Richie Weldon has been following college football since 1995, his freshman year at Virginia Tech.  An avid Hokies fan, Richie tries not to let that influence his opinions on other teams (most of the time). Seattle is the place he calls home now, and almost every Saturday during the fall he gets together with other Hokies to watch the games.  Richie is a software developer

Rob Rochholz is a Fresno State (TheOtherFSU) alum and San Francisco Giants fan who works in graphic design and lives in San Francisco. He's a former sportswriter at The Fresno Bee, where he covered the WAC, Pac-10 and Big West conferences.

USC will be in the BCS Title Game and the Trojan's opponent will be (and I'm having a hard time saying this) West Virginia. But Mountaineer fans, don't think this Hokie is going soft. USC is going to win the title this year and thoroughly prove the Big East shouldn't have a representative in that game going "0-for-2" since the inception of the BCS.

1. Who will meet in the BCS Title Game in New Orleans for the national title and who will win it all?

USC and LSU will meet for the national title and the Trojans will win it all.  The Trojans have an incredibly difficult schedule and will have a great shot at reaching the national championship game even with a loss during the regular season. 

2. What are your wishes for this season?

My biggest wish for the season is for no player to suffer any serious injury. No one should get badly hurt playing a game they enjoy. I'd also like for three or four teams, all from different conferences, to be undefeated at the end of the season and, thus, cause the biggest problem the BCS selection committee has yet to face. Maybe then we can get rid of this silly system of points and favoritism and have a playoff system that produces one, true victor.

2.  What are your wishes for this season? 

I’d like to see another non-BCS team like Boise State come from nowhere and knock off one of the superpowers (i.e. Oklahoma) in one of the greatest college football bowl games of all time.  Can we hope for anything better than last season’s Fiesta Bowl instant classic?

3. Which game are you most looking forward to and why?

There are two games I'm really looking forward to seeing. The first one happens on Sept. 8th. That is when the biggest out of conference game of the season will occur as the Virginia Tech Hokies travel to Baton Rouge to play the Tigers. An early season #2 vs #9 match up can't be beat!

On Dec. 1st, Washington travels to Hawaii to take on Colt Brennan and his Warriors. For this game I'll be there in person to watch Hawaii’s hot, hot, hot QB break all those TD and passing records while ensuring his team’s undefeated season and trip to a BCS game.

3.  Which game are you most looking forward to and why? 

There are many games I’m excited about, but two that are absolute must-see games this year.  First, on Oct. 20, USC travels to Notre Dame, and if the game is half as exciting as the last time the Trojans played in South Bend, it’ll be a terrific matchup.  Second, on Nov. 23, Boise State travels to Hawaii.  This could be a game with BCS bowl implications on the line, since the Warriors will likely be 10-0 going in, and the Broncos could very well be riding a 24-game win streak.

4.  Which coach needs to win now and who will be the first coach fired?

Always an easy target, Al Groh has one last year to win or he’s getting the boot. With a salary of $1.7M per year and a 42-33 record at his alma mater, not to mention only one win against Virginia’s in-state rival since 2002, just isn’t going to cut it.

Dave Wannstedt, like Al Groh, is feeling the heat from the hot seat, but unlike Groh, he might, just might, have one more season left. After a miserable 2005 seasons with a talented team that should’ve won the Big East, Wannstedt turned in a 5-6 record. Last year, his Pitt Panthers finished 6-6 and were left in the corner by the bowl selection committees like the dork at the prom without a date. If Pitt doesn’t have a winning season and a bowl victory, something that hasn’t happened since 2002, this could be either his penultimate or quite possibly his last season in Pittsburgh.

4.  Which coach needs to win now and who will be the first coach fired?

Who needs to win now?  Tommy Bowden at Clemson.  Losing to Kentucky in a bowl game is about as low as it gets for Clemson Tigers fans.  If Bowden doesn’t get Clemson off to a solid start this year, the boo birds are going to be out in force.  On the other hand, Washington State’s Bill Doba will be the first coach fired.  Doba’s made some really poor play-calling decisions of late, and faces a tough road in 2007, facing both USC and Wisconsin in the season’s opening month.  If the Cougars take a tumble at home against either San Diego State or Idaho in September, Doba’s hot seat will become sizzling real quick.

5. Who are the three hottest players in the nation?

Colt Brennan QB, Hawaii	Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
Chase Coffman, TE, Missouri

5.  Who are the three hottest players in the nation?

Colt Brennan, QB Hawaii	Brian Brohm, QB Louisvile
Riley Skinner, QB, Wake Forest

6. What are your predictions for this season's biggest upsets?

South Florida is going to knock off one of the three big name teams they are playing this season. The talent and desire is there, all that needs to happen is execution. Here's the breakdown: On Sept. 8th, the Bulls travel to Auburn. Winning at Auburn is a daunting task, no matter who the team is, so I don’t think it’ll be this team. Twenty days later, West Virginia flies down to Tampa to take on the Bulls in their own ring. As you read in my prediction for the two BCS Title Game teams, West Virginia will win this one, but not easily. So that leaves Louisville. (Sorry UNC fans, your team’s only big in basketball and women’s soccer.) Over the last four meetings between these teams, the home school has won, and usually by a large margin. This year should be no different.

Though it won’t have a big impact on the national scene, I think that Washington State will manage its third victory in 10 tries against long-time and in-state rival Washington. This will be considered an upset as this victory seals UW’s post season chances in a boat that’s destined to sink to the bottom of Puget Sound.

6.  What are your predictions for this season’s three biggest upsets?

 TCU over Texas, Sept. 8.

Wake Forest over Nebraska, Sept. 8.

Troy over Georgia, Nov. 3.

7. Who are your top 3 non-BCS teams?

In this order, Hawaii, TCU, Houston.

7.  Who are your top 3 non-BCS teams? 

Hawaii, Boise State and TCU. 

8. Which weekend this season will you be glued to the TV and why?

Oct. 6th has a ton of huge in-conference games: Florida plays LSU, Nebraska is going to Missouri, and the Texas State Fair matches up the Longhorns and Sooners.

8.  Which weekend this season will you be glued to the TV and why? 

Oct. 20 is shaping up to be a heck of a weekend with USC taking on Notre Dame in South Bend, LSU hosting Auburn, Nebraska meeting Texas A&M, Tennessee facing Bama in Tuscaloosa, and Cal-UCLA among others.  That’s a lot to choose from right there and I’m sure I’ve missed a few.

9. Who are the nation's most underrated and overrated teams?

It's no big surprise that Louisville is going to be named my most overrated team. Not only do I see them losing to WVU in Morgantown, I believe they will drop their second game in a row on the road at South Florida. I would even put money down in Vegas against the spread when they take on Cincinnati in Nippert Stadium.

On the other side of the coin, I see South Carolina, USF, Florida State and North Carolina all being underrated this year. North Carolina made the best coaching change out of all the schools with new skippers this season when they hired Butch Davis. He might not have the talent pool to work with as he did while at Miami, but he is a top-notch coach and has a good chance at a winning record this season. Likewise, one should never underestimate Bobby Bowden. He'll have his Seminoles primed to win the ACC Atlantic division. USF, provided they don't make any stupid mistakes along the way, should have only two losses at the end of the regular season and will make it to the school's third bowl game, this time in the Gator Bowl.

9.  Who are the nation’s most underrated and overrated teams? 

Underrated are Wisconsin, California, Oregon and Iowa.  Overrated are Texas, Ohio State, Tennessee and Florida State.