>I won’t be doing what I had mentioned in the first preview.  Because of my sister’s upcoming wedding I haven’t had the opportunity to do the previews as I had wished, so instead from now on, I will be picking one or two teams from every remaining letter and doing a preview of those teams.

Thanks!

>The Pirates are coming off of their fourth consecutive winning season, a feat that had not been achieved since the 1970’s. People all across the country realized the success East Carolina has had, as coach Skip Holtz was named Head Coach at the University of South Florida. So in comes former Pirate Ruffin McNeill, who was actually on those successful Pirate teams in the ’70’s. McNeill comes back after coaching at Texas Tech.

Offense – The major key in the offense that McNeill brings from Texas Tech is quarterback play. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the quarterbacks they have returning have little or no experience. Only sophomore Josh Jordan has any experience but that is limited as he has seen action in only three games and thrown seven passes.

The team also loses two of the the three starting receivers from last year. But luckily for whoever the starting quarterback ends up being, Dwayne Harris returns for his senior season after putting up some monster numbers in 2009. He caught 83 passes for 978 yards and seven touchdowns. However after Harris, junior Joe Womack is the next leading receiver and he only caught 12 balls for 141 yards. Coming out of spring ball, nine of the 17 wide receivers are underclassmen, so youth will be served.

The Pirates lose last year’s top rusher, Dominique Lindsay, but return second-leading rusher Brandon Jackson. Jackson, who played in only nine games last season, rushed for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Giavani Ruffin also returns after running for 308 yards and five touchdowns, while Harris ran for 149 yards and five touchdowns.

Defense – Last year, saying that the defense excelled at forcing turnovers would be an understatement, as they forced 28 turnovers. Unfortunately, the defense only returns two starters from last year’s squad, both cornerbacks. One good thing, however, is that there will be plenty of experience, as outside of the two returning starters, 21 defensive lettermen return.

Emanuel Davis returns for his junior campaign after finishing fifth on the team with 69 tackles, while being in a three-way tie for second with two interceptions. He also had four tackles for loss and led the team with 12 broken up passes. Travis Simmons is the other returning corner and he finished with 52 tackles.

Ironically, a player with a similar name to his position, Dustin Lineback, returns to anchor the linebackers. He finished the year with 29 tackles. Matt Thompson had 20 tackles in seven games. Steve Spence had 15 tackles, two sacks and two and a half tackles for loss.

Josh Smith returns for his senior year on the line after being in on 26 tackles, four and a half for loss and four sacks. Michael Brooks finished right below him with 24 tackles, three and a half of which were for loss.

Recruiting – Despite having around a month to recruit, the Pirates coaching staff was able to bring in 18 signees to compile its 2010 class. With such great turnover on the defensive side of the ball, it’s no shock that 10 of the 18 recruits come from that side. Maurice Falls comes in as a defensive end prospect who enrolled early. In his senior campaign, he came up with 118 tackles.

While in high school, Jacob Geary played end, tackle and linebacker on the defensive side of the ball, but comes to East Carolina to play linebacker. He had quite an impressive senior campaign, as he tallied 162 tackles, eight sacks and two forced fumbles. Jeremy Grove also comes to ECU as a linebacker prospect and enrolled early after tackling 107 opponents, including 19 for loss. Lee Pegues was a four-year starter who had 90 tackles and 10 sacks as a senior.

Schedule – The Pirates jump right into conference play as they welcome both Tulsa and Memphis to Greeneville in the first two weeks of the season. The team will use those two games as warmups to their two hardest games of the year, when they face Virginia Tech and North Carolina in back-to-back weeks. The Pirates played both teams last season, losing to both, but keeping close with the Hokies. ECU completes its three-game road trip with a trip to Southern Miss, a team that gave the Pirates a fight last season. The team returns to three of its next four games at home, hosting N.C. State, Marshall and Navy, while traveling to UCF. ECU finishes the season with two of their last three games on the road, as they travel to UAB and Rice before hosting SMU to close the season.

>In just two years, Head Coach David Cutcliffe has turned Duke into a school that just looked forward to basketball season to one that can challenge for a bowl berth every year. The Blue Devils came one game short of a 6-6 season which would have qualified them for a bowl. And fans have a lot to look forward to this year, as the team returns 18 starters from last year’s squad.

Offense – The offense returns nine of 11 starters from last years’ squad, which combined for nearly 370 yards per game. Unfortunately, one of those starters who aren’t coming back are Thaddeus Lewis, who threw for 3,330 of the team’s 3,660 yards and 20 of 24 passing touchdowns last season.

The only quarterback returning with any type of game experience is redshirt sophomore Sean Renfree, who threw for the other 330 yards and four touchdowns. Sean Schroeder is coming off of a freshman season where he redshirted, while Brandon Connette comes straight from high school but enrolled early and participated in spring ball.

Luckily for the Blue Devils, they return the majority of their top rushers. Although their rushing stats may not have been the most impressive, the experience of all the players, including Desmond Scott, who led the team in rushing, will help the ease of the new quarterback. Scott led the team with 262 yards and scored one of the teams’ six rushing touchdowns. Jay Hollingsworth and Patrick Kurunwune also return after seeing a lot of game action last year.

By far the strongest part of the offense will be the wide receivers. The team’s top receiver, junior Donovan Varner returns after catching 65 balls for 1.047 yards and eight touchdowns. The other two starters, Connor Vernon and Austin Kelly, also return. Vernon had quite a breakout freshman year after grabbing 55 passes for 746 yards and three touchdowns. Kelly had 54 catches for 625 yards and four touchdowns.

Defense – The defense returns six starters from last year’s team, including two starters from each the defensive backfield, linebacker and defensive line units.

The defensive backfield’s two returning starters, Matt Daniels and Chris Rwabukamba, both finished in the top six of tacklers from last year. Daniels finished third on the team in tackles with 83 and had three tackles for loss, six passes broken up and three forced fumbles. Rwabukamba, on the other hand, was sixth on the team with 46 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and seven passes broken up. After starting eight games at cornerback, Lee Butler moves over to one safety spot opposite of Daniels. Butler had 39 tackles and an interception last season. Butler’s interception makes him the only one coming back after intercepting a pass last year, as all of the others are no longer members of the team.

The linebackers bring back some nice pieces as well in starters Damian Thornton and Abraham Kromah. Thornton finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles and fifth on the team with six tackles for loss. This year, however, the senior slides over from the Will Linebacker position, where he started 11 games last season. Despite playing in only seven games, Kromah finished seventh on the team in tackles with 40 and also had two and a half tackles for loss. Adam Banks (no not the player from the Mighty Ducks movies) looks to take the other linebacker spot after coming up with 33 stops in 2009.

Defensive end Patrick Egboh and nose guard Charlie Hatcher return to their starting spots again this year. Hatcher had 39 tackles last season and seven tackles for loss, which was fourth on the team. Egboh pitched in with 34 tackles and three tackles for loss, as well as a sack and two passes broken up.

Recruiting – This year’s class consists of 19 student-athletes, including many who look to fill in holes on the roster. The Blue Devils brought in two quarterbacks, although Brandon Connette starts with more experience after enrolling early and playing in the spring. As a senior Connette threw for 1,961 yards and 18 touchdowns, while rushing for 462 yards and 12 more touchdowns. As a senior, Josh Snead rushed for 1,932 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Linebacker recruit Kelby Brown comes to Durham after a very impressive senior year. In his last year as a high schooler, he logged 105 tackles, five sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Dezmond Johnson, a defensive line prospect, is coming off of a season where he posted 71 tackles, 18 sacks and three fumble recoveries.

Schedule – The development of the young players will be tested early as thus year’s schedule us a bit stronger than last years. After starting the season with a home game against Elon and a road game at Wake Forest, defending champion Alabama comes to Durham to pay the Blue Devils a visit. The team ends the month with a home game against Army. October brings a visit from Miami, while trips to Maryland, Virginia Tech and Navy are also on the docket. The Miami and VA Tech games are back to back. Duke ends the season with three of its last four games at home. Virginia, Boston College visit Durham, while the Devils go to Georgia Tech. The rivalry game with North Carolina ends the season, with the Tar Heels coming to Duke.

>The Rams are looking to get over last season’s 3-9 debacle, which saw them start 3-0 before losing nine straight. Coach Steve Fairchild enters his third year as head coach and is looking for his team to overcome all the inconsistencies and injuries of last season.

Offense – Much uncertainty encompasses this year’s offense. The strongest area will be the running backs, but the rest of the side of the ball is really up for grabs.

For the first time since 2004, Colorado State might start a freshman quarterback. Only one quarterback on this year’s roster returns with starting experience and that is Jon Eastman. The Rams return 92 percent of their rushing yards from last year, including their top two rushers. Despite playing in only 10 games and not starting, Leonard Mason led the team with 766 yards in 2009. He also had two touchdowns. Last year’s primary starter, John Mosure also returns after rushing for 650 yards and seven touchdowns. They will be pushed by sophomore Lou Greenwood or junior Raymond Carter, a transfer from UCLA.

Wide receiver will also be a position of question as they lose both their starters and lose 1,227 yards and four touchdowns. Among the group of receivers who are returning, they have a combined 27 catches, led by walk-on Tyson Liggett’s 20. Liggett caught 17 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Byron Steele looks to be the starter outside of Liggett, but he will be pushed by younger members of the team such as Vernon Scott or Marquise Law.

Defense – Unlike the offense, the defense returns nine starters and looks to be the stronger unit on the team.

The linebacker spot brings back three of the top five tacklers from last season, including top gun Mychal Sisson, who is coming off of a second-team all-conference season. Sisson had 91 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and six sacks last season. His six sacks were a team-high. Chris Gipson had quite an impressive redshirt freshman season, finishing with 56 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks. Alex Williams looks to overcome injuries to both knees as he returns to take his middle linebacker spot. In only nine games, he pitched in with 55 tackles and three and a half tackles for loss.

While the secondary might be young, they are anything but inexperienced. Many of the younger players got major playing time due to injuries. An upperclassman who returns for his junior season, Elijah-Blu Smith, finished second on the team in tackles with 74, His three interceptions were also second on the team. Two players who saw major playing time, junior safety Ivory Herd and senior DeAngelo Wilkinson, return for their first chance to win the starting job. Momo Thomas returns opposite Wilkinson after coming up with 43 tackles and an interception.

The defensive line also comes back with tons of experience. End Cory Macon and tackle Guy Miller return to their starting spots. Miller stopped 39 opponents last year, including six and a half tackles for loss and two sacks. Macon had 35 tackles, five tackles for loss and two and a half sacks.

Recruiting – Colorado State raided Florida for a good number of their top recruits. Possibly their top recruit, Pete Thomas, comes from California as a rivals.com and scout.com four-star quarterback. As a senior he threw for 2,392 yards and 24 touchdowns. He will push for early playing time after enrolling early and taking part in spring practice.

Eric Niederberger comes in as one of the top defensive recruits after an impressive career in California. He played a little bit of everything but had a nice stat line as a senior linebacker. He finished the 2009 season with 107 tackles, nine sacks two forced fumbles and an interception for a touchdown. He was named the Delta Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.

Schedule – The team starts the season with three games away from home. The annual rivalry game against Colorado is in Denver, while back-to-back games against Nevada and Miami (Ohio) are at the respective schools home fields. The teams’ first home game is against another WAC team, Idaho. Then the team jumps right into conference play against possibly their toughest opponent of the year, TCU. Luckily for the Rams, they get the Horned Frogs at home. Including the game against TCU, the team does not play consecutive games on the road or home for the rest of the season.

>The 2010 season is one of great importance for the Colorado football team and more specifically their coach Dan Hawkins. It has been known that Coach Hawkins is on the hot seat and needs to have a drastic improvement from their 3-9 season in 2009. It also might be the last year for Colorado in the Big 12, as they are set to move to the Pac 10 either next year or the year after.

Offense – To improve, however, Hawkins will need to choose a starting quarterback. Tyler Hansen and Cody Hawkins, his son, started seven and five games, respectively, last season. Luckily for either of the two, seven other starters return on offense, including all five offensive linemen. Hansen, a junior, completed 56 percent of his passes last season for 1,440 yards and eight touchdowns. Unfortunately he also threw seven interceptions and was sacked 33 times. Hawkins, a senior, put up similar stats so it is easy to see why they are in a dead heat coming into the fall. Hawkins threw for 1,277 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The running game will be bolstered by the return of Rodney Stewart, who returns as the lead back yet again. As the leading rusher in 2009, Stewart rushed for 804 yards and nine touchdowns. Behind him, however, there is not much experience as both the second and third leading rushers do not return for the 2010 season. Hansen is the next returning rusher after running for 61 yards, although the total would have been much higher if he wasn’t sacked 33 times.

The receiver picture can be just as gloomy for the Buffs, as they return only one of last year’s top five receivers. Luckily that one, Scotty McKnight, was last year’s top receiver after catching 76 balls for 893 yards and six touchdowns. To show you how much experience the receivers lost, the second leading receiver had only 13 catches, 136 yards and the only other receiving touchdown returning. But what the lack of experience does is give players such as Will Jefferson, Jason Espinoza, Kendrick Celestine and Ryan Deehan to become more prominent figures in the offense.

Defense – The secondary was the strong part of last year’s team as they allowed only 201 passing yards per game, which was good for fourth in the conference and 34th nationally. Four of the top five returning tackler leaders are members of the secondary, led by free safety Anthony Perkins. Perkins finished last season with 78 tackles and was tied for the team lead with two interceptions. Cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Jalil Brown were right behind him, as Smith finished with 70 tackles and Brown 66. Both also had two interceptions each.

The linebacker spot looks to be tough again, led by senior Michael Sipili. Sipili led the returning linebackers in tackles with 39 tackles in the 2009 season. B.J. Beatty also returns for his senior year after being in on 30 tackles and two and a half sacks, despite playing in only 10 games.

The defensive line was very young last season, and while that might still be the case in 2010, the experience the core earned last year will be vital in their development. Curtis Cunningham comes into his junior year after tackling 41 opponents and being in on two sacks. The returning sack leader from last year is senior Marquez Herrod, who had six sacks to go along with his 38 tackles. Will Pericak saw action in all 12 games in his freshman season and contributed with 36 tackles and three sacks.

Recruiting – The Buffaloes bring in 20 high school signees and two junior college kids to make up the 2010 class of 22. 15 of the signees are on the offensive side of the ball, including four running backs and tight ends apiece. Wide receiver Donnie Duncan had quite the senior year as he played primarily WR/DB. He caught 77 passes for 1,691 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also added three rushing touchdowns, two passing, two kick returns for touchdowns and a punt return touchdown. On defense he had 50 tackles and 10 interceptions, three on which he brought back for touchdowns. Tony Jones comes to Boulder after being named the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year. As a senior he rushed for 1,387 yards and 34 touchdowns. Trea Jones rushed for 1,652 yards and 17 touchdowns, while averaging nearly seven yards per carry and 127 yards per game. Chidera Uzo-Diribe is a standout defensive end coming to Colorado. As a senior he had 69 tackles, seven and a half sacks and two forced fumbles.

Schedule – As per usual, the season starts out with the rivalry game against in-state Colorado State. The Buffs then travel to play the host Cal Bears and attempt to break a 2-2 series tie between the two schools. The team’s home opener is a matchup against Hawaii, followed by an off week before they host the Georgia Bulldogs. Colorado will be looking to pick up their first victory against both schools in those games. The Georgia game starts a stretch of five tough games where they jump right into conference play with games at Missouri, back-to-back home games against Baylor and Texas Tech. Consecutive away games at Oklahoma and Kansas follow before the home slate is closed with Iowa State and Kansas State coming to town. The season ends, as it always does, with the annual day after Thanksgiving game against Nebraska, this year in Lincoln.

>Clemson brings back 13 starters from last year’s 9-5 Music City Bowl winning team. Third year coach Dabo Swinney will try to get his team back into the ACC Championship Game, a year after they lost to Georgia Tech in the title game.

Offense – The question since the end of last season has been ‘What will Clemson do without C.J. Spiller?’ However, up until last week, a bigger problem may have been coming around, as starting quarterback Kyle Parker was struggling with the decision of signing with the Colorado Rockies, who made him a first-round draft pick in the MLB draft, or come back and play another season of college football. July 20th, he decided…to come back to Clemson.

Parker had quite the debut last year as he threw for 2,526 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also ended up as the fourth highest rusher with 135 yards and a touchdown. All the passing stats are freshman records at Clemson. However, the quarterbacks behind him are very inexperienced. Parker’s backup is set to be redshirt freshman Tajh Boyd, who came to the Tigers as a highly touted prospect. Third string will be handled by Mike Wade, who will also see time at safety.

Set to replace Spiller will be the two-headed tandem of Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper. The redshirt sophomore Ellington is the returning rusher after running for 491 yards and an average of 7.22 yards per carry. He also had four touchdowns. Harper, on the other hand, rushed for 418 yards and had four touchdowns as well. His 69-yard touchdown scamper was the longest rush by any Clemson rusher in the 2009 season.

The Tigers lose their top three receivers from last year and little experience returns. The next six receivers combined for 67 catches amongst them. Senior Xavier Dye is the leading pass catcher after hauling 14 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Terrence Ashe hopes to become the starter opposite Dye after catching 11 passes for 124 yards. Last year, the tight end position was more prominent in the Clemson offense and there is no sign that trend will be reversed. Dwayne Allen returns after starting six games at the tight end position. He finished the year with 10 catches, 108 yards and three touchdowns.

Defense – The defense returns six starters from last year’s squad that gave up only 20.4 points per game. They forced 30 turnovers, including 21 interceptions.

The leader of the the strength of the defense, the secondary, will be DeAndre McDaniel, who may have had one of the best seasons by a defensive back in school history. McDaniel ended the season with 102 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks and eight interceptions, one of which he brought back for a touchdown. His interception total led the ACC, was tied for third in the nation and tied for the most in school history. Joining him in the defensive backfield will be senior strong safety Marcus Gilchrist. He finished the season second in tackles with 107and two tackles for loss. Sophomore Rashard Hall comes back after having a strong freshman season. He finished with 63 tackles and six interceptions, second on the team behind McDaniel.

The defensive line will also be a strong point of the defense this year. Defensive tackles Jarvis Jenkins and Brandon Thompson return for their third season starting together. Jenkins led defensive linemen with 69 tackles, including 11 for loss. Thompson had 50 tackles. Da’Quan Bowers returns as a defensive end starter. He had 58 tackles in 12 games, including 11 for loss and three sacks. Two more talented defensive ends with experience return as well. Mallicah Goodman was a freshman All-ACC performer who had 31 tackles, five for loss and two sacks. Andre Branch had 46 tackles, eight for loss and two sacks.

Brandon Maye, like in 2009, leads the linebacker corps this season. His 103 tackles were third on the team and added seven tackles for loss and three sacks. After Maye, no linebacker comes back after seeing extensive playing time. Scotty Cooper had 16 tackles last season and has seen action in 37 games over three seasons, including six starts.

Recruiting – This year’s class brings in 23 student-athletes, the highest since 2008 when the team signed 25. It consists of six defensive backs, four offensive linemen, three wide receivers and two defensive tackles, linebackers, running backs tight ends and defensive ends each.

Two of the top three recruits, Martavis Bryant and DeAndre Hopkins, are wide receivers. Bryant was ranked as the No. 10 wide receiver and No. 84 overall player in the nation by rivals.com. He finished with 70 receptions for 722 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior. Hopkins was ranked just two spots lower in the wide receiver rankings by rivals.com. He had seven receiving touchdowns, two INT touchdown returns, three punt return touchdowns, one o a kickoff return and one on a fumble recovery as well. Justin Parker comes in as the highest rayed defensive player after being ranked as the No. 13 middle linebacker in the nation by scout.com. He had 140 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a senior.

Schedule – In 2010, Clemson plays seven teams that played in bowl games last year. The Tigers open the season with two home games against North Texas and Presbyterian. It is the first time facing North Texas and first time since 1957 against Presbyterian. They next go on the road to face Auburn, the first regular season matchup since 1971. After a bye week, the team plays eight consecutive conference games, starting with a home date against Miami, a team the Tigers defeated last year. Clemson then travels to North Carolina to face the Tar Heels, in their first trip to Chapel Hill in eight years. Next comes back-to-back home games against Maryland and Georgia Tech before traveling to Boston College. A home date against N.C. State precedes consecutive road games at Florida State and Wake Forest. The team then ends the season with their annual game against in-state rival South Carolina.

>Boston College – The Eagles are coming off an 8-5 season under first-year coach Frank Spaziani. The team lost an Emerald Bowl battle with USC 24-13.

Offense – The offense returns eight starters from a team that averaged nearly 25 points. The team scored on 89 percent of its red-zone attempts, including 27 touchdowns.

For the first time since Matt Ryan was quarterback, the Eagles have their starting quarterback returning for the next season. Dave Shinskie comes off a freshman season in which he threw for 2,049 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Luckily for the Eagles, two of the top three rushing leaders from last year , including top rusher Montel Harris. Harris led the team with 1,457 yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged 112 yards per game and nearly five yards per carry.

Back to help Shinskie out are his second and third favorite receivers from last year. Second leading receiver Colin Larmond Jr. returns after catching 29 balls for 596 yards and five touchdowns. His 29 catches for 596 yards comes out to a 20.6 yards per catch average. The next highest receiver is Chris Pantale, who had 25 catches for 223 yards. The team is bringing in three wide receivers in their recruiting class, some of whom may be looked upon to help right away.

Defense – The Eagle defense returns six starters from last year’s squad which gave up only 19.8 points per game. It returns seven of the top 10 tacklers from last year’s squad.

The linebacker corps comes back as possibly the strongest unit on the team. Luke Kuechly comes back for his sophomore year after putting up monster stats in his first year of college football. He was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year after posting a stat line of 158 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and one interception, sack and fumble recovery each. A second starter, Mike Morrissey also returns after being in on 37 tackles last season.

Three of last year’s top six tacklers are defensive backs and each returns for another season with the Eagles. Donnie Fletcher returns at one cornerback spot after being in on 51 tackles and one interception. DeLeon Glause will be looking to lock up the other corner position after he had 49 tackles last year. Free safety Wes Davis returns after leading the team in interceptions with three and tackling 46 opponents.

The defensive line returns two starters from last season. Alex Albright and Brad Newman both saw time starting at the left end spot and the thought is that Newman will either slide over to the tackle position or take over the right end spot. Newman led all defensive line players in tackles with 45. Tackle Damik Scafe added 35 tackles, six and a half tackles for loss and two sacks, wile Albright had 32 tackles and eight and a half tackles for loss.

Recruiting – The Eagles bring in two Gatorade Players of the Year, as well as the No.21 pro-style quarterback. CJ Jones was named Delaware’s Gatorade Player of the Year after starring as both a QB and CB. He was more known for his feet than his arm after rushing for more than 1,000 yards and averaging 13.7 yards per carry. Kevin Pierre-Louis comes to Boston College as Connecticut’s reigning Gatorade Player of the Year. He had 88 tackles and averaged 17.3 tackles on his way to being rated the tenth-best outside linebacker by rivals.com. Chase Rettig comes to the Eagles after being ranked the No.21 pro-style QB by rivals.com. He threw for 1,740 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior.

Schedule – The Eagles start with two winnable games, Weber State and Kent State, both at home. Their next two games, also at home, will be a little more challenging as they welcome Virginia Tech and Notre Dame to Chestnut Hill. The Irish will be re-tooling after firing Charlie Weis. After the four non-con games, they start their road conference schedule with two ACC away games against N.C. State and Florida State, both of which are winnable. FSU is bringing in a new coach, Jimbo Fisher, who although has been at the school for what seems forever, is in his first season as a head coach. After hosting their next two opponents, Maryland and Clemson, which could be a tough match up, the Eagles go on the road for three of their final four games of the year. They finish at Wake Forest, Duke and Syracuse on the road, with a home game with Virginia in between the Duke and Syracuse games.

Bowling Green -Bowling Green is coming off of what has to be one of the craziest endings to a bowl game seen in a long time. The Falcons scored a touchdown with 32 seconds remaining to take a 42-35 lead and thought they had won the game. The Idaho Vandals, however, had other thoughts as they went 66 yards in three plays before converting a two-point conversion to take the 43-42 Humanitarian Bowl victory.

Offense – This year’s offense will look very very different from last year’s as only four offensive starters return. Unfortunately, wide receiver Freddie Barnes, who set an NCAA record with 155 catches in a season, graduated and has gone on to the NFL. They’ll also have to replace the starting quarterback. Aaron Pankratz returns as the only quarterback who has seen any college football action and has only played in one game in his career, throwing for 52 yards on five completions.

One bright spot for the offense is that it returns starting running back Willie Geter who had 705 yards and none touchdowns last year, both career highs. He had 92 yards and two TD’s in the bowl loss. John Pettigrew, Erique Geiger and Mark Mays return to back Geter up. Of the three only Pettigrew has collegiate experience after he rushed for 24 yards in 11 games as a freshman last season.

Losing a record-setting player can be an extremely tough task to overcome, but when that player had 109 more catches and 17 more touchdowns than the leading returning receiver, it will be harder than most people expect. Adrian Hodges returns after catching 46 passes for 417 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, other than Barnes who had 19 touchdowns, no other receiver had more than two. Ray Hutson, Justus Jones and Tyrone Pronty all return after seeing significant time, while the Falcons will look to four redshirt freshman to provide depth.

Defense – The defense also has four starters returning, but that may be a blessing in disguise for the young squad, as last year it could rely on the offense to keep them in a shootout, but with a young offense with many new starters, much is unknown.

The strength of the defense will be the defensive line, where the Falcons return three starters. The line will rely heavily on two seniors, Angelo Magnone and Darius Smith, while two sophomores and juniors return as well. Magnone collected 43 tackles, four tackles for loss and two and a half sacks, while Smith added 36 tackles.

The linebacker corps will be all new, as all three starters graduated from last year’s squad. Eugene Fells is the top returning tackler amongst the linebackers, after totaling 44 tackles and three and a half sacks. Dwayne Woods also returns after coming up with 24 tackles.

The defensive backfield will also be replacing three starters and Adrien Spencer is the lone returning starter. Spencer made 42 stops and had one interception last season. Coming back to fight for a chance to start is Keith Morgan who led the DB returnees with 68 tackles and five passes broken up last year. He also had an interception.

Recruiting – The Falcons hit it big with replacements at defensive back and wide receiver in this year’s 25-man class. Devon McKoy comes to Bowling Green as a safety from in-state Reynoldsburg High and had quite an impressive senior season. His 2009 season consisted of 75 tackles, three interceptions and eight pass breakups. Ryland Ward, another safety recruit, had seven interceptions in 2009. Marcus Beaurem comes to the Falcons from Michigan. Beaurem comes in after catching 74 balls for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

Schedule – Bowling Green starts the season with five of their first seven games on the road, including the first two at Troy and Tulsa. Marshall comes to Perry Stadium before the Falcons go to Michigan to play their biggest non-conference game of the year, against the Wolverines. After a home game against Buffalo and road games at Ohio and Temple, the Falcons finish with three of their last five at home. Kent State, Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan come to Bowling Green, while the team travels to Central Michigan and Toledo.