Earlier this week, the college football season officially got under way and we gave you The Blue Workhorse Preseason Top 25 (which will be updated weekly). However, the season gets going in earnest today as 23 of the AP Top 25 open their season, including two Top 25 matchups (#24 Alabama vs #9 Clemson & #6 Missouri vs #20 Illinois).

In honor of the beginning of the 2008 college football season, we go ahead and ruin everything by telling you who’s going to win each of the “BCS” conferences, the Heisman Trophy, and a few other interesting tidbits.

From three of our writers (DRang, Rosenblogger, Shotgun):

The 2008 Conference Champs:

Atlantic Coast Conference

DRang: Clemson - This is Clemson’s year in the ACC. Thunder and Lighting with Davis and Spiller.
Rosenblogger: Virginia Tech - This league is wide open, but the Hokies will be the most consistent team in 2008 led by a strong defense and special teams.
Shotgun: Clemson - James Davis is the workhorse; C.J. Spiller is the playmaker; Cullen Harper can throw it all over the place; but the key will be the new faces on the offensive line.

Big 12 Conference

DRang: Missouri - Missouri will get over the hump and win the Big 12, but they have a big first game with Illinois in St. Louis.
Rosenblogger: Oklahoma - The class of the league, expect the Sooners to be celebrating another conference title. Sam Bradford will be a Heisman contender, and Bob Stoops’ defense is as good as any in the country.
Shotgun: Oklahoma - Sam Bradford was so unheralded last year. As a freshman, he had the highest quarterback rating in the nation!! That’s incredible. Expect big things from him this season as the Sooners are able hold off up-and-comers Missouri and Kansas.

Big East Conference

DRang: West Virginia - West “By God” Virginia will take the Big East because Pat White is back to run the spread.
Rosenblogger: West Virginia - Bill Stewart inhereted a very talented ball club. The conference looks to be down from a year ago, and there aren’t many threats beyond South Florida.
Shotgun: South Florida - A lot of people are still high on West Virginia, but I’m not sold on the team I picked to win the national championship the past two seasons (and I would have been right both years if Steve Slaton didn’t get injured against Louisville two years ago and Pittsburgh didn’t come out of nowhere to hold WVU to 9 points last season). But it’s not because of the new coach, it’s because they only return 4 starters on defense. USF returns 10 offensive starters and have showed for the last two years they can tame the WVU spread.

Big 10 (11) Conference

DRang: Ohio State - Ohio State will win the Big Ten but lose to USC in a huge regular season game in Southern California.
Rosenblogger: Ohio State - The Buckeyes will have a huge road test early in the conference schedule at Wisconsin. If they can get past the Badgers, they should cruise to another conference title and push for a third straight BCS Title game appearance.
Shotgun: Ohio State - Clearly the class of the Big 11. With Michigan in a year of transition, the Buckeyes have only Illinois and Wisconsin as potential threats. OSU does have to go on the road for both of those games, so a slip up is possible but unlikely.

Southeastern Conference

DRang: Georgia - Georgia is the SEC’s best team but have a brutal schedule. They will have a loss, but still outlast Auburn for the SEC title.
Rosenblogger: Florida - Tim Tebow is the best player in the land, and his supporting cast is improved from 2007. Their schedule is as manageable as you could hope for in the SEC, and they will certainly be looking for revenge against the Bulldogs in Jacksonville.
Shotgun: Georgia - The Bulldogs have an incredibly difficult schedule (potentially 8 ranked opponents if they play in the SEC Championship and major bowl game) and will sorely miss LT Trinton Sturdivant. If Matthew Stafford transforms into the quarterback he’s been hyped to be, Georgia will be in contention for the national title. Just as Knowshon Moreno came out of nowhere last year, look out for Moreno’s top sub, Caleb King. King has the explosiveness to make the highlight reels and be a significant contributor for the Bulldogs.

Pacific 10 Conference

DRang: USC - Georgia is the sexy pick for the #1 team in all the land, but I like USC’s overall talent. USC will run the table during the regular season.
Rosenblogger: USC - The Trojans will put as much talent on the field as anyone in the country. A little uncertainty at quarterback, but the Men of Troy are still the class of this league and will once again be playing in the Rose Bowl in January.
Shotgun: USC - Arizona State will turn some heads and could even upset USC, but I don’t think they can go unblemished throughout the conference schedule. The Trojans will be as good as their quarterback play, and both Sanchez and Mustain are fully capable of leading one of the top teams in the nation.

Other 2008 College Football Predictions:

Best Regular Season Game

Unanimous: World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (Georgia vs Florida in Jacksonville)

BCS Spoiler (best non-BCS conference team)

DRang: Fresno State
Rosenblogger: BYU
Shotgun: Tulsa

Underated

Rosenblogger: Wisconsin - The Badgers seem to win 10 games every year. Their schedule sets up well with most of their tough games at home. The Badgers could be in the National Title picture late.
Shotgun: Tulsa - The Golden Hurricane’s toughest game will be at Bobby Petrino’s Arkansas for the Razorbacks’ Homecoming. If they win that game, they could be facing East Carolina in the Conference USA championship game with an unblemished record on the line. Tulsa had the best offense in the nation last season, and if David Johnson can replace record setter Paul Smith under center, there’s no reason why they can’t duplicate that feat this season.

Overated

Rosenblogger: Georgia - The Bulldogs are very talented, but they will have to prove they are worthy of the accolades. Matthew Stafford is getting too much hype, and the schedule is brutal. They will stumble, and need some help to remain in the National Title mix.
Shotgun: Kansas - Besides their bowl win against a team from the underperfomance conference (aka ACC), Kansas’s best win in their 11-1 season? A win over a Texas A&M squad that finished 7-6. Their nonconference schedule? Central Michigan, SE Louisiana, Toledo, and Florida International. Real tough. This season they travel to South Florida and have the Big 12 South’s powerhouses (Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas) rather than all the cream puffs.

Top Freshman

Rosenblogger: Julio Jones (Alabama) - The Crimson Tide fans have been waiting a long time to see him on the field. He will not dissapoint, as he is a big time talent.
Shotgun: Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State) - There was a reason he was the #1 overall prospect. He is an absolute game changer, and while he won’t be starting to begin with, he is the reason why I think Ohio State could actually compete against an SEC or USC team were the Buckeyes to make the national championship game again.

The 2008 Heisman Trophy Winner:

DRang: Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri
Rosenblogger: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
Shotgun: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma

The 2008 BCS National Championship Game:

DRang: USC over Georgia
Rosenblogger: Florida over Oklahoma
Shotgun: Georgia over USC

Shotgun Spratling
Rosenblogger
DRang

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