2010 College Football Preview: The Question Game, Part 3

(This is the last edition of the question game for the college football season. Tomorrow I'll preview potential Heisman candidates, Wednesday predictions for the bowl games and my Top 25, Thursday the Must List returns with the return of college football.)

Will Rich Rodriguez survive this year at Michigan?: Luckily for Rich Rod the athletic department has been supportive or he would have been fired as soon as Michigan was hit with NCAA violations. Rich Rod was a bad hiring from the start. Michigan didn't fit Rich Rod and Rich Rod didn't fit Michigan. Michigan fans are elitists and I knew they would never embrace Rich Rod a southerner who was bringing an entire new offense that Michigan fans are not used to. To be fair, Rich Rod didn't exactly endure himself to the Michigan culture. If Rich Rod wants to survive this season, he needs to win and win big. Michigan has a losing record in conference play and hasn't played in a bowl game since Rich Rod was hired. He just needs to win and everything will be forgotten. Looking at their schedule though and the uncertainty at quarterback and defense, I don't see Rich Rod coming back for another season.



Can Georgia win the SEC East?: Since thrashing Florida in 2007, the Bulldogs have been an utter disappointment. In 2008 they started the year as the number one ranked program and ended up going to the Capital One Bowl. Last year Georgia went 8-5. The Bulldogs this year though should be much improved and with Florida rebuilding reloading, the SEC East may be up for grabs. Quarterback Aaron Murray will have to learn on the fly, but should be well protected by a veteran offensive line. The defense will have to adjust to a new scheme, but there's experience there. Of course they could get destroyed by Florida again and end up in the Peach Bowl.

Can LSU recover?: Since winning the national championship in 2007, LSU has gone 17-9 and 8-8 in conference. The record alone doesn't describe how far LSU has fallen. There's been defensive breakdowns, quarterback issues, and clock management disasters. This year's team doesn't look much better. Not a single player stands out from the other, there's questions on offense, and Les Miles is still the coach.

Is Arkansas this year's patented overrated team?: Every year in college football there is the patented overrated team. This team usually comes from the SEC. Two years ago that was Georgia. Last year it was Ole Miss. This year it looks like it will be Arkansas. The Razorbacks are starting the year 17th rank and have all the prerequisites to be this year's patented overrated team. They have the over hyped quarterback (Ryan Mallett) with the over hyped offense to go along with a weak defense. What submerged both Georgia and Ole Miss was their defenses. Arkansas' defense is their weak link. Last year the defense gave up too many big plays and the majority of those players are coming back. The offense will have to score a lot to keep up with the points the defense gives up. They'll be like both Ole Miss and Georgia and end up in the Cotton Bowl or Outback Bowl.

Can Alabama repeat?: It is incredibly hard to repeat in college football. Ask Florida, USC, and Miami how hard it is to repeat as national champions. In fact, the last team to repeat as national champions was Nebraska back in the mid-90's. Alabama does return the reigning Heisman winner (Mark Ingram), their quarterback (Greg McElroy), and their top receiver (Julio Jones). The defense will need to be rebuilt but that shouldn't be a huge problem because that's Nick Saban's specialty. Their toughest opponents travel to Tuscaloosa so the schedule shouldn't be that big of a problem. That means everything sets up for Alabama to repeat. Of course they could always lose to Mississipi State.