The college football season kicks off in just over a week and with that will come a season that we believe will offer some surprises. 2007 was dramatic in its own right, but SayCampusLife.com (SCL) believes that the 2008 season will offer plenty to talk about all the way through the BCS championship game.

We’ve scanned the entire spectrum of BCS football and have identified several programs we believe will surprise, five of those we’re featuring here in no particular order:

Fresno State — WAC teams are getting a lot of attention and for good reason: the top tier schools in this conference are showing that they can compete with the best of the BCS. Fresno State will probably win the WAC, but it has three tough out of conference games with Rutgers, Wisconsin and UCLA that will test the Bulldogs. Tom Brandstater leads this highly talented team, but we think they’ll open with a loss at Rutgers but knock off Wisconsin the following week. If the Bulldogs manage to upset UCLA, we’ll see yet another WAC team play on New Year’s Day.

Florida Atlantic — The talent laden state of Florida has long supported Florida, Florida State, Miami, and most recently South Florida, but Central Florida and Florida Atlantic are also rising stars. With Howard Schnellenberger’s oversight and QB Rusty Smith’s guidance a ten win season is possible despite having scheduled three of their first four games on the road against Texas and two Big Ten teams. Look for Texas to open with a win against the Owls, but every game thereafter will be a nightmare scenario for opponents. Can you say, bowl game?

Temple — This second Owl team is poised to make fans forget most of the past 15 years which produced some of college’s worst football teams and the exit of the program from the Big East Conference.  Winning the Mid-American Conference is certainly possible, but expect the Owls to have difficulty beating UConn and Penn State.  Though the Owls finished 4-8 last year, virtually everyone returns this year. SCL thinks a 9-3 record is within reach.

Notre Dame — Irish haters had their year last season when the team went 3-9. Though many are expecting the Irish to improve to the point to where they are receiving votes in select preseason polls, SCL believes that ND has the talent to reverse last year’s record and finish just outside the Top Ten. Injuries and looking past weaker opponents could do the team in, but a rock solid bowl offering should warm the hearts of frigid Irish faithful this coming New Year’s Day.

Virginia Tech — Ranked #15 in the USAToday preseason poll, SCL thinks that Hokies fans will be soon disappointed with the season. Although neither Clemson nor Wake Forest are on the schedule this year, there are enough obstacles in the way to derail VT. The wild card for the Hokies this year will be its September 27th Nebraska team. If the Cornhuskers prevail, look for the Virginia Cavaliers to take over the top billing in the Old Dominion state.

Movers and Shakers

Other teams having the potential to surprise include Florida Atlantic, Brigham Young, and South Carolina. The Gamecocks could do well if they can master their brutal SEC schedule.

Finally, the conference with the most questions is the Big East where the likely winner (West Virginia) and cellar dweller (Syracuse) are known, but other than Louisville five teams have a shot for second place and a decent bowl game.

Weekly Analysis

Please bookmark this page and check back for our weekly analysis of the college football season with highlights, photographs, and the occasional interview.

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Tags: Big East Conference, college football, Florida Atlantic Owls, Fresno State Bulldogs, Notre Dame Irish, Temple Owls, Virginia Tech Hokies

My North Carolina Tarheels were eliminated by the Fresno State Bulldogs, but it was a bittersweet loss. Bitter because the Tarheels came up short for the third consecutive year, sweet because the team that eliminated them is this year’s College World Series champion.

An All Bulldogs Final

Fresno State is the champion by knocking off the Georgia Bulldogs 6-1 this past Wednesday. This was the same team that started its season at 8-12 and had to win the Western Athletic Conference title in order to qualify for post season play. The team escaped several near-death experiences in the regional and super regional to advance to the championship round at Omaha. Once there, they knocked off a succession of heavyweights including Georgia, the favorite.

Finishing the season at 47-31, the Bulldogs of Fresno State have the distinction of possessing the most losses of any team winning the College World Series. But, this was a determined team, one that had nothing to lose and everything to gain. You could tell when watching the series that Fresno State was the most relaxed team on the field — heck, they weren’t expected to be there and seemed to be enjoying the ride.

Two Heroes and Then Some

The hero of the third championship game was Steve Detwiler who homered twice and drove in all six of Fresno’s runs. Tommy Mendoca was named series MVP on account of his four homers, 11 RBIs, and excellent defensive work.

Some might argue that Fresno State was given an advantage not previously realized at the CWS when the series was stretched out a few extra days to build in some rest time. But, that same rest was afforded all of the teams and when it mattered, the Bulldogs pulled it all together and won the series.

Kudos to Fresno State — home of the 2008 College World Series champions!

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Tags: college baseball, college world series, CWS, Fresno State Bulldogs, Georgia Bulldogs, Nebraska, Omaha