Gather to the Round Table

Smell that? College football season is coming! That means the BlogPoll round table discussions will become more frequent leading up to and through the season.

The latest discussion is brought to you by The Ciskie Blog. Here is how I answered the questions. How would you answer them?

Which preseason college football magazine is your favorite?

I’ve never met a preseason college football magazine that I didn’t like. Sporting News and Athlon are among my absolute favorites.

What team is being supremely overrated in the preseason rankings?

I know the guys over at Burnt Orange Nation are screaming Oklahoma at this point along with a few others but I’m going to hold up a big Texas sized mirror and say the Longhorn’s are overrated.

Hands down the best team in the country last season I don’t think the Longhorn nation realizes what they lost in Vince Young. Sure they appreciated him, even made a god out of him, but leadership like that can’t be replaced. He was the heart and soul of that Texas team and willed them to win in the Horse Shoe against Ohio State and in the Rose Bowl against USC. They don’t have anyone on campus who has that kind of will power. In fact, they don’t even have a quarterback on campus who has taken a Division I snap.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the Longhorns will fall off the face of the earth. They will still have one of the best defenses in the country but as a team they will not be up to the caliber of we have seen the last three years.

Notre Dame and USC get in the conversation here as well. This Irish need to prove they know how to play defense and if any team lost more than Texas did with Vince Young it was the Trojans.

Turn the tables. Who is underrated?

The West Virginia Mountaineers! I jumped on this bandwagon last season and took a bunch of heat for it. I had them ranked high on my ballot all season and people questioned my sanity and football knowledge for it.

That is why I sat back with an ear to ear grin and watched them dismantle the Georgia Bulldogs, in Georgia’s own back yard, in the Sugar Bowl.

Guess what? Pretty much the entire 2005 Mountaineer team will be back in 2006. They have a more than favorable schedule and if the stars align just right they could find themselves in Tempe in early January.

LSU should get mentioned here as well. I can’t stand Leslie Miles but the Tigers will have a really good football team again this year and should make a return to the SEC title game.

Which conference will be the best in 2006?

I hate to say it but the SEC will be the strongest conference in the county this season. I think LSU, Florida, Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee could be ranked all season. The SEC has been snubbed in the BCS Championship game in the past but will have a strong enough conference this season that could end the BCS drought.

Don’t be surprised to see two SEC teams playing in BCS bowl games this year.

Which "non-BCS" conference will be the best in 2006?

I’m going to say Conference USA although it is a tough call. I think Houston will be the crown jewel of the conference this season but Tulsa, Central Florida and Southern Mississippi will be solid teams as well.

Which non-BCS conference team will have the best season?

The Utah Utes are going to have a great season. It will be the second season apart from Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham will have a stout defense that could rule the Mountain West Conference.

Defensive back Eric Weddle and defensive lineman Kelly Talavou are both candidates for National Defensive Player of the Year.

Let's get your first read on this one...who will win the H*i*m*n? Oh, by the way, players whose last names begin with the letter "Q" are ineligible.

Brady Quinn will be driving the Notre Dame hype machine but I going with the best running back in America. Adrian Peterson!