Independents
Last season’s 3-9 record was one of the worst in Notre Dame’s history. The offense was atrocious, ranking among the bottom 10 in every category, including last in total offense. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen, right, returns for his second season and will improve as much as his line will let him. Last season, the Irish gave up 58 sacks for 415 yards. Luckily for Irish fans, the talent is there and the schedule is remarkably soft, making it more than likely Notre Dame will be among the most improved teams in college football. It will be interesting to see how Navy does now that Coach Paul Johnson has left for Georgia Tech. The Midshipmen, with their triple-option offense, have led the nation in rushing for the past three seasons and will continue to run the ball under the new coach, Ken Niumatalolo. Western Kentucky is coming off its 12th straight winning season and will be moving to the Sun Belt Conference next season. Army is among the worst teams in the nation. Those three national titles in a row from 1944-46 are ancient history.
PLAYERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Notre Dame’s Maurice Crum Jr. is one of the nation’s top linebackers. Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada will quarterback Navy’s triple-option offense.
Conference USA
No one will be able to stop Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane was nearly unstoppable on offense last fall, and if Coach Todd Graham can find a quarterback to replace Paul Smith, the team should not miss a beat. Tulsa is the overwhelming favorite in the West Division, although Houston, led by the new coach Kevin Sumlin, could reach a bowl game. Texas-El Paso, which struggled through an uncharacteristic 4-8 campaign in 2007, will be improved. Although Southern Methodist went 0-8 in the conference, the former Hawaii coach June Jones will transform the Mustangs into a conference contender in no time. In the East, Central Florida will have a hard time repeating as champion without running back Kevin Smith. It looks as if Memphis and Southern Mississippi are the teams to beat in the East. Southern Miss seeks to update its offense with the new coach Larry Fedora, who was Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator.
PLAYERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Rice receiver Jarrett Dillard holds the program’s records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. East Carolina safety Van Eskridge led the Pirates with 104 tackles in 2007. Tulsa returns three 1,000-yard receivers: Brennan Marion, Trae Johnson and Charles Clay. Marion averaged 31.9 yards a catch.
Mid-American
Central Michigan is the favorite in the West Division, as well as the pick to repeat as conference champion, because of the play of quarterback Dan LeFevour, right, who was only the second quarterback in Football Bowl Subdivision history to rush for 1,000 yards and throw for 3,000 yards. (Vince Young was the other.) In the East Division, Miami of Ohio will go as far as its defense takes it. That unit is led by linebacker Clayton Mullins, who was the MAC defensive player of the year with an eye-popping 145 tackles, including 13 ½ for a loss. Alongside Mullins are two other stellar linebackers, Joey Hudson and Caleb Bostic.
PLAYERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Ball State quarterback Nate Davis is often overshadowed by LeFevour, but he is a great passer in his own right. Davis’s favorite target, Dante Love, is the conference’s leading receiver. Kent State running back Eugene Jarvis was fifth in the nation with an average of 139 yards a game on the ground, and if the Golden Flashes can find a passing game, he can be even better.
Mountain West
Brigham Young is favored to sweep through the conference undefeated for the third straight year, and may also bust into the B.C.S. picture. Behind the Cougars will be Utah, where the team hopes quarterback Brian Johnson is healthy after struggling through knee and shoulder injuries the past two seasons. Gary Patterson will probably have his T.C.U. Horned Frogs among the best defensive teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision once again. New Mexico, with at least six wins in each of the past seven seasons, is one of the nation’s most overlooked programs. The clock is ticking on three coaches who need winning seasons: Joe Glenn at Wyoming, Mike Sanford at U.N.L.V. and Chuck Long at San Diego State.
PLAYERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
B.Y.U. running back Harvey Unga had 1,227 yards rushing and 655 yards receiving as a freshman. New Mexico cornerback DeAndre Wright is a potential all-American. The Colorado State backfield of Gartrell Johnson and Kyle Bell rushed for more than 1,600 yards.
Sun Belt
Florida Atlantic won the 2007 Sun Belt crown in only its third year in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and the future looks bright for Howard Schnellenberger’s Owls. Led by quarterback Rusty Smith, the Owls are on the rise. The conference used to belong to Troy, but the team may struggle finding a quarterback to replace the departed Omar Haugabook. Louisiana-Monroe made some noise a year ago by beating Alabama. But like Troy, this team must replace an important part of its offense, running back Calvin Dawson. Both Middle Tennessee State and Arkansas State finished 5-7 last year. At the bottom of the weakest conference in the F.B.S. is Florida International, 1-23 over the past two seasons.
PLAYERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Louisiana-Lafayette running back Tyrell Fenroy is the 15th player in N.C.A.A. history, and the first in the Sun Belt, to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. North Texas receiver Casey Fitzgerald excelled in Coach Todd Dodge’s spread offense, setting program records in receptions (111), receiving yards (1,322) and touchdown catches (12).
Western Athletic
In the past two years, the conference has sent Boise State and Hawaii to B.C.S. games. This season, Fresno State will look to keep the streak alive, despite a tough nonconference schedule that features a home game against Wisconsin and games at Rutgers and U.C.L.A. The Bulldogs return 10 starters on offense, including quarterback Tom Brandstater, who threw for 15 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions last season. His favorite target figures to be tight end Bear Pascoe.
PLAYERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
New Mexico State quarterback Chase Holbrook is the conference’s most dynamic passer, and he will try to lead the Aggies to their first bowl game since 1960. Boise State running back Ian Johnson missed two games last season but still managed to rush for 1,041 yards and 16 touchdowns. Nevada’s Luke Lippincott led the conference with an average of 109 yards rushing a game.
The Quad's Connor Ennis leads a panel discussing H. G. Bissinger's book.
Pete Thamel covers college sports for The New York Times. For the past three years, he’s covered the three games that could well define this so-called "golden age" of college football: U.S.C.’s “Bush Push” win at Notre Dame; Texas’s upset of U.S.C. in the Rose Bowl; and Boise State’s tricked out win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Before joining The Times, Thamel covered college sports for ESPN.com, ESPN Magazine, the Syracuse Post-Standard and The Daily Orange. A native of Ware, Mass., Thamel graduated from Syracuse University in 1999.
Thayer Evans is a freelance writer who has been contributing to The New York Times for more than two years. Evans also writes for the Houston Chronicle as well as other newspapers and magazines. He played college basketball at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, an NAIA school in Bartlesville, Okla.
Connor Ennis has been a staff editor in the sports department of The New York Times since November 2006. Before coming to the Times, he worked for The Associated Press, where he was a supervising editor on the national sports desk in New York. While with the AP, he covered the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and the 2006 World Cup in Germany. A native of Dallas, Pa., he graduated from Syracuse University in 2000.
Ray Glier is a freelance reporter who, in addition to The New York Times, contributes to USA Today, MSNBC, The Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miami Herald and, his favorite, Masters Athlete, a Chicago-based magazine for older athletes. Glier is a graduate of West Virginia University and his favorite part of being a freelancer is looking in the mirror in the morning and saying, "Hi, Boss."
