10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 7, 2006 STAFF PICKS - PRESEASON SELECTIONS Michigan final record Michigan final AP ranking Big Ten champion Big Ten second place Big Ten third place Surprise Big Ten team Michigan Bowl fate Michigan MVP Heisman winner National Champion National Runner-up ACC champion Big 12 champion Big East champion Pac-10 champion SEC champion Mid-major threat Most overrated player Most overrated team Scott Ma Bell Sin 10-3 9 Ohio StateC Michigan Iowa Michigan State Rose Bowl loss RoE Mike Hart La Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma West Virginia Ohio Statet Miami (FL)N Texas West VirginiaI Southern Cal Louisiana State Fresno State nger 10-3 13 Ohio State Michigan Iowa Purdue se Bowl loss Marr Woodley Peterson Auburn Ohio State Miami (FL) Texas Louisville California Auburn UTEP Kevin Stephanie Wright Wright 10-3 11 Ohio State Iowa Michigan Northwestern Capital One Bowl loss Steve Breaston Michael Bush, Louisville Notre Dame California Florida State Nebraska Louisville Califorina South Carolina Northern Illinois 11-2 8 Ohio State Iowa Michigan Michigan State Capital One Bowl win Hart Brady Quinn, Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Florida State Texas West Virginia Southern Cal Florida Utah Playstation 2 11-2 5 Penn State Michigan Iowa Penn State Sugar Bowl win Chad Henne Chase Holbrook, New Mexico State Florida Notre Dame Virginia Tech Texas West Virginia Southern Cal Florida New Mexico State Troy Smith, Ohio State Ohio State 4 4 Derrick Williams, Penn State Brady Quinn, Notre Dame Erik Ainge, Tennessee Ted Ginn, Jr., Ohio State Notre Dame Notre Dame West Virginia Oklahoma Football season has kicked off once again, and you know what that means: The Daily football writers have to pretend like they're experts once again. But after last season's performance - when just half of the football beat finished above .500 with their picks - besting the previous batch of prognosticators may not be too daunting of a task. This week, all they have to beat is a machine. Before making individual game picks each weekend, the quartet all came together to make their preseason picks. For those with a keen eye who noticed Kevin Wright's horrible picks (Michael Bush is out for the year, national title contender California has already lost and "overrated" Erik Ainge was the cause for California's loss), the picks were made before the season started. Fighting for the title A number of contenders hope to step into the ring for the 2006 college football title. Who will come out on top? 14 THE HEAVYWEIGHTS Notre Dame offense struggled as WEST VIRGINIA throwing the ball. Yes, he com- Jamal Charles and Selvin Young it pulled out a 14-10 win against Why they pleted 10 of 14 throws last Satur- should be able to carry the offen- NOTRE DAME Georgia Tech, the key is that the will: No one day, but let's be honest, Marshall sive load until first-time starting Why they Irish survived. would even be is a shadow of its former self. quarterback Colt McCoy wets will: Coach Achilles' Heel: The defense. mentioning Rich If the Mountaineers run into a his feet, which shouldn't take Charlie Weis Ohio State's dismantling of the Rodriguez's team that can stifle their run- long with Limas Sweed splitting returns his Notre Dame's defense in last Mountaineers if ning attack, West Virginia could out wide. star quarter- year's Fiesta Bowl gave prog- not for the beat down they put on be in trouble. Achilles' Heel: Drugs and back (Brady nosticators a reason to doubt the Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. This weapons. Already, Texas faces Quinn), top receiver (Jeff Fighting Irish. Case in point: season both quarterback Pat White TEXAS adversity. Cornerback Tarell Samardzija) and leading rusher Desperate to add more speed to and running back Steve Slaton Why they Brown was arrested for posses- (Darius Walker) from last sea- the unit, Weis moved a back-up return to the gridiron to lead West will: The two- sion of marijuana and a loaded 9 son, so why not hype this team running back (Travis Thomas) Virginia's dynamic unit. headed mon- mm handgun. National title hopes up? Even though the vaunted to linebacker. Achilles' Heel: Pat White ster that is could hinge on how coach Mack Brown handles the situation. the Louisiana State running game could make coach Les Miles's offensive attack one- dimensional. AUBURN Why they could: Fresh off of a 1,200-yard season, run- ning back Kenny Irons is poised to carry the Tigers to an South- eastern Conference title and a possible national championship. Beside Irons, quarterback Bran- don Cox should benefit from a year under his belt and nicely complement the Auburn running game. Achilles' heel: The Southeast- ern Conference. Auburn will play one of the toughest schedules in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. With many nation- ally ranked teams waiting in the wings, there are plenty of road- blocks between Auburn and a national championship. FLORIDA STATE Why they could: If you watched the Florida State/Miami game, you know the one reason to believe in the Seminoles: their defense. With a lineback- ing core that just might be as fast as the speed of sound and hits like Mike Tyson in the early '90s, Florida State could shut down any offense. Achilles' heel: The offense. Even though Miami featured a dynamic defense, Drew Weath- erford looked like a blind man who saw the sun for the first time. If Weatherford can't get on the same page as his receiv- ers, the Seminoles don't stand a chance. 0 THE REST SOUTHERN CAL Why they could: Matt Leinart, Reg- gie Bush and Lendale White all wear NFL uniforms, but the catalyst for the Trojan return to glory remains. Pete Carroll has always been the energizer for Southern Cal, and there's no reason to think that he can't keep a team stocked with talent in the upper echelon of college football. Achilles' Heel: Leinart, Bush and White are gone. And so are the explosive components of a Southern Cal offense that relies on running up the scoreboard. John David Booty doesn't really instill fear into opposing defenses. LOUISIANA STATE -Why they could: JaMar- cus Rus- sell returns behind cen- ter to complete what should be a potent Tiger aerial attack. In the first game this season, Russell tallied 253 passing yards on just 13 completions. Achilles' heel: With running back Joseph Addai doing his best Edgerrin James imperson- ation for the Indianapolis Colts, I e 6 I j