AthlonSports.com - 2009 Previews

2009 Florida Gators Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:59 -0500

The first time Florida won a national title under Urban Meyer, the Gators followed up with a disappointing four-loss season despite having the Heisman Trophy winner. This year, Florida’s leaders, including seniors Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes, promise that complacency won’t be an issue.

2009 Oklahoma Sooners Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:58 -0500

The Sooners should be in the mix both in the Big 12 and nationally, as 21 players with starting experience return from a team that finished 12–2 and battled Florida to the end in the BCS title game.

2009 Texas Longhorns Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:57 -0500

A generous helping of experienced and talented players join Heisman runner up Colt McCoy in the Longhorns' charge at their second national title this decade.

2009 USC Trojans Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:56 -0500

If there was ever a season in which Carroll and the Trojans could crash to the terrible depths of, say, nine or 10 victories, this is the one. USC loses eight starters from the best defense in the country in 2008 and will begin 2009 with a new quarterback, new offensive and defensive coordinators and what appears to be the most challenging schedule of the Pete Carroll era.

2009 Ohio State Buckeyes Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:55 -0500

The Buckeyes enter the 2009 season with considerable spring in their step, despite the loss of several big-time players. Still, there is plenty of talent in Columbus, most notably quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

2009 Alabama Crimson Tide Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:54 -0500

Alabama may return nine starters on an already-stout defense and several key members of its offense. The Tide may have a new quarterback in junior Greg McElroy. But it wants to take care of some old business from 2008. And Alabama has a serious opportunity to finish what it started.

2009 Penn State Nittany Lions Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:53 -0500

Penn State surely leads the Big Ten in optimism heading into the 2009 season. Even after a lopsided loss to USC in the Rose Bowl and a harsh winter in which they said goodbye to a batch of veterans, the Nittany Lions are still talking national championship.

2009 Virginia Tech Hokies Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:52 -0500

The future is here for the Hokies. They return 15 starters and ought to be in the mix to capture the ACC championship for the third consecutive season. If they beat Alabama in the season opener Sept. 5 in Atlanta, some observers will certainly start talking about even greater aspirations.

2009 Oklahoma State Cowboys Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:51 -0500

Oklahoma State coaches have been pointing to 2009 for the last few years, knowing it would be the season all the pieces came together. The Big 12 Conference schedule breaks in the Cowboys’ favor, with nearly every challenging opponent coming to Boone Pickens Stadium. Quarterback Zac Robinson is a senior and in his third year as a starter. And the depth that was absent in recent seasons, primarily on defense, has been replenished.

2009 Ole Miss Rebels Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:50 -0500

Established playmakers return on both sides of the ball. They’re joined by a top 20 recruiting class, and the cumulative effect is an Ole Miss team, the second under former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, that begins the season with expectations not seen in these parts since the John Vaught Era.

2009 California Golden Bears Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:49 -0500

After a three-plus-year run that found Cal consistently in the national conversation, the Bears have taken a step back the past year-and-a-half. Since rising to No. 2 in the polls with a 5–0 record midway through the 2007 season, the Bears are only 11–10. But there are many around Berkeley who believe this is the year the program can return to national prominence. To do that, there is one not-so-small issue to resolve — finding a passing game.

2009 Boise State Broncos Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:48 -0500

Everything points to another top 20 season for the Broncos — except recent history. They haven’t put together consecutive great seasons since 2003-04, a fact that has coach Chris Petersen pushing his team to find the edge they carried in 2008 as they set out to reclaim the WAC title.

2009 Oregon Ducks Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:47 -0500

A new era has dawned at Oregon. Mike Bellotti has taken up residence in the athletic director’s suite for the Ducks, handing over the reins of the football program after a 14-year run of unprecedented success in Eugene. Now at the helm is Chip Kelly, the wunderkind offensive coordinator with only two years’ experience at the FBS level.

2009 Georgia Bulldogs Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:46 -0500

The 2008 Bulldogs were a dysfunctional group by the time they finished the season 10–3. The Bulldogs who enter 2009 are almost unrecognizable from that group that started last season. They hope not to resemble the group that finished it either.

2009 Florida State Seminoles Preview

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:45 -0500

Four years have passed since Florida State played for — and won — an Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Returning to that stage is the next logical step in the Seminoles’ progression, after Bobby Bowden’s program rebounded from consecutive 7–6 seasons to finish 9–4 last season, 5–3 in ACC play.