25 Reasons To Be Excited About The Upcoming Season

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Appalachian State pulled off the upset of the season last year. Could more follow this season?

The 2008 college football season begins Thursday, followed by a Labor Day weekend chock-full of big games and potential upsets.

Grab your TV remote and hug your spouse and children goodbye. Over the next four months, the college football season figures to be as unpredictable and exciting as a year ago, when several teams temporarily took residence at the top of the polls. In the end, LSU was left standing at No. 1.

More than anything else, just be happy college football season is finally here.

1. The 2008 season might be as unpredictable as 2007.
The early-season schedule offers a smorgasbord of potential upsets: Alabama over Clemson. Utah over Michigan. East Carolina over Virginia Tech. Appalachian State at LSU. And that's just the beginning.

2. The Big 12 has better quarterbacks than the NFC North.
The Big 12 has four legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates playing under center: Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, Missouri's Chase Daniel and Kansas' Todd Reesing.

3. A Harvard man is leading the defending national champions.
With former starter Ryan Perrilloux playing at Division I-AA Jacksonville (Ala.) State, Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch takes the reins of LSU's offense. At least we know the Tigers' team IQ will be higher.

4. Paul Johnson's offense will work in the ACC.
Johnson has better players and more athletes at Georgia Tech to run his triple-option spread offense. And he finally has a defense to keep opponents out of the end zone.

5. West Virginia fans will forget about Rich Rodriguez.
With quarterback Pat White and tailback Noel Devine returning to West Virginia, new coach Bill Stewart is poised to lead the Mountaineers to a Big East championship.

6. Georgia's defense will lead the way.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford and tailback Knowshon Moreno are Heisman Trophy candidates and garner most of the attention, but Georgia's defense -- the fastest it has ever put on the field -- will lead it to an SEC championship.

7. Notre Dame won't stink.
Whether you love them or hate them, it's hard to argue college football isn't better when the Fighting Irish are winning. With 16 starters returning, Charlie Weis will lead Notre Dame to a bowl game in 2008.

8. It's all about revenge in the SEC.
Florida wants to beat Georgia because the Bulldogs danced in the end zone last year. Arkansas wants to beat Ole Miss because Houston Nutt coaches there. LSU wants to beat Alabama because Nick Saban is there.

9. Ohio State plays a meaningful game before January.
The Buckeyes will either silence their critics or further fuel their doubters when they play at Southern California on Sept. 13. A victory over the Trojans will probably punch Ohio State's ticket to the Jan. 8 BCS Championship Game.

10. They're playing football on Tobacco Road.
Wake Forest will contend for an ACC championship because the Demon Deacons have one of the best coaches in the country. So will North Carolina, which will be much improved in coach Butch Davis' second season.

11. Mike Leach will raid your ship.
With Harrell and record-setting receiver Michael Crabtree coming back, Texas Tech is poised to shake up the Big 12 South. Leach finally has a defense to defend his own ship, too.

12. Tim Tebow won't slow down.
The Gators want their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback to run the football less often. But Tebow will still be lowering his shoulder and leveling safeties and linebackers whenever he can.

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Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno could go out on winning notes.

14. Matadors don't wear black shirts.
After allowing 30 points or more in eight games in 2007, including a whopping 76 in a loss to Kansas, Nebraska's defense will have more bite under new coach Bo Pelini.

15. Clemson will be a rock.
With quarterback Cullen Harper, tailbacks James Davis and C.J. Spiller and receiver Aaron Kelly leading one of the country's best offenses, Clemson is too good to screw it up this time.

16. The Trojans have competition.
Winning a seventh consecutive Pac-10 championship won't be as easy for USC. The Trojans have to replace a boatload of players, and Arizona State, California, Oregon and Oregon State will offer competitive games.

17. The Big East will be a great race.
West Virginia is the preseason favorite, at least on paper, but South Florida, Rutgers and Pittsburgh are each capable of spoiling the Mountaineers' dream season.

18. All eyes are on Utah.
The state is home to two teams capable of crashing the BCS: Utah and BYU. The Utes and Cougars meet at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Nov. 22.

19. SMU football matters again.
The program that was devastated by the NCAA's death penalty finally has hope with former Hawaii coach June Jones walking the sideline. It won't be long before the Mustangs are scoring points in bunches.

20. Fresno State will shock somebody.
The Bulldogs have three chances to beat teams from BCS conferences: at Rutgers on Monday, versus Wisconsin on Sept. 13 and at UCLA on Sept. 27. Fresno State is good enough to win at least one of those games -- and maybe all three.

21. The best quarterback in Indiana plays at Ball State.
The Cardinals are absolutely loaded on offense with quarterback Nate Davis and receiver Dante Love. David Letterman has never been prouder of his alma mater.

22. Temple will finish the season with a winning record.
And you thought rebuilding Rutgers was hard. Al Golden is close to doing the unimaginable at Temple after finishing 4-8 last season. There's a reason other coaches call him the "Golden Boy."

23. Receivers are the rage.
Missouri's Jeremy Maclin. Texas Tech's Crabtree. Florida's Percy Harvin. Rutgers' Kenny Britt. Illinois' Arrelious Benn. Fast receivers are the rage in college football.

24. Old school still rules in the Big Ten.
Illinois, Purdue and Michigan are trying to revolutionize the way football is played in the Midwest, but Ohio State and Wisconsin are still the Big Ten's best by playing "three yards and a cloud of dust."

25. The Big 12 North rises again.
After being dominated by Oklahoma and Texas for years, Missouri and Kansas are good enough to win the Big 12. Colorado will be much improved, too.