2013 College Football Preview: Projected Standings and Records
By Michael Schneid
ONE WEEK UNTIL THE FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY!
Feel the excitement!
Here at MotleySports we are ready and can't wait for next Thursday night.
Before the season begins, we wanted to share our predictions. We projected every game for the upcoming 2013 season and have listed our projected standings and records of every FBS team.
We also have taken the records a step further and projected who we feel will represent each conference in the final year of the BCS.
BCS Bowl Game Projections:
Sugar Bowl - Clemson (At-Large) vs Alabama (SEC Champion)
Rose Bowl - Oregon (At Large) vs Nebraska (Big 12 Champion)
Fiesta Bowl - Texas (Big 12 Champion) vs. Ohio State (At Large)
Quick ACC Analysis: "THE U" finally returns to prominence, upsetting Clemson in the ACC title game and returning to the BCS...5 wins gets Randy Edsall fired before Maryland goes to Big Ten...Syracuse and Pitt both struggle and fail to make bowl games in year one of ACC
Quick Big 12Analysis: Texas wins the Big 12 and returns to the BCS...Iowa State struggles due to poor QB play...Kansas struggles because of their coaching...Opposite can be said for Kansas St, Texas Tech, Baylor...Kliff Kingsbury will prove to be one of the next young, rising head coaches in the country...West Virginia's offense will take a big step back in 2013, leading fans to question Dana Holgorson's future
Quick PAC-12 Analysis: Stanford will win the Pac-12 title game for the second straight season and play for the National Championship...9 wins overall and 6-3 Pac-12 record will be enough for Lane Kiffin to return to USC in 2014...Despite past success, 0-3 in winning seasons since joining Pac-12 will get Kyle Wittingham fired...Mike Leach will lead Wazzou to a bowl game...the three best teams in the conference will all be in the North division...which will beat the south in the Pac 12 title game once again
Quick SEC Analysis: Here is a bold prediction...the SEC will NOT win the National Championship...Georgia finally gets off the schneid and defeats Alabama in the SEC title game...Despite what many "experts" think, Butch Jones will be a poor fit in Tennessee and the Vols brutal schedule will prevent them from reaching a bowl game...Gary Pinkel will be fired after a poor season...Mississippi State will consider firing Dan Mullen after a 4 win season, but Mullen may job on another open job to make life easier for everyone; either way Mullen will not return to Starkville in 2014...New coaches will lead Arkansas, Auburn, and even Kentucky to bowl games in 2013.
Quick MAC Analysis: The MAC will not put another team in the BCS....But Northern Illinois will continue to build on last season's success...New head coach PJ Fleck will have Western Michigan as a surprise bowl team and will surprise some people in 2013
Quick Sun Belt Analysis: Sun Belt has several strong teams...Bobby Petrino's presence will light a huge spark into the WKU program, leading them to all sorts of new levels, including attendance records and 9 wins...Bryan Harsin will pick up where Gus Malzahn left off at Arkansas State and continue building a solid program
INDEPENDENTS:
BYU 7-5
Notre Dame 7-5
Navy 7-5
Army 2-10
Idaho 2-10
New Mexico 2-10
Quick Thoughts: New Mexico St and Idaho are hiding out as Independents before joining Sun Belt in 2014...Notre Dame won't come close to last season's success. The loss of Manti Te'o is bigger than expected and Tommy Rees is not that good so the offense will regress as will the defense
ONE WEEK UNTIL THE FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY!
Feel the excitement!
Here at MotleySports we are ready and can't wait for next Thursday night.
Before the season begins, we wanted to share our predictions. We projected every game for the upcoming 2013 season and have listed our projected standings and records of every FBS team.
We also have taken the records a step further and projected who we feel will represent each conference in the final year of the BCS.
BCS Bowl Game Projections:
National Championship: Georgia (SEC Champion) vs Stanford (PAC-12 Champion)
Orange Bowl - Miami (ACC Champion) vs Louisville (American Champion)
PROJECTED STANDINGS:
ACC
ATLANTIC
|
COASTAL
|
||||
SCHOOL
|
ACC
|
OVERALL
|
SCHOOL
|
ACC
|
OVERALL
|
Clemson
|
7-1
|
10-2
|
Miami
|
6-2
|
10-2
|
Florida State
|
6-2
|
9-3
|
Virginia Tech
|
6-2
|
9-3
|
Wake Forest
|
4-4
|
7-5
|
North Carolina
|
5-3
|
8-4
|
NC State
|
3-5
|
7-5
|
Virginia
|
4-4
|
6-6
|
Maryland
|
3-5
|
5-7
|
Georgia Tech
|
3-5
|
5-7
|
Syracuse
|
3-5
|
5-7
|
Duke
|
2-6
|
6-6
|
Boston College
|
2-6
|
5-7
|
Pittsburgh
|
2-6
|
5-7
|
Quick ACC Analysis: "THE U" finally returns to prominence, upsetting Clemson in the ACC title game and returning to the BCS...5 wins gets Randy Edsall fired before Maryland goes to Big Ten...Syracuse and Pitt both struggle and fail to make bowl games in year one of ACC
BIG TEN
LEADERS
|
LEGENDS
|
||||
SCHOOL
|
B1G
|
OVERALL
|
SCHOOL
|
B1G
|
OVERALL
|
Ohio State
|
7-1
|
10-2
|
Nebraska
|
6-2
|
10-2
|
Wisconsin
|
5-3
|
8-4
|
Michigan
|
6-2
|
10-2
|
Indiana
|
4-4
|
8-4
|
Northwestern
|
5-3
|
9-3
|
Penn State
|
3-5
|
7-5
|
Michigan State
|
4-4
|
7-5
|
Purdue
|
2-6
|
4-8
|
Minnesota
|
4-4
|
7-5
|
Illinois
|
1-7
|
3-5
|
Iowa
|
1-7
|
3-9
|
Quick B1G Analysis: Ohio State beats Nebraska in B1G title game...Indiana is one of the countries biggest surprises and breakthrough teams...Northwestern continues to grow winning 9 games before bowl...Sparty wins 7 games based on defense alone...Penn State wins 7 games with true freshman Christian Hackenberg at QB...Illinois will fire Tim Beckman after season, ending an awful experiment...Kirk Ferentz will be fired at Iowa after the season
BIG 12
SCHOOL
|
BIG 12
|
OVERALL
|
Texas
|
7-2
|
10-2
|
Oklahoma State
|
6-3
|
9-3
|
TCU
|
6-3
|
8-4
|
Oklahoma
|
5-4
|
8-4
|
Baylor
|
5-4
|
8-4
|
Texas Tech
|
5-4
|
8-4
|
Kansas State
|
5-4
|
8-4
|
West Virginia
|
4-5
|
7-5
|
Iowa State
|
1-8
|
3-9
|
Kansas
|
1-8
|
4-8
|
Quick Big 12Analysis: Texas wins the Big 12 and returns to the BCS...Iowa State struggles due to poor QB play...Kansas struggles because of their coaching...Opposite can be said for Kansas St, Texas Tech, Baylor...Kliff Kingsbury will prove to be one of the next young, rising head coaches in the country...West Virginia's offense will take a big step back in 2013, leading fans to question Dana Holgorson's future
PAC 12
NORTH
|
SOUTH
|
||||
SCHOOL
|
PAC12
|
OVERALL
|
SCHOOL
|
PAC12
|
OVERALL
|
Stanford
|
7-2
|
10-2
|
UCLA
|
6-3
|
8-4
|
Oregon
|
7-2
|
10-2
|
USC
|
6-3
|
9-3
|
Washington
|
6-3
|
9-3
|
Arizona State
|
5-4
|
8-4
|
Oregon State
|
5-4
|
7-5
|
Arizona
|
4-5
|
7-5
|
Washington State
|
4-5
|
6-6
|
Colorado
|
2-7
|
5-7
|
California
|
2-7
|
4-8
|
Utah
|
2-7
|
4-8
|
Quick PAC-12 Analysis: Stanford will win the Pac-12 title game for the second straight season and play for the National Championship...9 wins overall and 6-3 Pac-12 record will be enough for Lane Kiffin to return to USC in 2014...Despite past success, 0-3 in winning seasons since joining Pac-12 will get Kyle Wittingham fired...Mike Leach will lead Wazzou to a bowl game...the three best teams in the conference will all be in the North division...which will beat the south in the Pac 12 title game once again
SEC
EAST
|
WEST
|
||||
SCHOOL
|
SEC
|
OVERALL
|
SCHOOL
|
SEC
|
OVERALL
|
Georgia
|
7-1
|
10-2
|
Alabama
|
7-1
|
11-1
|
Florida
|
6-2
|
8-4
|
Texas A&M
|
6-2
|
10-2
|
South Carolina
|
5-3
|
8-4
|
LSU
|
6-2
|
10-2
|
Vanderbilt
|
3-5
|
8-4
|
Ole Miss
|
4-4
|
7-5
|
Kentucky
|
3-5
|
6-6
|
Auburn
|
2-6
|
6-6
|
Missouri
|
2-7
|
5-7
|
Arkansas
|
2-6
|
6-6
|
Tennessee
|
2-7
|
5-7
|
Mississippi State
|
1-7
|
4-8
|
Quick SEC Analysis: Here is a bold prediction...the SEC will NOT win the National Championship...Georgia finally gets off the schneid and defeats Alabama in the SEC title game...Despite what many "experts" think, Butch Jones will be a poor fit in Tennessee and the Vols brutal schedule will prevent them from reaching a bowl game...Gary Pinkel will be fired after a poor season...Mississippi State will consider firing Dan Mullen after a 4 win season, but Mullen may job on another open job to make life easier for everyone; either way Mullen will not return to Starkville in 2014...New coaches will lead Arkansas, Auburn, and even Kentucky to bowl games in 2013.
AMERICAN
SCHOOL
|
AAC
|
OVERALL
|
Louisville
|
8-0
|
11-1
|
Rutgers
|
6-2
|
8-4
|
Cincinnati
|
6-2
|
10-2
|
Central Florida
|
6-2
|
8-4
|
Houston
|
4-4
|
6-6
|
SMU
|
4-4
|
5-7
|
Connecticut
|
4-5
|
7-5
|
South Florida
|
2-6
|
4-8
|
Temple
|
1-7
|
4-8
|
Memphis
|
1-7
|
2-10
|
Quick American Analysis: Louisville's one projected loss comes early in the season to rival Kentucky..The bottom teams all struggle with new coaches but are still trending upwards...Cincinnati can knock off Louisville on Dec 5 and steal the league's final BCS bid...UCF will have the most success of all the new teams joining the conference
MOUNTAIN
WEST
SCHOOL
|
MWC
|
OVERALL
|
Boise State
|
7-1
|
10-2
|
San Diego State
|
7-1
|
10-2
|
San Jose State
|
7-1
|
10-2
|
Fresno State
|
5-3
|
8-4
|
Wyoming
|
4-4
|
7-5
|
Utah State
|
4-4
|
6-6
|
Nevada
|
4-4
|
5-7
|
New Mexico
|
3-5
|
6-6
|
Air Force
|
2-6
|
5-7
|
Colorado State
|
2-6
|
4-8
|
UNLV
|
1-7
|
3-9
|
Hawaii
|
1-7
|
2-10
|
Quick Mountain West Analysis: Boise State will finish at the top of the conference, but they will not be alone...SJ State QB David Falas and Fresno St QB Derek Carr will both be first round picks in 2014 NFL Draft and both drafted before any SEC QB
MAC
EAST
|
WEST
|
||||
SCHOOL
|
MAC
|
OVERALL
|
SCHOOL
|
MAC
|
OVERALL
|
Ohio
|
7-1
|
10-2
|
Northern Illinois
|
7-1
|
10-2
|
Bowling Green
|
6-2
|
8-4
|
Toledo
|
6-2
|
9-3
|
Kent St
|
6-2
|
7-5
|
Western Michigan
|
5-3
|
6-6
|
Miami (OH)
|
4-4
|
4-8
|
Ball State
|
3-5
|
6-6
|
Akron
|
1-7
|
2-10
|
Central Michigan
|
3-5
|
4-8
|
Buffalo
|
1-7
|
2-10
|
Eastern Michigan
|
1-7
|
2-10
|
UMASS
|
1-7
|
2-10
|
|||
Quick MAC Analysis: The MAC will not put another team in the BCS....But Northern Illinois will continue to build on last season's success...New head coach PJ Fleck will have Western Michigan as a surprise bowl team and will surprise some people in 2013
CONFERENCE USA
EAST
|
WEST
|
||||
SCHOOL
|
CUSA
|
OVERALL
|
SCHOOL
|
CUSA
|
OVERALL
|
Marshall
|
6-2
|
8-4
|
Tulsa
|
7-1
|
9-3
|
East Carolina
|
5-3
|
6-6
|
Louisiana Tech
|
6-2
|
8-4
|
Middle Tennessee
|
4-4
|
6-6
|
Rice
|
5-3
|
7-5
|
UAB
|
4-4
|
5-7
|
UTEP
|
3-5
|
5-7
|
Southern Miss
|
3-5
|
4-8
|
North Texas
|
3-5
|
5-7
|
Florida Atlantic
|
2-6
|
3-9
|
Tulane
|
2-6
|
4-8
|
FIU
|
0-8
|
1-11
|
UTSA
|
2-6
|
2-10
|
Quick C-USA Analysis: Conference USA will be considered the country's worst conference in 2013, after losing UCF, Houston, SMU...Marshall will return to the top of the conference...Tulsa will win the C-USA title game over Marshall in their final year before going to the American...Louisiana Tech makes an immediate impact in their first CUSA season...Southern Miss is much improved after an 0-12 season and will win some games...FIU will win just one and fire Ron Turner, admitting immediately that they made a huge mistake firing Mario Cristobal and hiring the former Illinois coach
SUN BELT
SCHOOL
|
SUN BELT
|
OVERALL
|
Western Kentucky
|
6-2
|
9-3
|
Arkansas State
|
5-3
|
8-4
|
Louisiana-Lafayette
|
5-3
|
8-4
|
Louisiana-Monroe
|
5-3
|
7-5
|
Troy
|
3-5
|
5-7
|
Texas State
|
2-6
|
3-9
|
Georgia State
|
1-7
|
3-9
|
South Alabama
|
0-8
|
1-11
|
Quick Sun Belt Analysis: Sun Belt has several strong teams...Bobby Petrino's presence will light a huge spark into the WKU program, leading them to all sorts of new levels, including attendance records and 9 wins...Bryan Harsin will pick up where Gus Malzahn left off at Arkansas State and continue building a solid program
INDEPENDENTS:
BYU 7-5
Notre Dame 7-5
Navy 7-5
Army 2-10
Idaho 2-10
New Mexico 2-10
Quick Thoughts: New Mexico St and Idaho are hiding out as Independents before joining Sun Belt in 2014...Notre Dame won't come close to last season's success. The loss of Manti Te'o is bigger than expected and Tommy Rees is not that good so the offense will regress as will the defense
No comments