15 questions for the college football season

1. What are the most overrated teams heading into the season?

Ohio State and USC. Ohio State won the national title and has all 11 starters back on offense, but you think the Buckeyes are going to catch every break again this year?

At USC, even coach Pete Carroll thinks his Trojans might be overrated.

2. Will it be 21 years before another Pac-10 player wins the Heisman Trophy?

Probably. A few Heisman voters admitted privately last year they'd voted for USC's Carson Palmer just to shut everyone up about the perceived "East Coast bias." So, look for the Pac-10 to land another Heisman winner in 2024.

3.What preseason college magazines went to press too early?

Almost all of them.

From Lindy's: "ACC: Expansion. Who needs it?" Well, as it turns out, Virginia Tech and Miami needed it.

From Preview Sports: "Neuheisel needs to find a running game." Um, check that. Rick Neuheisel actually needs to find a job.

4. Is this the year Texas breaks through to win the national title?

Maybe, and I call this my "Tee Martin Theory."

Remember how much pressure there was on Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning to win the big one? And how he never did? The year after Manning left, Tennessee won it all with Tee Martin at quarterback. Maybe it's going to be the same story with Texas now that Chris Simms is gone.

5. Has a slumping economy affected the Texas media guide?

No. This year's edition is a hernia-inducing 591 pages, up from last year's 576.

6. What happens when the bowl championship series contract expires after the 2005 season?

The major conferences and networks will begin negotiations next year. The power brokers have said there will be no NFL-style playoff, so look for a continuation of the BCS format with the possible addition of a national title game after the four major bowl games are played.

7. Will Bobby Bowden be able to restore Florida State to a national power?

Dadgummit, let's hope so. Bowden has lost more games, nine, the last two years, than he did in the previous eight combined.

8. Can Nebraska recover from its worst season in 41 years?

If not, coach Frank Solich might get husked in the town square after this season.

9. What players are on the Heisman Trophy short list?

Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett is still the Heisman favorite, provided the NCAA lets him on the field. If Clarett fumbles, round up the usual suspects: Cody Pickett, Washington; Philip Rivers, North Carolina State; Roy Williams, Texas; Eli Manning, Mississippi.

10.Who is the best player you don't know about whose name also happens to be as hard to spell as labyrinth?

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of Miami of Ohio. Roethlisberger, who turned down a scholarship to Ohio State, could be the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NFL draft.

11. Which new coach has a chance to make the biggest impact?

Urban Meyer, Utah. He's on the coaching fast track after throwing strikes the last two years at Bowling Green, where he was 5-0 against BCS teams.

12. Which newcomer do you most want to see?

Marcus Vick at Virginia Tech. If he's half as good as brother Michael, Hokie opponents are in a whole lot of trouble.

13. What teams are going to play for the national title in the Jan. 3 Sugar Bowl?

Miami and Oklahoma.

14. How would you rate the major conferences this year?

From the top:Big 12, Big Ten, Southeastern, Big East, Atlantic Coast, Pac-10.

15. What major college record is likely to fall this year?

Former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson's mark of 408 coaching victories. Robinson's record once seemed as safe as Cy Young's 511 big league pitching wins, but coach John Gagliardi of Division III St. John's College starts his 51st season in Collegeville, Minn., with 400 wins and no signs of stopping. Gagliardi will turn 77 on Nov. 1.