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The South Carolina Gamecocks are just days away from opening up fall camp in preparation of the 2010 season...well, they've been preparing all summer with workouts just like other teams, but that is beside the point. So, today I'll do my best to navigate the schedule and give you an idea of how I think this Gamecock season will fair. vs. Southern Miss Carolina will kickoff the season with their game against Southern Miss. The Eagles aren't an easy opponent. They are historically strong on defense, and they have installed a spread offense. Southern Miss is coming off a 7-5 season, but they could easily have gone 10-3, losing three games by less than a touchdown. The Gamecocks should win. But it won't be a cakewalk. Gamecocks 27 Southern Miss 14 vs Georgia Carolina then opens SEC play with border-rival Georgia. The Bulldogs are in a little bit of a flux. Head coach Mark Richt is on the hot seat, they are installing a 3-4 defense and they are bringing in an inexperien...

Expansion. We nearly had it. Colorado knocked over the first domino, which looked like it would set off a chain reaction and change the landscape of football. Then we get to Texas and expansion was stopped...for now at least. The new Pac 10 (currently with 11 teams) is a program away from having a championship game...and it looks like Utah will be the final piece of that puzzle. If Utah joins, I'd say the best way to split em up would be a pseudo North-South alignment. In one division, have Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford and Cal. In the other, place USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado. And where will the title game be played??? LA of course. Now, to the Big 10 (which now has 12 teams) acquired Nebraska, and will have a 12 team league in 2011. For this conference, I see an East-West schism. In one division, I see Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois and Northwestern. In the other, I see Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Pe...

Now that the ACC and SEC have been predicted, we move on to an overview of the rest of the NCAA Division I-A (FBS). Big East It will again be an interesting year in the Big East (and could be one of the last years for the Big East barring expansion). Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida are bringing in new coaches while West Virginia and Pittsburgh will be lead by stellar runningbacks. Really, the only team that doesn't look as if it will be the least bit competitive is Syracuse (wait for basketball season Orangemen). I still have a lot of questions for Louisville, UConn, Cincy, South Florida and West Virginia. Rutgers will be an interesting team to watch with QB Tom Savage and WR Mohammed Sanu. They will be a tough D, but I'm not sure if they have the best D in the Big East. The top team in my opinion, is Pittsburgh. They have an All-American caliber RB in Dion Lewis, a decent passing game, and a hard-nosed defense. Questions are at QB, but Lewis can compensate for that. P...

Last time we focused on the ACC, picking how the season might play out, as well as All Conference first and second team. Today, we shift our focus to the SEC. West Will start off with the easy division to pick. No surprise, I'm going with Alabama. The Crimson Tide look to have a dominant offense headed by a huge, athletic offensive line and a 1-2 punch at runningback with Heisman winner Mark Ingram and sophomore Trent Richardson. They also have Julio Jones at receiver, just in case you were wondering if they had any other weapons, along with consistent play from their tightends. The only question for Alabama is defense, were they lost a few key guys, such as Terrance Cody, Javier Arenas, and Rolando McClain, but they do get LB Dont'a Hightower back. Everyone else will be playing for second, and I think that honor goes to either Auburn or Arkansas. I would throw LSU in the mix, but their QB situation and questions on defense are too big for me to overlook. Ole Miss lost almost e...

With Phil Steele's pre-season All Conference selections coming out, we here at the Report believe it is time we unveiled our pre-season teams, as well as how we think the league will pan out. Today, the ACC is on display. First, look at the divisional races. Atlantic Looking at the Atlantic division that saw Clemson win its first divisional title, and make its first appearance in the title game, the Tigers are hoping for a repeat. Much of that hinges on the return of QB Kyle Parker, who will have to decide between the baseball or football depending on where he is selected in the MLB draft. If Parker comes back, Clemson will have a good shot, if he doesn't, it could be a rougher year. Personally, I think Parker is like a baseball after being struck by an aluminum bat...gone. QB Tajh Boyd is more talented, but Clemson will be a year away from returning to the ACC title game, but they will finish no lower than third this year. Personally, I think Florida State will win the divisio...

A college football shakeup has been a hot button issue recently, and a column by The State's (SC) Ron Morris has brought the firestorm to South Carolina. In his piece, Morris makes note of a giant college football conference realignment that, among other things, would put South Carolina back in the ACC, a conference it left in the late 1960s. Though I don't agree with Mr. Morris' (no relation to me) idea that USC would go back to the ACC, I do agree there is a big conference shift that will, eventually, give us a college football playoff. After a long, and scientifically inexact process, I was able to come up with seven "Superconferences," based loosely on region . One important thing to note: These changes only effect football , while leaving all these conferences I did away with, intact for basketball, baseball and other sports. Conferences such as the SEC, ACC, MAC, and Mountain West would remain, while the Big 12 has a schism and splits, remaking the Sout...

I've gotten to watch a week of games and highlights, and now I'm ready to make predictions on who will win divisions, the wildcard, and who will be playing in the World Series. National League East 1-Phillies 2-Braves 3-Marlins 4-Mets 5-Nationals *The Phillies are still the team to beat. The additions of P Roy Halladay and C Placido Palanco make their rotation the best in the National League, and give them another strong bat in the lineup. And you can't forget about the trifecta of SS Jimmy Rollins, 2B Chase Utley and 1B Ryan Howard (who will hit close to 50 HRs this year). Braves will win the wildcard. Central 1-Cardinals 2-Brewers 3-Reds 4-Cubs 5-Astros 6-Pirates *The Cardinals have the best pitching rotation in the division with Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and Brad Penny . Don't forget the two dangerous bats of OF Matt Holliday and 1B Albert Pujols. West 1-Giants 2-Rockies 3-Dodgers 4-Diamondbacks 5-Padres *The Rockies are the favorite, but I think the Giants...