10 college football predictions that may surprise you
Thirty minutes after Illinois skulked off the closely cropped Rose Bowl grass, the victim of a 49-17 stropping by USC, freshman wide receiver Arrelious Benn sat in the cavernous visitors' locker room on New Year's Night and filled the space with his resolutions for the rest of 2008.
"We're going to see them again," he said matter-of-factly. "We're going to be a program that's a frontrunner. Next year's going to be a big year for us. Every year's going to be a big year for us.
"The sky's the limit for us. That Cinderella stuff is out the window right now. We're the new Illinois."
The new Illinois, not to mention the new Northwestern and the new Northern Illinois, charge headlong into the 2008 spotlight today.
That makes this the perfect opportunity to predict college football's next four months.
Without further ado, but with the confidence of a Rejus Benn, here are 10 things the crystal ball reveals:
1. Illinois and Northwestern will finish the regular season exactly one win apart.
2. One of them will have 8 wins and enjoy a trip to the Alamo Bowl.
3. Tim Tebow will not repeat as the Heisman Trophy winner.
Florida's junior quarterback won't be able to match his prodigious 2007 regular-season numbers (29 passing touchdowns, 22 rushing touchdowns, 3,970 total yards) and the voters - of which I am one - will decide he's not as good as he used to be.
4. Northern Illinois will rebound from last year's 2-10 campaign and deliver a winning record that warrants a bowl berth.
Oh, and the Huskies' first win under new coach Jerry Kill happens today at Minnesota.
Among the reasons why: There's no way to overstate how well-conditioned NIU's players have become during eight months with "Sports Performance" coach Eric Klein.
Not only has Klein trained all of Kill's teams since 1994, but he handled Chris Lowery's indefatigable SIU basketball teams that play at least as hard as anyone in the country.
5. Illinois sophomore weak-side linebacker Martez Wilson, who has to be the fastest and most athletic 245-pounder in the college game, will do at least two things every Saturday that will leave fans agog.
He will also do at least one thing each Saturday - out of his desire to make the big play - that gives the opponent a huge gain and leaves his coaches frustrated.
6. Despite remaining healthy for his senior year, Tyrell Sutton won't set Northwestern's career rushing record. Sutton owns 2,996 career yards and needs 1,490 more to break Damien Anderson's mark.
Sutton will fall short because he'll share some carries with senior backup Omar Conteh - and because new offensive coordinator Mick McCall likes him just as much as a receiver.
He simply won't get enough carries to get the record, but he'll be rewarded at season's end with a bowl game and a spot on the all-Big Ten's second team.
That's an honor in a league with Ohio State's Beanie Wells, Wisconsin's P.J. Hill and Michigan State's Javon Ringer.
7. This will be Joe Paterno's 43rd and final season as Penn State's head coach.
By the way, you simply must see Paterno's awesome acting chops in this commercial: http://www.bigtennetwork.com/videos/football-2008. asp
Scroll down a little to the one-minute clip labeled "Recruiting."
Hilarious.
8. BYU will be this year's "Cinderella" team that crashes the Bowl Championship Series party.
9. Ohio State qualifies for its third consecutive BCS title game.
10. Alas, that's where USC, for the second time in the season, bludgeons the Buckeyes.
Thirty minutes after the game in Miami, Fla., Ohio State freshman Terrelle Pryor promises in the losers' locker room that the Buckeyes will meet up with the Trojans again the following year.
You know, the new Ohio State.
lwillhite@dailyherald.com