>The 14th-ranked Boilermakers look to remain undefeated at Mackey Arena and extend the Hoosiers’ road losing streak to 14 on Tuesday night.

Allowing 58.0 points per game while going 12-0 at Mackey Arena, Purdue has won three straight at home versus Indiana by an average of 15.4 points. The Hoosiers last won in West Lafayette, 70-59 on March 1, 2006.

The Boilermakers have been on a bit of a skid lately, dropping four of their last seven.  JaJuan Johnson continues to be a beast for them inside, averaging nearl 21 ppg and eight rebounds per game.  Johnson has scored 20 points or more in his last seven games.  He is supported by guard E’Twaun Moore, who is averaging 18 ppg.  No other Purdue player is averaging over six points per game. 

The Hoosiers, however, have not been playing like a team tied for last place.  Over the last four games, Indiana beat then-No. 20 Illinois and then-No. 18 Minnesota at home and fell in overtime at previously ranked Michigan State before failing to secure a 10-point lead in Saturday’s 64-63 home loss to Iowa.

The Hoosiers have stepped up on the defensive end during that four-game span, holding opponents to 63.5 points on 39.5 percent shooting.

Coach Tom Crean hopes his squad can remain stingy while trying to snap a 23-game road losing streak against Top 25 opponents since a 77-66 win over No. 13 Iowa on Jan. 13, 2002.
The Hoosiers are playing without their best player, Christian Watford, who is out after having wrist surgery.  Watford was leading the team ins coring and rebounding at the time of his injury.  Two players, Verdell Jones III and Jordan Hulls have stepped up.  Jones is averaging 12.4 points per game, while Hulls is  coming off of a game where he had a season-high 24 points.

>Illinois vs. Baylor

   Baylor clinched its first winning season since 1995 and earned a bowl bid for the first time since losing 10-3 to Washington State in the 1994 Alamo Bowl.

   Averaging 32.6 points and ranked 12th nationally in total yards per game (478.5), Baylor has the potential to present another challenge for the Illini, who give up an average of 24 ppg, but have had Michigan score 67 on them and Minnesota score 38. 

   Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III ranks seventh in the country averaging 315.5 yards of total offense and has thrown for nearly 3,200 yards and 21 touchdowns.

  
   Senior Jay Finley’s 1,155 yards rank second on Baylor’s single-season rushing list. He ran for 250 yards on 26 caries in a 47-42 home win over Kansas State on Oct. 23.  Kendall Wright’s 66 receptions for a career-high 825 yards lead a group of four Bears receivers with at least 40 catches.
   
   Mikel Leshoure led all Big Ten running backs with 1,513 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.  Leshoure ranks eighth in the country with 126.1 rushing yards per game.

   Nathan Scheelhaase has thrown for 1,583 yards and 17 touchdowns in his first collegiate season.  He has shown why he was one of the country’s best dual-threat quarterback recruits, as he has rushed for 815 yards and four touchdowns.

   A.J. Jenkins is Scheelhaase’s favorite target, having caught 50 balls for 694 yards and seven touchdowns.

Prediction: Baylor 35, Illinois 21

>USC-Notre Dame

   ND and USC games count for five of the ten most-watched college football games in television history. The teams play for the Jeweled Shillelagh, a trophy that goes home with the winning team each year. Notre Dame currently leads the series 42-33-5. 

   The origin of the series is quite often recounted as a “conversation between wives” of Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne and USC athletic director Gywnn Wilson. In fact, many sports writers often cite this popular story as the main reason the two schools decided to play one another. As the story goes, the rivalry began with USC looking for a national rival. USC dispatched Wilson and his wife to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Notre Dame was playing Nebraska on Thanksgiving Day.  On that day, Knute Rockne resisted the idea of a home-and-home series with USC because of the travel involved, but Mrs. Wilson was able to persuade Mrs. Rockne that a trip every two years to sunny Southern California was better than one to snowy, hostile Nebraska.  Mrs. Rockne spoke to her husband and on December 4, 1926, USC became an annual fixture on Notre Dame’s schedule.

    Notre Dame and USC played their first game in 1926, a 13-12 win for the Irish. Rockne was quoted as saying it was the greatest game he ever saw. The following year, Notre Dame and USC would play a memorable game at Soldier Field in Chicago, a slim 7-6 Irish victory. An estimated 120,000 people were in attendance, a crowd that is considered to be one of the largest attended games in NCAA history.  USC’s first win in the series also came during the same year they won their first national title in 1928. From 1928-1932, USC and Notre Dame combined to win the national title five straight years, with USC winning in 1928, 1931 and 1932, and Notre Dame winning in 1929 and 1930.  During this period, there was some talk of canceling the series, due to the long amount of travel time it took by train from South Bend to Los Angeles.  Rockne argued for the series against the Notre Dame faculty board and its chair, Father Mulcaire, countering that “he saw the day coming when most college teams will be going by air exclusively.

   Both schools combined have produced the most national titles (21), Heisman trophy winners (14), All-Americans, College Football Hall of Famers and future NFL Hall of Famers (21) than any other collegiate series.

Oklahoma-Oklahoma State

  
In 1900, in Oklahoma Territory, Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) veterinary medicine professor Dr. L.L. Lewis assembled a group of A&M students to participate in the first territorial Track and Field Meet. Held on May 4, 1900, the event included Alva Normal College, Central Normal of Edmond, Kingfisher College and the University of Oklahoma, along with OAMC. The prize of the tournament was a silver cup donated by a local jeweler named Douglas. Surprisingly, A&M won the meet and returned to Stillwater with the traveling trophy.

   In 1901, A&M won again, and a third consecutive win would mean permanent retirement of the Douglas Cup in Stillwater. The meet was held on May 23, 1902, with the Aggies amassing the most points. Oklahoma filed a protest based on the pole vault competition not having been completed due to darkness, however, Oklahoma A&M claimed the Douglas cup.

   The next day the Sooners held their own vault competition and declared themselves the victor. Several weeks later, the Douglas Cup was missing from its place in a glass case at the Oklahoma A&M chemistry lab. Suspecting that OU students had stolen the Cup, a group of A&M students retrieved the Cup from Norman, supposedly burying it under Old Central for safekeeping.

   Ten years later, when excavation was being done for A&M’s Gundersen Hall, the trophy was found.

  
   The first Bedlam game was held at Island Park in Guthrie, Oklahoma. It was a cold, and very windy day with the temperatures well below the freezing mark. At one moment in the game when the Oklahoma A&M Aggies were punting, the wind carried the ball backwards behind the kicker. If the Oklahoma A&M squad recovered the ball it would be a touchback and if the University of Oklahoma squad recovered it, it would be a touchdown. The ball kept going backwards and rolled down a hill into the half-frozen creek. Since a touchdown was at stake, members of both teams dove into the icy waters to recover the ball. A member of the OU team came out with the ball and downed it for a touchdown, eventually winning the game 75-0. Thus was the beginning of Bedlam.

   Author Steve Budin, whose father was a New York bookie, has recently publicized the claim that the 1954 Bedlam Game was fixed by mobsters in his book Bets, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. Allegedly, the mobsters threatened and paid off a cook to slip laxatives into a soup eaten by many OU Sooner starting players, causing them to fall violently ill in the days leading up to the game. OU was victorious in the end, but their 14-0 win did not cover the 20-point spread they had in their favor. However, many people involved in the 1954 contest do not recall any incident like the one purported by Bodin to have occurred.

   Oklahoma currently leads the series 81-16-7.

>

• Miami starting QB Jacory Harris was knocked out of the game after being hit while throwing an interception in the second quarter.  They got their first win of the season against a team from a BCS conference. They have also beaten Richmond and VMI of the Championship Subdivision and Eastern Michigan.  Virginia’s five interceptions matched its total in the first seven games combined.

• Syracuse has now won 4 true road games in a season for the first time since 1996.  The 6-2 start is their best since 2001, when they finished 10-3 — the last time they had a winning record.  The Cincinnati loss is  its worst beating at home since a 38-0 loss to West Virginia in 2005.

• Chandler Harnish found Willie Clark with a 21-yard TD pass with 3:42 to play to lift the Huskies to their six straight victory, their longest winning streak since 2004.

•  Marcus Lattimore rushed for 184 yards and a TD as South Carolina won for the fifth time in its last 29 games vs. Tennessee. Lattimore has 13 TDs this season, tied for the fifth-most by a freshman in SEC history. His 13 TDs are three shy of the South Carolina single-season record.  The Gamecocks are 5-0 at home this season. Tennessee is 0-5 in the SEC. It’s the first time the Volunteers have lost their first five conference games of a season since 1977. 

• Temple won its 10th straight home game to tie a school record and posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since blanking Connecticut and Xavier during the 1971 season.

• San Diego State is now eligible for a bowl for the first time since 1998 when the Aztecs played North Carolina in the Las Vegas Bowl. Its six wins this season surpass its win total in any of the last six seasons.

• The loss by Notre Dame gives the current senior class 26 losses, the most in a four-year span at the school since 1900. Tulsa’s win over Notre Dame was the Golden Hurricane’s 1st over a BCS-AQ team since beating Iowa in 1996.   It was Notre Dame’s first loss to a current member of Conference USA since SMU (then a member of the Southwest Conference) beat the Irish in the 1984 Aloha Bowl.  Tulsa’s Damaris Johnson returned a punt 59 yards for TD and is 25 yards shy of becoming Conference USA’s all-time leader in kickoff return yards. 

• Arizona improved to 7-1 this season and will enter November with fewer than two losses for the first time since 1998.  

• It was the first game between Florida and Georgia with both teams unranked since 1979.  The Gators have won 18 of the last 21 games in the series. The loss snapped Georgia’s three-game win streak.  

•   Baylor ended a 12-game losing streak against Texas and won its first game at Texas since 1991.  Baylor QB Robert Griffin III broke the school record for career passing TDs with 39.  Texas has lost three straight home games in a season for the first time since 1997. 

• Stanford beat Washington for the third straight time. That hasn’t happened since Stanford won 10 straight from 1967-76.  This was Stanford’s first road shutout since beating Oregon 17-0 in 1974.  The Cardinal is 7-1 for the first time since 1970 when they started 8-1. Stanford’s defense shut out Washington at home for the first time since 1976

>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.