College football may never again receive such a warm welcome.

Given 2007’s summer of discontent for sports — Michael Vick, Barry Bonds, Tim Donaghy, et al. — college football has never looked more pure. The sport has its warts, including the ongoing rumor of amateurism while public institutions pay multimillion-dollar coaching salaries. Yet the college version of America’s national passion has rarely looked better. It has avoided the massive scandals that plague our professional games and kept its grip on a passionate fan base that routinely fills 90,000-seat stadiums in rural campus communities.

Last season may have ended with a whimper, as Florida dismantled Ohio State in the championship game, but January also delivered one of the most memorable games in the history of the sport as David, (Boise State) used a trio of trick plays to upset Goliath (Oklahoma) in the Fiesta Bowl. The result instantly validated the decision by the Bowl Championship Series to add a fifth game, opening up access to teams from the “mid-major” conferences such as Boise.

This year’s national-title favorites — USC, LSU, Texas, Michigan, etc. — are all familiar names. But scholarship limits and television exposure have made this a time of unprecedented parity in college football. Just last season, tiny Wake Forest captured the ACC title while heavyweights Florida State and Miami struggled badly. A similar result could strike one of the major conferences this year. Locally, Rutgers turned the New York area into a college football town for a brief period last fall, and if the Scarlet Knights again exceed expectations, they will steal headlines away from the Yankees, Mets, Jets, and Giants come October.

Heisman Outlook

Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, the runner-up in 2006, is a heavy favorite to capture the Heisman. But he’ll be running behind three new linemen and for a team that probably won’t equal last season’s success. If he falters, quarterbacks John David Booty (USC), Colt Brennan (Hawaii), Brian Brohm (Louisville), or Chad Henne (Michigan) are all good bets to be represented at the Heisman Ceremony. West Virginia’s backfield duo of running back Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White will also receive strong consideration, as could Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Among the dark horses are Kentucky quarterback Andre’ Woodson, Cal receiver DeSean Jackson, and Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart.

ACC

The ACC envisioned a super-conference to rival the SEC when it raided the Big East for Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech. Last year’s inaugural ACC championship game between Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, played before a crowd that fell well short of capacity, had to be a huge disappointment for conference officials.

Yet the ACC will have every chance to prove last year was an aberration. Its key teams test themselves in non-conference games perhaps more than any other BCS league. In addition to traditional matchups such as Boston College vs. Notre Dame, Clemson vs. South Carolina, Florida State vs. Florida, and Georgia Tech vs. Georgia, Florida State also plays both Colorado and Alabama this season. Maryland takes on West Virginia and Rutgers, while North Carolina State hosts the Mountaineers. Miami faces Oklahoma and Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech visits LSU. If the ACC can fare reasonably well against that slate, the conference’s reputation will quickly improve.

Virginia Tech, with its stout defense and running back Branden Ore, draws both Miami and Florida State at home, giving the Hokies the best chance to make a run at a national championship. Yet their hopes will be quickly derailed if they get blown out in Baton Rouge on the season’s second Saturday. A close loss will keep the Hokies in the mix of one-loss teams hoping to sneak into the title game, as Florida did last season.

Georgia Tech, which will feature tailback Tashard Choice and an outstanding, aggressive defense, could again surprise. The Yellow Jackets face an early test at Notre Dame and must also travel to Miami, but both Virginia Tech and Georgia visit Atlanta this season. Most believe Wake Forest was a one-year wonder, but 14 players return from last year’s conference champs.

BIG EAST

The Big East has not only survived the loss of three marquee teams to the ACC, it has thrived. West Virginia fired the first shot across the college football establishment’s bow by stunning Georgia in the Sugar Bowl following the 2005 season. Last year, Rutgers and Louisville joined the national-title conversation along with the Mountaineers, and the league crown was decided in a series of late-season, nationally televised games that were long on drama. To cap it off, the Big East was 5–0, the nation’s best, in bowl games.

This season could feature more of the same. Both West Virginia and Rutgers were able to sign their program-building coaches, Rich Rodriguez and Greg Schiano, to contract extensions. While Louisville’s Bobby Petrino opted for the NFL, the Cardinals moved quickly to hire highly regarded Steve Kragthorpe from Tulsa. His best recruiting job was to convince quarterback Brian Brohm, a likely top NFL draft pick, to return for his senior season.

The conference title should once again play out among Louisville, Rutgers, and WestVirginia. TheScarletKnights’favorable schedule gives them an excellent chance to be 8–0 when the Mountaineers visit on October 27. Heisman-contending back Ray Rice gets most of the headlines, but Rutgers will depend on quarterback Mike Teel and a stout defense to contend for the BCS. Teel, a junior, came on at the end of last season, and only he can prevent teams from loading up to stop the run.

West Virginia’s pair of Heisman candidates, Pat White and Steve Slaton, has been joined by prize recruit Noel Devine, giving the Mountaineers another big-play option at running back.

The Big East’s big three need to watch out for South Florida, which has beaten both Louisville and West Virginia in recent seasons and gave Rutgers all it could handle last year.

BIG TEN

The 2006 regular season was a dream one for the Big Ten, as both Michigan and Ohio State started 11–0 before the Buckeyes won their “game of the century” matchup to get to the BCS championship game. Bowl season was another story. Both schools were badly outclassed — Ohio State by Florida, Michigan by USC in the Rose Bowl. That both appeared at a distinct athletic disadvantage to their opponents did not help the conference dispel its “three yards and a cloud of dust” reputation. Still, there were some positive signs, as both Penn State and Wisconsin won bowl games against supposedly faster SEC teams. The Big Ten will again be in the thick of the national title discussion this season. Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin were all in the top 10 in the preseason coaches poll, but it is the Wolverines that have the most advantageous schedule: Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, and Ohio State all visit Ann Arbor. Under Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes have won five of six in the series, but must replace a Heisman-winning quarterback, a starting tailback, and two starting wide receivers while Michigan returns four-year starters at quarterback (Chad Henne) and tailback (Mike Hart), as well as one of the nation’s best tackles in senior Jake Long. If the Wolverines are to ever get over their recent Ohio State struggles, this would appear to be the year.

Yet it may not matter if Michigan can’t survive a trip to Wisconsin the week before the Ohio State game. The Badgers were one of the nation’s most surprising teams last season, losing only to Michigan in coach Bret Bielema’s first season. They will be primed for revenge in what is sure to be a very hostile Camp Randall Stadium on November 10.

Iowa, a huge disappointment at 6–7 last year, could slip right back into conference contention thanks mostly to a schedule that has the Hawkeyes missing both Michigan and Ohio State.

BIG XII

Recent discussions of Big XII conference- and nationaltitle contenders have started and ended with the South Division. Though the North, led by Nebraska and Missouri, may be closing the gap, the conference’s power still resides on the Texas–Oklahoma border.

When the Sooners and Longhorns face off in Dallas on October 6, the winner will likely emerge as the conference’s only national-title contender, just as has been the case since Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Texas’s Mack Brown resurrected their programs. Texas has won two straight in the series and sophomore quarterback Colt McCoy may give the Longhorns the edge this year. McCoy’s first season included a school-record 29 touchdown passes. Oklahoma is a complete team, barring one giant question mark: quarterback. Sam Bradford won the starting job in fall camp. If he proves a capable enough passer, Stoops will have everything he needs to make a run at his second BCS championship.

Oklahoma State, infused by the energy of third-year coach Mike Gundy and millions of dollars from corporate raider T. Boone Pickens, could create waves in the South, but must face Texas A&M, Nebraska, and Oklahoma on the road. A&M coach Dennis Franchione momentarily quieted his critics by beating Texas for the first time last season, but the pressure is on the Aggies to produce more than just the occasional upset.

In the North, the buzz is back around the Nebraska program in its fourth year under Bill Callahan, who may finally have the quarterback he needs to operate his West Coast offense in Sam Keller, a transfer from Arizona State. The Cornhuskers get an early chance to prove they belong in the national discussion when they host USC on September 15.

SEC

Florida coach Urban Meyer lobbied for a spot in the BCS championship based on the strength of the SEC. The Gators’ rout of Ohio State, combined with LSU’s embarrassment of Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, rendered any argument moot. Entering 2007, the SEC could be even stronger, despite the loss of four first-round draft picks at LSU and 14 starters at Florida.

LSU begins the season second in both major polls, and is the conference favorite by virtue of hosting Florida in Baton Rouge. LSU may have had the nation’s most-talented team last year, but was done in by a murderous schedule that included four top-10 teams on the road. With 14 starters back and a more favorable slate, the Tigers could very well return to New Orleans for a shot at the national title on January 7.

Should LSU stumble, there are plenty of worthy contenders, beginning with Florida. The Gators will go as far as Tim Tebow takes them at quarterback. As a freshman, Tebow was unstoppable as a short-yardage runner, but this season he will be counted upon to run the entire offense.

Alabama should also be improved after it lured Nick Saban back to the SEC with a contractthatmakeshimthehighest-paidcoachin college football. He’ll need to upgrade recruiting to compete in the brutal West division, but he faced a similar challenge at LSU and delivered a BCS championship in 2003.

Tennessee enjoyed a bounce-back year in 2006, but the pressure is on coach Phillip Fulmer and senior quarterback Erik Ainge to get back to the BCS. Arkansas also had a breakout 2006, but a tumultuous off-season saw a prized recruit and the offensive coordinator depart on unpleasant terms. The upheaval has left coach Houston Nutt clinging to his job, but he still has Heisman front-runner McFadden and understudy Felix Jones in the backfield. The Razorbacks probably can’t win the SEC, but they’re good enough to keep one of the other contenders from doing so. Auburn, which beat both LSU and Florida last season, can’t be overlooked, nor can Georgia, where QB Matthew Stafford came on at the end of last year.

Steve Spurrier’s has had mixed results in his first two seasons at South Carolina, but he has upgraded recruiting enough that his team, too, could pull off a season-ruining upset against one of the SEC heavyweights. The same could be said for Kentucky, where quarterback Andre’ Woodson is the league’s best.

PAC 10

USC once again has an embarrassment of riches — the transfer of tailback Emmanuel Moody last week reduced the depth chart at the position to merely nine former high school standouts — but that was also true last season when the Trojans lost to both Oregon State and UCLA. The latter cost USC a shot at the national title, yet the Trojans rallied to dismantle Michigan in the Rose Bowl and earn the top ranking in nearly every preseason poll.

Pete Carroll has never been afraid to test his club in non-conference games, and this season USC will travel to face both Nebraska and Notre Dame. Carroll had to be chuckling inwardly when LSU coach Les Miles questioned the strength of the Trojans’ scheduling, knowing that his teams have gone 5–0 against the SEC since 2002 by a combined score of 222–67.

This could be the year Cal finally breaks through to get to a BCS bowl under coach Jeff Tedford. The Bears have one of nation’s most explosive players in receiver/returner DeSean Jackson, and get an opening test against Tennessee at home before hosting USC in November.

Oregon State, coming off that stunning upset of the Trojans last seasons, returns 16 starters and standout tailback Yvenson Bernard. The Beavers must travel to both USC and Oregon, yet could pull off the upset in either game.

OTHERS

Notre Dame typically dominates any discussion of college football’s independents and non-BCS conferences, but the Irish may be rebuilding this season. The losses of quarterback Brady Quinn, receiver Jeff Samardzija, and tailback Darius Walker have left the Irish inexperienced on offense, particularly with star freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen a question mark due to a rumored elbow injury. Defensively, the Irish have been badly exposed against top-flight competition the past two seasons, and the schedule provides no breaks in 2007. The Irish could be underdogs in the majority of their first eight games. Predictions of a 2–6 start are probably premature, but a third-straight BCS berth appears unlikely.

Among the conferences that don’t have an automatic BCS berth, Hawaii has the best chance to reach one of the marquee bowls. The problem the Warriors have is one of perception. With a laughable schedule, Hawaii will have few opportunities to impress pollsters. Luckily for June Jones’s team, it ends the regular season with games against Boise State and Washington, which could provide enough of a boost in the polls to get a 12–0 Hawaii into the BCS. Even if Hawaii stumbles, record-setting quarterback Colt Brennan is a good bet to remain in the thick of the Heisman chase. Brennan threw an astounding 58 touchdown passes last season — but could better that mark this year.

Boise State, last year’s bowl darlings, has probably lost too much to graduation (11 starters) to return to the BCS, but the Broncos will still make things interesting in the WAC. The Mountain West also has a pair of BCS contenders in TCU and BYU, and their rendezvous on November 8 should decide the league title. TCU is the better overall team, but the Horned Frogs visit Texas September 8 and will need to pull the upset to get to a BCS game, as remaining undefeated is a virtual prerequisite for a team from the mid-major conferences to qualify for an automatic berth.