may continue to battle with consistency throughout his career, but given his contributions in the postseason he’s proven that he’s a franchise player. And in this day and age, franchise quarterbacks with Super Bowl rings can command $17-plus million a year.

+ Imagine how much money the Ravens could have saved had they paid Flacco at the start of the season instead of waiting to see how the year panned out. Stupid hindsight.

+ What was most impressive about Flacco’s performance was his ability to extend plays. There were multiple times during the course of the game where you would have thought he was gearing up to throw the ball 20 yards into the stands and instead, he chucked it downfield for huge, drive-sustaining completions. For as much as the Niners’ secondary was exposed the past two games, it’s not fair to ask defensive backs to cover receivers for 20 seconds downfield. Flacco consistently put pressure on San Francisco’s defense throughout the game.

+ For as well as Flacco played, there’s an argument to be made that Jacoby Jones deserved MVP. Had the power not gone off at the Superdome, his kickoff return to start the second half may have spurred a Baltimore blowout. Flacco’s longest touchdown pass was a pass that he under threw to Jones, who made a great adjustment and had the wherewithal to get up, make a move on Chris Culliver and sprint to the end zone for a touchdown. Considering that was the only catch Jones made, the MVP award probably wound up in the right hands. But Jones’ contributions cannot be understated.

+ If this was Anquan Boldin’s swan song in Baltimore (he turns 33 next season and is owed $6 million, so he could be a cap causality this offseason), what a tremendous ending it was. He was the best player on the field when the Ravens beat the Colts in the wild card round and for the past three weeks he’s made one spectacular play after another. The move he put on the linebacker on his touchdown reception in the first quarter was sweet, but not as impressive as the catch he made on that third-and-one play in the fourth quarter with Carlos Rogers hanging all over him. The concentration that Boldin showed on that play was incredible and there’s no question he earned his Super Bowl ring with his performance throughout the entire postseason.

+ It was ridiculous to listen to people debate whether or not Jim Harbaugh should bench Colin Kaepernick and insert Alex Smith at halftime. Kaepernick did have the one overthrow that Ed Reed intercepted in the first half but he also made a ton of throws that Smith could only dream about making (the bullets to Vernon Davis and the throw to Delanie Walker right before halftime stand out the most). It wasn’t Kaepernick’s fault that LaMichael James had the ball punched out of his hands by Courtney Upshaw when the Niners were in Baltimore territory, or that San Francisco’s vaunted defense couldn’t limit the big play. I also wasn’t aware that Kaepernick played on the kickoff coverage unit and could have stopped Jones from racing into the NFL record book right after halftime. If nothing else, this game showed how resilient this kid is. Once again unfazed by the scoreboard, he nearly willed the Niners to victory despite the fact that San Francisco collectively played one of its worst games of the season. He did look a little rattled at times in the first half but again, some of the throws he made were off the charts impressive. There’s no doubt he has a bright future ahead of him.

+ Their near-collapse not withstanding, the Ravens were clearly the more prepared team. They played faster, seemingly had the better overall game plan, and once again weren’t intimidated by a team that was better on paper. They saved their best football for the final four weeks of the season, just like the Giants did a year ago.

+ The Ravens did a nice job in the first half when it came to defending the 49ers’ read-option. But just like the Falcons in the NFC title game, they didn’t make any adjustments when the wheels started to fall off. Terrell Suggs often looked like Atlanta’s John Abraham, aggressively attacking the edge while trying to keep Kaepernick contained, only to create huge running lanes for Frank Gore. Of course, had the Ravens not lost Haloti Ngata in the third quarter maybe they would have done a better job containing the Niners’ potent rushing attack. Then again, San Francisco’s offensive line was so dominant in the second half that even Ngata may not have made a huge difference.

+ Not to rain on Ray Lewis’ parade but he may have been the worst player on the field, or at least among the regular starters. Clearly lacking his antelope spray, he was brutal in both coverage and in run support. But hey, he walks away a two-time Super Bowl champion, which is all anyone cares to remember.

+ It was a tough night for the greatest receiver of all-time. I didn’t even realize Randy Moss was on the field until he finally caught a pass a good 40 minutes into the game.

+ Speaking of tough nights, Chris Culliver won’t want to re-live this week any time soon. Not only is he headed to sensitivity training after making anti-gay remarks earlier this week, but he was also victimized on Jacoby Jones’ 56-yard touchdown in the second quarter and was flagged for a crucial pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-9 midway through the fourth quarter. The penalty allowed the Ravens to maintain possession and eventually kick a field goal to go up, 34-29. (Then again it’s also fair to question why the refs didn’t throw the flag on Jimmy Smith considering Culliver’s infraction was similar.)

+ The 49ers turned the ball over twice, while the Ravens turned it over once. That means no team in this year’s postseason won while also losing the turnover battle. San Francisco also finished with three more penalties than Baltimore and was worse when it came to converting on third down and in the red zone. As much as we want to complicate the game of football (and it certainly is a complex game), sometimes it’s easy to point to why a team won or lost.

+ Beyonce isn’t my cup of tea but I’ve seen worse halftime performances – much worse. (I thought the Black Eyed Peas – also known as “Studio Magic” were brutal a few years ago.) At least she was fun to look at for 20 minutes.

+ The commercials weren’t bad, they just weren’t memorable, especially for the Super Bowl. I laughed at the old people painting the town red in the Taco Bell ad and the Hyundai commercial where the kid assembles a superhuman football team after the bullies steal his football was funny, too. But for seven billion dollars a commercial, I’m firing my marketing team on Monday. How did those commercials stand out? I’ve seen more effective commercials on a typical NFL Sunday.

College football guru Bruce Feldman is now with CBS Sports following his controversial treatment by ESPN and ultimate departure. Bruce sums up this weekend’s college football action by noting the bad day for the Pac-12, at least on the field. off the field the conference might be on the verge of adding Texas and Oklahoma, further shaking up the crazy world off college football.

Chip Kelly has a dynamic offense, but it is seeming more and more like the frenetic Ducks attack that looks so, well, awesome in league play wilts when it goes up against power teams from other leagues, or at least teams with added prep time. (See: the 2009 opener at Boise; the 2010 Rose Bowl vs. Ohio State; the 2011 BCS title game against Auburn; and now Saturday night’s game against an LSU team that still had to replace an All-American DT [Drake Nevis] and the best defensive back in college football [Patrick Peterson]).

Kelly’s star, running back LaMichael James, who was held to just 54 yards rushing and 3.8 yards per carry against Auburn, managed 57 yards and fewer than 3.2 yards per rush against LSU. The most telling stats for the night, though, were these: Oregon had 28 carries and none went longer than 13 yards; and on 82 plays, the Ducks didn’t have any go for more than 18. That sounds so anti-Oregon. In fairness, we should note that the Ducks did travel into SEC country last year and blow out Tennessee, but those Vols were one of the worst teams in the SEC in 2010.

Kelly pointed out before the game that those teams that handled Oregon are great ones, well-coached and stocked with outstanding athlete. He echoed that point, again, after losing to LSU: “They’ve got a little bit different athlete running around out there right now,” he told Ted Miller. “Looking at their D-line, standing next to them, walking off the field, they don’t look like the kind of guys we see. That’s the common trait, the trait you saw in the Auburn game.”

As blunt as that is, that’s still not the kind of talk you’d expect to hear from the coach of a powerhouse program.

There a gimmicky element to what Kelly has been able to accomplish at Oregon. Sure, they’re a great team, but everyone gets caught up in the stats they rack up and their quick scoring ability, but the harsh reality is that their system comes up short against physical defenses with tough d-lines. It will be interesting to see if they can adjust, but in today’s idiotic BCS system, the chances are now much slimmer that they will get a chance to redeem themselves.

If we had a rational system, Oregon could get back to work and focus on running the table so they could be one of the final eight teams in the season-ending playoff system. Instead, we’ll have to listen to the talking heads on TV drone on endlessly about how they might squeak into the BCS title game if x, y and z occur.

I woke up today with an extra spring in my step because I knew it was the first Saturday of the 2011 college football season. But what really got me going was knowing I would once again be providing quality fade material for bettors around the world.

It’s about people helping people, folks.

No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU, 8:00PM ET
The last time Jarrett Lee opened a season as a starting quarterback was in 2006…for Brenham High School. LSU was going to have uncertainty at the quarterback position regardless of whether or not Lee or Jordan Jefferson was named the starter. But where the problem comes in is that Jefferson was assumed to be the starter for months. Now, just weeks before the season, they switch to Lee because of Jefferson’s off-field issues. It’s usually unwise to go against the SEC in a non-conference game but I’m not that bright so I’ll assume the risk. I think LSU’s outstanding defense will tire late in the second half after trying to keep up with Darron Thomas and LaMichael James for most of the game. The Tigers’ D figures to be on the field an awful lot tonight.
THE PICK: OREGON -3

No. 7 Boise State vs. No. 22 Georgia
All the talk in this one has revolved around Aaron Murray but I expect Kellen Moore to once again play mistake free. He has all new weapons this year but the Broncos’ offense rarely misses a beat from season to season. Never go against Boise State in their opener or in their bowl game. These types of games might as well be their freaking Super Bowl…
THE PICK: BOISE STATE -3

Minnesota @ USC, 3:30PM ET
I like the Jerry Kill hiring for Minnesota, although Tim Brewster didn’t leave him with a very stocked cupboard. We’ll see if his decision to shift MarQueis Gray from receiver to quarterback pans out but either way, I think Minnesota hangs with USC for a second straight year. The Golden Gophers are 5-1 against the spread in their last six road games and 5-1 ATS in their last six games as a road underdog. The Trojans, meanwhile, are 1-5 against the number in their last six home games and 1-4 ATS in their last five games as a home favorite.
THE PICK: MINNESOTA +24

San Jose State @ No. 6 Stanford, 5:00PM ET
Stanford has a ton of question marks heading into the season, specifically at receiver and along the offensive line. They also lost three players from its front seven on defense, although with Andrew Luck, Stepfan Taylor and a solid secondary, the Tree shouldn’t skip a beat from last season. Stanford is 5-0-1 against the spread in their last six games as a favorite and 4-0 ATS in their last four non-conference games. On the other side, the Spartans are 0-5 ATS in their last five games versus the Pac-12 and 3-12 ATS in their last 15 road games.
THE PICK: STANFORD -30

The 2011 college football season is still a couple of months away but seeing as how we’ve reached the dead days of the sports calendar, I figured it would be okay if we took a look at this year’s Heisman candidates. Below are five players I believe have the best shot at claiming this year’s Heisman hardware.

1. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
What to Like: Barring injury or a Jake Locker-type senior campaign, Luck could run away with this year’s Heisman. He was runner-up for the award in 2010 and was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. Most pundits believe he’ll be the top signal caller in college football this year and he’s the main reason why Stanford will be rated high in the preseason polls.
What Not to Like: He lost his top two receivers (Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen), his head coach (Jim Harbaugh), and his offensive line (which allowed only five sacks last season) is undergoing a reloading phase. Can Luck overcome all that change in one offseason?

2. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
What to Like: Jones led the nation in completions last season and put up monstrous numbers in Oklahoma’s pass-happy offense. He completed 65% of his passes while racking up 4,700-plus yards and 38 touchdowns. With WR Ryan Broyles and nearly all five starters on his offensive line returning, Jones shouldn’t miss a beat.
What Not to Like: Losing all-purpose back DeMarco Murray hurts, but the biggest worry with Jones is whether or not he can handle the expectations of Oklahoma being the top-ranked team at the start of the season. All eyes will be on the Sooners every week and just one slip up could cost OU a national title berth and Jones a shot at the Heisman.

3. Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina
What to Like: After rushing for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman, South Carolina fans can’t wait to see what Lattimore will do for an encore. His performance last year placed him among the nine SEC players who have rushed for at least 1,000 yards as a freshman, which is a list that also includes Georgia’s Herschel Walker and Florida’s Emmitt Smith. With Lattimore set to again be the workhorse in Steve Spurrier’s offense, you can expect big things out of this sophomore in 2011.
What Not to Like: Quarterback Stephen Garcia is one jaywalking charge away from being kicked off the team for good. If Garcia flubs up again or can’t beat out sophomore Connor Shaw for the starting job this summer, then Lattimore might have too much pressure on his shoulders this season. If SC becomes too one-dimensional, Lattimore’s production will likely suffer.

4. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
What to Like: Despite missing the first game of the season due to a suspension, James broke the Pac-10 all-time sophomore single season rushing record and led the nation in both rushing yards (1,682) and touchdowns (22). He finished third in Heisman voting and won the 2010 Doak Walker Award while leading Oregon to its first-ever national championship appearance. James is once again expected to thrive in Chip Kelly’s spread option offense.
What Not to Like: Not much really, outside of Andrew Luck, Landry Jones and Marcus Lattimore. Oregon returns 12 starters on offense and barring injury, James’ production should once again be sky high. The Ducks have a tough early-season matchup with LSU, but they should once again be in national title contention this season and James will be a big reason for that.

5. Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan
What to Like: He’s the only player in NCAA history to rush for 1,500 yards and pass for 1,500 yards in one season. He also holds the Division I FBS record for rushing yards by a quarterback and for being the only player to rush for 200 yards and pass for 200 yards in a single game (vs. Notre Dame). If Michigan can somehow make itself relevant again with the departure of Rich Rodriguez, “Shoelace” will garner Heisman attention.
What Not to Like: Robinson almost transferred after RichRod was fired following an ugly loss to Mississippi State in the 2011 Gator Bowl. Robinson thrived in Rodriguez’s spread offense and a shift in coaches could seriously derail the signal caller’s production. If Michigan gets back to a more conventional offense under new coach Brady Hoke, Robinson’s numbers could look awfully deflated from 2010 to 2011. And if the Wolverines can’t figure out a way to beat Ohio State and the other top dogs in the Big Ten, Robinson won’t be able to separate himself from the other Heisman candidates.

Others to Watch: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama; Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State; Knile Davis, RB, Arkansas; Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma; Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State; Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor; Chris Polk, RB, Washington.

Date: Monday, January 10, 2011
Time: 8:30PM ET
TV: ESPN

Why Watch: You mean, besides the fact that it’s the biggest college football game of the year and that the NCAA will get to crown a mythical national champion? With the way both of these offenses can light up a scoreboard, fans should get the shootout they expect. This matchup features two of the nation’s best players in Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and Heisman finalist LaMichael James. If the game comes down to defense, Oregon ranks 14th in the nation in scoring and Auburn is 54th. But as teams like South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss and Georgia found out this season, Newton often saves his best for the fourth quarter. This should be quite a game and one that lives up to its hype.

Game Facts: The Tigers are 20-13-2 overall in bowl games, which ranks them as one of the best programs in the nation when it comes to postseason play. They rank 16th in all-time bowl appearances with 35, are 13th all-time in bowl wins at 20, and are tied for 22nd in all-time bowl win percentage at .600. They’ve won three straight bowl games and six out of their last seven, which includes a wild 38-35 win over Northwestern in last year’s Outback Bowl. During Mike Bellotti’s tenure as head coach between 1995 and 2008, the Ducks went to bowl games every year except the ’96 and ’04 seasons. In 2010, Oregon fell to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, which dropped them to 1-4 all-time in Rose bowl appearances.

Key Player: Craig Stevens, Auburn.
We know that Nick Fairley can get the job done in the middle, and that Auburn can be very tough to run on because of his stout play. But Oregon attacks you on the edges and Stevens, an outside linebacker, will play a huge role in trying to stop the Ducks’ potent offense. If he can keep contain, Oregon might be in for a long day. But if he can’t, LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner will spend a lot of time running through the Auburn secondary.

Odds: Auburn -3
Auburn opened as a 2.5-point favorite but the line immediately moved to 3. Bettors tend to side with the team from the better conference and seeing as how the Tigers made it through a tough SEC schedule unscathed, it makes sense that the public would back them in the title game. But don’t count out a late push for Oregon, which will get plenty of backing closer to kickoff. Auburn has escaped more than a handful of close calls this year, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the line dropped to 2 or even 1 as bettors start to buy into an outright win for the Ducks. The over/under total opened at 74.5 and while it did drop to 74, don’t expect it to drop any further. Oddsmakers know both teams have the potential to score a combined 100 points.

How Auburn can win: By forcing Darron Thomas to throw the football. We know Newton will point points on the board – it’s just a matter of whether or not Auburn can slow down Oregon enough so that this doesn’t turn into a “whoever gets the ball last wins” type of game. Thomas is a very capable quarterback, but he and the Ducks aren’t going to win a national championship with his arm. If Auburn can slow the Ducks’ rushing attack or build a big early lead, that will force Thomas into obvious passing situations and the Oregon offense all of the sudden becomes a lot easier to defend. If that happens, the SEC will be celebrating its fifth straight national title.

Why Oregon will win: Conditioning. The Ducks represent the new way of wearing a team down. We’re used to it being a big offensive line leaning on a team and tiring them out, but not in Oregon’s case. This team simply runs you ragged. While Auburn runs an uptempo offense, and the Tigers will surely do all they can to prepare for the break-neck pace Oregon plays at, it’s impossible to simulate what the Ducks do in practice. Expect this one to be a shootout, but also expect the Auburn defense to tire as the game wears on, and the Oregon defense to still be going relatively strong. They’re used to playing 30-40 minutes a game, and it hasn’t bothered them yet.

Prediction: Oregon 48, Auburn 45

Contributors: Anthony Stalter and Paul Costanzo

Conference winners, sleepers, power rankings and one big, fat national championship prediction.

Enjoy.

Champion: Ohio State
Yes, it’s true – the Buckeyes need Terrelle Pryor to be more consistent in the passing game this year if they expect to win a national championship. But stop acting like that’s the difference between OSU winning the Big Ten and them turning into Vanderbilt. Choke on this for a second: The Buckeyes return all three leading rushers from 2009 in Pryor, Brandon Saine and Dan Herron, the secondary features three senior NFL prospects, and they own the best defensive end in the nation in Cameron Heyward. Pryor is also coming off a dominating performance against Oregon in the Rose Bowl and reports state that he has committed himself this offseason to being a better teammate. Sorry Buckeye-haters, but the gap between them and Alabama is closer than you think.

Conference Champion Sleeper: Michigan Slate
My biggest concern with the Spartans is that despite pulling off an upset nearly every year, they also manage to lose a game they shouldn’t. But they have a slew of playmakers and plenty of depth on both sides of the ball, plus feature a ton of offensive firepower in Larry Caper, Edwin Baker, Keith Nicol and Mark Dell. Oh, and linebacker Greg Jones is the best defender in the nation. If this team can avoid being tripped up by an inferior opponent, they could easily surprise this season.

Conference Power Ranking: #1 Ohio State, #2 Iowa, #3 Wisconsin, # 4 Penn State, #5 Michigan State, #6 Northwestern, #7 Michigan, #8 Purdue, #9 Illinois, #10 Indiana, #11 Minnesota.

I admit that I had Michigan rated too high when I did my Big Ten preview last week. Having any sort of trust in Rich Rodriguez right now is a dangerous proposition for obvious reasons. Just when you think he’s going to figure things out in Ann Arbor, he makes a decision to muck everything up. Penn State might be ranked a little high given their quarterback concerns. Wisconsin is going to give teams trouble this year and Northwestern is going to be a tough opponent every week as well.

East Winner: Florida
Gone is Tim Tebow and the 170.8 career passing rating that he compiled as a Gator (which ranks No. 1 all-time in the SEC and No. 2 in college football history). Florida isn’t going to replace that kind of production, but I have faith in John Brantley, who is a more conventional passer and who has the luxury of handing the ball off to four talented backs. Even though only 11 starters return from last year’s team and Urban Meyer has to replace defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, the Gators remain the only D1 squad to win 13 games in consecutive seasons. In other words, they re-tool and re-load.

West Winner: Alabama
It’s the Tide’s offense that opponents will have to worry about this season – not their defense. Greg McElroy has never lost a game as a starter – ever. No losses in high school, none in college and although I don’t have hard data, I’m willing to bet the young man didn’t lose in Pee Wee’s either. He’ll hand the ball off to defending Heisman winner Mark Ingram and throw to arguably the best receiver in college football in Julio Jones. Auburn and Arkansas will give them a run for their money, but the Razorbacks usually find a way to lose a game they should win and ‘Bama gets the Tigers at home this year. Roll Tide Roll…

Conference Champion Sleeper: Auburn
Gene Chizik’s team raced out to a 5-0 start last season before winning just two of their final seven games. Still, they capped the season with a wild win over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl and they pushed Alabama in the Iron Bowl before falling, 26-21. Auburn faces an uphill battle with eight bowl teams on its schedule, as well as a trip to Tuscaloosa. But this team has 15 starters returning, including the majority of both lines. I think they fall short in the end, but the Tigers are definitely a team to watch.

Conference Champion: Alabama
While its defense won’t be as dominating as it was a year ago, Alabama’s offensive trio of McElroy, Ingram and Jones will be too much for most opponents. They play in the SEC so a one-loss season certainly isn’t out of the question, but the Tide have the best combination of talent and coaching in the nation.

Conference Power Rankings: #1 Alabama, #2 Florida, #3 Arkansas, #4 Georgia, #5 Auburn, #6 LSU, #7 South Carolina, #8 Tennessee, #9 Ole’ Miss, #10 Kentucky, #11 Mississippi State, #12 Vanderbilt

Yeah, I’m drinking the Ryan Mallett Kool-Aid this year – what of it? You know what, it’s cool, crisp and it tastes refreshing. I also jumped on the Ole’ Miss hype wagon last year and look how well that turned out. No way Arkansas let’s me down with that defense…

…All right, so I probably have the Razorbacks rated too high. Quite frankly, I could see any of the four teams ranked behind them having better seasons but I’m going to put on my Johnny Public hat and stick with Arkansas. It’s certainly not prudent, but I’m fine with my life’s decisions.

North Winner: Nebraska
The Huskers have a real good shot of finishing out their Big 12 tenure by winning a conference championship, but they have issues at quarterback with Zac Lee. Backups Cody Green and Taylor Martinez gave Lee a run for the starting quarterback job this spring and that means Lee will likely be on a short leash. That said, the Huskers plan to rely on running backs Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead to carry the offense anyway, so as long as Lee or whomever is under center doesn’t turn the ball over, this team will win games. Defensively, don’t expect Nebraska to replace Ndamukong Suh because they can’t. But with players like Jared Crick, Pierre Allen and Prince Amukamara, points will once again be hard to come by on Bo Pelini’s defense.

South Winner: Oklahoma
Many pundits still think Texas is the team to beat in the South, but there’s too much uncertainty going on in Austin right now for me to rank the Longhorns over the Sooners. Losing Sam Bradford hurts, but Landry Jones did very well filling in as a redshirt freshman last year. He finished with 3,198 passing yards and a TD-to-INT ratio of 26:14, but more importantly, he gained valuable starting experience and should be able to handle the lofty expectations this year. But the main reason I have Oklahoma emerging as South champions is DeMarco Murray, whom I bet will stay healthy this season and challenge for the Heisman. He’s incredibly versatile and will be the rock of OU’s offense if he can stay upright.

Conference Champion Sleeper: Texas A&M
I’m not going to sugarcoat this one: The Aggies need way more production from their defense or else they’ll hover in the middle of the pack all season. But this team is going to light up the scoreboard this year with Jerrod Johnson, Christine Michael, Cyrus Gray and Uzoma Nwachukwu. It’s just a matter of if they’ll have to score 40 points a game or 50 in order to pull out Ws.

Conference Champion: Oklahoma
While Nebraska arguably has an easier road than Oklahoma to get to the conference championship game, Lee scares the bejesus out of me. I think the Sooners are more stable and have less questions heading into the season, thus, I like them to get back on top of the Big 12 this season.

Conference Power Ranking: #1 Oklahoma, #2 Texas, #3 Nebraska, #4 Missouri, #5 Texas A&M, #6 Texas Tech, #7 Oklahoma State, #8 Kansas State, #9 Iowa State, #10 Kansas #11 Colorado, #12 Baylor

This conference is loaded with intriguing headlines coming into the season. How will Tommy Tuberville (Texas Tech) and Turner Gill (Kansas) fair in their first seasons with their respective teams? (Good, not great.) Can Dan Hawkins save his job in Colorado? (No.) Will Baylor be more competitive with a healthy Robert Griffin, III back under center? (Of course – dumb question.) Missouri is a team that seems to be flying under the radar and Oklahoma State will be interesting to watch now that Dana Holgorsen (who was the play caller for Houston last season when the Cougars led the FBS in scoring and passing offense) is their new offensive coordinator. Iowa State is also a dark horse to keep an eye on.

Conference Champion: Oregon
Everything hinges on whether sophomore Darron Thomas can make good reads in the spread so that the offense won’t take a step back this season. That said, the strength of the offense will once again be the running game behind LaMichael James, who is coming off a 1,500-yard season as a freshman. Defensively, the linebacker corps of Casey Matthews, Spencer Paysinger and Bryson Littlejohn is the strength of the unit and the Ducks should get plenty of pressure on the quarterback this season. While I fully expect Oregon State to challenge their in-state rivalries this season, I think Oregon will emerge as champs once again.

Conference Champion Sleeper: Stanford
John Harbaugh returns six starters on an offense that averaged 36 points a year ago and nine starters on defense. Quarterback Andrew Luck’s stock is rising quickly and he has the luxury of throwing to Ryan Whalen and Chris Owusu in the passing game. He’ll also benefit from the offensive line returning four of five starters, although losing running back Toby Gerhart was obviously a huge blow.

Conference Power Ranking: #1 Oregon, #2 Oregon State, #3 Washington, #4 Stanford, #5 USC, #6 Arizona, #8 UCLA, #8 Cal, #9 Arizona State, #10 Washington State

Oregon State and Washington (who has the conference’s best quarterback in Jake Locker) will challenge Oregon for the top spot all season and I wouldn’t put it past UCLA to make some noise as well. USC is obviously the wild card, even though they’ve already been disqualified from bowl consideration. Will Lane Kiffin’s squad lay down every week because they don’t care about the outcome of their season or will playing spoiler motivate them?

Coastal Division Winner: Virginia Tech
I’m not buying into the Miami hype quite yet and still think VA Tech is the team to beat in the conference. Last year, the Hokies allowed just 15.8 points per game and return six starters from that unit. Offensively, they return seven starts including senior QB Tyrod Taylor (13 touchdowns) and dynamic sophomore Ryan Williams (1,655 yards, 5.6 YPC). Darren Evans also returns from a knee injury after finishing with 1,265 yards two years ago as a freshman, so opponents will have to pick their poison when they face this Tech offense. This team has to get by Boise State in the opener, but even if they lose the Hokies will still be in good shape in the conference.

Atlantic Division Winner: Florida State
The Seminoles return 10 starters on offense and six on defense under new head coach Jimbo Fisher, who was the team’s offensive coordinator the last three years. FSU averaged 30 points on offense last season, rushing for 143 yards per game and 278 through the air. Experienced senior Christian Ponder returns under center and will have plenty of help from running back Jermaine Thomas and the offensive line, which returns all five starters. Obviously the key for this team will be better play from the defense, which allowed 30 points per game last season. (The secondary was also horrendous, allowing 26 touchdown passes.)

Conference Champion Sleeper: Clemson
The Tigers return six starters on defense and seven on offense, including four on the offensive line. Quarterback Kyle Parker (20:12 TD-to-INT ratio last season) also returns, as does first-team All-American safety DeAndre McDaniel, who led the ACC in interceptions last year with eight. Clemson will make some noise this season and considering how bad FSU’s defense could be again this year, don’t be surprised if the Tigers over take them in the Atlantic.

Conference Champion: VA Tech
We know the Hokies will play good defense and special teams under Frank Beamer, but the reason I have them winning the conference is Taylor. I know he’s inconsistent as a passer, but with Evans back and Williams coming off a phenomenal year, I think if Taylor limits the turnovers and mistakes then the Hokies will emerge victorious. Taylor doesn’t have to win games by himself in order for this team to be successful.

Conference Power Rankings: #1 Virginia Tech, #2 Miami, #3 Florida State, #4 North Carolina, #5 Georgia Tech, #6 Clemson, #7 Boston College, #8 NC State, #9 Duke, #10 Wake Forest, #11 Virginia, #12 Maryland

I’d be lying if I said that the potential rules violations that the Hurricanes are now facing didn’t factor into my decision to make VA Tech the conference winner, although I still think the Hokies are being overlooked. North Carolina is intriguing, but something tells me they might not live up to expectations and it’ll be interesting to see if Georgia Tech can repeat the success they had from a year ago. Also, even though Maryland is the softest team in the conference, I doubt they’ll finish 2-10 this year. This will be a competitive conference.

Conference Champion: TCU
Even though they produced perhaps the biggest letdown performance of any team in the 2009-10 Bowl Season, I still have much love for the Horned Frogs. And how could I not? Head coach Gary Patterson returns nine starters on offense and seven on a defense that led the nation by allowing just 239.7 yards per game for the second straight year. Senior QB Andy Dalton (23 touchdowns, 8 interceptions) returns after a solid season and all three of his top targets are back, as well as four starters on the offensive line. Don’t forget about running backs Matthew Tucker (6.4 YPC) and Ed Wesley (6.3 YPC), who combined to rush for over 1,200 yards last season. The defense lost Jerry Hughes and Daryl Washington, but again, they return seven starters on that side of the ball. A juggernaut TCU should be once again, although the real test comes a year from now when Boise State joins the conference.

Conference Sleeper Champion: BYU
The champion is either going to be TCU, Utah or BYU and since I have the Cougars ranked last out of the three, they’re my de facto winner. Under Bronco Mendenhall, the Cougars have posted a 43-9 overall record the past four years and the offense should once again be fantastic this year after averaging 34.8 points per game in 2009. Defensively, safety Andrew Rich will anchor the unit and the secondary has loads of experience. This team has two huge tests early in Washington and Florida State, so we’ll see what they’re made of early in the year.

Conference Power Ranking: #1 TCU, #2 Utah, #3 BYU, #4 Air Force, #5 Colorado State, #6 Wyoming, #7 Arkansas State, #9 UNLV, #10 New Mexico

It would be unfair to talk about TCU and BYU and not Utah, so here it goes: The Utes managed to average 29.3 points per game last season despite using two quarterbacks and losing running back Matt Asiata to a knee injury. The thing that keeps this team down this year, however, is the fact that they must replace seven starters (including all three linebackers) on defense. Ouch.

Conference Champion: PITT
If it weren’t for Cincinnati’s unbelievable 45-44 comeback last season, PITT would have been the defending champs heading into this year. No matter, they should win the conference this year after averaging 33 points on offense in 2009. Sophomore Dion Lewis will once again be the focal point on offense after rushing for 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns at 5.5 yards a clip. Defensively, the unit is incredibly talented at the end position thanks to Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus and although the schedule is a concern, I like the Panthers to emerge on top.

Conference Champion Sleeper: Cincinnati
Not a sleeper, but I had a tough time deciding between PITT and Cincy, so I’ll use the opportunity to talk about the Bearcats here. Even without Brian Kelly, the Bearcats are going to do battle with the Panthers all season. Butch Jones proved that he could win at Central Michigan when Kelly left Mt. Pleasant and will prove that he can win at Cincy, too. Gone is Tony Pike, but Zach Collaros saw plenty of action last year as a sub and will be exciting to watch.

Conference Power Rankings: #1 PITT, #2 Cincinnati, #3 West Virginia, #4 Rutgers, #5 UCONN, #6 South Florida, #7 Syracuse, #8 Louisville

Thanks to Noel Devine, the Mountaineers are going to be tough to beat every week, but the inexperience of quarterback Geno Smith will limit them in the end. The key for Rutgers will be protecting quarterback Tom Savage and UCONN (a true sleeper) will need a much better effort out of its secondary if it wants to compete all year. This isn’t a terribly intriguing conference, but there’s a couple of interesting story lines to follow.

Notre Dame? Really?!

No – don’t be f**king ridiculous. I just thought I’d throw a picture of the Golden Domers in there to have a little fun and seeing as how I didn’t talk about Brian Kelly’s squad in this prediction piece, I thought that this was the appropriate time.

On to the real prediction…

Download these nuggets of information for a second:

– The last five champions have finished ranked in the top 5 nationally in pass efficiency defense.

– Six of the last seven title winners began the season ranked in the top 5.

– Eight of the last nine champs finished ranked in the top 10 in total defense.

Which team either fits into those three categories or could fit into those three categories? None other than Ohio State, who has an experienced secondary, is ranked No. 2 in the preseason polls and who finished in the top 5 in total defense last season.

The Buckeyes it is for national champs!

Well, not exactly. Even though the gap between them and Alabama has closed from last season, there’s still a gap. Plus, given the Buckeyes’ recent history in title games, I couldn’t feasibly write in Ohio State as this year’s national champs without feeling the need to change it as soon as this article went live.

So I’m going with ‘Bama. I know – I’m not going out on a limb here, but the Tide’s offense will be scary this year and even though their defense will likely take a step back, I don’t think any team in the nation is as deep in talent as Alabama is. They also have the depth and coaching to carry them as well.

2011 BCS National Championship Prediction: Alabama over Ohio State.

Oregon running back LaMichael James pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge on Friday and was sentenced to 10 days in jail according to a report by ESPN.com. James was originally charged after an altercation occurred outside his apartment last month between him and a former girlfriend.

In a statement that was included in court documents related to the case, James apologized to the victim, a former girlfriend. She claimed he grabbed her neck and pushed her to the ground during an argument on Feb. 15.

“I hope to put this matter behind me now and learn from it. I have made a mistake and accept the consequences,” the statement said. “I look forward to demonstrating to my university, to my team and to the community that I am a better man than recent events suggest.”

James rushed for 1,546 yards last season as a freshman, the ninth-highest total in the nation. He had seven consecutive 100-yard games before Ohio State limited him to 70 in Oregon’s 26-17 loss in the Rose Bowl.

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was due in the same courtroom later today to face arraignment on a felony burglary charge. Apparently Masoli and fellow genius teammate Garrett Embry thought it would be fun to steal two laptops and a guitar from a university fraternity house in late January.

The Ducks are quickly becoming the Bengals of college football.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]>