The upcoming 2011 college football picks season is going to be very interesting and exciting all across the country, and that is certainly true for the PAC-10 conference. Well, that’s true for the PAC-12 conference, we should say, since starting this season for the first time the conference will have 12 full members. This brings a lot of new changes to the conference, and adds some new teams and wrinkles to consider. Take a look at this college football picks preview for the PAC-12 and what you might be able to expect as you make your preseason college football picks.

First, it’s time to take a look at who’s who in the new conference, and what the upgrade to 12 teams really means. First, with 12 teams, the conference is now eligible to host a conference championship game. This makes the conference more competitive with the likes of the SEC and Big-12. While it might be harder to emerge undefeated, it also means the championship winner will have a very high chance of reaching the BCS championship afterwards, which is very important.

College Football Picks: PAC-12 North

So with 12 teams for the first time the PAC-12 will have a conference championship game, and that means the conference also has been split into two six-team divisions. In the North, you’ll find California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington and Washington State. You’ll notice that some major in-state rivalries are in the same divisions, and that none of the new conference members are in the North.

College Football Picks: PAC-12 South

In the South, you’ll find in-state rivals Arizona and Arizona State, in-state rivals UCLA and USC, and then the conferences two new teams, Colorado and Utah. The Buffaloes of Colorado have struggled with their football teams in recent years, but the Utes on the other hand have fielded very strong teams. Now, as a member of a BCS conference, Utah won’t be left out of the title and bowl game picture, although they’ll have to deal with that week in and week out tough schedule. It’s a lot to consider for your upcoming college football picks, and it adds a whole lot of new variables into the PAC-12 picture.

Over the past decade, the team to beat in the old PAC-10 has always been Southern California. Fans and bettors making college football picks for the year could pencil them in immediately as conference champs, and contenders to win the National Title as well.

Of course, things are a little bit different now. Following the fallout from the scandal involving Reggie Bush, USC is now on probation, and is ineligible for postseason play. Lane Kiffin took over the helm and has had to deal with players who departed because of that, as well as the loss of some scholarships. This has lowered them back to the pack, or the PAC, as it may be, and has opened up the doors for other teams to take over as the top team to beat in the conference. This years College Football Picks should be very exciting because the PAC-12 is anyone’s to win.

Last year, the big dog on campus in the old PAC-10 was Oregon. The talented team went 9-0 in conference play, and ended up in the BCS title game against Auburn. They lost a very close contest in the championship, and now have been dealing with some of their own off field scandals. But you can be sure that coach Chip Kelly will have the Ducks ready to play and cause some damage, and they want another chance at a BCS berth.

Standing in their way just might be Stanford, one of the great stories from the 2010 season. The Stanford Cardinal went a stellar 12-1 last season, led by star quarterback Andrew Luck. Luck put the NFL on hold, where he would have been the number 1 pick in the draft, and decided to ride out another season in college. Don’t expect Stanford to be a sleeper when making your college football picks this year as the oddsmakers will adjust the line accordingly.

He’ll be playing without his old coach, Jim Harbaugh, who rode his success at Stanford straight into a head coaching gig across the way in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers. Even with a new staff, you can be sure that Luck is going to be a real threat, and Stanford is still stocked with plenty of other talent to make another serious run through the season.

Adding even more excitement to the conference will be new arrivals Utah. As mentioned, they have had a very strong team over the past decade, but they have often been looked down upon because they haven’t been in a major contest. Now, that’s all going to change, and Utah will have a chance to prove themselves as a BCS school. It will be make or break for them, as they’ll get a chance for more recognition but will deal with more hardships along the way.

Coach Kyle Whittingham is up for the challenge though and wants to make sure everyone knows that the Utes belong right where they are. After crushing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in 2009 and finishing that year undefeated, you wouldn’t be wise to doubt this team, but it will be interesting to see them cope with the rigors of more challenging games each and every week of the season.

All of that and there are even more exciting storylines to consider as well for the PAC-12 college football picks and predictions. You have Oregon State and California looking to rebound from down seasons, where they both finished a disappointing 5-7. Arizona and Arizona State both want to get over the hump and emerge from middle of the pack to high quality, and UCLA and Washington State have nowhere else to go but up after poor 2010 campaigns.

There is definitely more to consider with the new PAC-12 conference and your upcoming college football picks than ever before. USC has been taken down a notch, and now Oregon, Stanford, Utah and others will be vying for the crown. The conference has two divisions and a championship now, and it’s going to be a very fun, up and down, thrilling ride all season long.

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The first thing to remember about the 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide is that they will likely be ranked number one in most preseason polls. This college football picks ranking comes with good reason, as the team will return a number of offensive stars. Quarterback Greg McElroy answered many questions about his talent last season, although he was not relied upon to carry the offense exclusively. The Tide might find this season a little tougher, so McElroy will have to get the ball into Julio Jones’ hands more frequently. Jones is a potential top 10 pick in next year’s NFL Draft, despite the fact that he only caught 43 passes for 596 yards and four touchdowns in 2009. The end result is that McElroy will have to step up of this team is to repeat its success. Of course, the Tide are also returning Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, so will look to take much of the pressure off McElroy once again.

On paper, there might be some question marks surrounding the Alabama defense, as most of their front seven has moved on, including stars Rolando McClain and Terrence Cody. In the secondary, corner Javier Arenas and Justin Woodall are gone, but the team has…read the full 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide college football picks report at HotCappers.com

College Football Picks: 2010 Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Predictions

The 2010 Nebraska Cornhuskers will be an extremely good football team, as there is an outside chance that they could contend for a national title. While some are overlooking the team, they will be returning ten starters on offense and have a great deal of experience to fall back upon. The Cornhuskers do have a number of extremely difficult matchups over the course of the season, but there is no reason to believe that they cannot win those games. When looking at the college football picks their toughest games are all at home, which will definitely make things easier as the season progresses.

The strength of last year’s team was the defense, which was led by second overall pick Ndamukong Suh and Barry Turner. Although both of those players are now gone, players like Jared Crick and Pierre Allen are more than ready to shoulder the load. The end result is that this defense might not be as dominant as it was last season, but it will still be very good and will keep this team in most games. If this team falters at any point during the season, the defense likely will not be to blame.

The main question marks on this team are on offense, as they struggled to move the ball at points last season. In fact, Nebraska only picked up 16.4 first downs per game, which was 111th in the entire country. The passing game was of particular concern, as the team relied heavily on running back Roy Helu. Helu will return this season, but a more balanced attack will be needed if the team expects to compete with teams like Texas. If the Huskers can get decent production out of their passing attack, the sky is the limit as to how far this squad can go.

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The Virginia Tech Hokies once again look like they will contend for the ACC championship, although it might be a lot tougher this time around. The team has a very tough schedule this season, as they will open up against a very good Boise State team. The Hokies have lost their last two season openers, with both of those losses coming in out of conference games against extremely talented opponents. Teams like Miami and Georgia Tech are much improved over last season as well, so winning the ACC will not be an easy feat.

This team’s offense will be driven by Tyrod Taylor, who is returning for his final season with the program. The Hokies have a lot of talent on offense besides Taylor, so putting up points will not be a problem at all. Last season, the squad had two 1000-yard rushers, in Ryan Williams and Darren Evans. Both of those players are returning for another season, so the Hokies’ backfield will be the driving force behind this team. The top three receivers from 2009 are also returning, giving Taylor additional options with which to work.

The main issue with this team will likely come on defense, as seven starters must be replaced. This includes players like Jason Worilds, who was their top pass rusher, Cody Grimm, who was the leading tackler, and most of the team’s secondary. Virginia Tech also had the top punter in the conference last season, but Brent Bowden has since moved on as well. With such a tough schedule and so many holes on defense, Tech could be in tough this season. With that being said, the high-powered offense will be able to make up for many of these problems and they will be a difficult matchup for anyone.