For those of you who haven't noticed, we have either passed or are approaching the midseason point of the college football season, depending on how you decide what the midpoint is. (Teams who haven't had their bye have played six of their 12 games; those who have taken a bye have only played five.) Because there's no way to have an exact midseason -- teams that haven't had a bye will have played seven games after this weekend -- I'll go with this week as a perfect point to unveil some SEC-specific and then national predictions for the rest of the year.
SEC
Alabama Crimson Tide: Alabama will not return to the Top 3 in the polls before November. The Tide will either win the West or finish at least two games out of first.
Arkansas Razorbacks: Ryan Mallett will pass for more yards than any other quarterback in SEC history, the defense will be the best in the history of Bobby Petrino's tenure, but the Hogs will still not win the SEC West.
Auburn Tigers: The Tigers will play Alabama needing a win to go to the SEC Championship Game. Cameron Newton will go to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony but will not actually win the award.
Florida Gators: The offense will gain more yardage in the second half of the season than in the first half of the season, and Florida will go into its conference season-ending bout with South Carolina having a chance to go to the SEC Championship Game.
Georgia Bulldogs: The Dawgs will not finish 2010 above .500, and either Mark Richt will fire Mike Bobo or neither will return for the 2011 season.
Kentucky Wildcats: Kentucky will go undefeated in November to clinch bowl eligibility. They will go to the Music City Bowl. (I never said they were bold predictions.)
LSU Tigers: If LSU loses a game this year, the deciding moment will not come in the last two minutes of the contest. Les Miles will return for the 2011 season.
Mississippi Rebels: The Bear will debut for the Egg Bowl, but tragedy will strike when he devours Jeremiah Masoli as a pregame snack. Houston Nutt will immediately choose the Bear as the Rebels' quarterback for the game. He will play exceptionally well until throwing a game-ending interception with seven seconds left.
Mississippi St. Bulldogs: Dan Mullen will lead the Western Division Bulldogs to a bowl game and will get a sizable raise, but only after at least one other BCS program makes an offer for the head coach's services.
South Carolina Gamecocks: Steve Spurrier will bench Stephen Garcia at least once more before the season is over, but Garcia will still have the best season for a South Carolina quarterback since the Head Ball Coach arrived in Columbia.
Tennessee Volunteers: The Vols will not go to a bowl game this year but will win at least five games. Derek Dooley still will not release Bryce Brown from his scholarship.
Vanderbilt Commodores: The Dores will win at least one more game before the 2010 season is over, but will end the year in last place in the SEC East.
NATIONAL
- If a Big Ten Team goes undefeated, it will be the Michigan St. Spartans.
- The matchup for the 2011 BCS National Championship Game could also be the matchup for either the 2012 Rose Bowl or the 2012 Capital One Bowl.
- The 2011 Rose Bowl will feature one team from the WAC and one team from the Pac-10. The natives in Pasadena will begin their biennial carping about how this latest insult to their tradition is a reason to leave the BCS. Nothing will come of it.
- Jim Delany will complain about how the Rose Bowl snub is another sign of the power of money in college football. He will then invite at least two teams from other conferences to join ever more inaccurately named Big Ten.
- The last Big XII Championship Game will feature at least one two-loss team.