FanNation

Monday featured #1 - #5.
Tuesday featured #6 - #10.
Today features #11 - #15.

#11 - West Virginia.
Like I said before, I felt that WVU and Kansas were a virtual draw for the #10 spot. So my tiebreaker in this case was the coaching situation. West Virginia will remain dangerous on offense with playmakers White and Devine, but the vastly improved defense from 2007 will suffer heavy losses. Florida showed what happens to a team with a dangerous offense yet young, inexperienced defense this past season, and I expect WVU to be a similar team. Add in the fact the Big East could be in the upswing, and there could be several "trap" games along the way for the 'Eers. Add into the fact WVU faces a significant schedule upgrade in facing Auburn at home, I highly doubt the 'Eers go undefeated in 2008, but they should again be the face of the Big East with their third conference title in four years. (Schedule is not yet finalized)

9/6, Auburn (a stout SEC defense versus an explosive offense)
9/13, Marshall
9/27,  at Colorado (an ever improving Buff team could be another tough game)
h, Villanova
at East Carolina
h, Syracuse
h, Rutgers
h, South Florida
h, Cincinnati
at Louisville
at Conneticutt
at Pittsburgh (don't think WVU will have forgotten the 9-13 title game costing loss)

#12 - Arizona State.
Arizona relatively over-performed in the 2007 season, and I expect Erickson will find his team's faults and have them even more ready to contend in 2008. Carpenter will return and hopefully a rebuilt O-line will offer him better protection than it did in 2007. There are no generally household name stars on this ASU team, but they are generally talented across the board. If they can overcome USC and a possibly dangerous Oregon team, the Sun Devils have a chance at seizing the Pac Ten throne from Carroll and company.

8/30, Northern Arizona
9/6, Stanford
9/13, UNLV
9/20, Georgia (ASU's performance against possible #1 UGA could shape the Devil's year)
10/4, at California
10/11, at USC (this game will go a long way in determining the Pac Ten)
10/25, Oregon (if the Ducks performance against USF is any indication, they'll be strong)
11/1, at Oregon State
11/8, at Washington (U-Dub will be looking to turn the curve in 2008)
11/15, Washington State
11/28, UCLA
12/6, at Arizona (The Wildcats are notorious for upsetting rank teams late in the year)

#13 - Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is a similar team in make-up to Arizona State. They won't have (or at least, don't at this time) have a mega-star household name player, but are generally solid across the board - defense, offense, special teams. A few holes will have to be filled in skill positions on the offensive side of the ball, but the defense should be better after a wildly inconsistent 2007 season, and we all know how important that is in the Big Ten.

8/30, Akron
9/6, Marshall
9/13, at Fresno State (Pat Hill will have his Bulldogs ready)
9/20, opponent TBA (Divisional I-AA fill in)
9/27, at Michigan
10/4, Ohio State (this match-up will factor in the Big Ten race)
10/11, Penn State
10/18, at Iowa (a tough game after facing tOSU and Penn State at home)
10/25, Illinois (could there be a little revenge in the air for 2007?)
11/1, at Michigan State (I expect MSU to be a Big Ten darkhorse in 2008)
11/8, at Indiana
11/15, Minnesota

Note: Talk about early - the Badgers finish up NOVEMBER 15TH. If they were to go undefeated, or make a BCS bowl game, they'd be facing a nearly 2 month layoff. Seriously Big Ten, it is time to update these scheduling practices...

#14 - Texas Tech.
I think Mike Leach needed 2007. He lost his cool, had yet another big bowl comeback, and scored a big win against one of the Big XII powers (Oklahoma), even though it took OU playing without its starting QB nearly the entire game to make it happen. Regardless, Leach is building a dangerously explosive offense in Lubbock, and with his recruiting class this offseason, it will only grow more explosive. Harrell and Crabtree will center the young "Air Raid" assault, and I think with a slightly improved defense - the Raiders should be primed for a 2008 breakthrough. Yes, pick them as one of my surprises in 2008, and watch them light up the scoreboard as usual.
8/30, Tulsa
9/6, at Nevada
9/13, SMU
9/20, UMass
10/4, at Kansas State
10/11, Nebraska
10/18, at Texas A&M
10/25, at Kansas (should be a great Big XII match-up)
11/1, Texas
11/8, Oklahoma State
11/15, at Oklahoma (OU will try its best to throttle TT for the 2007 game)
11/22, Baylor

#15 - Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech is one of the teams on the uprise with stars declaring their intentions to stay (Glennon) and some changing their minds (Harris). The loss of Flowers will hurt, and the duo deamed "9-11" in Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall, but Beamer always has ample defensive talent in the wings. Moreover, the Hokies could look to build on the two quarterback system they established in 2007. Minus the Orange Bowl, this seemed to work rather effectively for a Hokie offense that was dismal the first half of the year. Expect VT to continue to move up pending its recruit class and decision of a few other standouts. (Schedule is not yet finalized)

8/30, East Carolina (slated to be removed)
9/6, Furman
9/13 or 9/20, opponent TBA (Divisional I-AA fill in possible)
h, Duke
h, Georgia Tech
at Miami (expect the Hurricanes to be improved)
at North Carolina (UNC could be an ACC shocker in 2008)
Virginia
at Boston College (VT still hasn't forgot about that last minute 10-14 loss)
Maryland
at Florida State
12/6, ACC Championship Game

Coming tomorrow, #16 - #20.